Vote for the Worst HS Teams in Florida

[OldSchoolLion]

Here is your chance to vote for the worst football programs in the state of Florida!  Maybe it will give these teams some motivation to get off the list.

Below are what very well could be the 24 worst larger school programs in the state.  None of these schools have ever won a playoff game.  I only considered the larger classifications for this ballot and did not include newer schools, ie schools that opened less than 15 years ago.  West Central Florida and North Central Florida seem to have a higher percentage of weak teams, and that is reflected in the number of options for those areas. 

To the right of each school name is the number of playoff games they have played and the date the school opened.

Please vote for who you think is historically the worst program in each geographical region.  If you are not comfortable voting on a certain region, that's fine.  I have not looked up seasonal records for these teams, so maybe they are not as bad as their playoff records dictate.  If you have some knowledge of a particular team, good or bad, please share with all.  

South FL

Braddock-4 games                     1989

Coral Springs-3                           1975

Southwest Miami-8                    1956

Spanish River-3                           1983

·       

East Central FL

Cocoa Beach-6                          1964

Colonial-2                                   1958

Poinciana-1                                 1991

 

North Central FL

Brooksville Central-6                 1988

Interlachen-3                               1968   

Lake Weir-2                                 1955

Mount Dora-9                               1940 or earlier

Pine Ridge-1                                1994

 

South Central FL

Lake Placid-3                              1950 or earlier 

Port St Lucie-1                           1989

 

West Central FL

Bloomingdale-3                          1987

George Jenkins-2                       1993

Lake Region-3                             1995

Lecanto-2                                     1984·      

Osceola/Seminole-7                  1981

Ridgewood-2                                1978

 

Northeast FL

Fernandina Beach-3                 1956 or earlier

Keystone Heights-8                  1965

 

Panhandle

Chiles-1                                     1999

Gulf Breeze-9                            1971

 

[DarterBlue2]

5 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

East Central FL

Cocoa Beach-6                          1964

Colonial-2                                   1958

Poinciana-1                                 1991

 

I am a little surprised that Cypress Creek High opened in 1988 (it could have been 1989), does not appear on this list. I am pretty sure that in the past 19 seasons they have made the playoffs just once (with either a 5/5 or 6/4 record). And I doubt that in the first 10 years of its existence its record was any better. Things  got worse when Freedom opened in 2004 and took most of the existing talent with it. 

Of the three you cite from East Central Florida, Cocoa Beach and Poinciana are terrible and probably will not get any better in the foreseeable future. Colonial has also been terrible. But I happen to think that if a good, patient coaching staff spent four or five seasons there, a winning program could be built. 

[nolebull813]

Poinciana has got to be the worst of this entire list. Look at this all time record 

1993 1-9
1994 2-8 
1995 4-6
1996 5-5 
1997 1-9 
1998 1-9
1999 5-5 
2000 6-5  
2001 1-9 
2002 0-10
2003 0-10 
2004 1-8 
2005 1-9 
2006 0-10 
2007 1-9
2008 1-9 
2009 2-8 
2010 0-10
2011 2-8
2012 1-8

2013 1-9

2014 1-9 
2015 0-10 
2016 1-9 
2017 2-8

[nolebull813]

15 wins in the last 17 years!!!!

[dawgs]

4 hours ago, DarterBlue2 said:

I am a little surprised that Cypress Creek High opened in 1988 (it could have been 1989), does not appear on this list. I am pretty sure that in the past 19 seasons they have made the playoffs just once (with either a 5/5 or 6/4 record). And I doubt that in the first 10 years of its existence its record was any better. Things  got worse when Freedom opened in 2004 and took most of the existing talent with it. 

Of the three you cite from East Central Florida, Cocoa Beach and Poinciana are terrible and probably will not get any better in the foreseeable future. Colonial has also been terrible. But I happen to think that if a good, patient coaching staff spent four or five seasons there, a winning program could be built. 

colonial has 86 wins in 30 years.

there was a good patient coaching staff there a few years ago, but 3 principals in 4 years and a retired AD later, led to setting it backwards, again.

cypress was doing pretty good a couple years back, 5-5.  then last year they regressed with better players (not sure how that happens other than some poor coaching).  that coach left

poinciana gets all their best players pulled to liberty, it just isnt going to happen there.  the best players at liberty go and play JV at osceola.  

celebration was good a few yearzs back too.  then their coach left to greener pastures, they are back to bad again.

[OldSchoolLion]

6 hours ago, DarterBlue2 said:

I am a little surprised that Cypress Creek High opened in 1988 (it could have been 1989), does not appear on this list. I am pretty sure that in the past 19 seasons they have made the playoffs just once (with either a 5/5 or 6/4 record). And I doubt that in the first 10 years of its existence its record was any better. Things  got worse when Freedom opened in 2004 and took most of the existing talent with it. 

Of the three you cite from East Central Florida, Cocoa Beach and Poinciana are terrible and probably will not get any better in the foreseeable future. Colonial has also been terrible. But I happen to think that if a good, patient coaching staff spent four or five seasons there, a winning program could be built. 

Cypress Creek/Orlando was not on the list because they did win a playoff game back in 2004. 

FYI-Because of the population explosion in west central Florida, a lot of new schools have opened there over the past 40 years.  One thing I notice is that some of these programs have had difficulty getting traction over the years.   How often do we see larger programs from Pasco, Hernando or Citrus Counties competing for state titles?  Even in the Tampa area, Armwood and Plant are the only regulars in the state finals in the larger classes.

There are a number of newer programs in the Orlando area of late.  It is going to be interesting to see if the talent there is deep enough to support these programs at winning levels.

 

[DarterBlue2]

27 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Cypress Creek/Orlando was not on the list because they did win a playoff game back in 2004. 

They did make the playoffs that year. I don't recall them winning, though. I could be wrong, but don't think they have ever won a playoff game. BTW, their two best players that year, brothers, did not attend Cypress Creek but were allowed to play as their school did not offer football. 

27 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

There are a number of newer programs in the Orlando area of late.  It is going to be interesting to see if the talent there is deep enough to support these programs at winning levels.

Wekiva and Apopka can both survive and thrive as winning programs. There is enough talent there. Windermere High will probably not hurt West Orange too badly. Both have a shot at being winning programs. 

Some of the other newer schools have spread the talent a little too thin. 

[OldSchoolLion]

16 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

They did make the playoffs that year. I don't recall them winning, though. I could be wrong, but don't think they have ever won a playoff game. BTW, their two best players that year, brothers, did not attend Cypress Creek but were allowed to play as their school did not offer football. 

Wekiva and Apopka can both survive and thrive as winning programs. There is enough talent there. Windermere High will probably not hurt West Orange too badly. Both have a shot at being winning programs. 

Some of the other newer schools have spread the talent a little too thin. 

Cypress Creek beat Bloomingdale 50-41 in the first round of the playoffs that year.

[DarterBlue2]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Cypress Creek beat Bloomingdale 50-41 in the first round of the playoffs that year.

Per the FHSAA 2004 brackets, Cypress Creek lost to Mandarin in the first round of the playoffs in 2004 by a score of 24-0. 

Again, I could be wrong, but I really can't remember Cypress Creek ever winning a playoff game. I checked 2003 and 2005 brackets to see if you were off by a year, but CCHS did not make the playoffs those two years. 

[badbird]

cypress creek is 0-3 in the playoffs.  Lost in 1993 and 1994 also.  They should be on the list but Poinciana is the worst

[s1nglewing]

Carrabelle/Apalachicola/Franklin County? Ever won a playoff game? 

[OldSchoolLion]

2 hours ago, DarterBlue2 said:

Per the FHSAA 2004 brackets, Cypress Creek lost to Mandarin in the first round of the playoffs in 2004 by a score of 24-0. 

Again, I could be wrong, but I really can't remember Cypress Creek ever winning a playoff game. I checked 2003 and 2005 brackets to see if you were off by a year, but CCHS did not make the playoffs those two years. 

You are correct.  Forgive my bad eyes.  So please consider them if you would like.

 

[OldSchoolLion]

4 minutes ago, s1nglewing said:

Carrabelle/Apalachicola/Franklin County? Ever won a playoff game? 

I only considered the larger classifications.  If I had added all of the small schools as well, the list would have gotten unwieldy.  There are are a fair number of smaller schools who have never won a playoff game.  

[s1nglewing]

Yes - now I see the "larger school" specification.

[BrowardHandicapper]

Historically, maybe but take a look at the teams Coral Springs is losing to in opening rounds over the years.  Worst post-season teams historically might be a category for these teams.  I have trouble calling them among the worst football programs in Florida.  If Coral Springs is among the worst football programs in Florida or even South Florida, what is Inlet Grove?

 

Coral Springs is not a bad 8A program IMO.  Good- NO, The Worst - Definitely not.   Coral Springs is a erratic team being usually a game or two over .500 or a couple games under .500. Very, very  inconsistent.  They may have also  produced a couple NFL players if I am not mistaken. 

Miami Southwest (also erratic)  has had some decent teams recently but have opening games against good 8A teams.

I can think of much worse 8A programs, the bottom 8A-15 Miami like Braddock, Varela, Ferguson, Coral Reef ... don't just lose they usually get throttled. 

2014 Coral Springs had a decent team particularly offensively.  They opened their playoffs @ Flanagan , fought hard but ultimately lost as huge underdogs.  That 2014 Coral Springs team was probably a 2nd or 3rd round 8A team in some parts of the state.  Like many teams statewide they  struggle to keep coaches for more then 2-3 years... 

[OldSchoolLion]

UPDATE:  Below I have added Cypress Creek to the list and included the records of each team over the past 14 seasons.  11/25 teams averaged less than 3 wins/year over that time period.  Most of these really weak teams are in central FL.  Hope this helps you to vote.

At the end,  I have a breakdown by class.  Look at what a high percentage of weak teams 4A has.  Imagine if some of these teams in 4A make the playoffs next year with the new format.  

 

Panhandle

Chiles(7A)-1 playoff game   53-84-1

Gulf Breeze(6A)-9 playoff games    62-85

 

Northeast FL

Fernandina Beach(4A)-3 playoff games  44-94-1

Keystone Heights(4A)-8 playoff games  73-68-1

 

North Central FL

Brooksville Central(5A)-6 playoff games   50-91

Interlachen(4A)-3 playoff games  26-114

Lake Weir(6A)-2 playoff games   51-92-1

Mont Dora(4A)-9 playoff games 72-72

Pine Ridge(6A)-1 playoff games   35-102

 

West Central FL

Bloomingdale(7A)-3 playoff games     56-89

George Jenkins(8A)-2playoff games     36-103

Lake Region(6A)-3 playoff games  39-101

Lecanto(5A)-2 playoff games   34-108

Osceola/Seminole(6A)-7 playoff games   48-89  (record over 13 seasons)  

Ridgewood(5A)-2 playoff games  46-96

 

East Central FL

Cocoa Beach(4A)-6 playoff games   57-84

Colonial(8A)-2 playoff games   31-108-1

Cypress Creek(8A)-3 playoff games    35-114

Poinciana(5A)-1playoff game     14-124

 

South Central FL

Lake Placid(4A)-3 playoff games  38-103

Port St. Lucie(5A)-1 playoff game   37-95

 

South FL

Braddock(8A)-4 playoff games  59-80-1

Coral Springs(8A)-3 playoff games     58-84

Southwest Miami(8A)-8 playoff games     70-74

Spanish River(8A)-3 playoff games    23-112

 

Breakdown of above

8A-7 teams

7A-2 teams

6A-5 teams

5A-5 teams

4A-6 teams

[Sharkbait]

3 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

Carrabelle/Apalachicola/Franklin County? Ever won a playoff game? 

Apalach actually won state title around 1970 and had a few decent seasons when Pop Wagoner was still coaching

[nolebull813]

Here is every single thing about the playoffs and state titles ever 

http://www.fhsaa.org/sites/default/files/orig_uploads/records/rec_fb.pdf

[OldSchoolLion]

3 hours ago, BrowardHandicapper said:

Historically, maybe but take a look at the teams Coral Springs is losing to in opening rounds over the years.  Worst post-season teams historically might be a category for these teams.  I have trouble calling them among the worst football programs in Florida.  If Coral Springs is among the worst football programs in Florida or even South Florida, what is Inlet Grove?

 

Coral Springs is not a bad 8A program IMO.  Good- NO, The Worst - Definitely not.   Coral Springs is a erratic team being usually a game or two over .500 or a couple games under .500. Very, very  inconsistent.  They may have also  produced a couple NFL players if I am not mistaken. 

Miami Southwest (also erratic)  has had some decent teams recently but have opening games against good 8A teams.

I can think of much worse 8A programs, the bottom 8A-15 Miami like Braddock, Varela, Ferguson, Coral Reef ... don't just lose they usually get throttled. 

2014 Coral Springs had a decent team particularly offensively.  They opened their playoffs @ Flanagan , fought hard but ultimately lost as huge underdogs.  That 2014 Coral Springs team was probably a 2nd or 3rd round 8A team in some parts of the state.  Like many teams statewide they  struggle to keep coaches for more then 2-3 years... 

Thanks for the comments.  I used playoff records because it was a simple (not necessarily the best) means of compiling the list.  The record of Southwest over the past 14 seasons reflects your point.  They simply appear to have a rough time in the playoffs.

Concerning Ferguson and Varela, they are newer schools and I made a point not to include any schools on the list that opened after 2000.  There are a number of newer schools who have performed very poorly, and if I had included all of those on this list it would have become unwieldy.  In a manner of speaking, am giving these newer schools a grace period to get their programs established.  One could easily make an argument that a brand new school that has not won a single game is the worst in the state, but I thought it unfair to compare a team like that versus a 40 year-old program.   

I randomly picked some teams from Broward along with the ones you mentioned from Dade.  Below is the comparison of wins over 14 season, except for Ferguson, who has only played 13 seasons.  As you will see, all of these programs are probably pretty close to each other...not horrible, but far from good.  So, I agree with your comment about Coral Springs.  

Douglas-7 playoffs   61 wins

Cooper City-8 playoffs    60 wins

Braddock- 4 playoffs   59 wins

South Broward-4 playoffs   59 wins 

Coral Springs-3 playoffs   58 wins

Varela-6 playoffs   56 wins

Coral Reef-2 playoffs   53 wins

Ferguson-1 playoff   48 wins (in 13 seasons vs 14 for all of the others) 

Fort Lauderdale-8 playoffs   47 wins

I would ask everyone to look at the 25 teams from a historical perspective.  That is why I included the school opening dates earlier...so one can put the number of playoff appearances in perspective.  Coral Springs has appeared in the playoffs only 3 times since 1975, and all of those appearances were since 2000.   Historically speaking, that is an average of one playoff appearance about every 14 years.  That record is amongst the worst in the state. 

 

[Proseteye]

13 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Poinciana has got to be the worst of this entire list. Look at this all time record 

1993 1-9
1994 2-8 
1995 4-6
1996 5-5 
1997 1-9 
1998 1-9
1999 5-5 
2000 6-5  
2001 1-9 
2002 0-10
2003 0-10 
2004 1-8 
2005 1-9 
2006 0-10 
2007 1-9
2008 1-9 
2009 2-8 
2010 0-10
2011 2-8
2012 1-8

2013 1-9

2014 1-9 
2015 0-10 
2016 1-9 
2017 2-8

Can you imagine the mindset at Poinciana among the coaches, players, and fans? One would think somebody would say "we kinda got a problem here". 

[OldSchoolLion]

We may have competition for Poinciana!

Tampa Leto(currently 7A) is 2-78 since 2010 in games played on the field(they won three forfeited games during this time frame.)  They won those two games in 2014 by a total of 4 points. So, in 7 of the last 8 seasons they had no wins on the field.  Leto is 16-124 since 2004.   I wonder how far back this record of losing goes?  They made the playoffs 4 times in the 90's, losing 3 of those in the first round.

Poinciana is 10-70 since 2010.  They are 16-124 since 2004.

Interlachen is 16-65 since 2010.

Colonial is 16-65 since 2010.

Spanish River is 17-63 since 2010.

[DB4]

I can't speak to all-time, but for sure and without a doubt one of the worst teams in the state of Florida right now is Westland Hialeah. I think they scored two touchdowns last season and maybe two the season before.

[s1nglewing]

9 hours ago, Proseteye said:

Can you imagine the mindset at Poinciana among the coaches, players, and fans? One would think somebody would say "we kinda got a problem here". 

Poinciana - How many coaches since the inception of the school? Seems like they have new football leadership every or every other year. Can't build anything like that.

[OldSchoolLion]

6 hours ago, DB4 said:

I can't speak to all-time, but for sure and without a doubt one of the worst teams in the state of Florida right now is Westland Hialeah. I think they scored two touchdowns last season and maybe two the season before.

Westland(7A) is a newer school.  They are 11-63 since 2010.  They last won a game in August of 2013.  They have scored 39 total points in the past 4 years..an average of 1 point per game.  That's really sad.  Hialeah Gardens(8A), another newer school,  is 11-66 since 2010.

I mentioned Leto previously.  They have scored a whopping total of 43 points in their last 2 seasons. 

I may have found a better candidate for worst team in south Florida.  Coral Park(8A) has been around since 1963 and has never played in a playoff game.   They have a record of 23-114-1 over the past 14 seasons.  Spanish River is 23-112 over the same time frame.

[Coach]

I'm from around the Orlando area and Poinciana's struggles are well-known around here. The school has athletes there (I believe they won a State Championship in Boy's Basketball not too long ago) but I think the population is what hurts football. The demographics are like 70% Hispanic and football just doesn't seem as popular there as basketball. So there are athletes but 1) they aren't interested in football and 2) there's no history to build upon. That's going to be tough to get out of that cycle for the next coach.