TCA vs AHD
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Both teams have played competitive schedules, both teams have strong division 1 talent and both have excellent coaching.
The difference is that JaxTCA has been rolling around, while American Heritage has been in survival mode the past 3 weeks against Westminster, Oxbridge and CCC.
American Heritage is a worthy opponent and will represent the south of 3A well, but, lets be honest- JaxTCA can match Heritage's athletes and still have room to spare. I'm going with JaxTCA by 21+.
The difference is that JaxTCA has been rolling around, while American Heritage has been in survival mode the past 3 weeks against Westminster, Oxbridge and CCC.
American Heritage is a worthy opponent and will represent the south of 3A well, but, lets be honest- JaxTCA can match Heritage's athletes and still have room to spare. I'm going with JaxTCA by 21+.
I just hope the coaches for TCA can keep them hungry (not that they need and excuse not to be) but they have breezed thru the play offs so far. I just hope if and when on Saturday they get punched in the mouth they can respond. As you mentioned AHD has had to battle their way thru the play offs and will be ready for war. I also hope AHD is healthy as I know one or two of them has been banged up a little with ankle issues. But I may need to be careful with what I hope for. Thanks as always with your to the point insight on 3A football.
I would like to have had them tested more before Saturdays game. Not saying that in a negative way by no means. TC had put up a lot of good numbers and had some athletes also. I think their strengths ran into our strengths. UC put up a good game this year for 3 qtrs. It seems like Godby, Lincoln were down a little this year. With West Orange we must have got them on a let down game after their big win over DP I believe. Pensacola Catholic Beat us 1st round 3 years ago but evidently lost a lot to graduation last year and were down. We will lose a lot to graduation this year. It comes in cycles.
Looking forward to the game on Saturday. Obviously, anything can happen in a championship game and I look for this one to be pretty close. AHD is a very familiar opponent for TCJax, and I think the game will come down to a few keys.
1- Will AHD be able to run on the TC defense and control the ball / clock. The TCJax offense is very difficult to deal with as they run and pass with a balanced attack. If TCJax gets up early, it may force AHD to become one dimensional and expose their QB to pressure. If, however, AHD is able to hold the ball on long drives and shorten the game, it may make this a very close contest. No one, including West Orange, has been able to run the ball consistently on TCJax so it will be interesting to see how AHD fares. They normally have a very good ground game.
2- Will AHD have to play some of their key playmakers both ways to contain TCJax on offense. - If so, the depth of TCJax may prove to be an edge for the Conquerors.
3- Penalties / Officiating
Jess - Nice call on the final two 3A teams left standing. I had Oxbridge vs. TCJax, but it looks like a last minute "hail mary" by AHD ruined my bracket. Question for you - how do you compare this AHD team with the team we faced last year in the title game? Just interested to hear your thoughts...
1- Will AHD be able to run on the TC defense and control the ball / clock. The TCJax offense is very difficult to deal with as they run and pass with a balanced attack. If TCJax gets up early, it may force AHD to become one dimensional and expose their QB to pressure. If, however, AHD is able to hold the ball on long drives and shorten the game, it may make this a very close contest. No one, including West Orange, has been able to run the ball consistently on TCJax so it will be interesting to see how AHD fares. They normally have a very good ground game.
2- Will AHD have to play some of their key playmakers both ways to contain TCJax on offense. - If so, the depth of TCJax may prove to be an edge for the Conquerors.
3- Penalties / Officiating
Jess - Nice call on the final two 3A teams left standing. I had Oxbridge vs. TCJax, but it looks like a last minute "hail mary" by AHD ruined my bracket. Question for you - how do you compare this AHD team with the team we faced last year in the title game? Just interested to hear your thoughts...
TCMan,
To me, American Heritage is a team that is playing with a sense of urgency. I had the chance to speak with some of their fans at the AHD vs Oxbridge (Regular Season) game and my take away was that they're in a win now mode.
The AHD team from a year ago was a force to be reckoned with- this AHD team, has senior depth at running back and has quietly built themselves a decent passing attack.
That said, if AHD can't run- they won't win. I think Devin Singletary and the other running backs are as solid as they come this year, but outside of the occasional big gain- I think this will be a defensive battle for a half, but JaxTCA will pull away.
To me, American Heritage is a team that is playing with a sense of urgency. I had the chance to speak with some of their fans at the AHD vs Oxbridge (Regular Season) game and my take away was that they're in a win now mode.
The AHD team from a year ago was a force to be reckoned with- this AHD team, has senior depth at running back and has quietly built themselves a decent passing attack.
That said, if AHD can't run- they won't win. I think Devin Singletary and the other running backs are as solid as they come this year, but outside of the occasional big gain- I think this will be a defensive battle for a half, but JaxTCA will pull away.
Congrats to Jacksonville Trinity Christian! That was a fun game to watch in the first half. Things went bad for American Heritage in the 3rd quarter. Jacksonville has been the flag bearer for small school football not just in Florida, but the country! Much respect to JaxTCA, their fans and family.
American Heritage had to hear all year that Oxbridge blew by them before ever stepping on the field- obviously, the Stallions wanted to win it all- but getting to the Finals in 3A considering the route they had to go as a runner-up is amazing. It shouldn't be lost that they made the finals 2 years in a row.
Congrats to both teams this year and into your offseasons!
American Heritage had to hear all year that Oxbridge blew by them before ever stepping on the field- obviously, the Stallions wanted to win it all- but getting to the Finals in 3A considering the route they had to go as a runner-up is amazing. It shouldn't be lost that they made the finals 2 years in a row.
Congrats to both teams this year and into your offseasons!
Thanks Jess and congrats to Coach V and the entire TCJax program. With the win, TCJax becomes the first Duval County school to post a 3-peat in football. As for the championship game, I thought TCJax controlled the game from start to finish and frustrated the Stallions offense for much of the game. AHD did play great defense against the run and limit the effectiveness of the Trinity ground game. In years past this would have been a real problem, but TCJax has developed a very good passing attack that served them well in this game. TCJax proved to be a dominant squad throughout the year, and the championship game against AHD represented the closest 3A contest of the year (27 points). TC finishes at #12 in the nation according to the Maxpreps Excellent 25 listing, but loses some very key pieces to graduation. There are a few teams that were young this year and will be ready to knock of TCJax in 2016( especially CCC, AHD and Oxbridge). Congrats to everyone for a great year of 3A football.
Ok, TC Man, Fan 74, I got a question, a hypothetical one at that, about what I observed Saturday in Orlando. At 14-0 TCA has done all it could to showcase its dominance. And whipping 8A West Orange so easily proves what they are capable of on the field. Saturday's game was my only view of them this yr. (Saw Warner Christian, and 3 TV games of last years team). From an eye test only, with no other knowledge or references, Jacksonville Raines looked to be stronger then TC. Hence they and Bolles are a toss up, then Bolles might look stronger also. Know hate here ( who the hell am I anyway ) just what did I miss Saturday? At know time did AH-D look like they were the better team. Play'em ten times and TC is 10-0. And #1 would score on any team in America. Clearly he should get many more touches. Does TC play to its level of competition? That might be what I observed. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks
Dan. Good question. I also think Raines looked stronger than TCA and was probably the best team that played on Saturday for 66% of their game. Red zone killed Raines. I don't know if the pressure or play calling got to them. Anyway TCA has been known to do exactly what you were saying about playing to their competition.Playing for a 3rd straight title put some unwanted pressure on them as well as the perfect season. TCA normally after a big play would take the momentum and roll with it but that did not happen Saturday. I believe they got somewhat frustrated that the run was not there. AHD did a good job in the trenches and really got beat by coaching and execution. TCA did keep their composure and stayed focused more than AHD in 2nd half. Anyway I would suspect the 3 peat kept them tight somewhat in this game. But who knows.
Fan, thanks for the insight. I don't generally pull for the privates but all you TCA guys on the board seem like good folks. Met some other fine fans last year too at the WC game including the head coach. Best to you and your team in the future and congratulations on another outstanding season. We NE FL posters got to stick together against those evil southern guys and those crazy gulf coaster's. Peace.
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TCMan, JaxTCA will be the favorite for 2016. Yes, you graduate some key pieces; however, what you have coming back is impressive to say the least. I think you're set, as is, to have a strong chance at defending your title again.
So, who are the challengers?
American Heritage, I think has a fall off simply because Devin Singletary, DJ Davis, their starting linebackers and Benenoche graduate. Their coach said in a post-game interview they bring back 3 offensive linemen and plan on running with Alec Sincfield (#22). My husband made a great point. If that guy has play to play defense and offense, he won't be as effective as they need him to be. The Stallions will have to throw next year, so I think it's going to be huge for their QB to progress..quickly! I do expect the Stallions defense to take a hit- but Lamont McDougle is going to be really good.
Oxbridge is already on the tip of everyone's tongue for the 2016 season. They bring back a hefty amount of their team and even with the graduation of Travis Homer, they already had 2-3 running backs behind him that were pretty potent. I've no doubt the Thunderwolves will become an elite team, if they aren't already; however, I've always maintained they were the team of 2017. Oxbridge brings a lot back in 2016, but they're still a very young team.
Chaminade-Madonna is really sitting in a great position in Region 4. They bring back a healthy amount of their team, feature a strong defense and a potent offense. This is a team that's young, but has a chance to push for Orlando. The biggest question is who comes in at QB next year.
CCC brings back essentially everything from last year, they're going to be the popular pick to come out of the south in 2016. They have 5 very strong WR's, 3 very good running backs running behind a stout offensive line and return a talented QB. But what puts them over the top will be having a 4 year starter in CJ Cotman. The defense is set to compete against the heavy hitters for next year as well. IMHO, they lacked 2 things in 2015- depth and experience, they should have both in 2016. The question is, how does the team evolve in a post-John Davis era?
My early line is JaxTCA vs CCC in the 2016 Finals.
As always, we're talking 3A football and how the teams look now, will not be how they look in Spring and those teams will look different in August.
We have to combine some of these classes. Too many of them.
Jax TC beats down 3A. They should play in a combined class with Bolles, Raines, Cocoa, BTW, etc.
Also, UC was 5 TDs better than anyone in 2A except NFC. But I'm pretty sure 1A Trenton, Madison, and Dixie give them all they can handle.
These classes should also be combined because 1A and 2A schools are roughly the same size and so are the 3A and 4A schools.
I'm not just picking on private and rural schools. The larger 4 classes could probably be combined pretty easily into 3 competitive classes.
Jax TC beats down 3A. They should play in a combined class with Bolles, Raines, Cocoa, BTW, etc.
Also, UC was 5 TDs better than anyone in 2A except NFC. But I'm pretty sure 1A Trenton, Madison, and Dixie give them all they can handle.
These classes should also be combined because 1A and 2A schools are roughly the same size and so are the 3A and 4A schools.
I'm not just picking on private and rural schools. The larger 4 classes could probably be combined pretty easily into 3 competitive classes.
We have to combine some of these classes. Too many of them.
Jax TC beats down 3A. They should play in a combined class with Bolles, Raines, Cocoa, BTW, etc.
Also, UC was 5 TDs better than anyone in 2A except NFC. But I'm pretty sure 1A Trenton, Madison, and Dixie give them all they can handle.
These classes should also be combined because 1A and 2A schools are roughly the same size and so are the 3A and 4A schools.
I'm not just picking on private and rural schools. The larger 4 classes could probably be combined pretty easily into 3 competitive classes.
Jax TC beats down 3A. They should play in a combined class with Bolles, Raines, Cocoa, BTW, etc.
Also, UC was 5 TDs better than anyone in 2A except NFC. But I'm pretty sure 1A Trenton, Madison, and Dixie give them all they can handle.
These classes should also be combined because 1A and 2A schools are roughly the same size and so are the 3A and 4A schools.
I'm not just picking on private and rural schools. The larger 4 classes could probably be combined pretty easily into 3 competitive classes.
1A is the rural classification. The purpose of 1A was to create a level playing field with public schools in small rural areas. If you combined 1A and 2A, there would be an uprising or a mass exodus of teams leaving to create their own division.
If you leave 1A alone, you could take 3A and split it in half. Bottom half to 2A and top half to the new 3A (New 3A would be top half of current 3A and all of current 4A). IMHO, it's a valid argument since 3A only has 28 teams right now. You can split it 14 go to 2A, 14 go to 4A...err..the "new" 3A. Thus you drop from 8 classes to 7.
What the smaller classes need is for the FHSAA to be creative in getting the smaller independent conferences that left to create their own leagues to rejoin classification football. That would be a good start to getting numbers up, but those schools all left to begin with due to having to play the powerhouses in 3A and not feeling they could be competitive.
It's a slippery slope on multiple fronts. As mentioned above, 3A has 28 teams- and there's rumors that by the start of the 2016 football seasons 3-5 additional could go independent. It would be very difficult to justify having a classification with less than 25 teams in it, that I agree with.
If you leave 1A alone, you could take 3A and split it in half. Bottom half to 2A and top half to the new 3A (New 3A would be top half of current 3A and all of current 4A). IMHO, it's a valid argument since 3A only has 28 teams right now. You can split it 14 go to 2A, 14 go to 4A...err..the "new" 3A. Thus you drop from 8 classes to 7.
What the smaller classes need is for the FHSAA to be creative in getting the smaller independent conferences that left to create their own leagues to rejoin classification football. That would be a good start to getting numbers up, but those schools all left to begin with due to having to play the powerhouses in 3A and not feeling they could be competitive.
It's a slippery slope on multiple fronts. As mentioned above, 3A has 28 teams- and there's rumors that by the start of the 2016 football seasons 3-5 additional could go independent. It would be very difficult to justify having a classification with less than 25 teams in it, that I agree with.
Good Question Dan.... The title game you saw on Saturday wasn't JaxTC's best game, but thankfully it was good enough for a convincing win against a good AHD team. As far as the comparisons to Raines and Bolles goes, here is my take. Raines is very athletic and very good on defense. I was really hoping they would have won the title in 4A. They dominated statistically over BTW but had a terrible time with turnovers for scores. Coach Wiley at Raines is a class act and will get them back to Orlando soon. When the starters were in, JaxTC beat Raines in the spring game and is ranked above them in every poll, but I think that would be a great game to watch and I would pay to see it ( I think TCJax prevails by 10-14 in that one). I think TCJax would beat Bolles easily (21+ points) if they faced each other. Raines turned the ball over 6 times in their first matchup with Bolles and still won, and beat them pretty badly in the playoffs. Coach Rogers is a legend though and Bolles will be stronger next year for certain.
Jess... even in the local papers they are talking about "four in a row". Way, way too early for that stuff to start. CCC and Oxbridge are the two schools that should have outstanding teams next year and could be the early favorites in 3A. Also, it will be interesting to see how OTC responds to a tough year.
181pl... I agree with you that the overall number of classes has diluted some of the classes and regions. Fixing it would take some real work by the FHSAA and probable require leaving 1A alone altogether as they want nothing to do with the private schools in 2A and 3A (understandably).
Jess... even in the local papers they are talking about "four in a row". Way, way too early for that stuff to start. CCC and Oxbridge are the two schools that should have outstanding teams next year and could be the early favorites in 3A. Also, it will be interesting to see how OTC responds to a tough year.
181pl... I agree with you that the overall number of classes has diluted some of the classes and regions. Fixing it would take some real work by the FHSAA and probable require leaving 1A alone altogether as they want nothing to do with the private schools in 2A and 3A (understandably).
I think we could leave 1a alone. But we have to start combining the other classes. At this point although I think they should be separated, I don't really care about private and public. They should just combine the classes so there are no more than five or six including 1a.
