If you haven’t been paying attention, guess what tomorrow is? Yeah, it might be that, but there’s also a peak Full Moon. Time to buckle up!

1. WAIT, WHUT?!?: The Pinkos lines came out earlier this week and needless to say, we’ve got some potential “Freaky Friday” results awaiting us on the horizon. Whether these teams cover the “spread” or not, the very fact some of these point-differentials exist are something of a nightmare. Some glaring examples include Tampa Bay Tech 24 over Plant–who is coming off a bye week AND playing at Dad’s Stadium. Lake Gibson 14 points over Auburndale seems like a crazy line considering how good both of these squads look so far. Palmetto are double-digit favorites (13) over Port Charlotte as they head down into the Pirates’ house. The common link between all four of those teams? All of them are undefeated, and undefeated in impressive fashion at that. Perhaps one of the most-peculiar lines is undefeated Mitchell heading to Pinellas Park as two-touchdown underdogs. Makes you wonder what the computers *really* know that we don’t.
2. SEE FOR YOURSELF: And if those don’t peak your fancy, here’s the rest of the area spreads plus statewide. See where your squad fits into the Freaky Friday model or not. https://floridahsfootball.com/2019/09/10/joe-pinkos-joe-pinkos-week-4-statewide-game-forecast/
3. SIX SQUADS THAT CONTINUE TO WARM OUR HEARTS: The following five teams all have excellent looks at going 4-0 to start their seasons: South Sumter, Lennard, Riverview, Dunedin, Cambridge Christian, and Steinbrenner. If this isn’t the definition of a good story, then what is? The boys from Bushnell went 62-11 from 2011-16 under Inman Sherman, but the past two seasons under Ty Lawrence, things hit rock bottom going 5-15 including an 0-9 season. The Raiders host Trinity Catholic this Friday and are sitting at 3-0. The Longhorns out in Ruskin have gone 4-26 on the field the last three seasons, and have the chance to get to 4-wins already this year against Newsome. Riverview hasn’t won more than four games since 2007, and with Haines City on the horizon, they can get to that mark sooner rather than later. Dunedin took SIX YEARS to get to three wins in total, and have already matched that this season sitting at 3-0. Cambridge Christian and Steinbrenner’s hot starts are also proof that having enough patience on the cycle of talent to develop is worth it. Perhaps the most-Friday the 13th-thing-ever would be for all six to suffer their first defeat of the season, but something tells us the bad juju has stayed away from them for a reason.
4. IT’S A NUMBERS GAME: There are two specific examples of teams that have refused to suffer any fools through their first three games of the season. Over in south Pinellas, the Lakewood Spartans have outscored opponents 131-0 thus far. Newly appointed to Class 4A-Region 3, that would make them the clubhouse favorites for the 1-seed with Tampa Catholic nipping at their heels. But before you start thinking they’re Pinellas’ best hope to win a ring, here’s who sits in Region 4 awaiting them in the semifinals if they get to that point: NSU University School, Booker T. Washington, Gulliver Prep, Carol City, Monsignor Pace, and Cardinal Gibbons. That’s what we call a stacked region. The Lake Wales Highlanders have gone full-Sherman’s-March-to-the-Sea on their opponents thus far with a combined score of 196-7 through week three. They too have a direct path to finding themselves deep into the postseason with perhaps a Jesuit or Chamberlain waiting for them in the region finals. And yes, we are certainly talking about “PLAYOFFS?!?” like Jim Mora Sr. because we can.
5. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER: So we’ve already mentioned the fact that tomorrow night is not for the faint of heart when it comes to superstition, but one thing that we believe IS NOT a valid superstition? Talking about the weather. Mother Nature doesn’t care about our silly agendas, she’s got her own to execute and it’s our responsibility to work around her. Those be the rules, folks. With that in mind, we want to share with you an article written by the Treasure Coast Palm’s Jon Santucci in regards to changing the schedule. It is a drum WE HAVE BEEN BEATING since Spectrum Sports was on the air doing Friday Night broadcasts. We had a chance to talk to Santucci and get some background and his proposal is such a good start that even we are impressed. It’s time to guarantee yourselves 10 games, and it’s time to take the decision out of the equation to either get hit by a flying 2×4 or chased by a wild boar snapping at your Achilles’ tendons when having to choose between everyone’s safety versus having to make business decision that’s a financial death blow. It’s time for us to unite and make this happen. Change the “Classics” to actual games and make the refs scrimmages even more beneficial to all those involved. Make the season 12 weeks, and then make that final bye week the one that everyone just says after an hour delay, “We’ll see you in November” which is absolutely the most-common sense approach around. Check out Santucci’s column here: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2019/09/09/hurricanes-high-school-football-schedule-change/2261848001/