DarterBlue2

Yes, last year they lost Davin Bush, I believe, or they would have probably taken out Columbus and made Orlando. It should not cause a problem against Piper but could hurt them as soon as the second round.

For the fun of it: Mandarin vs Oviedo - Oviedo by 7 - QB Nick Carbone is the difference maker Lake Brantley vs Sandalwood - Brantley by 27, triple option offense too much for Sandalwood which does not see it Timber Creek vs Apopka - Apopka by 31, TC's offensive strength plays into Apopka's defensive strength West Orange vs Boone - West Orange by 29 too much fire power for Boone Dr. Phillips vs Stienbrenner - Phillips by 17, DP. has too much experience and too many weapons Manatee vs Oak Ridge - Manatee by 21, Manatee pulls away late to win comfortably Osceola vs Treasure Coast - Osceola by 24, ground game wears out TC Vero Beach vs Gateway - Vero Beach by 17, Gateway just glad to make the playoffs Palm Beach Gardens vs Boca Raton - Boca by 2, difficult game to pick; could go either way Atlantic vs Wellington - Atlantic by 35, this should be a blowout Deerfield Beach vs Plantation - Deerfield Beach by 7, this should be a good game that could go either way Flanagan vs Piper - Flangan by 40, Piper does not belong on the same field; Flanagan will take its frustration out on them American vs Columbus - Columbus by 31, another blowout Coral Gables vs Hialeah - Coral Gables by 41, Hialeah does not belong on the same field Belan Jesuit vs Southridge - I will take Southridge by 12, but this could be an interesting game South Dade vs Southwest - South Dade by 35; this is the sleeper 8A team that could make it to Orlando Anyone have any insights, particularly on the southern half of the bracket?

So after giving it a lot of thought, I am going to list a Central Florida top ten. Let me state first that: 1. Central Florida here is being defined from the south end going west to east - Charlotte, Glades St. Lucie Counties; from the north end going west to east - Hernando, Sumter, Lake and Volusia; and all counties in between such as, for example - Hillsborough, Polk, Orange, Osceola, Brevard, etc. 2. This is an extremely large geographic area larger in size than Dade, Monroe, Collier, Broward and Palm Beach Counties; and having almost the same population as: Dade, Broward and Palm Beach combined. 3. The teams in some of these counties rarely play each other. 4. I am more familiar with the greater Orlando, Volusia, Brevard and Polk areas. 5. I have excluded IMG as I don't consider it a school. With all of that said, here goes: 1. Mainland - Probably the best athletically of the list 2. Cocoa - Tough, but one dimensional little team; loss to IMG should be discounted as it was largely a match-up issue. 3. Braden River - Undefeated and playing impressively; beat a very good Venice team impressively. 4. Armwood - Consistent year in and out, undefeated, with several blowout wins. 5. West Orange - Very balanced and talented offensively; Barrett and McDoom are big time playmakers. Team could go far if it holds together. 6. Lake Brantley - Plays a true triple option offense with the QB under center, a full back and two wing backs on either side, with a receiver wide on either side for most snaps. Very confusing offense for those that don't see it. 7. Apopka - Finished 9-1 with only blemish to West Orange. The last time Darlington lost twice in a season to the same team was in 2000 against Evans. 8. Charlotte - Undefeated, but largely untested. Closest game was with North Fort Myers. Beat a couple relatively weak South Florida teams. Could disappoint like Bishop Moore did against Lake Brantley. 9. Manatee - Slow start to the season, but blew out its district. Strength of schedule somewhat suspect, though. 9. Dr. Phillips - Tie with Manatee, three losses to: Apopka, West Orange and Mainland, all of which are included above. Others to consider: Osceola, Vero Beach, Dunellon, Bishop Moore, Venice, Plant, Lakeland, Kathleen, Palm Bay Heritage, Palm Bay, Hagerty, Orange City University. Best shot at winning a State Title: Armwood, Apopka, Mainland and Cocoa. All of these teams have been there before, three of them in the recent, to fairly recent past. Some of the other teams near the top may be more talented, but have not experienced a deep playoff run recently while in the case of Manatee, I have a show me attitude as they have yet to meet stiff competition since its early setbacks.

Boy was I wrong about Lake Brantley. It had its most complete game of the season as it dismantled Bishop Moore 42-6. Prior to this devastating loss, BM was averaging over 40 points per game and had given up no more than 14 in any game this season. The average number of points scored against them before the LB game was under 10. Having seen LB against Oviedo a couple weeks ago, I never doubted its ability to score a lot of points. However, shutting down a potent BM offense was impressive. I am now thinking that LB has a good chance of making it to at least the regional finals. Bishop Moore must now regroup and get ready for a Palm Bay team that beat a good Heritage team tonight.

All I meant was: If Dillard makes a strong playoff run, it will get deserved respect. I am not suggesting that Dillard's current treatment by the Sun Sentinel is fair or unfair; just that Dillard has its own future in its hands.

Calm down, Dillard. The only way to ensure you get respect is to win out. Do it on the field and the haters have a hard time hating.

You can park your car there. If you park near the stadium, I believe they charge $3. There is free parking on campus but that requires a 1/4 mile walk. Regarding the other question, not sure what you are asking but I will try and answer: a. The game will last about 2.5 hours so by 10 pm it should be over; b. In terms of getting into the stadium, from parking to entry about fifteen to twenty minutes. Hope that helps.

Yes, Coconut Creek or maybe Dillard would be good comparisons to Oak Ridge. Or perhaps Carol City before this year's resurgence. Oak Ridge was finally getting on track with HBC Elijah Williams. However, due to an unfortunate personal situation he departed in the spring. If a dynamic, hard working, young ball coach took over that program and brought in/retained good staff, they could easily be a deep playoff contender. The attendance zone has a lot of Haitian Americans and some Jamaicans in addition to Afro Americans and Hispanics and the remnants of a white middle class that have mostly abandoned the school by sending their kids north to Boone, south to Freedom or to private or charter schools in the area. Construction of the new school buildings has led to an increase in attendance and we may see an improvement in Oak Ridge football. For years, the school dominated track in the Central Florida area and had good success at State, too.

Cocoa is in the Central part of Brevard County. So, yes, I would consider them Central Florida. A better question is where would I put Manatee? For while I regard Tampa Bay teams as Central Florida, too, Manatee is a bit south of Tampa Bay and that may be stretching it a bit. My own point of view would be that Central Florida ends at the southern most tip of Brevard on the East; Osceola County in the middle and Tampa Bay/Polk County to the west. But that is just my opinion ...

Dr. Phillips is a good team, but I think they will win this game lopsidedly. If you want a more competitive game, one of the others is probably better (Bishop Moore vs Palm Bay for example or Apopka vs TImber Creek). However, in addition to being close by, Dr. Phillips has a nice, big stadium and with a wee one, that's a decided advantage. And, yes, it is possible to bring your 9 month old son. If it's a cool evening just make sure to dress him propertly.

Other viable games in the Orlando area would be: Sandalwood at Lake Brantley (should be high scoring); Bartram Trail at Hagerty (Hagerty is a good team that no one knows about outside of Orlando); and Palm Bay at Bishop Moore (see my comments about Bishop Moore in the Central Florida thread); or if you want to see Auburn's future starting quarterback and a beat down, Boone at West Orange.

Oak Ridge is one of those teams that has multiple D1 caliber players every year but has just not been able to get over the hump. At the game versus Apopka, the score was 14-14 at the end of three quarters, but they fell apart in the fourth. Also, Michigan's head coach was at that game and it was mostly to see their talent, not Apopka's. Mainland would certainly be at or near the top of Central Florida high school teams as would Cocoa. Lake Brantley and Bishop Moore are both undefeated, but largely untested. Having seen them both this year, Brantley has a championship caliber offense with its four back set, three of whom have rushed for over a thousand yards on the year. However, its defense is porus and will limit their advance in the playoffs. Bishop Moore has a championship caliber team; however, it will meet American Heritage in the third round and Heritage is nationally ranked. Last year in the semi-finals it did give Heritage all it could handle losing, I believe, 14-17 or something close to that. I believe this year BM team is as good as last year's. Unfortunately, Heritage is probably equally as good this year. If they found a way to pull the upset, they will win 5a.