Football relevance/dominance is generally a cyclical thing. Yes, at the college level, there are generally a handful of teams that dominate the landscape "forever." Not really though, it just seems that way. In the pros, due to the way the draft is set up, this is far less the case, despite periodic dominance by teams like New England (in more recent times), or the Packers in ancient times Golden Ages are generally absent.
At the high school level, in Florida, with the exception of a handful of private schools like STA and Bolles, which have both the resources and philosophy to dominate year in and year out, this is not the case at all. Even the public schools that come from talent rich areas, for example Madison County in North Florida, Glades Central in rural Palm Beach County, or some of the Dade County inner city schools such as Northwestern and Central have their periods of dominance followed by relative under performance. On the other end of the spectrum, some schools tend to be good year in and year out, but are seldom, if ever, able to get over the hump. While many never get the opportunity to go deep in the playoffs at all.
Prior to to Rick Darlington becoming the head coach at Apopka High, the school's football program had one period of regional relevance during the Chip Gierke era which spanned from 1978 till, I believe, 1995. While Apopka football improved tremendously during Gierke's tenure, the best the school could do was a trip to the State Semi-finals. Yes, there were more than a few 10-0 regular seasons, but a State Title remained elusive.
This is what makes Darlington's tenure so remarkable. For while Apopka has grown in size a lot over the years, since the integration of the school in the early 1970s, its demographics really have not changed that much. Therefore, to my way of thinking the single most important element in Apopka taking the next step from decent regional program to State Championship caliber team is Mr. Darlington. No, he is not perfect. And over the years, I myself have questioned some of what he did on offense, defense and special teams.. However, credit must be given where credit is due. And, it is unequivocally due here.
Coach Darlington, I don't know if you even still read this board anymore (its been a long time since the Beast posted). However,as an Apopka fan, I wanted to say thank you for fourteen wonderful seasons. In particular, the last three have been more than any reasonable person could have asked. Like everything human phenomenon this too will end. For you will move on either through going the college route or through retirement. But before that happens, I wanted to extend my gratitude and appreciation for giving the little town of Apopka its Golden Age.
Thanks, Coach; and Hoka Hey.
This post was edited on 1/5 8:47 AM by DarterBlue2
At the high school level, in Florida, with the exception of a handful of private schools like STA and Bolles, which have both the resources and philosophy to dominate year in and year out, this is not the case at all. Even the public schools that come from talent rich areas, for example Madison County in North Florida, Glades Central in rural Palm Beach County, or some of the Dade County inner city schools such as Northwestern and Central have their periods of dominance followed by relative under performance. On the other end of the spectrum, some schools tend to be good year in and year out, but are seldom, if ever, able to get over the hump. While many never get the opportunity to go deep in the playoffs at all.
Prior to to Rick Darlington becoming the head coach at Apopka High, the school's football program had one period of regional relevance during the Chip Gierke era which spanned from 1978 till, I believe, 1995. While Apopka football improved tremendously during Gierke's tenure, the best the school could do was a trip to the State Semi-finals. Yes, there were more than a few 10-0 regular seasons, but a State Title remained elusive.
This is what makes Darlington's tenure so remarkable. For while Apopka has grown in size a lot over the years, since the integration of the school in the early 1970s, its demographics really have not changed that much. Therefore, to my way of thinking the single most important element in Apopka taking the next step from decent regional program to State Championship caliber team is Mr. Darlington. No, he is not perfect. And over the years, I myself have questioned some of what he did on offense, defense and special teams.. However, credit must be given where credit is due. And, it is unequivocally due here.
Coach Darlington, I don't know if you even still read this board anymore (its been a long time since the Beast posted). However,as an Apopka fan, I wanted to say thank you for fourteen wonderful seasons. In particular, the last three have been more than any reasonable person could have asked. Like everything human phenomenon this too will end. For you will move on either through going the college route or through retirement. But before that happens, I wanted to extend my gratitude and appreciation for giving the little town of Apopka its Golden Age.
Thanks, Coach; and Hoka Hey.
This post was edited on 1/5 8:47 AM by DarterBlue2
