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An unsettled district

The Class 3A-6 teams have one of the state's worst combined records, and four of the squads play each other Friday.

By DAVID MURPHY
Published October 12, 2005

Jamie Joyner and Nature Coast Tech have it all figured out. They've crunched the numbers, analyzed the schedules and concocted the perfect storm of wins and losses that will sweep them into the playoffs.

When asked if he was intrigued to see what happens this Friday, when four of the five teams in Class 3A, District 6 face off against each other, Joyner chuckled.

"Yeah," said the coach, whose Sharks play Citrus (2-4, 1-0), "we'll be watching."

What they'll see is a district in which nothing is settled.

It isn't just that all five teams have a shot at making the playoffs, it's that all five have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. Nature Coast is the only one that doesn't control its destiny, and the scenario that would get it into the postseason (finishing second behind Lecanto) isn't completely absurd.

Perhaps moreso than any other district in Florida, there's no team in 3A-6 that is the clear front-runner. Of the state's 96 districts, only eight do not have a squad with a winning record. District 6 is one of them, and the only one in Class 3A.

Furthermore, the combined overall record of its five teams is 9-22, tied for the fifth-worst winning percentage in the state.

At 3-3, Lecanto is the leader of the pack in terms of overall record and is the only squad that has more than one non-district victory. One of those wins came against Central, which in the first game of the season pasted Hernando 33-0. But in district play, Lecanto lost to Citrus and narrowly defeated Nature Coast.

Hernando opened its district schedule with a 46-25 victory over Crystal River and may be playing the best football of any of the five teams.

Confused?

You aren't the only one.

"I would think that (after this Friday) there might be some light at the end of the tunnel," Citrus coach Rik Haines said, "but I don't know if anyone will be eliminated."

Haines' Hurricanes won't be, though they could knock out Joyner's Sharks. Hernando and Lecanto, regardless of the outcome of their game, will be alive. So, too, will Crystal River, which has a bye.

"I knew (before the season) we were going to be fairly even between all five schools," Crystal River coach Craig Frederick said. "There's no dominant team. Having played Hernando, I would have to say they're the favorite. But we'll find out this week."

Haines thinks a lot of it has to do with scheduling. His 'Canes, for instance, have played just one non-district opponent with a losing record.

Crystal River has yet to face a non-district opponent with a losing record, including Trinity Catholic, which has out-scored its foes 369-0 this season. In all, the combined record of Crystal River's non-district opponents is 27-6. In fact, the combined mark of the 23 non-district foes that 3A-6 teams have faced is 92-54.

"I think there are coaches that go out and schedule for wins," Haines said. "It is called job security. But when you get down to playoffs, if your kids haven't seen that speed and that talent ... it's a tough road to hoe."

Joyner said he agrees with Haines' sentiment about scheduling, but that "there is no denying our district is down this year."

Take away South Sumter, which for years dominated the district, and you get the current situation. "Without South Sumter, it's wide open," Hernando coach Matt Smith said.

Still, two teams will make the playoffs, regardless of their overall record. Which ones remains to be seen.

Staff writer Brian Sumers contributed to this report.

[Last modified October 12, 2005, 00:19:18]