shredstar

Not sure what they are going to do, but it seems they are having bigger problems there than just worrying about classification. They are currently fighting just to stay relevant.

The Bolles vs. Raines matchup was one everyone looked forward to each year. Bolles moving up ended that. Raines has no incentive to move up because they can schedule all the good Gateway schools every year (Lee, Mandarin, Sandalwood, Fletcher, etc.), so scheduling is a non-issue for them. Raines could play their JV and advance out of their region every year. Pitiful.

TCA petitioned to move to 5A when all this change came about. The reason they did that was to retain district games to help with scheduling. If not, they would have had to do some major traveling just to find teams who will play them. Same deal for Bolles, petitioned to move to 5A from 4A for the exact same reason.

Those were through last week. He was 10 comp/20 att, 200 yds, 1TD, 1 INT vs. Wekiva

Lee has been their Kickoff Classic opponent from what I can remember. The only Gateway school I recall scheduling them recently, except for district foes, has been Ribault. UC and Bolles have had the same issues, that is, most Gateway schools won't even bother scheduling them unless a district forces them to play. That is why you see Bolles and UC making long road trips just to play. TC doesn't seem to have hurt Lee for talent as much as they have Ed White and First Coast. Then again, Lee has only been relevant these last few years. They went through a long down stretch after Corky left for Bolles.

It is no secret up here that TC goes out and gets whoever they want. When the format was changed, they petitioned to move to 5A because scheduling would have been difficult. Most Gateway (DCPS) schools refuse to schedule them. They are a textbook example as to why privates need to be their own entity altogether.

Atlantic Coast has 8A numbers too. Many of their students have migrated from Sandalwood to go to the newer school.

I wish those two teams luck.....they are going to need it. Probably looking at two running clock games.

Wekiva lost because of their offense. Plain and simple. Ball control to limit mistakes is great and all when you have a quality defense, but the time will always come when an opponent forces the offense to have to do a little more. And when your offense hasn't had to do more all year, it makes it that much more difficult. They just weren't up for the task. I do now understand why they use that offensive philosophy. Their QB is wildly inaccurate on any pass more than 10 yards or so. He just throws it up for grabs. Also, as Darter had pointed out earlier in the week, their kicking game had issues. That FG they missed early would have been good if the goal post had been on the pylon. How does a team who has state title aspirations not have a quality kicker? Go get someone off the soccer team or something. Mandarin has had their own kicking issues this year, but they have straightened them out. I had seen enough of Wekiva to know that the Mandarin offense vs. Wekiva defense was going to be a wash. Both would have some success and that a big play or two were out there for each. I also knew that the Mandarin defense, which most people sleep on, had the advantage over their offense and that was where they would win the game. The Mandarin defense did exactly what they have been doing for some time now, which is give up some garbage yardage in the middle of the field and stop people when they need to. Not exactly sure why Wekiva ran that reverse on that last fourth down. They ran that play twice during the game for about -15 yds total. There will be lots of football up here in Jax this upcoming Friday. Mandarin, TC and Raines are all at home and there is a very good chance all three will end up in Orlando the following week. Oh yeah, haha, does this mean that Mandarin now gets the mayor's cup? The Wekiva peeps can forward it to: Mandarin High School 4831 Greenland Rd. Jacksonville, FL 32258

I have watched Mandarin for several years and have seen most games live and in person this year. With so many new pieces and coming off a bad year last year no one knew what to expect. Talent has never been a question, but it took them almost two entire seasons to put it all together. Having a brutal stretch of games (Godby, Lee, Deland, Raines, Apopka, Sandalwood) didn't do them any favors but they survived and are currently light years better now than they were when they went down to Apopka almost two months ago. Their QB is the real deal and will likely end up as one of the best two or three in the country coming out next year, barring anything unforeseen. There is definitely a reason why Saban offered him so early. Comparing schedules and like opponents only goes so far because it is all about match ups. But, for what it is worth, the Mandarin team that will show up Friday is the same one that showed up to WP last Friday and completely dominated, in a game that was never competitive from the opening kick off. That's the same WP team that played Wekiva to a virtual stalemate and dominated the rest of their schedule. I feel the best thing they did all year was rest some guys during the Fletcher game. It cost them a seed in a game that Fletcher HAD to have, but it seems to have paid off. There was some let up toward the end of the year and it seemed to kind of reset things. Wekiva looks solid, but not unbeatable, as with most of 8A. It is debatable whether this will be the best defense Mandarin has faced this year because the Raines defense takes a backseat to no one and Mandarin handled them quite well. Mandarin is also an excellent road team (4-0 in Volusia/Orange counties) so that is a non-factor. And yes, as an earlier post listed, they are two OT's and one play from being 11-1. The Lee game is an outlier because their QB and top two backs did not play due to injury, and even then, it was 13-13 in the 4th quarter, before it got away from them with a few bad plays. Mandarin was in this same position in 2015. This current team is far better and would beat that group by 2-3+ touchdowns. Just my $.02. It should be fun.

Have to laugh when they call Mandarin shredding WP an "upset." Maybe because of the records, who knows. But, I saw it with my own eyes and WP should be fortunate that it wasn't a whole lot worse. Essentially, that game was over when they kicked the ball off. The difference in the two teams was evident from play one. This Mandarin squad is almost a mirror image of the Bartram Trail team that made it to the 7A final last year...elite QB with a stable of future D1 skill players who grew up through a difficult early schedule. Plus, this Mandarin defense is far better than BT's was last year. Columbus looks tough to beat, but I wouldn't pencil Wekiva in just yet. They absolutely have their hands full this upcoming Friday with a lot of the same matchup problems WP had last night.

Columbia will whip Bolles. This is not the Bolles of old. Not even close. And I think their downward spiral began even before Corky retired. As for Mandarin/Fletcher, my kids go to Mandarin but we live just down the street from Fletcher (go figure). So I have seen both quite a bit. I was very surprised that Fletcher hung with Columbia. I was expecting a repeat of the Raines/Fletcher housing last month. I think Mandarin will win but it should be close. They will get their 20 to 30 points and hit their share of big plays, like they have done to just about everyone this year (the Lee game is an outlier because they were without their QB and top two backs due to injury). I'm not sure if Fletcher can, which again, I was shocked they scored 20 on Columbia because I think they may have had negative yards against Lee last week. Don't think the field makes much of a difference. Mandarin travels very well and will completely fill that side of the stadium. The problem with Fletcher is that every year they schedule all those bad Gateway schools to begin the season and put all their eggs in the Columbia and Lee games. If this were the old system, Mandarin would be resting guys this week. But they are playing for a two seed, with an outside chance at a one seed, so they will be all gas. Really, it is a tough game for either team. Mandarin playing for seeding and Fletcher playing for their playoff lives. That last spot really comes down to BT/Fletcher, and the BT/Nease game will be over early.

Agree. Have seen both in person. All of Fletcher's wins are against schools below .500. They have a quality defense but seem to be offensively challenged against better teams. Mandarin has played a brutal schedule and are one play and an OT away from being 8-1. They have been outscoring people of late, but their defense does stop people when they need to. Just my $.02.

Haha, you guys are clueless. I was at that game. It was a carbon copy of last years game between the two....Sandalwood takes big lead, Mandarin goes in at halftime, makes adjustments, and then proceeds to shut them down and win the game. In fact, Mandarin has outscored them 72-15 in the second halves of the last two games. The problem with Sandalwood is they have one RB they will hand the ball to 40 to 50 times a game. That is their game plan with no plan B. Stop that one mule and you stop them. Most of their yards came in the first half. Once Mandarin crowded the box and shut the back down it was just a matter of time. The turnovers (pick six and sack, scoop and score) came from Sandalwood attempting to pass in the third quarter because their one option had been shut down. Similar to last year when Mandarin scored 31 points in about a four minute stretch in the third quarter.