VeniceIndianFan

Yes.

So, you know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a few other guys, that thinks that Kissimmee Osceola's coaching staff is falling apart, Coach Pinellas is just going to up and leave the program for no reason, and that he likes track more than football?! No holes in that story whatsoever.

Exactly. This is not a bad starting point at all.

The FHSAA doesn't care. Nothing we say on a message board will ever convince them to make meaningful change. What I will say is that this wasn't a problem 15-20 years ago. The FHSAA needs to open their history book and discover why, or risk teams leaving in droves.

I hope so! Sad that Davis transferred to Central, though. As if Central wasn't strong enough already.

So, you're saying that Kissimmee Osceola still has one of the top offensive lines in the state, their returning RB when he returns, and 5 defensive starters with experience?

Your offensive line alone can take you to the championship. Experience is invaluable anywhere on the field, but arguably none more so than on the offensive line where another year in the weight room can work wonders for your team. Without an offensive line, you don’t have an offense. Osceola’s entire offensive line has experience. That can’t be understated. That’s not a crazy pronouncement, it’s an objective truth to anyone who follows football that Osceola is a threat to Venice/Lakeland/Manatee/Bartram Trail winning 4S and should be treated as such. Have faith in your team! On any given Friday, anyone can be beaten!

They’re not quite pesky like a mosquito, they’re more like a wrecking ball to a wooden house! The Kowboys have serious potential to crash 4S plans of a Lakeland vs Venice rematch.

If Central loses a game of any kind they should be ashamed of themselves. They are so loaded they’re practically about to burst at the seams. Losing King hurts but I’m sure the West will find someone new to take his place. With that said, Week 3 Indians And Bulls can’t get here quickly enough!

I plan to be there if Venice is fortunate enough to get past Manatee! Come say hi at some point before the game! We talked about it on Scorestream a bit last year, but I wasn't able to buy tickets and instead fell victim to the corrupt NFHS site which stole my money. Infuriating! But until that day, it must be so hot to be a Dreadnaught!

Our offensive line cost us that game last season. We also didn't have a single senior on our offensive line. What does that tell you about our 2023 product?

No, we don't. We have 12-15 teams out of hundreds who will be expected to win a state championship on a yearly basis. The Metro/Suburban split was an overall positive, but the addition of yet another class was like a kick to the ribs after the FHSAA finally seemed willing to listen to reason. Just look at the smaller classes: The original 1A class got screwed so badly by this split that it isn't even funny. Madison County will terrorize 1R with their massive talent disparity. Chaminade-Madonna has virtually no competition in 1M outside of Trinity Christian Academy. First Baptist or Trinity Catholic will almost always be expected to win 1S. Cocoa steamrolls 2S. I could go on. How is any of this fair? I'll tell you why, it's because it only looks like a mistake to a casual observer. The FHSAA knew exactly what they were doing by adding a new class instead of cutting back. They don't care about competitive imbalance, teams having to travel 75+ minutes for a district game, massive blowouts in regional playoff games, or potential injuries due to facing vastly physically superior teams. Why? Because more classifications = more playoff games = more state championships = more tickets sales = more parking = MORE MONEY!! And that is what they really care about. They had chances to stop this nonsense but never pounced on them because they have about the same amount of integrity as a politician in an election year. They are lining their pockets from ticket and parking sales and that is the bottom line.

Hey, step in line!

The source of most of these competitive imbalance problems are the South Florida juggernauts. Put them into their own classification and let them duke it out, then create 5-6 classifications for the remaining teams and you should theoretically see much more competition with the so-called, "little guys," having a chance. Agree alot with @Dr. D on this.

True. I just foresee another Columbus vs Apopka matchup. Columbus' defense is the real deal!

Have heard many nice things about Panama. Would love to visit. If anyone wants to take VeniceIndianFan the next time they go, he's all ears!

Coming back to this topic months later, do you understand now why we need fewer classes? 1R is basically what 1A used to be. Union County had a very strong team for themselves and was able to knock off Madison County, but that won't always happen. This means that these 1A schools who are now in 1R are basically right back to where they started. And not only this, but you can also practically write in state championships now because the power has become too concentrated into a small group of teams. Just look at this nonsense: 1M- TCA vs CMD 2M- Central vs AHP 3M- STA vs Tampa Bay Tech 4M- Apopka vs Columbus 1R- Madison County vs Hawthorne 2S- Cocoa vs FSU 3S- Mainland vs Lake Wales 4S- Venice vs Lakeland I shouldn't be able to write in the state championships with such ease. 1A got screwed even worse with the addition of a new classification and now Madison County, Pahokee, and Chaminade/TCA will rule over the 3 new 1A classifications. How is this fair in any way?

At least 2 of these are going to age very poorly.

Any thoughts?

They're playing a team from Ireland, huh? I guess it's good that Community School of Naples is getting into the "micks" of things! Ha, ha...

They will this time. Their offensive line is even better than it was last year. Still have some very dynamic receivers and a stout defensive line. And a great coach in Ryan Schneider. Cocoa should stomp everything in their path.

Agreed. The rich will always get richer. The kids on the playing field are infinitely more important than how many kids are in your school. If you’re going to get 8+ high-end transfers a year you should be able to compete with virtually anyone in your classification. This is why I think that the metro/suburban split wasn’t necessarily a mistake, but adding a ninth classification to the system certainly was.

We need fewer classes. Too much power became consolidated into too few teams when the FHSAA decided to expand to 9 classifications. This is why you can practically write in the state championships now. These teams will mostly have cakewalk regions to get there. If a team gets transfers and is able to compete with Cocoa in 2S then so be it. Cocoa is going to steamroll until proven otherwise.

The early graduation of Capers hurts, but in a way it’s bittersweet because you have to be proud of him for taking initiative and graduating early to enroll in college. You’ll be hearing his name on Sundays some day for sure!