Lakeland at Miami Central in August

[Longtime Observer]

This will be Lakeland's first trip to Traz Powell stadium, known by locals as "The Mecca". It will probably be the 3rd time in the last nine seasons Lakeland will face the best team in Dade county (Carol City in 2016 and Norland in 2023 being the other two.) 

We'll have to keep an eye on the recruiting classes for these teams, as that will make all the difference in how this game goes. Both schools have a solid nucleus returning, but, in this day and age they'll have to recruit well to stay at a top level.  

[Nulli Secundus]

4 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

This will be Lakeland's first trip to Traz Powell stadium, known by locals as "The Mecca". It will probably be the 3rd time in the last nine seasons Lakeland will face the best team in Dade county (Carol City in 2016 and Norland in 2023 being the other two.) 

We'll have to keep an eye on the recruiting classes for these teams, as that will make all the difference in how this game goes. Both schools have a solid nucleus returning, but, in this day and age they'll have to recruit well to stay at a top level.  

I knew Lakeland would let go of Bryant stadium and head to S. Florida once Coach Castle retired.  I love this!  Lakeland was burned by Andrew in 92' and ever since, no regular season game has been scheduled in S. Florida.

[DarterBlue2]

I am glad this game is taking place. It should give us a great prelude to November/December. 

[nolebull813]

6 hours ago, Nulli Secundus said:

I knew Lakeland would let go of Bryant stadium and head to S. Florida once Coach Castle retired.  I love this!  Lakeland was burned by Andrew in 92' and ever since, no regular season game has been scheduled in S. Florida.

Has Lakeland ever cancelled a home game due to a hurricane in the last 35 years?

[Vero Indian]

Now it's Vero's turn to travel to Broward or Dade, YAH knows when was the last time they did this

[Nulli Secundus]

2 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Has Lakeland ever cancelled a home game due to a hurricane in the last 35 years?

Hurricane meningitis in 2003.

Honestly I don't know prior '91.

[Perspective]

13 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

This will be Lakeland's first trip to Traz Powell stadium, known by locals as "The Mecca". It will probably be the 3rd time in the last nine seasons Lakeland will face the best team in Dade county (Carol City in 2016 and Norland in 2023 being the other two.) 

We'll have to keep an eye on the recruiting classes for these teams, as that will make all the difference in how this game goes. Both schools have a solid nucleus returning, but, in this day and age they'll have to recruit well to stay at a top level.  

I'm not saying that anything in this post is inaccurate, but it appears we're at the point where we're just casually talking about high schools recruiting when, as far as I know, recruiting is still illegal.  Oh, well. 

[THAT S--T WAS FUNNY]

Recruiting is illegal but as we all know it is rarely enforced. Speaking of recruiting, I heard a small 1A christian school in Orlando is actively recruiting. kids from all over central florida. Kids leaving central florida powers to go to an average 1A private school. Man times have changed.

[Longtime Observer]

13 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Has Lakeland ever cancelled a home game due to a hurricane in the last 35 years?

You'd have to go ALL THE WAY back to 2022, when the Largo game was canceled before a single play due to hurricane-like weather (lightning, torrential downpour etc).

[Longtime Observer]

10 hours ago, Perspective said:

I'm not saying that anything in this post is inaccurate, but it appears we're at the point where we're just casually talking about high schools recruiting when, as far as I know, recruiting is still illegal.  Oh, well. 

Speaking honestly is important. And, at this point, allegations of recruiting almost certainly are not indictments of any particular program: EVERYONE is trying to "attract" as many good players as they can. Some are more successful at it than others. This means that, in order to truly fix the problem-if a majority see it as a problem in the first place- major, systemic changes that can not simply single out any one program are needed. How are you going to penalize Lakeland for getting transfers from Kathleen and Lake Gibson when the latter two have had as many or more transfers from Lakeland as vice versa? Obviously, Lakeland has gotten the better players in that, while the guys they've lost struggled to see the field. But, again, how is that going to be evaluated or enforced? You couldn't even get anywhere using player stats since players like Kordell Lewis, Fentrell Graham and the Brito brothers at Kathleen all racked up more stats at LG and Katheen than the players who transferred to Lakeland. What about Rashad Orr? He was the county's leading rusher at Lake Wales. The season prior, he was the top back at Victory. The season before that, he and Fentrell Graham were backups at Lakeland. His freshman season was somewhere near I believe Tampa. Which of those programs should be penalized for getting him to transfer to them? 

As long as school choice is a thing- and it most certainly will be a thing unless the socialist revolution achieves dominance- and the "cool" thing to do is load up star players at a relatively small number of schools, there is no real way to end the transferring.
 

[Ray Icaza]

4 hours ago, THAT S--T WAS FUNNY said:

Recruiting is illegal but as we all know it is rarely enforced. Speaking of recruiting, I heard a small 1A christian school in Orlando is actively recruiting. kids from all over central florida. Kids leaving central florida powers to go to an average 1A private school. Man times have changed.

That wouldn't by chance be a private school that recently hired the coach from Leesburg who did the same there the previous year?  Must just have the knack of "ATTRACTING" players.  

[KeemD321]

13 minutes ago, Ray Icaza said:

That wouldn't by chance be a private school that recently hired the coach from Leesburg who did the same there the previous year?  Must just have the knack of "ATTRACTING" players.  

Not just the coach but a package deal of him and his staff. On top of that the number that has been floating around for the budget for the athletic facilities and for the athletic staff is wild.

[nolebull813]

11 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

You'd have to go ALL THE WAY back to 2022, when the Largo game was canceled before a single play due to hurricane-like weather (lightning, torrential downpour etc).

So teams should boycott playing at Lakeland for getting burned by the weather? Yes sir they should 

[Ray Icaza]

10 hours ago, KeemD321 said:

Not just the coach but a package deal of him and his staff. On top of that the number that has been floating around for the budget for the athletic facilities and for the athletic staff is wild.

But I thought the privates had no advantage over most publics.  Based on your input, attracting players may not be a result of winning culture, tradition of excellence, coaching, blah, blah, blah, but instead "Athletic Budget"???    NAAHHH!!!

[THAT S--T WAS FUNNY]

It wont last long. Its just the new hot thing in that area. Kids will have their few minutes of fame when they get to announce they are transferring and get to read all the comments on social media. Then it will be over, and they will be left with what they have. Just feel bad for the good coaches who actually cared about those kids and worked hard towards their progression on and off the field. The schools that have success year in and year out will continue to be successful because of those good coaches who are in it for the right reason. Just feel bad for the kids and parents who are being taken advantage of from these "street agents" because of their naiveness. 

[Longtime Observer]

13 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

So teams should boycott playing at Lakeland for getting burned by the weather? Yes sir they should 

Let me see if I can help you to understand. Schools should-and almost always do- recognize the very real possibility that games can be severely delayed or canceled due to weather. One would be hard-pressed to find a place anywhere on the planet with greater likelihood of thunderstorms in August and early September, during the hours that games are played, than Florida. What this means, in case you're having trouble following this, is that ALL schools are heavily discouraged from making plans to travel far away for outdoor sporting events. Even cancellations within the Tampa Bay area (like Lakeland for Largo, or Bradenton for Lakeland in 2017) suck majorly. The result is it is very rare for ANY team to schedule a game against ANY OTHER team in August/September several hours away from home. Such games generally only happen if it is financially rewarding for the school who travels.  

 

[KeemD321]

11 hours ago, Ray Icaza said:

But I thought the privates had no advantage over most publics.  Based on your input, attracting players may not be a result of winning culture, tradition of excellence, coaching, blah, blah, blah, but instead "Athletic Budget"???    NAAHHH!!!

Most definitely especially what the coaches get paid too. The numbers that were going out for MCC was wild but not even close to that private in Orlando 

[Ray Icaza]

They did manage to grab a couple of kids from our returning roster that were probably projected starters.  One on the O-line and one on the D-line.  Some players that we lose, you can find a pretty good reason for them to do so.  These two, I see no upside for them in that program so it is quite puzzling. 

[nolebull813]

15 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

Let me see if I can help you to understand. Schools should-and almost always do- recognize the very real possibility that games can be severely delayed or canceled due to weather. One would be hard-pressed to find a place anywhere on the planet with greater likelihood of thunderstorms in August and early September, during the hours that games are played, than Florida. What this means, in case you're having trouble following this, is that ALL schools are heavily discouraged from making plans to travel far away for outdoor sporting events. Even cancellations within the Tampa Bay area (like Lakeland for Largo, or Bradenton for Lakeland in 2017) suck majorly. The result is it is very rare for ANY team to schedule a game against ANY OTHER team in August/September several hours away from home. Such games generally only happen if it is financially rewarding for the school who travels.  

 

Don’t be a clown. 100’s of teams do it every year in the state. Travel in the early weeks all around the state. Don’t be a liar. Just say Castle didn’t want to. You don’t have to lie and make up excuses. It sounds weak. 
 

Lakeland has been famous for a very long time for adopting the Georgia model and just bring as many bad teams as possible for 2 year money games 

[cribboy305]

On 1/22/2024 at 8:11 PM, Longtime Observer said:

This will be Lakeland's first trip to Traz Powell stadium, known by locals as "The Mecca". It will probably be the 3rd time in the last nine seasons Lakeland will face the best team in Dade county (Carol City in 2016 and Norland in 2023 being the other two.) 

We'll have to keep an eye on the recruiting classes for these teams, as that will make all the difference in how this game goes. Both schools have a solid nucleus returning, but, in this day and age they'll have to recruit well to stay at a top level.  

false. best team in miami in 2024 will be the bulls. norland close second. central will competing for third with columbus & booker t. but yes a great matchup awaits!! Ill be in attendance to watch.

[FBGUY1989]

4 hours ago, cribboy305 said:

false. best team in miami in 2024 will be the bulls. norland close second. central will competing for third with columbus & booker t. but yes a great matchup awaits!! Ill be in attendance to watch.

Da West got something special happening.

[Longtime Observer]

7 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Don’t be a clown. 100’s of teams do it every year in the state. Travel in the early weeks all around the state. Don’t be a liar. Just say Castle didn’t want to. You don’t have to lie and make up excuses. It sounds weak. 
 

Lakeland has been famous for a very long time for adopting the Georgia model and just bring as many bad teams as possible for 2 year money games 

100s of teams do what? Travel 4 or more hours one way for a game? B.S.

[Longtime Observer]

7 hours ago, cribboy305 said:

false. best team in miami in 2024 will be the bulls. norland close second. central will competing for third with columbus & booker t. but yes a great matchup awaits!! Ill be in attendance to watch.

And so it begins...

I almost titled this thread "The tragic fall of the Central Rockets", and wrote a post explaining how Dade fans would sell Central out and say they suck now that Lakeland is playing them. But, I thought better of it, figuring y'all wouldn't actually do that. Silly me!

[Vero Indian]

1 hour ago, Longtime Observer said:

And so it begins...

I almost titled this thread "The tragic fall of the Central Rockets", and wrote a post explaining how Dade fans would sell Central out and say they suck now that Lakeland is playing them. But, I thought better of it, figuring y'all wouldn't actually do that. Silly me!

Miami Central looks to be stronger on paper than Northwestern tho 

[Perspective]

It's friggin' January. 

You've got the kids who transferred from one school to another prior to the start of this semester.

You've got the kids who will transfer before Spring practice starts. 

You've got the kids who will transfer after Spring practice ends.

You've got the kids who will transfer over the summer because they played 7 on 7 with some kids from some other school. 

You've got the kids who will transfer because somebody somewhere promised to give them or their family something if they switched schools.

In short, it's really hard to predict how good this team or that team is going to be in the fall because no one knows what each school's roster is going to look like come August.  For high school football players, August is a lifetime away. 

But Central and Northwestern will probably both be pretty good.