Perspective

I really don’t like putting in my picks this early. But, I’ve got to evacuate and I don’t know if I’ll have much of a chance to do it later. Lake Mary Booker T Jones Bishop Verot Manatee Gaither Port Charlotte Wiregrass Ranch STA Raines OC University Niceville Nease Ponte Vedra Fort Walton Beach AHP And I’ll take Milton over Helene by 2 TD’s

Is FIU's stadium located on campus? If so, does this game count as an official visit for all the kids dressing out for the game?

I will say this: the "recruiting" umbrella is pretty big and includes lots of things. If memory serves me correct, "impermissible benefits" may fall under the recruiting heading. Is this the one where kids got some meals and rides home from assistant coaches? If so, those things are still considered illegal and punishment is warranted. But, from a punishment standpoint, I can make a big distinction in the punishment that should be dished out to a school whose coaches are actively trying to recruit kids away from other schools versus an isolated situation where kids get an extra meal or two or a coach giving a kid a ride home because his dad's car broke down and the kid doesn't have another way home. Again, if this was outright, old-fashioned recruiting, then I don't understand the leniency. As for the other issue that resurfaced, I'm still more inclined to go with a "competitive division" where recruiting is permitted as opposed to the promotion/relegation concept (primarily because high school teams can rise and fall rather quickly and a promotion/relegation system will always be a year or two behind).

Still scoreless?

Worst position for a kid to play on a team that has a coach that respects the game is WR. Inevitably, by the time you finally get into the game, the coach is, understandably, running the ball on every play and you never have a chance to make a catch in a game. #firstworldproblems

I just posted this in the 'other' Plant/Armwood thread: "In case anyone was wondering, Armwood beat Plant last night 26-0. It was a scoreless game until late in the second quarter. Armwood struck on a long pass where the receiver broke a tackle and strolled into the end zone. Plant got the ball back and immediately fumbled a read/option exchange, setting up a short field and another Armwood TD just before the half. It stayed 13-0 until late in the fourth quarter. Armwood RB broke through the line, past the LB'ers and the Plant safety took a bad angle, resulting in a 50 +/- yard TD run. Plant got the ball back, coughed it up and Armwood returned it for the final score of the game. Plant ran the ball effectively in the first half (at least until Armwood adjusted their scheme), but played without their UF-commit RB in the second half. And once again the Panthers had their back-up QB under center all game. That said, they hung with Armwood, trailing by 13 late in the game. Both teams had trouble moving the ball, but Armwood was able to hit two big plays on offense and convert turnovers into points at the end of both the first half and the game. Honestly, I was expecting a little more from Armwood." To the points being raised in this thread, I was disappointed by the crowd, especially the Plant student section (although the band was still there in full force) . . . but, it was a rescheduled game, being played on a school night, less than a week after a major hurricane. A lot of Plant's students come from Davis Islands, the Bayshore area of South Tampa and the Westshore area of South Tampa, all of which got slammed by Helene's storm surge. A lot of people in these areas have been forced to move out of their homes, so I can understand how a high school football game wasn't high up on their priority list.

In case anyone was wondering, Armwood beat Plant last night 26-0. It was a scoreless game until late in the second quarter. Armwood struck on a long pass where the receiver broke a tackle and strolled into the end zone. Plant got the ball back and immediately fumbled a read/option exchange, setting up a short field and another Armwood TD just before the half. It stayed 13-0 until late in the fourth quarter. Armwood RB broke through the line, past the LB'ers and the Plant safety took a bad angle, resulting in a 50 +/- yard TD run. Plant got the ball back, coughed it up and Armwood returned it for the final score of the game. Plant ran the ball effectively in the first half (at least until Armwood adjusted their scheme), but played without their UF-commit RB in the second half. And once again the Panthers had their back-up QB under center all game. That said, they hung with Armwood, trailing by 13 late in the game. Both teams had trouble moving the ball, but Armwood was able to hit two big plays on offense and convert turnovers into points at the end of both the first half and the game. Honestly, I was expecting a little more from Armwood.

IMG Miami Palmetto Madison County Ely Booker T Jesuit Miami Central Cocoa Deland Lincoln Western

As I recall, the spread was 33, so Lely really needed that last TD to cover.

But you can live without water, electricity, A/C, etc. as long as you have the Internet, right? Hang in there!

Are you sure about that? My understanding always has been that it didn't matter . . . the rules applied to any transfer from any FHSAA school to any other FHSAA school. If you are aware of something in the FHSAA rules that says otherwise, I'd love to see it. Something tells me that you may be getting this from the same urban myth source that says that private schools are allowed to recruit.

So, I just took a quick look at MaxPreps. Kritzka is listed as a senior, but per the stats page, a junior by the name of Anthony McQueen must have beaten out Kritzka at the QB spot, as McQueen has all the passing TD's and handful of rushing TD's. There's a (large) side of me that doesn't understand why a kid would transfer in the middle of the season (especially to a rival of sorts), but if Kritzka got beat out and is looking to protect his scholarship opportunity -- especially at a top-tier school like Penn State -- I kind of, maybe, sort of understand why the kid made the move. That said, and as we discussed on this site a couple of weeks ago, he had to get clearance from somebody (Miami-Dade School Board??).

Yep. The media source that indicated otherwise has since corrected the mistake which I passed along.

Yeah, I saw where Blake lost to Hillsborough last night 33-0. But, wait, I thought Blake was playing Middleton. Well, unless Blake has enough players (very doubtful) to play split-squad games, the Blake-Middleton game didn't happen last night.

I'm pretty sure that every generation has said that about the generation that follows them. That and they play their music too loudly.

Thursday makes sense. Both teams had a bye week scheduled for this week.

Dang, I think I actually got all 3 of those games right!

Blake Space Coast Winter Springs Gateway South Sumter St Brenden Neumann Holmes County Estero Satellite American Carol City Naples St Augustine Bishop Verot Oh, and in my "lock of the week," I'll take Lake Gibson (and the 65 points) against Lakeland.

Ray, I think what Longtime is saying is that LG should have run the ball, which keeps the clock running, instead of throwing incomplete passes, which results in a stoppage of clock. The runs likely wouldn't have been any more successful than the passes, but each possession would run 3 or 4 minutes off the game clock (twice that if they're lucky enough to pick up a first down). Three incomplete passes can result in a change of possession with less than 30 seconds having run off the game clock. Even if LG goes 3 and out every possession, they can limit the number of possessions that Lakeland gets. Ultimately, this 'approach' does not change the outcome of the game -- just the final score. Just a thought.

First minute of this clip shows the officials that work most of the Venice home games.

But LG will still move up several spots in the state rankings.

Dang, Julian . . . you must be really excited about your picks this week.

Well said . . . although this may be the first time I can recall seeing a "chess" reference on a high school football message board.

I saw on X that this was the score in the 2nd quarter!

Legit question: do these rankings mean anything (anything at all) until the final rankings come out after the games are played the final week of the season?