DarterBlue2
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Posts posted by DarterBlue2
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Apopka was running that crazy ass offense they run and they still do it, they were averaging 10 to 15 yards a carry that night, threw the ball maybe only 4 or 5 times all night
Apopka threw the ball 10 times, 8 of which were caught. They did not throw often, but their passing game was effective. Manatee's mistake was to believe they could run on Apopka, which they could not.
In the second half when they threw the ball some, they had much better success. But it was too little, too late. In truth, Apopka was the better team that year. With Ivey blocking and Cox taking the ball straight down the middle and also blocking effectively for Massey and Burch, Manatee was in for a long night.
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I got to do some homework in this District. For now I admit - I am drinking the Armwood Kool-Aid by the gallon ....I also understand Vanguard could be dangerous. After that there appears to be a huge drop off. Gainesville is down, Forest had a pulse but just lost a horse. Any thoughts on Brandon, Lake Gibson, Mitchell, Sunlake, Sebring or others?
Lake Gibson has several D1 caliber players including a pair with offers. They also met "the eye test" in the spring jamboree with Osceola and Apopka. Against Osceola, they acquitted themselves well and won 13-0 (they deserved the win). Against Apopka they were outclassed and had a lot of trouble with our offense which, I suspect, they don't see often. They have a new head coach, and I would expect them to be the type of team that improves as the season progresses and would not be surprised to see them in the playoffs. I am not sure how deep they would progress if they make it and Armwood would be a big obstacle.
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Who do you all expect to win the game
Booker T. Washington proves too physical for AHP. BTW by 7.
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In the Orlando area both Lake Brantley football and Apopka football are broadcast on the internet. Apopka games are on 1520 wbzw.
The following is a link to the Apopka game site: http://www.myhometownfl.com/news/2015-apopka-blue-darters-high-school-football-is-here
There is probably a link from the Brantley website to their game broadcasts during the season: http://www.lakebrantley.com/
Eight years ago, there was a very good game of the week broadcast covering Orlando area teams at AM 660. This used to be done by Austin Lyon and Charles King. Unfortunately, life happened for both these guys and they migrated to more regular, stable jobs at Brighthouse and The Orlando Sentinel. That was a pity as their broadcast was super professional and they had a post game show that lasted an hour after the game of the week where callers could weigh in on area football in general. They also ran a fine, Central Florida sports website with a cankerous message board. Those were good times ...
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Well, I like the fact that the new open transfer rule changes in place it will end the squealing.... For me it is also about just keeping up...in other words, I don't care how or how many transfers teams get I just like to be in the loop. I was one that was looking at Bishop Moore as a 2nd round type team in 2016 and things like 2 quality starters added to the roster begin to make think they may be stronger than that now. If it weren't for the awesome preview guide we have on here: http://floridahsfootball.com/preview-guide/ - I would have never known about those players added to Bishop Moore.
So I was wondering DarterBlue2... Do you feel that Dr. Phillips has taken a hit hard enough that it will be hard for them to compete with Apopka at this point?
Transfers that I am aware of :
ATH Chance Bush Dr. Phillips to First Academy and then to Apopka?
QB Alex Elyeysami Dr. Phillips to First Academy
OT Calvin Ashley Dr. Phillips to First Academy - 6th best OT in 2017
I believe a couple more may have transferred out of Dr. Phillips as well. Your thoughts?
Last I heard, Ashley is now in Washington DC, and will play for one of its best teams. That kid is nuts! He has been to 4 or 5 high schools in his career. Regarding Chance Bush, he started at Corner for Dp last year as a soph, announced a transfer to TFA in January, but enrolled at Apopka last semester instead. However, it is my understanding he will be at TFA in the fall. This is a loss for Apopka, but not catastrophic as the secondary is relatively deep.
To answer your question, yes, Dp. has taken its greatest lumps in over a decade. Something has got to be going on there, as usually you have transfers in not out. I think Apopka beats both West Orange (District) and Dp. this year. If we beat Orange City University, I expect we will be in the State Title game representing the North bracket. But OC University has a very good team, so it is not a done deal. I believe Pipe Dreams/Mid knows more than he is saying. Normally, coach Rodney Wells, a Dp. alum, is very popular with his kids. But that many transfers really leaves me wondering.
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2018 DE Donovan Winter has transferred (in recent weeks) from Oviedo Hagerty to Bishop Moore
2018 WR/DB/RB Caleb McMillan has transferred (in recent weeks) from Dr. Phillips to Bishop Moore
If these transfers happened at a SFL private 5A team that just won a State Championship they would have been more noticed....Not sure when these transfers happened but these are pretty strong transfers ( Winter is committed to Michigan State and ) but the more I learn about transfers statewide, the more I realize that it is a South Florida "problem" is a myth. I am learning it happens just as much state wide and is less covered than in SFL.... STA,
SFL teams will get bashed by people if they are successful, yet Cocoa has had 2- 3X as many transfers (as most busy teams) - and it goes unnoticed.
Another thing....it seems transfers are only a "problem" when a team is dominating. Teams like Armwood and IMG are noticed because they are successful. People bash the "principle" of transferring yet find a bigger problem with 4 very strong players going to STA versus 10+ players going to a "very good" team like Cocoa in North Florida. Again, only a problem because they are stronger players going to a stronger program. So it is not truly about the "principle" of a student athlete transferring.
Most people squeal like pigs when they feel they are being disadvantaged but keep quiet when the advantage it on their side. It is the way people are. With these two transfers, Bishop Moore will potentially be as good this year as they were last. I still regard American Heritage as favorite to win 5a South, but if Bishop Moore were able to get by them, which is far from an impossibility, they will likely repeat as state champions. As I have said previously, after years of relative dormancy, Bishop Moore seems to be committed to being a football power. They have the resources and coaching staff in place; so if they are willing to hand out the scholarships, they could be a force to recon with for many years.
Recruiting takes place statewide. Some programs actively recruit, others don't. Under Darlington, Apopka has not actively recruited. Don't get me wrong, we have had transfers over the years, including a handful of very good ones. But philosophically, I think Darlington prefers to work with what he gets from 9th grade on up; it is essential to his "team work" concept. Fortunately, Apopka has a very good youth program, and being in the Northwest corner of Orange County, tends to keep most of them home. Having a very successful program helps in this regard.
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Excellent preview on Bishop Moore. They will certainly be one of the best teams in the Orlando area. American Heritage must be the favorite in 5a South, but I expect Bishop Moore to be a worthy opponent.
I would not put much stock in the loss to Dp. The game was even and Dp., despite the loss of a couple of its players to TFA, is still a very solid team.
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Great preview on St. Cloud. They should battle for the district. Although Boone beat them 21-0 in one half of play, they have talent and should secure a playoff spot. One correction: East Ridge is * as a district game, but in fact isn't. East Ridge is in 7a-4 with a bunch of other Orlando area schools and West Port from Ocala.
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Thanks for the input DarterBlue2. I do not know the Jacksonville area like the SFL teams but that is what I came up based on record, scores, schedule strength and playoff performance. When I put the teams in tiers I generally believe the teams are close and would usually lean towards the home team winning a close game in those matchups.
I adjusted but it was hard to move Mandarin too far below Raines. Mandarin went 12-1 with a harder schedule (best win was over Lake Brantley 20-0) , and ultimately were ousted 26-41 to a very good West Orange team in the 8A North third round. Raines did go 12-2 but their schedule was fairly weak. Bolles went 9-3, lost to Raines twice, lost to very good Columbia team and had their best win versus Deerfield Beach. Bolles also had a harder schedule than both Mandarin and Raines.
Jacksonville may only have one powerhouse/elite team right now in TCA but overall the area has a lot good teams. Considering Ribault, Ponte Verda, First Coast, Robert E. Lee, Fleming Island, Fleming Island, and Atlantic Coast were in the 10-17 range in the area shows the depth of above average teams in the Jacksonville area.
I would guess for 2015 it would have been something like:
TCA
Raines
Bolles
Mandarin
Mandarin was lucky that Lake Brantley was eight starters down when they played. Otherwise, they would have been exposed in that game. Brantley had a very good team and its win over Bishop Moore, while perhaps more lopsided than it should have been, was not a fluke. No hate for Mandarin, though. They did have a very good season.
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TCA is the best. Not even close.
I would guess for 2015 it would have been something like:
TCA
Raines
Mandarin
Bolles
University Christian
Bartram Trail
Saint Augustine
Sandalwood
Oakleaf
Ribault
Ponte Verda
Robert E. Lee
Atlantic Coast
First Coast
Fleming Island
Neptune Beach
Bishop Kenny
Ed White
Episcopal
Providence
Orange Park
I would move Fleming Island and First Coast up a notch and put Fletcher somewhere in the mix. Mandarin, despite their good season last year, may be rated too high.
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In the Jacksonville area who would you all say are the best. Obviously Bolles with Corky Rogers speaks for itself. I'll throw in Raines and Mandarin. I don't know what's going on with First Coast but they were most definitely a shocker for me last year. Well and I'm sure we're all in aggrence that First Coast wasn'the beating Central didn't expect blowout though.
Last year, First Coast was down due to: a lot of the kids transferred, some to TCA; and, one of their better defensive players was murdered. Having seen them two years in a row in the playoffs against Apopka, I can honestly say they were very talented, but probably lacked coaching. We beat them twice not so much because we had better athletes, but because we had a better game plan that was executed well.
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7A District 4: East Ridge, Edgewater, Hagerty, Lake Howell, Lake Minneola, Ocoee, West Port.
Marion County (Ocala) only has one team above Class 6A and that's West Port. Although West Port is one of the newest public high schools in Marion County, and a really nice looking one with multi-million dollar sports facilities, They have never had a winning season since they opened 13 years ago, in spite of having decent coaching and a large roster of players. And, they're certainly not in a very tough district. Can't figure out what the problem is.
I would take Hagerty/East Ridge. Lake Minneola could make it interesting. West Port should have been 8a and would have been in a 5 team district with Apopka and West Orange. They objected based on travel grounds, but ended up in a 7 team district with 6 Orlando area teams.
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Interesting...First Academy really putting in some late work to try to compete in what will be a extremely strong 3A season. Where are many of the Agape Christian players expected to land?
Link on Agape. Former head coach Victor Floyd was quite a baller in his day. His son VJ who played for Bishop Moore when to Southern Miss the same time that that Easterling from the 2006 Miami Northwestern team that got into trouble with the girl did. Neither did well there although for different reasons.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/os-agape-christian-football-20160706-story.html
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I don't know any names and cannot confirm but maybe some of our guys up north can confirm:
Lots of players transferring into (including 4 Dr. Phillips players) First Academy?
Here is the latest on First Academy that I could find courtesy of Bright House Sports Network:
This has to be the strongest 3A Class we will will ever see until Classes get restructured.
Cocoa has boatloads of players transferring in from the surrounding area and are expected to field their best team ever?
In the interest of full disclosure, Chance Bush who played for Dp last year, and who is a decent, if undersized defensive back, did suit up for the Blue team in the Apopka Blue and White game this spring and did attend Apopka during the final semester of the year. I see with interest he is now listed as going to The First Academy. While he would have added depth at the corner back position at Apopka, I don't think it matters greatly if he is not with us come fall.
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First Academy, to a lesser extent, but like Bishop Moore, has always had the financial resources to build a strong program. It is affiliated with the largest Baptist Church in the Orlando area, and a few years ago had a really strong team that was ousted by Madison County? in the third round of the playoffs.
It seems that like Bishop Moore they have finally decided to put some resources into making a run. Coach Kinnard and his staff are well respected and pretty strong. So, they have the framework to make it happen. They just have a bad classification to contend with as Trinity Christian is not going anywhere. I was a bit surprised by the number of Dp. transfers there as I am unaware of any turmoil at Phillips. But from a distance perspective it is only a few miles east of Dp, so that does not create a commuting hardship for the transfers.
It should be interesting to see how this affects the respective fortunes of the two schools. Pipe Dreams, a Dp. alum and former player, probably has the juicy details.
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Glad to see Apopka's Trey Hendrickson on the list. Was underrated and under recruited out of high school. I personally liked him as a receiver. However, at FAU he has starred on the other side of the ball. He had a solid game in the 2012 state championship hauling a couple big receptions, sacking the Cypress Bay QB and running a sweep for 20+ yards on Apopka's final scoring drive.
Hope he has a strong senior season and gets a shot at the NFL.
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This is an all around sad situation. I will leave it at that.
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In 2012, the Dade Christian Crusaders reached the Class 2A State Title game only to fall to University Christian (Jacksonville). Now, in 2016, the small South Florida school will not field a football team.
Why? Well, it depends on who you ask ...
READ: http://floridahsfootball.com/2016/06/27/dade-christian-football-program-influx-changes/
All I can say is ouch. It seems the school has much bigger worries than football. Sorry for the community. It is usually not fun for a rising senior to have a forced exit from school.
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A top 25, all classifications:
1. St Thomas Aquinas
2. Miami Central
3. Booker T. Washington Miami
4. American Heritage Plantation
5. Apopka
6. Mainland
7. Trinity Christian
8. Orange City University
9. Flanagan
10. Fort Pierce Central
11. Dr. Phillips
12. Escambia
13. Miami Southridge
14. Carol City
15. Cocoa
16. Bishop Moore
17. Armwood
18. Dwyer
19. Heritage Palm Bay
20. Boca Raton
21. Deerfield Beach
22. Winter Park
23. Manatee
24. Bolles
25. Columbia
Others to consider: Oak Ridge, South Dade, Columbus, West Orange, Niceville, St. Augustine, Boyd Anderson, Braden River, Plant, Naples, Miramar, Lakeland, Osceola, Vero Beach, The First Academy.
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My personal opinion on Miramar is the coaching staff. South Florida is completely different or maybe it's the same being that I rarely keep up with Central, North and the panhandle. But yeah if you don't have the right coaching staff you won't go far. When we had Cogdell we went to states twice and pretty much owned the district except for the old glory days of Cypress Bay. Talent was consistently coming in and out. When Cogdell left we stayed optimistic but things just went worser being disqualified from the playoffs and the next year not making the playoffs. Don't you all remember how good Northwestern was, shoot you couldn't beat them to save your life and not look at them. My point is without a good coach you won't make it far.
100% correct. All the talent in the world will get you only so far even if you get it to stay home. Before Darlington, Apopka's best year was a semi-final loss to Manatee who went on to get crushed by South Ridge in the state title game. Since Darlington, we have been to the State title game 4 times winning 3. We have also lost in the semis twice. I don't think Apopka's talent level has changed much over the past thirty years. Warren Sapp, Sammy Smith, Jeremy Rudolph, etc. were great ball players. But till we had an excellent staff in place, we just could not get over the hump.
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I would say we should try and recruit the people off of the dying rivals board, that would give us some more members and maybe a few off the national board but for most part with people who are homers we don't need here, that's when things get stressful lol
Honestly I question how much Dallas Jackson really knows about national teams, he sat there and critizes teams like Columbia when he never saw us play a down last year so I have a issue with that, if you watched us play in person its one thing but when you haven't tooken the time to actually watch us then criticize us I have a issue with that and really that board is a circus, there are a few good posters but for majority I see on there they know nothing about football besides their own state and the other states they Dont have any idea about and are shooting from the hip
Given his very limited resources, the best he can do is: 1. Look at results of most teams and try to correlate them through very limited data to national activity (this works better for a Central or an Aquinas since they play nationally strong teams on a regular basis). 2. Evaluate the opinions of some of his more trusted posters.
Unlike the College game, there is not much inter-connectivity nationally in High School football. Objectively evaluating high schools at the national level is very hard and takes a lot of resources that are not there.
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Here's the link to check it out. http://abcsportscamps.com/downanddirty
Sorry I should have posted the info earlier but it's definitely worth the ride if you have a free Thursday or Sunday afternoon this week.
Apopka has utilized this camp a lot over the years. Great place to pick up technique and line up against good talent.
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Is East Ridge any Good? If not I don't c Central losing a Single Game...of course anything can happen but just off history and what they have done lately I see a 10-0 season for the rockets.
East Ridge is okay. But not in Central's class. Before Lake Mineola opened East Ridge was very solid. But that was then and this is now. I respect their coach's chutzpah in scheduling Central. But this game could get ugly by early second quarter.
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Sandalwood 8A-1. Lots of Seniors returning including four 3* players.
They will battle it out in a pretty solid District with Mandarin, Deland, Spruce Creek and Flagler Palm Coast. I have been researching this district of late and it is quietly a pretty good District. When we hear Jacksonville we naturally think of TCA and of course the 4A-2 District with Raines and Bolles.
Mandarin had some nice wins last year but eventually fell in the Regional final to West Orange 26-41. Sandalwood lost to a solid Lake Brantley team 30-44 in the first round.
I also heard University 8A-2 (Orange City) could be strong this year. They will likely battle it out with Lake Brantley and Oviedo and Lake Mary in their District.
Fort Pierce Central 8A-8. I'm going to go out on a limb on this one with the logic that you have usually a pretty good team with pretty good athletes and you bring in a STA D-Cordinator to run the show. I think that could be a formula for success.
You heard right on University. I expect them to be Apopka's main competition for the North berth. FPC got lucky with their HC hire. If they get past Vero, then the South end of the North bracket should be them and Dp.
Team reps?
in The Huddle
Posted
This year's Apopka's offense should look more like the 2012 offense. Expect that they will throw the ball a lot more than they did in 2013/2014//2015. Also expect that only about 50% of the snaps (perhaps less) will be out of a single wing formation. For strategic and other reasons, I expect Apopka to adopt a more wide open offense.
If Apopka makes a deep run, I expect that the defense will have as much to do with it as the offense. They have their best secondary in years and are always effective up front against the run.