A couple of Friday night upsets and an overtime victory by The First Academy jostled the Orlando area football rankings again this week in the Sentinel’s Super 16 Coaches Poll.
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DeLand captured all 15 first-place votes and remained atop the poll for the fourth straight week, including the preseason poll. The Bulldogs are No. 2 behind Miami Columbus in the MaxPreps Class 6A state rankings.
After picking up a few first-place votes in last week’s polling, TFA needed overtime at Port Charlotte. The Royals won 23-20 in a game that included some controversy at the end of regulation.
The clock appeared to run out on TFA before quarterback Deuce Woods could spike the ball to stop it, but officials determined there was one second left in the game. That allowed Vance Fones to kick a 35-yard field goal to tie it. Fones then hit a 48-yarder, his second of the game from that distance, to win in overtime.
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Despite all of that, TFA remained in the No. 2 spot with 33 points, followed by Jones (42) at No. 3. Edgewater (63) is No. 4, just like last week, but lost some ground in the voting.
After that, No. 12 East Ridge is the only team that held its same Week 3 ranking. West Orange moved up one spot to No. 5, as did Seminole, Bishop Moore, Lake Mary and Osceola.
Lake Mary fell from the No. 5 spot after an upset loss to Osceola and the Kowboys made the biggest jump of the week, moving back into the Top 10 to No. 9 after having fallen to No. 15 last week. Evans and Oviedo tied for the No. 10 spot.
This biggest tumble belonged to Lake Nona. The Lions, who were missing suspended quarterback Elijah Nickerson, were upset by Winter Park, which was also missing its quarterback, Onrique Archie; along with receiver Tristan Gunn and running back Josh Shaw, all out with injuries. Lake Nona fell four spots to No. 13. Winter Park moved from No. 16 to 14.
More poll positions will be on the line this week in a mix of Thursday and Friday games. The biggest of the Thursday games features No. 4 Edgewater at No. 13 Lake Nona, as the Lions try to bounce back. No. 10 Evans, looking to rebound from its loss to Jones, will be at Winter Park.
Week 2, Super 16 Coaches Poll: DeLand still No. 1; TFA moves to No. 2
On Friday night, No. 8 Lake Mary travels to face No. 1 DeLand in a rematch of last year’s Class 7A state quarterfinal game, which Lake Mary won as a springboard to the state championship. DeLand was unbeaten going into that game. Osceola faces a huge test at home against nine-time state champion Lakeland in a 5A District 6 game.
Super 16 Coaches Poll
Teams are listed with (record), number of votes, (first-place votes), results from last week, next game.
Voting: First-place vote = 1 point, second = 2 points, etc. There were 17 coaches voting this week (listed below). A coach cannot vote for his own team.
1. DeLand (1-1), 15 (15): idle last week; Next: Friday, vs. No 5 Lake Mary (1-1).
2. The First Academy (3-0) 33 (2): def. Port Charlotte 23-20 (OT); Next: Friday, at South Lake (1-2).
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3. Jones (1-1) 42: def. Evans 12-6; Next: Thursday, vs. Boone (1-1).
4. Edgewater (3-0) 63: def. Windermere 42-28. Next: Thursday, at No. 13 Lake Nona (2-1).
5. West Orange (3-0) 67: def. Wekiva 59-6. Next: Thursday, vs. Ocoee (2-1).
6. Seminole (3-0) 79: def. Eau Gallie 27-13, Next: Thursday, vs. University (Orange City) (1-1).
7. Bishop Moore (1-2) 102: def. Melbourne Central Catholic 42-13. Next: Friday, at Seabreeze (2-1).
8. Lake Mary (1-1) 118: lost to No. 15 Osceola 17-9. Next: Friday, at No. 1 DeLand (1-1).
9. Osceola (2-1) 131: def. No. 5 Lake Mary 17-9. Next: vs. Lakeland (1-1)
10. (tie) Evans (2-1) 138: lost to No. 3 Jones 12-6. Next: Thursday, at No. 14 Winter Park (2-1).
10. (tie) Oviedo (1-2) 138: def. No. 13 Lake Brantley 35-28 (OT). Next: Thursday, vs. Melbourne (2-1).
12. East Ridge (3-0) 161: def. Lake Minneola 57-13. Next: Friday, at South Sumter (2-1).
13. Lake Nona (2-1) 165: lost to No. 16 Winter Park 13-10. Next: Thursday, vs. No. 4 Edgewater (3-0).
14. Winter Park (2-1) 171: def. No. 9 Lake Nona 13-10. Next: Thursday, vs. No. 10 Evans (2-1).
15. Lake Brantley (2-1) 185: lost to No. 11 Oviedo 35-28 (OT). Next: Thursday, vs. Manatee (2-1).
16. St. Cloud (2-1) 187: def. South Sumter 41-34 2 OTs); Next: vs. Lake Minneola (1-2).
Others receiving votes, in order of votes received: Innovation, South Lake, Hagerty, Windermere, Ocoee, Lake Howell, Dr. Phillips, Boone.
Coaching panel: Orange County — Patrick Browning (Edgewater), Travis Gabriel (Olympia), Matt Hedrick (Bishop Moore), Tim Shifflet (Winter Park), Dennis Thomas (Horizon), Geno Thompson (West Orange), Elijah Williams (Jones). Seminole County — Karl Calhoun (Seminole), Tim Dykus (Winter Springs), Dazzie Morris (Lake Howell), Greg Odierno (Oviedo), Scott Perry (Lake Mary). Lake County — Donnie Burchfield (East Ridge), Brad Lord (South Lake). Osceola County — Mike Short (St. Cloud).
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Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.