DarterBlue2

I would say 10-15 teams in the state would fall in that category. But Manatee is not one of them. No way, no how! Dr. Phillips was up 40-7 with six minutes to go. Dp. is a good team, but a quality Manatee would not get beat up by them that badly. I refer back to the Hoover beat down and the loss to Lincoln as further proof.

Probably. Mainland, Bishop Moore, and Apopka held their own with AHP last year. AHP won two of the three, but all of these games were very close and came down to a couple of plays (both good plays and errors, I might add). AHP is a quality team, but it is not unbeatable. The problem I have with HWY, is that he thinks Manatee would beat IMG. That would not happen; not this year. And it does not matter where the game was played. Braden River could possibly beat IMG. I give them a solid chance against St. Thomas and I would give St. Thomas a shot at IMG even though I don't think this St. Thomas team is on par with recent ones.

I sincerely believe you mean what you said, and I just as sincerely believe you are mistaken. It is one thing to wish and hope based on the way the world should be. IT is quite another to confront reality for what it is. Most humans have a great degree of difficulty accomplishing the latter.

Zoe, his comment makes no sense. The second best team in Manatee County is Braden River. And, I don't think they could beat IMG (they may have an outside shot). As for Manatee, they would get destroyed. Just look what Dr. Phillips or Hoover did to them. No way they compete with IMG like them or not.

Columbia wins this game relatively easily and gets to the semi-finals.

Hallandale has more overall talent than Bishop Moore. However, BM has this game at home which is a bit of an advantage. It is a relatively small stadium (actually not bad in size for a small school) where the stands are right on top of the field. They get very good fan support (there will be five generations of alumni at the game) who justifiably feel that they were just 3 points away from a state title last year. They are very big up front and several of their linemen have D1 offers. That said, I agree that man for man Hallandale does have more talent. If Hallandale can keep the BM quarterback off balance and if their defense can shut down the BM running game the way Lake Brantley did in the second half of their game, they will win fairly comfortably. However, if we go into the half tied or close to it, BM may win the battle of attrition and take the win at home. As an aside Ray Lewis's son goes both ways for Bishop Moore. He is a bit undersized but is a very skillful ball player. Not that it means much, but in two quarters of Spring ball, BM and Dr. Phillips were tied at 14 apiece. In a good game, I will take Hallandale by 2 points but would not be surprised if BM pulled the upset.

We were both wrong with: Mandarin, Vero Beach and Coral Gables. I was closer on Flanagan, Apopka and Dr. Phillips, which is a very talented team, but one that is not consistent. In the next round I got: West Orange over Mandarin which gets exposed. WO by 17 Dr. Phillips over Osceola by 7, the more balanced team wins a very competitive game if it has its head on right Flanagan over Atlantic by 21. Atlantic has not had a very hard schedule and gets exposed like Mandarin Columbus over South Dade by 14, better coached and more battle tested team wins.

Wrong on Lake Brantley, Coral Gables and Osceola. Right on the others. Regarding Lake Brantley, they lost the starting QB due to injury and half the team caught the flu. So there is a little excuse there. This is the only time their offense has been shut down this year and that was a big part of it. I had expected Osceola/VB to be a tight game and it was. I just picked the wrong team. Should have know better and taken Osceola at home. On Coral Gables/Columbus, I was just flat out wrong. Columbus avenged its loss in fine style. Given the LB and Gables losses, my new semifinals are as follows: North: West Orange vs Dr. Phillips - WO exposes Mandarin for the lucky team they have been on the way to the regional final. In this game, I am going with DP to avenge its early loss to WO. Playoff experience makes the difference South: Flanagan vs Columbus - I am going to stick with Flanagan despite Columbus's impressive win against Coral Gables Final: Dr. Phillips vs Columbus - I will reserve a pick on this game till semi final week

So far one loss in seven games with the eighth to come today. Only mistake was Tampa Bay Tech which lost for a second time to Plant City. Columbia was very impressive in it win against Lincoln. I stand by them getting to Orlando. I also believe Braden River at home has a great chance to beat St. Thomas. However, the team's lack of deep playoff experience could factor into the game.

Flanagan shows its true colors and wins this game relatively big: by 17. This will be their statement game. I expect them to fight for an Orlando birth with the winner of South Dade/Coral Gables/Columbus.

I like the Chiefs in this one. I think the difference is they have a more multi-dimensional offense. Really a pity I could not take in this game. I expect it to be very tight. Carol City by 4 in a relatively low scoring game.

Here is the problem as I see it. Apopka has about as many passing yards in the regular season and one playoff game as they did in the Spring and Kick Off Classic game. This tells me that RD has no confidence in the QB passing skills of the kid taking most of the snaps. While RD does not like to throw, I have never seen one of his teams so devoid of a passing game. In the second half against WO Apopka's run game was totally shut down (about 20 yards). I am sure Apopka will add wrinkles but can't see them scoring more than 3 touchdowns just running the ball. WO should score at least the 28 they scored against Apopka the first time. They have a very dynamic offense. Not has high scoring as Lake Brantley's but very good nonetheless. For Apopka to keep WO under 10 points it will have to score at least 20 on the ground and hold WO to just four scores. This is a difficult, but not impossible task.

Columbia vs Lincoln - Columbia by 2. This is a rematch of an early season game. I won't take much stock from the first result which saw Columbia winning, but think overall Columbia has had a better season with more impressive results. Buchholtz v Batram T - Batram Trail by 1. Batram Trail beat a very good Hagerty team at Hagerty. Buchholtz struggled with Edgewater at home and was probably luck to win. I think BT avenges the earlier loss. Martin County vs Vierra- Vierra by 1. Vierra beat Martin County at home in regular season and I think they find a way to do it again. Lakeland vs Plant - Lakeland by 4. Both have very good coaching. I believe the more athletic, better tested team wins. Plant City vs TBT - Tampa Bay Tech wins by 3 avenging district loss. Since the loss to Plant City, TBT has been playing better football while PC does not seem to have improved. I am taking the improved team to avenge the loss in this one. Braden River vs Venice- Braden River has not looked back all season and wins this by 10. Another rematch. I don't think Venice has shown that they can reverse the earlier result. I expect BR to go deep. Dwyer vs St. Thomas - St. Thomas by 28. Despite injuries and not looking invincible, St. Thomas has more than enough to beat Dwyer. Mater vs Miami Sunset - Sunset by 3. Mater had a rough playoff game and did not give me reason to believe they can reverse the earlier result. At this stage I am going to pick the semi final teams: North: Columbia vs Lakeland - I expect Columbia to win South: Braden River vs St. Thomas Aquinas - This is a hard one to call. I reserve judgment till the week of the game.

Lake Brantley at Mandarin - Lake Brantley by 14. Lake Brantley has a state title caliber offense. Unfortunately, with the exception of the Bishop Moore game, their defense has not looked stellar. I expect this game to be a high scoring one in the region of 100 points total with LB getting the better of it. Apopka at West Orange - WO by 10. Darlington has not lost to the same team twice in a season since 2000. However, while I think he keeps it close, I don't think this APK team can beat this WO team. Manatee at Dr. Phillips - Dr. Phillips by 3. Dr. Phillips had a bad game against Steinbrenner. Manatee confirmed my impressions against Oak Ridge. I pick DP. solely because of home field advantage. Vero Beach at Osceola - Vero Beach by 1. I see this as an even game and a very difficult one to pick. I was tempted to go with Osceola at home. However, I believe VB is the more complete team and that it finds a way to win. Boca Raton at Atlantic - Atlantic by 24. This is a rematch of a game Atlantic won handily. I see them winning bigger this time. Flanagan at Deerfield B - Flanagan by 24. The better team with the better defense wins comfortably, injuries and all. Columbus at Coral Gab - Coral Gables win by 4. I think Gables is the better team and though Columbus has a great staff, like Apopka, I don't think they have enough this year. Southridge at South D - South Dade by 7. Another rematch with the same outcome. The winner the first time wins again. This one will be closer as I think Southridge has improved since the first meeting. Thoughts and/or comments Semi Finals North: Lake Brantley vs Dr. Phillips - I reserve my pick till the week of the game. South: Flanagan vs Coral Gables - I am going to take Flanagan, injuries and all

I was not surprised by either of these games. Ely is the best team in the state with a terrible win/loss record. They could/would beat many 8-2, 7-3 teams. Their schedule was very tough and they lost several close games. Regarding Deerfield Beach, they have a history of playing St. Thomas very close and have beaten them several times over the years (Miramar is another team that gives St. Thomas fits). Therefore, I did not take as much from that win as I would if they had beaten, say, Miami Central or Flanagan. And, while I know Wing T, Triple Option, Single Wing type football gives several South Florida teams trouble as not many teams run that type of offense down there, I just felt Bolles was not very good this year. I expect Flanagan to handle DB comfortably.

12 right and 4 wrong. Also some big score differentials: Lakeland, Mater, Miami Sunset, Venice, Columbia, Lincoln, Viera.

15 of 16 in the first round. Some of the scores remarkably accurate. Missed the boat a bit on a few: South Dade, Columbus, Vero Beach and Lake Brantley. And, got the Mandarin/Oviedo game totally wrong as I thought Mandarin would lose.

If STA loses 7A, it is due to the injuries they have suffered. The teams with the best chance of taking them, would be Braden River (semi final or third round?) or Columbia in the title game. With that said, STA will still have the best chance of winning. However, like Peezy said, this may be one of the years when they could lose.

Nature Coast is in a county just north of Tampa which does not have a history of playing very good football. Apopka picked up a running back from that neck of the woods. He was the feature back as a sophomore for his school but as a junior he has gotten playing time but is not one of our feature backs. So to answer your question: While I can't speak first hand of the Nature Coast team, their competition has not been stellar if the past is any predictor of the present. That does not mean that this could not be an exception year, however. If they have blown out all their competition, I would see that as a positive sign. But if their margins of victory have been average, I would assume that they are just a decent team playing substandard competition.

Unless Dillard finds a way to upset Carol City, I don't think Dillard will post the rest of the season.

From a distance, I am going with the Chiefs by 17 or more. I know Mighty Dillard will think I am being hard on his team, but although Dillard is talented enough to make a game of it, they are missing something. Not sure if its coaching or whether it is just difficult to get their kids properly focused based on their life situation. I remember in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, Dillard was a solid force in football, but those days seem to have gone.

Maybe I am reading too much into the Bolles loss and not enough into the St. Thomas win where the Bucs are concerned. If that is the case, then sure, they should win more comfortably against Plantation. Regarding Atlantic/Wellington, Atlantic took down an undefeated Dwyer pretty easily. While Wellington's record seems spotty at best, with some decent results interspersed with some pretty bad ones. I remember either last year or a couple ago, Wellington got to the third round, so you may be correct.

No issue with your comments except for Sickles/Lakeland. I think Lakeland is pretty average this year. Its two losses bear that out. Carol City is a very good team that could make a deep run and if the margin of its victory over Lakeland was what the final score showed, then, yes, Lakeland would have had nothing to be ashamed of. However, as I remember it, Carol City opened up a big lead on Lakeland which was only cut late in the game when, perhaps, its best players had exited the game. As to the Bartow loss, that one is hard to understand unless the Dreadnaughts had multiple players unavailable for the game.

I know less about 7A but here goes: Lincoln vs Robert E. Lee - Lincoln by 21, Lee's record does not look very impressive Columbia vs Chiles - Columbia by 31, easy first round for a good team Buchholtz vs Edgewater - Buchholtz by 3, but Edgewater has the athletes to pull the upset Hagerty vs Bartram Trail - Hagerty by 17, the best unknown Orlando team keeps veteran coach Phil Ziegler in the playoff hunt St. Cloud vs Martin County - St. Cloud by 1, this is my homer pick as I really don't see any separation between the two Viera vs Harmony - Viera by 14, better program on the rise Lakeland vs Sickles - Lakeland by 1, should be a very close game that could go either way; Sickles has beaten all the teams they should have pretty easily Plant vs Kathleen - Plant by 1, should be a very close game that could go either way; edge to the more experienced team Plant City vs East Lake - East Lake by 3 in another close game Countryside vs Tampa Bay Technical - Countryside by 1, should be a very close game that could go either way Braden River vs Gulf Coast - Braden River by 24 in an easy victory. This is a good team that could go far South Fort Myers vs Venice - Venice by 7, only loss was to Braden River who I think is a very good team Dwyer vs Blanche Ely - Dwyer by 13, Ely's record is deceptive, but Dwyer has too much for them to handle St. Thomas Aquinas vs Royal Palm Beach - Easy win for St. Thomas by 28+ points Nova vs Mater Academy - Mater by 31, Nova's district not very good Miami Sunset vs West Broward - Sunset by 21, WB lost to Nova who is not very good Comments or disagreement?

I am going to take a shot at it later today. Apopka land respects Columbia, as you guys gave us a good workout for the regular season.