Matchups That You Can’t Wait to See in 2021

[Tony112]

3 hours ago, fishspinners said:

SJB is preseason #3 in the national rankings. They have as much talent on their roster as anyone outside of IMG.

They good but I think central will blow them out 

[fishspinners]

14 minutes ago, Tony112 said:

They good but I think central will blow them out 

I'll take that bet

[Jullian]

1 hour ago, fishspinners said:

I'll take that bet

Last time central played an outta state team, they got whooped & embarrassed. St Francis. It was ugly. St Francis with their 6, espn 300 , defensive players, play @ STA.......

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

7 hours ago, PinellasFB said:

Dang, Miami Central plays St John Bosco *and* Bishop Gorman back to back?  They must feel really good about their team this year.

Aye when you’re a team full of recruits and transfers I’ll be confident to lol. 

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

7 hours ago, fishspinners said:

SJB is preseason #3 in the national rankings. They have as much talent on their roster as anyone outside of IMG.

Really, can’t wait to see that game on tv then.

[skyway]

Lakeland, in what may be its toughest schedule ever, has five games with the potential to be elite. The "weakest" two are road games at Lake Wales and Bartow, but both of those teams have been loaded in recent years and would love to knock off Lakeland. Then you have the game at Lake Gibson, which is probably the biggest game of the season as it is a city and district game against a team with two 5* players. The game with Apopka has been mentioned for good reason; the 2017 game at Bryant was an "instant classic" while the 2018 game featured what I maintain is Lakeland's best ever team. The fifth game is a road trip to St. Pete Lakewood, which has quietly built itself into a powerhouse, more than most seem to realize. 

It's very unusual for Lakeland to have four really difficult games all on the road. And then Apopka will be the most difficult home game by far. Which still says a lot because there are home games with Palmetto and Manatee as well.

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

14 minutes ago, skyway said:

Lakeland, in what may be its toughest schedule ever, has five games with the potential to be elite. The "weakest" two are road games at Lake Wales and Bartow, but both of those teams have been loaded in recent years and would love to knock off Lakeland. Then you have the game at Lake Gibson, which is probably the biggest game of the season as it is a city and district game against a team with two 5* players. The game with Apopka has been mentioned for good reason; the 2017 game at Bryant was an "instant classic" while the 2018 game featured what I maintain is Lakeland's best ever team. The fifth game is a road trip to St. Pete Lakewood, which has quietly built itself into a powerhouse, more than most seem to realize. 

It's very unusual for Lakeland to have four really difficult games all on the road. And then Apopka will be the most difficult home game by far. Which still says a lot because there are home games with Palmetto and Manatee as well.

A lot of solid matchups to look forward there bro, if lakeland is still in 7A we may see them in the playoffs possibly and I would love that. 
 

with the regions we’re both in it probably would have to be a state game but nonetheless I would love to see it.

[Perspective]

40 minutes ago, skyway said:

Lakeland, in what may be its toughest schedule ever, has five games with the potential to be elite. The "weakest" two are road games at Lake Wales and Bartow, but both of those teams have been loaded in recent years and would love to knock off Lakeland. Then you have the game at Lake Gibson, which is probably the biggest game of the season as it is a city and district game against a team with two 5* players. The game with Apopka has been mentioned for good reason; the 2017 game at Bryant was an "instant classic" while the 2018 game featured what I maintain is Lakeland's best ever team. The fifth game is a road trip to St. Pete Lakewood, which has quietly built itself into a powerhouse, more than most seem to realize. 

It's very unusual for Lakeland to have four really difficult games all on the road. And then Apopka will be the most difficult home game by far. Which still says a lot because there are home games with Palmetto and Manatee as well.

Historically speaking, Lakeland should beat Lakewood.   Lakewood has always (and by "always," I'm talking about the last 10-15 years) had a very athletic team with talented skill players.   But, depth is an issue, as they are probably half the size of Lakeland. (Pause to confirm . . . based on 2020 student population numbers, Lakeland had an enrollment of 1991 and Lakewood had 986 . . . so, more than double).  Nevertheless, some big schools simply don't match up with Lakewood's speed and athleticism (see, for example, Plant's 2020 team).   But, larger schools that can match Lakewood's speed/athleticism, that have more depth, should be able to wear them down and pull out, if not pull away with, the win in the second half.   I would expect that to be the case with Lakeland this coming season, if Lakeland is anything like it has been over the last decade. 

[Jullian]

35 minutes ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:

A lot of solid matchups to look forward there bro, if lakeland is still in 7A we may see them in the playoffs possibly and I would love that. 
 

with the regions we’re both in it probably would have to be a state game but nonetheless I would love to see it.

Not sure but I believe they’re region 3 7a(Lakeland), which would make it a state semifinal......?

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

3 minutes ago, Jullian said:

Not sure but I believe they’re region 3 7a(Lakeland), which would make it a state semifinal......?

I was thinking the same thing 

[Jullian]

18 minutes ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:

Lakeland is Reg 2.  It’s Armwood that’s reg 3. Dwyer is also reg 2....

[Jullian]

Just now, Jullian said:

23 minutes ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:

Lakeland is Reg 2.  It’s Armwood that’s reg 3. Dwyer is also reg 2....

I b messing this thing up......Lakeland Reg 2. It’s Armwood that’s Reg 3. 

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

1 minute ago, Jullian said:

I b messing this thing up......Lakeland Reg 2. It’s Armwood that’s Reg 3. 

O ok so we could possibly see Lakeland sooner or later ?

[LakelandGator]

8 hours ago, fishspinners said:

I'll take that bet

Let me get a piece of that action as well

[skyway]

11 hours ago, Tony112 said:

They good but I think central will blow them out 

None of us can predict the future. But, you should know that Central enters as no better than a two touchdown underdog. No reason to believe Central will be any better than they were in 2019 (yes, they could be better) and no reason to believe SJB will be any less than Saint Frances was in 2019.

[skyway]

7 hours ago, Perspective said:

Historically speaking, Lakeland should beat Lakewood.   Lakewood has always (and by "always," I'm talking about the last 10-15 years) had a very athletic team with talented skill players.   But, depth is an issue, as they are probably half the size of Lakeland. (Pause to confirm . . . based on 2020 student population numbers, Lakeland had an enrollment of 1991 and Lakewood had 986 . . . so, more than double).  Nevertheless, some big schools simply don't match up with Lakewood's speed and athleticism (see, for example, Plant's 2020 team).   But, larger schools that can match Lakewood's speed/athleticism, that have more depth, should be able to wear them down and pull out, if not pull away with, the win in the second half.   I would expect that to be the case with Lakeland this coming season, if Lakeland is anything like it has been over the last decade. 

I just see the result of Lakewood-BTW in 2019, see the film of Lakewood's QB to go with those athletes, and then consider it's a road game after the Kathleen rivalry game yet before the playoffs and I worry! Everything about where that game sits on the schedule suggests Lakeland playing below it's abilities. And though I'm fairly confident the defense will be nasty, I have major doubts about the offense. 

[skyway]

7 hours ago, THIS_IS_DILLARD said:

O ok so we could possibly see Lakeland sooner or later ?

Every time I try to look up the classes, districts, brackets etc I get annoyed and give up. haha. Let me know if you figure it out!

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

14 minutes ago, skyway said:

Every time I try to look up the classes, districts, brackets etc I get annoyed and give up. haha. Let me know if you figure it out!

lol I’m trying to tell you 

[KeemD321]

1 hour ago, skyway said:

I just see the result of Lakewood-BTW in 2019, see the film of Lakewood's QB to go with those athletes, and then consider it's a road game after the Kathleen rivalry game yet before the playoffs and I worry! Everything about where that game sits on the schedule suggests Lakeland playing below it's abilities. And though I'm fairly confident the defense will be nasty, I have major doubts about the offense. 

Sounds like a trap game to me

[skyway]

8 hours ago, KeemD321 said:

Sounds like a trap game to me

Yep. Save for maybe one or two players who know each other from camps or 7v7, there's basically no connection/familiarity/rivalry between the teams. Lakewood is a relative nobody playing at home. Lakeland is a legendary program coming off several tough games and looking ahead to the playoffs. 

Maybe Lakewood will be more like they've been over the long term historically. But, that 2019 team flew well under the radar, and its 9-7 loss to BTW pretty much proves they were elite among the state's high school teams (IMG is not a high school team). I wonder if anyone here has a read on how 2021 Lakewood may compare to the 2019 team.

[HornetFan]

10 hours ago, skyway said:

Every time I try to look up the classes, districts, brackets etc I get annoyed and give up. haha. Let me know if you figure it out!

https://floridahsfootball.com/2021/03/15/fhsaa-releases-new-football-classifications-for-2021-season/#.YPBVyehKg2w

[PinellasFB]

On 7/14/2021 at 12:44 PM, Tony112 said:

They good but I think central will blow them out 

There is no way Central will blow out St John Bosco.  They are insanely loaded on par with Mater Dei and IMG.  Central will always have incredible 4 and 5 star skill players but their line wont hold up against SJB.

[Cat_Scratch]

1 minute ago, PinellasFB said:

There is no way Central will blow out St John Bosco.  They are insanely loaded on par with Mater Dei and IMG.  Central will always have incredible 4 and 5 star skill players but their line wont hold up against SJB.

I agree. SJB brings back a lot of talented Jrs from last year. They my beat everyone the see with relish.

[Tony112]

Yall we gone come back to this when the season start y’all be safe

[THIS_IS_DILLARD]

1 hour ago, PinellasFB said:

There is no way Central will blow out St John Bosco.  They are insanely loaded on par with Mater Dei and IMG.  Central will always have incredible 4 and 5 star skill players but their line wont hold up against SJB.

We will see. Should be a great year.