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If any program needs a shot in the arm its Chamberlain. Their tradition was ripped away from them when their nickname of 60 years was taken away by PC jackasses. It seems like their winning traditions have been forgotten. Wilder was a sophomore LB/RB at Chamberlain before transferring to Plant so he has ties to the school. He probably would’ve stayed at Chamberlain if they would’ve named Turner’s son as the head coach but he went to Plant and won state titles and national acclaim. 
From from what I understand he is a high energy and sophisticated coach. Hoping he does great to revive the Chiefs (I mean the storm). The talent flooded out at Chamberlain about 10 to 15 years ago and never came back. Hopefully he will draw some players. I know he’s been running fb  camps for quite a while. 
Good luck Coach!!
 

Cocoa might have an opinion on this whole "home dominance" thing.    

I've been looking at this all day and trying to figure out the best way to respond.  Here it is!
I strongly disagree with the statement that these schools weren't anything prior to 2006, with the lone exception of MC.  They were known for being the rockets that couldn't lift off, and anyone with knowledge of Dade football would certainly agree.  Dade has long been a county where players "follow" coaches, lol.  Now it's Central's turn.
American Heritage (Plantation), not to be confused American Heritage (Delray), did make one finals appearance to the tune of a 30-13 drubbing by NFC during the Eagles' run in the 90's.  
Chaminade may have only won 2 titles between 1963-2016, but they have been to the finals 4 times in that same span.  
Now I'm hardly one to defend the Raiders but in this situation, to say the Raiders were nothing prior to 2006 is laughable at best.  First, I have to guess you made a slight error in saying that the Raiders only won 3 state championships from 1963-2007 as I know you keep stats on damn near everything, lol.  Now if you had stopped at 2006 you would be correct but including 2007 actually gives them 4.  For the sake of discussion we'll stop at 2006.  One very important detail that you left out is the fact that when STA embarked on one of the best comebacks in FHSAA history in the 2006 finals, this was the Raider's 10th trip to the big dance.  YES, for the people in the back in the room.  10 times! (91, 92, 96, 97, 99, 00, 01, 04, 05, 06).  I would hardly call a program that goes the the finals 10 times in a 16 years nothing.  To put it in perspective, from to 1963-2006, STA was 3-7 and Hillsborough County was 5-9 during that same period.  Secondly, although Lakeland gets notoriety for the amount of times they not only defeated STA but done so in overwhelming fashion, I'd be remiss to not mention the "OTHER" schools that gave the Raiders lumps, bruises and heartaches: (1991 FWB (39-14), 2000 Pine Forest 34-27 (3OT), 2001 Lincoln (28-20). 
Beginning in 2007, the Raiders have gone 12-1 (Thank Lakeland for that lone loss) in the Finals and regardless of how reclassification goes, you can bet the Raiders will find a way to get there.
STA, Chaminade and AH have matured into the inevitability of their "program building".  That was going to happen with or without Lakeland as Broward (much like Duval) is revered for their private schools and the public schools are, well, anyway....  A special round of applause goes to the FHSAA for making it easier than ever to moonwalk to the show.

I got to watch 3 or 4 games and congrats to the winners. Couldn’t watch Lakeland v Venice bc of Christmas party but followed on score stream.
Chaminade is probably the class of the state.
Columbus looked good. BP looked good. If Homestead could kick a FG most of us on here would be celebrating. 
lakeland and mainland won classics.
Bradford was tough and played Cocoa fairly close. 
 
looking forward to things going back to normal next year with seven classes and that open division will make teams like Chaminade and St. Thomas earn titles (although this year was probably the year to get STA) Should be interesting.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge one of the most important figures in Lakeland football history who's never gotten any credit from anyone under 40, or who started paying attention to Lakeland football post 2003. 
Bill Galloway. He was the OL coach who developed the "Beefaloes" tradition, which is what made Lakeland into the power-running team that goes a long way to explain their sustained success. Galloway left, I believe, after the 2003 season to move to Tennessee. He was with Castle for roughly 20 years. And, when he was there, I can tell you he was almost Coach 1B to Castle's 1A. Castle's offenses in the early years were known for being balanced- they produced a QB who held the NCAA completion percentage for a time (Wayne Peace at Florida).  Galloway's influence probably helps explain the shift to run-dominant offenses in the 1990s. Lakeland won three state titles with Galloway being a crucial part of the staff, and I think his mark carried over to the teams that proceeded his exit. There were some other long-time coaches who deserve credit as well. But, Galloway was a towering figure who functioned almost like a co-head coach with Castle. Lakeland ran for over 1100 yards in two (2) playoff games, mostly from under center, and without a hurry-up approach. The Lakeland tradition of power football, which inspires players today, owes a lot to Galloway.

LOL, the bush leagues that the Indians have yet to win.  Maybe they take it this year.

Yeah these are area titles. Not state titles. You separate the teams by enrollment so they are in different classes. If you are in 3A you can’t win the 1A title. (Unless you are Madison County)  so by being separate you can only be considered champ of one class 
So if you separate the teams by area of the state then technically it’s not a state title. It an area title. The area being rural, metro or suburban. 

Playing for  "State"  championships are nice, but something rings hollow to me when the large urban area's of the state: Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville are all legislated out of the way and they still call it a state championship. Calling it a Junior Championship would be more appropriate. But that's just my opinion, nothing more. 

Vero, can't say I remember the issue why that game never happened, but we have been down near you a couple times in the regular season to play a good Sebastian River High, and a very good Fort Pierce Central. Mainland always likes to play strong out of area teams during the regular season to challenge itself and prepare for the playoffs. Some strong regular season opponents : Miami Central, American Heritage-Plantation, Cocoa, Jacksonville Bolles, Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna, St Edwards-Ohio, Gwinnett County-Ga., Olive Branch-Mississippi, Madison County, Rockledge, Dr Phillips, Orlando Edgewater, Sanford, Melbourne-Palm Bay, Bartram Trail, Kissimmee-Osceola, etc.  

Dunbars offense couldn’t do anything all game. The only chance they had was to get it in their athlete’s hands in open space!!!!! When Naples was at AHP they never kicked it deep because of the Pat’s athletes. They kicked a high 20/30 yd kickoff forcing AHP to fair catch or take a chance of fumbling it. Worked great……….Horrible way to lose. 

https://www.naplesnews.com/videos/sports/high-school/football/2023/11/25/highlights-dunbar-stuns-naples-behind-kelby-tyres-kickoff-return-touchdown/71700509007/
I may not be a rocket scientist, but who kicks the ball deep with 10 seconds to play to a d-1 prospect? I don't like to blame refs or coaches for losses but this ending is hard not to put on the head coach . geez. a squib kick to a team that does not have an elite kicker seem obvious. Tough way to get knocked out of the playoffs. Mainland would have beaten them anyway probably but losing this way in not fun. 
 

Me too. But more with the North brackets and how garbage the paths are. Like I said, Jesuit has to beat Pinellas Park, Northeast and Gaither to make the semis in the metro class larger than Central and Norland’s! 
 
Hell the top half of the bracket for 2M is a joke too. All 4 teams left in the North are WORSE than Cardinal Gibbons!!!! 
 
It’s so dirty for South Florida. All the good teams are down there, they have to all beat up on each other, while the north is just bunch of slappies, then when one team finally does make it out on top, they have to drive freaking 9 hours to Talahassee to beat some sacrificial lamb!!!!!

Probably after the regional finals this week once we know which teams are left in the final four. Usually look at the matchups that could draw well vs. those that might not.

While the seeding may be fairly accurate, a more concerning issue is the non-competitive nature of many games.  The median margin of victory for the 104 games was 27 points, so 50% of games were decided by 4 scores or more.  33% of games were in running clock territory (35+ margin of victory).  One of the purported benefits of the Metro-Suburban split was supposed to be more competitive playoff games (i.e. "competitive equity").  These results are not exactly a ringing endorsement of that logic.  Perhaps the games will become more competitive in the later rounds.  Perhaps there are too many mediocre teams in the playoffs to begin with....

You're spot on, Darter.   The question is this:  how did the FHSAA's proprietary formula know that Cocoa rightfully should have won that game against STA?  (Cue the sinister, mysterious music).
 

I'm leaning towards "No Contest" early in the 4th quarter.  

Not to play devil's advocate, although I do enjoy a little chaos, anyway Lakeland's state legislator gets that body's attention and for the sake of argument makes this a "boys will be boys" episode to be treated as such, with good ole boy slaps on the back, and it magically goes away. Stranger things have happened when Tallahassee has been involved.  

My favorite economist breaking it down for the masses. Preach Darter preach  

Imagine if the Space Coast team lost in the championship, but a week later the other team had to forfeit the win for an ineligible player. Space Coast in theory could win their championship with a 1-8 record, and no actual wins on the field.

The Panthers rival plantation comes to town this week at 5-1. Dillard coming off a tough lost to chaminade will look to get to (4-3) & over .500 for the first time this year. With such a tough schedule this year with little to no cupcakes on the schedule, Dillard most def will be coming into this game with some war wounds, but most def tougher & lready for battle. LETS GOOO DILLARD!!

Mario coaches his team to TAKE A KNEE, they win. Incredibly stupid. 

Norland beats BTW by around 14.
Cocoa wins a shootout against Sanford Seminole. 
Florida High finds a way to beat CD.
Miami Palmetto flattens lowly Edison.
Bishop Verot keeps the good times rolling with a victory over Jesuit.
Venice pumps the brakes on Manatee's 6-0 start in a thrilling game.
Sumter dumps overrated Zephyrhills. 
AHP cruises over Western.
PBC gets a very hard-fought victory over Benjamin to stay undefeated.
Calvary Christian: fans will be chewing their fingernails all night, but they beat Titusville in a very tight defensive slugfest to end their 6-0 start! 
 
 
 

I believe 1R was created so that small public schools from the Big Bend to the Panhandle (with the exception of Pahokee and Hawthorn which are south of there), to have their own division free of private school encroachment.  

3-1 Booker T Washington vs 5-0 Norland (Thursday) - The Vikings prep for their big showdown. 
4-1 Cocoa vs 5-1 Seminole - Cocoa beats Seminole in a game that's closer than one would think.
3-1 Carrollwood Day vs 4-1 Florida High - Very difficult game to pick. If I trip up, this would be the one. 
4-1 Edison vs 5-1 Miami Palmetto - Wins a very close game. 
3-2 Jesuit vs 5-0 Bishop Verot - BV proves they are for real
6-0 Manatee vs 3-2 Venice - Venice wins again in a very close game. 
5-1 South Sumter vs 5-1 Zephyrhills - Another close game
3-2 Western vs 3-1 American Heritage Plantation - Patriots are a level above
5-0 Benjamin vs 5-0 Palm Beach Central - The bigger school wins a very close game. 
6-0 Titusville vs 5-1 Calvary Christian (Ft Lauderdale) - Good start gets better
Picks bold and underscored

Actually, it seems perfectly clear: schedule as easy as possible to lose as rarely as possible.
The first thing I notice is they don't even offer a sort by Class option. Then, when I look at these rankings, I am reminded of just how incompetent the FHSAA is. And this is why the idea of an "Open Division" for the "best" teams regardless of size or county is probably never going to work. The FHSAA is simply too incompetent to rank the teams with any sort of accuracy. We'd end up with an "open division" that would have teams like Williston and Bartow in, and Miami Central out. LMAO