- November 1, 2024
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Before a whistle is ever blown, a fan begins to scream, a tackle is made, a touchdown is scored or a game is won, every team sits at the same position: hopeful. That’s why the weeks leading up to the season is the best time of the season for those who won’t meet their expectations.
Until the scores and results reveal to the teams just how good, mediocre or bad they really are, most of the players will rely solely upon their team practices – dominating second string, third string and JV players – and determine themselves the upper echelon of the area’s talent pool.
Over the last few months, players from rival schools have traded verbal jabs, deeming their teams to be ready to compete against the area’s elite. Even players at schools that have recently struggled in the last few years have found themselves in the middle of heated social media exchanges.
While the dominant schools laugh off the others, the fact remains that anything is possible…I guess. Who could’ve predicted that Matanzas would win eight games, six straight? While everyone else didn’t surprise much, the offseason always provides teams a ray of hope that affords even the least of them to stick out their chest and say, “This is our season!”
Similar to those teams, we journalists also put our credible predictability on the line and estimate how each team will finish the season. If we’re off, then we’ll most likely try to retrieve every publishing that shows our humanity. But, if we’re right, then we’ll remind everyone just how right we were.
Next week, I’ll be giving my season predictions for the teams I cover in our annual football special preview. Players will cut out my, at best guesses, and pin them to lockers or stick them in their helmets and use them for motivation, as they accuse me of “disrespecting their team.” But it’s OK. Because I don’t recall anyone reminding me when I rightfully predicted a bad outcome on their behalf.
So, will Mainland win the state title this year? Will Matanzas finally clinch a historic playoff berth? Will Seabreeze finish better than last year? Can Flagler Palm Coast return to the postseason after a miss last year? And will Father Lopez finish with a winning record that has eluded him a playoff berth? Stay tuned to find out.
