The Best Rivalries That Never Were

[OldSchoolLion]

Due to nuances in scheduling, I can think of some great rivalries that never came to fruition or ended many years ago and, for whatever reason, never got resurrected.  Can you think think of some?

Armwood vs Lakeland

St Thomas Aquinas vs Columbus (the ultimate "Catholic Bowl")

Can you imagine the great games we would have had over the past 15-20 years if these teams had played every year?

 

[badbird]

Osceola vs Apopka

 

[DisabledAccount]

Fort Myers vs Naples

 

Lakeland vs Apopka

 

Trinity Christian vs Bolles (happened a little too late, would have been great matchups in mid 2000s)

 

Columbia vs Vanguard

 

Columbia vs Mainland

 

Mainland vs St Augustine

 

Lincoln vs niceville (should have happened more when both were at top of game)

 

 

 

I'll try thinking of more

[Phfootball9]

A am pretty sure Lincoln - Niceville not happening was money related. Visiting gate much larger with panhandle  teams. The Niceville crowd is showing up no matter what.

[DisabledAccount]

1 hour ago, Phfootball9 said:

A am pretty sure Lincoln - Niceville not happening was money related. Visiting gate much larger with panhandle  teams. The Niceville crowd is showing up no matter what.

Oh I get that

 

I said that because they did play a few times but most of times came after one or both of teams were no longer at the top of their game

[gwdrum75]

On 3/11/2019 at 4:13 PM, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

Lakeland vs Apopka

If Darlington had stayed, this game may have remained on the schedule.

Hopefully Lakeland/Manatee can gain steam and become a rivalry again.....and the weather doesn't wash that game out like it did 2 years ago.

[OldSchoolLion]

Some history concerning St Thomas Aquinas and other private schools in south FL.  The Raiders had a long-standing rivalry over decades with Cardinal Gibbons.  STA led the series 36-6.  The series was dropped not too long ago, which is unfortunate because the Chiefs have come on so strong of late.  STA had a rivalry with Chaminade in the 1970's when the Lions were a powerhouse.  The teams took turns beating each other.  Chaminade struggled in the 1980's and after a particularly lopsided loss by the Lions one year, the series was dropped.  The teams have not played since.  Prior to 1985, St Thomas played Monsignor Pace.  Since then, Pace has fielded some very competitive teams, but the two teams have not met again.  Columbus and St Thomas have only played once in the past 50 years. 

So, over the past 40 years, St Thomas has not had a really competitive private school rival who they played each season(though Gibbons did manage to beat them several times, the games were often not very competitive).    

      

[DisabledAccount]

1 hour ago, gwdrum75 said:

If Darlington had stayed, this game may have remained on the schedule.

Hopefully Lakeland/Manatee can gain steam and become a rivalry again.....and the weather doesn't wash that game out like it did 2 years ago.

Personally would like to see Lakeland and Columbia play

[DisabledAccount]

Here's one I thought about

 

Fort Myers vs Manatee

[Hwy17]

Hardee vs Lake Wales - finally, this one is back on!

[DisabledAccount]

2 minutes ago, Hwy17 said:

Hardee vs Lake Wales - finally, this one is back on!

How often have they played?

[Hwy17]

32 minutes ago, ColumbiaHighFan2017class said:

How often have they played?

The series dates back to 1927.  Hardee leads the series 16-15.  Last game played was in 2011, first round of the playoffs and  the two have met in the playoffs 3 times.   

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

I’ll say Dillard vs glades central ..these two have had quite of few battles with each other 

[SFL SPY]

On 3/13/2019 at 4:45 PM, OldSchoolLion said:

Some history concerning St Thomas Aquinas and other private schools in south FL.  The Raiders had a long-standing rivalry over decades with Cardinal Gibbons.  STA led the series 36-6.  The series was dropped not too long ago, which is unfortunate because the Chiefs have come on so strong of late.  STA had a rivalry with Chaminade in the 1970's when the Lions were a powerhouse.  The teams took turns beating each other.  Chaminade struggled in the 1980's and after a particularly lopsided loss by the Lions one year, the series was dropped.  The teams have not played since.  Prior to 1985, St Thomas played Monsignor Pace.  Since then, Pace has fielded some very competitive teams, but the two teams have not met again.  Columbus and St Thomas have only played once in the past 50 years. 

So, over the past 40 years, St Thomas has not had a really competitive private school rival who they played each season(though Gibbons did manage to beat them several times, the games were often not very competitive).    

      

A South Florida Catholic League would be interesting:

 

STA

Columbus

Gibbons

Chaminade

Pace

Belen

[Cat_Scratch]

Cocoa and Merritt Island was pretty intense in the end. Gangs started threatening each other to the point that the police were called in and doubled up. I think they stopped scheduling each other in 2013. Some MI fans were pretty snarky to Visitors the last time Cocoa played at MI, throwing insults at anyone dressed in Cocoa colors. 

A rival that might be better left alone for another year or so But Rumor has it that they may schedule again in the coming years.