DarterBlue2

But they would still qualify for the football team. Dillard acts as if academics and football are mutually exclusive. I have seen a few scholars play well in my day. Heck, Steven Billings Larson at Apopka is one of them!

Come on, Osceola got a few scholars!

I think the score will be in the region of CG 49 Dillard 13. Unfortunately, this will probably be an harbinger of Dillard's fate against 6A, 16 in the playoffs.

Tough. With the first season under the new system almost in the books, I have mixed feelings about it. I kind of feel that some simpler adjustments could have yielded the stated objectives.

So, essentially, Apopka is a big beneficiary of the new system, then. Under the old, they would have been eliminated last Friday. I kind of feel sorry for West Orange. Not really, but just saying ...

Suppose Apopka lost to Oakridge? Unlikely, but strange things do happen. Would Apopka still be in ahead of West Orange? Both would be four loss teams and an Oakridge loss would be to a low category team.

Correct, Hunter was the starting QB in 2002, and it was his senior year. I remember that KOC. Apopka lost a tight game. Rockledge won state titles in both 2001 and 2002, when they repeated. In 2001, I believe they beat St. Augustine. I don't remember who the other finalist was in 2002.

I don't usually complain much about the officials as things usually even out. But there were a couple of blatant non-calls against Wekiva which should have been pass interference or holding, including one late in the game where Zion Hill was literally brought down by the Wekiva defender before the ball got there. There was also a strange delay of game call against Apopka after they had just gotten a first down on its final drive. They had not even gotten up to the line of scrimmage and the flag was thrown. Wekiva is a very good team, especially defensively. Two of their three touchdowns, though, were off special teams and a pick six. However, I am not sure they are better than Apopka. Give them credit, they finally got the win. If Apopka makes the playoffs and sees them again, I think the scores will be reversed.

I think Dillard is a solid, but not great, team this year. They are faced with a bad playoff situation as they will face a 6A, 16 team. It will be hard for this Dillard team to beat any of those four teams. They may have a chance against Norland, but I would still favor Norland. Regarding how Dillard stacks up in Broward County, my feelings are as follows: Dillard is clearly not as good as St. Thomas, American Heritage, Cardinal Gibbons. That is un-disputable. With respect to the next tier, I believe, from a distance, that Dillard is not as good as a Deerfield or Miramar. Dillard lost to Western on the field. So chalk that up for Western. With respect to potential Dillard may well be as good as, or better than, Western. But they had their chance on the field and did not get the job done. I would put Dillard somewhere in the middle of the second tier of Broward County teams. Perhaps closer to the top of it but not at the top.

From a distance, I think the game may have been a bit of a trap game for MNW. No, I am not suggesting they did not take it seriously. I am sure they did. However, it is possible that a sense of urgency on the part of 16-18 year old teenagers may not have been there. I would reserve my opinion till they meet again in the playoffs. If they do, I would expect the Bulls to avenge this defeat.

Wekiva's very strong defensive interior will mean Apopka will have trouble running the ball effectively if they just run their bread and butter plays. Third and long will kill Apopka drives. It is critical to have third and short situations if Apopka is going to move the ball and eat clock, which they will need to do to limit Wekiva's offensive production. On defense, Apopka also needs to pressure Wekiva's QB. He can burn you with his legs and has a decent intermediate ball if you give him time to throw it.

I like Apopka, but this may reflect my bias. I don't know. If we go solely on how the teams have played this year, Wekiva is the favorite. Not by much, but they would be favored. With that said, Wekiva has made the playoffs only twice in their relatively short existence and have exited in the first round both times. I think Apopka's tradition and experience in big game situations and late season games of critical importance helps them gut out a very close win. To do so, in my opinion, Apopka will need to have its best defensive game of the year and score at least 17 points.

Showing fight is what's it's all about. Most young people will face significant adversity during the course of life. If what they learned on the football field helps overcome it, then that's what the game's all about!

Sorry about the loss. Hope Coach Palmer has a full and speedy recovery.

Not that surprised. Norland is a good team. If they were 8A they would be a contender for the state title.

You would have to have specific criteria laid out. These would have to be in plain, concise English that leaves no room for ambiguity. Anything less, and the whole concept of "top tier teams" creates more problems than it would solve. Just basing top tier on number/percentage of wins over a period may not be sufficient. Different teams play much harder or softer schedules which will impact their number/percentage of wins. Call me a skeptic, but I think introducing top tier teams into the equation creates as many problems as it solves. It may be that reducing the number of classes by a class or two; eliminating districts that are less than 4 or 5 teams; and, if that were not feasible based on travel considerations, creating a limited number of regional wildcards, may be a better, more transparent solution.

They changed the rules this year.

They both stereotyped each other. Funny things is, I would not be surprised if neither of them fit the other's stereotype, at least not completely.

That may be subject to corruption or the appearance of such. Some teams would probably feel they were hosed by the powers on high!

I am not sure if Apopka is in Florida. Rick Darlington's record speaks for itself. He is a very good coach.

The Hawks declined, for the record.

Jones is a very solid team. They could be the best in Metro Orlando, although there are about three other contenders for that spot. Being in Region 4, of 5A, they have a very tough road in 5A. They would have to clear, potentially, both Cardinal Gibbons and American Heritage. If, somehow, they could get through Gibbons and American Heritage, I believe Jones would win the 5A title. They are that talented. And, BTW, like him or not, Elijah Williams, their head coach, is competent. He had a couple wins over Apopka to prove it when he was at Orlando Oak Ridge. I am not sure about the full complement of assistants he has there with him.

Picks on bold.

He played a bit of offense in the OC University game. And, I agree with your assessment of him.

In Central Florida, Bishop Moore too high. Wekiva, Winter Park and Lake Mary too low. Also, your Central Florida is a pretty wide area. Many of the teams listed are in areas not traditionally regarded as Central Florida. You should probably have a Tampa Bay/West Central Florida area. I would say a Treasure Coast area too. But you probably don't have enough teams.