Florida Football: Week 4 Preview
September 20th, 2007 Posted in Florida, Florida Sports, footballThe non-distict rivalries are mostly in the past, and the majority of Florida’s high school football teams turn this week toward the district games that will determine their post-season fate. We’ll be updating our preview of the week’s games almost until kickoff on Friday, so check back as we run down what’s on tap in the Sunshine State.
Game of the Week
For two of the state’s top teams, however, there’s one more bragging rights game on the slate. Tonight kicks of the week with an epic battle pitting (Lauderdale Lakes) Boyd Anderson against Lakeland, which hosts. Lakeland Coach Bill Castle has been critical of his offense in recent weeks, but the Lakeland defense has been strong in the Dreadnaughts’ 3-0 start.
The Lakeland Ledger weighs in on this one. Note that Lakeland’s offensive leaders through three games have fairly tame stats. Meanwhile, Boyd Anderson, which we put at No. 4 this week in our 6A rankings, has shown similar characteristics. The Cobras defeated Cypress Bay 16-14 in Week 2 and opened the season with a 14-12 win against Blanche Ely. The heart of their offense is RB Chris Anderson, a transfer who almost missed the entire season after some issues regarding his departure from Hollywood Hills, where he rushed for 1,789 yards last fall.
Cobras’ QB Keny Graham was scored all four of the team’s touchdowns thus far. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, he is 19-for-31 for 356 and touchdowns, but he’s also thrown a pair of picks. Teammate Tyrone Brantley has seven catches for 144 yards, and WR Travis Reynolds has nine receptions for 81 yards. Miami Herald reporter Bob Emanuel Jr. also weighs in on this one.
Big Bend/Tallahassee/Panhandle
It’s mostly quiet in the Panhandle. In 2B-2, Chipley puts its 3-0 record on the line in a key district matchup at (Panama City) Bozeman. In Pensacola, it’s all about rivalries, as (Pensacola) Washington travels to Pensacola High. Meanwhile, Walton keeps it chugging with an easy home game against Vernon, and 2-1 (Pensacola) Pine Forest travels to 2-1 (Cantonment) Tate, which is riding a two-game win streak after giving up an eye-popping 400-plus yards to (Pensacola) Escambia RB Trent Richardson in Week 1. In fact, Richardson hasn’t done much since then. He has just 457 rushing yards in three games and was largely shut down last week against Pace, a 3-0 club that travels to Crestview on Friday.
In the Big Bend area, Blountstown will get a shot at knocking off district favorite Florida High, which is 3-0 and has won its last two games by a combined score of 84-6. Blountstown, 2-1, hasn’t scored much, with just five touchdowns in three games, including only one in a Week One 14-6 loss to Marianna. The loser of this 2B-2 game might still earn a playoff spot, but the task becomes more difficult in a district that also features Chipley.
(Tallahassee) FAMU travels to Cottondale Friday night for a matchup of 1-2 squads. FAMU is riding a rare two-game losing streak, but those losses were to very strong teams in (DeFuniak Springs) Walton and North Florida Christian, which has this week off. More than deciding District 1B-1, where (Monticello) Aucilla Christian is 3-0 after a trio of non-district games, FAMU’s matchup with Cottondale will have state ranking implications. They’ll be vying to reclaim elite status after falling behind (Deltona) Trinity Christian in our rankings.
In other Big Bend action, Madison County hosts Suwanee a week after defeating (Ponte Vedra Beach) Nease 15-14. This is a non-district game for Madison County, which has already had an open date and a game against a Georgia team.
Speaking of Georgia, (Tallahassee) Lincoln has its hands full this Friday with a game at Georgia powerhouse Valdosta. Lincoln, 3-0 thus far, already has climbed to the top of our 4A rankings, and here’s a chance to make even more noise.
Plus, (Crawfordville) Wakulla is in action Friday night at Rickards in the first 3A-2 matchup for both teams. This shapes up to be a yawner, but things will get more interesting in a few weeks. Wakulla travels to (Tallahassee) Godby on Oct. 18 in a game that likely will decide which team wins the district title and the home playoff game that comes with it. Godby, by the way, is at (Panama City) Bay in another 3A-2 game on Friday.
Jacksonville
(Jacksonville) Bolles, one of the top teams in 2A plays its first game without starting quarterback Davis Skinner, who was replaced during the 2-0 team’s most recent win against Orange Park. Bolles barely survived that one, claiming a 31-30 win at the end. Sophomore Chandler Carr takes over under center for the Bulldogs. Bolles travels to Ribault Friday night, so all eyes will be on Carr’s ability to handle the passing duties.
One of the area’s top games pits (Jacksonville) Raines against (Glen St. Mary) Baker County. This District 3A-3 matchup features two unbeaten teams. Both squads are 3-0, and they have allowed a combined six points, which were surrendered by
Ed White, which lost a big game to Raines last week, now has another tough one at First Coast on Friday night. Meanwhile, Fernandina Beach hosts Bradford at home, and Forrest hosts Wolfson in a key 4A-3 battle. Perhaps one of the more interesting games features 1-2 Sandalwood at Deltona, which has started the season 3-0 for the first time in school history. This is the Wolves’ opportunity to prove they’re worthy of a playoff spot in 6A-1, where a good Flagler Palm Coast team is the favorite to win. Plus, 3-0 Terry Parker is at Columbia.
After losing 17-10 to St. Augustine in Week 2, (Jacksonville) Bartram Trail bounced back last week with a shutout win against Ridgeview. Now, the team hosts an 0-3 Orange Park team that has lost its games by a combined 10 points, including a 31-30 loss to (Jacksonville) Bolles in Week 2.
Daytona Beach/Orlando/Space Coast
In Flagler county, Flagler Palm Coast hosts (Jacksonville) Mandarin in a key 6A-1 matchup. FPC is thought to be the cream of the 6A-1 crop, but they’ll have to prove it on the field Friday night.
In Daytona Beach, a rising (Deltona) Pine Ridge team does battle with a powerful (Daytona Beach) Mainland squad. We have Mainland, which hosts this week, ranked third in 5A, but the team is in position to rise to the top spot if Lakeland falls and No. 2 Lake Gibson struggles with (Gainesville) Buchholz. Of course, Pine Ridge is 2-1 and hungry to prove they’re an elite squad. Of course, Mainland has allowed just 16 points in three games, so the Bucs aren’t exactly faulty on defense.
Receiving a close look will be Friday’s (Daytona Beach) Seabreeze home game against Merritt Island. Behind QB Troy Dannehower, who has thrown for more than 500 yards and rushed for another 119 in the team’s 3-0 start, Seabreeze is a powerhouse. They also feature RB Leroy Houston, who has averaged almost 100 yards per game on the ground. The Sandcrabs, though, will have their hands full with 2-1 Merritt Island in a game that could set the tone in District 4A-7. Merritt Island is riding a two-game winning streak and only lost by a touchdown to a highly regarded (Melbourne) Palm Bay team in the season’s opening week. Worth noting is a reminder that Brian McLaughlin of the Daytona Beach News-Journal provided with his weekly preview of local games. Dannehower was knocked for a loop on a vicious late hit by a Merritt Island defender in last year’s game. The quarterback missed multiple games due to a concussion.
In Orlando, home of this year’s state championship games, the action heats up with several district games. In 6A-3, Evans hosts Edgewater in a game that will almost certainly decide the district championship. Edgewater is the heavy favorite, and they should have lots of motivation two weeks after losing to (Tallahassee) Lincoln.
An equally important district game pits (Altamonte Springs) Lake Brantley against a rising Winter Springs squad. Brantley is 2-1, with an opening-week loss to Apopka in a game decided in overtime.
The Bears are 3-0 and have allowed just seven points in the past two weeks. Not bad for a team that replaced more than two dozen seniors and a head coach from last year’s 4-6 team. Of course, without stepping on any toes, its important to remind folks that prognosticators often put far too much stock in the loss of average players and too little emphasis on the potential that comes with a new bunch of faces. After all, let’s not forget that Wally Pipp was an all-star for the New York Yankees before he was replaced by this guy.
For more from the area’s games, check out these abbreviated previews at the Orlando Sentinel’s Web site.
Tampa/St. Pete
In Tampa, there’s a big game on Friday night pitting Middleton against Hillsborough in a 4A-11 matchup. Both teams are playing second fiddle to a powerful Armwood team this fall, so this game potentially decides the district’s runner-up. Middleton is 2-1 after losing last week to Plant. Meanwhile, Hillsborough is 3-0 and hasn’t allowed a score since giving up 20 points in Week 1 to (Tampa) Jefferson. For more on the game, check out the Tampa Tribune’s coverage here.
District 4A-8 has two key battles this week. Tarpon Springs takes its 2-0 record to River Ridge, and Brooksville Central travels to Ridgewood. For more on those games and others in Pasco County, check this preview from the Tampa Tribune.
Boca Ciega traveled to Lakewood, and Gibbs hosted Dixie Hollins on Thursday night. Our TeamCard pages for Dunedin and Countryside feature photos from Dunedin’s 39-21 win on Thursday night. A’Darrius Bellamy had another big performance with 278 rushing yards. For more on that one, check out this Tampa Bay Tribune story.
Here are some other Thursday scores from the region:
East Lake 24, Clearwater 0
Dunedin 39, Countryside 21
Boca Ciega 12, Lakewood 3
Gibbs 31, Dixie Hollins 7
Largo 24, St. Petersburg 0
Pinellas Park 25, Seminole 13
Tonight, one of the bigger matchups has Clearwater Central Catholic facing 2-1 Harmony in a non-distrct game. CCC is 3-0, but they haven’t scored more than three times in any of their wins and escaped with a 15-14 victory in a Week 2 game at Tampa Catholic.
Fort Myers/Naples
Down in Fort Myers, our newest photographer, James Boyle, is heading over to Friday’s biggest game, which has Ida Baker facing Fort Myers, our No. 15 and No. 16 teams, in a 5A-12 game. Hey, we like to stoke fires, what can we say. Baker’s 3-0, as is Fort Myers. But it’s quite an improvement for Baker, which hadn’t won a game prior to the start of its third season on the grass. James says there’s quite a buzz about Baker’s big start, and Fort Myers senior QB Logan Hulsander has started a buzz, too. Hulsander has thrown for 548 yards and four touchdowns in just three games. That puts him on pace for about 2,000 passing yards. Baker RBs Joseph Byrd and David Liena will be leading their attack. They have combined for nearly 40o rushing yards in the Bulldogs’ three wins. For more on this one, check out this great video preview from the Fort Myers News-Press.
Also, you’ll find more information about Naples-area games by visiting the Naples Daily News report on Week 4 football. Among games featured are:
Golden Gate-Lely, Cypress Lakes-Lehigh, Gulf Coast-East Lee Co., Ester0-Mariner, South Fort Myers-Dunbar and Barron Collier-Palmetto Ridge. The area’s big Immokalee-Naples game had been scheduled for Thursday, but it has been moved to Saturday evening due to the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, which ends at sundown on Saturday.
Palm Beach/Treasure Coast
In 4A-14, the action heats tonight with a big Thursday rivalry game. The Palm Beach Post has the goods on this one, as Boca Raton travels to West Boca Raton in a matchup of 2-1 teams. Boca is coming off a win against Pope John Paul II. West Boca, meanwhile, suffered a setback last week with a 47-27 loss to Lake Worth. West Boca gave up seven scores in that game after allowing none the first two weeks of the season. West Boca’s Bulls claimed a 21-14 win last season.
Here is more newspaper preview coverage from the Treasure Coast region.
Miami/Broward
(Fort Lauderdale) Cardinal Gibbons faces a tough task this week with a home game tonight against 6A Coconut Creek, now 2-0. Gibbons has had an interesting start to the season. In its season-opening 24-13 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas, quarterback David Blackwell tore a knee ligament. As the Miami Herald reports in this full article on new starter Chris Shirripa, the Chiefs have been just fine. Of course, the defense has something to do with the team’s rebound, too. Gibbons hasn’t allowed a point in its last two games, and that means they might be able to win with me and my gimpy elbow behind center.
(Weston) Cypress Bay has (Mirmar) Parkway Academy, which is 1-2. Parkway gave (Stuart) Martin County a good run in last week’s 22-12 loss, and they scored a few times on Chaminade-Madonna in Week 2. Cypress Bay is up to No. 8 in our 6A rankings, but they’ll fall like rocks if they struggle this week.
If it’s running you crave, there should be plenty of it tonight at Monarch High over in Broward County. Monarch RB DeShaun Sands already has amassed 511 rushing yards and five touchdowns in just three games. Sands will be running against the (Parkland) Douglas defense.
In Miami, Fort Lauderdale hosts Booker T. Washington tonight, and Dr. Krop hosts Norland. There’s truly not much compelling about games in Miami, where several matchups were played on Wednesday. We’ll have a separate post this afternoon covering the outcome of those games.
The Rest of the State
Fort Meade is at (St. Petersburg) Northside Christian, a 4-0 team, in a District 1A-5 matchup. Fort Meade all but wraps up the district title with a win, but the same could be said for Northside Christian despite the team not having played any district games.
In another district matchup, (Wachula) Hardee should breeze to victory against Avon Park in 3A-12. Meanwhile, 2-1 Winter Haven follows last week’s loss to Lakeland with a home game against 1-2 (Groveland) South Lake in 4A-12.
In 2A-5, there’s an interesting game featuring The Villages at (Winter Park) Trinity Prep. The Villages was thought to be in rebuilding mode, but the team has gone 3-0 to start the season and now opens district play against a Trinity Prep team that has lost two games to good teams by a combined eight points. The winner could well be the eventual district champ.
In 1A-2, (Mayo) Lafayette faces Trenton in a game with playoff implications. Fellow 1A-2 team Branford is already 3-0 and faces (Brooksville) Central on Friday. Then there’s 3-0 Newberry facing Union County in 2B-4.
