Class 3A, Week 2- MP National Rankings and More!!

[SPCjessica2004]

Good morning!  There's a lot to discuss so this post might be lengthy. Kudos to my younger brother for helping me with information over the duration of the weekend.

CLASS 3A RANKINGS WEEK 1 REVIEW

#1) Chaminade-Madonna:  Losing to Deerfield beach 13-10 in a back and forth contest is nothing to be ashamed of. Last year the Lions were dismantled by Miami Central which was cause for concern. There are still heavy hitters on the schedule including American Heritage Plantation, Booker T and Uschool, but I don't think the Lions will see the depth of a defense like the Bucks.

#2) Clearwater Central Catholic: CCC knocked off Berkeley Prep in a 2 night affair. On Friday evening the Berkeley Bucs lead by QB Joshua Youngblood (41 offers, Temple commit) went up 7-0 in a thunderous downpour. The teams met again on Saturday evening where the Marauders outscored the Bucs 35-7 the rest of the way. Star RB and All-State Running Back Jerzhan Newton did not play offense accordign to the times, only defense. He will be returning to offense this week giving the Marauders a bigtime weapon heading into week 2.

#3) FSU School: I mistakenly mentioned last week that Florida High played Blountstown. They do, but Florida High had a bye in week 1. FSU DRS and Blountstown play this Friday.

#4) American Heritage Delray: Don't look now, but the Stallions are creeping back into power. The Stallions knocked off 8A Belen Jesuit 36-29. This is quickly becoming a team to keep an eye on in 3A.

#5) Ft. White: Ft. White QB Dylan Blair completed 11 of 15 for 156 yards and 2 TD's to help the Indians take a half-time lead but in the second half Suwanee was able to make the necessary adjustments which resulted in a FW loss. Suwanee scored 21 points off of FW turnovers.

CLASS 3A TOP 7 WEEK 2

#1) Chaminade-Madonna
#2) Clearwater Central Catholic
#3) FSU School
#4) American Heritage Delray
#5) Tampa Catholic

MAXPREPS SMALL SCHOOL NATIONAL RANKINGS

Max Preps released their top 25 small schools. Maxpreps defines a small school as a team with genuinely under 1000 students enrolled and playing in Florida classifications 1A, 2A and 3A. Also note that the poll does not seem to include 3A teams who have elected to move to 5A such as Jacksonville Trinity Christian.

Chaminade-Madonna comes in at #2.
Clearwater Central Catholic comes in at #8.
Madison County comes in at #18.
Champgnat Catholic comes in at #22.
Pahokee comes in at #24.

https://tinyurl.com/y8gq8yb5 is the link to the entire poll.

GAMES OF THE WEEK
Chaminade-Madonna vs Muscle Shoals (AL)

The Lions hit the road for the Freedom Bowl which sees them take on a good but not great Muscle Shoals team from Alabama. The Lions may have lost last week in a nailbiter, but they're still a top 100 team nationally. Muscle Shoals defeated Deshler 31-0 last week and is currently ranked the #22 team in Alabama according to AL.com. The Trojans of Muscle Shoals appear to have a solid Junior QB and RB one-two punch and are physical up front, still- being the #22 ranked team in Alabama probably puts them around the 100-110 mark in Florida. Chaminade should represent Florida well and win this one big.

Chaminade 38, Muscle Shoals 10.

Melbourne Central Catholic vs Corinth (Missouri)
The Hustlers continued their winning ways with a 41-19 win over the IMG Varsity team. This week things get a bit more serious as the Hustlers take on a 1-1 Warriors team from Missouri. Corinth lost last week in OT to the #5 team in Missorui Tupelo. MCC had a huge graduating class, but there's a lot of speed on the roster- especially LaAnthony Valentine at RB.  Atheltically, MCC is probably a bit better; however, Corinth is playing at home. MCC is not very big along the lines, their biggest linemen that sees playing time is only 240 according to Maxpreps.  Corinth had multiple players 6'2, 275 and bigger.  MCC will most likely have a significant speed advantage in this one. Speed Kills, but I expect a close matchup from what I've heard.

MCC 28, Corinth 21

Tampa Berekely Prep vs Calvary Christian (Clearwater)

One of the questions I've received quite often is a variation of the following question: How good is Calvary Christian?  The hype started the moment Reggie Crume was hired and superstar QB Harold Cook transferred in from Alonso. Calvary returned 2 top notch WR's in Kai Martin and Kendrick Maynard Jr.  They then added Richie Illaraza from CCC- they are big up front with multiple 290lb linemen and then added a star DE in Bo Planeta who transferred in from Mitchell HS.  The schedule has left a lot to be desired for though. Their wins are against St. Pete Catholic in the kickoff classic and Umatilla last week.

Berkeley Prep knocked off class 2A state semifinalist Victory Christian in the kickoff classic 21-7 in 1 half of play. They started hot against CCC but the Marauders asserted their dominance in the 2nd quarter which resulted in Berkeley Prep losing 35-14. This will be the toughest game for Calvary Christian this far. Berekely Prep has one of the top pure athletic QB's in the state and as big as Calvary is in the trenches, Berkeley is bigger

For Calvary to be taken seriously they need a win that says, "We've arrived". Beating Umatilla 100-0 isn't going to turn anybodys head, but a win over Berkeley Prep at Berekley? Now people will start talking. Still, Berkeley Prep is coached by a legend Dom Ciao and it's really hard to see this Bucs team starting 0-2 especially since they still have one of the top linebackers in the country Jaylen Harrell patrolling the field. 

Berekley Prep 24, Calvary 21.

 

[OldSchoolLion]

I watched some game film of the Chaminade vs Deerfield game.  I had heard that Chaminade was completely stymied offensively, but I saw some nice offensive plays by Chaminade, both running and passing.  And they were exciting on special teams.   

Chaminade's defense looked nasty and body language was one of not being intimidated.  They had a d lineman who is not on the recruiting radar who is an absolute baller.  That is not an ordinary Deerfield Beach offense, with one of the top junior rb's in the country and a host of talented receivers.

I was very impressed and would not be surprised if Chaminade bulldozes the Alabama team this weekend.   

[SPCjessica2004]

Here is my personal analysis of the AP Sportswriter Poll as I try to break this down every week.  This was released yesterday but I needed an entire night (and morning) to wrap my head around it:

Class 3A
Record    Pts    Prv
1. Clearwater Central Catholic (5)   1-0          131    2     
2. Tallahassee Florida   0-0          110    T3
3. Chaminade-Madonna College Prep (9)   1-0          107    1
4. Delray American Heritage   1-0          73      NR
5. King's Academy   1-0          34      NR
Others receiving votes: Melbourne Central Catholic 18, Tampa Catholic 17, Father Lopez Catholic 14, Taylor County 13, Lakeland Christian 12, Cardinal Mooney 7, Benjamin 6, Holy Trinity Episcopal 6, Trinity Prep 6, Westminster Christian 6.

ANALYSIS:

I'm not sure where to begin here, but I'll start with the obvious.

Why is Chaminade being penalized 2 spots for losing to a very good 8A team? Honestly- I'm not sure why they are being penalized at all, but I get it- the Sportswriters AP poll is not a poll that is used to determine a state champion, it's a regular season poll. With that as a context, I can understand (but don't agree) why CCC is moved to #1. They're on a 14 game regular season winning streak and have only lost 1 regular season home game since 2012 (2014 to IMG)- but why is Chaminade behind Florida High? And why does the poll not have FSU School's name spelled correctly. For the record, Florida high is listed last week as being tied for 3rd- they were tied with themselves and I'm NOT making this up, go back and look at last weeks poll, they were listed twice. 

  While I'm on the subject, why is Chaminade's record listed as 1-0? If they were 1-0 we would be talking about them being a dark horse for a national championship if they went undefeated. At the very least Chaminade still received the majority of 1st place votes.

Also- while I'm griping this morning, why are there 15 teams listed in the poll? This is class 3A, not 7A. There's no need for 15 teams to be listed, but if we're going to list 15 teams why isn't Ocala Trinity Catholic getting at least 1 vote? 

I'm okay with spots 4,5,6,7- I believe TC, MCC, AHD, KA are all pretty even with each other at this point in the year. Once we get past the 7th spot, we're stretching a bit. While I believe some of those teams after 7th will be in contention at some point for a top spot, there are others that just simply do not belong. It seems to me that some sportswriters are voting their hearts and not their heads. It almost feels like, "Hey, your football team stinks- but I'm going to get you some votes while I can."

Overall- it's not the worst poll I've seen, but I'm not sure how much thought went into it either.  While it's easy to say rankings don't matter we also live in a world where there's talk of MaxPreps being used as a component to determine playoff seeding in other sports, so don't mind me if I come off as a bit cynical.



 

[OldSchoolLion]

11 minutes ago, SPCjessica2004 said:

Here is my personal analysis of the AP Sportswriter Poll as I try to break this down every week.  This was released yesterday but I needed an entire night (and morning) to wrap my head around it:

Class 3A
Record    Pts    Prv
1. Clearwater Central Catholic (5)   1-0          131    2     
2. Tallahassee Florida   0-0          110    T3
3. Chaminade-Madonna College Prep (9)   1-0          107    1
4. Delray American Heritage   1-0          73      NR
5. King's Academy   1-0          34      NR
Others receiving votes: Melbourne Central Catholic 18, Tampa Catholic 17, Father Lopez Catholic 14, Taylor County 13, Lakeland Christian 12, Cardinal Mooney 7, Benjamin 6, Holy Trinity Episcopal 6, Trinity Prep 6, Westminster Christian 6.

ANALYSIS:

I'm not sure where to begin here, but I'll start with the obvious.

Why is Chaminade being penalized 2 spots for losing to a very good 8A team? Honestly- I'm not sure why they are being penalized at all, but I get it- the Sportswriters AP poll is not a poll that is used to determine a state champion, it's a regular season poll. With that as a context, I can understand (but don't agree) why CCC is moved to #1. They're on a 14 game regular season winning streak and have only lost 1 regular season home game since 2012 (2014 to IMG)- but why is Chaminade behind Florida High? And why does the poll not have FSU School's name spelled correctly. For the record, Florida high is listed last week as being tied for 3rd- they were tied with themselves and I'm NOT making this up, go back and look at last weeks poll, they were listed twice. 

  While I'm on the subject, why is Chaminade's record listed as 1-0? If they were 1-0 we would be talking about them being a dark horse for a national championship if they went undefeated. At the very least Chaminade still received the majority of 1st place votes.

Also- while I'm griping this morning, why are there 15 teams listed in the poll? This is class 3A, not 7A. There's no need for 15 teams to be listed, but if we're going to list 15 teams why isn't Ocala Trinity Catholic getting at least 1 vote? 

I'm okay with spots 4,5,6,7- I believe TC, MCC, AHD, KA are all pretty even with each other at this point in the year. Once we get past the 7th spot, we're stretching a bit. While I believe some of those teams after 7th will be in contention at some point for a top spot, there are others that just simply do not belong. It seems to me that some sportswriters are voting their hearts and not their heads. It almost feels like, "Hey, your football team stinks- but I'm going to get you some votes while I can."

Overall- it's not the worst poll I've seen, but I'm not sure how much thought went into it either.  While it's easy to say rankings don't matter we also live in a world where there's talk of MaxPreps being used as a component to determine playoff seeding in other sports, so don't mind me if I come off as a bit cynical.



 

Jessica, Let's be cynical together LOL  I wonder how many people doing these polls really do their homework.  For example, how many of these pollsters, "pro" or amateur, know with absolute certainty that Chaminade was not missing a key player(s) in the game?  ..or any other team, for that matter.  How many people are watching actual game film to see the story not told by scores and statistics? 

What is this poll actually telling us?  Does this mean that if Clearwater Central Catholic played Chaminade 10 times, that the pollsters think CCC would win 6 or more games?  Or does it mean something else?  There are so many different polls out there and without a stated purpose and and criteria for ranking, I find them pretty useless.

It's a bit like me telling someone I can lift 300 pounds.  There are a set of assumptions that go along with that statement, and without knowing them, it's a pretty useless statement.  Is that a bench press, deadlift, squat, curl?  Without a point of reference, it doesn't mean much.

 

 

 

[SPCjessica2004]

15 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Jessica, Let's be cynical together LOL  I wonder how many people doing these polls really do their homework.  For example, how many of these pollsters, "pro" or amateur, know with absolute certainty that Chaminade was not missing a key player(s) in the game?  ..or any other team, for that matter.  How many people are watching actual game film to see the story not told by scores and statistics? 

What is this poll actually telling us?  Does this mean that if Clearwater Central Catholic played Chaminade 10 times, that the pollsters think CCC would win 6 or more games?  Or does it mean something else?  There are so many different polls out there and without a stated purpose and and criteria for ranking, I find them pretty useless.

It's a bit like me telling someone I can lift 300 pounds.  There are a set of assumptions that go along with that statement, and without knowing them, it's a pretty useless statement.  Is that a bench press, deadlift, squat, curl?  Without a point of reference, it doesn't mean much.

 

 

 

These are all valid points- and things discussed by myself and others.   It was explained to me that the poll doesn't mean CCC would beat Chaminade at all. It simply means that relative to the schedule played and in front of each team- these are the teams having the best regular seasons compared to who they're playing.

 A fair point, but that's not a sentiment shared among all pollsters.That's the issue- it's not consistent among classifications or pollsters. If that was the guidelines, I'd at least understand (but not agree) with CCC being moved to #1. I'm not sure there is a specific guideline of how to vote, and I seriously doubt any film is being watched outside of MAYBE a few Hudl highlights of a few teams. My big gripe is- how do 15 teams get a vote in 3A? Who is watching all 15 teams?  Between myself, my brother, pop, cousin and hubby we watch MAYBE 4 games at most per week and we follow high school football in the lower classes pretty closely.  How are these pollsters doing this for 8 classifications?

On paper, Chaminade lost to Deerfield Beach by 3 at home.  If Deerfield Beach played at CCC, I would  take Deerfield Beach by 3 TD's or more most people would, yet we have multiple polls where Chaminade is not ranked #1.  Now, the debate is between CCC and Chaminade; however, I have no idea what Florida High is doing #2 this week.  I still maintain that in 3A it's Chaminade and then a long drop, CCC and then a drop.. and then there's a bunch of teams clumped together.

Personally, I think it's a moot point as I see Tampa Catholic upsetting CCC next week.  Anytime CCC has been ranked #1 (2013, 2016) and had to travel to Tampa Catholic they've lost- I see it happening again on 9/7. That will put Chaminade back to #1, but it's my opinion that Chaminade should not need TC to beat CCC to be #1 in the state when they're the defending champions and only lost to an 8A powerhouse.

Overall, I have a lot of gripes with the poll and have sent some E-mails out to the pollsters. I doubt I'll receive a response, but I'm interested in the thought process.

 

[OldSchoolLion]

17 minutes ago, SPCjessica2004 said:

These are all valid points- and things discussed by myself and others.   It was explained to me that the poll doesn't mean CCC would beat Chaminade at all. It simply means that relative to the schedule played and in front of each team- these are the teams having the best regular seasons compared to who they're playing.

 A fair point, but that's not a sentiment shared among all pollsters.That's the issue- it's not consistent among classifications or pollsters. If that was the guidelines, I'd at least understand (but not agree) with CCC being moved to #1. I'm not sure there is a specific guideline of how to vote, and I seriously doubt any film is being watched outside of MAYBE a few Hudl highlights of a few teams. My big gripe is- how do 15 teams get a vote in 3A? Who is watching all 15 teams?  Between myself, my brother, pop, cousin and hubby we watch MAYBE 4 games at most per week and we follow high school football in the lower classes pretty closely.  How are these pollsters doing this for 8 classifications?

On paper, Chaminade lost to Deerfield Beach by 3 at home.  If Deerfield Beach played at CCC, I would  take Deerfield Beach by 3 TD's or more most people would, yet we have multiple polls where Chaminade is not ranked #1.  Now, the debate is between CCC and Chaminade; however, I have no idea what Florida High is doing #2 this week.  I still maintain that in 3A it's Chaminade and then a long drop, CCC and then a drop.. and then there's a bunch of teams clumped together.

Personally, I think it's a moot point as I see Tampa Catholic upsetting CCC next week.  Anytime CCC has been ranked #1 (2013, 2016) and had to travel to Tampa Catholic they've lost- I see it happening again on 9/7. That will put Chaminade back to #1, but it's my opinion that Chaminade should not need TC to beat CCC to be #1 in the state when they're the defending champions and only lost to an 8A powerhouse.

Overall, I have a lot of gripes with the poll and have sent some E-mails out to the pollsters. I doubt I'll receive a response, but I'm interested in the thought process.

 

Back in the day, I think hs polls were just fun, so I couldn't blame anyone for not knocking themselves out putting that much energy into them.  But today,we are considering using polls to determine playoff spots, not to mention the important "advertising" role they play for certain schools.  We have got to do better and use a more structured, calibrated approach.  And the polls need to pass the "laughing out loud test."  CCC over Chaminade...that is really a stretch.

When I look at the FBS polls, I have a strong level of confidence that the #8 team could beat the #22 team on any one day.  I have no such confidence with the hs polls.  I posted something not too long ago about this topic.  If hs polls lack predictive power, ie promoting the team with the best chance in the playoffs, what good are they other than a chest-beating tool for some? 

 

[SPCjessica2004]

21 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Back in the day, I think hs polls were just fun, so I couldn't blame anyone for not knocking themselves out putting that much energy into them.  But today,we are considering using polls to determine playoff spots, not to mention the important "advertising" role they play for certain schools

This is the truest statement I've heard because it's also the biggest problem. There's already discussion on using polls similar to this going forward in other sports to determine playoff seeding and which teams are in which classification. If this comes to high school football in Florida, it will be an issue.