THE BOX

Shockers of week 1

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Shockers of week 1
Eric C.

1. Lakewood scare
Yes a win is a win is a win but Lakewood struggled mightily against a Seminole team that is in the lower echelon of Pinellas County teams. By all intents and purposes this should have been a warm up game for a Lakewood team that is getting ready for a brutal gauntlet of district games in their 9 team district which features talented teams such as Jesuit, Spoto, Robinson, and even Blake who beat Lakewood last year unexpectedly. What this tells me is Lakewood is a good team but they do not play up to their abilities every game and that appears to be based on competition. This is something they will need to correct if they want to survive their daunting district where you have teams like the ones mentioned above as well as Middleton and Gibbs who on any given Friday could pull off a win against any other team.

2. Defending champs taken down

Tyriq McCord, Jefferson, 2012, DE
Tyriq McCord, Jefferson, 2012, DE

While both Robinson and Jefferson were replacing many starters it was generally thought that Jefferson would be able to reload and move on easier than most. After dismantling Tampa Bay Tech in the Fall Preseason game this looked to be true but Robinson showed there are major kinks in the Dragon Armor. This could be very telling considering Jefferson has arguably the toughest schedule in the Bay Area. With the Wing T team Newsome next followed by an out of state team in St. Edward Ohio, Jefferson will need to do all they can to avoid starting district play with an overall 0-3 record. Their district is in my opinion the toughest in the Bay Area and possibly the state and it will be a challenge to get those 2 playoff spots. Time will tell if the Dragons can bounce back from this.

3. Admiral Farragut for State?!
Yes I am saying that right now Admiral Farragut has the best chance to go to the state championship in all of Pinellas County. They defeated a Victory Christian team that has always been a thorn in their side in blow out fashion. If Admiral Farragut is able to win their district and cruise through the playoffs they will meet up with either Glades Day or Jupiter Christian but this might be a special team that would make that task doable.

Note: CCC vs East Lake does not make my list as a shocker. While I think East Lake will be good and likely district champs I do not think they are the best team in the county this year. I expected CCC to give them a game and possibly lose close just not that close. My hat is off to them. I think CCC may have what it takes to top Tampa Catholic and Berkeley Prep this year. That is a tall task but it is possible.