Pickem Contest for 4S Classification and 3S Classifications

[gatorman001]

I guess the way we'll do this is as follows:
1.) Contest will run for the duration of the playoffs until a state Champ is determined for 4S and 3S Classifications.
2.) All entries must be submitted each week of the playoffs by 5:00pm eastern standard time on Friday, except for the Championship games
3.) Championship games entries must be submitted by midnight the day before the Championship game is played
4.) Entries for all playoff games through the semi-finals will be strictly pick the winner for each game
5.) The Championship games for 4S and 3S will require picking the winner of each game as well as total points scored for each game.
6.) The individual selecting the largest number of correct winners over the duration of the playoffs, will be declared the Florida Varsity Pickem Champ for 2023!
a.) In the event of a tie, the tie breaker will be based on who guesses closet to the over-all number of points scored for the 4S& 3S Championship games

7.) Grand Prize Winner will receive the following:
a.) Florida High School affiliated Tee-Shirt of the Grand Prize winner's choice
b.) $25 gift card to Beef O Brady's

* If this meets everyone's approval I will move forward with posting this coming week's scheduled games?

 

[gatorman001]

Going to need at least 5-6 individuals to indicate they'll participate in this, for me to move forward.........so far I just have 1.... I know we have way more than 1 voyeur for just this thread, so that would lead me to believe we should have enough to get 5-6 individuals to do a pickem contest?

 

[MarkECannon]

I’m in gatorman001

 

[gatorman001]

I’m in gatorman001

Thanks Mark!

Looking for at least 2 more and we'll do a Pickem.....

Last time we all got together with Silver at Beefs, we talked briefly about increased mortality rates both nationally and world wide. Read a report this week, where the Insurance industry collectively despite decreases in covid related deaths...is still experiencing 7-15% increases in mortality rates and expects them to remain above average through 2030. The article was looking primarily into the insurance industry long term viability, rather than attempting to attribute increased mortality rates to any specific cause........

 

[gatorman001]

Going to need at least 5-6 individuals to indicate they'll participate in this, for me to move forward.........so far I just have 1.... I know we have way more than 1 voyeur for just this thread, so that would lead me to believe we should have enough to get 5-6 individuals to do a pickem contest?

Thanks TWC2499, looking for 2 more and we'll do a pickem!

 

[gatorman001]

I guess the way we'll do this is as follows:
1.) Contest will run for the duration of the playoffs until a state Champ is determined for 4S and 3S Classifications.
2.) All entries must be submitted each week of the playoffs by 5:00pm eastern standard time on Friday, except for the Championship games
3.) Championship games entries must be submitted by midnight the day before the Championship game is played
4.) Entries for all playoff games through the semi-finals will be strictly pick the winner for each game
5.) The Championship games for 4S and 3S will require picking the winner of each game as well as total points scored for each game.
6.) The individual selecting the largest number of correct winners over the duration of the playoffs, will be declared the Florida Varsity Pickem Champ for 2023!
a.) In the event of a tie, the tie breaker will be based on who guesses closet to the over-all number of points scored for the 4S& 3S Championship games

7.) Grand Prize Winner will receive the following:
a.) Florida High School affiliated Tee-Shirt of the Grand Prize winner's choice
b.) $25 gift card to Beef O Brady's

* If this meets everyone's approval I will move forward with posting this coming week's scheduled games?

Thanks JonNHS, looking for 2 more and we'll do a pickem

 

[MarkECannon]

gatorman001, would you like us to give our picks on this thread?

 

[gatorman001]

I'm a little disappointed in the response......just 3 counting yourself, Was looking for 5-6, so I'd just suggest going over to the Florida High School site and participate in theirs as due to lack of interest I will not be doing a Pickem here.

 

[MarkECannon]

I have someone who agreed to participate. I will get at least 1 probably 2 more.

 

[MarkECannon]

Contest or no contest here are my picks.
4S
BUCH, CREEK, NICE, BT, LAKE, BAR, LMINN, WIRE, TC, HER, UNI, DEL, VEN, IMM, MAN, RIV

3S
AUGIE, ESC, LIN, CHOC, VAN, CCREEK, LW, LEES, MAIN, ROCK, EAU, SEB, GGATE, FMY, NAP, PCHAR

Not too scientific. I’m sure there are 1 or 2 picks that are just horrible due to lack of knowledge or just being lazy.

 

[MarkECannon]

For the record I went 28-4.

My losses were:
Veto Beach over Heritage
Ponte Vedra over Creekside
Zephyrhills over Cypress Creek
Dunbar over Fort Myers

 

[Silver King]

Due to lack of participation and an incredible 28-4 record, you are the winner of this contest. We need go no further. No one was catching you anyway.

 

[MarkECannon]

Picks for Round 2
4S
BUCH, BTRAIL, LAKELAND, LWALES, TCOAST, DLAND, VEN, MANT

3S
AUGIE, CHOCT, VANG, LWALES, MAIN, SEB, GGATE, NAP

Posted late picked before kickoff🙂

 

[MarkECannon]

Went 14-2
2 losses were
Sarasota Riverview over Manatee Fighting gatorman001s
Dunbar over Golden Gate

Believe it or not these were the 2 games I felt the least confident. Dunbar has burned me twice.

 

[Silver King]

Went 14-2
2 losses were
Sarasota Riverview over Manatee Fighting gatorman001s
Dunbar over Golden Gate

Believe it or not these were the 2 games I felt the least confident. Dunbar has burned me twice.

They find a way to win this season.

Man I was shocked at Port Charlotte / Naples. I almost went to see that one, but did date night with the wife.

I was checking scores and saw the Pirates Offense kept pace the first half, but that talented D-line must have got manhandled. That Naples RB broke a state playoff record with 7 TD's. The Eagle's OL must be beasts. I saw a few clips and 77 looked like one of those military fortified bulldozers they keep showing clearing debris from streets in Gaza.

 

[MarkECannon]

With a record 42-6 after 2 Rounds here are this weeks picks.

4S
BUCHHOLZ, LAKELAND, DELAND, VENICE

3S
ST. AUGUSTINE, LAKE WALES, MAINLAND, NAPLES

*Buchholz has become a magnet for good players in Gainesville (where I will be Saturday night)
*Haven’t seen Lakeland so I don’t know the talent level of their incoming transfers this year🙂
*I have faith in the Sexy Beast that Deland will prevail.
*Saw Riverview play Venice in the regular season. It did not appear that Riverview had enough offense to beat them.
*Spoke to 307Mac about St. Augustine. He told me their Junior QB’s father is a QB guru that trains them for the Combine and Pro Days. Brock Purdy was a client.
* Saw Lake Wales play last week. Defense is nasty. If their QB throws with better accuracy than he did in that game they will be a tough out. By the way they are on a 26 game winning streak.
*Another great defense for Mainland. If their offense produces they will advance.
*Please Naples, don’t let Dunbar burn me 3 times.

 

[MarkECannon]

In this game of solitaire pickem I went 6-2. My total after 3 rounds is 48-8. The next round I should take the 2 games that I am the least confident in and pick the team I think will win to lose.

My two losses were:
* Vanguard demolishing Lake Wales. Hilltopper fans finally get served a dose of humility. Great undefeated streak comes to an end.
* Dadgum Dunbar! I should pick you next week.

 

[MarkECannon]

The state semifinals are many times the best games. These games are where the winner of a pickem contest finally separates from the pack. Both teams in each game are usually of high quality.

Here are my picks this week.
LAKELAND beats BUCHHOLZ
VENICE beats DELAND
ST AUGUSTINE beats DUNBAR
VANGUARD beats MAINLAND

* I wanted to pick Buchholz but caved and took the Dreadnaughts.
*. Wanted to pick the Sexy Beast but caved and took the Tribe.
* If the Yellow Jackets don’t eliminate Dunbar I’m going to buy and wear a Dunbar Tiger T-shirt.
* Vanguard seems to be peaking at the right time.

The only game I am very confident in is my pick Augie over Dunbar. Some people never learn.

 

[Silver King]

Dunbar done did some brackets in. I watched the highlights w Naples, interesting game, That KO returner did a subtle little deek, like he was going to pitch it in desperation, to make the one guy who had a legit shot of tackling him whiff.

 

[MarkECannon]

Went 3-1 last night for an overall total of 51-9.

Winners were:
*Lakeland in a very close game.
*Venice manhandled Deland. Thought about driving down for this game so I could see Deland. Glad I didn’t.
*St. Augustine in a tougher game than the final score indicated. Spoke to 307mac during the 2nd half. He said Dunbar’s defense was legit with a lot of speed (where have you heard that before). He said Dunbar having to play too many players on both sides was causing fatigue.
Loser:
*My pick of shame. Sorry Dan. Mainland must have been playing possum against Laz’s Lake Mary a month ago.

 

[MarkECannon]

With my 85% winning percentage for the 3S & 4S classes, I think the two best matchups are in these classes. I will pick those 2 games and make picks for the rest of the classes.

3S MAINLAND over ST. AUGUSTINE
Mainland lost this title game last year to Lake Wales. I think that experience will help them this year. I hope 307mac doesn’t see this pick.

4S VENICE over LAKELAND
This is a rematch from last year’s title game. I see the Indians getting their revenge.

Here are the rest the title game picks.

1R. HAWTHORNE over MADISON COUNTY
Hawthorne has been ranked in the state of Florida. We’re talking poll for the whole state.
1M CHAMINADE MADONNA over CLEARWATER CENTRAL CATHOLIC
Great season for CCC but Chaminade is one of the most talented teams in the country.
1S CARDINAL MOONEY over TRINITY CATHOLIC
Sentimental pick since I grew up in Sarasota. They have a player committed to the Gators. Trinity Catholic used to be a powerhouse back in the day. Good to see them back.
2M MIAMI NORLAND over BERKELEY PREP
Norland beat Miami Central. Nuff said.
2S COCOA over Bradford (STARKE)
Cocoa is a solid favorite here.
3M. ST THOMAS AQUINAS over HOMESTEAD
Need I explain?
4M COLUMBUS over MANDARIN
Will be pulling for Mandarin because their junior QB, Tramell Jones, is committed to FSU🙂

 

[gatorman001]

4M - I'll take Mandarin over Columbus - This is a rematch of the 2019 8A state title game that Mandarin won 37-35. This year's Mandarin team on offense has 2 players that have rushed for over 1000 yards, and a QB that has passed for almost 3000 yards. I watched Columbus play twice this year (against CAI and then last week's game against Tampa Plant), wasn't particularly impressed with them either time. Felt Plant was a team that benefitted from the new classifications, as they probably don't even make it out of region play under the old classification setup to kind of put that semi-final game in perspective. Columbus beat Plant 27-7. Both of Columbus's loses came against teams that will also be playing for state titles Homestead & Norland

On defense Mandarin has a absolute DOG at MLB #7 Jackson Copeland with 129 tackles, #8 OLB Israel Ratliff with 104 tackles, and #21 DE Grant Pettigrew with 101 tackles. Collectively this group has 63 tackles for losses. Not all that far behind is # 11 FS Drake Stubbs with 84 tackles and a team leading 6 INT's. As a team Mandarin just seems to peeking at the right time, and is positioned to see its crescendo for the state title game! - * Wrong by alot on this one 38-19 Columbus, Columbus took advantage of Mondrian's over aggressiveness on defense.

4S - I'll take Venice over Lakeland - A rematch of last year's state title game that Lakeland won 21-14. Venice on offense is a team that can be both physical as well as play with finesse. I wouldn't be too surprised with Bill Castle no longer on the Lakeland sideline, to see Peacock push the gas on the Venice engine and have this Venice team running at maximum rpm's until the final seconds on the time clock have clicked off. I see this as a game similar to the 1993 Southridge vs Manatee state title game where Don Sollinger got his payback putting 63 points on Manatee, for the 1983 state title loss to Manatee where he felt his team should have won.....Peacock feels much the same about last year's loss to Lakeland in the title game. - *Wrong, well we had over 100 points scored, but it was Lakeland that put the 60 points up not Venice. 60-48 Lakeland wins!

3M- STA over Homestead - another rematch of last year's state title game that STA won 38-21. I see Homestead like last year keeping it close initially, only to see STA pull away in the second half. - * Correct STA doesn't pull away this time, jumps out to a 17-0 only to hold on for a 31-28 win.


3S - ST Augustine in a close one over Mainland - Mainland has the star power on defense, I just feel a little better about the ST Augustine over-all resume. I believe like last year's 3S title game, this one will be one of the better games in Tallahassee this weekend -* Wrong - Mainland kicks a field goal as the clocks hits zero to win 21-19

2M - Norland crushes Berkley Prep ( I would have rather seen a Norland versus Cocoa championship here, it would have been a classic!) - * Wrong Berkley pulls perhaps the upset of these 2023 state finals 28-20

2S - Cocoa easily all over Bradford - not much to say about this game, Cocoa is one of the top 4 in the state and should be undefeated if not for being screwed over in FT Lauderdale by officials earlier in the season in a loss to STA - * Correct, Wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but Cocoa won 20-6

1M - Chaminade in a yawner over CCC - * Correct 56-0 Chaminade win

1S - Cardinal Mooney over Trinity - Sarasota County for the 1st time in County history, crowns 2 state Champs in football the same year! - * Correct Cardinal Mooney win's its 2nd state title exactly 51 years ago to th day 31-27

1R - Hawthorne over Madison - just because I never liked the way Madison Co has manipulated its student population to avoid playing in larger classifications over the years -* Correct 22-13 Hawthorne wins

 

[Broadway Joe]

Lakeland will win.

 

[Silver King]

I gotta go with the Indians having just enough Offense

 

[MarkECannon]

Watched practically the whole game on TV. Norland turned the ball over 3 times and had a TD called back because of blocking in the back penalty in the first half.

Berkeley won the game legitimately. The Buccaneers were impressive. Well coached and talented. Norland was definitely not what I thought they were going to be.

My pickems just took it’s first L. Happy a Tampa team won and I was pulling for them. On the flip side the public school side of me was pulling for Norland. The privates are continuing to seize control of the state. Question, I don’t know the answer to this question but I can look it up on the FHSAA website. When was the last time the Dade and/or Broward public schools failed to win a state championship?

I looked it up and it was 2008.

 

[gatorman001]

Watched practically the whole game on TV. Norland turned the ball over 3 times and had a TD called back because of blocking in the back penalty in the first half.

Berkeley won the game legitimately. The Buccaneers were impressive. Well coached and talented. Norland was definitely not what I thought they were going to be.

My pickems just took it’s first L. Happy a Tampa team won and I was pulling for them. On the flip side the public school side of me was pulling for Norland. The privates are continuing to seize control of the state. Question, I don’t know the answer to this question but I can look it up on the FHSAA website. When was the last time the Dade and/or Broward public schools failed to win a state championship?

I looked it up and it was 2008.

I loved the offense, I know I saw them line up in a deep I set but what about the 3 back set (looked like a traditional I with a off set back, just want to know what's that called?) Then Berkley had a freshman out there at QB, and the 2 main backs are juniors. I didn't realize until today they beat Riverview during the regular season too...wow!

I'll be honest if I were a head coach, I'd run a base I with some traditional shot gun mixed in.......I've always loved having a FB, running the quick dive, toss sweeps, counters and option........remember when the cowboys back in the 70's 1st introduced the shotgun?

 

[MarkECannon]

My final result for the 4S & 3S was 52-10. Mainland wins at the buzzer. A win.
Joe Broadway was right. Lakeland trounced Venice. A loss.

For the finals I went 7-2. The other loss, as gatorman001 stated, Berkeley Prep came up with the upset of the finals beating Norland. I was feeling good about myself Friday night at 6-0 and then Saturday happened☹️

 

[gatorman001]

I was a very average 5-4 for the finals.

I mentioned last week with Venice's that its Achilles heel was its run defense, what I watched last night gave me flashbacks of LSU running that counter play on the Gators a couple of year back over and over again and the Gators never finding a answer for it.......so it was for Lakeland last night, with its one armed QB. All he could do was hand the ball off and that's exactly what Lakeland did for over 400 yards rushing yards! It led me to have more respect for the Buchholz team, Lakeland defeated last week 21-20. I believe Lakeland barely rushed for a little over 100 yards last week on the Buchholz defense. Lakeland to me also exposed the Venice QB, as not being all that, when he cant just run that controlled offense with its 5 - 8 yard routes all game long.

Venice has a lot coming back and I watched their JV team absolutely destroy Manatee's JV this year.....with a freshman TB (that looked like he already possessed a varsity body) and a WR that looked to be in the 6'3" to 6'5" range that caught everything thrown his way. To say nothing about the kids they'll have coming back....wondering in my mind what part of the state Peacock will go to find his new QB for next year?

Till next year!

 

[Silver King]

You called the shot again, Joe!

 

[Broadway Joe]

If it comes down to Lakeland and Venice again, it doesn't matter. Too much speed. Lakeland kids live for the State Championship spotlight.

 

[Silver King]

A buddy who coached against them 30 years ago in Polk said the same thing about their athletes to me Friday night.

We get the occasional freaks in SWFL, but just don't have those numbers in counties, south along the West Coast, like the dominant teams with younger populations in cities to draw from.

From Sarasota south its retirement communities. Like I told the STA cat when the Tarpons upset them; Charlotte County with one of the highest aged population in America had more WWII Silver Star recipients than Blue Chip Athletes.

 

[Broadway Joe]

That sounds like a wise fella you are hanging out with. Polk County is one of the hidden gems in the USA for footballers!

 

[gatorman001]

If it comes down to Lakeland and Venice again, it doesn't matter. Too much speed. Lakeland kids live for the State Championship spotlight.

Funny you should say that,I recall going up to Lakeland the week after they upset Manatee 19-14 (1984 in the playoffs), and running into Tom Broome (was at the time the coach of the youth league all-star football team manatee mustangs). Lakeland was facing Pensacola Woodham in the semi finals, Woodhaven was handling Lakeland on its way to the state title.....Tom specifically mentioned to me Woodham had to much over-all team spend for Lakeland that night. Made the trip the following week to Pensacola to watch the championship game between them and Southridge. Was at the encouragement of some Woodham folks I stayed for the 3A championship game to watch Escambia play St Pete,to see a super soph at TB for Escambia! Also Kinnan also had a rather commanding number of wins versus losses over Bill Castle's Dreadnaughts....

I felt Peacock had a fairly arrogant attitude throughout the regular season and playoffs. And felt it finally caught up to him via his team preparedness for the game from a physical and mental standpoint.

 

[Manatee Magic]

^ Proofread that.

 

[Broadway Joe]

Does Manatee still play in FHSAA?

 

[gatorman001]

Does Manatee still play in FHSAA?

Manatee admin and it's powerful booster organization prioritize a successful season by having more wins than losses and potentially a 1st and/or second round appearance in the playoffs.

 

[Manatee Magic]

Christ, how do you know all this stuff?

 

[gatorman001]

Christ, how do you know all this stuff?

16 hours ago, Manatee Magic said:
I know our attendance looks awfully light. There was a time in the 90s when if we had a home playoff game, it was pretty darn crowded. Now the place is like half-empty. Even the band is like 1/4th the size it used to be. The magic is GONE.

The Answer you Got-->For now. But things run in cycles. Manatee has talent in the area. If you rebuild it, they will come.

* Did you consider this past season, year 3 under Jaquez's leadership a rebuild year? Did you feel this year's team lacked talent? Did this team meet the goals you felt it capable of achieving at the end of the season? Last season I don't know if you recall, but there was a issue with blocking at the center position. Trouble was the kid that did a better job blocking, was terrible with the center snap. In my mind because blocking at the line of scrimmage is so important, if the center snap is a issue, with the QB not under center......you move the Damn QB under center. You know what I was told, when I questioned why that wasn't done and instead Green elected to just settle with bad blocking to ensure a good center snap? "Green felt it would negatively impact offensive play calling".....My response was are you friggin kidding me? I immediately recalled 5-10 situations where Joe made changes during a season to the offense, when situations would arise that required personnel changes, even if it meant altering offensive philosophy......But with Green, 1/2 arsed excuses like this are just shoulder shrugged accepted. (That's just one example)

* Actually attendance at the games was off the charts pretty much from the 80's - 2010's. I remember coming down around 2010 -2012 for a regular season game from GA for a Palmetto game, and having to park off of 8th Ave W and 38th street there were so many folks there! So the reality with attendance is its more a recent issue than one that went south after the 90's.

The Magic isn't gone, Manatee is just going through a period of over-all bad leadership, until changes are made nothing will change!

 

[Manatee Magic]

You've always sounded pretty knowledgeable on here. Have you ever thought of tryna become a coach?

 

[gatorman001]

Christ, how do you know all this stuff?

You've always sounded pretty knowledgeable on here. Have you ever thought of tryna become a coach?

There was a time (1993-1995) when I 1st transferred to Athens, Ga, where I played around with idea of attempting to see what it would take to get into a graduate assistant program at UGA. Even went as far as taking the SAT equivalent of a college entrance exam one morning after my USPS shift ended at the Clark-Howell building at UGA and applied for entrance as a non-traditional student at UGA.....(which I passed and was accepted). Divorce happened not soon after however, was suddenly faced with number of financial realities that were going to require even more time at earning income, and I guess you could say i let that dream slip away.
I would have needed a education at the university level as I obviously didn't play football at the colligate level as my athletic ability never came close to my love of the game. I would have ultimately wanted to be a head coach, would of course required working through the step by step process of being a assistant 1st........

Made the decision to enter into management with the field I worked in with USPS and when I retired was the District Manager for all Mail Acceptance operations in the Atlanta District. I had 143 acceptance offices, 23 Detached Mail Units, a staff of almost 50 that assisted with oversight of a operation that generated almost 1 billion dollars of revenue on a annual basis for the Atlanta District. There were to me a lot of parallels with that job that I felt would have been applicable to running a football program, that in reflection has made me feel I would have been highly successful as a head coach......my only negative attribute would have been, not ever being politically correct. There were many that didn't like me for that, but many more that loved me for it as I continually received call from folks in Washington DC, seeking my insights/ evaluations on programs, and individuals......I guess you could say I was a no BS, tell it like it was and tended to be right on most things!

I wasn't keen on the Green hire when it happen, as I had already took a deep dive into his resume when Shakir brought him in as a OC. I wasn't impressed at all with what he had done as a OC in Leon County and after year 1 at Manatee as the OC felt I was completely justified with my sentiments. I find Green's approach offensively unyielding and/or unimaginative, I don't believe he's a very good field general.....and while I wont go as far as saying lazy, I don't believe he's a driven man. I believe the folks heading up the boosters, have gone to great lengths to support and prop him up. Give you a example: This past year when the different venues did a area pre-season show, I found it interesting and/or ironic that when Green was to do his segment of answering media questions, there was the booster club president feeding him questions, instead of members of the media like everyone other head coach had done previously or afterwards. That was very telling for me, in as far as understanding what's going on beneath the surface.

Since joe was removed by the school board, I believe Manatee's best coach was Jon Booth, Booth unfortunately lacked in as far as understanding and/or was unwilling to put the work in, needed to keep the program viable long term. I was told when Green was hired, "Tom you have to understand we just didn't get any real good applicants" more less the pickens were slim. In retrospect I feel it was selection made in haste and basic desperation............It caused me to not have much respect for the evaluators that were involved in as far as their ability to actually evaluate.

I have good time going to the games and talking to folks. Some parents, some long time fans. I ask questions, I listen to their answers and watch folks around me during the games.......learn alot that way. Go back and listen to the guys that do the radio broadcast, its always interesting listening to how they react during the games as decisions are made or events unfold......One tends to become vocal about his frustration on things during the game, while they other tends to always put forth his best possible spin on things.....not going to mention names as to who....... but the podcasts for all the games are on the Manateefootball website, if you got time go back and just listen