OldSchoolLion

Which game(s) has you excited? South Florida (8 games) Carol City(8-0) @ Central(8-1) 6AD16 matchup to decide the district champion.  Central has won 8 of the past 10 meetings, including a 26-13 win last season. Coral Gables(5-3) @ Columbus(7-1) 8AD14 matchup that will decide the district champion.  Columbus has won 14 of the last 19 meetings, including a 21-7 win last season.   South Dade(7-1) @ Southridge(6-2) 8AD16 matchup.  South Dade has won 11 of the past 17 meetings, including a 14-7 win last season.   North Miami(5-3) @ Hialeah(7-1) 8AD13 matchup to decide the district champion.  N Miami has won 5 of the last 9 meetings, including a 19-6 win last season. Western(7-1) @ Miramar(4-3) 8AD12 matchup.  Miramar has won 8 of the last 9 meetings, including a 27-25 win last year.  Western won 7-6 the previous year. 4ACocoa(6-2) @ 1APahokee(5-4)  There is a history of interesting matchups between Brevard County and the Muck.  Cocoa won 45-0 last season at home. Barron Collier(7-1) @ Naples(7-1) 6AD12 matchup to decide the district champion.  "The Crosstown Showdown" rivalry game.  Naples has won the last 19 games, including a 16-15 win last season.   Charlotte(7-1) @ Port Charlotte(6-2) 6AD10 matchup. Charlotte has won the past 5 meetings.  The last 2 games have been decided by less than a TD.     Central Florida (7 games) Apopka(6-2) @ Wekiva(7-1) 8AD4 matchup.  These teams have met 11 times.  Wekiva has won only once...last year, 22-14.  George Jenkins(6-2) @ Osceola(7-1) 8AD7 matchup to decide the district champion.  Osceola has won the past 3 meetings in dominating fashion. Lakeland(9-0) @ Kathleen(5-3) 7AD7 matchup to decide the district champion.  Rivalry game.  Lakeland has won 23 of the past 25 games, including a 10-3 win last year.  Kathleen won 14-7 the previous year.  7 of those 14 games were decided by 7 points or less. Tampa Bay Tech(7-1) @ Plant City(8-1) 7AD9 matchup.  TBT has won 6 of the past 8 meetings, including a 62-21 win last season. Hardee(8-0) @ Desoto County(6-2) 5AD11 matchup.  These two have split their last 4 meetings.  Hardee won 34-0 last season.  Rivalry game (Walter F Buck Carlton Trophy) Clearwater Central Catholic(9-0) @ Cardinal Mooney(8-0) 3AR3 matchup.  CCC has won the last 8 meetings, including a 24-3 win last season. Venice(7-1) @ Palmetto(6-2) 7AD11 matchup.  Venice has won the past 6 meetings, including a 42-16 win last season.     North Florida (5 games) Buchholz(6-2) @ Bartram Trail(5-3) 7AD3 matchup.  Buchholz has won 3 of the last 5 meetings.  BT won last year 53-21. Lee(6-1) @ Fletcher(6-2) 7AD2 matchup. Lee has won the last 3 meetings, including a 20-6 win last season. Flagler Palm Coast(7-2) @ Mandardin(5-3) 8AD1 matchup.  FPC has won 4 of the past 7 meetings, including a 24-17 2OT win last season. 4ARaines(7-1) @ 7ALincoln(6-2) Raines won 49-24 at home last season. Gulf Breeze(7-1) @ Navarre(6-1) 6AD2 matchup that will decide the district champion.  Navarre has won 10 of the last 11 games, but the last 2 have been decided by one TD or less.  Gulf Breeze won in 2016.  Rivalry game(Public Peach Bowl Cup) Niceville(7-1) @ Crestview(6-2) 6AD3matchup and Okaloosa County rivalry game that will decide the district champion.  Crestview has won 3 of the last 5 games, including  a 35-18 win last season.  Niceville won 30 in a row prior to that.

I love that you post these topics OldschoolLion!  Cocoa vs Pahokee is worth the price of admission and a soda. TBT vs Plant City will be really good.  Apopka over Wekiva, that will be great as well!  Lakeland vs Kathleen. Lots of good games. 

 

In the 1979 state playoffs all-everything LB Wilbur Marshall kicked the game winning FG to beat LWales 9-7. Yes, he kicked FG's as well.
LW featured 2 all-state RB's, one was named Lorenzo Hampton who would go on to star at UFlorida and the Miami Dolphins.
That '79 team was one of the best in LWales school history, but they were foolish to give up their home field advantage against Astronaut and move the game from their 4K seat stadium to 10K Denison Stadium in WHaven.
Even today, nearly 40 years later, many feel that move may have cost the Highlanders a state championship.
https://twitter.com/CountyPolk
 
 

If Apopka's defense can play as well as it did against West Orange, I think Wekiva scores no more than 14. If Wekiva scores 14 or less, Apopka has a solid chance of winning this game. If Wekiva scores 28 or more, I don't think this Apopka team will be able to score enough points to win, particularly with the depletion of the team's offense due mostly to injuries. 
Anyone attending needs to get there early as Wekiva's small stadium will be standing room only for any late comers! 

...concerning polls and rankings.
In the dinosaur days, there were fewer classes, large districts,and teams scheduled non-district games without worrying nearly as much about reputations, polls and playoff rankings. Today, the scheduling is like a ballet.
I think there was arguably a better chance than today that the best teams would run into each other at some point.   When one won a 4A title in the 70's, that was a huge deal,and some felt that the 4A champion was kinda the uncrowned champion of Florida.   Today we have the best larger-school programs spread out amongst 4 classes.  It's just the nature of the beast.
I struggle taking today's polls very seriously for a couple of reasons. In more recent years, we have teams in close proximity that seldom, if ever, play each other, ie Lakeland vs Armwood, St Thomas vs Dade powers, etc.  And we have playoff paths in some classes that are ridiculously easy and in which the best teams from certain parts of the state do not meet always meet up with the best from other parts of the state. It's the "cost" of our current systems.
Today we are so externally focused as both individuals and organizations.  "Am I good-looking?" "Am I thin enough?" "Is my team ranked high enough in the polls?"  We seem to need constant affirmation.  A good coach knows how to assess his team's progress without a lot of external cues, and to find satisfaction in knowing "we are better than yesterday."  I find the same philosophy works well in all aspects of life.  I can look myself in the mirror and easily see my own flaws and opportunities for improvement without comparing myself to you. 
It's not the end of the world if certain teams never meet up and prove superiority.  It's all about improvement, especially at the hs level.  Could the Bulls and Tornadoes beat a number of teams ranked higher than them?  Who cares!  What is important is that the kids feel good about themselves, not what other people think.    
 
 
 
 
 

The Bulls and the Tornadoes lost their big games this weekend against Central and Carol City, but put up a fight.  
Northwestern is 3-5 and has lost to IMG, Carol City, Central, Columbus and South Dade.   
Washington is 4-5 and has lost to Carol City, Central, Columbus, Chaminade-Madonna, and Northwestern. 
Let's be real.  If some of the current top 25 teams in Florida played the same schedules, they might very well have losing records right now.  At the very least, they would have some more losses. 
 
 

Chris Collinsworth Wilbur Marshall Jay Donnelly  Titusville Astronaut UF

100th meeting coming up between Hardee and Desoto.  Hardee leads series 59-35-5. Not counted was a game in 1909. Hardee comes in with an 8-0 record. Desoto is 6-2.
1.      1921- DeSoto County 6-0
2.      1922- DeSoto County 14-9
3.      1923- DeSoto County 9-6
4.      1923- DeSoto County 14-0
5.      1924- Hardee 20-0
6.      1924- DeSoto County 20-0
7.      1925- Hardee 10-3
8.      1926- Hardee 20-0
9.      1927- Hardee 7-0
10.  1928- DeSoto County 18-0
11.  1929- DeSoto County 12-6
12.  1930- Hardee 13-12
13.  1931- Hardee 13-6
14.  1932- Hardee 18-0
15.  1933- Hardee 40-0
16.  1934- Hardee 13-0
17.  1935- Hardee 20-0
18.  1936- Hardee 13-0
19.  1937- Hardee 6-0
20.  1938- Tie 0-0
21.  1939- Hardee 18-7
22.  1940- DeSoto County 13-0
23.  1941- Hardee 18-6
24.  1942- DeSoto County 7-0
25.  1943- DeSoto County 6-0
26.  1944- Tie 7-7
27.  1945- DeSoto County 19-18
28.  1946- Hardee 20-0
29.  1947- DeSoto County 25-14
30.  1948- DeSoto County 33-8
31.  1949- DeSoto County 6-0
32.  1950- Hardee 20-19
33.  1951- Hardee 27-19
34.  1952- Hardee 19-7
35.  1953- Hardee 53-0
36.  1954- DeSoto County 27-0
37.  1955- Hardee 15-0
38.  1956- Hardee 19-0
39.  1957- DeSoto County 7-6
40.  1958- Hardee 40-0
41.  1959- Hardee 35-13
42.  1960- Hardee 40-14
43.  1961- Hardee 33-20
44.  1962- DeSoto County 13-6
45.  1963- DeSoto County 20-6
46.  1964- Tie 14-14
47.  1965- Hardee 41-0
48.  1966- DeSoto County 26-7
49.  1967- Tie 27-27
50.  1968- Hardee 20-13
51.  1969- Hardee 40-20
52.  1970- DeSoto County 14-0
53.  1971- DeSoto County 40-13
54.  1972- DeSoto County 47-7
55.  1973- DeSoto County 40-0
56.  1974- Tie 13-13
57.  1975- Hardee 27-7
58.  1976- Hardee 21-7
59.  1977- Hardee 15-6
60.  1978- Hardee 6-0
61.  1979- Hardee 14-6
62.  1980- Hardee 21-14
63.  1981- Hardee 40-6
64.  1982- Hardee 14-0
65.  1983- Hardee 21-7
66.  1984- Hardee 14-7
67.  1985- DeSoto County 21-17
68.  1986- Hardee 20-0
69.  1987- DeSoto County 28-24
70.  1988- DeSoto County 21-7
71.  1989- DeSoto County 34-28
72.  1990- DeSoto County 14-7
73.  1991- DeSoto County35-15
74.  1992- DeSoto County 16-12
75.  1993- Hardee 14-6
76.  1994- Hardee 14-0
77.  1995- Hardee 60-6
78.  1996- Hardee 42-20
79.  1997- Hardee 47-28
80.  1998- DeSoto County 20-14
81.  1999- Hardee 54-6
82.  2000- Hardee 41-0
83.  2001- Hardee 56-21
84.  2002- Hardee 40-21
85.  2003- Hardee 50-0
86.  2004- Hardee 19-7
87.  2005- Hardee 16-12
88.  2006- Hardee 10-7
89.  2007- DeSoto County 17-0
90.  2008- DeSoto County 21-20
91.  2009- Hardee 28-6
92.  2010- Hardee 14-12
93.  2011- Hardee 42-6
94.  2012- Hardee 21-13
95.  2013- Hardee 26-7
96.  2014- DeSoto County 23-18
97.  2015- DeSoto County 17-14
98.  2016- Hardee 34-3
99.  2017- Hardee 34-0

Which game(s) has you excited? South Florida (8 games) Carol City(8-0) @ Central(8-1) 6AD16 matchup to decide the district champion.  Central has won 8 of the past 10 meetings, including a 26-13 win last season. Coral Gables(5-3) @ Columbus(7-1) 8AD14 matchup that will decide the district champion.  Columbus has won 14 of the last 19 meetings, including a 21-7 win last season.   South Dade(7-1) @ Southridge(6-2) 8AD16 matchup.  South Dade has won 11 of the past 17 meetings, including a 14-7 win last season.   North Miami(5-3) @ Hialeah(7-1) 8AD13 matchup to decide the district champion.  N Miami has won 5 of the last 9 meetings, including a 19-6 win last season. Western(7-1) @ Miramar(4-3) 8AD12 matchup.  Miramar has won 8 of the last 9 meetings, including a 27-25 win last year.  Western won 7-6 the previous year. 4ACocoa(6-2) @ 1APahokee(5-4)  There is a history of interesting matchups between Brevard County and the Muck.  Cocoa won 45-0 last season at home. Barron Collier(7-1) @ Naples(7-1) 6AD12 matchup to decide the district champion.  "The Crosstown Showdown" rivalry game.  Naples has won the last 19 games, including a 16-15 win last season.   Charlotte(7-1) @ Port Charlotte(6-2) 6AD10 matchup. Charlotte has won the past 5 meetings.  The last 2 games have been decided by less than a TD.     Central Florida (7 games) Apopka(6-2) @ Wekiva(7-1) 8AD4 matchup.  These teams have met 11 times.  Wekiva has won only once...last year, 22-14.  George Jenkins(6-2) @ Osceola(7-1) 8AD7 matchup to decide the district champion.  Osceola has won the past 3 meetings in dominating fashion. Lakeland(9-0) @ Kathleen(5-3) 7AD7 matchup to decide the district champion.  Rivalry game.  Lakeland has won 23 of the past 25 games, including a 10-3 win last year.  Kathleen won 14-7 the previous year.  7 of those 14 games were decided by 7 points or less. Tampa Bay Tech(7-1) @ Plant City(8-1) 7AD9 matchup.  TBT has won 6 of the past 8 meetings, including a 62-21 win last season. Hardee(8-0) @ Desoto County(6-2) 5AD11 matchup.  These two have split their last 4 meetings.  Hardee won 34-0 last season.  Rivalry game (Walter F Buck Carlton Trophy) Clearwater Central Catholic(9-0) @ Cardinal Mooney(8-0) 3AR3 matchup.  CCC has won the last 8 meetings, including a 24-3 win last season. Venice(7-1) @ Palmetto(6-2) 7AD11 matchup.  Venice has won the past 6 meetings, including a 42-16 win last season.     North Florida (5 games) Buchholz(6-2) @ Bartram Trail(5-3) 7AD3 matchup.  Buchholz has won 3 of the last 5 meetings.  BT won last year 53-21. Lee(6-1) @ Fletcher(6-2) 7AD2 matchup. Lee has won the last 3 meetings, including a 20-6 win last season. Flagler Palm Coast(7-2) @ Mandardin(5-3) 8AD1 matchup.  FPC has won 4 of the past 7 meetings, including a 24-17 2OT win last season. 4ARaines(7-1) @ 7ALincoln(6-2) Raines won 49-24 at home last season. Gulf Breeze(7-1) @ Navarre(6-1) 6AD2 matchup that will decide the district champion.  Navarre has won 10 of the last 11 games, but the last 2 have been decided by one TD or less.  Gulf Breeze won in 2016.  Rivalry game(Public Peach Bowl Cup) Niceville(7-1) @ Crestview(6-2) 6AD3matchup and Okaloosa County rivalry game that will decide the district champion.  Crestview has won 3 of the last 5 games, including  a 35-18 win last season.  Niceville won 30 in a row prior to that.

How many examples can we find like this?
Treasure Coast beat Cocoa 35-29.
Cocoa beat Mainland 44-27.
Mainland beat Treasure Coast 36-22.
We are talking about high school kids, whose performance game-to-game is less stable than more mature athletes.  And we are talking about high school teams, even the best of whom sometimes have performance gaps at certain positions that can be exploited by certain teams that appear to be inferior on paper.
You would be hard pressed to find an NCAA team ranked 70th in the country who could compete with a top 10 team.  But that's not the case in high school.  There are plenty of "unranked" high school teams out there who have just the right talent at certain positions, and come in with just the right mindset on a certain night, to beat one of the big boys.  Sometimes that top-ranked hs team simply has not yet found their "nightmare" matchup yet.
It is a coaching art to peak a team for the playoffs.  It's funny, but nowadays, with all of the attention to polls, people want teams flying out of the gates from game 1.  Believe it or not, some coaches do not want their their teams performing too well too soon during the season.    
 
    
 

My name is above your name in the standings.  You can hold my trophy

Below are some of the games so far this season in which teams got sweet revenge.  
North Florida
Orange Park 29 Clay 28   Prior to this game, Clay had won the past 8 meetings, including a 58-12 thrashing last season.  
Menendez 62 St Augustine 38    Prior to this game, Menendez was 0-17 versus the Yellow Jackets in the series.  Menendez lost its last 14 games to St Augustine by a combined score of 613-71.
Ponte Vedra 21 St Augustine 14   Ponte Vedra lost to St Augustine 41-0 last season and was 0-5 in the series coming into the game.  
Mosley 41 Fort Walton Beach 14  FWB has dominated this series the past decade, winning 5 of the 6 past games prior to this weekend.
Buchholz 27 Gainesville 7.  Gainesville had won 7 of the past 9 meetings in this rivalry game, including the last two games. 
Vernon 32 Blountstown 28 Over the past 3 seasons, Blountstown had beaten Vernon by a combined score of 124-19, including a 42-8 win last season.
Central Florida
Plant City 24 Tampa Bay Tech 21 TBT had won 6 of past 8 meetings, including blowouts last 2 seasons.
Bloomingdale 33 Tampa Bay Tech 24   TBT had won the last 3 meetings, including a 49-21 win last season.
Tampa Bay Tech 20 Armwood 12   TBT had not beaten Armwood since 2001 and had lost many games by 28+ points to the Hawks during that stretch.
Newsome 51 Sarasota Riverview 45.  Riverview had won the past two games by scores of 57-3 and 41-0.
George Jenkins 14 Ridge 7   Ridge has won the last 7 games, including the last 2 by a combined score of 84-16.
Lake Wales 20 Winter Haven 14.   Winter Haven had won 10 of the past 12 meetings in this rivalry game, including the last 8. 
Lake Wales 35 Sebring 20.  Sebring had won their last 3 meetings.  Lake Wales last won this matchup in 2009.  
Lecanto 35 Hudson 31  Lecanto lost to Hudson last year at home 42-0.
Crystal River 20 Dunnellon 13    Prior to this game, Crystal River had dropped 16 straight to the Tigers, with its last win coming in 2001. Crystal River had been outscored over the past two meetings by a combined score of 100-12.
Treasure Coast 34 Cocoa 29   Cocoa beat Treasure Coast 55-7 last year.
Viera 49 Cocoa 42   First time in school history the Hawks beat Cocoa.
Deland 10 Flagler Palm Coast 3. FPC had won their last 3 meetings.
Colonial 56 Boone 41 Boone had won their last 5 meetings.
 
South Florida
Golden Gate 37 Immokalee 8   Prior to this game, Immokalee had won the past 7 games, including 6 games by 21 or more points. 
Labelle 24 Clewiston 20   Clewiston had won each of their past 10 meetings.  The combined score of the past 3 games was 105-6 in favor of Clewiston. 
Santaluces 22 Boca Raton 17.  Santaluces had lost its last 3 games to the Bobcats by a combined score of 124-8.
Cardinal Gibbons 24 American Heritage Plantation 14   AHP had won the past 11 meetings.
Bishop Verot 5 American Heritage Delray 3.  AHD won 42-0 last season.
Seminole Ridge 21 Pahokee 20.  Pahokee had won the last 3 meetings.

Nowadays we don't see many games like Southridge vs Rockledge.  For me, that was an intriguing matchup...a "good" south FL team vs a "good" central FL team.  
Not that I would want to see the polls completely filled with teams from south FL, but until certain teams from north and central FL, or even certain teams from Broward and Palm Beach, prove on the field they can play with the Miami-Dade schools, I would not bet against a team like BTW in a head-to-head matchup, regardless of who they are playing from north or central FL(except IMG, of course).
This year, Palmetto, Southridge and Coral Gables are all sleepers.  These teams would give fits to some of the better teams outside Miami-Dade.
 
 
 

BTW just went head-to-head with Carol City for 3 quarters.    BTW beat a very good Southridge team that traveled to ranked Rockledge and won.  BTW beat a very good Coral Gables team and came within one TD each of Columbus and Chaminade.    
I think they would even give certain Top 10 teams all they could handle at this time, ie Columbia and Vero.

Pahokee won by 1 last year on a last second touchdown and lost by 1 this year on a under a minute missed extra point

The Bulls and the Tornadoes lost their big games this weekend against Central and Carol City, but put up a fight.  
Northwestern is 3-5 and has lost to IMG, Carol City, Central, Columbus and South Dade.   
Washington is 4-5 and has lost to Carol City, Central, Columbus, Chaminade-Madonna, and Northwestern. 
Let's be real.  If some of the current top 25 teams in Florida played the same schedules, they might very well have losing records right now.  At the very least, they would have some more losses. 
 
 

Lake Wales beat Sebring 35-20 to clinch the 6AD8 title.  Sebring had won their last 3 meetings.  Lake Wales last won this matchup in 2009.  
Deland beat Flagler Palm Coast 10-3 in a 8AD1 matchup. FPC had won their last 3 meetings.
Seminole Ridge beat Pahokee 21-20.  Pahokee had won the last 3 meetings.

I was at FAMU during the glory days of LIncoln and went to most of their games.  Cromartie was a BEAAAAST  and Freak AThlete in High School at 6'3 210 (he could also run a .47 400M).
 
They are playing the Leon Lions.
 
He played CB, S, RB, WR, KR, PR
Finals TD Pass was ST. Thomas Aquinas
They also played against Columbia on the way there
They also play against Melbourne Beach Palm Bay in the "Fog Bowl" in the playoffs against Joe Cohen, Xavier carter, and a few other future D1 players that are escaping my memory
They played Valdosta that year (and lost I think) as well as Madison
That team was stacked with D1 talent.  Pat Watkins, Greg Threat (cannot remember if the QB was Gavin Dickey or Joe Bauserman).  Their LT was a starter for USC (cannot remember his name).
 
 
 

Great guess, but no.  The hint above was "caught" a pass.  Gavin Dickey was a qb for Lincoln at the time and threw for 2 TD passes in the 2001 state title game.  One of those went to the guy in the picture.  

Gavin Dickey?  Leon...  QB …  STA...UF

TD pass against Aquila’s?

Leon is opponent 

Maybe Antonio Cromartie, Lincoln High and Florida State. Corner Back and Wide Receiver.

Having so many classes has contributed to this phenomenon.  In the dinosaur days, when we had 4 or even 5 classes, it seems like there was a better chance for a fan to have at least one contender from their area in each of the classes.    Even a fan in a huge county like Miami-Dade today may not have much interest in certain classes, ie 5A or 7A.  I used to love the 3A class, and now, quite honestly, I find myself bored to death by it.  Thank God for Jessica, she keeps me connected.
 

Leon Washington. CB and RB. Jackson High and Florida State.