Wellington

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Jesse, one game does not define an entire season. I've been reading your posts and I understand why you keep pushing this narrative of "Madison beat FSU High which beat Trinity Christian which beat American Heritage which beat Chaminade"...which means that if the stars were aligned perfectly then Madison would beat Chaminade. I'm not saying it's impossible...just highly unlikely. Just like the the Chaminade/Berkeley game. Tons of respect for Berkeley, but they were outclassed and were not going to win that game. Same goes for Madison/Chaminade, Madison/Venice, etc. And considering that Madison barely got past Hawthorne I would expect a little humility on your part rather than casting Madison in with the elite teams in Florida. But maybe it's just me.

You should absolutely feel free to express your views and I apologize if I was harsh. Regarding Cocoa, Gibbons and Jesuit: I excluded those 3 teams based on their performance in the playoffs, specifically the championship game. I'm sure I don't need to explain why Jesuit limping to the finish line against nationally unranked Pine Forest does not inspire confidence. And the Cocoa/Gibbons game - which I gladly paid the $9.99 expecting to see the game of the weekend - was such a disappointment. Closely contested? Yes. Played at a high level? Not even close. Thought I was watching a JV game. Both of those teams had close games with Venice earlier in the season. But I don't think either of them could stay within 2 touchdowns if they played Venice now. Just my opinion. That's why I think there are 4 elite FL teams right now: Miami Central, Aquinas, Chaminade, Venice.

Ray, did you and I watch the same game? You said that one call was a "back breaker". As if that blown call made the difference in the game. Apopka was not going to win this game. Was their offense ever in the red zone? How many times did their offense even cross the 50 yard line? The only reason Apopka got 7 points is because Venice handed them an early Christmas present on a special teams blunder at their own 10 yard line. Venice won by 4 touchdowns and very nearly started running the clock. Why are we discussing this?!

Jesse, did you actually watch the Venice/Apopka game? Because that game wasn't as close as the 35-7 score. And Apopka is the team that just beat Treasure Coast 21-0. Right now I think there are probably only 3 teams in Florida that can hang with Venice: Miami Central, Chaminade, and Aquinas. No offense, but your Madison County is nowhere near ready for that type of challenge.

Temerity is the right word. Exactly what I was thinking at the time. No way I give my sophomore QB the ball after already throwing 4 interceptions. Apparently the coach has a lot more faith in that kid than I had at that point in the game. The guy doing color commentary for Spectrum seemed to think Jesuit was going to run down the clock and kick a field goal to win it...which made sense...but is always risky in high school football...but letting that kid throw the ball was even riskier! Geez. Glad I wasn't really rooting for Jesuit or I probably would have had a stroke. Lol.

Trinity deserves a lot of respect for playing such a tough schedule. I'm new to Florida. Why did they move from 3A to 2A? Is it based on enrollment? Will they be in 2A again next year?

I would say you are half correct. It is true that TCA dominated the game. Unfortunately they did not dominate the scoreboard...and that is the only part of the game that matters. To clarify: with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter the score was 27-15 and Champagnat had the ball at midfield. The game was not over. Yes, the game should have been over. It should have been over before the 4th quarter. So many missed opportunities by TCA. On the one hand I can totally see how TCA was able to beat American Heritage earlier this year by 13 points. But on the other hand I can totally see how they barely managed to escape defeat last week against a sub-par Orlando Christian. They seem to play to the level of their opposition. I picked them to win, I'm happy for them, I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. But that's how I see it.

16 Miami Central (approx 99.99% chance of winning..LOL) 15 Chaminade-Madonna (85% chance of winning) 14 Jesuit (80%) 13 St. Thomas Aquinas (75%) 12 Venice (65%) 11 Trinity Christian Academy (51%) 10 Hawthorne (50.1%) 9 Cocoa (50.01%)

Was leaning towards Mad Co in this game because I'm not impressed by Hawthorne's undefeated record. And Mad Co has only given up 6 points in the playoffs which is impressive...BUT...they had two losses earlier in the year against teams they probably should have beaten. Any arguments in favor of Mad Co over Hawthorne?

So I was leaning towards Cocoa in this game until I saw that Cocoa has 1 point victories over both Vero Beach and Osceola and a 4 point victory over Dr. Phillips. I realize these games were early in the season, but it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence against a team like Gibbons. Any thoughts?

Disregard my earlier question. But I have a different question. For those of you who already submitted picks this week...am I correct that your #1 pick is actually worth 9 points and your #8 pick is worth 16 points according to the instructions of the game? Thanks for clarifying.

Question: would it be unethical to give advice to another person in the contest? If so, no problem. Just tell me and I'll shut up.

I'm surprised how many of you are picking Miami Northwestern over Jesuit. Northwestern lost to Miami Central 49-6 a little over a month ago. I'm not saying they aren't a good team, but it doesn't bode well for their chances.

16 Hawthorne 15 Miami Central 14 Chaminade-Madonna 13 Berkeley Prep 12 Cardinal Gibbons 11 Venice 10 Merritt Island 9 Cocoa 8 Madison County 7 St. Thomas Aquinas 6 Trinity Christian Academy 5 Jesuit 4 Champagnat Catholic 3 Lake Gibson 2 Treasure Coast 1 Jones Bonus: Clearwater Academy