Thanks to Edgewater’s victory over previously unbeaten West Orange on Friday, there was plenty of movement in the top 10 of the Sentinel’s Super 16 Football Coaches Poll. DeLand did continue to hold its unanimous spot atop the rankings, gaining the No. 1 vote from all 13 coaches this week for the fourth straight week.
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The West Orange loss allowed undefeated Seminole (6-0) to move up to No. 4, while The First Academy (4-1) and Jones (3-1) held steady at Nos. 2 and 3. Bishop Moore (4-2) moved up a spot to round out the top five.
Every slot in the second five positions of the top 10 changed. Lake Nona (5-1) moved up two spots to No. 6. Edgewater (3-2) moved up three spots to No. 7. West Orange (5-1) fell four spots to No. 8. And Oviedo (3-2) and Evans (3-3) dropped to ninth and 10th despite blowout victories.
Lake Howell (4-2) jumped back into the poll for the first time since the first week of the season at No. 12. Hagerty (3-1), Gateway (5-0) and Innovation (6-0) made their first appearances in the Super 16 this season. Gateway and Innovation, tied for No. 16, join Seminole as the only remaining undefeated teams in the Orlando area. Last year, two teams, DeLand and Edgewater, ran through the regular season unbeaten.
Lake Mary, a defending state champion, fell out of the poll, as did Kissimmee Osceola and St. Cloud.
It’s a bit of an empty schedule this week, as 28 area teams are idle. The biggest game features a district showdown for all the marbles in Class 2A District 5. TFA (4-1) and Cocoa (1-3) are the only teams in this district, so Friday’s matchup at TFA will be for the title and an automatic FHSAA playoff berth.
Cocoa has fallen off since the departure of three-time state championship coach Ryan Schneider, who is now at Melbourne Central Catholic.
TFA, which was No. 6 in the state a week ago in the MaxPreps Florida rankings, dropped to No. 10 in updated rankings two days later. The top eight teams qualify for the FHSAA’s new Open Division state tournament, based on the MaxPreps rankings. IMG Academy is ranked No. 1, but the Avengers do not participate in the state playoffs.
No. 12 Ocoee (3-2) hosts No. 3 Jones in a non-district, Metro Conference clash. St. Cloud (3-2), coming off a lopsided district loss at Lake Nona, will be at unbeaten Gateway for another district showdown.
Super 16 Coaches Poll
Teams are listed with (record), number of votes, (first-place votes), results from last week, next game. All games 7 p.m., unless noted. (*denotes district games).
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 (4-1) 13 (13): def. Spruce Creek 42-14*; Next: Friday, vs. Centennial (1-4).
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2. TFA (4-1) 27: idle last week. Next: Friday, vs. Cocoa (1-3)*.
3. Jones (3-1) 36: def. Kathleen 33-0*; Next: at No. 12 Ocoee (3-2).
4, Seminole (6-0) 54: def. Apopka 43-18*; Next: Oct. 9, vs. Lake Mary (1-4)
5. Bishop Moore (4-2) 66: def. Deltona 55-0*; Next: Oct. 9, vs. Winter Springs (1-4)*.
6. Lake Nona (5-1) 81: def. No. 11 St, Cloud 43-8*; Next: Oct. 9, at Harmony*.
7. Edgewater (3-2) 84: def. No. 4 West Orange 31-8*; Next: Oct. 9, vs. Olympia (2-4)*.
8. West Orange (5-1) 87: lost to No. 10 Edgewater 31-8*: Next: Oct. 9, at Dr. Phillips (3-2)*.
9. Oviedo (3-2) 95: def. East River 61-13*; Next: Oct. 9, at Viera (302)*.
10. Evans (3-3) 110: def. Lake Minneola 46-0*; Next: Oct. 9, vs. South Lake (1-4)*.
11. East Ridge (4-2) 136: def. Celebration 56-3*; Next: Friday, vs. Wiregrass Ranch (2-3).
12. Ocoee (3-2) 150: def. Horizon 27-0*. Next: Friday, vs. No. 3 Jones (3-1).
13. Lake Howell (4-2) 155: def. Lyman 54-0*; Next: Oct. 9, at Melbourne (3-2).*
14. Hagerty (3-1) 159: def. Winter Park 20-6*; Next: Friday, at Seabreeze (3-2).
15. Lake Brantley (3-3) 162: def. No. 12 Lake Mary 28-21*; Next: Oct. 9, at Apopka (2-4)*.
16. (tie) Gateway (5-0) 164: def. Nova Lakes 42-0; Next: Friday, vs. St. Cloud (3-2)*.
16. (tie) Innovation (6-0) 164: def. Cypress Creek 42-7; Next: Oct. 9, at Colonial (3-3).
Others receiving votes, in the order of votes received: St. Cloud, Osceola, Windermere, Lake Mary, Dr. Phillips, South Lake, WInter Park.
*— denotes district game.
Coaching panel: Orange County — Patrick Browning (Edgewater), Travis Gabriel (Olympia), Tim Shifflet (Winter Park), Dennis Thomas (Horizon), Geno Thompson (West Orange), Elijah Williams (Jones). Seminole County — Karl Calhoun (Seminole), Dazzie Morris (Lake Howell), Greg Odierno (Oviedo). Lake County — Donnie Burchfield (East Ridge), Brad Lord (South Lake). Osceola County — Eric Pinellas (Osceola), Mike Short (St. Cloud).
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Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.