Coach John Benedetto warns preseason polls don't mean much, but he is flattered all the same.
By GREG AUMAN
Published September 4, 2003
Add a little more hype to football season at Land O'Lakes, if such a thing is possible.
The Gators, coming off a 12-1 season, are ranked fifth in Class 4A in the first state poll of 2003, four spots higher than where they finished last season.
"I don't really take much stock in that," coach John Benedetto said after Wednesday's practice. "Most of those things are based on last year's record. We're there because we had a 12-1 record and have (Drew) Weatherford back at quarterback."
Wednesday's ranking is flattering, Benedetto said, but his team is far more aware of another surprising number: the 40-14 score by which the Gators lost a preseason game at Hernando last week.
"They know we had a poor performance last Thursday," Benedetto said. "They understand they have a lot of work ahead of them. I think this (ranking) is kind of funny."
Land O'Lakes opens its season Friday at fellow defending district champion Zephyrhills. The Gators handed the Bulldogs their only regular-season loss last year 36-0.
No other county teams are ranked, though Pasco played to a preseason tie at 28 with South Sumter last week, and the Raiders received enough votes to rank an unofficial 14th in the Class 3A poll.
Despite the high ranking the Gators could be underdogs in at least one game this season. In two weeks Land O'Lakes plays host to Lake City Columbia, which is ranked No.2 in the Class 4A poll.
Want an example of how little a poll can mean this early in the season? Benedetto points to Melbourne Palm Bay, which eliminated Land O'Lakes in last season's region final. Palm Bay is now in Class 5A, where it starts the season No.1.
"Last year Palm Bay started the year No. 1, then they went 0-2 and they dropped completely out of the poll," Benedetto said. "Then all they did was win 13 games in a row and a state title. Last year we didn't exist until we were like 5-0, and even now no one really knows much about Land O'Lakes."
