Central Florida Top 10

[DisabledAccount]

please give some feedback on how you all think and il make mine soon

[DisabledAccount]

1: Apopka- they are a very consistent program in the central region of florida, and despite a loss to west orange, could make a run into the 8A playoffs

2: Mainland- very talented team, could have a good chance to make a run at orlando if they can somehow beat either central or carol city who will likely face off in the end

3: Braden River- a solid team so far this season with a 9-0 record and could make a potential run and might even play in orlando should they get past a likely foe of either dywer or STA in the state semifinals

4: West Orange- has a victory over the number 1 in the list, would put them 1 if they were undefeated, but should have a chance to make a run in 8A playoffs

5: Armwood- has appeared in 4 of the last 5 state finals in 6A and should have a good shot of going back this year, could have a chance to hoist the championship this year

6: Dr phillips- another talented team that is surrounded by a tough bracket with teams like apopka, west orange, osceola, manatee, and flanagan standing between them and a title, but should be ready for the challange come playoff time

7: Osceola- Very talented, moved up from 7A to 8A this year and has built the team to be a championship contender, will compete with other area teams to try to get to orlando

8: Manatee- a very consistent and sucessful program from central florida, may have had a few shakeups on the season, but should still be talented enough to try and make a run

9: Venice- another talented team, could have sucessful run if they play at top level come playoff time

10a: Lakeland- another very talented and consistent program in central florida, cant be counted out since they have been in playoffs very often, could make deep run if they play at best

10b: Plant- same situation as lakeland, these 2 were very close choices for me

[BrowardHandicapper]

1: Apopka- they are a very consistent program in the central region of florida, and despite a loss to west orange, could make a run into the 8A playoffs

2: Braden River- a solid team so far this season with a 9-0 record and could make a potential run and might even play in orlando should they get past a likely foe of either dywer or STA in the state semifinals

3: West Orange- has a victory over the number 1 in the list, would put them 1 if they were undefeated, but should have a chance to make a run in 8A playoffs

4: Armwood- has appeared in 4 of the last 5 state finals in 6A and should have a good shot of going back this year, could have a chance to hoist the championship this year

5: Dr phillips- another talented team that is surrounded by a tough bracket with teams like apopka, west orange, osceola, manatee, and flanagan standing between them and a title, but should be ready for the challange come playoff time

6: Osceola- Very talented, moved up from 7A to 8A this year and has built the team to be a championship contender, will compete with other area teams to try to get to orlando

7: Manatee- a very consistent and sucessful program from central florida, may have had a few shakeups on the season, but should still be talented enough to try and make a run

8: Venice- another talented team, could have sucessful run if they play at top level come playoff time

9: Lakeland- another very talented and consistent program in central florida, cant be counted out since they have been in playoffs very often, could make deep run if they play at best

10: Plant- same situation as lakeland, these 2 were very close choices for me

Looks pretty good Columbia.  I guess Mainland (Daytona Beach), Cocoa,  would be considered North Florida?    A few other names I know of, but not sure where they are at are - Bishop Moore, Lake Brantley, North Marion, University, Vero Beach, Heritage Palm Bay, Kathleen ....

[DisabledAccount]

oh dang i forgot about mainland vero beach and kathleen, north marion would be north, and i thought lake brantley and palm bay were both far south enough to be south florida

[DisabledAccount]

ok i edited it, in the end i lefted vero and kathleen out, they would be just outside of top 10

[09mrslick]

What happened with Oaks Ridge and Armwood.

[BrowardHandicapper]

Oak Ridge is decent (8-2) and play in the same 8A District as Dr. Phillips.  Dr. Phillips hammered them 34-7 and knocked Oak Ridge to second in their District.  They are good but get beat by the stronger 8A schools .  Got blasted by Apopka as well this year 43-14.

Armwood is solid.  Columbiahighfan has them at #5 in Central FL and I think that is fair.  Armwood is slaughtering teams and are 9-0 but their best win is vs Plant  21-3 back in Sept. when they had a severe case of the injury bug.  That is the only top FLorida 100 team that they beat this year.  Armwood gets Sickles this week who is a decent team before they head to the playoffs vs. Sebring .   

[DarterBlue2]

Oak Ridge is decent (8-2) and play in the same 8A District as Dr. Phillips.  Dr. Phillips hammered them 34-7 and knocked Oak Ridge to second in their District.  They are good but get beat by the stronger 8A schools .  Got blasted by Apopka as well this year 43-14.

Armwood is solid.  Columbiahighfan has them at #5 in Central FL and I think that is fair.  Armwood is slaughtering teams and are 9-0 but their best win is vs Plant  21-3 back in Sept. when they had a severe case of the injury bug.  That is the only top FLorida 100 team that they beat this year.  Armwood gets Sickles this week who is a decent team before they head to the playoffs vs. Sebring .   

 

Oak Ridge is one of those teams that has multiple D1 caliber players every year but has just not been able to get over the hump. At the game versus Apopka, the score was 14-14 at the end of three quarters, but they fell apart in the fourth. Also, Michigan's head coach was at that game and it was mostly to see their talent, not Apopka's. 

 

Mainland would certainly be at or near the top of Central Florida high school teams as would Cocoa. Lake Brantley and Bishop Moore are both undefeated, but largely untested. Having seen them both this year, Brantley has a championship caliber offense with its four back set, three of whom have rushed for over a thousand yards on the year. However, its defense is porus and will limit their advance in the playoffs.

 

Bishop Moore has a championship caliber team; however, it will meet American Heritage in the third round and Heritage is nationally ranked. Last year in the semi-finals it did give Heritage all it could handle losing, I believe, 14-17 or something close to that. I believe this year BM team is as good as last year's. Unfortunately, Heritage is probably equally as good this year. If they found a way to pull the upset, they will win 5a. 

[DisabledAccount]

Oak Ridge is one of those teams that has multiple D1 caliber players every year but has just not been able to get over the hump. At the game versus Apopka, the score was 14-14 at the end of three quarters, but they fell apart in the fourth. Also, Michigan's head coach was at that game and it was mostly to see their talent, not Apopka's. 

 

Mainland would certainly be at or near the top of Central Florida high school teams as would Cocoa. Lake Brantley and Bishop Moore are both undefeated, but largely untested. Having seen them both this year, Brantley has a championship caliber offense with its four back set, three of whom have rushed for over a thousand yards on the year. However, its defense is porus and will limit their advance in the playoffs.

 

Bishop Moore has a championship caliber team; however, it will meet American Heritage in the third round and Heritage is nationally ranked. Last year in the semi-finals it did give Heritage all it could handle losing, I believe, 14-17 or something close to that. I believe this year BM team is as good as last year's. Unfortunately, Heritage is probably equally as good this year. If they found a way to pull the upset, they will win 5a. 

i would put cocoa in the top 10, however i wasent sure where they are exactly, from what i remember of their location i would consider that south florida, but they in north region of bracket, so its kinda hard to decide, are they north, central, or south floirda, thats the only thing that kept them out of my top 10

[DarterBlue2]

Cocoa is in the Central part of Brevard County. So, yes, I would consider them Central Florida. A better question is where would I put Manatee? For while I regard Tampa Bay teams as Central Florida, too, Manatee is a bit south of Tampa Bay and that may be stretching it a bit. My own point of view would be that Central Florida ends at the southern most tip of Brevard on the East; Osceola County in the middle and Tampa Bay/Polk County to the west. But that is just my opinion ...

[BrowardHandicapper]

Oak Ridge is one of those teams that has multiple D1 caliber players every year but has just not been able to get over the hump. At the game versus Apopka, the score was 14-14 at the end of three quarters, but they fell apart in the fourth. Also, Michigan's head coach was at that game and it was mostly to see their talent, not Apopka's. 

 

Mainland would certainly be at or near the top of Central Florida high school teams as would Cocoa. Lake Brantley and Bishop Moore are both undefeated, but largely untested. Having seen them both this year, Brantley has a championship caliber offense with its four back set, three of whom have rushed for over a thousand yards on the year. However, its defense is porus and will limit their advance in the playoffs.

 

Bishop Moore has a championship caliber team; however, it will meet American Heritage in the third round and Heritage is nationally ranked. Last year in the semi-finals it did give Heritage all it could handle losing, I believe, 14-17 or something close to that. I believe this year BM team is as good as last year's. Unfortunately, Heritage is probably equally as good this year. If they found a way to pull the upset, they will win 5a. 

Great insight DarterBlue2.  I do not know the Central Florida teams as well - so all good stuff!    We have a team down in South Florida like Oak Ridge.  Coconut Creek has 3 US Army All Americans, several D1 (likely SEC ) caliber players but can't get over the hump.  A ridiculously hard district and hard non-district just took a toll on them.

[BrowardHandicapper]

i would put cocoa in the top 10, however i wasent sure where they are exactly, from what i remember of their location i would consider that south florida, but they in north region of bracket, so its kinda hard to decide, are they north, central, or south floirda, thats the only thing that kept them out of my top 10

 

The term South Florida is very broad.  To many it is just Miami Dade and Broward County, to others it is Miami Dade, Broward County and Palm Beach County and to anyone Orlando north - South Florida is anything south of Orlando.  Then you have the High School Regional Structure....

[DarterBlue2]

Great insight DarterBlue2.  I do not know the Central Florida teams as well - so all good stuff!    We have a team down in South Florida like Oak Ridge.  Coconut Creek has 3 US Army All Americans, several D1 (likely SEC ) caliber players but can't get over the hump.  A ridiculously hard district and hard non-district just took a toll on them.

 

Yes, Coconut Creek or maybe Dillard would be good comparisons to Oak Ridge. Or perhaps Carol City before this year's resurgence. Oak Ridge was finally getting on track with HBC Elijah Williams. However, due to an unfortunate personal situation he departed in the spring. If a dynamic, hard working, young ball coach took over that program and brought in/retained good staff, they could easily be a deep playoff contender. The attendance zone has a lot of Haitian Americans and some Jamaicans in addition to Afro Americans and Hispanics and the remnants of a white middle class that have mostly abandoned the school by sending their kids north to Boone, south to Freedom or to private or charter schools in the area. Construction of the new school buildings has led to an increase in attendance and we may see an improvement in Oak Ridge football. For years, the school dominated track in the Central Florida area and had good success at State, too.  

[DarterBlue2]

Boy was I wrong about Lake Brantley. It had its most complete game of the season as it dismantled Bishop Moore 42-6. Prior to this devastating loss, BM was averaging over 40 points per game and had given up no more than 14 in any game this season. The average number of points scored against them before the LB game was under 10. Having seen LB against Oviedo a couple weeks ago, I never doubted its ability to score a lot of points. However, shutting down a potent BM offense was impressive. I am now thinking that LB has a good chance of making it to at least the regional finals. 

 

Bishop Moore must now regroup and get ready for a Palm Bay team that beat a good Heritage team tonight. 

[DarterBlue2]

1: Apopka- they are a very consistent program in the central region of florida, and despite a loss to west orange, could make a run into the 8A playoffs

2: Mainland- very talented team, could have a good chance to make a run at orlando if they can somehow beat either central or carol city who will likely face off in the end

3: Braden River- a solid team so far this season with a 9-0 record and could make a potential run and might even play in orlando should they get past a likely foe of either dywer or STA in the state semifinals

4: West Orange- has a victory over the number 1 in the list, would put them 1 if they were undefeated, but should have a chance to make a run in 8A playoffs

5: Armwood- has appeared in 4 of the last 5 state finals in 6A and should have a good shot of going back this year, could have a chance to hoist the championship this year

6: Dr phillips- another talented team that is surrounded by a tough bracket with teams like apopka, west orange, osceola, manatee, and flanagan standing between them and a title, but should be ready for the challange come playoff time

7: Osceola- Very talented, moved up from 7A to 8A this year and has built the team to be a championship contender, will compete with other area teams to try to get to orlando

8: Manatee- a very consistent and sucessful program from central florida, may have had a few shakeups on the season, but should still be talented enough to try and make a run

9: Venice- another talented team, could have sucessful run if they play at top level come playoff time

10a: Lakeland- another very talented and consistent program in central florida, cant be counted out since they have been in playoffs very often, could make deep run if they play at best

10b: Plant- same situation as lakeland, these 2 were very close choices for me

 

So after giving it a lot of thought, I am going to list a Central Florida top ten. Let me state first that: 1. Central Florida here is being defined from the south end going west to east - Charlotte, Glades St. Lucie Counties; from the north end going west to east - Hernando, Sumter, Lake and Volusia; and all counties in between such as, for example - Hillsborough, Polk, Orange, Osceola, Brevard, etc. 2. This is an extremely large geographic area larger in size than Dade, Monroe, Collier, Broward and Palm Beach Counties; and having almost the same population as: Dade, Broward and Palm Beach combined. 3. The teams in some of these counties rarely play each other. 4. I am more familiar with the greater Orlando, Volusia, Brevard and Polk areas. 5. I have excluded IMG as I don't consider it a school.

 

With all of that said, here goes:

1. Mainland - Probably the best athletically of the list

2. Cocoa -  Tough, but one dimensional little team; loss to IMG should be discounted as it was largely a match-up issue.

3. Braden River - Undefeated and playing impressively; beat a very good Venice team impressively.

4. Armwood - Consistent year in and out, undefeated, with several blowout wins.

5. West Orange - Very balanced and talented offensively; Barrett and McDoom are big time playmakers. Team could go far if it holds together.

6. Lake Brantley - Plays a true triple option offense with the QB under center, a full back and two wing backs on either side, with a receiver wide on either side for most snaps. Very confusing offense for those that don't see it.

7. Apopka - Finished 9-1 with only blemish to West Orange. The last time Darlington lost twice in a season to the same team was in 2000 against Evans.

8. Charlotte - Undefeated, but largely untested. Closest game was with North Fort Myers. Beat a couple relatively weak South Florida teams. Could disappoint like Bishop Moore did against Lake Brantley.

9. Manatee - Slow start to the season, but blew out its district. Strength of schedule somewhat suspect, though.

9. Dr. Phillips - Tie with Manatee, three losses to: Apopka, West Orange and Mainland, all of which are included above.

 

Others to consider: Osceola, Vero Beach, Dunellon, Bishop Moore, Venice, Plant, Lakeland, Kathleen, Palm Bay Heritage, Palm Bay, Hagerty, Orange City University.

 

Best shot at winning a State Title: Armwood, Apopka, Mainland and Cocoa. All of these teams have been there before, three of them in the recent, to fairly recent past. Some of the other teams near the top may be more talented, but have not experienced a deep playoff run recently while in the case of Manatee, I have a show me attitude as they have yet to meet stiff competition since its early setbacks. 

[DisabledAccount]

also i didnt include IMG either, for 1 they a indepenent, 2 they basically a division 3 college, and 3 they cant even win a state title and i was only including people in my list who were going into the playoffs