skyway

Shouldn't have been much of a surprise. It wasn't to me once I started watching the stream. Give Viera's coaches and kids a TON of credit. THAT team one eight games and a playoff game. Remarkable. But, no surprise a legendary playoff program waxed them.

Absolutely miserable game to watch. Dreadful. Waste of time where the only thing of note that could have happened was someone gets tossed and misses the next game. We can only hope the offensive gameplan was designed to throw Plant off. If they take the same approach vs. Plant, they'll have the same type of showing they've had against Plant the last two years. Stop with all of the cute sh*t and get under center and pound the ball.

What key players were missing for Venice in the spring game in May? Lakeland was missing 4* RB Bowman, 4* OT Hammond, 4*DE Summerall, 3* DB Graham and two other players currently starting on the OL.

Best thing going for Venice is they do a masterful job of taking advantage of every possible exploit with their offensive scheming and play calling. Spread, up-tempo, QB runs, screens, inherent likelihood of refs calling defensive PI on 50-50 balls. Those are all "equalizers" that allow them to score a ton of points even if they are at a talent disadvantage.

We shall see! I'm afraid the lack of athletes on defense will get exposed by STA. Looks like they're getting good enough QB play to take advantage of their weapons. That said, Venice offense can be really hard to stop. And in the most annoying ways possible!

hahaha not buying it! Everyone at Plant believes they can beat Lakeland. And for good reason given what's happened in four out of the five playoff match ups under Weiner.

I see no reason to believe he has any sort of agenda. I just gathered he wasn't doing a super elaborate analysis of the team. There are a couple of traits of the team which could lead some casual observers to not be as impressed. Early in the season, looking at a QB limited (injured) and not being very big, that could have caused such a reaction. And the best OL missed the Apopka game as well. On defense, the DL isn't super huge. If you're not watching line play closely, and don't realize how highly regarded all four of those players are, you might miss that they dominate everyone they play. And Apopka's style of play is really very unique and can also cause things to look differently than they would against other teams. None of it really matters though. If Lakeland bows out in the 3rd round again, nothing I say will be worth anything. And if they manage to win state I assume most will give them their due (save for maybe a few on the national board.)

haha I have no idea about that.

My thoughts exactly. There are two potential weaknesses IMO, assuming future offensive play-calling isn't really something we'll call a weakness yet. I don't know what happened to Zay Roberson, but he'd be nice to have.

It is hard to gauge this season, with so many big plays putting games away so quickly. Punt block TDs, defensive TDs (or recoveries at the opponents 2 yard line) and big runs from Bowman make it hard to target others in the passing game. But, I was disappointed in the lack of progression in the passing game the last few seasons. They're going to need more than the WR quick screen and vertical routes to win 7A IMO.

I suppose going on the road and losing a close game wouldn't be much a choak, I agree. I read what DarterBlue has said about Lakeland. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But, I'm pretty sure he thought last year's Lakeland team was better than this one. Once I read that, I started to question his judgement a good bit. There's simply no question this team is better. So, I'm not sure exactly what he's basing his opinion on. I have a couple of guesses, but I'm not sure.

Yes, it could help if McWilliams continues to threaten defenses (like he couldn't the first few weeks). My fear is that, as we've seen in recent years, the passing game and inability/unwillingness to change plays at the LOS will prove to limit what Lakeland can do on offense. I really hope they start to utilize Zipperer more in these upcoming games. They run stretch a ton and are awesome at it, but I can only remember once or twice that they ran PA off of it. Hopefully it will be ready for Plant, who figures to load up to stop the run.

I thought Lou Holtz retired!

I don't think STA will suffer a true upset. Venice, as defending state champs having beaten STA last year, wouldn't really qualify as a major upset. Seems like you guys are really picking it up again. If Columbia beats Lakeland, with that big-play passing attack and having lit up IMG, I don't think that would be a major upset. And then with history and a loaded roster, I can't see Lakeland beating STA as some huge upset.

Like most Lakeland people, I'm pulling for Plant to win Friday! Kind of dread seeing the Plant name on the playoff schedule on one hand, but on the other we need to make up for past losses. I think this is the best defense we've ever had, but if it ends up being a shootout of any kind, it's hard to have faith that we'll be able to get it done on offense based on past encounters with Plant. You guys have kept our offense in check for the most part every time we've played with Weiner as coach. Last year I felt like we got too cute and should've just kept pounding Bowman and mixing in vertical routes.

Lakeland doesn't yet have any true super marquee wins; they've just beaten everyone decisively. But, what they do have that other 7A finalists who've played STA in Orlando lacked is a roster stacked with FBS recruits. Not as many as STA has, but far more than Plant, Viera etc had when they met STA. Lakeland deserves to be an underdog vs. Plant based solely off the last couple of seasons' losses. But, for what it's worth, this team is considerably better than those teams. I'm confident in saying that. And, I lean towards saying this is the most talented and deepest team Lakeland has ever had. It's easily the most dominant team they've had through 11 games, though SOS has to be considered as well on that. They didn't quite force running clocks on Manatee and Apopka, but the QB was limited in those games and a couple other key parts were missing as well. If Plant, Viera, or Columbia beat Lakeland-and they absolutely may-it will be considered a choke job and will be a major disappointment. Despite what a couple people have said here, those teams don't have near the manpower of this Lakeland team.

LOL. That's not analysis. That's trash talk. All fine and dandy, but the distinction is necessary.

181, how does this Plant team compare to last year's team? Better, same or not as good?

Based off of your analysis of this year's Lakeland team, what areas do you see STA as being able to "steamroll" them? Which players do you see as weak links for Lakeland which would cause them to be steamrolled? Which Lakeland game(s) have you watched?