State storylines heading into the regular season finale of Florida high school football 2023
Teams spend months preparing for the regular season for high school football and we have now reached the end.
At least for the regular season that is.
It’s the final week of regular season play for Florida high school football and there’s plenty to talk about around the state before the postseason begins.
Obviously the Florida High School Athletic Association’s power ratings release show on Nov. 5th will be where most eyes are at next weekend. For now, we take our focus on what to watch for before the postseason begins and how everything may pan out come state championship time in Tallahassee.
What to make of Class 4M?
One week you want to ride with the defending champion Columbus Explorers and then another with the Lake Mary Rams and before you know it, Sanford Seminole gives you reasons to reconsider everything you thought you might know.
What gives, guys?
Well, that’s because this classification, like a few others, is truly no guarantee whatsoever because of the parity throughout 4M.
Now graduation, injuries have hindered Columbus throughout the regular season, but something tells us that once Alberto Mendoza’s right hand is all healed up, the Explorers will be a tough out.
Now for Central Florida and it really, truly looks like it’ll come down to Sanford Seminole or Lake Mary (maybe Mandarin?) in 4M, Region 1. The Seminoles bested the Rams in an all-timer over in Bokey
A rematch seems inevitable and we’re positive everyone would like to see Scott Perry’s Rams and Karl Calhoun’s Seminoles just one more time. Please?
Lakeland is not a sure repeat in Class 4S
It was led to believe that everything would be just fine in Lakeland land when longtime head coach, 8-time state champion Bill Castle retired and Marvin Frazier assumed the role of lead man.
10 games in and results are somewhat mixed on if the Dreadnaughts can repeat last year’s magical unbeaten run. Also, an end-of-the-year brawl with rival Kathleen wasn’t something anyone expected happening, either.
Injuries have played a big factor into the inconsistency with the Dreadnaughts as quarterback Zander Smith started off fast before being sidelined. He’s back but it seems like the offense will have to do more heavy lifting than last year’s group did.
The 2022 state championship team allowed a mere 7.9 points per game through 14 contests while this year’s version is yielding 14.2. It’s the staggering amount of points when facing elite competition that may make the Dreadnaughts return to the 4S state title game that much harder, allowing an average of 42.6 points per contest to Miami Norland, St. Joseph’s Prep (Pennsylvania) and Clearwater Academy International.
It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon, we understand. You can’t help but notice teams like undefeated Buchholz, DeLand, Treasure Coast and Venice all having a shot to notching the Class 4S crown this time around.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Cocoa and Chaminade-Madonna look like locks to winning it all
But, the playoffs haven’t even started and you’re calling for state champion ‘locks’?
Why yes, yes we are.
That’s because, well, can either of the trio we are about to name can be proven otherwise?
St. Thomas Aquinas (3M), Cocoa (2S) and Chaminade-Madonna (1M) have looked like the class of their respective classifications and they give us a bazillion reasons why.
Okay, maybe not that many, but you get the idea.
The Raiders are on a quest for five in a row and other than the blemish to St. John Bosco (California), at the beginning of the season, Roger Harriott’s bunch has moseyed their way along the season.
A controversial win against Cocoa would be the one other game that drew concern, but we will talk more about the Tigers in a second here. Other than the Raiders featuring probably one of the better, more well-rounded skill position groups offensively (Ahem: James Madison II, Chance Robinson, Jordan Lyle, Stacy Gage) in all of Florida, who else in 3M is going to pull off what would be considered an upset?
Homestead has played well in Year 1 of Ronnie Thornton Jr., but is it enough to get them over the hump and to a state championship win?
Edgewater is undefeated and just keeps finding new ways to do it weekly, but you have to wonder do they have enough to beat St. Thomas Aquinas. Jones is another Central Florida team that would love to state its case to the crown.
Counting out Coconut Creek might not be wise because of the Cougars’ abilities to keep up with elite teams I.E. Chaminade-Madonna. Watch out for this group.
We could go on and on here mentioning other contenders like Delray Beach Atlantic, Armwood, Jesuit, Tampa Bay Tech, but the Raiders seem like a low key lock to running it back a fifth straight time.
Onto Cocoa, where they seem a level up in the certainty to lock in for another state championship come December. Other than the Tigers have the championship pedigree, they have a bevy of talent to boot.
Brady Hart has played out of his mind as a sophomore and one of his finer performances may have not been statistically his best.
Being chased down constantly by the pass rush of defensive tackle Preston Watson (Duke commitment) all night long, coach Ryan Schneider ejected from the game, Hart made sure his team came away with a dub.
The quarterback led the way with 271 yards, two touchdowns in a 28-3 win over a very talented Sanford Seminole team back on Oct. 6th.
Needless to say, the Tigers have played a treacherous regular season slate and will be ready for anyone in the 2S playoffs.
Chaminade-Madonna’s seemingly legendary offense is hard to stop for even the best high school defenses around the country. Seeing anyone in 1M stopping them just seems like something that isn’t bound to happen.
The Wild, Wild, Class 2M?
Now if you know that ‘Drive for 5’ has been the motto for the Miami Central Rockets ever since winning it all down it Fort Lauderdale last year, nothing has changed.
Yes, we know Miami Central has lost three games. All to very good, quality adversaries mind you.
Bishop Gorman (Nevada) makes the case weekly of being the best in the land, was Jube Joseph’s group Week 2 loss. Losses to Chaminade-Madonna on the primetime of a nationally televised ESPN2 matchup was an all-time classic. Maybe the most surprising was losing to Miami Norland 29-26 in overtime, but you gotta give the Vikings their flowers this season.
So with all that said, it’s left this 2M classification in a up-in-the-air frenzy between all the top tier programs like Miami Central, Miami Norland, Booker T. Washington and Plantation American Heritage. Heck; you might even be able to throw in teams like Bolles, Clearwater Calvary Christian and Raines into the conversation.
Until they make it official up in Tallahassee, the attempt to make it five in a row is up in the air just like the classification is all the way around.
Mainland and Lake Wales state final rematch in 3S?
I’m sure Mainland head coach Travis RoLand would love to see it no other way than his Buccaneers facing off against Lake Wales once again for all the marbles.
You know what? Both teams are trying their darnedest to make it happen.
Both teams are undefeated through the first 10 weeks of the season and winning in different styles compared to a year ago.
Mainland can play ball control as they can also air you out. Behind the dazzling play of quarterback Dennis Murray Jr. and a stout defense led by LJ McCray, you’ve got to like the Buccaneers to make it back to states.
Lake Wales has been playing stifling defense (34 points allowed in nine games) and running the ball extremely effectively with Rashad Orr on the ground. Combine those two and TaVaris Johnson has perfected the formula to winning football at Legion Field, or anywhere for that matter.
Now Choctawhatchee, Golden Gate, Naples, St. Augustine and a handful of others might make the case to spoil any chances of a rematch between the Bucs-Highlanders, but neither team is going to be an easy out.
Class 1S and 1R seems to come down to just a handful of teams in each
Why spoil the fun that classes 1S and 1R are not wide open?
Because both classifications have teams that will stake the claim to the respective state title before it’s all said and done.
In Class 1S, there’s three teams that stick out like a sore thumb: Cardinal Mooney, First Baptist Academy, Trinity Catholic.
All three, yes even the 3-6 Celtics, are the odds on favorites to winning it all.
Down in Class 1R, though Hawthorne looks in some ways even better than last year’s state championship team, they will have some competition along the way.
Robby Pruitt’s Williston crew is on its way to another undefeated season and the triple-option attack looks better than ever. Blountstown, Pahokee, Madison County, Newberry and Union County are wild cards as they all have plenty of talent to boot.
It’ll ultimately come down to 1R’s Region 4 that features many of the classification’s top teams all season long.
That’s my thoughts on every class as we are on the cusp of Week 11 play and with the postseason right around the corner.
(Photo by: @AquinasRaiders)
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
