OldSchoolLion

Very good! Brevard is #3 on the list with 6. That's right, more than all those huge counties like Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Orange! Melbourne High won a title in the 1960's and Merritt Island in the 1970's. That is some rich history Brevard! Who is #2?

Very good MuckCityChamp...For those who don't know, Carver was a segregated school in Delray that won titles in the 1960's. Palm Beach ties with Polk and Broward with 5 schools. Only 3 counties have more than 5 public schools with championships. Dade is #1. Darter guessed a longshot with Escambia...hmmm

Dade County has over 10 different public high schools who have won state titles. Polk County has 5 different public schools that have won state titles. Which county has the second-most number of different schools that have won FHSAA state titles? It is not Polk County.

Dade County has by far the most number of public schools who have won an FHSAA state title? Which county comes in second place in this category?

the answers. Good job all! 4 counties from the list have never won an FHSAA state title: Pinellas-multiple appearances though-wins the award for hardest luck county in the state! Lee-Estero lost the 1998 5A title game to Osceola Hernando-no appearances (but the county is growing, so this could change soon) Charlotte-no appearances (Charlotte High came close in 2002)

Pinellas had multiple opportunities back in the 1980's when they played title games at school stadiums. St Pete traveled to Pensacola in 1984 and got beat up by Escambia. A young running back named Emmitt Smith played for that team. Back in 1986, the 4A and 5A title games were played at Tarpon Springs High and Dunedin High. Dunedin fell behind early to Lakeland and could not catch up in a 14-10 loss. Tarpon Springs led 6-0 against Dillard with three minutes to play only to surrender two touchdowns and lose 14-6. Dunedin lost the title game at home to Pine Forest in 1987. In 1995, Dixie Hoillins lost the title to Fort Walton Beach in Daytona Beach.

So, which of those counties were on the list in the initial post? And, of those, which counties never had a school that appeared in an FHSAA title game?

Below are the 30 largest counties (population) in Florida. Most of them have had a public school win a state title. Which counties below do not have a public school that has won an FHSAA state title? And, of those, guess the ones who have never even had a title game appearance. Miami-Dade Broward Palm Beach Hillsborough Orange Pinellas Duval Lee Polk Brevard Volusia Pasco Seminole Sarasota Marion Manatee Collier Escambia Lake Osceola St Lucie Leon Alachua St Johns Clay Okaloosa Hernando Bay Charlotte Santa rosa

I think this is the only year all 4 teams made the final. Clewiston was so close to making it a sweep.

I mistakenly posted the 2007 poll but fixed it and what is there now is the early 2006 poll. Loved 3A back in the 2000's. Seemed like a different team won the title every year.

...points allowed...at least the defense is fairly consistent Flo Boca 31 East Lake 41 Dr Phillips 34 Riverview 35

When I first read the title I thought, "Boy, I am gonna need a few weekends and anti-depressants for this."

Below are teams that have appeared in 3 or more state title games in one or more of the past 5 decades. In the 1970's and 1980's, no team in the larger classes appeared in more than 3 state title games in one decade. That changed in 1990, when 3 teams did it. So far this decade, 4 teams in the larger classes have already appeared in 5 or more title games...more than last decade. That number may well grow over the next two seasons. Personally, I enjoy seeing different teams compete year-to-year, but the trend is leaning toward more and more repeat performances. I think of the 1990's as the birth of the "superteam" in Florida. 1970’s (5) Atlantic/Delray-3 FAMU-3 Glades Central-3 Merritt Island-3 Milton-3 1980’s (6) Glades Day-8 Baker-5 Manatee-3 Suwanee-3 Titusville-3 Woodham-3 1990’s (10) Bolles-5 Southridge-4 St Thomas Aquinas-4 University Christian-4 Frostproof-3 Glades Central-3 Glades Day-3 North Florida Christian-3 Southeast-3 Union County-3 2000’s (16) St Thomas Aquinas-7 Bolles-6 Pahokee-6 North Florida Christian-5 Fort Meade-4 Lakeland-4 Northwestern-4 Armwood-3 Chaminade-3 Edgewater-3 Madison County-3 Naples-3 Nease-3 Plant-3 Trinity Catholic-3 Trinity Christian-3 2010’s (15) Armwood-6 Miami Central-6 Miami Booker T Washington-5 St Thomas Aquinas-5 Trinity Christian-5 American Heritage/Delray-4 American Heritage/Plantation-4 Bolles-4 University Christian-4 Apopka-3 Champagnat-3 Cocoa-3 Dr Phillips-3 Madison County-3 Plant-3 Trenton-3

Good job all! Believe it or not, this past season marked the first time since 1994 that neither Bolles nor St Thomas Aquinas was playing for a state title. In fact, since 1990, Bolles and/or STA have played for a state title every year except for 1994 and 2017. In 1994, STA almost made it, but got stopped by Bradenton Southeast in the state semis. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of private school domination. I can hear rocks hitting my screen.

You are very close Keem! In the past 20 years, BOTH STA and Trinity were absent at a state final series only once (2011). But it has been over 20 years since STA and _____ have both been missing at the same state final series.

You are absolutely right...that was the 2007 poll. I fixed the original post and the 2006 poll and correct comments are now listed. Thanks for pointing out my error badbird!

Hint: This past season, some fans who often make a pilgrimage to the state finals were not there.

That is 3 guesses now. You have used up your allotment for the day!

I like your guess, but am looking for something that did NOT happen this year. Every year since the early 90's something has happened at the state finals that did not happen this year. Pay special attention to the teams who played this year.

The answer I am looking for is not a statistic, per se. It has to do with the teams....something that did NOT happen.

Look at the teams/matchups

Nope. You used up your guess, so let's give someone else a try.

This was a unique year for the state championship series. We witnessed something that has not been seen since the early 1990's...something that did NOT happen. What was it?

..am skeptical. I shared in another post how many of our football players over the years have had their careers cut short after washing out in college due to grades and/or trouble. They may have graduated high school, but something was clearly missing. The Dade school supt makes a salary of $350,000 per year(unbelievable!) and such individuals have been known to make huge bonuses for "good results." There is a large motivation to make sure the numbers look good...the same as with CEO's of public companies. And some people will do whatever it takes to make sure the numbers are good, for political and/or financial gain. Am not making any accusations..simply saying there is reason to be skeptical. if anyone is interested, here is a link to a story about the huge scandal in the DC school system. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/02/01/the-shocking-thing-about-d-c-s-exploding-schools-scandal-and-why-it-has-national-significance/?utm_term=.f6fe7bbff497

yes