OldSchoolLion

In 2018, Miami-Dade County has 56 2-star or better recruits. 13 public schools have at least one such recruit. In 2003, Miami-Dade County had 67 2-star or better recruits. 22 public schools had at least one such recruit. A few schools have fallen off the radar. In 2003, Edison, Killian and Monsignor Pace combined had 23 such recruits. In 2018, those same schools have a combined total of 1 such recruit. 2018 Miami-Dade County Recruits (2-star and up) Northwestern-8 Columbus-7 Central-6 Carol City-5 Champagnat-5 South Dade-5 Doral Academy-4 Norland-4 Southridge-4 Palmetto-2 Belen Jesuit-1 Booker T Washington-1 Gulliver Prep-1 Homestead-1 Killian-1 Miami High-1 2003 Miami-Dade County Recruits (2-star and up) Edison-9 Killian-8 Central-6 Monsignor Pace-6 Carol City-4 Northwestern-4 Homestead-3 Norland-3 Palmetto-3 American-2 Booker T Washington-2 Braddock-2 Columbus-2 Hialeah-2 N Miami-2 N Miami Beach-2 Southridge-2 Coral Gables-1 Hialeah Miami Lakes-1 Jackson-1 Miami Springs-1 South Dade-1 South Miami-1 Southwest Miami-1

In 2003, this coach's team defeated a Palm Beach County opponent and made him only the fourth coach ever in Florida to win 300 games. Who is the coach and what team did he coach?

In 2018, 50 of 70(71%) 2-star or better recruits in Broward County are at private schools. 56 of 70(80%) such recruits are at one of 5 schools(STA, Deerfield, Chaminade, Gibbons, University) . 8 public schools have at least one such recruit. For perspective, 14 of 56(25%) such recruits in Miami-Dade County are at private schools and 12 public schools have at least one such recruit. In 2003, 21 of 61(34%) 2-star or better recruits in Broward County were at private schools. 17 public schools had at least one recruit. There has been a substantial shift of players from public schools to private schools in Broward County over the past 15 years. I am simply providing data here, not stating or implying why. Of the 10 recruits at public schools in Broward County other than Deerfield Beach, 4 are cornerbacks and 2 are quarterbacks. One wonders if they might be at one of the private schools powers if those positions were not already "filled." 2018 Broward County Recruits (2-star and up) St Thomas Aquinas-24 Deerfield Beach-10 Cardinal Gibbons-8 Chaminade-Madonna-7 University School-7 American Heritage Plantation-3 Fort Lauderdale-3 Western-2 Archbishop McCarthy-1 Coconut Creek-1 Coral Springs-1 Ely-1 McArthur-1 Plantation-1 2003 Broward County Recruits (2-star and up) St Thomas Aquinas-12 Ely-9 Chaminade-Madonna-5 Dillard-5 Plantation-5 Miramar-4 Deerfield Beach-3 Fort Lauderdale-2 Hollywood Christian-2 South Plantation-2 Boyd Anderson-1 Cardinal Gibbons-1 Cooper City-1 Coral Springs-1 Coral Springs Charter-1 Douglas-1 Hallandale-1 Northeast-1 Pompano Beach-1 South Broward-1 Taravella-1 Western-1

South Dade has shown flashes of brilliance in the past and an ability to compete with some of the best in Miami-Dade. They were 10-2 last year and have some substantial talent this year. And with one of the top playmakers in the state, if not the country, on offense (Ladson)....let's put it this way, I would not put money against them in games versus some of the top 50 teams above. Frank Ladson 5-star WR Najeh Baker 2-star WR Jonathan Denis 4-star OL Jose Mirabal 3-star OL Tyler Johnson(Soph) DE UM offer Joe Smith 3-star LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste LB UCF commit Keshawn Washington(Jr) DB UM commit Jaiden Francois(Jr) DB UM commit

Sorry if I am missing something here, but 2-8 in 2015 and 3-7 in 2016 to last year's result is not a steady rise in performance.

...some random thoughts/questions. -Lakeland appears to be in a decline based on past few years of data. What has happened to change that and justify such a high ranking? -Palm Beach Central was 2-8 in 2015 and 3-7 in 2016 and has 2 playoff wins in school history....and now one of the top 20 teams in the state? ...banking too much on transfers to gel and make an instant contender?

The cat is out of the bag...the "ColumbiaFan" factor is now being utilized in game prediction algorithms.

...the most amazing statistic I have ever heard is the one that only counted games where ColumbiaFan was present. I am convinced he is a nuclear physicist by trade because he can split an atom. You gotta love this guy.

...just a thought. Prior to 2016, Niceville beat Crestview 8 out of 9 years and we all know the legacy of Niceville. In 2016, Crestview won by 6 and John Hicks said Niceville played "awful." Last season, Crestview won handily for the first time. So, maybe Crestview has pulled ahead, but with the history between these two teams, I need to see more than 2 data points and a more comprehensive explanation of "close to level." ...because these teams have been far from level historically. Without knowing more, there is no way I would put money down against Niceville in this matchup. It's intuitive that Niceville will be loaded for bear this year.

That is reasonable, but then I question the rationale for Crestview. Between 1995 and 2015, Crestview only made the playoffs 1 year. In 2016, St Augustine dominated Crestview in the second round and did the same in the third round in 2017. In the entire school history, Crestview has made it past the second round 3 times...not exactly a history of deep runs.

Appreciate the work on the rankings. Please don't take what I am about to say the wrong way. They are not directed at you, but to anyone doing rankings. If we are going to go to the bother of ranking teams, some of whom have not recently met on the field, I think we should at least do a thorough analysis of "why" a team like Madison will not do as well this year. Will their lines be smaller? Did some of their anticipated replacement players transfer? etc, etc Without such an analysis, I think rankings are just an amusing exercise without basis. You mention Crestview beat Niceville the past two years as rationale for them being ahead. Well, Gulf Breeze smoked Crestview in 2016 at Crestview, and in in 2015 and 2017 the two teams were separated by 3 points. Gulf Breeze was 9-2 in 2016 and 8-3 in 2017, but they are not even ranked in the top 10 of the Panhandle. If we are going to use head-to-head results for determining rankings, a team like Gulf Breeze not making the list screams for an explanation. These are simply examples. My main point is that rankings should involve some sort of methodology to give them validity. Otherwise, the ranker should give a disclaimer that it is a shot in the dark.

That makes sense. Although they may not be as strong, if the coaches did their jobs and have the underclassmen ready, there should not be a huge dropoff, especially if there were no spectacular players amongst the 25-30 seniors from this past season.

Where exactly are the gaps going to be at Madison that they will not be able to successfully fill this year? I don't recall them having any big-time playmakers and/or Power 5 recruits last year. Madison is a factory for solid, if nor spectacular, players on both sides of the ball. Unless I am missing something, I don't see any player(s) they lost to graduation that they could not reasonably fill based upon their ability to reload in the past.

That is certainly one way to measure it. Does that mean those individual teams were amongst the best year-in and year-out....no. But when it comes to pride, I think those programs have a solid foundation upon which to stand...versus, say, certain nationally-ranked teams today who went 20 years without making a playoff game. That is not something about which to beat one's chest IMO. Let's face it, just about any team today could become an "instant champion" with the right coach and players transferring in. That's not true success in my book.

ColumbiaFan....this comment isn't directed at you, just a general statement. We have driven ourselves crazy today trying to compare individual teams on paper and in non-game situations, ie games that don't "count." I do not understand why we are so compelled to do so. As an example....no program can legitimately claim they are the best in south FL over the past 25 years because so many of the better teams have little/no experience playing each other. I don't care how many transfers a team got or how many D1 recruits they had or how many ranked OOS teams they played, unless they met the local titans on the field, it's all conjecture. Touting that 7X7 tournament as a state championship...why the need to do so? It was a nice little tournament, take it for what it is. The reality is that with more and more classifications, it has become harder and harder to determine who the best teams really are in any one year. IMO programs should be measured by program consistency/longevity. When one measures that way, the great ones clearly separate themselves.

954gator...it is difficult to be humble when your team... is the undisputed 7A champion of Columbia County 3 years running has never lost a home playoff in an even year since the year 2000 is undefeated against St Thomas Aquinas, Armwood, and Northwestern (not their fault if they didn't show up for the games)

Columbia finally found a game where his team can make a state final. Let him bask for a while Coach.

Certainly not in the recent past. Nor Crestview. That's why the rankings are of limited value. As you know, Boot Hill gives an edge, so there could be two different results depending upon where a game is played.

Since 2004, Madison County has played a ton of teams from West FL. They have won every game except the following. Obviously they can be beat, even badly. But, until a team from West Florida beats them on the field, I am hesitant to rank another team over them, even in a "bad" year. 2015 Rickards 20-14, Wakulla 37-0, Trenton 27-18 2014 Pace 58-37 2009 Godby 21-14

It was 2009...what must have been an especially traumatic year for a young ColumbiaFan. While his Tigers were losing to Lincoln in Lake City in a regional semi, his beloved Gainesville Hurricanes were losing in another regional semi in Tarpon Springs.

Dunedin-In both 1986 and 1987, the Falcons made it to the 5A state finals, losing each time at their home field (in 1986 to Lakeland and in 1987 to Pine Forest). Each year they beat Carol City in the state semifinals…one of those years in Miami. Dunedin has only won 2 of 8 playoff games since. Englewood-In 1998, the Rams of Jacksonville won their only playoff game in school history, a 20-18 4A victory over Ribault. Hollywood Hills-In 1973, the Spartans won the 4A title 22-9 over Raines in Fort Lauderdale. Hills has won only 5 of 18 playoff games since. They won that title under Dick Saltrick, a great coach who passed away in 2014. Miami Beach-The Hi Tides played in the 1974 4A final in Tallahassee against Leon and legendary coach Gene cox, where they lost 20-9. They have never won a playoff game since. Miami Jackson-Jackson’s claim to fame is hard luck. Over the past 50 years, they have made it to 4 state semifinals, losing all of those games by a total of 16 points. 3 of those 4 games were played in the past 20 years. In 1998, in one of the most famous games in south FL history, known as Soul Bowl 2, the Generals lost to Northwestern 15-14 in a crazy ending in which the game was virtually over and fans had thought Jackson had won. Middleburg-In 2003, the Broncos won their only playoff game in playoff history, beating Palatka 54-28. Moore Haven-2017 marked only the second year in the past 50 that the Terriers have won a playoff game. They beat Glades Day 42-35. In 1997, Moore Haven made it to the 2A state semifinals. Northeast(Fort Lauderdale)-Northeast has won only 4 playoff games in its entire school history. In 2010, the Hurricanes shocked Miramar 21-12 in the second round of the 6A playoffs. Pompano Beach-Pompano Beach has only won one playoff game in school history. In 1976, the Golden Hurricanes won a controversial 14-9 victory over a loaded Chaminade team that featured Don Shulas’s oldest son, David, and former NFL player Bill Capece. Northeast lost a nailbiter to state finalist Carol City 22-20 in the second round. Rockledge- In a 2001 3A regional final in Belle Glade, Glades Central came in ranked #1 in the class and #5 in the nation by USA Today and had a 47-game winning streak. A crowd of over 6000 saw #2-ranked Rockledge shock the 3-time defending state champs and snap the streak. Rockledge then went on to win back-to-back 3A titles. St Petersburg-In 1984, the Green Devils traveled to Pensacola, where they lost the 3A final to Escambia 47-14. They have only won 2 of 12 playoff games since. Satellite-In 1987, the Scorpions won their only playoff game in school history in a 21-14 4A victory over Middleburg. Sebring-In 1999, the Blue Streaks won their only playoff game over the past 50 years, a 21-19 3A victory over Winter Haven. Tarpon Springs-In 1986, the Spongers lost a heartbreaker to Dillard at home in the 4A final. Ever since, Tarpon Springs has struggled, winning only 5 playoff games in 22 tries. Vanguard-In the 1994 5A final, the Knights lost a 19-17 heartbreaker to defending champion Bradenton Southeast. Although they have won a number of playoff games since, they have never gotten close to winning it all again.

You have been spending too much time around ColumbiaFan. LOL Actually, I would not have gotten off nearly as easy, I'm sure Corrected above.

...sorry for the reminder, but a few more Citrus Bowl playoff losses from further back. 89 Manatee was nasty and 92 Manatee took out Dillard in the 5A final. Winter Park 1984(13-10) Manatee 1989(39-14) Dillard 1992(29-21) and 1996(20-13)

There was much more parity then. STA was 84-26 in the 1980's. Not as dominant as today, but still a powerhouse. Back then, they got the best of the Broward teams, but the following teams all managed to pull off wins during the regular season: Boyd Anderson, Deerfield Beach, Dillard, Ely, Hollywood Hills, McArthur, Miramar, South Broward, Stranahan

Gonna make your day. You owe me LOL 1st quarter VB 47 yard FG (bounced off the upright and through) 3rd quarter MOS Little 2-yard run 4th quarter VB Simmons 5-yard run VB linebacker Bobby Toomey recovered a Mosely fumble at the Vero 25-yard line with less than 40 seconds to play to seal the game. Stats First Downs VB 12 MOS 14 Rushing VB 27-154 MOS 31-130 Passing VB 7/13 for 68 yds MOS 10/17 for 71 yds Turnovers VB 1 INT MOS 1 lost fumble and 1 INT Penalties VB 2-20 MOS 2-20 VB Ind Rushing Cunningham 16 carries for 101 yds MOS Ind Rushing Miller 6 carries for 40 yds