After back-to-back trips to Lakeland to cover the girls and boys basketball Final Four the last couple weeks, we finally made the transition to spring sports last week.
We couldn’t have picked a better kick off for us with the inaugural Tournament of Champions softball tournament at Oakleaf, featuring Trinity Christian, Ponte Vedra, West Nassau, Hardee County, Aucilla Christian, Lakewood Ranch and host Oakleaf. Seven of the eight teams were in the Final Four last season.
Speaking of which, no pressure coaches we just booked our hotel in Vero Beach, hopefully we will see you there.
As we move on here is our inaugural spring sports rankings, based on strength of schedule and head-to-head matchups and playoff potential. We kick it off with flag football, followed by softball and baseball in later posts.
Next to lacrosse, flag football is the fastest growing sport across the state and locally and features teams in Clay, Duval and Nassau counties and was added this year at Bradford, Florida Deaf and Suwannee.
Flag Football Rankings
1. Clay (2-0)
Outlook: In just their second season, the Blue Devils surprised everyone by first winning the district then knocking off Parker in the first round on their way to the Elite 8 before falling on the road at Choctaw. Doesn’t look like the Devils are going anywhere but up as they are off to another great start after a 35-6 win over Ed White and 39-0 win over Bradford.
2. Terry Parker (2-0)
Outlook: How good is this Braves team remains to be seen ? One thing is for certain, this team will be fun to watch as the Braves are off to another solid start with a pair of district wins, including a 51-0 over Wolfson and a 14-0 win over district rival Paxon.
3. Fleming Island (1-0)
Outlook: The good news is the Eagles are only 1-0, the bad news is they are just getting started. Despite the late start, the Eagles had little trouble with newcomer Bradford in a 55-0 season opening win.
4. Stanton (4-0)
Outlook: Cliff Collins has done an amazing job so far guiding the Blue Devils to a 4-0 start with wins over Atlantic Coast 19-0, Ribault 20-6, Fletcher 13-0 and Englewood 7-6 in their most recent meeting.
5. Mandarin (2-0)
Outlook: The return of coach Larry Yudin perhaps has provided a much needed spark in the program again as the Mustangs have opened the season with a 6-0 2 OT overtime win over Englewood and 20-0 win over Fletcher.
Honorable Mention: Keystone Heights (3-0), Orange Park (2-0), Ridgeview (1-1), Baldwin (2-1), Westside (4-1), First Coast (3-0)
DISTRICT STANDINGS
DISTRICT 1-2A
(District/Overall)
Sub-District A
Mandarin (0-0) (2-0)
Fleming Island (0-0) (1-0)
Oakleaf (0-0) (1-0)
Atlantic Coast (0-0) (0-3)
Sub-District B
Sandalwood (1-0) (1-1)
First Coast (0-0) (3-0)
Fletcher (0-0) (0-2)
Lee (0-1) (1-1)
DISTRICT 2-2A
Wekiva (2-0) (4-0)
Spruce Creek (2-1) (3-1)
Palm Coast (1-1) (3-2)
Apopka (1-1) (2-2)
Deland (1-1) (1-2)
Ocoee (0-2) (0-2)
DISTRICT 3-1A
Parker (2-0) (2-0) *
Stanton (2-0) (4-0)
Englewood (1-1) (1-2)
Jackson (1-1) (1-1) *
Raines (0-0) (0-0) *
Wolfson (0-1) (0-1) *
Ribault (0-1) (0-3) *
Paxon (0-2) (0-3) *
DISTRICT 4-1A
Clay (2-0) (2-0) *
Orange Park (2-0) (2-0)
Westside (3-1) (4-1)
Baldwin (2-1) (2-1)
Ridgeview (1-1) (1-1) *
Ed White (1-2) (1-2)
Middleburg (0-1) (0-1) *
Bradford (0-2) (0-4)
Florida Deaf (0-3) (0-3) *
DISTRICT 5-1A
Sub-District A
Crystal River (4-0) (4-0) *
Belleview (1-0) (2-0) *
Citrus (2-1) (2-2) *
Dunnellon (0-3) (0-3) *
Lecanto (0-2) (2-2) *
West Port (0-1) (0-1) *
Sub-District B
Keystone Heights (2-0) (3-0) *
Vanguard (1-1) (1-1) *
Lake Weir (1-0) (1-1) *
Forest (1-1) (1-1) *
Palatka (1-2) (1-2) *
North Marion (1-2) (1-2) *
Trinity Catholic (0-1) (0-2) *
DISTRICT 9-1A
Mainland (2-0) (3-0)
Seabreeze (3-0) (4-2)
Pine Ridge (2-0) (2-1)
Matanzas (2-1) (2-1)
Deltona (1-1) (1-1)
Atlantic (0-2) (0-2)
New Smyrna Beach (0-2) (0-3)
Warner Christian (0-4) (0-4)
* Missing scores
THIS WEEK
March 27
Middleburg at Baldwin
Ribault at Englewood
Lee at Fletcher
Mandarin at Oakleaf
Stanton at Paxon
Keystone Heights at Vanguard
Ridgeview at White
First Coast at Wolfson
March 28
White at Orange Park
Atlantic Coast at Sandalwood
Lee at Wolfson
March 29
Orange Park at Baldwin
Westside at Clay
Mandarin at Fernandina Beach
Sandalwood at First Coast
Oakleaf at Fleming Island
Stanton at Jackson
Atlantic Coast at Matanzas
Deland at Palm Coast
Englewood at Parker
Raines at Ribault
Paxon at Wolfson
