Filling out a football schedule when you’re a state championship contender is almost always going to be a big challenge.
But when the coronavirus pandemic postponed the start of the 2020 season and forced teams to revise schedules, it became even tougher for schools like Edgewater and Jones High to find foes willing to play.
Edgewater, which was 13-2 last season and is No. 12 in USA Today’s preseason national rankings, lost five of its 10 original opponents.
The Eagles, Class 7A state runner-up last year, will open with a road trip to play national No. 1 IMG Academy of Bradenton on Sept. 18. They follow that with seven strong opponents: Winter Park (6-4), Wekiva (7-4), Timber Creek (10-2), Kissimmee Osceola (10-2), Jones (13-2), Bishop Moore (7-4) and Boone (5-5). IMG, Osceola and Timber Creek were the willing additions.
Four Lake County teams that were mandatory district opponents for Jones prior to the COVID-19 outbreak dropped the Tigers after the Florida High School Athletic Association eliminated district play this season. Eustis, Leesburg, Mount Dora and Tavares all completed their seven-game schedules without having to tangle with Jones, which was the state Class 5A runner-up in 2019.
Who can blame those teams? None of them was above .500 last season and the Tigers trampled them by a combined score of 212-6. The scores were 53-0, 54-0, 55-6 and 50-0. And that’s nothing new.
Jones is 8-0 against Lake County under coach Elijah Williams, and none of those contests has been close. Mismatches don’t really benefit anybody. But not having district games punishes powerhouse teams.
With assistance from Orange County Public Schools athletic director Doug Patterson, Jones was able to land three new local games against Evans, Lake Nona and Wekiva. But it still took adding an Oct. 30 road trip to play three-time defending state champ Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna to round out an eight-game regular-season schedule. Only three of those games are home.
The Tigers open Sept. 18 at old Orlando 5A rival Bishop Moore. Jones follows that with a resumption of its longstanding rivalry with Evans at home and a trip to play Lake Nona for the first time. A week later they’ll play at 8A state runner-up Apopka in a rematch of a game the Tigers won 21-12 a year ago.
Bishop Moore also lost district dates with Eustis, Mount Dora and Tavares. The Hornets retained Leesburg and were able to add Tohopekaliga, Fort Myers Bishop Verot and 8A power Dr. Phillips to fill out an eight-game schedule.
Did Lake County teams jump on the opportunity to void games against Jones and Bishop Moore? That depends on who you talk to.
Don Hogan, Lake County’s district A.D., said his schools did not use the confusion caused by COVID-19 to duck anybody. He said Orange County and Lake County administrators, among others, were considering limiting teams to in-county games up until a few weeks ago. That created a climate with a lot of uncertainty. Hogan said Lake schools were urged to schedule each other to assure games and fill in any blanks from there.
“We don’t feel like we dropped Jones,” Hogan said. “It’s a very difficult situation. I know there’s going to be some hurt feelings. But I don’t think anybody’s a bad guy in this.”
Bishop Moore is 32-0 against Lake County since Leesburg outscored the Hornets 32-28 in a 2009 game.
“What we were told was that Lake County was directed to play in county if they could, then schedule out of county,” Bishop Moore A.D. Mike Malatesta stated in a text reply to the Sentinel. “Some of the schools replaced our game with an in-county game. Do not think there was anything else to it. So we looked for other available opponents.”
Apopka, coming off a 12-2 Class 8A state runner-up finish, was able to maintain the look of its 2019 schedule. All eight of its 2020 opponents honored existing contracts.
Wekiva increased its degree of difficulty with games against Jones and perennial power Lakeland (12-1), which has collected seven state titles under legendary coach Bill Castle. The Mustangs host Edgewater Oct. 2, then finish with five straight road trips to Dr. Phillips, Jones, South Lake, Apopka and Lakeland.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
