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OldSchoolLion

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  1. The 2013 BTW offense was not the most intimidating from a size perspective.  And they did not necessarily have any marquis names at the time.  They were led by 4-star dual threat qb Treon Harris, son of coaching legend Ice Harris.  Treon was only 5'11.  And his wide receivers were undersized by today's standards.  But what they lacked in size, they made up for in speed and elusiveness.  This offense was flat out difficult to stop and had so many weapons that could beat you.  Future Canes star Mark Walton was an underclassman on this team.  BTW ended the season 14-0 and ranked as one of the top hs team in the country.  Below are some highlights of their game against Norcross, GA.  

     

     Below are some highlights from their game against Norcross.  

  2. And my selection for best offense of the 2010's...the 2013 Booker T Washington squad.  

    Why the 2013 Booker T Washington squad?

    • Beat nationally ranked, defending 6A Georgia state champion Norcross 55-0 in Georgia.  Norcross won the title in 2013, as well.
    • Gave nationally ranked and 6A state champion Miami Central its only loss of the season, scoring 28 points against the Rockets.
    • Beat Carol City 45-0.  No, this was not one of CC's great teams, but anyone who puts up 45 points on a CC defense is impressive.
    • Traveled to Nevada and beat national powerhouse Bishop Gorman, scoring 28 points.
    • Scored 40 or more points in each of its playoff games.
    • Blew out defending 3A state champion University School at U School's home field in the playoffs, scoring 45 points.
    • Went up 35-0 at the half versus Cocoa in the state semi and cruised to a 49-10 win.
    • In the state final, BTW went up 34-6 over Bolles about 1 minute into the second half and took their foot off the gas, ending up with 40 points. 
  3. 6 minutes ago, Perspective said:

    I feel compelled to give Plant a little love, especially for their performance in the second half of the decade.  They won three state championships ('06, '08, and '09; runners up in '10, but that's probably the start of the next decade anyway).  In each of those 3 state championship years, they averaged right around 38 points a game over the course of the full season.  In '06 and '08, their scoring dropped off a few points per game in the playoffs, but in 2009, their scoring average jumped up a couple of points in the playoffs to over 40 points per game.  In those 3 championship years, Plant was a combined 42-2.  Perhaps not the most offensive team in any given year, but from 2005 until the end of the decade, they put quite a few points on the board. 

    Thanks for the input.  There have been some people on here who consider Plant very offensive:rolleyes:.  Seriously, I would likely go with 2006 Northwestern if I was going to add another to the list.  That team gave Miami Central its only two losses that year, and hung 39 and 41 points on them to show the first time wasn't a fluke.   

     

     

  4. Lakeland and Manatee are the only teams that I called out more than once.  That speaks volumes(at least in my mind:)) for the quality of their programs over the years.

    Keep in mind that many of the powerhouse teams of today only came on line within the past 20 years.  Lakeland and Manatee have been contenders for the past 4 decades.  Can you say "longevity!" 

  5. Boy, it's getting tough now.  Sorry Lakeland fans, but I don't think the Lakeland 2018 squad had the best offense of the decade.  Some complain that Lakeland's schedules itself too easily.  Though I hesitate to say any regular season that features games with Manatee and Apopka is easy, those two teams were not amongst their best.  Lakeland's playoff wins in 2018 were extremely impressive, but overall I don't think this team's offensive firepower was on quite the same level as the 2013 Miami Central and Booker T Washington squads.

  6. 2 hours ago, 181pl said:

    Best state champs by decade IMHO:

    Coral Gables Cavaliers 1967

    Merritt Island Mustangs 1979. More of an overall achievement award, winning 3 titles in a decade where regular season and playoffs were always very competitive.

    Manatee Hurricanes 1983

    Southridge Spartans 1993

    Lakeland Dreadnaughts 2005

    STA Raiders 2011

     

    2000s are tough bc so many great squads between Armwood, Lakeland, Plant, STA, MNW, and Booker T. 

     

     

    Nice selections

  7. And who are the runners-up?  Well two of them are... 
    2010 Tampa Jefferson
    2010 St Thomas Aquinas
     
    No doubt Jefferson had an incredibly explosive offense, led by qb Quentin Williams.  It was a bit of a stretch putting them in with these other 5 teams, though.  But I wanted to show Tampa some love.
     
    STA had a great team in 2010.  As so often happens though, they were untested in their region.  That's not their fault.  But I am hesitant to say this was the best offense of the 2010's when they did not play any of the south FL powers that year.
     
  8. 32 minutes ago, Perspective said:

    So when you say "the best offense of each decade," you're referring to the best offensive performance by a single team in one particular year within a given decade, is that right?   In other words, you're not comparing the offenses of teams over the course of the decade, right? 

    Great question, and thanks for asking.  I am doing the latter.  I am not just considering a single performance.  I am also giving some consideration to offensive firepower, ie personnel, that the teams had. 

  9. 11 hours ago, skyway said:

    A couple of teams on the lists were overrated based on an outlier performance in the state title game. Venice 2000 being one. 1993 Southridge possibly being the other, but would have to review their full season.

    I do think 2005 Lakeland deserved mention. Two NFL 1st rounders on the OL,  two SEC running backs in the backfield, and an SEC Tight end. 

    Thanks for the comments.  Concerning Venice(2000)...in the second round of the playoffs, Venice hung 34 points on an unbeaten Lakeland team that was the defending 5A champion.  Up until that game, some pollsters thought that Lakeland team was one of the best in the country.  Venice then beat Manatee for the region final and had to travel to Pompano Beach to beat Tyrone Moss and an Ely team had been to the 5A semi in 1999 and had shut out all 3 of its playoff opponents in 2000.  Then they took out 13-1 Dwyer in the 5A final.  Venice ended up 15-0 and ranked #7 in the end-of-season USA Today poll, so apparently I was not the only one who was impressed.  Venice's "problem" was that they had no marquis players.  

    The 1993 Southridge team...talk to anyone who knows south FL football history and they will tell you about that team.  It was absolutely loaded.  Troy and Darren Davis each rushed for over 2000 yards in high school.  The Davis brothers and Sedrick Irvin all rushed for over 3500 yards in college and had pro careers.  Troy Davis was a Heisman finalist at Iowa State.  And all three were in the backfield on that 93 Southridge team.   Keep in mind that Miami-Dade games were very competitive back then.  Offensive scores were not often gaudy like one sees today.  If you look at their playoff run, you might question a "pedestrian" 14-0 win over Miami Springs.  At that time, Miami Springs was coached by the legendary Buddy Goins and that was an undefeated team that was one of the best in Dade County.  Southridge ended up 15-0 and ranked #5 in the end-of-season USA Today poll.

    One could argue that STA's 2008 title game blowout of Lakeland was a bit of an outlier.  STA had a relatively easy regular season and playoff path.   In all of these cases, I think what we saw was a team whose coach had his team peaking at just the right time, which is the way it should be. 

       

  10. And the best offense of the 2000's is...the 2008 St Thomas Aquinas squad.  The Raiders finished the year 15-0 and were thought by some to be the best hs team in the country that year.  The Raiders scored at least 35 points in each of their games that season, and averaged 47 points per game.  Only one opponent got within 21 points of the Raiders all season, and that was an OOS opponent.  The Raiders topped all their playoff opponents by 21 or more points. 

    STA was led by the phenomenal rb tandem of Gio Bernard and James White, both of whom currently play in the NFL.  Playing on both sides of the ball was junior Lamarcus Joyner, who earned prep All-American honors in 2009, All-American honors at FSU, and now plays for the Raiders. 

    In the 5A final, STA stomped a 14-0 Lakeland team 56-7.   The Dreadnaught defense had not given up more than 22 points all season.  The Raiders were up 35-0 at the half and never looked back.  8 different Raiders scored TD's that day.   

    And who are the runners-up...

    2000 Venice

    2007 Northwestern

    2004 Armwood

    2009 Dwyer

    2001 Apopka

  11. Best offense of the 90's goes to....the 1993 Miami Southridge squad. 

    In the 1993 5A state semi, Southridge hung 41 points on a 13-0 Vero Beach team.  Undefeated Southridge then blasted defending state champion Manatee 69-36 in the 1993 5A finals.  To say that folks in Daytona Beach were shocked by what they witnessed that day would probably not be an overstatement.  Never before had a team put up anywhere near that number of points in an FHSAA final(and only 3 have done it since).  

    Troy Davis returned a kickoff for 97 yards in the first half and his brother, Darren went for 99 in the second half.  Warren ended up scoring 4 TD's that day and Troy scored 3.  As if dealing with the Davis brothers was not enough, a sophomore rb on that team was future hs All-American Sedrick Irvin.  Southridge's defense featured junior Lamont Green, one of the most highly recruited players ever out of Miami-Dade and believed by many to be the #1 overall hs recruit in 1994.  

    Southridge ended up #5 in USA Today's end-of-season poll.  

    And who are the runners-up...
    1999 Lakeland 
    1991 Fort Walton Beach
    1992 Manatee 
    1999 Glades Central
  12. And the best offense of the 80's goes to....the 1988 Pine Forest squad.  This team was recognized by USA Today as the #1 team in the country that year.  On their way to the 5A state final, they scored 40+ points in each of their playoff games and won those games by a combined total of of 138-19.  That included a 47-6 thrashing of Columbia on the Tigers' home field.  In the 5A final, the Eagles become only the second large school to score 50 points in a FHSAA state final, beating up on a talented Sarasota Riverview team 50-27.  Eagles rb Anthony Toler scored 3 TD's in the game. The Eagles also won the 1987 state title, both titles coming under coaching legend Carl Madison.

    And who are the runners-up...

    1985 Escambia-4A champion

    1985 and 1989 Manatee-5A champions each year; the 1985 team was the first big school to ever score 50 points in an FSHAA title game     

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