agreed

They were arguably closer in 1999. Undefeated regular season, and hosted Lakeland in a 3rd round playoff game. They hit a hail mary to lead at halftime. Lakeland grinded out a very tough 19-14 win. Lakeland blew out every other opponent on the season, including a 45-12 win in the state title game. Shannon Snell was an OL on that team, and they had other prospects and a great D as well.

To illustrate this I believe that Haines City (playoff team last 2 years although not a powerhouse) lost their starting QB, RB, WR, TE/DL, and CB to neighboring schools.  As a nucleus they would have been better but transferring to Lakeland or Lake Wales provides more eyes watching to display their talents 

I think Dick O’Brien would’ve been the head coach in the early 80s

https://www.news4jax.com/sports/2025/07/18/weekly-schedules-for-area-high-school-football-teams-for-the-2025-season/