MinuteMan

I do not have all the answers. I am simply stating why schools are manipulating numbers. That is it. A rural public school with 650 students will rarely compete in 3A with the powerhouse private schools. That is why they manipulate numbers to 1A.

Yes, they do. Ultimately, I don't believe they want to (nor can they) compete with the powerhouse private schools that dominate 2A & 3A. That's what is attracting them to manipulate numbers to 1A... There are no private schools. Just my opinion.

Why do teams want to drop down into 1A? Simply put, there is not a level playing field in 3A-4A either. You are advocating for small 1A schools, but not considering the position these schools are in that have 600-750 students. Big "1A schools" and small public 3A-4A schools in rural areas know that they cannot compete with private school powerhouses such as Trinity Christian, Trinity Catholic, Bolles, Florida High, Cardinal Gibbons, etc. Level the playing field in those classifications and we wont have as many schools manipulating numbers.

Outside of Madison County, most of the teams that consistently win state championships are either private schools or Miami/Fort Lauderdale schools.

Trenton beat them because they recruited... Hard. I would never promote recruiting and that is the only way a Dixie, Trenton, etc truly has a chance to beat them in my opinion. Unless something magical happens and one of those schools produced multiple SEC caliber guys like Union County did back in the 90's, nobody other than Pahokee will beat them.

Madison County recruits itself. I wouldn't be surprised if a few kids from Monticello, Live Oak, Jasper, or Perry transferred to Mad Co (if they have the transportation) because they are clearly the best in the area. Good players want to play for good programs. I could be wrong, but I don't think they are doing anything illegal. They have good athletes, good coaching, and they work their behinds off year around.

They are in a talent rich area and there is nothing to do in Madison other than football. They work relentlessly year around and have a good coaching staff. In addition, there is not much competition for them on a consistent basis in 1A other than Pahokee. Everyone else in 1A is playing for 2nd/3rd place.

The Union County Fightin' Tigers State Champs 94', 95', & 96'

The community has rallied behind the fact that the school district installed a new turf field at David Hurse Stadium. The community has now come together in the past month to fully donated a new scoreboard and sound system by NEVCO. The board will stand nearly 40 ft tall and will be installed starting the first week of August. After decades of neglect, David Hurse Stadium may soon be one of the best atmospheres in north Florida for high school football.

Union County - 56 Straight, I believe. Late 90's

The school has been desperate for upgrades for years. If you've ever been to Bradford, you know that the baseball team and football team share the same muddy field. This is a power move that will change the landscape of athletics in Bradford. The baseball team is currently getting a new field at another spot on campus.

The school could potentially add soccer in the future I suppose.

Announced yesterday that David Hurse Stadium will be receiving a major face-lift for this upcoming season as they install a new turf field. This is big news for a small public high school (800 students) that doesn't have to share the field with anyone else (currently no soccer team at BHS).

IMG 39 CHS 6

The Indians will have a veteran QB protected by a solid offensive line up front. Defensively they return a good group of guys. They will be more athletic on the perimeter than they were a year ago. #20 is a solid football player, hopefully he doesn’t miss his entire senior year.

Eastside should be better than their 5-4 record last year which included 1 score games with several average to below average teams. They do have potential. I don’t feel as if Bradford should be the top school on the list. Probably around 3ish behind Buchholz and Columbia until they prove otherwise. They lost a handful of impactful of seniors, but they will improve athletically across the board. Their sophomore QB can score any play via air or legs.

Bingo. Fort White would run the clock on both. Eastside will have to prove to me that they are one of the area’s best, even if they do have an sec commit at QB. Bradford and FW deserve more love. FW is always competitive and has more playmakers this year. Even though Bradford got mopped by Raines, they still made it to the final 4 in 4A. Both of these teams deserve more.

According to Maxpreps @ Suwannee Providence (Jacksonville) @ Santa Fe Taylor County Bradford County Williston @ Union County Dixie County @ Newberry Parker (Jacksonville) Appears very manageable to me outside of 1-2 tough games.

Fort White goes undefeated in regular season Eastside is the top team in Gainesville

According to Maxpreps, Bradford picked up Cocoa and University Christian. Bold move to pick up 2 powerhouse programs.

The Bradford/Fort White game will be a slugfest in the fall. The Indians have this game circled after last year’s disappointment.

I expect them to do well in their 2nd year under their new HC. Went 10-2 and made it to the state semi-finals under him in year one, before running into Raines. They looked the part at the 7v7 at CHS. They do have a tougher schedule this year though. My eyes are on Fort White though. Always well coached and play good football. With a manageable schedule and multiple transfers coming in, I expect them to make some noise in 3A.

Hearing good things from several teams here in North Central Florida Bradford Columbia Fort White

I've always had a lot of respect for the football program at Columbia High but CHS has been disappointing for a number of years now. They should be an annual contender.