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The Best FL HS Offense of Each Decade


OldSchoolLion

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I am going to count these down.  Let's start with the 70's.  Best offense of the 70's goes to Milton's 1979 squad, coached by legend Hurley Manning..  

The Panthers won back-to-back 3A titles (there were 4 classes then) in 1978 and 1979, taking down 2 south FL powerhouses to do it (Atlantic and Glades Central).  In 1979, Milton shut out 1976 state champion Godby in the first round 13-0, then put up 40+ points each against Lee and Oviedo.  In the final, they ran over Glades Central 35-6.  That sort of offensive output in the playoffs was not terribly common.

And who led the Panthers both years?  It was Greg Allen, one of the fastest athletes to have ever come through FSU.  Competing on FSU's track team, Allen ran a 10.82-100 meters, long-jumped 24'11¼" and was clocked at 4.28 in the 40-yard dash.  As a true freshman Allen finished with 888 yards and three touchdowns, his 6.4 yards per carry average was 5th best in the nation and enough to earn him freshman All-American honors.   He earned All-American honors his junior and senior seasons.  He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round, 35th overall in 1985. His NFL career lasted just two seasons, one year in Cleveland and one in Tampa the following year. 

He rewrote the FSU record books while he was there. When he graduated, he was atop every single rushing statistic....attempts, yardage, touchdowns, average per carry and he was tops across all the categories: career, season, game. He had all of the records.  His record of 20 rushing TD's during the 1982 season and single game rushing record of 322 yards still stand today, over 35 years later.  His career rushing yardage of 3769 and 44 career rushing TD's still rank near the top in FSU history.  

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And the best offense of the 80's goes to....the 1988 Pine Forest squad.  This team was recognized by USA Today as the #1 team in the country that year.  On their way to the 5A state final, they scored 40+ points in each of their playoff games and won those games by a combined total of of 138-19.  That included a 47-6 thrashing of Columbia on the Tigers' home field.  In the 5A final, the Eagles become only the second large school to score 50 points in a FHSAA state final, beating up on a talented Sarasota Riverview team 50-27.  Eagles rb Anthony Toler scored 3 TD's in the game. The Eagles also won the 1987 state title, both titles coming under coaching legend Carl Madison.

And who are the runners-up...

1985 Escambia-4A champion

1985 and 1989 Manatee-5A champions each year; the 1985 team was the first big school to ever score 50 points in an FSHAA title game     

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Best offense of the 90's goes to....the 1993 Miami Southridge squad. 

In the 1993 5A state semi, Southridge hung 41 points on a 13-0 Vero Beach team.  Undefeated Southridge then blasted defending state champion Manatee 69-36 in the 1993 5A finals.  To say that folks in Daytona Beach were shocked by what they witnessed that day would probably not be an overstatement.  Never before had a team put up anywhere near that number of points in an FHSAA final(and only 3 have done it since).  

Troy Davis returned a kickoff for 97 yards in the first half and his brother, Darren went for 99 in the second half.  Warren ended up scoring 4 TD's that day and Troy scored 3.  As if dealing with the Davis brothers was not enough, a sophomore rb on that team was future hs All-American Sedrick Irvin.  Southridge's defense featured junior Lamont Green, one of the most highly recruited players ever out of Miami-Dade and believed by many to be the #1 overall hs recruit in 1994.  

Southridge ended up #5 in USA Today's end-of-season poll.  

And who are the runners-up...
1999 Lakeland 
1991 Fort Walton Beach
1992 Manatee 
1999 Glades Central
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And the best offense of the 2000's is...the 2008 St Thomas Aquinas squad.  The Raiders finished the year 15-0 and were thought by some to be the best hs team in the country that year.  The Raiders scored at least 35 points in each of their games that season, and averaged 47 points per game.  Only one opponent got within 21 points of the Raiders all season, and that was an OOS opponent.  The Raiders topped all their playoff opponents by 21 or more points. 

STA was led by the phenomenal rb tandem of Gio Bernard and James White, both of whom currently play in the NFL.  Playing on both sides of the ball was junior Lamarcus Joyner, who earned prep All-American honors in 2009, All-American honors at FSU, and now plays for the Raiders. 

In the 5A final, STA stomped a 14-0 Lakeland team 56-7.   The Dreadnaught defense had not given up more than 22 points all season.  The Raiders were up 35-0 at the half and never looked back.  8 different Raiders scored TD's that day.   

And who are the runners-up...

2000 Venice

2007 Northwestern

2004 Armwood

2009 Dwyer

2001 Apopka

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2 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

And the best offense of the 2000's is...the 2008 St Thomas Aquinas squad.  The Raiders finished the year 15-0 and were thought by some to be the best hs team in the country that year.  The Raiders scored at least 35 points in each of their games that season, and averaged 47 points per game.  Only one opponent got within 21 points of the Raiders all season, and that was an OOS opponent.  The Raiders topped all their playoff opponents by 21 or more points. 

STA was led by the phenomenal rb tandem of Gio Bernard and James White, both of whom currently play in the NFL.  Playing on both sides of the ball was junior Lamarcus Joyner, who earned prep All-American honors in 2009, All-American honors at FSU, and now plays for the Raiders. 

In the 5A final, STA stomped a 14-0 Lakeland team 56-7.   The Dreadnaught defense had not given up more than 22 points all season.  The Raiders were up 35-0 at the half and never looked back.  8 different Raiders scored TD's that day.   

And who are the runners-up...

2000 Venice

2007 Northwestern

2004 Armwood

2009 Dwyer

2001 Apopka

IT was not just the offense. That St. Thomas team was and is the best high school football team I have ever seen either live or on tape. It basically had no weaknesses and in the finals stomped a very good Lakeland team as if they were some cellar dweller like Goleman or Cypress Creek. 

I sat there in awe, the whole game. 

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A couple of teams on the lists were overrated based on an outlier performance in the state title game. Venice 2000 being one. 1993 Southridge possibly being the other, but would have to review their full season.

I do think 2005 Lakeland deserved mention. Two NFL 1st rounders on the OL,  two SEC running backs in the backfield, and an SEC Tight end. 

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11 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

And the best offense of the 2000's is...the 2008 St Thomas Aquinas squad.  The Raiders finished the year 15-0 and were thought by some to be the best hs team in the country that year.  The Raiders scored at least 35 points in each of their games that season, and averaged 47 points per game.  Only one opponent got within 21 points of the Raiders all season, and that was an OOS opponent.  The Raiders topped all their playoff opponents by 21 or more points. 

STA was led by the phenomenal rb tandem of Gio Bernard and James White, both of whom currently play in the NFL.  Playing on both sides of the ball was junior Lamarcus Joyner, who earned prep All-American honors in 2009, All-American honors at FSU, and now plays for the Raiders. 

In the 5A final, STA stomped a 14-0 Lakeland team 56-7.   The Dreadnaught defense had not given up more than 22 points all season.  The Raiders were up 35-0 at the half and never looked back.  8 different Raiders scored TD's that day.   

And who are the runners-up...

2000 Venice

2007 Northwestern

2004 Armwood

2009 Dwyer

2001 Apopka

I wouldn't trade the 2004 or 2005 Lakeland Offenses for anyone during the 2000's  QB's who could both run and pass, top notch running backs, and an O-line that was unmovable. 30-0 during that period with 2 different QB's - and while we "might" recruit we don't give free (or amazingly reduced) scholarships like STA. Now 2006 the QB was blah but still got the job done. 45-0!

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11 hours ago, skyway said:

A couple of teams on the lists were overrated based on an outlier performance in the state title game. Venice 2000 being one. 1993 Southridge possibly being the other, but would have to review their full season.

I do think 2005 Lakeland deserved mention. Two NFL 1st rounders on the OL,  two SEC running backs in the backfield, and an SEC Tight end. 

Thanks for the comments.  Concerning Venice(2000)...in the second round of the playoffs, Venice hung 34 points on an unbeaten Lakeland team that was the defending 5A champion.  Up until that game, some pollsters thought that Lakeland team was one of the best in the country.  Venice then beat Manatee for the region final and had to travel to Pompano Beach to beat Tyrone Moss and an Ely team had been to the 5A semi in 1999 and had shut out all 3 of its playoff opponents in 2000.  Then they took out 13-1 Dwyer in the 5A final.  Venice ended up 15-0 and ranked #7 in the end-of-season USA Today poll, so apparently I was not the only one who was impressed.  Venice's "problem" was that they had no marquis players.  

The 1993 Southridge team...talk to anyone who knows south FL football history and they will tell you about that team.  It was absolutely loaded.  Troy and Darren Davis each rushed for over 2000 yards in high school.  The Davis brothers and Sedrick Irvin all rushed for over 3500 yards in college and had pro careers.  Troy Davis was a Heisman finalist at Iowa State.  And all three were in the backfield on that 93 Southridge team.   Keep in mind that Miami-Dade games were very competitive back then.  Offensive scores were not often gaudy like one sees today.  If you look at their playoff run, you might question a "pedestrian" 14-0 win over Miami Springs.  At that time, Miami Springs was coached by the legendary Buddy Goins and that was an undefeated team that was one of the best in Dade County.  Southridge ended up 15-0 and ranked #5 in the end-of-season USA Today poll.

One could argue that STA's 2008 title game blowout of Lakeland was a bit of an outlier.  STA had a relatively easy regular season and playoff path.   In all of these cases, I think what we saw was a team whose coach had his team peaking at just the right time, which is the way it should be. 

   

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32 minutes ago, Perspective said:

So when you say "the best offense of each decade," you're referring to the best offensive performance by a single team in one particular year within a given decade, is that right?   In other words, you're not comparing the offenses of teams over the course of the decade, right? 

Great question, and thanks for asking.  I am doing the latter.  I am not just considering a single performance.  I am also giving some consideration to offensive firepower, ie personnel, that the teams had. 

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And who are the runners-up?  Well two of them are... 
2010 Tampa Jefferson
2010 St Thomas Aquinas
 
No doubt Jefferson had an incredibly explosive offense, led by qb Quentin Williams.  It was a bit of a stretch putting them in with these other 5 teams, though.  But I wanted to show Tampa some love.
 
STA had a great team in 2010.  As so often happens though, they were untested in their region.  That's not their fault.  But I am hesitant to say this was the best offense of the 2010's when they did not play any of the south FL powers that year.
 
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Boy, it's getting tough now.  Sorry Lakeland fans, but I don't think the Lakeland 2018 squad had the best offense of the decade.  Some complain that Lakeland's schedules itself too easily.  Though I hesitate to say any regular season that features games with Manatee and Apopka is easy, those two teams were not amongst their best.  Lakeland's playoff wins in 2018 were extremely impressive, but overall I don't think this team's offensive firepower was on quite the same level as the 2013 Miami Central and Booker T Washington squads.

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Lakeland and Manatee are the only teams that I called out more than once.  That speaks volumes(at least in my mind:)) for the quality of their programs over the years.

Keep in mind that many of the powerhouse teams of today only came on line within the past 20 years.  Lakeland and Manatee have been contenders for the past 4 decades.  Can you say "longevity!" 

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22 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

And the best offense of the 2000's is...the 2008 St Thomas Aquinas squad.  The Raiders finished the year 15-0 and were thought by some to be the best hs team in the country that year.  The Raiders scored at least 35 points in each of their games that season, and averaged 47 points per game.  Only one opponent got within 21 points of the Raiders all season, and that was an OOS opponent.  The Raiders topped all their playoff opponents by 21 or more points. 

STA was led by the phenomenal rb tandem of Gio Bernard and James White, both of whom currently play in the NFL.  Playing on both sides of the ball was junior Lamarcus Joyner, who earned prep All-American honors in 2009, All-American honors at FSU, and now plays for the Raiders. 

In the 5A final, STA stomped a 14-0 Lakeland team 56-7.   The Dreadnaught defense had not given up more than 22 points all season.  The Raiders were up 35-0 at the half and never looked back.  8 different Raiders scored TD's that day.   

And who are the runners-up...

2000 Venice

2007 Northwestern

2004 Armwood

2009 Dwyer

2001 Apopka

I feel compelled to give Plant a little love, especially for their performance in the second half of the decade.  They won three state championships ('06, '08, and '09; runners up in '10, but that's probably the start of the next decade anyway).  In each of those 3 state championship years, they averaged right around 38 points a game over the course of the full season.  In '06 and '08, their scoring dropped off a few points per game in the playoffs, but in 2009, their scoring average jumped up a couple of points in the playoffs to over 40 points per game.  In those 3 championship years, Plant was a combined 42-2.  Perhaps not the most offensive team in any given year, but from 2005 until the end of the decade, they put quite a few points on the board. 

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6 minutes ago, Perspective said:

I feel compelled to give Plant a little love, especially for their performance in the second half of the decade.  They won three state championships ('06, '08, and '09; runners up in '10, but that's probably the start of the next decade anyway).  In each of those 3 state championship years, they averaged right around 38 points a game over the course of the full season.  In '06 and '08, their scoring dropped off a few points per game in the playoffs, but in 2009, their scoring average jumped up a couple of points in the playoffs to over 40 points per game.  In those 3 championship years, Plant was a combined 42-2.  Perhaps not the most offensive team in any given year, but from 2005 until the end of the decade, they put quite a few points on the board. 

Thanks for the input.  There have been some people on here who consider Plant very offensive:rolleyes:.  Seriously, I would likely go with 2006 Northwestern if I was going to add another to the list.  That team gave Miami Central its only two losses that year, and hung 39 and 41 points on them to show the first time wasn't a fluke.   

 

 

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7 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:
And the best offense of the 2010's?????  Well, I am not giving my pick just yet, but I've narrowed it down to these contenders: 
2010 Tampa Jefferson
2010 St Thomas Aquinas
2010 Miami Central
2013 Booker T Washington
2013 Miami Central
2018 Lakeland
 

Central in 2018 was also excellent. 

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3 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Lakeland and Manatee are the only teams that I called out more than once.  That speaks volumes(at least in my mind:)) for the quality of their programs over the years.

Keep in mind that many of the powerhouse teams of today only came on line within the past 20 years.  Lakeland and Manatee have been contenders for the past 4 decades.  Can you say "longevity!" 

Kinnan and Castle have been known as film and scheme geeks. Manatee has had a few teams that seemed prone to winning shootouts, whereas Lakeland's best teams have been strong on defense. But both coaches put in a ton of time preparing, and it shows.

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And my selection for best offense of the 2010's...the 2013 Booker T Washington squad.  

Why the 2013 Booker T Washington squad?

  • Beat nationally ranked, defending 6A Georgia state champion Norcross 55-0 in Georgia.  Norcross won the title in 2013, as well.
  • Gave nationally ranked and 6A state champion Miami Central its only loss of the season, scoring 28 points against the Rockets.
  • Beat Carol City 45-0.  No, this was not one of CC's great teams, but anyone who puts up 45 points on a CC defense is impressive.
  • Traveled to Nevada and beat national powerhouse Bishop Gorman, scoring 28 points.
  • Scored 40 or more points in each of its playoff games.
  • Blew out defending 3A state champion University School at U School's home field in the playoffs, scoring 45 points.
  • Went up 35-0 at the half versus Cocoa in the state semi and cruised to a 49-10 win.
  • In the state final, BTW went up 34-6 over Bolles about 1 minute into the second half and took their foot off the gas, ending up with 40 points. 
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The 2013 BTW offense was not the most intimidating from a size perspective.  And they did not necessarily have any marquis names at the time.  They were led by 4-star dual threat qb Treon Harris, son of coaching legend Ice Harris.  Treon was only 5'11.  And his wide receivers were undersized by today's standards.  But what they lacked in size, they made up for in speed and elusiveness.  This offense was flat out difficult to stop and had so many weapons that could beat you.  Future Canes star Mark Walton was an underclassman on this team.  BTW ended the season 14-0 and ranked as one of the top hs team in the country.  Below are some highlights of their game against Norcross, GA.  

 

 Below are some highlights from their game against Norcross.  

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1 hour ago, OldSchoolLion said:

And my selection for best offense of the 2010's...the 2013 Booker T Washington squad.  

Why the 2013 Booker T Washington squad?

  • Beat nationally ranked, defending 6A Georgia state champion Norcross 55-0 in Georgia.  Norcross won the title in 2013, as well.
  • Gave nationally ranked and 6A state champion Miami Central its only loss of the season, scoring 28 points against the Rockets.
  • Beat Carol City 45-0.  No, this was not one of CC's great teams, but anyone who puts up 45 points on a CC defense is impressive.
  • Traveled to Nevada and beat national powerhouse Bishop Gorman, scoring 28 points.
  • Scored 40 or more points in each of its playoff games.
  • Blew out defending 3A state champion University School at U School's home field in the playoffs, scoring 45 points.
  • Went up 35-0 at the half versus Cocoa in the state semi and cruised to a 49-10 win.
  • In the state final, BTW went up 34-6 over Bolles about 1 minute into the second half and took their foot off the gas, ending up with 40 points. 

That was a monster of a team. Not sure we've ever had better.

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I agree the 1993 Southridge offense was the best of the decade. They ran the Wing-T to perfection. Impossible to stop with 3 D1 (all 3 All-Americans in college) running backs in the backfield.

For the 2000's as good as STA was, I have to give 2006 and 2007 Northwestern squads some love. The 2006 squad was just as explosive as 2007 but they had a 2000 yard rusher in Antwain Easterling. The 2007 version averaged 42 points a game over the whole season and was never challenged. Both years they put up Playstation like numbers on offense with Jacory Harris at QB. It was ridiculous. 

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