OldSchoolLion

With all due respect to the fine football program at Mainland, ...my unbiased observations of the program from afar. I base these on results, which don't always tell the whole story. The number of wins they have over Florida Top 20 teams this decade is somewhat limited. It appears they sometimes struggle to win against the better competition. The combined record of the teams they beat this year was pretty abysmal. Though somewhat out of their control, their regular season schedules(except for this year, which was very tough) and playoff games have been against some relatively weak competition(compared to say, south Florida). And in looking at their playoff scores this decade, they have had some close games against teams that were not traditional powerhouses, ie Winter Haven, Palm Bay Heritage. Although they consistently make the playoffs, I believe they have only made one state title game in their long history as a school. This decade has been tough because they have run into Central numerous times, but last decade they were knocked out of the playoffs by a number of different teams. To be considered amongst the elite, I think a team needs to consistently win at an elite level-at home or on the road. Even in one of their best seasons, the year they won the 5A state title, Mainland got manhandled at home by the eventual 2A state champion. This is NOT a knock in any way on the Mainland program. Like Vero Beach, would think they have a somewhat limited talent pool (compared to south FL) and they consistently do a fine job grooming the talent they have. For me, for a team boast they "reload and not rebuild," my reaction is to ask to see the hardware. Prior to all of this transfer business, there were relatively few teams I would put in this category.

...some thoughts Although not certain, there is a pretty high probability that her "spot" on that team is not costing anyone a future trip to the NFL. If her "spot" is costing someone a college education...well, that's a huge part of our problem in the US. Kids should not be relying on football for a trip to college. With the system as it stands today, we should be pushing kids to be good enough to get academic scholarships-athlete or not. And if in the future, as a society, we think college education is important enough, maybe we will offer it at no cost, like certain European countries. I would like to think there are coaches, employers, etc, out there who give positions to individuals for reasons beyond talent alone...and whose motivation is not simply publicity. In some cases, a coach, boss, etc, may have a deep, personal conviction for individuals with a certain background, ie minorities, recovered drug addicts, rehabilitated convicts, etc. I hired a vet with PTSD and took a chance in doing so because he was dealing with substantial mental health issues. One could say I "took a job away" from people who were out of work and more talented. But it was my job to give, so I will do what I please. And if someone wants to critique that decision, so be it. For all we know, that school may have a benefactor who likes the idea of someone like that lady getting a chance. West Virginia is not exactly the most diverse state in the world, if you know what I mean It is possible some of the good 'ol boys there might raise serious questions about a young Black lady being on the football team, especially one from Up North. In that sense, the coach took some personal risk. I truly think there is more to the story...

Mr Dan, On August 9, 2017, you posted the following concerning the 2004 season, "Chaminade finished the year at 11-1. As a side note, my Daytona Mainland team went down there for an afternoon ( no campus lights ) regular season contest and got blown up. Game wasn't close...shocker....long ride home." By the way, that is not the truth, Dan. Chaminade finished 13-1 that year. https://247sports.com/high-school/florida/Article/BEEF-OBRADYS-FOOTBALL-POLL-Chaminade-Is-No-1-104068192 The comment in my original post specifically referred to regular season games..."am trying to think of regular season games where one of the better central or north Florida teams came to Dade or Broward."...so am not sure why you are referring to certain playoff games above. But since you mentioned it, below is a list of both regular season and playoff games involving Mainland and Dade/Broward teams over the past 15 seasons. Regardless of the statistics, Mainland has a fine program. Mainland is 2-10 versus Dade/Broward teams(on the field since 1 game was forfeited) over the past 15 seasons. 8 of those 12 games were played at Mainland. Mainland was 2-6 at home and 0-4 on the road. There were only 2 regular season games played in Dade/Broward (bolded below) over the past 15 seasons. One was the game versus AHP that you mention above. That game was in 2013, not in 2014, as you stated. The game I referenced in my initial post as being "not pretty" was the 31-14 loss at Chaminade, which you also acknowledged in your prior post. That same team came to Daytona the prior year(2003) and beat Mainland soundly. I was at that game. That was the year Mainland won its only state title and that was their only defeat. Playoff Games 2017 Mainland over Norland 21-12 at Mainland 2017 Carol City over Mainland 17-10 at Mainland 2016 Carol City over Mainland 34-7 at Mainland 2015 Central over Mainland 33-21 at Mainland 2014 Central over Mainland 31-21 at Mainland 2013 Central over Mainland 28-15 at Miami 2011 Central over Mainland 17-7 at Miami (forfeited) Regular Season 2014 Mainland over American Heritage (PL) 42-30 at Mainland 2013 American Heritage (PL) over Mainland 6-0 at AHP 2009 Central over Mainland 34-3 at Mainland 2004 Chaminade over Mainland 31-14 at Chaminade 2003 Chaminade over Mainland 31-9 at Mainland

Agree about steps forward and very commendable for Vero. The more I think about it, Venice was a great choice for an opponent. Vero has history with teams from that area. Venice always has a reasonably good team, even on down years. So it is a safe bet they will play a competitive game. But they are not typically so overpowering that they are going to blow out another good team. Talent pools in each area are somewhat comparable. Vero probably should work its way up to playing a Northwestern or Carol City down in Dade County. If Vero had an off year and played one of those Miami teams on a year they were "up," it could be ugly, and that would not be good for the kids. Ideally these travel games should be confidence builders, wining or losing a close, competitive game. Vero is at a disadvantage against the Dade and Broward programs from a standpoint of available talent.

I heard some little school down by Apalachicola with cool uniforms is building the next 1A state champion and has been pulling all the good players away.

Cameron Williams, a DT from Hollywood Chaminade, flipped from the Gators to the Canes. Kid has gotten some big offers of late. Big kid 6'5" as junior -stock will likely rise as senior.

I heard there are some pretty good teams to the south of Vero that are as close or closer than Venice. Just a rumor though Seriously, am trying to think of regular season games where one of the better central or north Florida teams came to Dade or Broward. Cannot think of many. Mainland came down once and it was not pretty.

Maybe we should focus less on the scholarship and more on her whole story..a young lady with a less-than-ideal upbringing who is overcoming odds on many fronts. Somehow I don't think a small private college in West Virginia has visions of grandeur to become the next West VA University via a publicity stunt. At age 4 she was placed in foster care and was moved around until being adopted nine years later. Then she found out she has ovarian cancer. She has chosen to play a sport that likely subjected her to some level of bullying. I have personal experience with what a female firefighter was subjected to in an all-male firehouse, and it was not pretty. This young lady appears to be a good role model for girls, regardless of how one feels about her playing football. A big chunk of society thinks our kids are privileged, overly soft snowflakes. Black females are "angry black women." Those are challenging stereotypes to overcome. It appears this young lady had made some headway.

The Canes corner announced today that he is retiring from football due to the the severity of the injury he sustained in the bowl game with Wisconsin. He is the second sophomore from Miami’s 2017 squad who has had to deal with career-ending injuries lately. Linebacker Jamie Gordinier announced his retirement from football as well. It's ironic considering we have had some discussions of late concerning public perceptions of football injuries.

Tallahassee is a unique place. I cannot think of any other state capital that has a major football university in it yet has such a relatively small population. Even so, with FSU there I would expect Leon County to have a lot of support for hs football. In ancient times, Leon had a great program. But that didn't last. Lincoln and Godby have had moments of brilliance, but not totally consistent over the years. Pensacola is another area that has really fallen off compared to how things were in years past. Go across the border into Alabama and Georgia and not too far away from these places you have some very good football. It is not as if there is no talent there.

Venice reminds me a lot of Vero. Is well coached and consistently has a very good record, but plays a relatively weak regular season schedule and struggles against talented teams. Once in a while, they seem to produce an exceptional team, but I just don't see them being able to consistently produce top-tier teams (like their state championship teams) with the talent pool they have available in their area. That said, I don't think they have anywhere to go except down next year, unless something truly extraordinary happens from a transfer standpoint I think Venice is always going to have challenges with very fast, physical teams. That is what I saw in some of their blowout losses, even ones going way back. They are likely never going to have elite level, across-the-board team speed like some of the south Florida schools. Not taking anything away from their great accomplishment this year, but I think this year's team was overrated in some of the polls. Top 25 in the country-no. I can think of 10 teams in Florida alone who would be capable of beating Venice if they brought their A-game. Everyone knows St Thomas was an anomaly this year, and Bartram Trail was a solid, but not particularly extraordinary team. Not sure if there is anything helpful in here, but at least it provides some perspective. Since 2010, Venice's record is 84 wins-18 losses However, they are 2-17 versus Florida Top 20 teams. And a number of those losses were not even close. WINS Bartram Trail 2017 Aquinas 2017 LOSSES IMG 2017 Aquinas 2016 Braden River 2015 (lost twice) Manatee 2010(lost twice), 2011(lost twice), 2012(lost twice), 2013 and 2014 Armwood 2013 and 2014 Naples 2012 Lakeland 2010 Charlotte 2010

Sometimes if wonder if all these gyrations might be for naught. If football moves in the direction of basketball, maybe playoffs won't even matter that much anymore. I get the impression that the big-name basketball teams are much more into the tournaments than state playoffs, but maybe I am wrong. It is hard for a college coach to justify travel to a single game in some out-of-the-way place to see 1 or 2 athletes. Showcase events are better for them to evaluate a lot of talent in one trip. I could see things moving in this direction. Imagine 4 or 8 loaded teams traveling to a central location and playing 2 or 3 games. Maybe teams don't play every week. Am not saying I agree with it, but it seems as if the purpose of the big sports any more is much less about competition and more about becoming a showcase for individual athletes. Look at some of ESPN's games. They will often pick a lousy game over a more competitive one simply to showcase a key athlete(s).

Fast forward to the future...all coaches fly in on helicopters...no big thang anymore...so.... Nick Saban becomes the first NCAA coach to skydive and land on a high school field, with Alabama logo on the parachute. With pinpoint precision, the University of Alabama/Adidas stealth bomber (gigantic Adidas logo on the underbelly with BIG-time naming rights) does a flyover just as Coach Saban touches the ground. While all of this is taking place, the University of Alabama/Nike football drone is broadcasting the entire event in a live, pay-per-view spectacle (all profits will be used to fund the new University of Alabama/New Balance nuclear submarine, which will be used to facilitate future visits to high schools in Coastal cities.) Coach Saban then takes a quick tour of the high school, using the University of Alabama/Under Armour jetpack (no time for walkin' folks). Although NCAA rules still prevent him from making contact with recruits, he uses the University of Alabama/Geico telepathic communicator to send untraceable, subliminal messages to the recruit, such as "Coach Saban likes you MUCH better than that 5-star recruit from IMG." I cannot wait. And to think some folks consider Alabama a bit backwards.

...just messing with you, Buddy...a little Sunday morning fun

Even if you beat Lincoln in the first round, wouldn't that just be just putting off the inevitable knowing you would have to face Lee in the second round? I heard Lee already had a 2018 district championship banner made up and their fans are practicing a "Who's your Daddy?" chant for your game next year. Are these rumors true?

...inspirational story https://www.si.com/college-football/2018/01/19/belthany-antoinette-harris-woman-scholarship

Plant City Stadium is a sweet venue.

John Lyzott came to McArthur in the late 60's and coached there for over 20 years. It took him about 10 years to win his first state championship. His coaching record was 282-28-3. That is a winning percentage of 90%. For some perspective... Corky Rogers/Bolles 433-77-1=85% winning percentage George Smith/Aquinas 279-61=82% winning percentage Victor Balmeceda of South Dade, Russ Cozart at Brandon, Frank Pettineo of Cardinal Gibbons-all extremely successful wrestling coaches who spent 20+ years at their schools building the programs. And we have football coaches leaving/stepping down after 3 years. How can anyone to build a sustainable program in 3 years?

It's interesting. Someone sees an opportunity to make a buck, pulls a sporting event into the limelight, continues pushing it to extreme levels, the public gets turned off(and in some cases question/attack its value), interest wanes, ....repeat. Even stuff like pro wrestling and bodybuilding went from obscure subcultures to freak shows in the public's eye. Compared to yesteryear, today's hs football is a freak show on a number of fronts. The real villains are the promoters looking to exploit. They are not interested in improving the game, though they claim to have such a desire. Ironically, people in those subcultures often have no interest in being in the public's eye. They are quite happy flying under the radar. I bet a lot of hs coaches were just peachy being a 1-inch box score on the back page of the sports section. These promoters will let nothing alone. Look at MMA. Traditional martial arts was not showy enough, so we had to "create" MMA. And now much of the public thinks MMA is what martial arts is all about. We had a good thing going with hs football. The people in the sport used to accept the sport for what it is, risks and all. I am afraid that now it has gone mainstream (thanks ESPN, sports apparel manufacturers and 7-figure college coaches), there is no going back. Some are still willing to accept the risks, but cannot escape the public scrutiny.

Please forgive me for the non sequitur, Guccifer. Only through the grace of God was I able to succeed in the legal world despite my proclivity for making such fallacious arguments. Maybe you could counsel me concerning my next case. I did not state that going to St Thomas would not help get someone exposure. It absolutely would. My point was simply that if someone is relying upon their school's reputation to get scholarship offers, that possibly(I intentionally used the word "maybe"-not a definitive) they do not possess the level of talent required to succeed at an elite level of play. Kids with elite-level talent do not need to play at a powerhouse program to get noticed, especially in today's world. I question the belief some parents have that it is essential. About 40 years ago, a kid in a tiny town in Georgia, 50 miles from nowhere, enrolled in a tiny high school with a losing record. His name was Herschel Walker. And he played there for four years. Imagine that, folks-no transferring! I used to live nearby, so I know the history. Back then, college coaches did not have access to statistics and films like today. As a player, you earned your reputation the hard way and did not need to ride the coattails of a powerhouse program to get a scholarship. I bet Herschel could have walked onto the UGA campus as a complete unknown and gotten a scholarship. And I bet the same could be said for a number of elite-level players. If a kid's main motivation for getting recognized is simply to get a free ride to college, going to STA may very well be a good investment for the parents, since it will definitely help those B+ kids get noticed. I worry about the B+ kid who gets offers because he plays for an STA, gets an inflated sense of his talent, and then crashes hard when he gets to the big leagues. Have seen it happen. Those are the kids who may be better off going to smaller colleges, ie FCS schools, and, if their talent blossoms, they will be found by the NFL scouts.

...some real-world numbers. https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/cost-of-school-athletics-are-increasing/ ...also consider the increasing liabilities of school districts for lawsuits related to concussions, etc. ...one person's perspective on pay-to-play http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1227&context=rrgcing/ It really stinks that athletic equipment has gotten so expensive. It really stinks that in the US today, participation in athletics has become linked to one's ability to get a college education. But that is not my fault and I do not think society have to bear the additional financial tax burden. Concerning the argument that lower-income families are shut out of certain opportunities because of pay-to-play.... I support the idea that athletics is an important part of a well-rounded education. But I have a problem paying yet more property taxes so that someone's kid can play an expensive, high-risk sport, ie football, simply to increase the kid's odds of getting a college scholarship. One can reap the "non-financial" benefits, ie teamwork, of athletics via less expensive/less risky sports. Don't get me wrong-I LOVE football-but we have got to face financial realities. As a little kid growing up, I was allowed to play one organized sport-that's it. I chose baseball, as did most other kids in the neighborhood. We loved football and created our own neighborhood football leagues, and used a big open field nearby that was owned by the neighborhood grade school. We had kids who played on the local high school football teams play in the league. We learned from them and the price we paid was getting the snot knocked out of us. I think we were as good or better than the kids who played organized, peewee football because we learned the high school playbooks and were used to playing above our level of talent. The expectations of parents today is ridiculous. I went to private schools my whole life so, in a way, was considered privileged. When I see the equipment today at public schools compared to what we had, I am absolutely blown away. I am not talking technology, either. I am talking quality. These are the new "expectations" And if I think my kid is somehow deprived, I cry that life is unfair. Sorry, but you do not need all of this fancy stuff to get the "sports experience." And if you think your kid needs/deserves it, pay for your kid to play in club sports. And if the parent cannot afford that, the parent and kid need to get creative rather than expecting society to get creative with funding. Parents today remind me of the guy who is constantly buying the "next best" golf club because he is just certain that is the one that is going to take his game to the next level. There are numerous stories of world-class athletes who did not need fancy facilities/equipment to develop their abilities. Here is a great example...

This was an interesting situation in Virginia. Was curious if we have had similar experiences with winless teams making playoffs. http://www.newsleader.com/story/sports/high-school/2017/12/02/high-school-football-teams-0-10-playoffs-how-come/908912001/

Over the past 5 years, Lincoln, which used to consistently be a contender for state titles, has not been able to get past the second round. Was curious what happened to the program. Has NFC dropped off as well or is this just a function of the move up to 2A? I could see a school like that really draining talent in the Tallahassee area, but my impression is that they do not do so as much as some other private schools. Not sure if that is true or not.

Congratulations. Ya'll won your 40th playoff game in history. Only about 20 teams in the state have done that.

I think very highly of Coach Guandolo. He did a fantastic job at Chaminade back in the early 2000's. That program had done nothing for about 25 years and within a few years they were winning state titles. And back then you didn't have all of this crazy transferring taking place. He built those teams with good talent, but nothing like the stacked rosters you see today. I lived up in Central Florida and saw his teams play a number of bigger schools up there... Sarasota Riverview, Venice, Manatee(twice), Mainland and Vero Beach...and they won every single one of those games. I remember at the time thinking, wow this guy has some cojones taking on teams like he was.