It's Friday! time for some football

Ok, so once again - Friday has arrived.

What's the big game this week? I know that next week has a plethora of great games (Armwood/Plant, St. Thomas/Byrnes)... but what's the game that has the buzz that everyone wants to talk about or attend.

My friend Michael Langston of Florida Varsity is attending the Leon/Madison game at Leon. Yes, at Leon.

Bill Ragans wanted to give his kids a special treat, so the Lions are going to play a 'home game' at Leon High School. It would be great for Tallahassee schools to have their own stadiums... can you imagine how tough Lincoln, Godby or Leon would be if they played an actual home game?

Speaking of home games - how about St. Thomas Aquinas giving up home field advantage to play at Lockhart Stadium. Yes, St. Thomas plays games at Lockhart - but Brian Piccolo Stadium is where the Raiders are virutally unbeatable. Kudos to George Smith and the gang for choosing to accomodate a big crowd for the double-header.

Naples continues to get bad news. Two weeks ago it was the flu - now their starting quarterback is out for the season. Bill Kramer's boys want to just "focus on who they have and go from there". Reminds me of the line from Hoosiers - "I would hope that you would cheer for who we are - not who we are not"...

What was Central thinking last night - throwing with a 62-14 lead over Springs... Puullleeezee! This isn't the NCAA - we have a playoff in high school football. You don't need to impress the voters. It's plays like that which lead to kids getting hurt.

Watching Stephen Garcia run the Gamecock offense last night reminded me of his high school career. Take what the defense gives you. South Carolina will be better than most people think when they play the Gators.

Great quote by Miami QB Jacory Harris "I'm still learning this game and want to eliminate the mistakes that I'm making... I've not played the perfect game yet"... this kid is a winner and we all got a chance to see that at South Lake Carroll in 2007.

Here's the scores from last night's action - courtesy of Larry Blustein and the Miami Herald.

Davie University 49, Inlet Grove 6
Deland 42, Spruce Creek 0
Doral Ronald Reagan 22, Braddock 17
Fort Lauderdale Dillard 38, Douglas 28
Fort Myers Riverdale 35, Mariner 2
Hollywood McArthur 28, Flanagan 14
Miami Central 70, Miami Springs 24
Miami Columbus 36, Miami High 0
North Miami Beach 16, American 0
Orlando Jones 12, Gainesville Eastside 7
Palatka Peniel Baptist 14, St. Augustine Florida Deaf 6 (OT)
Port St. Lucie West Centennial 35, Fort Pierce Central 7
South Miami 35, Coral Park 7
Village Academy 38, Hillel 7

Tonight we're live from the Beef 'O' Brady's in Satellite Beach as the Scorpions take on Rockledge...

Through three weeks of football, very little has surprised me.

Except the obvious...

It's been pretty status quo - until Pahokee fell apart at home against Dwyer, and lost 34-6... when's the last time Pahokee was beaten by 28 points? Wow - you have to go back quite a ways to find it.

Going back to 2002 - the Blue Devils were manhandled by Clewiston 35-14, but in the state of Florida, that's the worst defeat I can find in over eight years... Byrnes beat the Blue Devils 38-12, but that game was right after Pahokee lost a player and this game was at Pahokee.

Speculation about the Top 25 and arugments about who is the overall best team are pretty solid. We pretty much all agree that St. Thomas Aquinas is the team to beat but Miami Northwestern or Miami Central may be able to shake loose some of those votes - depending on who wins that matchup on October 8.

One of the biggest improvements this season is - well, my alma mater - Sandalwood. The Saints were 1-9 last year and are off to a 3-0 start. Sandalwood has a four game winning streak going. Adam Geis returned to the head coaching position after budget cuts forced Bob Withrow out after only one season.

Plant will likley regain the services of starting quarterback Phillip Ely this week, but don't look for the Panthers to tip their hand too much this week. next week, however, the Panthers take on #6 Armwood.

Andrew Jackson sent a very loud message to the world - beating a very good Godby team 13-7 to stay undefeatd.

Here's a look at the latest Beef 'O' Brady's Top 25...

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) (10) 5A 2-0 250
2. Miami Northwestern 6A 2-0 239
3. Miami Central 6A 3-0 231
4. Glades Central (Belle Glade) 2A 3-0 217
5. Bolles (Jacksonville) 2B 2-0 204
6. Armwood (Seffner) 4A 2-0 203
7. Lakeland 5A 3-0 192
8. Manatee (Bradenton) 5A 3-0 173
9. Booker T. Washington (Miami) 3A 3-0 160
10. Niceville 4A 2-0 158
11. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens) 4A 2-1 152
12. Charlotte (Punta Gorda) 4A 3-0 144
13. Dr. Phillips (Orlando) 6A 3-0 125
14. St. Augustine 3A 3-0 122
15. Pahokee 2B 2-1 111
16. Apopka 6A 3-0 99
17. Mainland (Daytona Beach) 6A 2-1 80
18. Columbus (Miami) 6A 3-0 76
19. Tampa Bay Tech 5A 1-1 54
20. Jackson (Jacksonville) 3A 3-0 50
21. North Florida Christian (Tallahassee) 1A 2-0 45
22. Plant (Tampa) 5A 1-1 38
23. Madison County 2A 2-0 28
24. Tampa Catholic 2B 2-0 27
25. Miramar 6A 2-0 15

Others receiving votes
Largo 4A 3-0 13; Monsignor Pace (Miami) 2B 1-1 7; Jefferson (Tampa) 3A 2-1 6; Venice 5A 2-1 6; Barron Collier (Naples) 3A 3-0 5; Hillsborough (Tampa) 4A 1-1 5; Plantation 6A 2-0 5; Cocoa 2A 2-0 3; Frostproof 2B 3-0 1; Osceola (Kissimmee) 5A 1-2 2

Just talked to Rash Ghazi of Paragon. He's excited about the double-header at Lockhart next week. Get your tickets NOW. St. Thomas Aqinas vs. Byrnes at 8 PM on ESPNU... before that - Deerfeild Beach takes on St. Cloud. Tickets are $12 and are available at St. Thomas Aquinas and at www.ticketweb.com.

Two reasons why I hate Thursday night football games for high school:

1 - it really hurts the crowd and the gate, which most schools depend on. But in Miami it's even a bigger challenge with the fact that only five high school stadiums are used by over 50 high schools ... so with this week's Jewish New Year celebration falling today at sundown - several schools played Wednesday and Thursday.

Here's this week's scoreboard and we'll be live from Tampa tonight as we show a little small school love. Turning the spotlight on Tampa Catholic (#3 in 2B), Trinity Catholic is the defending 2B north champ and has only a loss to 4A Gainesville.

Join us live from the Beefs at 2819 S. MacDill Ave. in Tampa...

Here's your week 3 scoreboard thus far.

WEDNESDAY
Miami Central 63, Miami Beach 0
Miami Christopher Columbus 26, Homestead South Dade 22
North Miami Beach 24, Miami Edison 7

THURSDAY
Bradenton Lakewood Ranch 23, East Lee 20
Brandon 21, Plant City 12
Cape Coral 25, North Fort Myers 20
Cape Coral Ida Baker 20, Island Coast 3
Clearwater 9, Northeast 7
Clearwater Countryside 52, Seminole Osceola 17
Coconut Creek North Broward Prep 21, Spruce Creek 0
Coral Springs 21, Piper 12
Davie University School 25, Coral Springs Charter 0
Delray Beach Atlantic 33, Boyton Beach 0
Englewood Lemon Bay 56, Estero 35
Fort Lauderdale 28, Nova 14
Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian 35, St. Andrew's 13
Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest 43, LaSalle 37
Fort Myers Dunbar 31, Fort Myers 7
Fort Myers Riverdale 30, Lehigh 7
Hialeah Miami Lakes, 40, Westland Hialeah 0
Hollywood Hills 23, Flanagan 18
Hollywood South Broward 21, Parkland Douglas 10
Lake Worth Park Vista 55, Spanish River 0
Largo 42, St. Petersburg Gibbs 32
Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson 24, Coconut Creek 7
Loxahatchee Seminole Ridge 23, Jupiter 3
Melbourne Florida Air Academy 40, Trinity Prep 13
Miami Belen Jesuit 27, Gulliver 19
Miami Booker T. Washington 54, North Miami 0
Miami Jackson 25, Norland 25
Miami Killian 38, South Miami 14
Miami Northwestern 42, Hialeah 20
Miami Southridge 42, Varela 8
Miami Sunset 28, Miami High 13
Oakland Park Northeast 8, Dillard 2
Orlando Lake Highland Prep 26, Tampa Berkeley Prep 0
Palm Beach Central 10, Inlet grove 7
Pembroke Pines Charter 40, Pompano Beach 0
Pembroke Pines West Broward 7, Coral Glades 6
Pinellas Park 21, Dunedin 7
Pompano Beach Ely 46, Taravella 21
Riverview 34, Lennard 12
Seffner Armwood 9, Tampa Bay Tech 6
South Plantation 41, Hallandale 6
St. Petersburg 52, Dixie Hollins 0
St. Petersburg Lakewood 34, Boca Ciego 14
Stuart Martin Couty 26, Eau Gallie 7
Stuart South Fork 33, Okeechobee 0
Palm Beach Lakes 28, Suncoast 0
Punta Gorda Charlotte 41 Mariner 7
Tallahassee Lincoln 16, Florida High 6
Tampa Alonso 35, Newsome 10
Tampa Gaither 15, Wharton 14 (OT)
Tampa Hillsborough 47, Chamberlain 0
Tampa Jesuit 24, Durant 0
Tampa Leto 22, Bloomingdale 15
Tampa Middleton 26, Blake 14
Tampa Plant 46, Jefferson 13
Tampa Robinson 30, King 24 (OT)
Tampa Spoto 42, East Bay 0
Tarpon Springs East Lake 13, Tarpon Springs 3
Wellington 21, Lantana Santaluces 15

Week 2 upsets

Week 2 is pretty much in the books and we're already starting to see some shifting in the Beef 'O' Brady's Top 25.

While the top 8 or 9 teams show no signs for weakness - the 10-25 spots are pretty much up for grabs.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Dr. Phillips. How no one ranked them in their Top 25 (Florida Varsity, Friday Night Football) is beyond me now. I have to admit that Austin Lyon from the Orlando Sentinel tipped me off on the Panthers.

They went to Kissimmee and downed the Kowboys in a monsoon 9-0.

Other early surprises include Plant starting 0-1 and Hillsborough starting 0-1. Those two play at 4 PM on Saturday and the scary thing is - one of them will be 0-2.

Naples took it on the chin - again - AT Immokalee. Bill Kramer's boys lost 25-24. Also losing (shockingly so) is First Coast. This is a very talented team that's off to an 0-2 start after losing to Camden County (GA) in the last seconds.

Speaking of Camden County - the 'Cats are off to a 1-2 start and were two plays away from being 0-3... wow.

St. Thomas, Pahokee, Northwestern, Miami Central and Glades Central continue to shine and the good thing is - four of the five will meet each other somewhere down the road in the season. St. Thomas will be tested October 2 against Byrnes (SC) on national TV. Kudos to the Raiders for moving the game to Lockhart - which seats 20,000 as opposed to Piccolo Stadium - which is a great facility - but can't handle the crowd that might be expected.

Mainland, Lincoln and Godby bounced back from season-opening losses - and wow did Godby bounce back - blasting by Pace 48-28.

Niceville showed us that they are the team to reckon with in the panhandle, blowing by rival Choctawhatchee 49-0.

Friday night I got the chance to see three very good football players - Tyler Krider from Lake Brantley put on a one-man show and led the Patriots by Oviedo 34-29 - despite the dynamic duo attack of QB Blake Bortles and RB Stu Butler. Bortles and Butler were quite the tandem - and led Oviedo to a 29-21 lead late - but the Patriots rallied and pulled it out to keep from going 0-2.

And I have to give props to my Sandalwood Saints - off to a 2-0 start after a thrilling 14-13 win over rival Fletcher.

Week one thoughts...

Well, we found out that Miami Central is legitimate, Glades Central is dangerous and Tampa Bay Tech is resurgent.

Several thoughts come to mind after the first week of high school football, but I'm dealing with lack of sleep after attending the Florida State/Miami showdown.

Watching Jacory Harris pick apart FSU's secondary brought back memories of Southlake Carroll (2007) and Lake Brantley (2006)... Harris showed us why he was Mr. Football and could lead Miami back to the promised land relatively quickly.

Tampa Bay Tech showed us that the game isn't over until the clock reads :00... the Titans rallied from 16 down to win over Plant 32-30 at Dad's Stadium... Take heart Plant faithful, the last time the defending 4A champ from Tampa lost a season opener - they won the title (Armwood 2005 - lost to Hillsborough 21-20 and won the title). Plant was playing without its starting quarterback and seemingly had the game under control.

Miami Central went to Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach and left absolutely no doubt that the Rockets were firing - winning 34-3 in a game that wasn't that close. That October 8 game with Northwestern is getting bigger by the moment.

Glades Central flexed its muscle late in the first half and took a blocked field goal and a two-point conversion to the house to take an 8-7 lead over Dwyer - then dominated the second half to win.

Pahokee is - well - Pahokee. The Blue Devils opened Anquan Boldin Stadium with a 13-6 win over Atlantic and look to be primed for another run at the 2B title.

Niceville survived Lincoln 41-34 but one has to wonder where the game would have ended up if Lincoln's star running back Buck Allen doesn't suffer a broken leg. Not that Niceville isn't that good, but Lincoln sorely missed Allen.

St. Augustine and North Marion got together for their annual clash - and it was just that - a great clash! Overtime and a 34-33 win by the Yellow Jackets when the Colts go for 2....

More news and notes coming later...

It's On!

In the words of that airline commercial - It's on!

Week 1 is upon us an already some great games have happened.

Niceville used a 32 yard run by Roy Finch on fourth down late in the game to snatch a 41-34 offensive slugfest with Tallahassee Lincoln. Sadly, running back Javorious Allen left the game with an early diagnosis of a broken femur. Lincoln quarterback Evan Brigman who threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns. Niceville was led by QB Kyle McDorman - who threw for 187 yards and four touchdowns.

Gainesville defeated Ocala Trinity Catholic 35-17 which shocked a few experts who picked Trinity Catholic to roll over the Purple Hurricanes.

Other scores from around the state - courtesy of the Miami Herald...

WEDNESDAY
Miami Reagan 34, Hialeah Gardens 0
Miami Varela 26, South Miami 14

THURSDAYDaytona Beach Seabreeze 40, Port Orange Spruce Creek 7
Deerfield Beach 42, Coconut Creek 30
Gonzalez Tate 38, Pensacola Washington 7
Hialeah 22, American 7
Hollywood South Broward 27
Hallandale 0
Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons 32, Coral Springs Taravella 14
Lantana Santaluces 19, Spanish River 0
Miami Country Day 15, McArthur North 14
Miami Dr. Krop 21, Edison 14
Miami Ferguson 14, Coral Reef 7
Miami Senior 28, Braddock 7
Miami Beach Hillel at Sheridan Hills, PPD.
Ocala St. Johns 34, St. Augustine Florida Deaf 0
Parkland Douglas 49, Monarch 25
Pensacola Escambia 46, Springfield Rutherford 7
Royal Palm Beach 21, Palm Beach Central 14
Southwest Miami 52, Coral Park 16
Vanguard 32, Posnack 6

We'll be live from the Beef 'O' Brady's in Palatka tonight with the premier of the Beef 'O' Brady's High School Football Scoreboard - for the 20th year!

You can join us at 888-407-2673 or give a listen at one of these stations:

WBOB –AM 1320-Jacksonville
WBOB-FM 103.7 Jacksonville BeachWOKC-AM -1570- Okeechobee
WGGG-AM- 1230 -Gainesville
WMOP-AM-900-Ocala
WIYD-AM-1260-Palatka
WHOO -AM 1080-Kissimmee
WCJX-FM-106.5- Lake City
WQHL-FM-98.1-Live Oak
WQHL-AM-1250-Live Oak
WMAF-AM-1230-Madison
WWBF-AM-1130-Bartow
WIXC-AM-1060 –Melbourne
WZZS-FM-106.9- Zolfo Springs
WAKU-FM 94.1 - Tallahassee
WNDB-AM-1150-Daytona Beach
WWBA-AM-1040- Tampa
WFJV-FM-107.5-Crystal River
WRLE-FM 94.9 - Dunnellon
WSWN-AM-900- Belle Glade
WLKF-AM-1410-Lakeland
WEFL-AM 760 – West Palm Beach
WHBO-AM-1470- Clearwater
WCNZ – AM 1620 – Naples
WMYR-AM 1410 – Fort Myers
WNZF-AM 1550 – Bunnell
WNZF-FM 106.3 – Palm Coast/St. Augustine
WWPR-AM 1490 - Bradenton
WWJB-AM 1450 – Brooksville
WAMT-AM 1190 - Orlando

or on the net at www.floridacast.com