But first, a flashback . . . or as we call it in the compliance world of finance, a DISCLAIMER.
Senior Writer Lee Roggenburg is out with his first annual preseason Top 20 (since it was a Top 10 last year) for Florida High School teams. In keeping with the fine new legal tradition of modern society it should be noted the opinions expressed are solely of the author and not the senior management, board of directors, general ledger staff, and all other associated FLN owners and employees. So all digs, barbs, outright annoyances and curt, snarky remarks need to be directed at Lee personally, not the site. Lee’s direct cell phone number is not listed specifically for this purpose but he can be reached at lee@floridalacrossenews.com. We only ask that physical threats and comments on his manhood directed at Lee be limited to 2 per day as that is all his public defender can handle. Lee, as always, is a big believer in pacifism when it personally impacts him.And most importantly, past performance is no guarantee of future results . . .
And now, in the immortal words of Warner Wolff . . . let’s go to the videotape!
From last year’s Preseason Top 10 (call this year a 2 for 1 split . . . )
#1A – Jupiter
#1B – Lake Highland Prep
#3 – Vero Beach
#4 – St. Andrew’s
#5 – Ponte Vedra
#6 – Lake Brantley
#7 – St. Thomas Aquinas
#8 – Benjamin
#9 – Barron Collier
#10 – Hagerty
Other schools I see having good seasons:
Columbus Catholic
Lake Mary
Maclay
Boca Raton
Pope John Paul
Programs on the Rise:
Wellington
Martin County
Oak Hall – Gainesville
Pine Crest
Bolles
Oxbridge Academy
Championship Game Prediction – Jupiter beats Lake Brantley in the final, with Lake Brantley getting by Ponte Vedra in the semifinals and Jupiter knocking off the St. Thomas/Barron Collier survivor (too close to call right now) on their side of the bracket.Okay, the final prediction sucked . . . or as Bob Uecker might say “just a little outside”. Okay, that’s a stretch.But not quite that bad. The Final Four came from my first 8. (Pat on back.)Big miss on Hagerty and Lake Brantley. Vero couldn’t stay consistent. Missed the rise of Gulf Coast, Melbourne Central Catholic, Jensen Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, St. Edwards/Seminole.Biggest miss last year? How did I not talk about Ross Pridemore last season? A 47-goal scoring EIGHTH GRADER?? And now the kid is playing in Connecticut . . . our loss.
The Final Top 20?
#1 – Lake Highland Prep
#2 – Ponte Vedra (tied)
#2 – Benjamin (tied)
#4 – Barron Collier
#5 – St. Thomas Aquinas
#6 – Boca Raton
#7 – Gulf Coast
#8 – Jupiter
#9 – St. Andrew’s
#10 – Lake Mary
#11 – Maclay
#12 – Pope John Paul II
#13 – Melbourne Central Catholic
#14 – Jensen Beach
#15 – Oxbridge Academy
#16 – Vero Beach
#17 – Columbus Catholic
#18 – Palm Beach Gardens
#19 – Oak Hall-Gainesville
#20 – St. Edwards (tied)
#20 – Seminole (tied)
Out of all those we pretty much got most of the 20 right. 15 teams we named finished Top 20. I’ll take it.
Before we get to the Top 20 this year let’s mention some of the teams that look like they are on the way up:
University School in Davie
Fleming Island
American Heritage/Boca
Martin County – not giving up on that
Dr. Phillips – really need to see Mikey Berkman
Plant
Cypress Bay
Someone in District 31, but I really don’t know which one
And some intriguing story lines . . .
Really need to see Mikey Berkman . . . a Dr. Phillips freshmen commit to Syracuse. Yeah, you read that right.
Is the southwest region of the state moving past the northeast and the northwest? Kind of hard to argue with that given how Barron Collier and Gulf Coast performed last year. Ponte Vedra, Maclay and Lake Mary are the standard bearers (I’m going to delineate Florida in 4 regions for this . . . Northeast across to the Northwest, Orlando-Tampa, Southeast and Southwest) up north. The race is on to see which of the North youth programs can grow faster than the Southwest programs. Either way a great sign of what is going on.
The nuclear arms race in the Southeast. Tony Seaman at Saint Andrew’s. Really? Joe Cuozzo assisting at Jensen Beach. Really? MLL Launch head coach Stan Ross at Oxbridge. Really?
And NONE of them got past the second round of the FHSAA playoffs . . .
Anyone bother to tally up the career wins of those 3 names?
And don’t forget we still have the old guard. Heck, Danny Loftus is almost the old guard down here at Jupiter. DeLang, Crowley, Goldberg, Piggot, Bellando, Kelly . . . all still around. But in the end it was Chris Holly and Shane Rye that got to the regional final. As did Terry.
And lost in the shuffle was the guy who has won 3 of the last 4. Chris Spaulding at LHP. All he has to do is replace Max Parker, Wil Wolfson and Adam Sawicki. Piece of cake . . . BTW, the second best record in the state over the past 4 years? RJ Dawson, who is not a head coach anymore.
Will Ponte Vedra find a way to get by LHP? Will Lake Mary or Maclay find a way to get past PV? Boca did last year against SA. What a fun game that will be March 12th as SA looks for revenge. And when Baron Collier travels to STA next Friday, February 13th, that will be fun too.
Will Tom West lead a movement to the crease attackman coming back into favor?
Can JoJo Marasco and Jake Bernhardt start to eventually chip away at LHP’s monopoly in the area of the Mouse?
Speaking of freshmen it’s amazing how many of them are making an impact, not to mention a few 8th graders. Maybe halfway through the season we’ll survey the coaches and come up with some freshmen profiles.
A number of All-Americans return this year. That is a little out of the ordinary for the year. I counted 12. A few of those I hope to see if logistics work out, like Anthony Texeira and Hayden LaVangie.
Will the Gator Men finally go Varsity? (Just checking to see if you were still paying attention)
And then you have this:
That’s the schedule that the IMG Academy team is playing this year as an Independent. This is not the national travel team.
How will IMG fit into the state’s hierarchy? Right now almost like a traveling All-Star team. Will they eventually look to join a District and play for a state title?
Could we see an LHP-Jupiter final?
Okay, I’ve made you wait long enough . . .
First, my prediction for the Final Four:
This year Barron Collier takes the next step and goes to Bradenton; they likely play St. Thomas but getting by Gulf Coast in the first round might be even more difficult. They will meet someone from the Southeast . . . yeah, that’s a cop out but how do you ever choose this Region this year? Benjamin lost their starting defense and goalie. Boca lost their starting defense. So in all likelihood it will be a new Elite 8 matchup. Is Oxbridge ready or still a year away? Can Jensen find enough offense? No, I think it comes down to Jupiter versus Saint Andrew’s for the regional title. It will be a beauty. Maybe OT. And just maybe transfer Davis Diamond makes the difference in this year’s SA team. They could not score enough last year against the best teams. If the offense is fixed the rest of the pieces are in place.
Last season, after the loss to Boca, I wrote that it was déjà vu to me to my time at Hobart. But Hobart came back to win it all the next year. I don’t see that happening but there’s a sneaky feeling I have that we could see an SA run this year out of region. But it will be really close and Jupiter has the better high end talent while SA has the better depth.
In Orlando the song remains the same. Only a 1980-style miracle keeps LHP from getting back to Bradenton. Up north though there might be a tougher road. Lake Mary came very close last year and little birdies are telling me that both Ponte Vedra and Lake Mary are much deeper this year than last. I think PV eventually prevails but if there is one upset possibility out there this year it could be this one.
So we come down to Barron Collier versus Saint Andrew’s and Ponte Vedra versus Lake Highland. Can Ponte Vedra finally prevail? Max Parker has finally graduated and if he had a year ago PV might have won that game last year. At the risk of again being serenaded on the field after the final by Brian for my lack of respect for northern lacrosse (yeah, Chris got in a few too as he was setting the over age 35 record for the 40-yard dash to avoid a Gatorade bath) I’ll go with Tom West to finally get over the hump and knock off the defending champs. On the other side let’s go with the new kid in town, Barron Collier. That sets up the final game between two schools that are 348 driving miles apart. Which means that if they don’t meet on a neutral site this will be a rare occasion.
It will also be a rare occasion because it will be TWO PUBLIC SCHOOLS meeting for the championship.
That’ll be cool.
Oh . . . Barron Collier wins a low scoring final 8-6 because it will be tough for PV to come back the next day after their emotional win over LHP.
Mikey Berkman headed to Syracuse – in 2018!
And since you have read this long:
The Preseason Top 20!!
#1 – Lake Highland Prep – you have to go with the state champs this time
#2 – Barron Collier – pretty much EVERYONE is back from a team that easily could have gone to the finals.
#3 – Ponte Vedra – they played LHP very well in the semis last year
#4 – Jupiter – arguably the best high end talent in the state, depth and a young midfield will be an issue
#5 – St. Thomas Aquinas – some key losses but a lot of thoroughbreds return
#6 – Saint Andrew’s – IF the offense gets it together
#7 – Benjamin – IF the defense gets it together
#8 – Gulf Coast – we’ll see if the harder schedule can be overcome
#9 – Oxbridge Academy – another year, another move up. Their schedule also toughens a lot
#10 – Lake Mary – Garrick Robinson might be playing possum this year
#11 – Maclay – too bad they play in a weaker area
#12 – Boca Raton – can they overcome the losses? Plenty of offense returns.
#13 – Jensen Beach – the offense needs to step up
#14 – Columbus Catholic – a ton of seniors lost the last two years but Coach DeLang has built a consistent program
#15 – Martin County – just have a sneaky suspicion that this team is ready
#16 – Pope John Paul II – have to replace two All-Americans, never an easy task
#17 – Bolles – Anthony Texeira is a special talent.
#18 – Lake Brantley – a fresh slate and one of the best juniors in America
#19 – Seminole – a breakthrough year, can they continue the growth?
#20 – Hagerty – giving them a chance to redeem my prediction last year
Others considered:
Vero Beach
Providence
Melbourne Central Catholic
University School (Davie)
Pine Crest
Palm Beach Gardens
Dr. Phillips
Plant
Gulliver Prep
Stoneman Douglas
Good luck to everyone!
