DarterBlue2

Orange is actually 6.5 if you count the two titles won by Catholic High school Bishop Moore. 3 Apopka, 2 Bishop Moore, 1 Dr. Phillips and .5 Evans. But very good post overall. I totally concur that the expansion of classes has helped Dade. That, and the fact that large metro areas have gotten more adept at recruiting.

The first bowl was hilarious! Perhaps NB can charge admission and head for the hills when aggrieved fans hunt him down to get their money back!

I have more confidence in Edgewater pulling an upset than Jones. I think Jones will score and keep it close for awhile, but will run out of gas in the end. I, too, hope I am wrong regarding Jones. Regarding Apopka, at this stage of the season, I feel they are playing on par with Jones and probably Edgewater, but certainly have a more beatable opponent in the finals than their Orange County counterparts.

My thoughts: 1. Closeness of the game - I believe the variance of possible outcomes is narrower in the Jones/Northwestern game. In that game the bulls are the favorite, and I am leaning towards a victory for them in the range of 7-17 points. I hope the tigers can prove me wrong, but I am inclined to think MNW will have a bit too much. Jones has the athletes to compete and it will be tight for the first half. In the second, MNW probably pulls away. On the other hand, the variance in the St Thomas/Edgewater game could be anything from a STA blowout (that is the conventional wisdom) to Edgewater pulling a close upset which would be the second time in as many games they will have to do this. 2. Crowd support - I expect the stands to be packed for the first game (Jones/MNW). MNW always travels well and this is Jones's first trip to states, so I expect their fans will turn out in droves. For the second game, Edgewater should travel well, and I feel many of the Jones fans will stay for the second game, especially if Jones manages to pull out the win in game one. However, STA has only drawn decent, but not really big crowds, in recent times. So the first game should be better attended as I don't expect too many bulls fans to stay and support STA. 3. If there is a half time show, and that appeals to you, game one is the obvious choice!

We can discuss the odds next week, LOL! See you in two.

I believe in this Edgewater team. I did from after the semifinal last year when I realized what you had coming back. With that said, STA is going to be a tall order. But I see a win as possible. It will require the Eagles's best defensive effort. If they can put that effort together for one game, I think the offense can generate enough points to win the school's first football state title which is long overdue.

I am in full agreement with the second sentence. Regarding the first, an errant kid is not always the mom's fault

Still a great year for Tampa Bay football. You came up short at the end, but (7 or 8) teams in the semis if you count Palmetto, is nothing to sneeze at and tops all major metro areas in the state. Steinbrenner gave it their best shot, but in the end, Apopka's very strong defense got to them and kept their QB from having time to throw with his usual consistency.

I will give a shout out to Jones and Edgewater which will lead a trifecta of Orange County teams, for the first time ever, into the state finals in Daytona. Pity this was not the last year at Camping World as that would certainly have helped attendance at the finals!

Apopka took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and it went downhill for Steinbrenner from there. After the visiting team's QB quick kicked the ball down to the Apopka 9 on fourth down on the next series Apopka faced a third and long from around their own 10. Not to worry as on the next play APK's QB hurled a pass downfield to a wide open receiver (NO 13, Jackson), who took it to the house. Apopka scored again shortly after on a 30+ yard run down the middle by Akeem Brown to make it 21-0. However, Stein scored on its next possession when a screen pass to the receiver was taken 86 yards for a touchdown. But this was not the beginning of a comeback as Apopka scored on its next possession. Apopka capped off the half, aided and abetted by two personal foul penalties and a pass interference in the end zone in the final minute of the second, to score on the stroke of half time. The extra point was partially blocked and hit the right upright before going out of bounds. Score at the half, Apopka 34-7 over Steinbrenner. In the second half, Apopka substituted liberally from the start and did not score again till the dying moments of the game when a pick six was taken to the house. In the interim, Steinbrenner had scored against the backups and had successfully gone for two. Apopka could probably have running clocked Steinbrenner if it did not chose, wisely IMO, to give the backups meaningful playing time. The improvement in this team from the spring is phenomenal and Coach Rolson and his staff deserve a ton of credit! Final was Apopka 41-15 over Steinbrenner.

THE BIG QUESTION IS: CAN DB PLAY WITH ENOUGH DISCIPLINE AND PURPOSE TO WIN THIS GAME? I feel they have more talent, but probably lack the intangibles.

That one was about 60 yards, and there was less than a minute to go in the game. It was the coldest state final I ever attended about 35 degrees mid game. I was on the Norland side, as I had two relatives that attended the school, but was supporting Edgewater. I took a lot of flack after the game.

Sorry to hear that. In past years it was not bad. But I have not watched any this year, so I will take your word on it.

Many will be on the link below. Unfortunately, there is a monthly subscription fee. But they may be well worth the price of one month's subscription. https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/

One was very close, the other a blowout. That was before Armwood began to routinely lose to Dade teams.

I see the Steinbrenner starting QB has a former NFL QB, dad. After watching him some, it makes perfect sense. This game shapes up to be a humdinger. I still like Apopka, but it will not be easy.

Armwood over Booker T. Washington when they had the BMW trifecta of running backs.

Picks are bold, underscore.

Apopka still runs mostly out of a single wing formation. The biggest difference is that this year, most of the offense has come from straight up the middle runs and not the misdirection that Darlington employed. Apopka is capable of throwing the ball effectively, though, and has a few kids that can go up and get it. However, in most games running the ball makes up over 80% of the offense. If Steinbrenner can stop the run effectively, then APK will be forced to do what it prefers not to do. Despite Steinbrenner's wrinkles, I would be surprised if they score more than three touchdowns, and would expect less, so it may come down to whether that is enough to win or not.

A quick correction: It was Osceola and not DP that Stein took out last week. To your question, Stein's offense looks interesting running plays (at least some) out of the wing T, but with a tendency to pass the ball much more than you would expect. I agree the game should be close. Apopka's defense has played tight all year (even when the offense was sputtering), so I don't think Steinbrenner scores more than the season high of 25 against the Darter's at most. But a score over 20 could possibly be enough to win. Summing it up, I think home field advantage, more experience in deep playoff situations, and an improved offense will get Apopka through this game. However, I certainly don't underestimate Steinbrenner and I think Apopka will have to maintain the standard it set against Bartram Trail and Seminole to win.

Not sure either of these were upsets in the truest sense for those that follow football closely. In 2008 MNW was significantly down in the sense that their National Championship team members had mostly graduated and Teddy Bridgewater was a sophomore. Yes, it was a decent Northwestern team but not a great one as the 2007 and 2006 teams had been. Seminole had three studs, of which Ray Ray Armstrong went on to play in the NFL. Regarding Osceola, they had a very, very good, but not deep team in 2007. Had key parts of it not sustained serious injury in the playoffs, I think they may have been able to upset St. Thomas that year. As it was, they still gave a decent performance in the title game. Lakeland, on the other hand, was a bit down in 2007 (similar to MNW in 2008) and was ripe for the upset, which I called in a post (titled: "All things Human.") the day before the game.

Orlando, Jones, I am pretty sure is one. Lakewood may be another. And maybe Seffner Christian?

Palmetto's loss to Lincoln stands out, though. Not the loss, for Lincoln is a decent team, but the fact Lincoln won easily. I think that and their game before last when they were taken down to the wire by a questionable team tells you all you need to know about their chances against Central. It may not be as bad as the beating Dillard got, but it probably will be in the same range.

Wakulla is my guess.

Would be a rematch from the 2001 semifinal. If Apopa does not win it all, it is because they got beat by a better, more talented team, as they are playing their best football at the right time.