Nulli Secundus

Crazier, Lakeland can finally reach .500 with a win or both teams can emerge 1-3 if the Kowboys are victorious.

It's wild to consider that Lakeland and Osceola will enter their game with a combined 1-5 record. Of course,  both teams have played brutal schedules and Osceola has the injury issues. I'm not sure about the psychological state of either team. But, if one is really fired up and angry while the other is deflated, that could have a big impact on the outcome.

I went to Atlanta after leaving Tallahassee.  Believe me, Atlanta was nowhere on my radar but the job opportunities and income potential particularly in I.T. blew Florida out of the water. 
Temperature wise, it may be a 10-15 difference compared to  parts of N. Florida.  I also had a short stint in Chicago while doing a winter co-op with All-State during my senior year back in '98.  Worst cold of my life.  It's a cold that's no longer cold but it just hurts.  NOTHING in the south comes close.  It was unseasonably warm by Chicago standards that year and oddly enough, didn't snow.  The eve before my flight back to Tally in '99, me and my roommate went to a club (now defunct) called The Convent just outside DT Chicago.  I guess the sacrilege of going to a club of sin that use to be a church reared it's head because we left at 3am, the skies opened up and we were snowed in for the next 3 days.  It was fun as first as I had never experienced snow except on TV.  However, the reality set in that we didn't have any food, couldn't drive as the roads were closed.  Thankfully there was a bar that we had to layer up for and walk half a mile just to eat.  It was then I knew I was over the snow and understood why everyone flocked to Florida, lol.  All this happened around the time that the late Gov. Lawton Chiles passed away before leaving office for those that remember. 
Florida will always be my home.  However, Florida is conquered territory.  America, even the world is bigger than Florida.  Don't knock it until you try it.  Yes, I have plenty of family in Tally along with St. Pete, Lakeland, W. Palm Beach and Miami so I will always be connected to the Sunshine State.  

I went to Atlanta after leaving Tallahassee.  Believe me, Atlanta was nowhere on my radar but the job opportunities and income potential particularly in I.T. blew Florida out of the water. 
Temperature wise, it may be a 10-15 difference compared to  parts of N. Florida.  I also had a short stint in Chicago while doing a winter co-op with All-State during my senior year back in '98.  Worst cold of my life.  It's a cold that's no longer cold but it just hurts.  NOTHING in the south comes close.  It was unseasonably warm by Chicago standards that year and oddly enough, didn't snow.  The eve before my flight back to Tally in '99, me and my roommate went to a club (now defunct) called The Convent just outside DT Chicago.  I guess the sacrilege of going to a club of sin that use to be a church reared it's head because we left at 3am, the skies opened up and we were snowed in for the next 3 days.  It was fun as first as I had never experienced snow except on TV.  However, the reality set in that we didn't have any food, couldn't drive as the roads were closed.  Thankfully there was a bar that we had to layer up for and walk half a mile just to eat.  It was then I knew I was over the snow and understood why everyone flocked to Florida, lol.  All this happened around the time that the late Gov. Lawton Chiles passed away before leaving office for those that remember. 
Florida will always be my home.  However, Florida is conquered territory.  America, even the world is bigger than Florida.  Don't knock it until you try it.  Yes, I have plenty of family in Tally along with St. Pete, Lakeland, W. Palm Beach and Miami so I will always be connected to the Sunshine State.  

I went to Atlanta after leaving Tallahassee.  Believe me, Atlanta was nowhere on my radar but the job opportunities and income potential particularly in I.T. blew Florida out of the water. 
Temperature wise, it may be a 10-15 difference compared to  parts of N. Florida.  I also had a short stint in Chicago while doing a winter co-op with All-State during my senior year back in '98.  Worst cold of my life.  It's a cold that's no longer cold but it just hurts.  NOTHING in the south comes close.  It was unseasonably warm by Chicago standards that year and oddly enough, didn't snow.  The eve before my flight back to Tally in '99, me and my roommate went to a club (now defunct) called The Convent just outside DT Chicago.  I guess the sacrilege of going to a club of sin that use to be a church reared it's head because we left at 3am, the skies opened up and we were snowed in for the next 3 days.  It was fun as first as I had never experienced snow except on TV.  However, the reality set in that we didn't have any food, couldn't drive as the roads were closed.  Thankfully there was a bar that we had to layer up for and walk half a mile just to eat.  It was then I knew I was over the snow and understood why everyone flocked to Florida, lol.  All this happened around the time that the late Gov. Lawton Chiles passed away before leaving office for those that remember. 
Florida will always be my home.  However, Florida is conquered territory.  America, even the world is bigger than Florida.  Don't knock it until you try it.  Yes, I have plenty of family in Tally along with St. Pete, Lakeland, W. Palm Beach and Miami so I will always be connected to the Sunshine State.  

As much as I love and miss Florida, there are better opportunities outside the state whether it's for employment or retirement.  There's no shame in that.  I left nine years ago and haven't looked back.  Good luck in your future endeavors.  There's always streaming and this board.

As much as I love and miss Florida, there are better opportunities outside the state whether it's for employment or retirement.  There's no shame in that.  I left nine years ago and haven't looked back.  Good luck in your future endeavors.  There's always streaming and this board.

After three games that count in the 2023 season, and two that don't, I feel I am in a reasonable position to post comments on my long time favorite high school team. 
Strengths: 1. The 2023 Darters have begun the season in a fashion consistent with how the team has performed under Head Coach, Jeff Rolson. The defense remains very strong, while the offense is a work in progress. Defensively, I believe that the current one is playing better as a unit than any of the Apopka defenses have since the 2019 season when the Rolson era began. For while there are no Jalen Carters, Nikai  Martinizes or Kaven Calls on this team, at least none that I can discern at this juncture, overall, I feel the unit is deeper, more experienced and more cohesive at this stage of the season.  The front 7 has recorded multiple sacks, and as many quarterback hurries and has just been generally very disruptive against opposing teams. In total, it has given up 5 touchdowns in five games against five solid teams (Jones, Osceola, Ocoee, West Orange and Dr. Phillips). And the secondary spearheaded by Davey and Grant has been very very good by Apopka standards.  If the old adage, "defense wins championships" holds, this team certainly has a shot. 2. The 2023 Darters has, overall, its best special teams unit in several years, including those preceding the Rolson era. The kicking and punting game are much improved under the leadership of two seniors in their third season; the team has blocked two punts which have resulted in points and, against Dp., created sufficient agitation to contributed to a bad snap which contributed to a terrible, hurried punt that set up more Apopka points.  
Weaknesses: 1. While there is adequate talent on the offensive side of the ball, the offense has yet to develop an identity. This, too, has been a characteristic of Rolson coached teams. They have tended to start slowly on offense, and, to date, have peaked around playoff time. None, so far, has been outstanding; however, they have been good enough to get Apopka to to three state title games and a losing semi-final in four seasons. If recent past is prolog, then one expects that this offense will follow that trajectory. At spring practice, there was a second QB on the squad who had recently attended high school in a small, rural Georgia county. In the spring inter-squad scrimmage, this kid showed very good pocket presence, a strong arm and decent mobility. I believe he's returned to Georgia having concluding that Florida "big boy" football may have not been for him. Not having a viable alternative of his caliber hurt us against Dp., as our starter was out injured and his absence or the lack of a viable alternative hurt the team a lot during the first half of the Dp. game. 2. Despite being reasonably experienced, the Offensive Line has yet to fully play up to its potential. This has affected both the passing and running game. I believe this can be easily fixed.
Prognosis: If the Darters can remain relatively healthy and follow their recent trajectory under Coach Rolson, another deep playoff run is highly likely. However, Apopka is in a very competitive district that has no scrub teams this year. As such, securing the District title with critical district wins will be a priority, as securing a couple home playoff games to begin the run to state would help the cause a lot. If Apopka gets back to the title game, and the opponent is Miami Columbus, I believe that the Darters will win a hard fought title game this time, securing for Coach Rolson his first state title in Florida. 
Final Comment: Rolson coached Apopka teams remind me a lot of Carol City teams under the legendary Walt Frazier from the 1990s through the first four years of the new century. Like Apopka, those teams leaned heavily on the defense to set up the offense. And, unlike many inner city teams of his era, Coach Frazier teams had strong special teams units. The year they beat Edgewater 13-0 in the final, they had a kicker who was good for field goals from 50 yards, and who routinely boomed his kickoffs into the back of the end zone.  
Epilogue: This may well be my final season in the state of Florida which has been my home for 33 years. I would love to see the Darters and Coach Rolson end it with a well deserved state title. 

Always!  Difference of opinion doesn't mean lack of respect.  At the end of the day, we all think and feel how we, think and feel.

Always!  Difference of opinion doesn't mean lack of respect.  At the end of the day, we all think and feel how we, think and feel.

Always!  Difference of opinion doesn't mean lack of respect.  At the end of the day, we all think and feel how we, think and feel.

Our #2 RB is out for the year with a shoulder injury, but we should be getting Taevion back soon.  Obviously he is a difference maker and despite the quality of our other backs, they aren't him.  

Nice to know friends on this forum can have a difference of opinion. 

Shameless plug, but I hope the Kowboys go to 0-4.

Shameless plug, but I hope the Kowboys go to 0-4.

Another tough loss and again, no moral victories with Kowboys again giving their all.  Offense did run the ball better despite missing several key RB's from the injury bug and props to the coaches utilizing a couple of the WR in spots to help the running game.  Unfortunately, early in the game we had a couple of opportunities to score and miscues of our own had us come up empty; even a short field goal attempt went haywire.  This seemed to ignite Jones as they had struggled early to move the ball well against us, but eventually got a TD before halftime for a 7-0 lead.   The 3rd quarter opened up with a Kick-off return for a TD giving them a 14-0 lead which forced us to start throwing the ball more and the quarter ended with them scoring on a short run for a commanding 21-0 lead going into the 4th quarter.  We also played the game with only the 1 QB as the other was out sick which may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  The more this young man threw and the more reps he was getting seemed to boost his confidence which led to him start making plays with the WR group.  At one point in the 4th it looked like they may score again which would have increased the lead to 28-0 but our defense (Jalen Bell) got a pick to give us a momentum boost.  From that point on our little QB was on fire making plays all over the place getting chunk play after chunk play to get a quick score (21-6).  They did get another long TD run to push the lead to 28-6 to seemingly get the momentum back.  However, on the ensuing kickoff we got an electric return from the electric Alijah (Flash) Jenkins for about 90 yards down to their 4 yard line before punching it in for another TD; the 2 pt. conversion was good for a 28-14 score.  With the clock against us everyone knew an onside kick was coming and despite that we executed it perfectly and got the recovery.  Now strictly in passing mode we shredded their defense and got another quick score but failed the 2 pt. conversion (28-20).  Again, we tried another onside kick and almost came up with it a second time but they got possession about midfield.  With time running out we got a stop, the ball back and started moving the ball again before time simply ran out.  As I said previously, despite being 0-3 kids showed no quit fighting the injury bug that has plagued our early season success. Think we may have strong case on who should be the starter at the QB position. GO KOWBOYS. 

Cardinal Gibbons-38
Dillard-14
Final
Since Dillard stop posting lol

Iconic confrontation between two of Hollywood's All Time Greats. Where Jambun fits in isn't clear to me.   

On this board 

On this board 

Chaminade
STA
Seminole
MNW
Mainland
Central
Lakeland (against my better judgement)
Calvary
Jones
CCC

Damn @cribboy305, @THIS_IS_DILLARD, and @nolebull813!!! Keep it down! All this trashing refs talk is gonna release the Kracken!  Chill. Refs never ever, EVER, get a call wrong. And you three don't seem to understand that. And you NEVER will. Becasue you are not qualified to complain!
... play on 

Hey everyone! Voting is open for the scoutSMART Florida Player of the Week. Running two polls at the same time as we postponed voting last week due to Hurricane Idalia.
Please go in and vote and vote as often as you wish:
Week 1: https://floridahsfootball.com/2023/09/05/vote-now-who-should-be-the-scoutsmart-florida-player-of-the-week-for-week-1-aug-24-aug-26/
WEEK 2: https://floridahsfootball.com/2023/09/05/vote-now-who-should-be-the-scoutsmart-florida-player-of-the-week-for-week-2-aug-31-sept-2/
 

Great tasting burgers, but if you eat them too frequently, you will end up with cardiovascular issues. 

This will be of little interest to most, but the governor has appointed his 8 representatives to the FHSAA Board of Directors, per HB 225.  More of a "public" and "suburban" lean than I would have expected.  Still 2 public and 2 nonpublic representatives to be elected, but this is the group that will be responsible for setting the policies and procedures that we like to complain about.
https://www.flgov.com/2023/08/22/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-eight-to-the-florida-high-school-athletic-association-board-of-directors/#:~:text=— Today%2C Governor Ron DeSantis announced the appointment,Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors.