VeniceIndianFan

Venice wasn’t a yearly state contender until they started running a fast paced, hurry-up offense in 2015. And beyond that, we used to get our heads bashed in seemingly every year by Manatee, Southeast, and Armwood before 2015. In the late 2010’s, it was STA kicking us around like a can. Like every other winning program today, Venice benefits from transfers. We get around 5–7 per season. Some contribute immediately, some do not. The decision to have more classifications is based solely on money. More state championships = more parking money, ticket sales, concessions, etc. It’s a huge scam. The FHSAA makes thousands of dollars off of more of these playoff events and teams that never would have had a chance before are now getting beaten by 35+ points in the playoffs because they don’t belong there. And to boot, the FHSAA is profiting from these beat downs because regardless of how badly they get their butts kicked, more tickets are sold for state championships on top of everything else I’ve already mentioned. How is that fair in any way? So you win a 3 or 2 team district and then lose by 35+ points to a team that actually deserved to be there? That’s not fair in any way, shape, or form. In fact, these watered down classifications actually are doing the opposite of what you want them to do. You win a free trip to the playoffs By beating a 2-8 team. Hurray! And now what’s your reward? A trip to Miami Central, STA, Manatee, Lakeland, etc. Not a good look.

If I had to put the top 10 4S contenders in order, I would have it like this: 1. Lakeland 2. Osceola 3. Venice 4. Buccholz 5. Bartram Trail 6. Treasure Coast 7. Manatee 8. Vero Beach 9. Martin County 10. Melbourne With Sarasota, Riverview, and Harmony being potential sleeping giants. Sarasota is racing full steam ahead in the right direction. Riverview could win this district over Venice with their returning defense. Nobody gave Harmony a chance last season until they went into Vero Beach and nearly pulled the upset of the year. 4S is just a very loaded classification from top-to-bottom.

I wish I could "trophy" this comment a thousand times.

The 11 kids on the field are far more important than how many people attend your school.

Next up, North Port will play Mater Dei for the right to the 27A State Championship!

It's a sad state of affairs when the FHSAA is too blind to see the issue at hand. What's even more embarrassing is that it's right under their noses. We have way too many classes.

Having more classes severely diminishes the achievement of a state championship. What's the point of a state championship if there are around 10 teams per year winning one, there are 2-3 team districts where 1 win basically gives you a free trip to the playoffs and a banner to hang on the wall, and there are on average 20-30 blowouts per season throughout the playoffs? The reality is that both of these are an issue. The South Florida powerhouses by themselves were a *major* cause of the suburban vs metro split. If we just cut back down to 5 or 6 classes than you will see a considerable reduction in playoff blowouts, especially from round 3 onwards. We need fewer classes.

Armwood looks better on paper. 16 returning starters and a very good offensive line. They should be favored over TBT until proven otherwise.

Just keep telling yourself that Armwood isn’t a threat in 3M. Maybe it will come true. Not! They return 16 starters from last season. Can’t wait to see what they do against Venice week 1.

Wow that is one damn tough schedule. Not a single guaranteed win, all tossups. Best of luck to your Raiders sir! This is a phenomenal schedule!

CAI is tricky. They've been up and down the past few years. They got shut out by Lakeland last season before basically shutting down Venice's offense in the season finale. I figure that Columbus will have some early heartache in that game before their depth takes over and they win, 31-17. The offensive line might give you some problems early but I doubt they will linger. CAI should be good enough to help expose some early problems and your coaching staff will correct them quickly. I don't see any glaring losses on the schedule (maybe Central?) But still, the Explorers will "discover" lots of victories in 2023!

Thought I saw on Twitter that you guys were playing them as well?

St. Frances is playing the toughest schedule in the nation in 2023. If they go undefeated with Mater Dei, Saint John Bosco, Miami Central, Kahuku, and IMG on the schedule, it would be impossible to deny them the national championship.

Phenomenal schedule. Could go anywhere from 8-2 to maybe even 10-0. Central is the one “likely” loss, Northwestern is a toss-up. CAI is tricky because they look very good on paper, but they don’t (or at least, shouldn’t,) have the depth that Columbus has. Jesuit appears to be going in the wrong direction. Homestead is a very scrappy, hard-nosed team that will challenge your offense. But as long as you don’t overlook the Broncos, I can’t see them beating you. EH2, it looks like your Explorers will field a great team once again and will be ready to bring home another championship. This is a great schedule that will undoubtedly have them ready to beat whomever they face in postseason play!

Thank you sir! Best of luck to your Panthers as well. It’s time for Dillard to finally kick STA’s ass and get HFA!

Yes sir, go Kowboys! That is, until they play a certain green team from SW Florida in round 4 or 5 of the playoffs!

All good. I just saw that Vero Beach released their full schedule, and saw that Miami NW is making the trip north to play the Fighting Indians in Week 1 while Manatee has scheduled IMG Varsity for their Week 0 and a trip to Lake Minneola for week 1. Manatee's schedule seems very underwhelming for the kind of team they will be fielding. I'm sorry that you couldn't keep the Canes on there. I'm very excited to see what Vero Beach can do against MNW. If Vero wins that game, it will say a lot about the kind of chances they have at winning 4S. Venice travels to play them week 3 in a game that could be taken by ESPN. I'm expecting that to be a very tough, hard-fought game with (hopefully!) a razor-thin Venice victory in the end. Columbus' defense looks very stout on paper so far. Miami NW has an extremely tough early slate of games in Vero Beach, Venice, and your Explorers. Can't wait to see their full schedule.

They still do. This is an awesome schedule that will determine how far they can go in a loaded 4S. The graduation of all 4 starters on their defensive line hurts, but as Ray pointed out they return basically the same offensive line, QB and a dangerous RB room once again. They return a lot of solid playmakers in the backfield as well. I see them going 8-2 with their losses coming to Lakeland, and either Jones or Sanford Seminole. Don't think Treasure Coast has it in them to beat Osceola in the season opener. Extremely tough schedule that will serve the Kowboys well.

Now THAT is the kind of schedule the Fighting Indians need to make a deep run into the 4S playoffs! Awesome schedule!! Hope we can get you guys back on in '24.

SJB had the courage to schedule Central, so why can't MD? I mean what's the holdup? SJB has played MC and STA, so why can't the "King of High School Football" in Mater Dei do it too?

GSB is credible in name only. Maybe try NOT talking to 12-year-old girls from New Joyzee.

A few weird bounces of the ball and Apopka wins that game over Columbus. They've been extremely close twice. Is the third time the charm? Glad to hear that the Darters are fielding a strong team once again! 4M should be a rematch of Columbus vs the Darters, and hopefully with different results this time!

Seriously, who cares what that Shyster Joe Mamón guy has to say? He's the most ignorant person in the football world. A perfect representation of the Garden State.

CAI

Probably our best offensive line in school history as every single starter from last season returns. In fact, we didn't have one single senior on the roster last year across the entire OL. We've never been in that position before. We are fielding our most experienced running back room in school history as we have Alvin Johnson, Jamarice Wilder, and Ashari Charles all returning. Wilder and Johnson split carries last season, with Ashari taking some snaps in lopsided affairs. Ryan Matulevich and Adam Paponotanikis return at receiver and transfer Jayce Barksdale will make an impact as well. Jackson Scott will come in from JV to play tight end. Transfer Jayden Glasser from South Plantation should operate our offense nicely. Defensively, we are losing basically our entire backfield with the graduation of Sage Youtzy, Elliot Washington, Jaquavious Washington, and James Huber. The entire defensive line graduates. Deylen Platt returns at cornerback, and all 3 of our starting LBers in Elijah Seed, Carter Dalton, and Kammring Herring return. We will have newcomers Brycen Fraser and Chad Fleming playing the other 2 cornerback slots. On our defensive line, newcomers Eli Jones and Shamar Littles will attempt to fill the void with the graduation of Tyler Anderson and Damon Wilson at edge. Before Trenton came back from injury last season, we had a linebacker playing DT... not good. Ryan Daly, transfer from IMG will be taking the spot of Trenton while David Galloway plays next to him. Overall, not a horrible starting point. But having such a new defense may hurt them in the beginning, so those early games against high-powered offenses (TBT, Armwood, Cocoa, MNW,) may prove to be tough learning curves. Overall, I see Venice finishing 8-2 with them dropping either the Cocoa or MNW game, and then being shocked by Manatee in Week 7. Have to wait and see!