61 Schools That Have Never Won a Playoff Game

[OldSchoolLion]

Below is a list of schools, broken down by county, that have never won an FHSAA playoff game.  This is not an all-inclusive list.  I believe it does capture all schools currently in Class 3A and above.

There are 35 schools from Central FL, 18 from South FL, and 8 from North FL.  After each school name, I have listed the year the school was founded, when known.

36 of the 61 schools are 20 years old or less.  12 schools are in the Orlando area.  Orange County has more than any other county in the state with 7 schools. 

 

Brevard County

Cocoa Beach 1964   12% Hispanic

Space Coast 2001     10% Hispanic

 

Broward County

Coral Springs 1975   28% Hispanic

Coral Springs Charter 1999      32% Hispanic

Monarch 2003     35% Hispanic

 

Citrus County

Lecanto 1984   8% Hispanic 

 

Clay County

Keystone Heights 1965   5% Hispanic

 

Collier County

Golden Gate 2004    66% Hispanic  

Gulf Coast 1998     23% Hispanic

Palmetto Ridge 2005     42% Hispanic

 

Duval County

Atlantic Coast 2010     15% Hispanic

Providence 1997   4% Hispanic

 

Flagler County

Matanzas 2005     16% Hispanic

 

Hernando County

Brooksville Central 1988   18% Hispanic

Weeki Wachee 2010     16% Hispanic

 

Highlands County

Lake Placid   38% Hispanic

 

Hillsborough County

Freedom 2002     31% Hispanic

Steinbrenner 2009     24% Hispanic

Strawberry Crest 2009     37% Hispanic

 

Lake County

Lake Minneola 2011    23% Hispanic  

Mount Dora 1922   23% Hispanic

 

Lee County

Cypress Lake 1963   29% Hispanic

East Lee County 2007     58% Hispanic

Ida S Baker 2004     31% Hispanic

 

Leon County

Chiles 1999     4% Hispanic

St John Paul II 2001     14% Hispanic

 

Martin County

Jensen Beach 2004     14% Hispanic

 

Miami-Dade County

Braddock 1989   95% Hispanic

Ferguson 2003    89% Hispanic 

Reagan 2006   90% Hispanic

Southwest 1956   94% Hispanic

Varela 2000     87% Hispanic

Westland 2007   98% Hispanic

 

Nassau County

Fernandina Beach   9% Hispanic

 

Orange County

Colonial 1958   73% Hispanic

Cypress Creek 1992   63% Hispanic    

East River 2009     40% Hispanic

Freedom 2003     57% Hispanic

Lake Nona 2009     53% Hispanic

Ocoee 2005     24% Hispanic

Windermere 2017    

 

Osceola County

Celebration 2003     55% Hispanic

Gateway 1986   74% Hispanic

Liberty 2007    62% Hispanic    

Poinciana 1991   63% Hispanic

 

Palm Beach County

Boynton Beach 2001   20% Hispanic

Spanish River 1983    25% Hispanic

 

Pasco County

Anclote 2009   19% Hispanic  

Fivay 2010   18% Hispanic    

Wesley Chapel 1999     27% Hispanic

 

Pinellas

Osceola 1981   9% Hispanic

 

Polk County

George Jenkins 1993     21% Hispanic

Lake Region 1995     38% Hispanic

Tenoroc 2008     27% Hispanic

 

Putnam

Interlachen 1968   13% Hispanic

 

St Lucie County

Port St Lucie 1989   26% Hispanic

 

Sarasota

North Port 2001   15% Hispanic

 

Seminole County

Hagerty 2005    17% Hispanic

 

Volusia

Deltona 1988   41% Hispanic

Pine Ridge 1994     35% Hispanic

University 2010     30% Hispanic

 

 

[gatorman-uf]

If only there was a way to ensure that teams didn't struggle early in their history, I don't know by say putting them in a classification with other weak teams to allow them to build their programs.

I know people dislike the idea of promotion and relegation in high school sports, but when I look at numbers like this and the teams that have less than a .250 winning percentage over the last 5 years, I begin to question are we doing more harm than good when we keep schools that are obviously struggling in classifications well above their ability. 

 

[badbird]

Lake Nona was good enough to win a few playoff games.  Unfortunately those years they were in a district with Osceola and then matched up with Lakeland in round 1.

[OldSchoolLion]

13 hours ago, badbird said:

Lake Nona was good enough to win a few playoff games.  Unfortunately those years they were in a district with Osceola and then matched up with Lakeland in round 1.

What is Gateway's problem? ...and Poinciana? 

[DarterBlue2]

17 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

What is Gateway's problem? ...and Poinciana? 

Gateway could in theory be good. Poinciana not so much. My own feeling is that the better football kids that live in Gateway's zone go to Osceola which is much better at football. Osceola County has always had open enrollment (school choice) and the two schools are not that far apart. 

Poinciana is in a semi-rural part of the county with a large immigrant population. School is better suited for basketball or soccer for that matter, but the latter has not done well either. 

[OldSchoolLion]

13 hours ago, DarterBlue2 said:

Gateway could in theory be good. Poinciana not so much. My own feeling is that the better football kids that live in Gateway's zone go to Osceola which is much better at football. Osceola County has always had open enrollment (school choice) and the two schools are not that far apart. 

Poinciana is in a semi-rural part of the county with a large immigrant population. School is better suited for basketball or soccer for that matter, but the latter has not done well either. 

Just looked it up.  Poinciana is 63.3% Hispanic.  Below are Miami-Dade schools on the list.  Can a predominantly Hispanic school excel in football?  Sure.  The fact is that many lag.  Our current means of classifying schools ignores demographics.  In terms of football, a school with 2500 students that is 90% Hispanic is not the same as a school with 2500 students that is 10% Hispanic.  That's not a racist statement.  It's simply recognizing the inclination of Hispanics to gravitate to certain other sports, ie, soccer, baseball, etc

Miami-Dade County

Braddock 1989   95% Hispanic

Ferguson 2003    89% Hispanic 

Reagan 2006   90% Hispanic

Southwest 1956   94% Hispanic

Varela 2000     87% Hispanic

Westland 2007   98% Hispanic

 

...some other Miami-Dade schools not on the list

Coral Park 10-42 over 5 years   96% Hispanic

Coral Reef  16-34 over 5 years   68% Hispanic

Miami Beach 16-37 over 5 years   66% Hispanic

Hialeah Gardens  14-35 over 5 years   97% Hispanic

Mourning 4-43 over 5 years   55% Hispanic

Hialeah Miami Lakes 12-35 over 5 years   76% Hispanic

[OldSchoolLion]

To give some perspective, next to each school name in the original post I have listed the % of Hispanic students who attend.  One can clearly see how certain schools in the Orlando and Miami metro areas have a large, growing Hispanic population.  It would be interesting to know what % of the Hispanic kids come out for football, especially the ones who are only first or second generation.  I think a key to the survival of our game in FL is how well the Hispanic community embraces American football in the future.

  

[badbird]

On 5/31/2019 at 8:35 AM, OldSchoolLion said:

What is Gateway's problem? ...and Poinciana? 

Poinciana is in a high hispanic area and also in a very transient community and doesn't care about athletics.  Only guy I ever really remember doing well there was Mike Cullison who eventually led Sanford Seminole to a state title.

 

Gateway is in Kissimmee and most of those that are long time Kissimmee people are Osceola people and send their kids there.  So Gateway got the left over for years.  They started to build up and have made the playoffs a few times lately but the opening of Toho is going to hurt them.  I expect them to trend back down.

[badbird]

On 5/31/2019 at 8:55 AM, DarterBlue2 said:

Gateway could in theory be good. Poinciana not so much. My own feeling is that the better football kids that live in Gateway's zone go to Osceola which is much better at football. Osceola County has always had open enrollment (school choice) and the two schools are not that far apart. 

Poinciana is in a semi-rural part of the county with a large immigrant population. School is better suited for basketball or soccer for that matter, but the latter has not done well either. 

That is not true Darter.  When I first got there they had academies and reasons they could go but that changed around 2008 and it got real tough to go to another school unless you moved.  They now have school choice just like everyone else with the new law that was passed

[DarterBlue2]

2 hours ago, badbird said:

That is not true Darter.  When I first got there they had academies and reasons they could go but that changed around 2008 and it got real tough to go to another school unless you moved.  They now have school choice just like everyone else with the new law that was passed

You would know more than I do as you coached there. I was going by what a relative who worked for the School Board there told me years ago. 

I am sorry if I promulgated false information. 

[badbird]

2 hours ago, DarterBlue2 said:

You would know more than I do as you coached there. I was going by what a relative who worked for the School Board there told me years ago. 

I am sorry if I promulgated false information. 

It was like that at one point but did change for about 8 years which is when Gateway started getting decent

[DarterBlue2]

1 hour ago, badbird said:

It was like that at one point but did change for about 8 years which is when Gateway started getting decent

Got you. 

[Guest]

The school I coach at is 69% hispanic. I have been there for 9 years and I can count on one hand the number of kids I have coached that could not speak english. What I am saying is the kids that are hispanic that come out for football have families that have been established for some time in the U.S. Now my classes that I teach are a different story. I have at least 2 or 3 kids in every class that dont speak english. 

[DarterBlue2]

5 hours ago, Just A Coach said:

The school I coach at is 69% hispanic. I have been there for 9 years and I can count on one hand the number of kids I have coached that could not speak english. What I am saying is the kids that are hispanic that come out for football have families that have been established for some time in the U.S. Now my classes that I teach are a different story. I have at least 2 or 3 kids in every class that dont speak english. 

That right there is key. If you are not yet assimilated you tend not to come out for football. Given the fact that the game is only widely played in the USA, that makes perfect sense. It was not till some 13 years after I migrated to the USA that I became a football fan. Recent immigrants tend to stick with the sports that they grew up with.