TGIFF – Thank God It’s FOOTBALL FRIDAY. Now, if you’ll kindly take your seats and buckle your seatbelts, we’d like to get this train a-rollin’….

1. PREPPING FOR CHAOS: After perusing through our catalog of games throughout the 13 county coverage area, we’ve found EIGHT GAMES featuring BCP squads that, according to Pinkos, are considered to games with a (-1) or essentially a “pick ’em” status. We can confirm looking through records that this has not happened on the first week of the season in quite some time with so many teams playing big-time opponents right out of the gate. Just means all the more to consume on top of everything we threw at you in yesterday’s five. One small note: Pinkos’ forecasts are based on the actual number of rankings positions the teams are apart, but let’s just tell you that if you equate the difference to points, things get super-interesting watching the results come in from week-to-week. Pinkos operates at an accuracy clip in this state that would make him a trillionaire in this state if he wanted to, so trust us when we say these things are a great source.
2. WELL–WE’RE WAITING: Ahhhh, the immortal words of Judge Smalls from “Caddyshack” have never felt more appropriate. Say less. The games that have the potential this evening to truly cause some chaos by calling them as even as possible according to Joe Pinkos’ computer are: Saint Stephen’s over Admiral Farragut…Foundation Academy over Cambridge Christian…Northside Christian over Shorecrest Prep…Melbourne Central Catholic over Calvary Christian…Northeast over Tarpon Springs…Jefferson over Gaither…East Lake over Nature Coast Tech…Lake Gibson over Hernando. LET THE FUN (well, chaos) BEGIN!
3. WE GOT MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM: Contrary to some belief, there is in-fact plenty of quality high school football played around the state outside of the Bay Area. There are some JUICY thoughts via the Pinkos numbers that simply have to be shared. For starters, St. Thomas Aquinas is a touchdown favorite over Concord De La Salle, a game you can watch at 9:30pm tonight on ESPNU. Miami Central are 28-point UNDERDOGS to St. Frances of Maryland, while Carol City are better than 2TD’s (-15) over 8A powerhouse Deerfield Beach. Miami Southridge are 31-point underdogs to St. John’s College out of our nations’ Capitol. And while Jacksonville Trinity Christian got some serious love for their schedule, they find themselves 7-point dogs to Lake City Columbia this evening. For those wondering about some of the biggest match-ups around here are: Armwood by 11 over Plant…Lakeland by 24 over Manatee…Chamberlain by 3 over Tampa Bay Tech…Jesuit by 7 over Plant City…Naples by 3 over Sarasota Riverview…IMG Academy by 13 over Venice. Just something to think about!
4. THE BATTLE FOR THE BLOCK: There are some neighborhood rivalry games to get us going tonight. Those that catch our eyes are, East Bay at Lennard…Boca Ciega at Gibbs…St. Petersburg at Lakewood…Cypress Creek at Wesley Chapel. Some other games where the opponents might not be next-door, but they’re right down the street are: Newsome at Bloomingdale…Zephyrhills at Wiregrass Ranch…Port Charlotte at Lemon Bay…Gaither at Jefferson…Chamberlain at Tampa Bay Tech…Cardinal Mooney at Booker…Robinson at Hillsborough…Haines City at Auburndale.
5. BLUE STEEL: Let’s head into the weekend like Christopher Columbus Catholic’s Henry Parrish did on Wednesday night in their rivalry game with Belen Jesuit. Parrish is headed to the University of Pittsburgh next season.