Class 3A State-SemiFinals

[SPCjessica2004]

Due to the holiday season, this will be our last post for the year so we hope EVERYBODY has a warm and loving Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year!  Here's a quick run down of the final 2 games:

Florida State High School (11-1) at Lakeland Christian School (10-2)
FSUHS comes into the game ranked #3 in Class 3A with a strength of schedule #10 in Class 3A.
LCS comes into the game ranked #12 in Class 3A with a strength of schedule #19 in Class 3A.

Our Thoughts:
Who would have thought that the state-semifinal would be anything other than JaxTCA vs the region 2 winner? We live in interesting times!  FSU-DRS just happened to have the right team at the right time and has played a few competitive games, upending Pensacola Catholic last week.   LCS comes into the game on a 9 game winning streak having defeated Orlando First Academy.

Prediction:
We think LCS has really come together at the perfect time and they've made an amazing run to the final 4. This is a winnable game for LCS, but FSU's senior class has been knocking on the door to get to the state finals which means they're playing with an edge and a sense of urgency. LCS has built a program that has strong potential to return to this spot for years to come, FSU-DRS is likely in a win now mode.

Our Pick: FSU-DRS by 7
MP: FSU-DRS by 21

Clearwater Central Catholic (10-3) at Chaminade-Madonna (10-2)
Chaminade-Madonna comes into the game ranked #1 in Class 3A with a strength of schedule #4 in Class 3A.
CCC comes into the game ranked #2 in Class 3A with a strength of schedule #2 in Class 3A.

Chaminade Madonna is a 2 time defending state champion and playing like a top 50 team in the country right now. As pointed out earlier, they have more division 1 prospects on this team than the other 3 combined.  Chaminade is currently the highest ranked small school in Florida in the nation by MaxPreps. This team has the formula down pat, take early season losses for long term gains.

CCC is the 2nd highest ranked small school in Florida in the nation by MaxPreps and has accumulated 102 wins in this decade which puts them in the top 10 winning-est programs this decade which is even more impressive since for most of the decade the small schools had 1 less game to play than the bigger schools. They don't boast the overall talent that Chaminade has, but they've scrapped together some improbable wins. On paper, Berkeley Prep, Bishop Verot, Uschool, Clearwater are all better teams than CCC but the Marauders won all of those games.

Prediction:
A south Florida coach who has played both Chaminade and CCC in years past put it perfect.

CCC plays at an 8 every year, they are a very good, solid, strong program. They won't blow you away with talent or razzle-dazzle, but they win big regular games and get to the final 4 every year. They've seen the rise and success of south Florida superpowers Uschool, American Heritage, and now Chaminade, but they've also seen them fall, yet CCC stays the same. The problem is, Chaminade is playing at a 9.25 right now and CCC isn't willing to sell their soul as Chaminade and others have to get to the needed 9.5. They're just happy being an 8 and continue to be an 8 so when Chaminade finally falls and the next 3A Miami superpower rises to a 9.2-9.3, CCC will still be an 8.

The Pick: Chaminade by 28
MP: Chaminade by 3