OldSchoolLion

There were teams who won games they never should have won, but there was no internet telling them they shouldn't.   There are advantages to being ignorant.  

...unrealistic expectations.  Now we have teams making playoffs more often("we lost again"), all-classification polls overhyping teams, people on line overhyping teams.  One week after state finals the next year's preseason poll is out.  etc etc
It creates an environment ripe for disappointment.  HS football went from something that the average person thought of once per week, 4 months out of the year, to being in your face non-stop.  
In the dinosaur days of kids playing multiple sports, as soon as football season was over it was on to another sport and not much time to mull over a season-ending loss.  I think it was good to take some time off from football to recharge batteries.  

...unrealistic expectations.  Now we have teams making playoffs more often("we lost again"), all-classification polls overhyping teams, people on line overhyping teams.  One week after state finals the next year's preseason poll is out.  etc etc
It creates an environment ripe for disappointment.  HS football went from something that the average person thought of once per week, 4 months out of the year, to being in your face non-stop.  
In the dinosaur days of kids playing multiple sports, as soon as football season was over it was on to another sport and not much time to mull over a season-ending loss.  I think it was good to take some time off from football to recharge batteries.  

I know of two instances where instant reply would have changed the outcome of playoff games for my team.  But, then I would have nothing to fuss about on a message board years later. 

We had fewer classes and bigger districts. You just about had to go 10-0 or 9-1 to make the playoffs and a lot of really good teams got left out.  Instead Bowl games were the consolation prize.
1988 - Hardee was 8-2, DeSoto 9-1, Palmetto 7-3.  Three way tie for the district.  Hardee won the tiebreaker and went on to beat Jones and Key West before losing the championship to Suwannee.  Desoto's lost 14-13 to Palmetto.  Many think they matched up better with Suwannee than we did. Desoto played Immokalee in a bowl game.
 1989 - That year was a 4 way tie.  Avon Park was the defending 2a state champ and moved up to our class.  The 4-way was between Hardee, DeSoto, Avon Park and Okeechobee.  Sebring also had a winning record but 1 more district loss.  Avon Park won the tie-breaker.  Hardee played Fort Myers in a bowl game.
 

Deerfield has won 7 regional titles and Ely has won 6.  Better watch out, those Bucks are catchin up! 

MNW @ IMG ...it’s not a district game for the bulls but u do not wanna fall to 2-3 with games vs Miami central and Carol city still looming
MIAMI CENTRAL (4-1) VS MIAMI NORLAND (1-4) after starting 0-4 Miami norland got their first win last week but they couldn’t celebrate long with nationally ranked Miami central coming up next on the schedule the rockets who are coming off a dominate crushing win over st Thomas on the road will love nothing more to make quick work of their 6A-16 counters norland who still has games vs Miami Carol city and MNW as well would be all but out of playoff contention with a lost this week with a record of 1-5.
BOOKER T (2-3) AT EDISON 
Booker t who just a short time ago won 4 consecutive championships are flirting with missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year. While many if not all expects booker t to win this game edision is not a door mat and should not be over looked.
if you all have added games in mind that you feel are must win this week please add them below so we can discuss.

They tinkered with instant replay at some spring games in Alabama last year and interviewed one of the coaches afterward.  ...his comments.  “I’m not a big fan of it at this point.  When you look at the college level or pros, they may have 15 or 20 angles. They can zoom in and out. With just two cameras working with a wide and tight copy and the majority of the time you got high school kids videoing, it’s going to be tough to get the great angles like you do at the next level.”

This is in NJ on a one year pilot program. 


https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/columnists/darren-cooper/2018/09/26/nj-football-cooper-instant-replay-came-north-jersey/1422980002/

Manatee and Glades day or Pahokee

Good day!  Time for week 6 Class 3A stuff.  With the conversation shifting gears to playoff positioning with the FHSAA releasing their initial power points- I wanted to respect Josh's wishes of not discussing them until he can go through them.  So, here's my personal power rankings for the classification:

#1) Clearwater Central Catholic  (5-0) Playing well without services of 5 starters. 4 of them will be back next week including RB Jerzhan Newton.
#2) Chaminade-Madonna     (3-2)   Still favorite to win 3A. 2 tough losses against superpowers. Same spot as last year before taking off.   
#3) American Heritage Delray   (4-0)  Complete game against McCarthy. Stallions hit road to Pensacola Catholic.
#4) King's Academy   (5-0) Another strong win for the Lions against NBP.
#5) Florida High School (4-1) Sole loss was to Madison County, easier week this week before NFC comes calling.
----------
#6) Benjamin School (5-0) Strong win over Key West moved Benjamin to the brink of being ranked.
#7) Baldwin (5-0) Great article written in Jacksonville Times Union about Baldwin and high expectations. Indians playing strong.
#8) Cardinal Mooney (4-0)  See below.
#9) Tampa Catholic (3-1) See below.
#10) Orlando First Academy (5-0) Many feel that TFA and not FSU High is the favorite to be in Orlando.

Games I'm looking forward to this week:

Tampa Berkeley Prep at Tampa Catholic

Berkeley Prep is 2-2, but they've only had QB Joshua Youngblood for their week 1 loss. In the 3 games since, he's either not played or played running back. After the week 1 loss he broke his hand which prevented him from throwing the football.  While Cardinal Mooney is playing at a high level, I've been told that had Youngblood played QB that game may have turned out different. Regardless, that's water under the bridge.

Tampa Catholic is sitting at 3-1 and has simply steamrolled everybody behind a gigantic offensive line and the running prowess of Jalen Bussey, Caleb Tate and Andrew Ellis. TC also has a potent deep attack with WR's Tim Young, DJ Taylor and Austin White.

PICK:  I don't want to call a game a must-win, but Berkeley Prep needs this game far more than TC does.  Tampa Catholic has some easier games coming up against lesser competition (Belleview, Cypress Creek, Steinbrenner). Berkeley Prep has games against Miami Edison, Mitchell and Sickles left.  A loss here doesn't knock the Buccaneers out of the playoff hunt, but 3 losses will make it all but impossible to get a first round bye.

Tampa Catholic 35, Berkeley Prep 28
Pinkos Pick: TC by 6

Cardinal Mooney at Calvary Christian (Clearwater)

The Cougars of Cardinal Mooney are officially back as a top small school team. Paul Machetle and staff have done a great job of rebuilding this program in record time. QB Ryan Bolduc has been a very strong presence and he's surrounded by talented playmakers.  Mooney has made strides up multiple polls this season and has broken into the top 100 Florida teams via MP.

On the other side, Calvary Christian is sitting at 3-2. The Warriors have the pieces to be a very good football team but haven't figured out the key to winning. Last week the Warriors were run off the field against Orlando First Academy. This week the offense will need to be sharper and the defense will need to be stout to slow down the punch that Mooney packs.

PICK: Calvary is a good team that's trying to carve out its small piece of the pie and keep its head above water. Mooney is suddenly playing for a lot more than simply a winning season.  I expect Calvary to move the ball well, but Mooney has a few to many playmakers for the Warriors this week.

Cardinal Mooney 30, Calvary 21

Other games:

Chaminade-Madonna over Piper by 28
CCC over SPC by 35
Ft. Meade over LCS by 14
Baldwin over West Nassau by 1
King's over Calvary Christian Academy by 28
Trinity Catholic over South Sumter by 3
American Heritage over Pensacola Catholic by 28
Benjamin over Pinecrest by 35
Florida High over Gadsden County by 28
Westminster Christian over Marathon by 21
Ft. White over Williston by 17




 

According to some of the old timers, they didn't let Casko back on the bus after the game. 127 miles on US-27 with the best cab driver Lake Wales had to offer. 

For those who think that beating the powerhouses of today is an insurmountable challenge....please read this.  Having the odds stacked against you is not a new phenomenon in Florida.  Wildwood's coach at the time, Byrd Whigham, was a legend.  After Wildwood, he led little Melbourne High to a shocking upset of Fort Lauderdale in the 1970 state finals.  In 1964, there were 2 classes.  Think there were some significant differences in talent between rural schools and big city schools?   If you think playing St Thomas today is bad, you should have seen what some of these teams were up against in the dinosaur days.  Before their title game against Columbia, Wildwood had to travel to Hollywood to face "big city" Chaminade in a state final.  Ask your 75 year-old Grandpa what it was like traveling across the state back then.  So, please understand if some of us don't seem too sympathetic about today's transfer issues.  Adversity is nothing new.         
 
Wildwood grew out of watermelon fields and railroad tracks.  But the passion of Wildwood was, and is, high school football.  Never was that more true than in 1964, when the Wildcats lived out a story similar to the one chronicled in the Indiana high school basketball movie, Hoosiers. Often undersized, overmatched and outnumbered, the Wildcats finished 12-0 and won the state championship by beating Lake City Columbia 12-7 in the Class A championship game at Florida Field in Gainesville.  The opponent was typical of the teams Wildwood faced.
The Wildcats, with an offensive line that averaged just 168 pounds, were built around a core of 18 players. When Columbia took the field on Dec. 11, 1964, it made Lester Lucas, Wildwood's all-state left tackle, pause.  "I wondered, 'What was the University of Florida doing here? They weren't supposed to be practicing.' It looked like they had 60 or 70 players," said Lucas, 60. "They beat us to death in the first half. At halftime, it was 0-0. That was the only game that year where I felt defeated."  Wildwood, which never trailed during the season and outscored opponents 348-58, had been beaten down: By halftime, Columbia had 11 first downs, Wildwood one; Columbia had 181 yards rushing, Wildwood 27.  In his final game as Wildwood's coach, Byrd Whigham delivered an inspirational speech before the final two quarters.  "He was a genius," said Ronnie Phillips, 61, the starting left guard.
Suddenly, the Wildcats scored two touchdowns by the Jones brothers -- Danny and Randy -- stunning the crowd of about 6,000, and putting Wildwood up 12-0. Danny Jones scored on a 52-yard pass from quarterback Hamp Johnson. Later, concluding a 65-yard drive, Randy Jones scored from 2 yards.  "We were quick, we were well-coached and we ran a ball-control offense," said Johnson, 60, a cardiovascular surgeon in Ormond Beach. "That was how we did it."
The late Van McKenzie, former sports editor of the Orlando Sentinel, covered Wildwood as an assistant sports editor for the Ocala Star-Banner. McKenzie wrote in an e-mail to Lucas in 2001 that Wildwood's victory against Columbia was one of the 10 most memorable events he covered.  "It was one of the gutsiest performances I've ever seen," wrote McKenzie, who was sports editor at six papers and covered World Series, Super Bowls and Olympics. "Lake City had a great, great team, much bigger and faster and with lots more depth than Wildwood. . . . Facing a third-and-inches for a first down . . . at about midfield in the third quarter, Whigham called for the bomb. It went for a TD, and you guys won the game.  "Afterwards, I asked Whigham why he didn't just go for the first down, and he deadpanned, 'Cause first downs don't win football games. Touchdowns do.' "
It was the first of two state titles for Wildwood (the second came in 1970).  Back in '64, few people gave Wildwood a chance.  The FHSAA's state football championship program was in its second year. It was offered only for the state's largest schools -- Class AA and Class A.  With 97 boys in its top three grades -- then the standard used to determine a school's classification -- Wildwood didn't qualify among the state's biggest schools. But Whigham wanted his players to have a chance to compete for a state title and asked the FHSAA whether the school could move up to Class A.
Wildwood already played in the Orange Belt Conference against mostly Class A schools, including Leesburg, Kissimmee Osceola, Winter Garden Lakeview (now West Orange), Lyman and DeLand. The conference's coaches picked Wildwood to finish fifth.  Wildwood, a team of proud, rural farm boys, dominated the conference but still needed a late schedule change to make the playoffs, which were determined by points on a strength-of-schedule basis. Wildwood replaced Class B Lake Weir with Class A Eustis as the season was winding down. A victory against undefeated Eustis, a tougher, bigger opponent, would give Wildwood the points it needed to reach the playoffs.  Wildwood won its second game in three days, 27-13.  "It wasn't like we sat around, wringing our hands saying, 'How are we going to do this?' " said captain and starting center Ronnie Perry, 61, who now lives in Granite Falls, N.C. "We were so conditioned to winning back then that I truly believe if we had to play back-to-back games, we would have won both of them. Losing never was an option. We were going to win. There was no question about it."
The Wildcats were small, strong, swift -- and united.  Summers spent working in the town's watermelon fields, picking and throwing melons, did wonders for strength and conditioning in the days before weight training. The players were inseparable, working and playing together.  "I don't think it is a word that we used back then, but we loved each other," Lucas said.  Most stay in touch today, and many live, or have returned, to their hometown.
 

Castle can take mediocre talent and win. There have been years they have not had the best talent, but go undefeated and into the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round of the playoffs. He knows how to put players in the right position and give them the best opportunity to succeed.

Fred Taylor Belle Glades Central and I will say yes

...just some perspective.  Back in the 1970's, North Florida was a heck of a lot more rural than it was now, and the Panhandle schools gave the rest of the state all if could handle, regardless of class.  Even when playing schools in the same class, the difference in access to talent pools was huge and worked against the north FL schools.  For instance, one 4A final was Miami Carol City vs Choctawhatchee.  How did they do it?  ..by being mean and nasty. 
The vast majority of 5A schools today are in the vicinity of highly populated areas with access to a substantial talent pool.  Amongst the more "rural" 5A schools might be Wakulla.  Wakulla County has about 30,000 people.  For some around the South, 30,000 is a good-sized county.  Georgia has about 100 counties with less than 30,000 people.  And some of them routinely take on schools from the big city during the regular season.  5AWakulla with 1500 kids competing against current 7A Lincoln with 2100 kids....I don't see that being an insurmountable barrier to win.  Wakulla could likely beat many of the Miami teams in 7AR4 now.     
It's all relative.  Tift County in Georgia has about 40,000 people...about the size of Levy County in FL.  They have a school with 2100 kids.  They play in 7A with Atlanta schools that have over 3500 kids.  Coach Buddy Goins, who coached Miami Springs many years ago, had a team in the early 90's that went undefeated and gave eventual champion Southridge it's toughest game of the playoffs.  They had less than 30 kids.  Talk about nasty kids.    
At some point, the kids and coaches just need to buck up and get nasty if they want to win.  
  

5-0 Superior Collegiate is visiting Rockledge this weekend.  They have beaten Naples Barron Collier and Champagnat this season.  

If it's Derrick Brooks then he went to Pensacola Washington 
 
 

looks like Derrick Brooks (Tallahassee) ?

This game got playoff implications all over it and this is a very very important game for Vero because Cen10 have been puttin up them points this year and believe or not, Vero been struggling the last two weeks but are able find ways to win... 
Scenario 1 Vero beats Centennial and probably get a top 2 seed like last year meaning we will get a normal iight team that Vero would normally schedule in the regular season....
Scenario 2 Cen10 upsets Vero and potentially sends them on the road in the playoffs immediately, that would drop us off at the door of the lions den..... Cen10 would have to complete the roll of beating Treasure Coast which won't be easy because they beat Cocoa and played Mainland very tough which strength of schedule could play a part in it as well.... 
Important thing to note that this game will be on the road at Cen10...
 

Vero Beach (5-0), St. Lucie West Centennial (5-0) and Treasure Coast (4-1) are a combined 14-1.
Compare their schedules and opponents' records with those for other area teams.

Zoe Boy...I think there was an advantage before computers and polls got a lot of press.  STA had some great teams with great talent back in the 1980's and got beat by Broward teams...and not just DB and Miramar.  I would not be surprised if kids today get completely psyched out reading all the hype. 
Back in the day, you might here about one good player from a team and you sure as heck didn't know how many "stars" the players on the other team had.  It could be a struggle to get game films for a playoff.  And when the game was over, kids didn't spend the next week gloating on twitter about how they beat the #23 team in the state. 
Kids just showed up and played whoever was on the other side of the field.  I saw games between teams that were absolute mismatches on paper, but I swear because the kids did not know any better they played just like it was "some other team."  That is the mentality kids need to today.    
 
 

u jus jealous cuz you want all da luv

8ASouthridge(4-1) @ 8AMiami Palmetto(4-0)    Classic 8AD16 matchup.  Southridge has won the past 10 meetings, including 6 by shutout.  Palmetto has beaten Naples and Coral Gables.   6ANorthwestern(3-2) @ IMG(3-1)   IMG beat the Bulls 21-0 last year.   8AWekiva(4-0) @ 8AWest Orange(4-1)   8AD4 matchup.  Wekiva has won 5 of 9 matchups between the 2 schools, including the last 2 games.     4ACocoa(2-2) @ 4AGlades Central(2-2)   Cocoa has met the Raiders in the playoffs 3 times, including the 2009 and 2010 2A finals.  They also met in Cocoa in 2003. Cocoa won all 3 games.  This may be the first time these two have ever met in the Muck.  The Raiders also have a long history with Rockledge, so the Brevard County vs the Muck storyline is a rich one.   7ABraden River(3-1) @ 7AVenice(3-1)   7AD11 matchup.  Venice has won the past 4 games, all in close fashion.   6APine Forest(3-1) @ 6AEscambia(4-0)   Classic 6AD1 matchup.  Pine Forest has won 10 of the past 14 games, but the Gators have won the past 2 matchups.   7AColumbia(5-0) @ 5ATrinity Christian(5-0)   These two teams split their last 2 meetings.   5AGodby(5-0) @ 5AWakulla(4-1)   Classic 5AD2 matchup.  In their last 13 meetings, Godby has won 7 and Wakulla has won 6.  Godby won 21-6 last season.   8ASandalwood(4-0) @ 8AFlagler Palm Coast(4-1)   Classic 8AD1 matchup  Since 2005, Palm Coast has won 6 games and Sandalwood has won 5 games.   Palm Coast won 28-21 last year.

u jus jealous cuz you want all da luv