The last stop within the coverage area that’s highlighting some of the best non-district games in the opening month of the season is Polk County. This season, several of the schools in this region will play big-boy schedules whether it’s district or non-district. There’s way too many good ones to get to at once, but here’s an attempt at picking out some of the best that the first month has to offer.
8/28
Lakeland vs. Ed White
Lake Gibson at Kathleen
–The opening week of the season will see two of the county’s best teams taking on challenges. Both Lakeland and Lake Gibson will face each other in their week zero preseason classic, so it will be intriguing to see how each of them respond to whatever takes place on August 20th. The Dreadnaughts are hosting the Commanders from the westside of Jacksonville that made it to the regional finals in Class 6A before bowing out to Ft. Walton Beach-Choctawhatchee. They return several players from that 10-3 squad, so Lakeland should expect to get a good test right out of the gate. Lake Gibson and Kathleen may be subject to different expectations this season, but if the past ten years of games between these two are any indication of what’s to come, then toss the hype surrounding them in the trash can and get ready for a battle. LG leads the series 6-4 since 2005, and have won four of the last five games in this with Kathleen’s win coming in a thrilling 45-44 OT game in 2013. Last year’s game resulted in a 7-5 result for the Braves, and the last four years this game has been decided by a total of 5 points.
9/4
Lake Gibson vs. Winter Haven
–Winter Haven leads this series 6-4 since 2005, and have owned it since 2008 winning six of the last seven. Lake Gibson’s only win in that span was 28-24 in 2012. But this season carries major expectations for LG, and for Winter Haven it should be yet another ho-hum run to 10 or 11 wins like we’ve become accustomed to them doing so. We know there’s going to plenty of pads popping and a ton of hype surrounding this one if this is in-fact the Lake Gibson team we think it is. With all of the playmakers on these two squads, it’s still going to be about old-fashioned ground-and-pound on offense and helmet-cracking defense that’s going to get the job done. (***Also of note, Lake Wales is on the road at Merritt Island if you want to head out of town for a fantastic out-of-district matchup as well.)
9/11
Lakeland vs. Carol City
Lake Gibson vs. Dillard
–Time for some Dade and Broward County teams to make their way into the Heartland and see what happens. Carol City is in a district with Norland, Central, and Northwestern and play those teams every season whether they’re required to or not. The point is, there’s zero intimidation to be felt from the Chiefs and with them returning almost 80% of their roster from last season’s 4-6 squad, this one could be a tricky contest for the ‘Naughts. The same applies to Lake Gibson, who should beat Dillard, but the Panthers were subjected to an insane district last season having to face Coconut Creek, Hallandale and Boynton Beach in district play. Dillard went 5-5 and missed the playoffs, but they return many guys that will give LG plenty to think about.
9/18
Victory Christian vs. Admiral Farragut
Winter Haven vs. Kissimmee-Osceola
Auburndale vs. Bartow
–The Class 2A Champions host a stacked squad from Pinellas that’s out to prove a point; and what better way to prove said point than to put it on the reigning champions. The Storm have other ideas and want to prove this isn’t last season and that this year’s version is just as capable of making things happen. You don’t need to add much more to the fact that Kissimmee-Osceola is the runners-up from Class 7A in 2014 and they’re up against one of Polk’s best, but they return 11 starters from that team and will try to waltz into Winter Haven with a “W” on their minds. This could be THE statement game of the season for the Blue Devils in an already loaded schedule of statement games. With Auburndale and Bartow, something has to give. Last season, the ‘Hounds finally stopped the four-game skid to the ‘Jackets dating back to 2010 winning 19-7, and look to begin their own streak of games and erase the memory that Bartow is 8-2 the last 10 seasons in the series.
9/25
Auburndale at Kathleen
Bartow at Fort Meade
Lake Wales vs. Live Oak-Suwannee
–This could be the season that the “Hounds smell blood. Kathleen holds a 5-0 series record since 2005 and the teams haven’t played since 2012 when the Red Devils squeaked-out a 7-6 victory. Auburndale’s got a squad that can do damage on both sides of the ball and it could translate into a breakthrough in the win column in this series. Bartow defeated Fort Meade for the first time since 2006 last season, and with the return of much of that roster this season the stakes in this series just got a little higher since the Miners will have revenge on their minds. The Highlanders host last seasons’ regional champions in 5A from up the road and return enough pieces at the skill spots to give Lake Wales fits so this game is most definitely worthy of a circle on the calendar.