There are Dynasties and there are great programs. We could come up with a few reasons that separate the two. But, to keep it simple, Dynasties win titles. Dynasties win multiple championships, which raises the programs above other great programs. Lots of sports publications put together equations and rubrics to ranked top dynasties. We didn’t. We are going to give you the facts and you can make your own determination which program is above the rest.

Ten. Ten seasons seems like a good number. Ten seems like the number many publications use to determine a range to compare statistics. So, we will use ten also.

Range: 2004-2013.

The past 10 seasons, not counting the current season, we pulled number to make comparisons of the top programs in the area. If you win a bunch of games in a ten-year span, you are doing something right. Lets get started

First we started with .70. This number represents the winning percentage. The chosen teams had to have a .70 win % or better. We determined that 13 teams made the cut with that win percentage in the selected time range. Now, lets determine which schools are Dynasties.

There are 3 teams we conclude are Dynasty Teams: Lakeland, Armwood and Plant.

Lets go by the numbers.

Lakeland (2004 – 2013)

2004-2006 (3 seasons), Lakeland did not lose a single game. Lakeland went 45-0 in that span and won 3 district titles, 3 regional titles and 3 state championships. The following year, Lakeland went 10-2 and was the district runner up. Lakeland would advance to the state title game once more in 2008 (14-1), win 3 more district titles and 3 more regional titles. That gives Lakeland 4 state title game appearances, 3 state titles, 6 regional championships and 6 district titles. How does that sound to you?

Armwood (2004 – 2013)

In 2003, Armwood won their first state title as a 15-0 team. The following year, they won their second as a 13-1 team forfeiting 1 win. In 2005, The Hawks went back to the state title game, but fell short. Three seasons in a row, Armwood played for a state title and won two. The Hawks won the 2011 state championship but was forced to forfeit the win due to FHSAA violations. Last season, Armwood went 14-0 before losing to Miami Central in the 6A state title game. From 2004-2013, Armwood lost a total of 13 games. Just 13 games on the field. Due to FHSAA violations, Armwood has been forced to forfeit 26 wins in that span. 24 of those forfeits coming in 2010 and 2011. Officially, 2 state titles, 5 regional championships and 5 district championships.

Plant (2004 – 2013)

Robert Weiner took over the Plant program in 2004. 2014 is his 11^th season. Prior to Weiner taking over, Plant was 1-9 under Darlee Nelson. From 1994 – 2003, Plant won a total of 34 games with one district championship and no district runner up. How times have changed. In 2006, Plant went 15-0 and crowned state champions. In 2008, the Panthers would return to the title game and win. Same for 2009. Plant played for a state title in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. That’s 5 state title game appearances and 4 state titles. 6 regional titles and 9 district tiles. Pretty impressive.

Those are the Dynasty teams who have competed for state titles and won multiple championships. The following teams are great programs. A few are State Champions and all are regional and district champions, playoff veterans and have been winning for a long time.

—

Think of it this way: Lakeland and Armwood won 9 of every 10 games they played in the given time frame. Every now and then, they won the 10^th game also. That is absolutely crazy!

Highest Win Percentage

SCHOOL	WIN %
Lakeland	0.93
Armwood	0.91
Plant	0.83
Fort Meade	0.78
Largo	0.77
Winter Haven	0.73
Hillsborough	0.73
Lake Gibson	0.73
Land O’Lakes	0.73
Countryside	0.73
Jefferson	0.71
Jesuit	0.71
Pasco	0.71

 

In 2005, Charlie Tate took over the Winter Haven program. Since then, his worst season was 2007 when his Blue Devils went 7-3 on the field. Every other season, his teams have won 9 or more games.

2005, 2006 and 2007, Land O’ Lakes won 9 games each season and earned the district title in 2006 and 2007. 2004, The Gators were 5-5 and 2011 they won 7 games. Other than that, it was 8 wins or better for the Gators.

Most on Field Wins

SCHOOL	ON FIELD WINS
Armwood	127
Lakeland	126
Plant	112
Fort Meade	98
Largo	92
Countryside	87
Jefferson	87
Lake Gibson	85
Winter Haven	84
Pasco	82
Hillsborough	81
Jesuit	79
Land O’Lakes	77

 

Everyone remembers the Jefferson 2010 state championship team when the Dragons went 15-0 capturing the district and regional title on the way. In 2004, the Dragons pocketed 11 wins, 9 wins and 2006 and 11 wins in 2009. A few average seasons mixed in brings the total number of losses to 35.

Largo has averaged just about 3 losses a year from 2004-2013. 9 straight district titles and 45 wins from 2005 – 2008. 5 losses was the max for Largo in the span we are referencing. Those 5 losses came in 2004 and Largo finished the season 5-5.

Least Amount of Losses

SCHOOL	LOSSES
Lakeland	10
Armwood	13
Plant	22
Fort Meade	27
Largo	27
Land O’Lakes	29
Hillsborough	30
Winter Haven	31
Lake Gibson	32
Jesuit	32
Countryside	33
Pasco	34
Jefferson	35

 

The object is to win the games on your regular season schedule and advance in the playoffs. Fort Meade has done that nearly as good as the bigger, Plant, Lakeland and Armwood. From 2004 – 2013, The Miners played 125 games, roughly 2-3 playoff games each season. In 2004, they won the state title in their classification finishing the season at 12-2 under Mike Hayde. From 1999 – 2012, Fort Meade won 14 straight district championships. Last season, the Miners finished 8-2 and missed the post season for the first time since 1996.

Most Games

SCHOOL	TOTAL GAMES
Armwood	140
Lakeland	136
Plant	135
Fort Meade	125
Jefferson	122
Countryside	120
Largo	119
Lake Gibson	117
Pasco	116
Winter Haven	115
Hillsborough	111
Jesuit	111
Land O’Lakes	106