EDITOR’S COMMENTARY: Many thanks go out to Monika Malyszko, who is an outstanding photographer and makes her work available to us at PalmHarborSports.com. Thank you Monika for all you do for PHU, from photography to social media to just flat-out giving a damn about the kids on the team.
East Lake vs. Palm Harbor doesn’t need any extra gasoline poured on it to make for one helluva fire. The problem is, in 2023 there’s a bunch of extra fuel lying around — in close proximity to the flames.
Palm Harbor (6-2) is ranked higher in the FHSAA power rankings (also, see simplified chart below) and the Hurricanes have the better record coming into Friday’s game at Hurricanes Stadium. East Lake (4-4) on the other hand has beaten the only two teams that have beaten the Hurricanes — Steinbrenner and Tarpon Springs.
PURCHASE EAST LAKE GAME TICKETS & PARKING: https://gofan.co/
East Lake also has won 19 all-time meetings against PHU going back to the first meeting in 2001. The Hurricanes have won only four — with their last on-field win coming in 2015. The fanbases even disagree on the name of one of the schools: Is it East Lake or East Pond, as the ‘Canes prefer to call it?
Considering today’s players weren’t born in 2001 and had nothing to do with a vast majority of the 23 games these “neighbors” have played, we doubt they’ll care much about those historical numbers. But the rivalry between these two schools is well-known in the Palm Harbor neighborhood, as many residents of PH go to East Lake — which is officially located in Tarpon Springs.
PHU FOOTBALL HISTORY – YEAR BY YEAR: The updated chart
As the crow flies, the schools are around five miles apart. With Lake Tarpon to maneuver around, it takes about 20 minutes for a bus to make the trip during Friday afternoon traffic. They’re neighbors, just like the Hatfields and McCoys were.
The rivalry isn’t just limited to football, it extends to everything — including how loud each fanbase is when it hosts. And it will be loud on Friday night.
Add to that PHU’s first real chance at a district football championship in more than a decade, and it is the kind of fuel mentioned early in this story. If East Lake wins, it clinches the title.
If PHU defeats East Lake, the waiting game begins (see FHSAA playoff ratings chart and criteria below). Then, the ‘Canes would need to root for Sickles to upset Steinbrenner at the same time PHU-East Lake is going on. If that scenario happens? PHU clinches the title Friday night. But Sickles beating Steinbrenner isn’t likely.
If PHU, East Lake, and Steinbrenner all finish 2-1 in Class 4M-District 6 play, the district championship would go to the highest-ranked team in the final FHSAA state playoff rankings of the year, which would be released after the PHU-Dunedin game on Nov. 3 — so all the teams would have to wait for the final “answer”.
It is worth noting though that as of Oct. 25, PHU is ahead of East Lake and Steinbrenner in that ranking. If PHU beats East Lake and Dunedin, there’s a very real chance it could clinch its first-ever title.
Easier typed than done though.
PURCHASE EAST LAKE GAME TICKETS & PARKING: https://gofan.co/
First things first — PHU has lost a combined 65-14 in the past two seasons to East Lake. While the Hurricanes are having a strong season going by past standards, their senior-laden lineup knows better than to overlook a well-coached 4-4 team from East Lake. The Eagles, who are young at the offensive skill positions, got off to a slow start at 0-3. They then proceeded to win four in a row before falling last week to a very talented Clearwater team.
Love statistical comparisons? — Here you go:
| EAST LAKE | PALM HARBOR | |
| PTS PER GAME | 23.9 PPG | 26.0 PPG |
| PTS GIVEN UP | 23.9 PPG | 14.5 PPG |
| RUSHING OFFENSE | 1183 YDS | 1319 YDS |
| PASSING OFFENSE | 1150 YDS | 512 YDS |
| TOP RUSHER | W. Mirabella (528 yds) | M. Boebert (717 yds) |
| TOP PASSER | E. Millian (864 yds) | W. Seibert (322 yds) |
| TOP RECEIVER | W. Mirabella (209 yds) | J. Rennert (174 yds) |
| TOP DEFENSE | A. Cruz (72 tackles) | G. Fodor (71 tackles) |
NOTE – HOW DO THE FLORIDA PLAYOFFS WORK IN 2023?: In the FHSAA rankings simplified chart below, ‘RATING‘ is the most important criterion. ‘SOS‘ indicates the strength of schedule, so obviously ‘SOS‘ indicates how strong PHU’s sked strength is in comparison to the other 16 teams it is competing against for a state playoff spot. SOS plays a key part in the ‘RATING‘ data — and that can help set the bracket/field, so we will keep an eye on this ranking update each Tuesday and will publish it here on PalmHarborSports.com and our Facebook page with the same name.
Eight of these 17 would get into the postseason as of today but will have to find out their true fates after their Nov. 3 games (indicated by yellow).
The other 9 could see their seniors play their final games on Nov. 3 (indicated below the No. 8 line).
If three teams are tied for No. 1 in the district, the final ranking chart released by the FHSAA after the Nov. 3 games will determine the champion — with the team ranked highest capturing the title and homefield advantage for the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 10.
PHU FOOTBALL HISTORY – YEAR BY YEAR: The updated chart
The four district champions from Class 4M-Dists. 5, 6, 7, and 8 will automatically host at-large qualifiers (to be announced) on Friday night, Nov. 10. The four at-larges will be based on the weekly/Tuesday FHSAA chart, and the strongest ‘RATING’ category of those who did not capture their district’s title. Also, the ‘RATING’ category will determine who gets the higher seed (translation — the supposed easier first-round opponent).
‘4M’ is PHU’s class. ‘R2’ is the PHU’s Region number. The Hurricanes are battling East Lake, Steinbrenner, and Sickles for District 6 honors this year.
Clear as mud? We’ll know a lot more this time next week (Nov. 1).
CLASS 4M-REGION 2 RANKINGS (as of Oct. 24 – two games to go)
PURCHASE EAST LAKE GAME TICKETS & PARKING: https://gofan.co/
