More Florida vs. Pa. thoughts ... other notes
I'm Just Sayin ...
It seems the Rally at the Wolvarena event this past weekend has stoked some opinions on Western Pennsylvania and Florida football.
Remember a couple things: First, many Florida schools are extremely big. Looking at some enrollment figures, Manatee High, which defeated Woodland Hills, 39-16, has roughtly 500 more students in its high school than Woodland Hills. That's a big difference.
I'm not knocking Western Pennsylvania teams when I say they don't measure up to top teams in Florida. It's just a fact. We still have good teams, good players and good coaches in Western Pa. Florida just has a lot more good teams. Whether it's a larger population, better players, or whatever, Florida is better than Pennsylvania. So is Texas, California and even Ohio. Why is Ohio better? Because Ohio produces many more Division I skill position players than Pennsylvania.
Woodland Hills shouldn't feel bad about losing to Manatee by 23 points. Heck, Woodland Hills led at one point in the third quarter. Also, Manatee is ranked among the top five teams in the country. Woodland Hills isn't in the top 50. So what did you think would happen?
And if you think Florida football isn't better than Western Pennsylvania or Pennsylvania, consider this statistic: Florida had 355 players sign with Division I colleges from the class of 2010. Pennsylvania had 75.
Controversy at Herbstreit Classic
Glenville, Ohio, defeated Dwyer, Fla., in the Kirk Herbstreit Classic Monday at Ohio Stadium, but the finish to the game was quite controversial. Television replays on ESPN apparently showed the officials might have blown a few calls. Here is a story from Sun-Sentinel.
Crowds
Four games at Cowboys Stadium in Texas drew a little more than 20,000. Four games at the Wolvarena drew 5,000, at the most.
Even if Ken Halloy has a Rally at the Wolvarena II next year like he said he wants, don't look for any Florida teams to come back.
DiMichele at Sto-Rox
Former Sto-Rox star Adam DiMichele is a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater. He comes to practices a few days a week and works with the quarterbacks. DiMichele was cut by a Canadian Football League team earlier this year.