KICKOFF Classics must see games

[Perspective]

14 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

Just announced that Miami Northwestern will face Lakeland Aug. 16 at 7pm at...Vero Beach High. So, a somewhat middle ground for each. Weird venue to be sure!

I'm thinking this might be too far of a trip for that Lakeland guy who wears a boat on his head.   

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

3 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Too bad this wasn’t a regular season event 

Right! I feel like anything out of county should count. 

[MarkECannon]

16 hours ago, DILLARDBOYZ954 said:

I’m hearing , it’s Lakeland vs Miami northwestern, Vero Vs Miami norland , and carol city vs Lincoln Tallahassee 

Wow!  If true I would like to see if there would be a better kickoff classic in the state of Florida.  I think a jamboree type setup would be a good way to go.  Vero Beach, Lakeland and Lincoln by luck of the draw play the Miami teams a half at a time.  Each team would only play 2 half’s.

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

2 minutes ago, MarkECannon said:

Wow!  If true I would like to see if there would be a better kickoff classic in the state of Florida.  I think a jamboree type setup would be fantastic.

This would be top 2, but I think the Broward vs USA one is still the top notch KOC showcase. 

[MarkECannon]

13 minutes ago, DILLARDBOYZ954 said:

This would be top 2, but I think the Broward vs USA one is still the top notch KOC showcase. 

I thought the Broward vs USA were regular season games.

[Longtime Observer]

9 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Too bad this wasn’t a regular season event 

You can interpret the results in the same way. I promise you no school is putting their team on buses to play a major state power so they can get the backups some practice etc.

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

8 hours ago, MarkECannon said:

I thought the Broward vs USA were regular season games.

It is. My apologies. In that case this will be the biggest in the state. Wish it was closer most definitely would have went 

[h8r]

On 6/16/2025 at 5:09 PM, PinellasFB said:

Both my boys wrestle and play football.  I am very familiar with the home schooled wrestlers who are free agents wrestling for the various power programs in the state.  I can say with great certainty that nearly 100% will not earn a college scholarship in wrestling because wrestling is literally the hardest sport to earn a full ride in.  There are only 10 collegiate weight classes compared to 14 in high school.  You could be the state champ at your weight class but to wrestle at the next level, you will also have to be better than other kids at a weight class above and below you.  Additionally, there are only 70 D1 wrestling schools and not a single D3, D2 or D1 team in Florida.  Finally, Pennsylvania is so far above every other state in wrestling that they will take half of the scholarships, leaving crumbs for everyone else. 

Last note, wrestling also has very poor NIL prospects.  So kids that are sacrificing their HS experience to wrestle three hours away are doing it for only high school glory, nothing else.  After wrestling is over, what can they do with their shitty education?  The kids I know that are home school athletes pretty much just train all day.  I wonder when they even go to school at home? 

new jersey would have a say so in how far above Pennslyvania is, new jersey has been the long standing powerhouse in wrestling states for many many years, penn and ohio are a close 2nd, california is always up there with some studs too....Cael being at penn state has put the country on notice, no doubt.  Id take Jersey over the rest of the country year in year out.

[MarkECannon]

12 hours ago, DILLARDBOYZ954 said:

It is. My apologies. In that case this will be the biggest in the state. Wish it was closer most definitely would have went 

I’m moving to Boca Raton on July 1 so I might venture up there. There may be a better KO classic in the state.  I’d love to hear of it.  

[nolebull813]

58 minutes ago, MarkECannon said:

I’m moving to Boca Raton on July 1 so I might venture up there. There may be a better KO classic in the state.  I’d love to hear of it.  

So as an event you can’t beat the 3 games. But if you are talking one game, Chaminade/West Boca and IMG/First Academy would be better games. Based solely on projected state rankings in my opinion 

[MarkECannon]

1 hour ago, nolebull813 said:

So as an event you can’t beat the 3 games. But if you are talking one game, Chaminade/West Boca and IMG/First Academy would be better games. Based solely on projected state rankings in my opinion 

No argument there.  I like seeing the variety at the Vero Beach event.  I’m sure I’ll see the Chaminade and West Boca Raton each play this year.  Probably multiple times.

[JDHoss]

On 6/20/2025 at 3:01 PM, MarkECannon said:

No argument there.  I like seeing the variety at the Vero Beach event.  I’m sure I’ll see the Chaminade and West Boca Raton each play this year.  Probably multiple times.

V-Ro isn't a bad drive from Boca, and they have a nice stadium with plenty of parking. We'll certainly be taking these games in. It's only about 35 minutes north of us. 

[Drogo]

On 6/18/2025 at 11:00 PM, DILLARDBOYZ954 said:

I’m hearing , it’s Lakeland vs Miami northwestern, Vero Vs Miami norland , and carol city vs Lincoln Tallahassee 

Vero confirmed the Norland game on Friday night August 15, so I would imagine the Carol City/Lincoln game would be the day game on Saturday August 16, as the Lakeland/Northwestern game was already announced as the night game on Saturday August 16. 

[FBGUY1989]

3 hours ago, Drogo said:

Vero confirmed the Norland game on Friday night August 15, so I would imagine the Carol City/Lincoln game would be the day game on Saturday August 16, as the Lakeland/Northwestern game was already announced as the night game on Saturday August 16. 

This is great exposure especially for Lincoln. Pensacola schools should join in on the fun but are they even competitive. The last time I remembered a Pensacola school in states was Escambia in 2019 against Central and they 62-27.

[Dr. D]

I would add the 2021 Pine Forest team that lost to Tampa Jesuit, 35-29, in the 6A championship game.  But your point about Pensacola teams is well stated.  I don't see any serious contenders from that area this year.  

[FBGUY1989]

32 minutes ago, Dr. D said:

I would add the 2021 Pine Forest team that lost to Tampa Jesuit, 35-29, in the 6A championship game.  But your point about Pensacola teams is well stated.  I don't see any serious contenders from that area this year.  

Oh yeah I forgot about Pine Forest.

[nolebull813]

Pace and Pensacola Catholic are the 2 top teams in the area. Also Niceville and Choctaw if you want to expand it a little. Those 4 would be the teams to rep the far West of the panhandle 

[MarkECannon]

11 hours ago, Dr. D said:

I would add the 2021 Pine Forest team that lost to Tampa Jesuit, 35-29, in the 6A championship game.  But your point about Pensacola teams is well stated.  I don't see any serious contenders from that area this year.  

I favored Jesuit going into that game.  Living in Tampa for many years I saw Jesuit play many times.  Jesuit Athletics Director Terry Rupp is a class act.  Pine Forest probably should have beat Jesuit that night.  I believe Jesuit was overconfident going into the game.  They beat Miami Northwestern in the semifinals so I think they thought the final was a mere formality.  Pine Forest controlled the line of scrimmage practically all night.  

[JDHoss]

So, our first week of games is looking like....

Thursday - Chaminade v West Boca

Friday - Norland v Vero

Saturday - Carol City v Lincoln

Saturday - NW v Lakeland

What a wonderful world we live in...

[FBGUY1989]

10 minutes ago, JDHoss said:

So, our first week of games is looking like....

Thursday - Chaminade v West Boca

Friday - Norland v Vero

Saturday - Carol City v Lincoln

Saturday - NW v Lakeland

What a wonderful world we live in...

This are all good games to see.

[DILLARDBOYZ954]

42 minutes ago, FBGUY1989 said:

This are all good games to see.

My picks for these will be. 
 

Chaminade over west Boca 

Norland over vero 

carol city over Lincoln 

& the west over Lakeland. 

[Longtime Observer]

15 hours ago, FBGUY1989 said:

This is great exposure especially for Lincoln. Pensacola schools should join in on the fun but are they even competitive. The last time I remembered a Pensacola school in states was Escambia in 2019 against Central and they 62-27.

They certainly could produce a state power that hangs with anyone in the state. But, in the current climate, that would require one program to compile most of the top talent. And that area has seen many schools have great teams, but no one school that can lay claim to being head and shoulders over others. And, I think the culture of that area is more traditional or less keen on the new age transfer mania.

Perhaps the strongest program in the broader area, Niceville, is too far from Pensacola to attract enough players from there to become good enough to beat a mega power.  

The sad thing is, nothing said above means the quality of football is less in that area. They just aren't trying to build all-star teams built on attracting players from far and wide. If the variables were reversed, and Pensacola had a program that went "all-in" on monopolizing local talent, while Dade/Broward schools were somehow forced to strictly use players within a small set of boundaries (like it was in, say, the 1980s), then the Pensacola powerhouse would dominate the Dade and Broward teams. You'd still have a completely uneven playing field, but now that uneven field would work for the Pensacola team and against the Dade and Broward teams. Of course, in current reality, things are reversed from my hypothetical. 

[nolebull813]

2 hours ago, Longtime Observer said:

They certainly could produce a state power that hangs with anyone in the state. But, in the current climate, that would require one program to compile most of the top talent. And that area has seen many schools have great teams, but no one school that can lay claim to being head and shoulders over others. And, I think the culture of that area is more traditional or less keen on the new age transfer mania.

 

Perhaps the strongest program in the broader area, Niceville, is too far from Pensacola to attract enough players from there to become good enough to beat a mega power.  

 

The sad thing is, nothing said above means the quality of football is less in that area. They just aren't trying to build all-star teams built on attracting players from far and wide. If the variables were reversed, and Pensacola had a program that went "all-in" on monopolizing local talent, while Dade/Broward schools were somehow forced to strictly use players within a small set of boundaries (like it was in, say, the 1980s), then the Pensacola powerhouse would dominate the Dade and Broward teams. You'd still have a completely uneven playing field, but now that uneven field would work for the Pensacola team and against the Dade and Broward teams. Of course, in current reality, things are reversed from my hypothetical. 

Not so fast my friend. Niceville for the longest was the go to place for players. Kids weren’t going to Choctaw and they dang sure weren’t going to FWB. Don’t let the good ole boy mantra fool you. North FL has had some “magnet schools”. The talent just isn’t as good as the South. It’s not for the lack of trying. 

[Longtime Observer]

1 hour ago, nolebull813 said:

Not so fast my friend. Niceville for the longest was the go to place for players. Kids weren’t going to Choctaw and they dang sure weren’t going to FWB. Don’t let the good ole boy mantra fool you. North FL has had some “magnet schools”. The talent just isn’t as good as the South. It’s not for the lack of trying. 

Oh, sure, they're all trying at this point. There are just several factors that have kept anyone from totally running the area. Niceville is an hour plus from Pensacola. They've gotten some kids from there I'm sure. Just not enough. Niceville lost to Mosley and had a pretty competitive win vs. Choctaw, so it's unlikely Niceville had that much of a monopoly on local talent last season. Now, if we start seeing them easily running-clock all of the other teams in the area, then we'd have reason to look closer and see if they have gotten most all of the best players.

The panhandle schools did very well historically when the top schools never had more than one or two transfers. Anyone can see this if they check the record books. In 1980, Cantonment Tate beat Miami Columbus- necessarily the best team in Dade that year as no other Dade school played for a title in any class- in the large school state title game, 35-7. In 1982, Pensacola Woodham beat Columbus in the same large class title game, 23-14. In 1984, Woodham beat Miami Southridge for the big school title. In 1991, Fort Walton Beach dominated STA 39-14 for a state title. In 1994, Pensacola Washington beat undefeated and reigning state champion Miami Southridge by two scores. There are also many seasons in which no Dade team played for a state title because all the schools were knocked off in early rounds by a school in a different county. You'd be abosultely crazy and wrong to allege that there weren't a TON of great players in Dade county in the 1980s and 1990s. Dade was the most talent-rich county in the country in those years, too. The difference, of course, was that transfer mania wasn't a thing. And, while the stronger programs no doubt got a key transfer here or there, for the most part the rosters were dictated by narrow attendance boundaries.

[Longtime Observer]

Just went back and verified that Miami Southridge was not only unbeaten and defending state champs in 1994 (with everyone drooling over and obsessed with their win over Manatee in 1993), they were ranked number one in the country by USA Today (the gold standard for national rankings then). Washington, on the other hand, was 1-9 the previous season and failed to win their district in 1994! They then beat that Southridge team by two scores. 

Watch the full game here