DarterBlue2
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Posts
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Posts posted by DarterBlue2
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5 hours ago, Jambun82 said:
What was his screen name on the Fla Varsity Football Central message board?
It was either Apopkanewsguy or APKnewsguy.
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3 hours ago, Perspective said:
Darter, it sounds like you can count him as a friend or, at the very least, an acquaintance. Either way, my condolences for your loss.
John, could have probably worked at the Orlando Sentinel or he could have ventured into the Tampa market and perhaps worked for the TBT. But instead, he plied his trade at the local, community newspaper. I suspect that he loved his job. In that sense his life was a happy one. For when one loves what they do, they are among the richest among us.
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@nolebull813, where are Josh's picks. Being late one week is fine, but for the integrity of the game, he can't be systematically late every week. If he can't get them to you on time, he should drop out.
- KeemD321 and Perspective
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John Peery,
Former editor of the local weekly Apopka Chief, passed away today. John wrote all of the sports articles in the Chief, and was always on the sidelines of Apopka football games. And though he retired a year ago, he continued to write his articles and cover Apopka football from the sidelines. We last exchanged pleasantries at the Pancake Supper and Pep Rally before the Edgewater game three weeks ago. I ragged on him a bit for picking Edgewater to win by 7 points and suggested that the Darters could pull the game off. Little did either of us know the shellacking we were about to take.
Last Friday John was on the sidelines when our kicker nailed a 43 yard field goal to win as time expired in dramatic fashion. John, who was am ample man, literally leapt for joy.
Though I don't count myself as a personal friend, for the past 25 years, his weekly articles have been a staple in my life.
I am sure all Apopka fans will agree with me that John was the epitome of what it meant to be a Blue Darter. John graduated in the class of 1974, and his daughter graduated from Apopka several years after my two boys did over a decade ago.
I don't know if John ever posted on this message board, but he used to post on the old Florida Varsity Football Central board back in the day.
In addition to Apopka football, John was an ardent fan of Tennessee football.
He will be greatly missed.
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11 minutes ago, PinellasFB said:
What do you mean about weighting them as 1.5 students? What does that do?
It would put the team in a higher class. That's not the problem, as many lower classification teams routinely beat the pants off bigger schools. It's the quality of the talent that counts.
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1 hour ago, ExplorerHomer2 said:
I don't disagree with @DarterBlue2 on that. Defense looked suspect and offensive line got manhandled. Found out after the game that Mendoza had broken a finger on his throwing hand early in the game and explains his 4 INT performance. We are definitely below BTW and several others without him at the helm. Coaches hoping to rest him until playoffs. So we will see a different look from the Explorers offensively for the next few games. Disappointing with both the GMAC game (Central?) and Norland coming up. Not expecting wins for either of those games now.
I am sorry to hear Mendoza got injured. He's a very good QB and a key element in the Explorers offense. I wish him a speed recovery and hope he's at or very close to full strength for the playoffs.
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12 minutes ago, Perspective said:
"The school receives public funding through voucher and tax credit scholarship programs as per a 2017 Huffington Post investigation where it was disclosed the school received more than $500,000 in taxpayer money for student scholarships between 2012–2016."
(compliments of Wikipedia)
- Founded in 1984
- Serves grades Preschool through 12th Grade, starting at age 2
- Open all year and enrolling year-round
- Current enrollment is 250
- 7 to 1 student-to-facutly ratio
- Over 50 international students
- Over 23 countries represented
(compliments of CAI's own website)
TUITION
Annual Tuition – $13,345.00
International Annual Tuition – $16,800.00
(also from CAI's website)
A couple of thoughts. First, the football program seems to be made up of mostly international students who comprise about 20% of total enrollment per the above. Second, international students, I am pretty sure, don't qualify for the kind of aid provided by vouchers and tax credits unless they have dual citizenship (US in addition to the country of origin). Third, assuming all students pay for or received governmental subsidies for their tuition, total tuition would be approximately $14,100 x 250 = $3,525,000. Would this cover the total costs of running an operation of this nature? For football, the team seems to travel up and down the state and often goes out of state. Where does this money come from? Fourth, for those international students that don't end up making it into college football and then the NFL, are they getting an education that is acceptable internationally such as an International Baccalaureate program so that if and when they return home, they can actually find employment or be accepted into a University of their home country?
I am not saying that the school is bogus and does not provide an adequate education but it sure seems to be operating in the dark with respect to its finances and its educational programs.
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1 hour ago, Perspective said:
Just curious . . . how does a small school in Pinellas County, Florida, go about attracting kids from Canada and Europe?
That is an excellent question. Do these kids pay tuition and if they do, and the school is as small as has been posted here, how are the costs covered? It would take the kids of multimillionaires to cover the costs of maintaining such a school with such a small student base.
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Booker T vs MNW (Thursday) - I am going with Coach Ice Harris in this one. But the Bulls are dangerous.
Miami Central vs Norland - I sense an upset
Pensacola Catholic vs Walton - Don't know much about either, but Catholic is usually a quality program.Deland vs Seminole - The Noles have more depth of talent, but can't afford to sleep on the younger Darlington's offense.
Dunbar vs Lowndes - Lowndes has too many horses for Dunbar.
Pahokee vs Benjamin - Public over private in a very close game.
Spruce Creek vs OC University - University is flying under the radar.
Dr Phillips vs Olympia - Hard to forecast this game as these kids played on the same Pop Warner team, but Olympia impressed me more than DP when we played them.
Golden Gate vs Baron Collier - I like Golden Gate.
Jax UC vs Jax TC - If TC can't win this game, they have their worst team in years.
Dillard vs Plantation - I have faith that Dillard has turned the corner and look forward to seeing them the day after Thanksgiving after they put the Raiders out of their misery in a shocking upset the week before.
Escambia vs Chcotawhatchee - I have fond memories of Pensacola.
Picks are bold underscored.
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1 hour ago, nolebull813 said:
Nothing shady going on at all. They literally started as an 8 man football a few years ago. They attract Canadian and European players that have the dream of playing American high school football and possibly play American college football. Coach Chinchar is a great guy and great coach who cares deeply about his players. They don’t go running around recruiting like IMG. Their bread and butter is Canadian and European kids. Imagine trying to coach a sport to multiple kids from all around the world, some barely speaking English if at all. And might be brand new to football. And the most impressive thing is he is getting a ton of kids into college. People need to do their research and get to the know the coach and program before being hyper critical. Remember Matthew 7:1-5
7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
The Reverend @nolebull813, now that has an interesting ring to it! LOL!!!
- nolebull813 and Perspective
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52 minutes ago, Perspective said:
I'm back in town, but swamped. So, I'll have my picks to you by Saturday noon (and I promise I won't look at any of the scores from Friday night).
Precedent has been set, hard for him to say no. I sense a deep objection followed by an appeal coming here!
- Jullian, Perspective and KeemD321
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31 minutes ago, Jullian said:
Really appreciate the info. Looking forward to those games.
……the season going way too fast……For real. It seems like it was only yesterday the Kickoff Classics were being played.
- Jullian, KeemD321 and Vero Indian
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Just now, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:
I would love that and that would show another step forward to this season of growth I’ve been seeing week to week with my panthers.
but honestly I just want another win vs a solid opp wether it’s by 3 or 40. I’m sure most are gonna pick plantation to win this matchup so if Dillard does win it will be as the underdog which we have been in pretty much this entire season lol.
If it's one of the games @nolebull813 selects for the competition, I go on record here that I am selecting Dillard. I hope they don't let us down!
- Jullian, KeemD321 and THIS_IS_DILLARD
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1 hour ago, Jullian said:
I might b, but I’m holding out till their last 3 games. They’ve scored at will against mediocre teams(in my opinion). I wanna see what that potent offense does vs Apopka, Seminole, & Mainland! Other than against your team, they’ll b underdogs???
They will be underdogs probably against Seminole. Last year, they beat Mainland comfortably. We beat them twice. But it was a dogfight each time. And Grubbs is a year older and significantly better.
I believe they will likely win against all three plus Evans this Friday. Hopefully, both you and @nolebull813 will see them for what they are this year despite not having a track record of deep playoff success.
And to be clear, I am not rooting for them, but I respect what they have. If my Darters are to have a shot at beating them, we will need to score a minimum of 35 against them and be back at full strength defensively.
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Dillard needs to win this game convincingly. That would be the perfect follow up to the game against Chaminade.
- KeemD321, Jullian and THIS_IS_DILLARD
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18 minutes ago, PinellasFB said:
I know I've been shot down here before but I still think CAI is a total bullshit school. Look at it's listed enrollment per grade below where there are 76 total students listed in grades 9-12. If you take out the football team, there's barely any students remaining (unless these stats don't count the players). I've seen other estimates that might put them above 100 students total for high school, but even then there's hardly any left after you subtract their rent-a-players. Shady stuff if you ask me. Oh yeah, there's also the mysterious Scientology religious affiliation part too.
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/florida/clearwater-academy-international-322527
I am inclined to agree with you.
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You are both sleeping on Lake Mary. While I will be rooting for Mainland both because Dan's a friend, and because, I side with blue collar teams, my eyes tell me that for the first time in the school's 40+ year history it's going to the state championship game with what will likely be a 14-0 record.
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The only switch I would make to your list is to put BTW ahead of Columbus. I watched most of the Columbus vs Homestead game. Homestead exposed some real weaknesses in Columbus' game.
- Jullian and THIS_IS_DILLARD
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@cribboy305 I have a question for you: Does the name Travis Gabriel mean anything to you? He's the current Head Coach at Olympia High here in Orlando. I heard from a reliable source that he's a Miami Northwestern Alumnus and played for the Bulls sometime back in the 1990s. He may have been on their first or second state championship team. He's in his fifth season as Olympia's head coach and seems to have them on the right track. Before that, he coached at Boone and Freedom under Andy Johnson, serving as his defensive coordinator. I believe he played his college football at Bethune Cookman.
Last Friday, they (Olympia) took us to the wire and my Darters needed a 43 yard field goal to beat them with less than 4 seconds on the clock. The kick had plenty leg but drifted left, and hit the left upright near its top but fortunately went right and not left to give us the win. The lead changed hands 4 times in a back and forth contest that ended with Apopka winning 25-23.
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1 hour ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:
Ok bro. Enjoy the rest of your sunday.
I think he's just trying to pull your leg.
- KeemD321 and Vero Indian
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Okay, so you have CCC ranked too high and Seminole and Lake Mary ranked too low. Aside from that, your current rankings are fine based on performance to date. I know Seminole got beat relatively badly by Cocoa. But through almost 3 quarters the score was 7-3 Cocoa. Their wheels fell off in the final 5/16 of the game. It seems Cocoa got hot right after their HBC got ejected. Go figure.
You are all greatly underestimating Lake Mary at your own peril. They have a state title caliber offense. Yes, their D could be better, but it's not like it's bad. It's just substandard for a potential state finalist.
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As fate would have it, the winning TD was hauled in by Christian Leahy of Orlando Edgewater.
In the 2019 State Title game against St. Thomas, he had too long touchdowns to give Edgewater the lead at half time. Edgewater went on to lose the game by 4 or 5 points (I don't remember) when St. Thomas intercepted the ball in their own end zone with seconds on the clock, after Edgewater had marched down field with less than 2 minutes left in the game.
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20 minutes ago, cribboy305 said:
With great sorrow I would like to announce I may be stepping away from the game of football as a fan and spectator indefinitely. After witnessing what I just witnessed out of the Miami Hurricanes I can no longer with good conscience support such things. It is taking a toll on my health & mental stability. Thank you all for the laughs ober the years. God bless
I hope you are joking.
- Nulli Secundus and 181pl
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RIP Apopka John
in The Huddle
Posted
You are welcome!