Branford, Fort White, Hawthorne, Santa Fe, Suwannee, Taylor County, Union County and Williston all are off. Columbia is scheduled to have a bye, though school officials are trying to put together a last-minute home game with Clermont East Ridge (which actually would be a nice matchup).

Gainesville and Buchholz will meet Thursday night at Citizens Field to allow players to attend Gator Growl the next night.

Aside from GHS-Buchholz, the best games appear to be North Marion visiting Newberry and Eastside at Ocala Trinity Catholic on Friday night.

Please feel free to respond with selections of your own (but be nice… we had some real, um, socially challenged folks respond a few months back to the all-decade boys basketball team, and these teams were not easy to choose).

My teams will include seven players in order to account for a libero. All players named were in the Classes of 2000-09. And I know there were a lot of great players that didn’t make either team. That’s why I’d love to see teams from all of you out there.

Here goes …

First team
OH/MB- Marcie Hampton, P.K. Yonge
OH- Michelle Stalbaum, GHS
MB- Taylor Williams, GHS
MB- Kelsey Bowers, GHS
S- Rose Burke, GHS
S/OH- Nirelle Hampton, P.K. Yonge
Libero- Elyse Cusack, P.K. Yonge

Second team
OH- Janine Williams, P.K. Yonge
OH- Christine Pinder, Buchholz
MB- Chloe Mann, Eastside
MB- Kittery Neale, Oak Hall
S- Jenny Neelands, Buchholz
S- Kristen Higbee, Oak Hall
Libero- Nicki Meyer, Buchholz

Check this out …

Following a preseason classic game against Columbia (which might be the area’s No. 1 team), five of the Indians’ first six games are at Madison County, home against Newberry, home against Union County, at 2008 Class 1A state champion Tallahassee North Florida Christian and at home against Tallahassee Florida High.

Those teams went a combined 49-11 last season. That’s an 81.7 winning percentage.

Most key for FWHS (9-2 in 2008) are the games against District 2-2B rivals Union County and Florida High. If the Indians can get by both of those foes (or even earn a split), they will be in great shape to earn a playoff berth.

It won’t be easy (yeah, call me Captain Obvious), but if Fort White can get in to the postseason, it might be more tested than any team in 2B. Not saying Demetric Jackson’s team can get by the Jacksonville Bolles, Ocala Trinity Catholics or Pahokees of the classification. But the Indians certainly won’t be intimidated.

The school took the 3A public overall, as well as the 3A girls title. The P.K. Yonge boys placed fourth in 3A.

The Blue Wave have been overall winners in their classification every year since 2003, when they won the girls championship, but not the boys or overall.

Final rankings in each class are listed below.

CLASS 6A
1. Winter Park, 864 points.
2. Timber Creek (Orlando), 615.5.
3. Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs), 605.5.
4. Miami Palmetto, 578.
5. Douglas (Parkland), 569.
6. Melbourne, 550.
7. Boca Raton, 540.
8. Columbus (Miami), 514.
9. Dr. Phillips (Orlando), 492.
9. Oviedo, 479.5.
9. Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 466.

CLASS 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), 1055.5 points.
2. Plant (Tampa), 666.5.
3. Leon (Tallahassee), 566.
4. Bartram Trail (Jacksonville), 553.5.
5. Wharton (Tampa), 518.
6. Chiles (Tallahassee), 516.
7. Fort Walton Beach, 495.
8. Lake Howell (Winter Park), 479.
9. Martin County (Stuart), 451.5.
10. Niceville, 402.

CLASS 4A
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra Beach), 467.5 points.
2. Bishop Moore (Orlando), 675.4.
3. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale), 623.5.
4. Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches), 607.5.
5. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 531.5.
6. Naples, 517.
7. Gulf Breeze, 471.5.
8. Belen Jesuit (Miami), 438.5.
9. Monsignor Pace (Miami), 389.5.
10. Stanton (Jacksonville), 300.

CLASS 3A PUBLIC
1. P.K. Yonge, 520.3 points.
2. South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach), 284.
3. Florida High (Tallahassee), 253.
4. Keystone Heights, 188.9.
5. Marianna, 180.5.
6. Ribault (Jacksonville), 177.5.
7. Wildwood, 150.5.
8. McKeel (Lakeland), 147.
9. Williston, 141.5.
10. Parkway (Miramar), 134.

CLASS 3A PRIVATE
1. Bolles (Jacksonville), 1310 points.
2. American Heritage (Plantation), 892.5.
3. Gulliver Prep (Miami), 879.5.
4. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando), 823.5.
5. St. Andrew’s (Boca Raton), 770.5.
6. Trinity Prep (Winter Park), 676.
7. Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale), 604.5.
8. Ransom Everglades (Miami), 518.5.
9. Berkeley Prep (Tampa), 476.
10. Bishop Verot (Fort Myers), 435.5.

CLASS 2A PUBLIC
1. Port St. Joe, 439.5 points.
2. Fort Meade, 291.5.
3. Cottondale, 222.
4. Bozeman (Panama City), 143.
5. Moore Haven, 138.5.
6. Baker, 135.
7. Lafayette, 95.
8. Franklin County (Eastpoint), 92.5.
9. Sneads, 89.5.
10. Hilliard, 74.5.

CLASS 2A PRIVATE
1. Maclay (Tallahassee), 693 points.
2. American Heritage (Delray Beach), 578.
3. Community School (Naples), 550.5.
4. Tampa Prep, 451.
5. Holy Trinity (Melbourne), 447.5.
6. Westminster Christian (Miami), 423.
7. (tie) Benjamin (North Palm Beach), 356.
7. (tie) First Academy (Orlando), 356.
9. Northside Christian (St. Petersburg), 355.
10. King’s Academy (West Palm Beach), 328.

CLASS 1A PUBLIC
1. Graceville, 248 points.
2. FAMU (Tallahassee), 221.5.
3. Paxton, 87.
4. Malone, 65.
5. Bethlehem (Bonifay), 25.
6. Central (Milton), 5.
7. 11 schools tied with zero points.

CLASS 1A PRIVATE
1. Lake Worth Christian (Boynton Beach), 307 points.
2. Eagle’s View (Jacksonville), 272.3.
3. Cambridge (Tampa), 254.5.
4. Bradenton Christian, 231.
5. Trinity Christian (Deltona), 228.
6. Warner Christian (South Daytona), 209.5.
7. Lake Mary Prep, 198.5.
8. Geneva (Winter Park), 198.
9. Merritt Island Christian, 183.
10. Sarasota Christian, 177.5.

Girls Standings

CLASS 6A
1. Winter Park, 497 points.
2. Timber Creek (Orlando), 416.
3. Douglas (Parkland), 356.5.
4. Oviedo, 308.
5. Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 307.5.

CLASS 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), 421 points.
2. Plant (Tampa), 389.
3. Lake Howell (Winter Park), 386.
4. Bartram Trail (Jacksonville), 380.
5. Leon (Tallahassee), 336.

CLASS 4A
1. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale), 380 points.
2. Bishop Moore (Orlando), 359.
3. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), 337.5.
4. Nease (Ponte Vedra Beach), 323.5.
5. Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches), 295.

CLASS 3A PUBLIC
1. P.K. Yonge, 404 points.
2. South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach), 219.
3. Keystone Heights, 125.
4. Parkway (Miramar), 110.
5. Florida High (Tallahassee), 103.

CLASS 3A PRIVATE
1. Bolles (Jacksonville), 665.5 points.
2. American Heritage (Plantation), 583.
3. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando), 537.5.
4. Trinity Prep (Winter Park), 421.
5. St. Andrew’s (Boca Raton), 419.

CLASS 2A PUBLIC
1. Port St. Joe, 259 points.
2. Cottondale, 157.
3. Moore Haven, 93.
4. Lafayette, 66.
5. (tie) Fort Meade, 65.
5. (tie) Sneads, 65.

CLASS 2A PRIVATE
1. Community School (Naples), 383 points.
2. Maclay (Tallahassee), 310.
3. Northside Christian (St. Petersburg), 299.
4. American Heritage (Delray Beach), 269.5.
5. Tampa Prep, 259.

CLASS 1A PUBLIC
1. Graceville, 158 points.
2. FAMU (Tallahassee), 100.
3. Paxton, 27.
4. Bethlehem (Bonifay), 25.
5. Central (Milton), 5.

CLASS 1A PRIVATE
1. Lake Worth Christian (Boynton Beach), 303 points.
2. Merritt Island Christian, 158.
3. Cambridge (Tampa), 154.5.
4. Sarasota Christian, 141.
5. Geneva (Winter Park), 133.

Boys Standings

CLASS 6A
1. Columbus (Miami), 514 points.
2. Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs), 453.5.
3. Winter Park, 367.
4. Melbourne, 350.
5. Boca Raton, 336.

CLASS 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), 634.5 points.
2. Fort Walton Beach, 358.
3. Jesuit (Tampa), 313.
4. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens), 295.8.
5. Plant (Tampa), 277.5.

CLASS 4A
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra Beach), 444 points.
2. Belen Jesuit (Miami), 438.5.
3. Monsignor Pace (Miami), 354.5.
4. Bishop Moore (Orlando), 316.4.
5. Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches), 312.5.

CLASS 3A PUBLIC
1. Florida High (Tallahassee), 150 points.
2. Madison County (Madison), 128.
3. Jones (Orlando), 124.
4. P.K. Yonge, 116.3.
5. Marianna, 115.5.

CLASS 3A PRIVATE
1. Bolles (Jacksonville), 644.5 points.
2. Gulliver Prep (Miami), 577.5.
3. Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale), 354.5.
4. St. Andrew’s (Boca Raton), 351.5.
5. American Heritage (Plantation), 309.5.

CLASS 2A PUBLIC
1. Fort Meade, 226.5 points.
2. Port St. Joe, 180.5.
3. Franklin County (Eastpoint), 92.5.
4. Bozeman (Panama City), 87.5.
5. Baker, 75.

CLASS 2A PRIVATE
1. Maclay (Tallahassee), 383 points.
2. American Heritage (Delray Beach), 308.5.
3. Holy Trinity (Melbourne), 258.
4. Tampa Prep, 192.
5. Benjamin (North Palm Beach), 185.5.

CLASS 1A PUBLIC
1. FAMU (Tallahassee), 121.5 points.
2. Graceville, 90.
3. Malone, 65.
4. Paxton, 60.
5. 13 schools tied with 0 points.

CLASS 1A PRIVATE
1. Eagle’s View (Jacksonville), 162.3 points.
2. Victory Christian (Lakeland), 158.
3. Trinity Christian (Deltona), 135.
4. Upperroom Christian (Lauderhill), 133.5.
5. Circle Christian (Orlando), 119.8.

The Sun has obtained a series of e-mail correspondences between Florida Coastal School of Law professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar, the front-person in the suit, and FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing that occurred before litigation was filed.

In those letters Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic swimming gold medalist and FHSAA Hall of Famer, expressed her belief that competitive cheerleading joining football as the sports whose schedules were not reduced by Policy 6 does not provide a proper gender balance. In an e-mail dated June 8, she referred to cheerleading as a “sideline activity” and suggested cheerleading’s structure be fixed “so that it conforms to recognized standards for a sport.”

An e-mail from Dearing on June 11 asked Hogshead-Makar what her thoughts would be if the board of directors convened a “special meeting in July, and rescinds the action taken to reduce the maximum number of allowable contests (from 25 to 20 for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years).”

Hogshead-Makar responded with an e-mail to all FHSAA board members stating her legal team was demanding an emergency board meeting on or before June 26. She said a July meeting would be too late for schools to add back the games lost with the April 27 vote.

On June 12 Hogshead-Makar sent an e-mail to Florida’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Larry Cretul. There, she said attempts at a compromise between her group and Dearing were unsuccessful and asked that Cretul intervene.

Three days later the House’s general counsel, Karen M. Camechis, replied with a short letter declining Hogshead-Makar’s request.

Attached to this blog are copies of those e-mails, as well as a copy of the actual suit that was filed by Hogshead-Makar and fellow attorneys Wayne Hogan, Leslie Goller with Terrell Hogan.

When reached by phone, FHSAA director of media relations Cristina Alvarez said “we have no comment.” Alvarez added Dearing was out of town this week and that due to the litigation she was unsure if the FHSAA would be able to provide a statement in the near future.

A few other notes …

* According to Policy 9, Section D of the FHSAA Handbook, legal fees incurred by the FHSAA will be paid by member schools. That could mean schools that are anti-Policy 6 would be on the hook to financially support a court fight defending Policy 6.

* In April an agreement was reached between the Michigan High School Athletic Association and Communities for Equity concerning a Title IX lawsuit filed in 1998. The MHSAA agreed to pay $6 million in legal fees by 2015 to Communities for Equity, which won the lawsuit in 2001.

The lawsuit contended that the MHSAA’s scheduling of girls sports in 1998 did not follow colleges and universities and therefore was detrimental to female athletes because it limited news coverage of their games and their ability to play for college recruiters that follow the university schedule. The suit argued that the scheduling policy violated equal protection rights under the 14th amendment, Michigan civil rights laws, and Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education programs, including athletics.

* Two of the most anti-Policy 6 board members, Oak Hall athletic director Jeff Malloy and Naples AD Ernie Modugno, will see their FHSAA terms end June 30.

While no one should get their hopes up too high, it appears the FHSAA
board of directors could be revisiting its decision to reduce schedules
for all sports (except varsity football and competitive cheerleading)
by 20 percent this Thursday and Friday at the final meetings of the
school year. The meetings will take place at the Orlando Airport
Marriott.

Board member/Oak Hall athletic director Jeff Malloy, the most
vocal FHSAA dissenter of the reductions, said he hopes public opinion
will sway previous pro-cut voters.

“The Sunshine Law says I can’t speak to fellow board members
(about the topic), but I imagine many of them have received the same
type of e-mail feedback I have, which has pretty much all be negative
on the reductions,” Malloy said. “In my six years on the board, I’ve
never received so much feedback.”

Malloy said he believes Policy 6 was passed too quickly to
properly analyze the actual financial impact the 20 percent game
reductions would have.

Pro-cut supporters voted that way because they believed that would
be the only way to help schools through the current recession. Malloy
counters with two local examples of how the cuts are hurting schools in
the pocketbook.

* P.K. Yonge volleyball most likely would be on anyone’s list of
the top-15 programs in the state in that sport. The Blue Wave co-host
the Gatortown Classic each year with Buchholz, and it not only brings
in tremendous statewide talent (eventual final four teams Tampa
Berkeley Prep and Venice met for the 2008 title), it also serves as a
fundraiser for P.K. Yonge and Buchholz. Now, because the Blue Wave are
in a nine-team district (one in which PKY might not lose so much as a
game all season), they won’t be able to play in their own tournament.
That hurts financially and competitively, as coach Perry McDonald
always schedules big to help his team once the playoffs roll around.

* Oak Hall volleyball would belong on that same top-15 list as
P.K. Yonge. The Eagles fill their gym for often-entertaining matches
with rivals like Buchholz, P.K. Yonge, Gainesville, Eastside and Santa
Fe every year. Now, the reductions have kept only GHS and Santa Fe on
OHS’s 2009 schedule. Malloy makes a point when he rhetorically asks how
it helps Oak Hall’s program financially to have to play new district
opponent Leesburg First Academy twice a year in front of 50 fans while
not being able to play Buchholz with 500 people on hand. I can add
something here from a media persepective: our paper wouldn’t send a
writer or a photographer to cover an Oak Hall-Leesburg First Academy
regular-season match, but Oak Hall-Buchholz likely would get both and
possibly a spot on the front page of the sports section.

“The drum I’ve been beating is not in any way trying to be
disrespectful to (FHSAA executive director) Dr. (Roger) Dearing or my
fellow board members (who voted for the cuts), but most of the feedback
I have gotten has been against Policy 6,” Malloy said. “I feel like in
our first (9-6) vote, we didn’t serve our member schools well.”

If Malloy’s new proposal fails, the FHSAA could be hit with a lawsuit.

Mary Hogshead-Makar, a three-time 1984 Olympic swimming gold medalist,
is now a professor at the Florida Coastal School of Law in
Jacksonville. She said by not making any cuts in football, Title IX has
been violated. At the bottom of this blog, I have attached two letters
she sent to the FHSAA as the voice of a group called Spokespeople for
Florida’s Parents for Athletic Equity.

Now, even with the negative statewide backlash about the reductions,
there certainly is no guarantee if a re-vote happens that it will
overturn April’s decision. After the initial vote, one person very
close to the situation said those who came to that board meeting to
speak against the cuts “wasted their time because every board member
went in with their minds already made up, regardless of what side they
were on.” Another source added “it was a done deal long before the vote
went down.”

With that said, Malloy, whose tenure with the FHSAA concludes with
this board meeting, added he believes nobody on the pro-cut side of the
story is trying to hurt anyone else.

“I think this was pushed to (Dearing) by superintendents,” said
Malloy, echoing a statement told to me by an FHSAA employee a few
months back. “And through due diligence, he felt he needed to push the
budget crisis. I don’t think everybody thought of all the angles before
doing this. I also don’t think anyone did anything malicious. I think
Dr. Dearing’s heart is in the right place.”

]]> http://patton.blogs.gatorsports.com/10004/schedule-reductions-revisited/feed/ 0 http://patton.blogs.gatorsports.com/10005/first-d-i-offer-for-lafayette-qb/ http://patton.blogs.gatorsports.com/10005/first-d-i-offer-for-lafayette-qb/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 21:00:11 +0000 admin http://prepsblog.gainesville.com/default.asp?item=2383323 Florida International gave Lafayette rising senior quarterback Nick
Bracewell his first Division I scholarship offer last week, according
to Hornets’ coach
Joey Pearson.

FIU isn’t alone in expressing interest in the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder
with 4.8 speed in the 40-yard dash and the arm to throw a pretty deep
ball. Tulane, Troy, Western Kentucky, Indiana, Central Florida and
Florida Atlantic are among the other Division I schools expressing
interest.

Pearson said Bracewell hasn’t finalized where he will camp over the
summer, but plans to make those decisions in the next week or so.

An athletic 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker, Nelson entered last
week with scholarship offers from Central Florida and Arkansas. Then, a
few days ago, 2007 BCS champion LSU made an offer.

So far, the hometown Gators have shown interest, inviting Nelson
to Junior Day and a few spring practices, but haven’t pulled the
trigger on a scholarship.

At this point, Columbia running back Tiger Powell (South Florida)
is the only local Class of 2010 prospect to have made a commitment.

* To those who are acting as if the FHSAA wanted to
reduce the number of games played by high school teams, ask yourself
why you think that way. It makes no sense for the FHSAA go in this
direction if the association didn’t think it was absolutely necessary.
Cutting games benefits the FHSAA in no way.

* One thing I do
find preposterous from the FHSAA’s side is the supposed gender equity
by saying football and competitive cheerleading won’t be touched by
Policy 6. Competitive cheerleading??? Nothing against the young ladies
(and men, making “gender equity” a questionable term here) who
participate in competitive cheerleading, as no doubt they work very
hard and deserve their own spotlight. But football is a
revenue-producer, competitive cheerleading – which still doesn’t have
many schools involved – is not. I’m guessing the reason something like
volleyball or basketball wasn’t selected is having to justify picking
one sport over the other. Still, how do you justify competitive
cheerleading as a compromise? To me, it is insulting.

* Oak Hall
athletic director Jeff Malloy, on the FHSAA board, came across very
well at Monday’s meeting as a champion of those who didn’t want the
reductions. He fought to have the vote go against Policy 6 and even had
a compromise policy in his back pocket, hoping that would be
acceptable. This topic has created a definite divide, and the majority
of people who have written me are anti-Policy 6. They should all be
thankful Malloy tried his best to be their voice on the board during
the meeting.

* On the other side, it is obvious FHSAA executive
director Roger Dearing believes this is the only way to go, and while
taking hits for his stance, Dearing does feel Policy 6 is what is best
for high school athletics in Florida for now. It is difficult for me to
believe this was an easy call for him.

* South Florida appears
to be torn on the issue. A few hours after Cheryl Golden of the Greater
Miami Athletic Conference expressed her support for Policy 6 at the
board meeting, I got an e-mail from Chuck Little of the Junior Orange
Bowl Committee expressing his dismay with the vote.

* There is
an informal call for schools to boycott preseason games as a way of
protest. Not sure how that helps the athletes now playing 20 percent
less regular-season games, but I guess it would prove a somewhat viable
way to get noticed as being upset about the situation.

What might actually have come is a little bit of a surprise is
that Gainesville High School senior guard Greg Gantt finished second.
Now, saying “surprise,” has nothing to do with Gantt’s ability. What it
does have to do with is numbers.

Often, in voting for basketball awards, the biggest thing that comes
into play is points-per-game. Not saying that’s right or wrong, but it
is true.

Of the six finalists, Gantt’s 16.8 ppg were easily the lowest, but
that was by design, as he had more potential scorers around him than
the other five classification winners. By comparison, Knight averaged
31.2 ppg.

But where Gantt gained ground was in Lakeland at the state championships.

There, in front of many of the voters assigned by the Florida Dairy
Farmers (of which I am one), Gantt averaged 27 points in two games, the
same as Knight. Gantt’s 33 points in the Hurricanes’ Class 5A state
semifinal victory against Tampa King was only topped in Lakeland by
Jacksonville Arlington Country Day’s Rodney McGruder (34 points against
West Palm Beach Summit Christian in the blowout 2A final).

Gantt, a Florida Atlantic signee, made five 3s in the two games and
also averaged six rebounds in the victories against King and Clearwater.

At The Lakeland Center, a fellow sports writer walked over to me and
said Gantt was the best shooter he had seen all year. That writer, also
a Mr. Basketball voter, said he would remember Gantt’s performance in
Lakeland when his ballot was due.

Obviously, he wasn’t the only one.