Jullian

Yeah then everyone’s alarm clock rang & woke up from dreaming to the state governing body, the FHSAA. 

This was a very bad look for the FHSAA...

I'm still open to the idea of an open division -- but I don't think it should be mandatory or forced on any school and it certainly should NOT be 'created' at the end of a season based on some artificial state ranking system.   And while I'm not committed to a specific number of teams in the open division, I'm thinking about 15-20 (16 would probably be the perfect number).  Those teams would need to make a commitment to the elite division for a certain number of years (2 or 3, perhaps more).  Let them play anyone they want over the course of the regular season.  Then, let them have their own playoffs.  Perhaps every team makes the playoffs.  Or maybe only the top half of the teams in the division make the playoffs.  I don't particularly care.  Either way, seeding determined by MaxPreps or some other ranking system. 
After 2-3 years, if a team wants to 'exit' the open division (think self-relegation), they can do so.  New teams can jump in.  The FHSAA can establish a criteria for determining which teams get added to compete in the open division when other teams drop back down to their regular class. 
In response to some of the comments above, I'm guessing a team like Chaminade would 'go open,' which, in turn, would leave the class that Chaminade might otherwise be in wide open and competitive.  If other perennial powers chose to play in the open division, that would give teams in those classes a better chance at winning a state title.  That should also make it easier to accept fewer classes.  Perhaps Rural, 6 classes based on student population and one open division. 
Just my two cents. 

Lol!!!! Make St Thomas & Chaminade earn titles???? Wow. Glad the Aquinas haters didn’t get to come on here & celebrate. Well that’s every year, I guess. The final score will always be the bottom line. Woulda, coulda, Shoulda, if & but have never beaten AQUINAS!   The FG kicker never had the chance, the arrogant coach took away any chance for victory with his dumb decisions. 

“Could've. Would’ve. Should’ve. If. But.”
all the way to 15 State Championship Titles!!!!!! The most hated team in the state of Florida, without a close 2cd. The FINAL SCORE IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS THE ONLY NUMBER THAT MATTERS!!!! OPINIONS HAVE NEVER WON A STATE TITLE……

Everybody, except for a few folks, thought that the Celtic's season was over. Some people knew better. With a horrible season, where the Celics won only 3 games (1 of which was a forfeit) they have managed to win 3 straight playoff games, and by big scores. Go up to Tallahassee on Friday morning to play Cardinal Mooney. Celtics defeated last season's 1 S champion First Baptist in Naples this past Friday. First Baptist has one of the best QBs and receiving corp but they couldn't outplay or outscore Trinity. IMO the Celtics played a masterful game with discipline and no self inflicted mistakes and had a total of 3 interceptions off the hands of QB Crossan. The Celtics had 432 total yards of offense. This is not the Celtics' team that I witnessed in the beginning of the season and, if they play as well against the Cougars, they should have a good chance of coming back to Ocala with the champianship. 

I don’t think it will be a blowout, though Venice will absolutely be favored. It’s going to take everything Lakeland has to deny one of Venice’s best teams ever from winning the 4S state championship. 
This is the matchup we wanted. We owe you guys a beatdown for what happened last year. One fluke touchdown before the half and it’s another trophy on our shelf. We will never forget that, least of all the kids whom were on this team last year. 
 
Nobody since Cocoa in week 2 has had an answer for Venice’s offense. The continuity between our offensive line and running backs has really paved the way for where we are now. Defensive line is starting to gel at the right time, as evidenced by the way they dominated DeLand’s offense after the first drive (which really surprised me.) The experience in the secondary has paid dividends in a huge way. 
 
This is going to be Lakeland’s toughest test of the year. Do you have answers for Venice’s phenomenal rushing attack? Can you stop our receiving corps, where we have 4 guys that can take it the distance at a moment’s notice? Can you contain Glasser when he takes off, or defend the numerous trick plays?  
 
And on defense, can you crack Venice’s secondary? Will you be able to run and try to slow the game down to keep our offense off the field? These are all questions that need to be answered before Saturday. Tick Tock Lakeland, you’re on the clock! GO INDIANS!!! 
 
 

I understand your position and, like I said above, I don't know enough about "Coach J" to form an opinion of my own.  Truth is, unless and until he packs up his bags and takes a position as a head coach in South Florida, none of us will ever know what he might have done or might could do.   Some coaches are just the right fit for where they are.  Could the same be said about Coach Castle?  Would he have had the same kind of success in South Florida as he had at Lakeland?  Who knows?

If his son could not throw 20 yards, why was he playing QB at a school not named Apopka? 
(Fixed that for you Darter). 

Dunbars offense couldn’t do anything all game. The only chance they had was to get it in their athlete’s hands in open space!!!!! When Naples was at AHP they never kicked it deep because of the Pat’s athletes. They kicked a high 20/30 yd kickoff forcing AHP to fair catch or take a chance of fumbling it. Worked great……….Horrible way to lose. 

Dunbars offense couldn’t do anything all game. The only chance they had was to get it in their athlete’s hands in open space!!!!! When Naples was at AHP they never kicked it deep because of the Pat’s athletes. They kicked a high 20/30 yd kickoff forcing AHP to fair catch or take a chance of fumbling it. Worked great……….Horrible way to lose. 

Dunbars offense couldn’t do anything all game. The only chance they had was to get it in their athlete’s hands in open space!!!!! When Naples was at AHP they never kicked it deep because of the Pat’s athletes. They kicked a high 20/30 yd kickoff forcing AHP to fair catch or take a chance of fumbling it. Worked great……….Horrible way to lose. 

https://www.naplesnews.com/videos/sports/high-school/football/2023/11/25/highlights-dunbar-stuns-naples-behind-kelby-tyres-kickoff-return-touchdown/71700509007/
I may not be a rocket scientist, but who kicks the ball deep with 10 seconds to play to a d-1 prospect? I don't like to blame refs or coaches for losses but this ending is hard not to put on the head coach . geez. a squib kick to a team that does not have an elite kicker seem obvious. Tough way to get knocked out of the playoffs. Mainland would have beaten them anyway probably but losing this way in not fun. 
 

They are clearly the best team in the state beating the schedule they have. Only IMG and STA would have a chance to beat them and I would favor CM this year over either of those teams. There is a comparative between IMG and CM, and that's St. Francis, which CM defeated with relative ease and IMG had a close game with. But to be fair SFA is playing better now at the end of the year then when CM caught them.

Yeah just like Creek’s claim to fame. Losing to Chaminade by single digits…..lol

Agree. Creek has the defense to hang with Aquinas. BUT if Aquinas scores quick, wins the field position game(which they almost always do), excels, as usual in every phase of special teams, & win the turnover Battle (which they almost always do), the defense will wear out. STA has improved incredibly since the beginning of the season. 

I actually think Coconut Creek will keep the game against Aquinas close before losing. They are a solid team and I don't think this is the best team St. Thomas has put out there. 

Always read, seldom post, but I can offer some insight here.  My son and I drove down to first game and I watched the second game on feed.  The score of the first game was very misleading.  Simply put, Mandarin lost the first game because they had 5 turnovers, with one of them being a punt snapped into the end zone for a free LM score.  Even with all the turnovers, Mandarin was going in to score in the 4th qtr to bring the game within 2 or 3 points when they dropped a wide open TD on 4th down.  LM then took the next drive in for a score to get the final margin.  By no means did LM go up and down the field on them all game like they have on everyone else.  They did hit some longer runs, but only managed about 250 yards total.  The second game was very similar, but this time with fewer turnovers, I believe it ended up being a zero margin.  The consensus up here all last week was that if as long as Mandarin didn't turn the ball over a bunch they should handle them comfortably, which they obviously did.  You can see the talent there with Noah Grubbs.  Some similarities to Carson Beck, who we had up here a few years ago.  The first game against Mandarin he was a 6 of 18 for 108 yds.  Haven't seen any stats for this past game but they will likely be very similar.  It is not a coincidence that by far his worst two games this year were both against Mandarin.  There was not a lot he could do because his receivers were just not able to get open.  The Mandarin secondary is one of the best in the entire state, regardless of classification.  They will all be playing meaningful football on Saturdays in the future.
Mandarin is kind of an outlier in this region being up here in Jax but connected to a region with a lot of Metro Orlando schools.  They won a terrible district and had three losses, all because of the same thing....turnovers.  They do have some trouble with power running teams (i.e. Bartram and Bolles), but have shown improvement in that area throughout the year.  I really don't see any power running team like those aforementioned two in their path going forward.  The only receiver that has given them any trouble all year was Naeem Burroughs of Bolles and he is going to light up everyone he faces.   They have all kinds of talent on offense, the kind of players that if you do not come up with a plan to stop them individually they will torch you.  They have a talented QB who is a three year starter and two excellent backs who benefit from teams scared to death they are going to get beat deep by Jamie Ffrench, in which he usually does anyway.  Really, their only issue on offense has been turnovers in certain games.  If they limit those going forward they could very easily win out.  Top to bottom, they have more sheer talent than anyone left in their path.  In fact, this current team has more talent than their 2018 state title team.  Looking ahead, much of their talent will return so they are likely going to be as talented or even more so next year.
As for LM not having their back, yeah, I could see where that could make some difference, but even if he were playing, Mandarin was just the better team overall.  Having the threat of a decent back allows compensation for having average receivers, which ultimately was what ended up being the real problem for LM this year.  The kid can make all the throws, he just needs some quality receivers to throw to.  
 

The game might end before 9 o'clock...lol

Both teams have to play better this Friday than the regular season game. That was an eyesore!!!!! Especially VB. OMGOSH!!!!!! Hard to think there’s an “underdog here????”  I guess by seed or homefield…….I’m staying with Treasure Coast to advance. Indians looked like a bunch of 3-4 star misfits, playing their individual game…..

Both teams have to play better this Friday than the regular season game. That was an eyesore!!!!! Especially VB. OMGOSH!!!!!! Hard to think there’s an “underdog here????”  I guess by seed or homefield…….I’m staying with Treasure Coast to advance. Indians looked like a bunch of 3-4 star misfits, playing their individual game…..

In Round 1, 18 of the 104 games had an "upset" (lower seed beating a higher seed) or 17%.
7 of the 18 "upsets" were the 5 over the 4 seed (two teams that most of us would give a coin flip situation to).
So maybe, just maybe the FHSAA rankings aren't that bad? (With the need for transparency still a given).
Nobody has really come out with a giant list of teams that should have been in the playoffs over other teams in their region.

I know as we go deeper into the playoffs, seedings will hold up less (as is true in all seeded brackets), but let's celebrate that they got it mostly right.

If the Panthers lose again to Ely, they’ll b bringing in new coaches again….This is probably the best game in So Flo. The rest of the games gonna b Beatdowns. I’m going to the West Boca @Atlantic game. Haven’t seen the Eagles this year. I don’t expect bullets to b whizzing by my head either……..If Dillard loses to Ely again, there may b trouble. If Ely gets eliminated by Dillard, there may b trouble……

It’s really hard to believe this is the last week of the regular season! HSFB takes forever to arrive then blink your eyes……..The post season is going to b full of great play & surprises!!!!! I’ll b up in Tally for all 9 finals!!!!!

I agree but todays youth don’t……