Midseason Thoughts

Largo fullback Antonio Patterson (Times photo/Thomas Whisenand) Click to enlarge

District play in Pinellas County is underway, and at midseason, several questions have been answered. Largo (4-0) doesn't seem to have lost a step despite losing star Dexter McCluster (Mississippi). Northeast (4-1) earned some stripes for the county with a big win over Bradenton Southeast a couple weeks ago, which should make for an interesting District 9 race (especially with Osceola, and improved Lakewood and Boca Ciega teams)

The Times offered some analysis in its midseason report on Saturday. http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/23/Sports/Midseason_football_re.shtml

YOUR TAKE: What would make your Top-5 lists? Is St. Pete Catholic's 1-4 start the biggest surprise? Has Palm Harbor coach Pete Just, helping the Hurricanes (3-2) overcoming offseason tragedy, done the best coaching job so far? What will be the tightest district race, in your opinion?

We welcome your thoughts below

--- JOE SMITH

Comments

Nehi beating Southeast was huge, But this is a tough district. I cant wait to see what the district will look like in a couple weeks.

Th toughest district is clearly District 10, with Countryside, East Lake, Dunedin, Palm Harbor.....and Clearwater. There is not much to seperate the teams........the easiest has to be 9. I think that the caliber of play in the north is a big surprise, as is the lack in the south county this year. Palm Harbor is on the radar at last....good for them. I doubt if anyone is surprised at how poorly St Pete Catholic is doing......just desserts.

i agree 5A-10 is by far the hardest divison and st. pete catholics start isnt suprising because i dont think that kids have any motivation because they cant make the playoffs for the next 3 years. that has to have some effect on there record and losing star back. PHU is working their way up and C-side has proven to be the powerhouse once again. East Lake and Duniden have suprised me but they are both doing well.

osceola high because yall think they was going to be sorry n y dont they ever get big pics in da paper or a pic period

How cum noone, not even the Times writers, want to talk bout Cside unless it is to be negative? All the comments above are true, but the best District by far is in the North and Cside is unbeaten with Huge games left with Dunedin and East Lake. One game won outa County against a weak team makes all the press and positive comments. Come now all you objective Pinellas County High School football fans can do better. Be supportive

show case sanders and lose. that is all we work on in practice. danny's study hall. "we are going to win state" we don't need trader josh?

[Wondering?]

Since there isn't a comment section for the article on SPC...

Please someone at least ask the FHSAA this question: Hillsborough High School is reported by the county AD for having a "pre-season mini-camp" or illegal practices. Since the county AD is not a member themselves of the FHSAA they tell the school to “self report” the violation. The same school (Hillsborough High School) then finds the multiple allegations of recruiting so obvious and substantiated that they terminate their “coach of the year” baseball coach immediately. The FHSAA then does nothing because technically a violation can only be reported by a principal (or their designated representative) of a member school…not the myriad of parents who reported the Hillsborough recruiting…

So let’s look at the “message” being sent to member schools:
SPC found guilty of off-season workouts that went over the line and were illegal practices
SPC found guilty of recruiting.
SPC had been previously found guilty of recruiting.
SPC gets extremely stern punishment.

HHS found guilty of having an out right practice before the start date, continued to have that practice when confronted by the county AD and was told it was illegal.
HHS finds so much evidence of recruiting that they immediately terminate the employment of their coach.
HHS had been previously found guilty of recruiting.
HHS gets a reprimand and is penalized one practice which they claimed they already missed since they are allowed to practice on Saturday and that past Saturday they didn’t practice.

Yep, the FHSAA sure is sending a message…but will someone please ask them what message that is?

I agree that PHU is lookin good this year lets not jinx them The answer to the negativity regarding Countryside is that when you are a winning team for all these years you do not stand out as much anymore. Not to take anything away from the Coach or those boys they are good players. They do a great job noone can take that away from them but I wonder how they would do against Largo???

Largo Countryside WILL be a great game, during the playoffs. I would like to know why the paper had to have huge stories on Hillsborough county teams....on Saturday and SUnday. Yawn....who cares. Give us some features about ANY kids from THIS county, it is better than reading about those teams. And yes, we need some stories about Osceola, Countryside, heck even some of the mini schools are having GREAT seasons, and we get nothing. Even though Countryside has a consistently good team, each year is a new year with different players......they deserve some kudos as well. Or how about a story about why the team is good year after year?
North county rules this year....

c-side is an excellent team, i agree with the statement about about how when you are a good team and excute flawlessly most of the time you dont get as recognized as much because its "expected". but keep it up c-side you are a great team and just cause you dont get some pages in the paper doesnt mean you guys are bad. its just some teams are doing then they have in the past. i agree in you should get positive articles because you have been so consistant

Do you agree with the midseason top 5 players list that the times provided?

Largo wont be tested again until the last of the season vs. osceola

Osceola? Give me a brake, Largo will kill Osceola, The mighty Wing-T will be destroyed by largos D, & the Pro-style offense will prevail, Lakewoods pro style O will kill Nehi friday night

[BIGTYME]

c-side has been consistant for sooooo long? do you mean the last 4 years? tradition takes time, and 4 years ain't tradition...........do you mean largo's i formation and power i iso offense? 199 plays 157 runs. great defense and sound running game. very successful............. oh yeah, lakewood and pro don't even belong in the same sentence.

10:17 you are nuts, and you obviously know nothing about high school football. The best offense you can run at the youth and high school level is the wing-t. The only reason you should go away from it is if the only guy who can carry the ball is also having to play QB. Which is hardly ever the case in public high school.

With all of the ups and downs and coaching changes and choice for schools, four straight years of winning football is a very good start in this county.......Countryside is the class of the county, and Largo is a very close second.....

Regarding the type of offense you run in HS, that is certainly a matter of opinion. One could easily argue the dust on the wing-t playbook as being outdated and behind the times. I think good coaches wrap an offensive system around their talent. If a team has 3-4 solid RB's, then a wing-t might be your best option, especially if you are undersized up front.

What if you have a multitude of WR, and a QB who can throw the ball, but only 1 or 2 solid options at QB? Do you force your WR's to play RB in a wing-t, or force your QB to simply hand the ball off all game? I would think not. Its not the sytem you run, its whether or not the kids know the system and are able to run it the way it is intended, much of this comes down to coaching, and of course the kids themselves.

How about some sound (edumacated) debate? Here a couple of top 5 lists to get some discussion going at the midpoint:

Top 5 Teams (Pinellas)
1. Countryside
2. Largo
3. Northeast
4. Keswick
5. Clearwater Central Catholic

Top 5 QBs:
1. Crow - Countryside
Accurate passer, tough competitor, and D.1 size and strength, plus he leads the team who is arguable the best in Pinellas County.

2. Hamilton - Canterbury
Forget the size of the school, the kid is a tremendous athlete and a viable dual threat QB. He is easily the most recognizable athlete on the field when they play, and has been in the top 3 in passing for two years running, even having only played limited games.

3. Henderson - Lakewood
Has finally started to figure out the system down there, and is starting to reap his rewards. Has a lot of poise in the pocket, and throws a nice ball. Play gets better on a weekly basis.

4. Sanchez - Northeast
A big, big kid, and has a lot of strength, as evidenced by him playing LB as well. A very strong arm, though not usually called on to throw the ball. When he does, he gets the ball there in a hurry, and will usually make the right decision.

5. Johnson - Largo
Another QB who is not asked to pass all that often, but when he does, he does a very good job. A very real threat to run the ball, and has explosive talent.

Top 5 RBs:
1. Brinson - Northeast
A rare combination of speed and size. Plays big when he needs to, but can seperate himself from the pack in a hurry. Fun to watch.

2. Sanders - St. Pete Catholic
Shifty, explosive runner. Already going to West Virginia, currently ranked #4 in the country.

3. Harvey - Largo
Wow! Big, strong, aggressive runner. Can run over you just as easily as running away from you.

4. DiMaggio - Keswick
Leads a very controlled offense, and has carried Keswick to a 5-0 record. Small in stature, but plays very big and almost always makes the first person miss.

5. Bellamy - Dunedin
More hype than any of the other backs, yet still has a way to go before he reaches the top of this list. There is no denying his raw ability though, and he packs a punch.

Top WRs:
1. Anderson - Keswick
Size, speed, and hands. What else do you want?

2. Lane - Lakewood
Tremendous ability with big play potential. Lakewood's go to guy in their passing game.

3. Mooney - Countryside
Runs great routes, and catches everything thrown his way. CS hasnt had to rely on him all too often to this point, but they will.

4. Matt Gilghrest - Dunedin
Tall physical WR (&DB) who is only averaging a TD a week. Muscles smaller DB's for the ball, and is arguably underused in Dunedin's offense.

5. Lancaster - Canterbury
Only leads the county in receptions and yards, that alone deserves some recognition.

I know they were doing those silly blog questions, but those were more specific (arm strength, hands, etc..). These are for overall best players for their production and attractability at the next level.

Now have some fun beating it up, and doing the same!

[wrm]

Here is the message from FHSAA: Since Hilsborough High is not a private school, they can do as they wish.

Thank you

wrm.....get over it....SPC got caught red handed, and because it was their second offense....they were punished. I am not so sure that HH should have only gotten off with a slap on the wrist, but I doubt it had anything to do with one being public and the other private. Maybe you should stop complaining about the punsihment and injustice of it all, and take a good hard look at the ethics and morals at a supposedly Catholic high school......there is something seriously wrong with that program.

I like the top four on the list, but CCC at Five? Not so sure....maybe Osceola or even East Lake should be in there. 5A 10 is one tough district this year......

Kudos to the C'side defense this year, they are the real winners on that football team, picking off interceptions, sacks and fumbles caused.....how many points has the opposition scored against the Cougars? Not many.....they are making the not as good as it has been in past years offense look really good.....

Guess that article the Times was planning on running Thursday on the relationship between the Mancuso's at SPC is now irrelevant!

[ETC]

Who ever came up with the Top 5's needs to be working for the times. good lists

***Classified***
Local private HS looking for a head football coach. Must be willing to take a team on restriction and also play by the rules!

[Daniel]

I think, the general census is that people thought CCC would be 1-4 or even 2-3 at this point. CCC having a winning record at 3-2, plus one fumble away from 4-1 is newsworthy- but as a fan of CCC, its REALLY amazing that CCC is sitting at a winning record with the amount of injuries the team has had. Its been well documented on the talent that the Marauders lost, but a lot of the talent that was lost has been made up for in team unity, and the solid contributions of new QB Brent Hendersen. I don't think its time to mention the explosiveness of MP3..but..opps I just did.

[Daniel]

Alright, I'll bite. I'm sitting at work in Melbourne, and its a slow day... whats going on at SPC..somebody spill the beans. Is what I'm hearing legit, or is it an SPC hater trying to stir the pot.

Have not heard it anywhere else. I dont know but it would not surprize me.

osceola will be number 2 by the end of this season going into the playoffs 9-1 and beating largo embarassingly during the last game of the season, they will run largos soft defense (which has yet to be tested)into the ground at the hands of the wing t with justin hart, and bryce williams carrying the ball... and no1 listen to the sptimes top lists anywayz... becuz they favor certain schools... not to name names *cough NORTHEAST cough*

7:57 Shows how little he knows about football. Because Jerry does not like reporters and has given a few of them a piece of his mind thru the years. even you go back to the early to mid 90's jerry use to get nothing but bad press. It was so bad that the times was even writing articles about how bad of a school it was. i'm bored now good bye

11:26 If you have 3 or four good recievers and a qb who can throw the ball you are a lucky son of a gun. I bet your chances are way greater of having 2 or 3 rb and no recievers and a qb who can throw at best just average. We can sit here and play the if game all day long if you want but lets be realistic. If you go changing you offense every year you kids will never totally learn a set offense and will never excell. This is high school not the NFL kids dont learn an offense in 3 months. There are plenty of wing t QB in college every year.

11:26 If you have 3 or four good recievers and a qb who can throw the ball you are a lucky son of a gun. I bet your chances are way greater of having 2 or 3 rb and no recievers and a qb who can throw at best just average. We can sit here and play the if game all day long if you want but lets be realistic. If you go changing you offense every year you kids will never totally learn a set offense and will never excell. This is high school not the NFL kids dont learn an offense in 3 months. There are plenty of wing t QB in college every year.

All of you non coach really do not have a clue when it come to football ..........you should always design your offense or defense to the players that you have..... You should never force either of the latter on the kids. if you are slow like PHU & E-Lake you play ball control offense..... If you are big, you pound the ball like Largo. If you have a big slow QB with a great arm and half desent wideout you pass the ball like C-side..... You have to be diverse unlike S-Warhawks, St Pete, Osceola, and especially Dunedin, all of that size & speed the falcons should be in a Pro formation with #8 at FB and # 5 at tailback and do what Largo does pound it and when they stack the box with 8 players on defense, you spread them out and throw it to #85,24,10,4,3, or little # 22 who has good hands and great feet (That is if you want to win).

hey 9:04...you are an idiot homer