VeniceIndianFan

My predictions: STA does just enough to defeat Homestead. Venice wins over Lakeland. Hawthorne edges Northview. Trinity Catholic defeats First Baptist. Cocoa leaves their late scares against Bradford behind and dominates FSU High. Columbus hands Apopka a second straight championship loss. Chaminade BIG over CCC. Lake Wales takes a convincing win over Mainland. Central completes their dream season and overtakes AHP to claim the state and national championship.

STA by a few nose hairs!

But every single state championship game, with the exception of CMD and CCC, has a chance to be competitive now. You fail to realize that the FHSAA knew that there was a problem with blowouts in state championships, so they took steps to fix it. Just look at the finals matchups: STA vs Homestead Central vs AHP Venice vs Lakeland Lake Wales vs Mainland Chaminade vs CCC First Baptist vs Trinity Catholic Columbus vs Apopka Hawthorne vs Northview FSU High vs Cocoa The only runaway I see is CMD vs CCC. Add in the fact that teams now have two weeks to prepare for their state championship opponents instead of just 1 like before, and it should be clear that the FHSAA took a big step in the right direction.

If you want my take, the 5 most knowledgeable people on this board, by far, are KeemD321, Nulli Secundus, DarterBlue, Dan in Daytona, and Jullian. Honorable mentions for everyone else!

Gotta play 4 quarters to beat the Pats! No senseless penalties and no turnovers. AHP makes a living off their opponents' mistakes!

Columbia deserved to be the favorite based on SOS alone. Lake Wales dominated them, but I thought that Columbia would win because of how well they played after their loss to TCA. They built a lot of momentum that was blown in one night. Lake Wales deserved to win last night, and I think they will crush Mainland in the finals to take home the 3S trophy. The final score shocked me a little, though!

AHP vs Central is going to be the game of the year. AHP with the upset? Venice edges Lakeland by a few strings. Columbus over Apopka.

You made this board a fun place to use for 4 years for some 20-year-old kid behind a screen that likes Venice football! I have to eat some crow now, though!

Hey Ray Icaza, would you care to explain what is so confusing about my post?

We're losing probably the most knowledgeable person on this board. Damn. Gonna miss reading your posts, Hunter. You were the man!

Chaminade will be too much for Gorman, now that Mater Dei is out of the picture it's up to Central or Chaminade to take home the National Championship. Gorman already lost to Mater Dei, so that should take them out of the running.

Central 56 Lakewood 7

That's a stupid rule. Further illustrates that the top California schools want no part of STA, Central, AHP, or CMD.

Miami Central should get a shot at Saint John Bosco to determine the true national champion.

Sarcasm aside, I actually like the idea. Although, it's a shoo-in this year as the winner of Miami Central vs AHP in 2M will represent the state as the best team in Florida, and maybe the best team in the nation as well!

SJB and Mater Dei are the only teams in the country that would have had a chance against this Miami Central team. I've been saying this since July, the 2022 Central team was going to be extremely special and look at where they are now. 2 wins away from a national title after Dei's loss to Bosco. Keep soaring Rockets!

As long as we don't have to play Madison County!

Columbia will be too much for Lake Wales.

And now that Mater Dei lost, the door is open for Central to take home the National Championship!

But didn't Gadsen County make the playoffs at 0-10 a couple years ago as a runner-up? Not saying that your opinion is without merit, but I don't think that a runner-up who finishes 2-8 or similar automatically ought to get a playoff berth; much less deserve to host a playoff game.

The 11 kids on the field are more important than the sum of who you have in your school. The problem is that when you have 8 or 9 classes with open transfer policy, you get a situation where schools like Trenton and Union County have to compete with Madison County for a chance at a state championship. By cutting the number of classes and putting more teams in each class you increase the likelihood that a better football team will step up to the plate to challenge schools that have had "championship monopolies" for years. Just look at 2M this season. Central, AHP, Gibbons, and Northwestern have to compete against each other for a SC instead of being split up (although MNW lost already.) For the first time in years, Columbia and Naples both have chances at a state championship instead of being lumped in with the South Florida bloodhounds. 1A has finally been somewhat competitive. Venice, Osceola, and Lakeland no longer have to play STA to get a state championship. That is what the Metro/Suburban split has done for football and an example of why more teams in each class is so important. Almost all of the big South Florida recipients of transfers, or "cheaters," as some people like to call them, are in 2M with the exception of STA and Columbus. That alone makes HSFB better.

Why not have each state champion play each other in sort of a bowl series, to determine the true state champion?

Cut down from 9 to 7 or 6 classes. Combine classes 1R, 2S, and 3S to create one class and leave the others as they are. Increase districts from 3 teams to no fewer than 4 but no more than 7. Keep Metro/Suburban classifications and bring back RPI in some fashion. No 1-9 or 0-10 teams making the playoffs as runnerups in garbage districts. Only the winner deserves to have a guaranteed spot in the postseason. Others must earn their spot through earning it with a winning record.

Naples and Columbia are on a crash course to meet for the state championship.