HornetFan

Boone is actually ranked higher in Central Florida than WP, #5 as compared to #7. Apparently the Sports folks at the Orlando Sentinel think Boone is pretty good, so a WP victory over them would be considered a good victory. As best I have heard, these schools do not heavily recruit players away from other schools like many of your so-called "elite" teams in the state of Florida. I guess it's easier to be elite if you pilfer talent rather than take the time or effort to develop a kid. But, sometimes the real "elite" kid is the one that stands by those that developed his skills and his character.

and there has to be context calling teams “good” or “decent” etc etc. Lake Brantley, Ocoee and Boone are not good on a state scale. If Winter Park is supposedly a top 25 team in the state, then teams like this are not helpful in assessing that. The kids at Winter Park are high school student athletes, with emphasis on "student". Their coaches, with the concurrence of school administrators, scheduled a trip to Atlanta to play a highly rated team; it's expensive to travel long distances and it takes these kids away from classes that many need to attend. If WP wanted to schedule Miami Central or STA or any of the other South Florida football powers, where do you suppose those games would have to take place? MC and STA are not going to travel to play WP; they enjoy their home field advantage and would insist upon maintaining that advantage. One big trip during the season for a HS team is a great experience. A football team and its games are a valuable experience for the student population. Most underclassmen would not be able to travel around the state or Southeast to attend these "elite" games. WP schedules teams from their FHSAA assigned district and other Central Florida teams as schedules can be mutually agreed upon. Sleep on WP and teams may be surprised; there's some real talent on this year's team.

Zay has been a welcome and valuable addition to the Winter Park football team, both as a player and a teammate. He and several other WR's give the Wildcats a solid receiving group. WP, facing a big size disadvantage against North Gwinnett on the OL, turned almost exclusively to the passing game in the 2nd half on a wet and rainy day. It paid off with a 21 point 4th quarter and a victory.

They can only play the team on the other side of the field that day. If they win, that's great. If not, there's always next week. WP is not into recruiting as their school is considered "at capacity". Most of the schools you consider "top teams" are loaded with recruits that they lure away from those you call "lesser teams". WP is a solid team that has the potential to play most teams very tough. After two wins, they have earned recognition. Let's see how it plays out.

You have to move teams up and down as the season progresses. You can't use past seasons' successes because these teams change every year. New kids step up as the others graduate and move on. WP beat Lake Nona 42-0 in their opening game; they pulled their starters at the end of the 3rd quarter. LN is not a strong team. They beat NG 31-19 in a hostile environment. Two games into the season, that's pretty good. Let's see how they do against Boone this Friday, and evaluate them after that game.

Their schedule is not something that they entirely control. The FHSAA determines what class and district they will play in based upon location and student population. For their other games, they scheduled a perennial Georgia powerhouse as an away game. They have also scheduled non-district games against Lake Brantley, Boone and Ocoee; teams that are not considered "weak sisters".

I don't know NGDawg, but he appears to be a fan that cannot handle his team losing a game. The game was played under wet, rainy conditions and still WP put up 31 points on his team; that's pretty impressive. I understand the fan's disappointment, but that doesn't take away from what WP accomplished.

That was a terrible game, one of the worst I've seen in person. Winter Park didn't look all that impressive, and North Gwinnett repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Terrible playcalling on both sides for both teams, game came down to a fumble. You appear to be quoting one (1) NG fan that was disappointed that their team was beaten by WP. The score was 31-13 with minutes to go in the game when WP lost a fumble inside their 10 yard line. NG scored after that fumble to close the score to 31-19. That's not "the game came down to a fumble". If WP scored 31 points , the play calling on WP's part could not have been terrible. It's just possible that WP had something to do with "NG shooting itself in the foot". WP travelled to play a perennial powerhouse in North Atlanta and came home with a big victory. Why can't you just accept that? And, by the way, I didn't rank NG #12 in Georgia, the people in Georgia HS football did that. If their previous opponents were so terrible, why did the experts in Georgia have them at #12?

Before you make assumptions about why I say what I say about teams do your research! Now that I got your panties in a wad and you're being all defensive for not doing research before hitting the keys on your computer, I did speak with WP fans that attended the game at NG. They spoke how confident NG and its fans were that they would bury WP. The NG fans made no excuses for their loss and were confident their team would play well the rest of their season. Their coach said they didn't play well, but that was because they were outplayed by WP. I believe that's a bit more research than you pulled out of your bu__.

Edgewater has Cedric Baxter; 6'2", 210 lbs; possibly the best RB in the country. I have a lot of respect for West Orange, but Baxter is almost unstoppable and will carry Edgewater to victory.

I can see why you're not "Thrilled" with Max Preps: Columbia High School: Florida#150 Florida Division 3S#17 Jacksonville#26 Last Updated: Sep 6, 2022

So, how often have you seen North Gwinnett play this year that you can determine that they are "over rated"? They came in 2-0 and were playing at home in front of a large home crowd. And, have you seen WP play this year or even looked at the players on their roster to determine that they are not deserving of a #25 ranking in Florida? Before you judge a team, at least see them play or review films of their games before making unqualified assumptions.

When is a win not a "good win"? You travel by bus for 8 hours and go into a hostile environment against a 2-0 team ranked #12 in their state, and beat them 31-19; I'd call that a "good win".

Max Preps has Winter Park ranked at #25 in Florida this week after their win at North Gwinnett.

Winter Park travelled to the Atlanta area last week (9/2) to play North Gwinnett HS (ranked #12 in Georgia at the time) and returned home to WP with a 31-19 victory. Keep an eye on the Wildcats.

I have to agree on Osceola over Apopka in the KOC. If this was played later in the season, I would go with Apopka. They always seem to get better as the season goes on. They have a great feeder system from their youth program on up to HS.

You missed my point. I was speaking of the football players on the list. How many of those football players transferred to other schools because they could improve their academics rather than looking for a better football team? I mainly follow schools in the Orlando / Central Florida area, and the QB musical chairs have reached ridiculous proportions. Have any of these kids even considered that maybe they were part of the reason that their current team wasn't reaching expectations, or that maybe every kid playing QB in HS isn't a D1 prospect; only a small percentage are.

How about a list of those that transferred for better academic opportunities: 1. N/A

"But your putting in more effort on a school getting 1 than the ones getting 20" I only commented on this instance because the kid posted a farewell message to his former teammates that appears to be self-serving at best. He "bailed" on his current team. If he did it on his own accord, he broke no rules. If Columbia recruited him, ..........

"What part of that do you not understand, the dumbest decision this county ever made was splitting Columbia County into 2 high schools as it made it impossible for Columbia to ever have the full support of the county anymore" The population of the State of Florida grows each year. Counties make decisions to form new school districts and build new schools to support that population growth. Kids are zoned to their new "local" school districts. Preserving the state ranking of your football team is not supposed to be a consideration in the formation of the newly formed districts. This happens all across the State and sometimes current students are allowed to stay at their current high school as to not disrupt their education and allow them to graduate with their class. I don't think they make a provision for the recruitment of football players. Recruiting one player or twenty players is still recruiting; that shouldn't be hard to understand.

"But sure Columbia recruited him, we got to keep up with teams in our district recruiting from a county much larger than us whether it's Duval county last year or Clay County this year " What message does that send to the local kids on the team; those that are zoned to Columbia's school district, been loyal to Columbia HS, and have waited their turn for a shot at a starting position? Winning is more important than supporting local athletes? That's a "great message" that you're sending local kids.

"The reality is that had Coach Jackson ended up at Columbia about a month or 2 earlier than he did, Jefferson would had likely been at Columbia last year based on people I've spoken to about this situation" Without researching Columbia's recent QB situation, I'm guessing that this past season's starting QB is graduating and this kid is expected to be their new starting QB for the upcoming season. If that's the case, it smells of recruiting and maybe a position for his Dad was part of the enticement. It also stinks for the QB that waited for his turn and would have been moving up to the starting position in the next season.

"he could have easily ended up being a 4 year Columbia player if one or two things had been different a couple of years ago". If he was following his father's coaching positions, the school changes would make sense, especially in a rural area, because his Dad would be his transportation to and from school. If he was bouncing between schools looking for a better team, I would be concerned in recruiting him if I were a college coach. The college transfer portal makes it too easy for disgruntled or opportunistic players to jump ship and leave a program. Changes in residency requirements for high schoolers has disrupted many high school football teams here in the Orlando area.

A lot of flowery words of thanks and praise for his former teammates at Hawthorne. Did his family actually move to Columbia HS district or did he "bail" on his former teammates? Nice "touch" with the hearts.

It's a different world when you have 5 OL's and 4 DL's, with large bodies, going at it right in front of the QB. In 7v7, the QB usually has a clear, unobstructed view of the field. and he has four seconds to get rid of the ball. A Pro Style QB under 6 foot tall can be very successful in 7v7 because he can see the whole field. There's a reason why most of the top HS QB's are 6'3" or taller and dual threat; they have a better view of the entire field and can find their receivers over the middle.