We’ve talked about the month of October this season significant because technically half the season takes place from October 2nd to October 30th with some teams playing their entire district schedules in that same timeframe. Some teams will complete the balance of their seasons by the 30th, while others will face some brutal back-to-back contests that will effectively begin or end their postseason hopes all within a two-week span.
Some teams are setup for a run at perfect seasons with their remaining games, while others will be simply wanting to come out 3-2 and let the chips fall where they may with regards to the playoffs. Taking a look at some of the county-by-county and the top five teams in each, we will now examine a little further what 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 and so on could mean for these teams and why October could produce a postseason treat–or a regular season trick.
Hernando County
The two teams that are currently sitting atop the polls on the North Suncoast are Nature Coast Tech and Weeki Wachee. The Sharks are off this week–but that probably won’t stop Deshawn Smith from picking up 200 yards and 4TD’s anyways. NCT has the Hornets in a huge district game on the 9th of October, then will face Lecanto, Citrus, Hernando and Groveland-South Lake in their chase for a 10-0 record. As far as October goes, if the Sharks get past Weeki, then a 4-0 month plus a 1-0 November isn’t out of the question the way they’re rolling this season. Weeki has Citrus, the aforementioned game with Nature Coast, then Hernando, Lecanto and Crystal River–all district games–to finish the month. The Hornets would need to go 2-4 the rest of the season to break the all-time wins record for the schools’ short tenure in existence, but they’re thinking much bigger than that.
Hillsborough County
Armwood and Jesuit are one-two in the county poll as we begin the month, and both have more-than-manageable schedules that should see them finishing with 9/10 wins–which would mean they’ve also locked up playoff births as well. The following three teams have plenty of intrigue surrounding them. All three could miss the playoffs entirely if things were to go south, or all three could be in the playoffs as long as they maintain a 3-1/4-1 record at the least. That’s easier said than done though. Here’s why–#3 Plant has undefeated Wharton and #5 Sickles in consecutive weeks and although they’ll be prohibitive favorites in their remaining games against Gaither, Freedom and Wiregrass Ranch, a win against Wharton AND Sickles could send the Panthers to the cat-bird seat for the title. A split could chaos with a potential tiebreaker on the horizon and losing both would have us pondering whether or not they’ll make the postseason. The same thinking applies to Sickles in this case–and even Wharton since all three will face each other in back-to-weeks mid-month. Lennard will face, ‘Crest, East Bay, TBT, Bloomingdale and then Plant City on the 30th potentially for the district title. The margin of error is poignantly slim for #’s 3-5 to say the least.
Manatee County
Braden River and Palmetto’s month is eerily similar to the situation with Plant, Sickles and Wharton in that the wildcard (Venice) is still yet to be played in-district along with the match-up between the Pirates and the Tigers on the 23rd. The similarity also exists in the scheduling of those district games in that the three teams will effectively decide the postseason births’ by the time the final whistle blows between Braden River-Palmetto. Braden River’s quest for a perfect season obviously means a 4-0 month must be maintained, but it will be the consecutive weeks of October 16th (vs. Venice) and 23rd (vs. Palmetto) that will put them in poll position for the playoffs.
Pasco County
So, SO much left to be played out for the teams within this county. Mitchell has a right to be irritated they’re not in this equation, but can play a major factor as the race for 6A-6 heats up. The #1-ranked Sunlake Seahawks have a man-sized schedule to navigate for the month and will finish with River Ridge at the beginning of November. With the emphasis on October through, the ‘Hawks will face Springstead this week, then have their bye-week before heading out on the road the next three weeks at Pasco, at Mitchell, and at St. Petersburg. River Ridge and Zephyrhills will face each other on the 16th, but each have five games left for each week of the month. A 4-1 record during the month for either probably means a playoff birth, but both want to win this district–why? The runners-up will likely have to travel to Nature Coast in the first round if the trends hold together. Don’t forget about the Pirates out of Dade City since they’ll get to face Mitchell and Sunlake in addition to Land O’Lakes and Springstead before the “9-Mile War” with Z-Hills. A 4-0 month for Pasco puts them right where they want–and expected themselves to be.
Pinellas County
Clearwater, Countryside and Pinellas Park all have to play the “meat and potatoes” of their district games in October. Clearwater has Northeast this week, a non-gimmie versus Gibbs and plus Dixie Hollins, Largo and Osceola–all district games before their anticipated game with East Lake in November. A 2-3 or even 3-2 record for the Tornadoes means they’re praying and wishing for things to happen to make the playoffs–a 4-1 or 5-0 record put those fears to rest for the most part. A road game in the first round of the playoffs would not be fun though, since 6A-10’s Charlotte High are not to be taken lightly so extra motivation for an undefeated October–even if it means an 0-1 November can be found. Countryside and Pinellas Park play each other this week–which will help settle “some” of the argument. The Cougars still have St. Pete and East Lake after their game with PPark, so a 3-1 or even 2-2 October (there’s a non-district tilt with Largo on the 9th of October) would see them sitting nicely. The Patriots have four district games plus an intriguing non-district game with Lakewood on the 9th–so the importance of winning at least four games from five is huge.
Polk County:
Winter Haven are you current #1 in the county with district mates Lakeland and Kathleen nipping at their heels. The Blue Devils took it on the chin versus Kissimmee-Osceola a couple of weeks ago–and it will be the lessons learned in that one that will either make or break their month. All the members of 7A-7 will have to face each other during the month and a 3-0 record obviously gets you postseason-bound. Kathleen will actually play the balance of their season this coming month, with Winter Haven this week, then four road games to finish the season at Tallahassee-Leon, Bartow, Stuart-South Fork, and their annual rivalry game with Lakeland. Winter Haven has four game on the schedule this month with three of the four on the road. First it’s Kathleen, then trips to Lake Wales and Lakeland await the Blue Devils before their bye week and then hosting Bartow.
Let the tricks–or the treats begin!