Clearwater rode a 14-0 record into the inaugural state playoffs last May, and the Tornadoes had a lot of confidence as host and a contestant for the title.
"We didn't know what it was going to be like," Clearwater junior Jessie Wheeley said. "We had an attitude about it because we hadn't lost a game. We thought it was going to be easy."
It wasn't.
The Tornadoes lost to Hollywood Hills 18-0 in a quarterfinal, learning a valuable lesson: There's more to worry about than beating teams in Pinellas County; you've got to hang with the rest of the state.
Though Clearwater was the squad to experience the thumping, it wasn't the only one paying attention. Northeast coach Dan Dotter and a few of his players were in the stands watching.
"There was obviously a lot better competition," Dotter said. "It seemed like every team had three or four girls who could really fly, and we have just one or two."
The view from the field wasn't much better.
"I was very intimidated when some of those girls came out there," Clearwater junior Melissa Mende said. "They're not 145. They're 245."
The opposition not only was bigger, they were faster, stronger and more skilled than the Tornadoes had seen. Hollywood Hills appeared with matching warmups, coordinating duffles and a few shaved heads. It ran schemes the Tornadoes hadn't seen, executing at a level they had yet to reach.
"I'm standing there (on the field) watching them in awe," Mende said. "They were amazing."
Clearwater coach Robert Lucio said the offense wasn't as sharp and the team wasn't as focused as it needed to be. "I learned that there's two levels of football in this state," Lucio said. "I don't think we realized how intense the competition was going to be. They weren't playing around. They were always a step ahead."
Boca Ciega's Jerry Odell, whose squad lost to Clearwater by a point in the play-in game, was blocked from state. But he wasn't surprised by the outcome - especially the domination of the southern teams. "It's just like in regular football," Odell said. "They have so much more in numbers."
The championship featured squads from south Florida, where the majority of the teams are from. With only 95 schools participating, there is one classification, and everyone - no matter school size - plays against each other. The larger schools may have an advantage because they have a larger pool of students from which to find athletes.
Odell's philosophy is a strong passing game can neutralize a lack of speed, but Lucio said he saw teams win with the run and pass. No matter what the offense, it simply was too well done.
This season, Lucio has made some changes at Clearwater. He requires everyone on offense to memorize each play. Last year, the team referred to notes on armbands. He also has implemented more conditioning.
There's no guarantee the Tornadoes will return to the state tournament, but they think they'll be a little more prepared this time if the do. "Now we know what we need to be," Mende said.
