SPCJESSICA2004’s 2015 Class 3A Preview
Football is a great sport to watch for the young, old, male and- yes guys, female. To me, high school football is the purest form of the sport and most exciting. This time every year reporters, websites, blogs and fans hype their favorite teams and tell us why a specific player or team is going to be better than last year. This year is no different- already we’ve heard about the star athletes at many schools not only in the Tampa area, but also around the state.
Class 3A is one of the hardest classifications to predict at this time of year for a plethora of reasons. Sure, teams won and lost their Spring games; however, Class 3A is over 95% Private School based. In the High School football world we live in of Street Agents, Recruiting and Social Media these teams all look vastly different than they did in Spring.
I do not base my predictions off College Prospects, Stars, Offers, Internet Hype or Spring game results. I base a lot of it off of Coaching, returning players (experience), general know-how, speaking with select coaches/fans to get honest-to-goodness opinion and most importantly female intuition.
Please note, these are NOT Pre-Season rankings, as they are more how I feel 3A will shape up over the course of the year.
#1 American Heritage Del-Ray Beach
Last year the Stallions advanced to the State-Championship game in Class 3A where they faced super-power Jacksonville Trinity Christian in a strong showing. American Heritage graduated a fair share of the players off of that team; however, they return, IMHO, the best player in Class 3A Devin Singletary. Singletary will be joined by new QB Cameron Smith, WR/DB DJ Davis (Younger brother of former Stallions QB Marcus Davis), a rapidly improving RB/WR/DB/S Rising Junior Alec Sinkfield and a sure-handed Bruce Hill at WR.
In the Spring, Heritage beat 8A Palm Beach Central 33-0 in a lightening shortend game where Singletary ran for 167 yards on 7 carries and 2 TD’s. It’s worth pointing out that Central graduated 28 seniors and was decimated due to transfers out of the program, still 167 on 7 carries is impressive no matter the opponents situation.
The Jess thinks: I don’t believe American Heritage is as Athletic as the 2014 State Runner-Up Version of the team. Last year’s team was a national Powerhouse. This year’s team is a more humble team. Right now, American Heritage is my pick to win the whole thing in 3A; however, it won’t be a rhomp. Their regular season schedule includes Naples, Bergen Catholic, Glades Central and a host of other quality teams. I truly believe that Devin Singletary is as good as Greg Bryant was a few years ago and while I think Cameron Smith is an upgrade over last year’s QB Warren Robinson and Trenard Davis, I still openly question American Heritage’s passing game. Of coarse, I also openly question any 3A team in 2015 slowing down Singletary.
#2 Jacksonville Trinity Christian Conquerors.
When it comes to dominating small school powerhouses in America, there aren’t many, if any, better than Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy. The Conqueror’s have won 2 consecutive Class 3A State Championships behind a blazing fast defense, a plethora of players now playing major division-1 football, a legendary high school football coach and a challenging schedule that features numerous ESPN telecasts. With a hefty graduating class that features a loss of 11 D-1 signees, the question is- how will the conqueror’s reload?
Coach Dominey is one of the best coaches in the State of Florida, his championship resume speaks for itself. Expectations will remain high and while the defense is going to be a work in progress, the offense should be in good shape right now. Led by exciting running back Jalen Buie and explosive QB Randall Cobb. The conquerors’ are going to have a strong 1-2 punch this year. Defensively, JaxTCA still has some hard hitters in…
The Jess thinks: I don’t believe JaxTCA will be a 10-0 team and they may be hard pressed to win 7 games; however, they are still the best team in the North of Class 3A. Two years ago Tampa Catholic gave JaxTCA all they wanted, and last year Ocala Trinity played JaxTCA very hard. JaxTCA’s schedule is just as difficult as American Heritage’s and features a few powerhouses such as Tallahasse Godby and Lincoln, a return date with small school power Ocala Trinity Catholic. The road to Orlando will most likely involve games against Pensacola Catholic and then whoever comes out of Region 2 (All of those teams are evenly matched right now).
#3 Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders
Injuries happen to everyone; however, the football gods have been particularly unkind to the Marauders the past two seasons. Last year the Marauders averaged 4 Starters out per game. By the time CCC got to play American Heritage in the final 4, they had more bodies on the sideline than in the game. So far in 2015, the Marauders luck hasn’t changed much. In their spring game loss to Clearwater, the Marauders were without the services of 15 players including rising Juniors CJ Cotman, Dilan Scargle and a host of linemen and back-ups. The 15 players do not include the transfers that have already made the move to CCC, including Air Force Committ John Chiramonte. In all, against Clearwater, the Marauders started a combination of 9 Freshmen on both sides of the ball yet still managed to lead almost the entire game before succumbing late.
I don’t think there’s a better cumulative Jr. athlete in 3A than CJ Cotman who led his team to a state championship game as a Freshmen and was even better his Sophomore year until an injury in round 2 of the playoffs. Right on CJ’s tail will be RB/CB/S Rising Junior Rashaad Stewart who really impressed in the Spring. The biggest hole will be left by QB Jeff Smith, taking his place will be 6’2 185lb rising QB Jakob Parks who played in 6 games last year for CCC. He’s not Jeff Smith, but with the amount of athletes around the program- he doesn’t need to be. The Marauders offensive line also looks be healthy with big-time D-1 Prospect 6’8 280 Adam Samee and 6’5 275 Dallas Bruch.
The Jess thinks: Despite the injury bug the past few seasons, the Marauders managed to go 11-2 against one of the tougher schedules in the state. With that said, I think the 2015 version, when healthy, will be better than the 2014 version as a whole.
The Marauders roster features a grand total of 9 seniors; however, I also feel that the Marauders have more athletes on this roster than even their 2005 and 2013 teams. CJ Cotman is already one of the top players in America as a Junior and on his heels are stars Rashaad Stewart, Amari Burny, Deandre Fitzhenly, Tyler McDonald and a host of others. The amazing thing is that all of these players are Sophomores and Juniors.
If you know CCC, you know they don’t build their schedule to go 10-0, I think this is why they’ve been the most consistent Central Florida Private school over the past 20 years. This year, the Marauders start the season on the road against brutal competition in the first 4 weeks. @ Berkeley Prep, @ 2A Runner-up Indian Rocks, @ Desoto County and a Must-See game against a strong Groveland South Lake that features DJ Allen. They also host powerhouse Ocala Trinity Catholic and have traditional rivalry games against Tampa Catholic and Cardinal Mooney.
If the Marauders are healthy (a Big If), I think they can go blow-for-blow with American Heritage in the South. I’ve given the nod this year to the Stallions until the Marauders can get through a game without somebody needing 5-6 weeks to recover. Still, the Marauders have won 3 consecutive Regional Championships, and I don’t see any reason why they don’t win a 4th in a row this year.
#4 Oxbridge Academy
If there’s a team that people want the 411 on more than Oxbridge, I can’t find them. The Thunderwolves are entering their first year of Classification football and Doug Socha already has a spring win over a strong Cocoa team under his belt. Leading the Thunderwolves will be Senior Travis Homer at running back, one of the more impressive running backs in Class 3A. QB Kyle Hollander at 6’3 215 will be a terror on opposing defenses and expect the plethora of WR’s and athletes the Thunderwolves have to really step up and lead this team.
The Thunderwolves have put together a competitive schedule thsi year that features Ft. Pierce Central, DeLand and Carol City. Of coarse, the game everyone wants to see is against American Heritage Del-Ray.
The Jess thinks: So, the question is- is Oxbridge already the team to beat in 3A? If this were 2017, I think the Thunderwolves would be the favorites. Doug Socha has put together a great program and with the athletes they are attracting it’s only a matter of time before the team skyrockets. That said, if you’re being realistic- I can’t put them above the top 3 teams as they are all more established and have strong teams returning themselves. #4 is the best I can do right now. And yes, I saw their ENTIRE game against Cocoa. I do think American Heritage is better than Oxbridge right now, and I think CCC is better than Oxbridge in 2016. For right now? I like the Thunderwolves, but it’s going to take more than a spring game win over a team that had their top 3 players out and who started 8 Freshmen for me to crown them 3A champions in August.
Football is a great sport to watch for the young, old, male and- yes guys, female. To me, high school football is the purest form of the sport and most exciting. This time every year reporters, websites, blogs and fans hype their favorite teams and tell us why a specific player or team is going to be better than last year. This year is no different- already we’ve heard about the star athletes at many schools not only in the Tampa area, but also around the state.
Class 3A is one of the hardest classifications to predict at this time of year for a plethora of reasons. Sure, teams won and lost their Spring games; however, Class 3A is over 95% Private School based. In the High School football world we live in of Street Agents, Recruiting and Social Media these teams all look vastly different than they did in Spring.
I do not base my predictions off College Prospects, Stars, Offers, Internet Hype or Spring game results. I base a lot of it off of Coaching, returning players (experience), general know-how, speaking with select coaches/fans to get honest-to-goodness opinion and most importantly female intuition.
Please note, these are NOT Pre-Season rankings, as they are more how I feel 3A will shape up over the course of the year.
#1 American Heritage Del-Ray Beach
Last year the Stallions advanced to the State-Championship game in Class 3A where they faced super-power Jacksonville Trinity Christian in a strong showing. American Heritage graduated a fair share of the players off of that team; however, they return, IMHO, the best player in Class 3A Devin Singletary. Singletary will be joined by new QB Cameron Smith, WR/DB DJ Davis (Younger brother of former Stallions QB Marcus Davis), a rapidly improving RB/WR/DB/S Rising Junior Alec Sinkfield and a sure-handed Bruce Hill at WR.
In the Spring, Heritage beat 8A Palm Beach Central 33-0 in a lightening shortend game where Singletary ran for 167 yards on 7 carries and 2 TD’s. It’s worth pointing out that Central graduated 28 seniors and was decimated due to transfers out of the program, still 167 on 7 carries is impressive no matter the opponents situation.
The Jess thinks: I don’t believe American Heritage is as Athletic as the 2014 State Runner-Up Version of the team. Last year’s team was a national Powerhouse. This year’s team is a more humble team. Right now, American Heritage is my pick to win the whole thing in 3A; however, it won’t be a rhomp. Their regular season schedule includes Naples, Bergen Catholic, Glades Central and a host of other quality teams. I truly believe that Devin Singletary is as good as Greg Bryant was a few years ago and while I think Cameron Smith is an upgrade over last year’s QB Warren Robinson and Trenard Davis, I still openly question American Heritage’s passing game. Of coarse, I also openly question any 3A team in 2015 slowing down Singletary.
#2 Jacksonville Trinity Christian Conquerors.
When it comes to dominating small school powerhouses in America, there aren’t many, if any, better than Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy. The Conqueror’s have won 2 consecutive Class 3A State Championships behind a blazing fast defense, a plethora of players now playing major division-1 football, a legendary high school football coach and a challenging schedule that features numerous ESPN telecasts. With a hefty graduating class that features a loss of 11 D-1 signees, the question is- how will the conqueror’s reload?
Coach Dominey is one of the best coaches in the State of Florida, his championship resume speaks for itself. Expectations will remain high and while the defense is going to be a work in progress, the offense should be in good shape right now. Led by exciting running back Jalen Buie and explosive QB Randall Cobb. The conquerors’ are going to have a strong 1-2 punch this year. Defensively, JaxTCA still has some hard hitters in…
The Jess thinks: I don’t believe JaxTCA will be a 10-0 team and they may be hard pressed to win 7 games; however, they are still the best team in the North of Class 3A. Two years ago Tampa Catholic gave JaxTCA all they wanted, and last year Ocala Trinity played JaxTCA very hard. JaxTCA’s schedule is just as difficult as American Heritage’s and features a few powerhouses such as Tallahasse Godby and Lincoln, a return date with small school power Ocala Trinity Catholic. The road to Orlando will most likely involve games against Pensacola Catholic and then whoever comes out of Region 2 (All of those teams are evenly matched right now).
#3 Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders
Injuries happen to everyone; however, the football gods have been particularly unkind to the Marauders the past two seasons. Last year the Marauders averaged 4 Starters out per game. By the time CCC got to play American Heritage in the final 4, they had more bodies on the sideline than in the game. So far in 2015, the Marauders luck hasn’t changed much. In their spring game loss to Clearwater, the Marauders were without the services of 15 players including rising Juniors CJ Cotman, Dilan Scargle and a host of linemen and back-ups. The 15 players do not include the transfers that have already made the move to CCC, including Air Force Committ John Chiramonte. In all, against Clearwater, the Marauders started a combination of 9 Freshmen on both sides of the ball yet still managed to lead almost the entire game before succumbing late.
I don’t think there’s a better cumulative Jr. athlete in 3A than CJ Cotman who led his team to a state championship game as a Freshmen and was even better his Sophomore year until an injury in round 2 of the playoffs. Right on CJ’s tail will be RB/CB/S Rising Junior Rashaad Stewart who really impressed in the Spring. The biggest hole will be left by QB Jeff Smith, taking his place will be 6’2 185lb rising QB Jakob Parks who played in 6 games last year for CCC. He’s not Jeff Smith, but with the amount of athletes around the program- he doesn’t need to be. The Marauders offensive line also looks be healthy with big-time D-1 Prospect 6’8 280 Adam Samee and 6’5 275 Dallas Bruch.
The Jess thinks: Despite the injury bug the past few seasons, the Marauders managed to go 11-2 against one of the tougher schedules in the state. With that said, I think the 2015 version, when healthy, will be better than the 2014 version as a whole.
The Marauders roster features a grand total of 9 seniors; however, I also feel that the Marauders have more athletes on this roster than even their 2005 and 2013 teams. CJ Cotman is already one of the top players in America as a Junior and on his heels are stars Rashaad Stewart, Amari Burny, Deandre Fitzhenly, Tyler McDonald and a host of others. The amazing thing is that all of these players are Sophomores and Juniors.
If you know CCC, you know they don’t build their schedule to go 10-0, I think this is why they’ve been the most consistent Central Florida Private school over the past 20 years. This year, the Marauders start the season on the road against brutal competition in the first 4 weeks. @ Berkeley Prep, @ 2A Runner-up Indian Rocks, @ Desoto County and a Must-See game against a strong Groveland South Lake that features DJ Allen. They also host powerhouse Ocala Trinity Catholic and have traditional rivalry games against Tampa Catholic and Cardinal Mooney.
If the Marauders are healthy (a Big If), I think they can go blow-for-blow with American Heritage in the South. I’ve given the nod this year to the Stallions until the Marauders can get through a game without somebody needing 5-6 weeks to recover. Still, the Marauders have won 3 consecutive Regional Championships, and I don’t see any reason why they don’t win a 4th in a row this year.
#4 Oxbridge Academy
If there’s a team that people want the 411 on more than Oxbridge, I can’t find them. The Thunderwolves are entering their first year of Classification football and Doug Socha already has a spring win over a strong Cocoa team under his belt. Leading the Thunderwolves will be Senior Travis Homer at running back, one of the more impressive running backs in Class 3A. QB Kyle Hollander at 6’3 215 will be a terror on opposing defenses and expect the plethora of WR’s and athletes the Thunderwolves have to really step up and lead this team.
The Thunderwolves have put together a competitive schedule thsi year that features Ft. Pierce Central, DeLand and Carol City. Of coarse, the game everyone wants to see is against American Heritage Del-Ray.
The Jess thinks: So, the question is- is Oxbridge already the team to beat in 3A? If this were 2017, I think the Thunderwolves would be the favorites. Doug Socha has put together a great program and with the athletes they are attracting it’s only a matter of time before the team skyrockets. That said, if you’re being realistic- I can’t put them above the top 3 teams as they are all more established and have strong teams returning themselves. #4 is the best I can do right now. And yes, I saw their ENTIRE game against Cocoa. I do think American Heritage is better than Oxbridge right now, and I think CCC is better than Oxbridge in 2016. For right now? I like the Thunderwolves, but it’s going to take more than a spring game win over a team that had their top 3 players out and who started 8 Freshmen for me to crown them 3A champions in August.
