77 Teams with 15 or Fewer Wins over the Past 5 Years

[OldSchoolLion]

Any teams on the list surprise you?  Any reason(s) why a certain team might be struggling?

The breakdown by geography:

North FL-17 teams

Central FL-36 teams (I included teams from the Ocala are in this count)

South FL-24 teams

Miami-Dade and Orange Counties each have 6 teams on the list below.  

 

8A-15 teams

Lake Worth  14-35 

Hialeah Gardens  14-35 

Spanish River 14-37 

Freedom 13-38 

University 13-38  

JI Leonard  13-40 

Orlando Colonial 12-35 

Haines City  11-37

South Plantation 11-40 

Cypress Creek 11-41 

Winter Springs 10-41 

Orlando Evans 10-42 

Miami Coral Park 10-42 

Miami Varela 10-38

Jupiter 5-44

 

7A-12 teams 

Lakewood Ranch 15-31 

West Port 15-33 

South Broward   15-34

Blanche Ely 14-33 

Hollywood Hills 14-34 

Creekside  12-40 

Lake Howell 12-38 

North Port 11-40 

Seminole(Seminole) 10-39 

Mourning 4-43 

Strawberry Crest 4-46 

Westland 1-49 

Leto 1-47 

 

6A-15 teams

King 14-39 

Estero 14-37 

Leesburg 14-36 

Ida Baker 14-36

Middleburg 14-41

Hialeah Miami Lakes 12-35

Bayside 12-40 

Fort Walton Beach 11-41 

Seabreeze 11-43 

East Lee County 10-38 

Dixie Hollins 10-39 

Pensacola Washington 10-40 

Pine Ridge 9-40 

Lake Region 8-42 

Oakland Park Northeast 4-44 

 

5A-13 teams

Paxon 15-39 

Southeast 15-35 

Mariner 15-34 

Cypress Lake 15-33 

Parker 14-41 

Stanton 14-39 

Fivay 14-35 

Belleview 14-35 

Brooksville Central 13-36 

Weeki Wachee 12-38 

Port St Lucie 12-34 

Gulf 11-40 

Dunedin 2-47 

 

4A-12 teams

Mulberry 14-30 

Tenoroc 13-36 

Umatilla 13-37 

Fernandina Beach 13-36 

North Bay Haven Academy 12-34 

Rutherford 11-38 

Gateway Charter 11-41 

Gadsden County 10-40 

Interlachen 10-39 

Jacksonville Jackson 8-39 

Jacksonville Wolfson 5-44 

Cypress Creek 3-17 

 

2A-6 teams 

Cornerstone Charter 15-36

Warner Christian 13-38

Village Academy 12-38

Munroe 11-42

Merritt Island Christian 11-35

Marco Island Academy 11-34

 

1A-2 teams

Franklin County 14-36 

Bronson 7-41 

 

Independent

Poinciana 6-44 

 

 

 

[Hwy17]

Can't comment on all of them but some I am a little familiar with.  

Lake Region - This school has been a revolving door of head coaches. It appears that the current coach will be there for a second season.  Maybe he gets things going for them.

Haines City - This school was one time really good.  They won a state title in the 70's, went through a down turn in the 80's, returned to power in the 90's, then fell back off.  The opening of Ridge Community High School hurt them some.

Estero - Another school that had a strong program in the 1990's - reached the state finals in 1998 and beat Lakeland along the way.  

Southeast -  Another former powerhouse hurt by a new school opening; Braden River, and lost a bunch of talent to Manatee in the 2013 season.  This school was under a first year coach.  They had a good team last year but had to forfeit several games.  It wouldn't take much for them to get back to winning.  They were district champs in 2015.

Mulberry - Like most small towns, they go in cycles.  They are down right now, but every so often a group comes along and they will have a good year.  

Tenoroc - Opened in 2008, had a decent year in either 2014 or 2015.  Sandwiched between Auburndale,  & Lake Gibson, two schools with a lot of tradition.

@OldSchoolLion -  In past discussions of about bad teams, Bradenton Bayshore and Lake Placid use to come up but not anymore.  Bayshore went 5-5 this past year; Lake Placid had a winning season and has made the playoffs 2 years in a row.  What did they do to improve their situation that any of the other teams listed can't do?   People are quick to say "lack of talent" but neither Bayshore or Lake Placid are hot beads of Division 1 talent, nor are either getting a lot of transfers in.  In the case of teams like Southeast, or Bartow, I can say for a fact, the talent is there.  Their linemen are big, their skill players are fast.  Maybe they don't have excessive talent like some others, but "lack of talent" is becoming an excuse.   Sorry to be blunt but it is.   I might can accept the " lack of talent" reason for a small town program like Mulberry.   While a new school opening may have an immediate impact, after a while that just don't hold it much more.   I do believe that one issue is that when a program has a down year, administrators, boosters, etc, all want to get rid of a coach rather than stick it out.   It also appears that some of these places are becoming "entry-level" coaching jobs.  

[OldSchoolLion]

 

4 hours ago, Hwy17 said:

@OldSchoolLion -  In past discussions of about bad teams, Bradenton Bayshore and Lake Placid use to come up but not anymore.  Bayshore went 5-5 this past year; Lake Placid had a winning season and has made the playoffs 2 years in a row.  What did they do to improve their situation that any of the other teams listed can't do?   People are quick to say "lack of talent" but neither Bayshore or Lake Placid are hot beads of Division 1 talent, nor are either getting a lot of transfers in.  In the case of teams like Southeast, or Bartow, I can say for a fact, the talent is there.  Their linemen are big, their skill players are fast.  Maybe they don't have excessive talent like some others, but "lack of talent" is becoming an excuse.   Sorry to be blunt but it is.   I might can accept the " lack of talent" reason for a small town program like Mulberry.   While a new school opening may have an immediate impact, after a while that just don't hold it much more.   I do believe that one issue is that when a program has a down year, administrators, boosters, etc, all want to get rid of a coach rather than stick it out.   It also appears that some of these places are becoming "entry-level" coaching jobs.  

Though others may, I rarely mention "lack of talent" as an issue because, in most cases, I simply don't know. 

Concerning Bayshore,  as you know, records don't always tell the whole picture.  Bayshore's wins came against Sarasota(2-8), Lakewood Ranch(0-10), Island Coast(3-7), Lemon Bay(2-8), North Port(3-7).  They could have just as easily lost the Lemon Bay game, since it came down to a last minute 2-point conversion.  And they only beat Island Coast 8-0.  So, although their record may look better, was this year's teams really that much better (using the eye test) than those of the past few years?  

Concerning Lake Placid,  they beat Port St Lucie(4-5), 2A SW Florida Christian(2-9), Mulberry(3-7), Independent Discovery(4-6), Avon Park(5-6), Labelle(8-4).  As I mentioned in another post, the task of a team in a rural/semi-rural to "get better" can be vastly different than that of a team in a metro area, especially one that is a football hotbed like Miami-Dade or Broward County.  

Not taking anything away from either school's accomplishments, but I don't think it's as simple as saying if they did it, others can, too, as long as they make the same adjustments...at least not nearly as easily.  How about Hialeah Miami-Lakes, who has had to play the likes of Carol City, Central, Northwestern and Norland in district play?.  Or how about Orlando Evans who played Wekiva. Apopka and West Orange in district play, and Jones and Winter Park in non-district?  Unlike the two teams you mention, HML and Evans are virtually starting off the season with 3 or 4 losses in the loss column, barring a miracle.     

[Hwy17]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolLion said:

 

Though others may, I rarely mention "lack of talent" as an issue because, in most cases, I simply don't know. 

Concerning Bayshore,  as you know, records don't always tell the whole picture.  Bayshore's wins came against Sarasota(2-8), Lakewood Ranch(0-10), Island Coast(3-7), Lemon Bay(2-8), North Port(3-7).  They could have just as easily lost the Lemon Bay game, since it came down to a last minute 2-point conversion.  And they only beat Island Coast 8-0.  So, although their record may look better, was this year's teams really that much better (using the eye test) than those of the past few years?  

Concerning Lake Placid,  they beat Port St Lucie(4-5), 2A SW Florida Christian(2-9), Mulberry(3-7), Independent Discovery(4-6), Avon Park(5-6), Labelle(8-4).  As I mentioned in another post, the task of a team in a rural/semi-rural to "get better" can be vastly different than that of a team in a metro area, especially one that is a football hotbed like Miami-Dade or Broward County.  

Not taking anything away from either school's accomplishments, but I don't think it's as simple as saying if they did it, others can, too, as long as they make the same adjustments...at least not nearly as easily.  How about Hialeah Miami-Lakes, who has had to play the likes of Carol City, Central, Northwestern and Norland in district play?.  Or how about Orlando Evans who played Wekiva. Apopka and West Orange in district play, and Jones and Winter Park in non-district.  Unlike the two teams you mentions, HML and Evans are virtually starting off the season with 3 or 4 losses in the loss column, barring a miracle.     

To your point, a softer schedule does help.  Sometimes a program needs that "tune-up" game or easy homecoming game.  Getting a win changes kids.  They play better and start believing in themselves.  

Something else I can attest to in regards to Bayshore, they have improved greatly in areas of fundamentals.  They tackle and block well and the skill players do a good job securing the ball.  Even though they really aren't the most talented team I've seen, they don't beat themselves.  As opposed to some teams I've seen that have plenty of size and speed but lack in fundamentals.  Perhaps if some of these teams would improve in the basics, they might have a few more wins to show for it?  

Let me ask you this - how are teams like Hialeah Miami-Lakes, Orlando Evans, or some of those others in sports other than football?  Take Lakeland Kathleen for example.  There was a time when Kathleen was referred to as simply a "Basketball" school.  They were a consistent state title winner in boy's basketball, but when it came to football, well they really weren't so good.  Then the right coach came along and their football program started winning.  There was talent at the school all along. 

[OldSchoolLion]

9 minutes ago, Hwy17 said:

Let me ask you this - how are teams like Hialeah Miami-Lakes, Orlando Evans, or some of those others in sports other than football?  Take Lakeland Kathleen for example.  There was a time when Kathleen was referred to as simply a "Basketball" school.  They were a consistent state title winner in boy's basketball, but when it came to football, well they really weren't so good.  Then the right coach came along and their football program started winning.  There was talent at the school all along. 

Some schools on the list are probably lousy at all/most all sports.  Some schools may excel in one or more sports and simply be bad at football.  There may even be some who do well in all sports except football. 

So, some schools may lack athletic talent, in general, relative to other parts of the state.  Other schools may have good overall athletic talent, but may be lacking in kids big enough/fast enough to excel in hs football today, especially in the upper classes.  Some schools may have loads of football talent, but cannot keep a coach and/or have been stuck competing against vastly superior competition for years. 

Every case is a bit unique.  That is why I think it's difficult to lump everyone in one category and point to another school and say, "if he can, you can."  That may be a perfectly reasonable thing to say to some schools on the list, but maybe not others.  Westland High in Miami is 97% Hispanic and located in a community full of people who speak little English.  Rest assured, some of the disconnect with football there is a cultural thing.  And there are a number of predominantly Hispanic schools in the state who are struggling.  Even if the kids like football, their families may know little about American football and may much prefer their sons play baseball of soccer.