If you don’t love standing amongst the smell of icy hot and sweat-stained clothes along with the distinct layer of sent left from grass and dirt confined to a room that’s better suited to be declared a biohazard, or enjoyed the sounds of coaches ruining a perfectly peaceful afternoon, then you’ve never loved what “the grind” season is all about. While some are reciting cute little phrases like, “April showers bring May flowers” in anticipation of what’s to come, the real senses of sight and smell are not based upon pastels and petunias for high school football players and coaches across the Tampa Bay area.

Their ears aren’t fixated on the sounds of the birds singing or the waves of the beach crashing; they’re listening to the sounds of pads pop like a bunch of snare drummers with a poor sense of synchronicity. They’re listening to QB cadences and linebacker adjustments being called out in hopes that the veterans on the squad haven’t missed a beat and that the newbies are grasping what’s been taught in the offseason. There are teams that know what they have and are just trying to make it through the season healthy, and there are teams that have some questions surrounding them. While some of the “usual suspects” are certainly loaded, there are still some questions that need answering. Some of the teams that appeared out of nowhere last season look like they are ready to maintain their momentum, while some may have a very tough time recreating their magical carpet rides.

Hillsborough County:

The heavyweights of the county look to continue their ways and will help us sort out the mythical “king of the mountain” when they play each other on September 25th. The Class 6A Runners-up from Seffner must replace their quarterback and a couple of major components on a defense that had reached a level of historical dominance over the last four seasons that broke records and the spirits of opposing offenses. The Hawks have been hanging their hats on ground-and-pound in recent years and for good reasons. This season they have a true playmakers in their WR corps with Cordell Pimienta and the return of Trevor Laurent who transferred back to Armwood from Punta Gorda-Charlotte. Their spring game versus Tampa Bay Tech may only be for two quarters, but they may be some of the most-intriguing 24 minutes we witness.

Plant looks like they can finally get past the stigma of “yeah, but they always start slow” when they travel up to Colquitt Co. in the first week of the season, or at least the “expectation” of their slow start should be set aside until further notice. The Panthers have legit D-1 prospects all over the field and will have the luxury of Rex Culpepper back to run the ship. The biggest questions for now should come from District 7A-9 though; or what is shaping up to be this year’s version of the “district of death.” All those teams (Tampa Bay Tech, Bloomingdale, Lennard, Durant, East Bay, Strawberry Crest and Plant City) could legitimately push for playoff spots with the amount of talent on their rosters, so that one bears watching.

Polk County:

Schools like Lakeland and Lake Gibson are basically reloaded, but it is perhaps the smaller schools that provide the most intrigue headed into the spring. The Class 2A State Champions Victory Christian must replace their signal-caller Caleb Lewis along with Lakeland Christian needing someone to fill the void that Christian Alexander has left. That’s 2,622 yards and 2,847 yards of passing respectively. Lakeland will host Lake Wales in their spring contest and Lake Gibson has a stiff test up the road versus Zephyrhills. Meanwhile Victory Christian will travel to the muck at Pahokee for their spring game on May 29th and Lakeland Christian takes on Avon Park.

Pasco County:

The biggest question is can its consistency be sustained? The county put the most number of teams into the playoffs in well over a decade last season. The answer should be “yes” with Sunlake, River Ridge, Pasco, Mitchell and Zephyrhills all having quality chances at making noise come this fall. What used to be a county that contained just one or two teams with all the talent has now blossomed into something that the folks can be proud of, and with prospects at virtually every school now, there comes expectations. River Ridge boasted the #8 rusher in the country in 2014, but want to prove they are more than just a one-trick pony taking on a vastly improved Tampa Catholic team this spring in a matchup that is sure to generate some buzz as we draw closer to that game on May 22nd.

Pinellas County:

Can anyone beat East Lake? We believe the answer is, “yes”. The better question is, “when?” To that, we answer a resounding “we don’t know.” There are other questions that mostly involve the teams located on or south of Gulf-to-Bay however. Is this Clearwater’s season? Can CCC make it back to Orlando any time soon? What about Indian Rocks Christian? Well, there’s way too many questions to be answered going into the spring apparently because we haven’t even touched on the fact that Admiral Farragut is quietly building a pretty tough roster to combat a district that just has three teams, but not a cupcake between them in IRC and Northside Christian. The toughest run to the playoffs for any team from Pinellas likely comes from the 7A-10 district though with East Lake, Countryside, St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park and Seminole located in it.