1. Lakewood does not live up to potential AGAIN! It seems like Lakewood is the forever perennial under achiever. For as long as I can remember they have always been considered the most talented team putting many players into Division 1 college ball and a few others into the NFL yet they still lack Playoff and state level success. This by no means is a knock on Corey Moore as he has only been the HC for the last few years and this trend has been going on since the 80’s but this is more of a sense of attitude adjustment needed by the whole Lakewood Community. There is a since of entitlement there that needs to go away and the kids need to play every game like they have a chip on their shoulder and every game is their last.
2. Countryside and Largo are clearly the top 2 teams in the county with Lakewood faltering but who has the best shot to go further in the playoffs this year? The quick answer is neither they will likely both be out in the 2nd round unless Largo finds a miracle against Armwood and Countryside overcomes being one dimensional to topple favored Manatee.
3. Our Arena League division has once again given us a high scoring affair 58-55 OH MY! I think it holds true that offensively these teams have some players that can play for any team but they lack the depth to put up any kind of defensive effort.
4. Dunedin’s surprise season has continued as they are starring at .500 season with very winnable games left against Lennard and Dixie Hollins. This will be a great success for 1st year coach Max Smith as many wrote Dunedin off as a team that may not win a game all year. Can Max build the Falcon pride back and build Dunedin back to a regular playoff contender?
5. So far this year Pinellas has held its own in out of county match-ups with Hillsborough county leading 16-15 with 6 match-ups remaining. This has proven my theory that outside of the top tier Hillsborough County teams (IE Armwood, and Plant) the teams are pretty even. Pinellas just does not have a team that can compete with the big guys which they share with MANY counties throughout the state.
6. Big Games This week include the Big District match-ups and one in Particular will be for the 8A-7 District Title East Lake vs Palm Harbor. East Lake is the favorite but I am not writing Palm Harbor off in this game. This will likely be my upset pick of the week.