KICKOFF CLASSICS PREDICTIONS

[skyway]

3 hours ago, VeniceIndiansFootball said:

This isn’t the IMG of old, it’s going to be a much closer game than that. 

I'd be happy to see that! But, barring an absolutely dramatic infusion of talent (I don't mean a couple of new transfers who will start) from spring, Venice would not be expected to compete with the top several teams in the state. IMG is LOADED. I gather that having some good players (I know of two RBs) transfer out has mislead people to perceive them as being down. But, they have 11 of the top 100 2023 players in Florida, with 3 of the top 5, per Rivals. The 247 lists for 2023 and 2024 show seven (7) five star players and twelve (12) four star players. IMO, they're going to obliterate Venice, and they're going to obliterate Miami Central, too. 

*Now, if these guys listed as at IMG as of this morning don't actually play for them, I suppose I'd have to recalculate

[skyway]

My impression of the Kowboys in 2021 was that they were a bunch of nice, happy young men coached by a nice staff. Really nice guys. Not the type to play with much anger or rage. Apopka doesn't entertain much these days, but they are meticulous and precise. As others have said, this is a toss-up. I'll take Apopka 14-6.

[VeniceIndianFan]

30 minutes ago, skyway said:

I'd be happy to see that! But, barring an absolutely dramatic infusion of talent (I don't mean a couple of new transfers who will start) from spring, Venice would not be expected to compete with the top several teams in the state. IMG is LOADED. I gather that having some good players (I know of two RBs) transfer out has mislead people to perceive them as being down. But, they have 11 of the top 100 2023 players in Florida, with 3 of the top 5, per Rivals. The 247 lists for 2023 and 2024 show seven (7) five star players and twelve (12) four star players. IMO, they're going to obliterate Venice, and they're going to obliterate Miami Central, too. 

*Now, if these guys listed as at IMG as of this morning don't actually play for them, I suppose I'd have to recalculate

Of course they are more loaded than an average HS Football team. They practice football 5 hours a day with some of the best nutrition and workout plans in the world and get transfers from all across the globe. Why wouldn’t they be? They have earned what they are. But I don’t think Venice is going to get absolutely slaughtered. I think they will at least remain competitive for a half, if nothing else. 

And no, IMG is not going to obliterate Miami Central. MC is the best team in the state coming into the season. Their returning class from last year is still mostly in tact on top of the bevy of transfers that they have received. In 2017, Central was a blocked punt (a self-inflicted wound,) away from winning the game! This Central team is going to be even better than the 2017 team. You can believe I will be rooting for the Rockets to get that W!

[DarterBlue2]

1 hour ago, Ray Icaza said:

Darter, I did read they will be televising tonite at 7pm on Blue Darter Sports Central a preview for the KOC next Friday.  It will include both HC's as well as some APK players with special guest Gary Larson, a terrific player from the mid 70's @ OHS.

https://theanswerorlando.com/radioshow/blue-darter-sports-central

Above is a link to a BDSC podcast!

[Ray Icaza]

2 hours ago, skyway said:

My impression of the Kowboys in 2021 was that they were a bunch of nice, happy young men coached by a nice staff. Really nice guys. Not the type to play with much anger or rage. Apopka doesn't entertain much these days, but they are meticulous and precise. As others have said, this is a toss-up. I'll take Apopka 14-6.

And watching the game with APK vs Lakeland last year in your place, in my opinion they should have won that game had it not been for questionable calls by the officials in the final drive to give the Naughts the win.  I said so at the time and have not changed my opinion.  Point is '21 season, regardless of your opinion means nothing but you are deciding the fate for both Apopka and Osceola based on that.  Should I assume the same of Lakeland?  Of course not, just wish you had the same objectivity. 

[skyway]

22 minutes ago, Ray Icaza said:

And watching the game with APK vs Lakeland last year in your place, in my opinion they should have won that game had it not been for questionable calls by the officials in the final drive to give the Naughts the win.  I said so at the time and have not changed my opinion.  Point is '21 season, regardless of your opinion means nothing but you are deciding the fate for both Apopka and Osceola based on that.  Should I assume the same of Lakeland?  Of course not, just wish you had the same objectivity. 

No, I'm not assuming 2022 will be a repeat of 2021. I think your memory is a bit hazy on that Apopka-Lakeland game and final drive. But, 'twas a very tight game for sure.

For 2022, I'm guessing Osceola will continue to have limitations on offense. They'll be good, but not great, on offense. Apopka holds such offenses to low point totals. Osceola will be very stout on defense, while Apopka will also be limited on offense. I think Osceola will call a less conservative game offensively, which may produce a big mistake/turnover that leads to an easy score for the Darters. We also have to keep in mind that there is an excellent chance of the game being called due to lightning, or played in a monsoon. Monsoonal conditions favor the more conservative, run-oriented offense. 

[skyway]

Personally, I think it's more fun if we all make bolder predictions! Haha. I know you guys hope like hell I'm proven wrong 

[Ray Icaza]

23 minutes ago, skyway said:

No, I'm not assuming 2022 will be a repeat of 2021. I think your memory is a bit hazy on that Apopka-Lakeland game and final drive. But, 'twas a very tight game for sure.

For 2022, I'm guessing Osceola will continue to have limitations on offense. They'll be good, but not great, on offense. Apopka holds such offenses to low point totals. Osceola will be very stout on defense, while Apopka will also be limited on offense. I think Osceola will call a less conservative game offensively, which may produce a big mistake/turnover that leads to an easy score for the Darters. We also have to keep in mind that there is an excellent chance of the game being called due to lightning, or played in a monsoon. Monsoonal conditions favor the more conservative, run-oriented offense. 

I am old but my memory doesn't fail me.  It was a clear holding call right in front of the ref, then a takedown and when the APK player got up to object they penalized him; instead of 10 yards against Lakeland it was 15 against APK.  It's on film and clearly easy to see.  In addition, you are clearly ignorant about our offense this year yet you are much better versed than I although I don't recall seeing you at any practices.   Lastly, I am not offended by your bold predictions or looking to prove you wrong.  Just curious why when you have a world beater team, you would not challenge them but instead have a mediocre schedule.  Other than Clearwater Academy, us and a diminished Lake Gibson????  HMMMM.

[muckboy561]

Do we still have to buy tickets online to go to the games this season?

[Ray Icaza]

24 minutes ago, Ray Icaza said:

I am old but my memory doesn't fail me.  It was a clear holding call right in front of the ref, then a takedown and when the APK player got up to object they penalized him; instead of 10 yards against Lakeland it was 15 against APK.  It's on film and clearly easy to see.  In addition, you are clearly ignorant about our offense this year yet you are much better versed than I although I don't recall seeing you at any practices.   Lastly, I am not offended by your bold predictions or looking to prove you wrong.  Just curious why when you have a world beater team, you would not challenge them but instead have a mediocre schedule.  Other than Clearwater Academy, us and a diminished Lake Gibson????  HMMMM.

Oh did I forget to mention, those games plus Lakewood are in the friendly confines as is the majority of the schedule. 

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

1 hour ago, muckboy561 said:

Do we still have to buy tickets online to go to the games this season?

For Dillard I kno they’re back to selling them at the school 

[skyway]

1 hour ago, Ray Icaza said:

I am old but my memory doesn't fail me.  It was a clear holding call right in front of the ref, then a takedown and when the APK player got up to object they penalized him; instead of 10 yards against Lakeland it was 15 against APK.  It's on film and clearly easy to see.  In addition, you are clearly ignorant about our offense this year yet you are much better versed than I although I don't recall seeing you at any practices.   Lastly, I am not offended by your bold predictions or looking to prove you wrong.  Just curious why when you have a world beater team, you would not challenge them but instead have a mediocre schedule.  Other than Clearwater Academy, us and a diminished Lake Gibson????  HMMMM.

It's really not that serious! The Lakeland-Apopka game from last year is available on NFHS if anyone wants to check it out. 

Kickoff Classics in Florida often involve: wet field; wet ball; delays due to lightning; delays due to officials stopping the game because they're unsure as to what to call; delays due to high school kids making mistakes/penalties. It's very hard to get into any sort of offensive rhythm with all of those obstacles. Add in the fact that Apopka is going to play three yards and a cloud of dust, eating the clock, and the Darters are very sound defensively, scoring a bunch of points is going to be very difficult for most any HS team. I think you're looking at a very boring, ugly game that will also be very close. It's very winnable for the Kowboys because their defense will be able to shut down Apopka as well. So, it really figures to come down to who makes one more/one big mistake. And I explained why I think it's more likely to be Osceola making that mistake.

I can't speak to Lakeland's schedule. I'm disappointed. And I think CAI is a horrible team to schedule. They don't have the history or the big name value to qualify as a really impressive win, yet they may be every bit as good as just about anyone not named IMG. Would be much better to play a Miami Central, which I think they tried to do at some point. I do think financial concerns (a reality for basically everyone) play into scheduling decisions. It makes sense to play teams within not more than about 2 hours away who happen to have relatively good fan support (tickets sold).

[BigBoyBall]

I was told Palm Beach County's tickets will be sold online

[cribboy305]

The jones & west game will be a good 1. for the 1st quarter then its gone get ugly. 

dillard will squeak pass norland but I don’t expect norland to be no easy task. dade inner cities dont take too lightly to losin to broward. 

img & venice I will have to see. Img still talented as hell man so it could be a real good game or a skunk session

central takes on palm beach lakes & that will be a blowout

 

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

55 minutes ago, cribboy305 said:

The jones & west game will be a good 1. for the 1st quarter then its gone get ugly. 

dillard will squeak pass norland but I don’t expect norland to be no easy task. dade inner cities dont take too lightly to losin to broward. 

img & venice I will have to see. Img still talented as hell man so it could be a real good game or a skunk session

central takes on palm beach lakes & that will be a blowout

 

I’m not sure where this Norland game is even being played is it at traz , fiu north what lol. 
 

i hope we get a full 4 Qt & not a running clock from start to finish like I heard it will be. 

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

57 minutes ago, cribboy305 said:

The jones & west game will be a good 1. for the 1st quarter then its gone get ugly. 

dillard will squeak pass norland but I don’t expect norland to be no easy task. dade inner cities dont take too lightly to losin to broward. 

img & venice I will have to see. Img still talented as hell man so it could be a real good game or a skunk session

central takes on palm beach lakes & that will be a blowout

 

PBL & central , the bands should b entertaining if central brings theirs but that’s about it lol. 
 

mnw vs jones I’ll stick with my MNW 42 jones 14 prediction 

iMG Vs Venice ? I would love for the Indians to get the dub & even on a “down year” the ascenders have shown to be a level or two above their opponents so we will see. 

[topnotch305]

On 8/12/2022 at 9:35 PM, DarterBlue2 said:

Jones will score more than 14. Will they score enough to win? That I don't know. If the West were about at last year's level, Jones would have a real shot. If they are a lot better then we will see ... 

They are better. Defense was really young last year. 

[DarterBlue2]

2 minutes ago, topnotch305 said:

They are better. Defense was really young last year. 

Interesting. Jones has a very strong offense and a somewhat unproven defense. 

[topnotch305]

9 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

Interesting. Jones has a very strong offense and a somewhat unproven defense. 

To beat NW this year you will have to outscore them. You will have to score at least 40 points or more. I know they're other teams that are predicted to be better than them this year and rightfully so i guess. But I like what i see so far this year. Looking forward to being at the game in the O Saturday night. 

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

32 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

Interesting. Jones has a very strong offense and a somewhat unproven defense. 

My thing with jones is vs central Florida teams their offense is potent. But when it has come to down south opponents how have their offense fared ? 
 

not knocking their ability or potential this year, I’m just wondering because I don’t follow them. 

[DarterBlue2]

30 minutes ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:

My thing with jones is vs central Florida teams their offense is potent. But when it has come to down south opponents how have their offense fared ? 
 

not knocking their ability or potential this year, I’m just wondering because I don’t follow them. 

Jones has had very limited exposure to South Florida Teams. They lost the 2019 state Championship game to Northwestern by a score of 34-17. Jones kept the game very close for the first half but wilted in the second half. The difference in that game, in my opinion, was the freshman MNW QB who was very poised for a 9th grader. Jones QB, who was either or senior or junior was not anywhere near as good, so he was unable to take advantage of some of the big targets he had.

Jones also had a first or second round loss to Cardinal Gibbons in the playoffs in recent memory in a pretty good game. 

So, to answer your question, they are 0-2 against very good South Florida competition, but they have proven they can hold their own. The demographics of Jones are very similar to that of: Dillard, MNW, Miami Central, etc. For years they were average at football (kind of like Ely, Jackson, Edison, etc. have been recently) because they did not have a good coaching staff and, therefore, a lot of their talent went elsewhere. 

Since Elijah Williams became head coach, they have kept their talent and gotten a few transfers to boot. Elijah is a very good football coach who has been able to get the team to step up a notch. Last year, Jones should have beaten Pine Forest as all they needed was the conversion of the extra point with seconds on the clock. Unfortunately, they had lost their kicker late in the season and the QB who had been kicking the PATs missed the point. Pine Forest ended up the winner in overtime. Note that Pine Forest probably should have beaten Jesuit in the title game after Jesuit had handled Northwestern comfortably in the other semifinal. Now last year is last year and this year is this year, so I am not using that to forecast the outcome of this game. 

I do think Jones has a more dynamic offense this year that last. However, I am not sure about the quality of this year's defense. 

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

29 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

Jones has had very limited exposure to South Florida Teams. They lost the 2019 state Championship game to Northwestern by a score of 34-17. Jones kept the game very close for the first half but wilted in the second half. The difference in that game, in my opinion, was the freshman MNW QB who was very poised for a 9th grader. Jones QB, who was either or senior or junior was not anywhere near as good, so he was unable to take advantage of some of the big targets he had.

Jones also had a first or second round loss to Cardinal Gibbons in the playoffs in recent memory in a pretty good game. 

So, to answer your question, they are 0-2 against very good South Florida competition, but they have proven they can hold their own. The demographics of Jones are very similar to that of: Dillard, MNW, Miami Central, etc. For years they were average at football (kind of like Ely, Jackson, Edison, etc. have been recently) because they did not have a good coaching staff and, therefore, a lot of their talent went elsewhere. 

Since Elijah Williams became head coach, they have kept their talent and gotten a few transfers to boot. Elijah is a very good football coach who has been able to get the team to step up a notch. Last year, Jones should have beaten Pine Forest as all they needed was the conversion of the extra point with seconds on the clock. Unfortunately, they had lost their kicker late in the season and the QB who had been kicking the PATs missed the point. Pine Forest ended up the winner in overtime. Note that Pine Forest probably should have beaten Jesuit in the title game after Jesuit had handled Northwestern comfortably in the other semifinal. Now last year is last year and this year is this year, so I am not using that to forecast the outcome of this game. 

I do think Jones has a more dynamic offense this year that last. However, I am not sure about the quality of this year's defense. 

I appreciate the in depth knowledge you just gave, something else I would have not known prior. 
 

but that’s going to be key, how is their defense gonna hold up. Because believe you me MNW is gonna test them deep early & often. 
 

Miami power houses also love Qb options & if you don’t read it correctly they will be gone down the sideline for 6 with that speed. So yes jones defense is going to be key.

[KeemD321]

29 minutes ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:

I appreciate the in depth knowledge you just gave, something else I would have not known prior. 
 

but that’s going to be key, how is their defense gonna hold up. Because believe you me MNW is gonna test them deep early & often. 
 

Miami power houses also love Qb options & if you don’t read it correctly they will be gone down the sideline for 6 with that speed. So yes jones defense is going to be key.

I'm not sure about their secondary but from what I've been reading their line play and linebackers should be really good. Linebackers should definitely be set anchored by Malik Bryant.

[topnotch305]

I know it was the spring but Jones defense looked slow on film against the team they were playing. Well Saturday night we will see how it all unfolds. And Darter the freshman qb is now a senior who is about to break the Dade County passing record. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

1 minute ago, topnotch305 said:

I know it was the spring but Jones defense looked slow on film against the team they were playing. Well Saturday night we will see how it all unfolds. And Darter the freshman qb is now a senior who is about to break the Dade County passing record. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s the west full schedule Brodie ?