Perspective

I thought recruiting was illegal???

That was the only thing I could think of . . . but that only made sense (to me) if the school was named after the city (Kissimmee) instead of the county (Osceola). Maybe that was the case many years ago?

Question: why does Osceola spell Kowboy with a "K?"

Especially if sponsorship agreements require brand new balls be used for the game. I can't remember if I've told this story on this site before or not. My dad was a basketball ref. He was calling a high school all-star or state playoff basketball game (I can't remember which) in Gainesville one year, circa late 60's early 70's. As the game began, it was apparent that neither team could hold onto the brand new ball that was being used. Shots and passes were slipping right through the hands of the players from both teams. During the first timeout, a University of Florida basketball player, who happened to be in attendance, came down to the scorer's table and begged my dad and the other ref to switch out balls and replace the new ball with a 'slightly used' ball that the players could handle. Both coaches agreed. The request seemed reasonable, especially since it was coming from a neutral, yet expert source, who had no dog in the fight and just wanted the kids to be able to play good basketball. As my dad was walking over to the ball rack to get a replacement ball, Floyd Lay, the director of the FHSAA at the time, and who was sitting right behind the scorer's table, yelled down with instructions to continue using the new ball. Thinking he was unaware of the rationale behind switching balls, my dad started to explain why the new ball needed to be replaced. Lay cut him off mid-sentence and said, "I don't care; the new ball will look better in the pictures in tomorrow morning's Gainesville Sun." So, back to my point: if the FHSAA's deal with Wilson requires that brand new, right out of the box, balls be used for state title games, and the temperatures fall into the 40's, expect to see some slippery balls.

So, getting back to the upcoming games: will weather be a factor? It's raining in Tallahassee right now, but the rain will move through and it should be dry the rest of the week. I don't know how much rain is falling -- just enough to give the field a good watering or enough to soak the field and create a muddy track for tomorrow's games? I'm already on record about my concerns of a soft field getting chewed up the first few games and the effect that might have on the remaining games. But the temperatures could be an issue, too, especially for teams that have played in 80 plus degree weather all season. For Thursday, the high is projected to be 53 degrees with a low of 32. For Friday, high of 58 and low of 34. It warms up a little on Saturday with a high of 62 and low of 43. Reminds me a bit of World Series baseball where teams play in hot weather all season long and then end up playing playoff games and World Series games in cold (and often wet) weather. It's just a different game in those conditions. Will this weather affect any of the South Florida teams? Will it affect passing teams more than running teams?

I saw footage of the Bloomingdale QB against Tampa Bay Tech. Whenever a passing play started to break down and the pocket started to collapse, both of the QB's hands dropped down by his side (with his right hand holding onto the football) and then he would take off with the hands down by his side, ball unprotected, for his first few steps. He has Lamar Jackson-type quickness and escapability, but for me, it was just a matter of time before one of the defensive linemen stuck his arm out at the right time and knocked the ball out of the QB's hands. I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happened on Bloomingdale's 3rd quarter drive. That was the turning point of the game. If Bloomingdale scores on that drive - which they should have - who knows what happens the rest of the way.

Agreed, Darter. I saw them play against Bloomingdale last week. They have typical STA size and depth and their junior RB (Hankerson?) was impressive. Not surprisingly, STA simply runs through, over and around most high school defenses. But I was not impressed with STA's passing game. If Edgewater has a stout front 7 on defense and puts STA in a position where they have the throw the ball to move the ball downfield and win the game, Edgewater has a good shot at holding STA to under 20 points. Bloomingdale also elected to pooch kick every kickoff, so STA typically started its drives with good field position (own 40 or better). STA's defense was good, but not great. Bloomingdale was able to drive on them multiple times over the course of the game. If Edgewater can capitalize on a good scoring drive in the first half and then again in the second half, and then mix in a special team or turnover/short field score, I could see them winning a 21-17 game. The betting man in me would still be tempted to put my money on the Raiders, but I won't be the least bit surprised if Edgewater gets the W.

I feel compelled to give Plant a little love, especially for their performance in the second half of the decade. They won three state championships ('06, '08, and '09; runners up in '10, but that's probably the start of the next decade anyway). In each of those 3 state championship years, they averaged right around 38 points a game over the course of the full season. In '06 and '08, their scoring dropped off a few points per game in the playoffs, but in 2009, their scoring average jumped up a couple of points in the playoffs to over 40 points per game. In those 3 championship years, Plant was a combined 42-2. Perhaps not the most offensive team in any given year, but from 2005 until the end of the decade, they put quite a few points on the board.

So when you say "the best offense of each decade," you're referring to the best offensive performance by a single team in one particular year within a given decade, is that right? In other words, you're not comparing the offenses of teams over the course of the decade, right?

No apology needed. The issue is very similar. There is one big distinction: in the Ohio game, it appears the refs made the decision to end the game (while, presumably, the decision was within their jurisdiction to make). In the Texas game, it appears the refs allowed the game to be completed and some governing body (similar to the FHSAA or the county AD's office) came along after the fact and made the decision to disqualify the team from any future play. But, to your point, in both situations, it's a team being punished based on the actions of an individual.

Good background, OldSchool. But just to be clear, I was responding to Jambun's comments about the Edinburg/PSJA (Texas high school) game -- your first clip -- where the player (number 88, I think) comes running back onto the field after being ejected and slams into the ref. From Jambun's comments, that game was allowed to continue and the team for whom the ejected player plays ended up winning the game, only to have some governing body decide afterwards that, because of the incident, their season would be declared over.

Jambun, I struggle with this issue. I think we all agree that the kid who hit the official deserves to be punished (although we might quibble over the severity of the punishment and who dishes out the punishment). And while I understand that football is the epitome of a team game, unless there is some evidence that the coaches promoted the behavior, I struggle with making the other 50-70 players on this team pay for his crime. I can see both sides of the argument. The player got penalized and then ejected for his (apparent) late hit on the QB and whatever he did or said to the ref immediately after that. Another penalty obviously should have been assessed against the kid/team when the kid ran back onto the field and hit the ref. (Question for you Jambun: when a player is ejected from a Florida high school football game, does he have to leave the bench area? If so, should the officials have waited until that happened before resuming play? Either way, should the officials have called the game right then and there? Under what authority?). Again, without evidence that the school/coaches/team promoted an atmosphere of disrespect towards officials that could, in any way, help to explain the kid's actions, I'm just not sure that the collective seasons of all the other kids should end because of the actions of one. Put yourself into the shoes of the other hundred plus parents. On the flip side, I guess you can make the argument that it's no different than a kid cheating in school or lying about his residence and then being declared ineligible. Typically, the team suffers the penalty when it has to forfeit games. So, what say you others out there? Even the guy providing commentary noticed that the coaches and teammates of the wrongdoer handled themselves in the right way. Suspend the kid indefinitely/for the rest of his high school career. Charge him with a crime. Regardless of the kid's punishment, should the team be prohibited from continuing to play? What if the kid had waited until after the game before he charged the official? What if he had waited until the next day, tracked him down, followed him to The Home Depot and then charged him right in front of all the power tools? Would your opinion be the same?

Be careful with these posts OldSchool . . . you might trigger Jambun. All kidding aside, all three clips are horrible. Trust me, I understand all the frustration, intensity and, most of all, testosterone that can fill a high school kid during a game, especially when things aren't going his way, but there is absolutely no excuse for the behavior in any of these three clips.

How can you have a team full of talented athletes and not be able to teach one of them how to punt a football over the course of a season? Same with a long snapper. I get it might take a little more time and effort to teach a kid how to kick extra points/field goals, but punting? Very short-sighted by the coaches. Yeah, you may be able to get away with that during the regular season, but you've got to expect that you're going to face some stiffer competition when you get to the playoffs and there might be a couple of situations where you need to punt. Seriously, does Pahokee have a soccer team? Grab the goalkeeper, put some pads and a helmet on him, and have him be the punter. You don't have to have a kid who can average 45 yards and a 4.5 hang time. You just need someone who can get your team out of a hole or flip the field. (Oh, and based on the post in the other thread, you need to keep the kicker away from the beer before the game).

I just asked Jesse. He couldn't remember the years, but he said the answer is "Madison County Varsity and Madison County JV."

Gaither's success was built more on 'assembling from outside' than 'building from within.' They'll need another good 'recruiting class' (wink, wink) to stay on top. Gaither's program attracts a certain type of player and when these players come together, the Gaither teams will continue to have a great deal of success against less talented teams. But, these teams are not typically familiar with facing equally talented teams or, more importantly, adversity. When faced with both, you end up with a beat-down to a team like Lake Minneola.

Trust me, we don't need 'another perspective.'

So, where can you find team records for years prior to 2004 (which, best I can see, is the earliest that MaxPreps shows)? I don't see team records in the FHSAA championship records. Bolles website doesn't show team records for past years. I don't mind doing a little research to figure out some of these questions, but it helps to know that there is a source where the information can be found. Thanks.

Well they ought to be!

Ok, I'll go in a different direction and try Union County in 1996.

6. Of the teams on the list, which one was the first to complete a perfect 15-0 season? I know Plant went 15-0 in winning a state championship in 2006. Any chance they were the first to win 15 games in a season?

I just 'pray' you can come up with a better name for this elite group of schools than The 700 Club.

Curious how many wins Hillsborough High School has in their 130+ year history.

Thanks. I figured that out last night and meant to come back and post a "never mind." But I appreciate you confirming it was Brian Turner.

Exactly. But that same green color is what likely motivated the FHSAA to make this decision.