skyway
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Posts posted by skyway
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46 minutes ago, FL_HS_football said:
"Just own it" Lakeland's defense is suspect on a championship level, Its offense starts and stops with Bowman. Collectively is that enough to get Lakeland its 7th state title? My OPINION....... probably not this year. As far as being objective......I've taken trips to watch Lakeland play football when I had no reason to be there other than to watch Lakeland play..........I've watched Lakelend play before the Castle era. I was there in Dunedin to watch them win their 1st state title, etc....... I believe I have plenty to be objective about in as far as Lakeland football is concerned.
Lakeland unquestionably has enough to win a state title in any other classification. Do they have enough to beat STA? At the moment it looks like they do not. However, I just went back and re-watched some of the Plant game. After they got scorched on the three big plays, they replaced a safety and took a LB out and went nickel. Plant tried them deep again and were denied. Plant turned it over on downs. It is possible that Plant caught them off guard (due to so many blowouts and shutouts) and took advantage of some dumb calls/decisions by DBs, but that those are mostly correctable. Ultimately, you're looking at three big (and awful) plays, but beyond that the defense was fine. So, we shall see!
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2 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:
Do ya'll think Lakeland's qb could lead them down the field 80 yards with a minute left if he needed to? And has he had practice leading such a drive under game conditions? Am not trying to be funny, just asking an honest question.
Looking at the video of the QB I shared from the spring, it's possible. Watching them this season and many others, I'm inclined to answer no. The time management at the end of the 1st half was evidence of their limitations here IMO. They scored a TD anyway, but clearly didn't manage the clock as they should have.
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2 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:
I understand..if it's not there, it's not there. It blows me away that even in a football-rich place like Polk County, we still have a limited number of qb's who can throw the ball consistently.
Old school coaches are a factor. Can't really argue with the notion that more could be done in this area.
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36 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:
Lakeland's qb has only 70 passing attempts on the year. Coming into the playoffs, in the last game of the season, a 50-0 blowout, he had 4 attempts. And a similar result in their easy playoff win over Kathleen. With all of the easy wins they had this season, I am a bit surprised they did not get him more exposure to get ready for the playoffs.
I realize that number is not completely unusual for Lakeland teams of the past, but I had the impression they might be opening things up a bit this year with this qb. Hopefully that doesn't bite them.
They scored so many points so quickly through other means (rushing, defense and special teams) that it was hard to do much in that regard. But, there were times where they tried to open it up a little more in blowouts.
It is interesting to go back and watch the QB McWilliams's highlights from both the spring game at Venice and last season at Jenkins. Against Venice-without Bowman playing and with three current starting OLs out-they did look like a spread, open it up type of team.
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2 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:
I would love to hear someone's spin on how to exploit STA. Am not implying they are unbeatable. I simply see them as a very well-rounded team that can beat you different ways. If STA loses this game, fine, but how?
A team that blasts Dwyer, Deerfield Beach, Miramar and Dematha is a team on a mission. They have taken care of business all year except for one half versus Central.
The best argument for Venice having a shot is that they are so precise, and exploit every inch and every questionable aspect of the rule book, that they are just going to score a bunch of points no matter what. And they're used to giving up points, so they won't be shocked when STA scores. They hope to come up with a couple of timely turnovers, hold them to a couple of field goals and win something like 38-35.
I'm afraid it won't happen like that, though. I think this will look a lot like the 2016 game.
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1 hour ago, FL_HS_football said:
Lets be real for a second and take off the rose colored glasses:
Lakeland stacked the box in a defensive adjustment in the second half of the game, to shut the Plant run game down. It subsequently made its self vulnerable to the Pass and the HBC for Plant took full advantage of it. The fact that Lakeland wasn't capable of playing Plant straight up, tells me all I need to know about Lakeland's ability defensively against an competent offensive attack.
I'm not sure why you bother to try to pass as some objective observer. You're a Manatee fan who's jealous of Lakeland this year. It's OK. We were jealous of Manatee a few years ago. Just own it.
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1 minute ago, gwdrum75 said:
Lakeland run defense is stout. Pass defense leaves a little to be desired. Plant figured that out in the 2nd half and started throwing long. But Lakeland was able to answer every Plant TD. Lakeland adjusted on the last few defensive series and defended the pass better. We’ll see what Edgewater can do.
Edgewater's QB is like Demarkcus Bowman with an arm. I think if Lakeland sits in zone all game, he probably won't consistently be able to make the reads and throws he needs. But, against man he'll be able to chuck it deep, hit slants, curls etc, not to mention scramble all game long. I fear Edgewater is going to score a good number of points.
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1 hour ago, OldSchoolLion said:
For what it's worth, 30 points is a lot for a Lakeland D to give up in a region final..a Lakeland team that expects to challenge for a state title that is. Only once did a team score 30 points in a playoff game versus one of Lakeland's title teams, and that was the crazy OT game versus Aquinas in 06.
I didn't watch the game against Plant, so maybe there were extenuating circumstances. I've been spoiled by some of the Lakeland defenses of the past.
Lakeland kept Plant in check in the first half, allowing only 3 points. In the 2nd half, each time Plant had the ball, they were down by at least 18 points. So, they had to air it out. Of major concern for Lakeland is the fact that, with that big 2nd half lead, they allowed Plant to easily get behind the secondary for big plays three separate times. Like, glaring, WIDE open. Safety bit on one play-action, and a DB fell down on another play. But, problem is, Lakeland insists on staying in its base personnel all game long. So, Plant goes 4 WR (I think, off the top of my head), Lakeland's still in its 4-3 defense. Eiither you end up with a LB on a WR (mismatch), you have a safety on a WR and zero coverage over the top, or you have to be in a zone where a good QB can find the creases. Manatee got them a couple times with a similar scenario back in week 1. Against such packages, Lakeland is going to have to stay in zone for most of the game. Hopefully, this serves as a wake up call and they're able to patch some things up. If that's the kind of coverage we're going to be stuck with, Edgewater and/or STA will carve them up. They might be able to win a shootout vs. Edgewater, but not against STA.
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I was feeling pretty confident about this game for Lakeland...and then I checked out Edgewater's QB RJ Harvey on huddle. Now I'm scared LOL
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Ah yes. Forgot!
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53 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:
Lakeland and Edgewater have never met in the playoffs. Here are some interesting facts about each team.
Edgewater
- Has appeared in 3 state finals and was runner-up each time. (2002, 2003, 2004).
- Has played in 7 state semifinals and is 3-4 in those games.
- Is 10-11 when playing on the road in the playoffs and 2-1 in state semifinals played on the road.
- Is 1-2 versus Polk County teams in the playoffs.
Lakeland
- Has appeared in 7 state finals, and won 6 titles.
- Is 34-3 when playing at home in the playoffs over the past 20 years. (2 losses to Plant and 1 loss to Hillsborough)
- Has played in 14 state semifinals. Is 7-7 in those games.
- Has played 9 state semifinals at home. Is 5-4 in those games. Since 1996, is 5-2 in such games.
- Only 2 teams have beaten Lakeland more than twice in the playoffs. Osceola and Plant have each won 4 times.
- Their game versus Edgewater will be only the second playoff game against an Orange County team in the past 35 years (beat Lake Nona 2014).
The playoff loss to Hillsborough in 2003 was at Hillsborough.
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Plant had several guys playing who seemed to be really, really banged up. QB in particular. With the game over, he probably figured it best to spare the guys another possible collision.
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There are two advantages (along with some disadvantages): 1) Easier to keep players healthy in what could be a marathon, 15 game season. 2) Easier to conceal both effective schemes you might employ later as well as to conceal weak points on your team.
- DarterBlue2 and OldSchoolLion
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1 hour ago, Legion37 said:
Wonderful sentiment and I agree but Weiner Punted with over two minutes left in the game. I can't understand that at all. Sorry but that was a poor choice. On to Edgewater!
At that point, with his QB hurting, I think Weiner wanted to avoid giving Lakeland an easier chance to break the 50 point mark. Yes, they badly gashed Lakeland deep those three times, but those were early enough to where Play-action was still being honored by the safeties. On 4th and long down big with a couple minutes left, PA wasn't going to be there and so a conversion on 4th and long was unlikely.
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That said, 13 games for Lakeland and 13 wins by 3+ scores. I believe they are the only team in the state who can make that claim.
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Very impressed by the offense! Very concerned about the secondary! They had better learn a lot and make some adjustments, otherwise a team I thought needed to win defensive struggles in the late rounds will be stuck having to win shootouts. They appear to be more capable there than I feared, but, we can only hope there are some rare circumstances that led to three embarrassing blown coverages on deep balls. On an otherwise awesome night, those plays stand out as unacceptable embarrassments.
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2 hours ago, gwdrum75 said:
It is being webcast. Just confirmed it via email.
Great! Now if they can just keep the wide shot from the press box during all plays! Don't need to switch to close-up shots in the middle of plays haha
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I like Bloomingdale to hang around with Venice, but Venice wins late.
Armwood takes out Vanguard. Vangaurd has the best player in the game, but Armwood has more athletes across the board.
No prediction on Plant-Lakeland. My "gut instinct" says Lakeland puts it all together, runs only a few of their best offensive plays over and over, and rolls. But, my head reviews recent history and sees Lakeland failing to execute the "little things", getting too complicated and getting away from what they do best, and stalling on offense. While this is the best defense Lakeland has ever had, Plant is really good on offense. One offensive touchdown-all Lakeland got the last two years-likely won't get it done. So, I don't know. I do know I hope to be able to watch the game, but still no announcement on that.
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25 minutes ago, gwdrum75 said:
Yeah. One this year.....a kickoff goes in the endzone and they don't blow it dead......forcing the return team to field it......resulting in a safety. I just wonder if it is lack of training or something else......but it's been bad.
That too. That was a little bit harder to be certain of watching the webcast, but I remember the guys in the booth being amazed. In California, last week Corona Centennial ran a basic zone read, the QB keeped it, but the ref THOUGHT the back had it, back was tackled and the ref blew it dead. QB was long gone to the endzone before it was clearly blown dead. Dreadful!
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14 hours ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:
Glad you didn't give up on trying to come over here lol
It been funny how you managed to piss Los off so easily but heads up with him. He's like a brick wall and unless you have energy to respond back to him for a hour or 2 consecutively then he is a waste of time because Los just talks till people give up arguing with him LMAO
haha thanks. Though I've been around the block for a long time. (Took a hiatus for a few years as I was over all of the super team building. I'm still over it, really. But, this is the first time Lakeland ratcheted things up to where they have Polk County's version of a super team.) I was around when Student Sports was the main message board-literally before the "turn of the century" lol. I think Canes came into the picture around 2005 or so. Maybe later. I was arguing with him some back then too
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Well, this is all good to hear. I will agree about fans bitching about officials. It's like politicians bitching about the media. A lot of it is just sour grapes over being called out for something they don't like.
But, I have seen some genuinely horrific calls made over the years. Calls made that simply do not even align with the rule book. Some that even helped my team, like last year when a WR completed a pass for 50+ yards to an offensive guard on a broken play that was allowed to stand. And of course the three downs crap with Columbia. It's one thing to have some subjective calls that are iffy. Some officials have better/different judgment than others, but that's the game of life. But blatant violations of the most basic rules of the game can't be a part of playoffs.
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24 minutes ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:
Hey are you badrouter from the prep gridiron board?
yeah.
- 954gator and DisabledAccount
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1 hour ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:
Ehh it doesn't matter, I'm tired of defending them when several people up there want to always have a attitude with me
I decided I'll start spending my energy where it's actually appreciated instead of using it for people who don't see me as anything of value, spent hours upon hours for 3 years out there and moment I graduated the people out there started making it clear I wasn't welcome out there
Not to mention I'm done trying to convince a fanbase to step up when they are too selfish to support the team and want to bail on them the first time things aren't going perfect like when the crowd walked out in 3rd quarter this past Friday
Also tired of being in a city with people who have given up making a effort to move to the future and are too busy trying to push their biased agenda, I need a fresh start where I can get away from this place because living in Lake City has turned into a cancer
Sometimes it's a great idea to get out and find a new place! Funny tidbit: My very last day in Florida as I was leaving to move away for good ended with me watching Lakeland beat Columbia in Lake City in the 2001 KOC. I drove away from the stadium after the game, hit I-10 west and haven't looked back since! (Other than still following HS football haha).
- peezy28 and DisabledAccount
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Edgewater vs Lakeland Facts
in The Huddle
Posted
Some balance is needed, but not necessarily any more than what they had for Plant. The simple, complimentary passing plays off of their best runs will be enough. The 62-yard PA TD pass to Zipperer being an obvious example. Against STA, they'll need to control the clock and avoid turnovers as well. If they approach it like they have to score a TD every possession-and/or if they really do end up needing to score a TD every possession-it ain't happening.