Biggest FL Upsets in History

[OldSchoolLion]

Here are some memorable ones.  Please share any others you can remember.

2011 Cooper City beats St Thomas Aquinas 21-16 at St Thomas during the regular season

2008 Seminole beats 2-time defending state champion Northwestern 28-21 in the 6A final

2007 Osceola scores 18 unanswered 4th quarter points in Lakeland to beat the 3-time defending state champs 25-21 and end their 53-game regular season winning streak

2001 Haines City snaps Lakeland's record-setting 60-game regular season winning streak, beating them 2-0 in Haines City

2001 Rockledge comes to the Muck and snaps nationally-ranked, 3-time defending state champ Glades Central's 47-game winning streak  

2000 Venice beats defending state champ and nationally-ranked Lakeland 34-30 at Venice in the playoffs

1998 Estero beats Lakeland 15-14 in the playoffs at Lakeland

1996 Bartow beats nationally-ranked Bolles 14-13 in the 4A final

1996 Piper beats St Thomas Aquinas 21-0 at Piper and won the district title 

1989 JI Leonard beats powerhouse Riverview 15-14 in Sarasota in the playoffs 

1987 Naples Lely beats Glades Central 26-20 in 2OT in the Muck in the playoffs

 

 

 

[badbird]

I might have some video of that Osceola win

[nolebull813]

Bolles was number 1 in the country when Bartow beat them. Cost the state a mythical national title. 

Thats gotta be the biggest imo 

[nolebull813]

Sanford Seminole over MNW wasn't an all time upset. They went 13-2 and had two 4 stars and a 5 star stud. 

MNW was blown out in the opening against a Cali team who made their finals. Plus they lost to Central as well. 

So this wasn't an all time great team. It was actually the year after they won the MNC and had over a dozen D1s move on. 

From a name standpoint it was an upset, but definitely not an time one 

[“PANTHER NATION(CODE BLUE)]

Wasn’t at states or in the playoffs 

 

but 2010 DILLARD 3-3 Beating 6-0 glades central with star wr former Carolina panther kelvin Benjamin at the helm 

with us coming off a lost to rival Boyd Anderson and losing our star DE in Wayne Lyon the week prior a cypress bay. 

Glades central came in nationally ranked top 10 or at the worst top 20 they came in that October 6-0 blowing out nationally ranked skyline in week 1 they won their first 4 out of 5 games by 28 points or more. Giving up up more then 14 once in a 20-18 game vs AHD

ONLY to lose to Dillard 34-31 with Dillard having a 34-14 advantage in the game at one point before GC made one last run in the end. 

Still one of my most memeorbale Dillard games the crowd literally shook the stands loose that night the band was hype and glades central was HOT!! that was their first REGULAR SEASON lost in think 3 years!!

[OldSchoolLion]

video highlights of the Seminole vs Northwestern game.  What added to the "upset" nature of the game, at least in my mind...Seminole had only won 5 playoff games in school history prior to this year, and had won only 2 playoff games in the 20 years prior...Northwestern seemed to have the game wrapped up, so the comeback was a real shocker

 

[Jags904]

2 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

Bolles was number 1 in the country when Bartow beat them. Cost the state a mythical national title. 

Thats gotta be the biggest imo 

That’s who I was going to say. Lost their QB and RB early in that game, hurt them bad. 

[Trelle]

‘03 got to give it to Venice they beat us (Vero) in the 3rd round. We were 12-0, plus beat Pahokee in the preseason kickoff. USA Today has us ranked I believe #17 in the nation I think Venice was like 6-4 in regular season. 

[“PANTHER NATION(CODE BLUE)]

Just now, Trelle said:

‘03 got to give it to Venice they beat us (Vero) in the 3rd round. We were 12-0, plus beat Pahokee in the preseason kickoff. USA Today has us ranked I believe #17 in the nation I think Venice was like 6-4 in regular season. 

Bro u my dawg and u kno we cool asf but Vero has to be the unlivkiest team in the history of Florida all these undefeated regular seasons and no rings like for some teams going undefeated in the regular season is history but I want to know if Vero fans is tired of going undefeated in the regular season only to not make it to the finals let alone win it . At some point that has to be mentally deflating to a organization 

[OldSchoolLion]

On November 1, 1996, Piper treated a homecoming crowd of 5,500 to one of the biggest victories in school history.  Piper’s 21-0 win over previously unbeaten St Thomas Aquinas victory clinched their first district title since 1979 and first win over STA in 8 tries.  St. Thomas (8-1) was shut out for only the second time in its past 64 games.

Piper (7-1) scored its first of three touchdowns in the closing seconds of the first quarter when quarterback Mathis Mir tossed a 51-yard touchdown to Andre Heard. The game's second touchdown came as the Bengals chewed 5:42 off the clock, driving 80 yards in 12 plays with Tony Jones capping the drive with a 13-yard run. Senior Trevis Graham broke loose on a third-and-5 and went 83 yards, outracing St. Thomas defenders Cameron Ankele and Steve Rock to the end zone for the final score with 9:08 remaining.

 

The Piper defense limited St. Thomas to 125 total yards, half of what it was averaging.  In the last two quarters, the Raiders could manage but three yards of rushing, and 43 yards of total offense.  The Raiders’ leading rusher was Jon Underhill with 41 yards on 11 carries.  Scott Massucco was the defensive standout with two interceptions.  Piper managed 396 yards, 279 rushing.

 

Piper eventually lost to South Broward in the first round of the playoffs.  Aquinas made it to the 5A state finals, where they lost to Lakeland in the first of several state final games with the Dreadnaughts.

[Floridatech]

5 hours ago, “PANTHER NATION(CODE BLUE) said:

Bro u my dawg and u kno we cool asf but Vero has to be the unlivkiest team in the history of Florida all these undefeated regular seasons and no rings like for some teams going undefeated in the regular season is history but I want to know if Vero fans is tired of going undefeated in the regular season only to not make it to the finals let alone win it . At some point that has to be mentally deflating to a organization 

Trust me bruh we get picked on about it

[Floridatech]

10 hours ago, Trelle said:

‘03 got to give it to Venice they beat us (Vero) in the 3rd round. We were 12-0, plus beat Pahokee in the preseason kickoff. USA Today has us ranked I believe #17 in the nation I think Venice was like 6-4 in regular season. 

Vero beat Pahokee in 2003 and 2004???

[Drogo]

9 hours ago, “PANTHER NATION(CODE BLUE) said:

Bro u my dawg and u kno we cool asf but Vero has to be the unlivkiest team in the history of Florida all these undefeated regular seasons and no rings like for some teams going undefeated in the regular season is history but I want to know if Vero fans is tired of going undefeated in the regular season only to not make it to the finals let alone win it . At some point that has to be mentally deflating to a organization 

Sometime in the mid to late 90’s Vero changed their scheduling philosophy from bringing in tough schools from Orlando, Miami and elsewhere to now bringing in the likes of Wellington, Dr Krop and Ft Lauderdale. There are still some bright spots such as the KOC games (Dwyer, Viera) opening game (Oscar Smith, Venice) and the yearly Pahokee game.

I can remember Vero bringing in the likes of Orlando Evans (during their heyday) yearly and Southridge, etc for these games. In my opinion, Vero’s scheduling issues have alot to do with their weak late district games and rivalry game with Sebastian River to close out the year, it’s been months since they were tested and when they are during the playoffs, they lack the mental toughness to respond.

It’s not just Vero though, in this area the population just allow the weekly murderers row that the Dade county and now Orlando schools have to contend with yearly just to make it to the playoffs, and I think it shows starting with the 2nd round playoff games. No school from this area has even played in a state final since St Edwards in ‘89.

Honestly though, I can understand because the average Vero fan at the game has no clue who the team they’re playing is, or their history, if Vero was playing STA, most people at the game would have no clue who they were and if they were any good, so Janikowski is giving the Vero fans what they came for, a probable Vero win and a great band performance, lol. 

[peezy28]

What about Year of the Bull "Y DA DDEFENCE NOT WURKIN, HUH MUTHAFU***" state title game

 

 

 

[OldSchoolLion]

2 hours ago, Drogo said:

Sometime in the mid to late 90’s Vero changed their scheduling philosophy from bringing in tough schools from Orlando, Miami and elsewhere to now bringing in the likes of Wellington, Dr Krop and Ft Lauderdale. There are still some bright spots such as the KOC games (Dwyer, Viera) opening game (Oscar Smith, Venice) and the yearly Pahokee game.

I can remember Vero bringing in the likes of Orlando Evans (during their heyday) yearly and Southridge, etc for these games. In my opinion, Vero’s scheduling issues have alot to do with their weak late district games and rivalry game with Sebastian River to close out the year, it’s been months since they were tested and when they are during the playoffs, they lack the mental toughness to respond.

It’s not just Vero though, in this area the population just allow the weekly murderers row that the Dade county and now Orlando schools have to contend with yearly just to make it to the playoffs, and I think it shows starting with the 2nd round playoff games. No school from this area has even played in a state final since St Edwards in ‘89.

Honestly though, I can understand because the average Vero fan at the game has no clue who the team they’re playing is, or their history, if Vero was playing STA, most people at the game would have no clue who they were and if they were any good, so Janikowski is giving the Vero fans what they came for, a probable Vero win and a great band performance, lol. 

 

That made me laugh.  Back in the early 2000's I visited the Citrus Bowl and saw Chaminade beat them pretty badly.  I was sitting on the Vero side and I remember hearing comments that led me to believe the fans had no clue who they were playing.  Everything was pointing to Chaminade being a powerhouse that year.  The Vero fans were talking about "some little 2A school" as if the game was going to be a laugher. Even the radio announcers didn't seem to know anything about Mark Guandolo and what he was capable of.

 

 

[Floridatech]

19 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

 

That made me laugh.  Back in the early 2000's I visited the Citrus Bowl and saw Chaminade beat them pretty badly.  I was sitting on the Vero side and I remember hearing comments that led me to believe the fans had no clue who they were playing.  Everything was pointing to Chaminade being a powerhouse that year.  The Vero fans were talking about "some little 2A school" as if the game was going to be a laugher. Even the radio announcers didn't seem to know anything about Mark Guandolo and what he was capable of.

 

 

They dont be knowing they playing tho

[Floridatech]

3 hours ago, Drogo said:

Sometime in the mid to late 90’s Vero changed their scheduling philosophy from bringing in tough schools from Orlando, Miami and elsewhere to now bringing in the likes of Wellington, Dr Krop and Ft Lauderdale. There are still some bright spots such as the KOC games (Dwyer, Viera) opening game (Oscar Smith, Venice) and the yearly Pahokee game.

I can remember Vero bringing in the likes of Orlando Evans (during their heyday) yearly and Southridge, etc for these games. In my opinion, Vero’s scheduling issues have alot to do with their weak late district games and rivalry game with Sebastian River to close out the year, it’s been months since they were tested and when they are during the playoffs, they lack the mental toughness to respond.

It’s not just Vero though, in this area the population just allow the weekly murderers row that the Dade county and now Orlando schools have to contend with yearly just to make it to the playoffs, and I think it shows starting with the 2nd round playoff games. No school from this area has even played in a state final since St Edwards in ‘89.

Honestly though, I can understand because the average Vero fan at the game has no clue who the team they’re playing is, or their history, if Vero was playing STA, most people at the game would have no clue who they were and if they were any good, so Janikowski is giving the Vero fans what they came for, a probable Vero win and a great band performance, lol. 

We played Dwyer for the spring games and beat em in 2015 shoulda beat em in 2014 too 

[954gator]

 

13 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

video highlights of the Seminole vs Northwestern game.  What added to the "upset" nature of the game, at least in my mind...Seminole had only won 5 playoff games in school history prior to this year, and had won only 2 playoff games in the 20 years prior...Northwestern seemed to have the game wrapped up, so the comeback was a real shocker

 

That game was epic.   The catch at the end by Andre Debose in traffic was just something else.   He was never the same after his injury.

[954gator]

Another game worth mentioning is 2009 Manatee vs STA.  Don't get me wrong Manatee was very strong, but no one expected STA to lose to anyone at that point.   Would have been back to back national champs (assuming they won state)

[954gator]

Tallahasee lincoln beating Armwood forget the year for the ship was huge.

[DisabledAccount]

1 minute ago, 954gator said:

Tallahasee lincoln beating Armwood forget the year for the ship was huge.

I think it was 2010

[OldSchoolLion]

Back in December 1998, a 28-yard field goal by Wesley Virgilio as time expired gave Estero a shocking 15-14 upset win over No.1-ranked Lakeland in the 5A state semifinals before a capacity crowd of 8,000 at Bryant Stadium in Lakeland.  After trailing all night, the Wildcats (13-1) scored on the final play to advance to the 5A title game against Osceola in Gainesville, where they lost 28-14.  The field goal denied Lakeland a chance to win its second state championship in three years. 

After being shut out in the first half, the Wildcats launched an 84-yard scoring drive that consumed almost half of the third quarter.  The PAT was blocked.  Later in the third quarter, Estero scored on a 17-yard pass play and the 2-point conversion failed.  

This was Estero's fourth straight playoff game on the road in 1998.   They defeated Stuart South Fork and South Plantation, each by 1 point, and then defeated Charlotte 34-10.  This was Estero's only trip to a final in school history.  Between 1999-2001, Estero was knocked out of the playoffs all three years by St Thomas Aquinas.

 

[Drogo]

7 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

 

That made me laugh.  Back in the early 2000's I visited the Citrus Bowl and saw Chaminade beat them pretty badly.  I was sitting on the Vero side and I remember hearing comments that led me to believe the fans had no clue who they were playing.  Everything was pointing to Chaminade being a powerhouse that year.  The Vero fans were talking about "some little 2A school" as if the game was going to be a laugher. Even the radio announcers didn't seem to know anything about Mark Guandolo and what he was capable of.

 

 

Doesn’t surprise me, I quit sitting over there a long time ago, during a playoff game in ‘89 or ‘90 I think. Manatee had come over for a playoff game (they won the state title that year vs Southridge) and Vero fans were calling them the Bradenton Manatees and couldn’t figure out why they had hurricane warning flags on their helmet, I TRIED to explain that their mascot was the hurricanes and who Manatee was and their history. Their response was that it made no sense because the hurricanes wear green and orange and had a U on their helmet. 

Any real knowledgeable Vero football fan sits on the visiting side near the train horn which is also home seating. 

[OldSchoolLion]

1 minute ago, Drogo said:

Doesn’t surprise me, I quit sitting over there a long time ago, during a playoff game in ‘89 or ‘90 I think. Manatee had come over for a playoff game (they won the state title that year vs Southridge) and Vero fans were calling them the Bradenton Manatees and couldn’t figure out why they had hurricane warning flags on their helmet, I TRIED to explain that their mascot was the hurricanes and who Manatee was and their history. Their response was that it made no sense because the hurricanes wear green and orange and had a U on their helmet. 

Any real knowledgeable Vero football fan sits on the visiting side near the train horn which is also home seating. 

I love it...the Bradenton Manatees  I think some of those folks spent too much time in the sun at the beach.

[OldSchoolLion]

7 hours ago, 954gator said:

Tallahasee lincoln beating Armwood forget the year for the ship was huge.