EDITOR’S COMMENTARY: Get out your slide rule and your Tylenol, folks. It’s nearly mid-October and it’s time to talk about how critical the next few weeks will be for a Palm Harbor University football team that has done some big things — so far.
Yes, the past two seasons have been brutal against district foe Steinbrenner. The combined score in this matchup (2021 and 2022) has been the following:
Steinbrenner 90, Palm Harbor 13.
The Warriors also went on to the playoffs in both seasons.
That ugly scoring trend of the past two seasons ends this week if this season has been any indication. This game will not get out of hand in either direction. It should be a great matchup on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Hurricanes Stadium in Palm Harbor.
And it is critical in PHU’s postseason hopes of playing on Nov. 10, Nov. 17, Nov. 24, Dec. 1, and yes, the state finals (Dec. 7 to 9 in Tallahassee). These PHU boys want to eat turkey and play football the week of Thanksgiving (Nov. 23).
But hey, first things first — Friday is the reality, and November football is the goal yet to be earned.
PURCHASE STEINBRENNER GAME TICKETS & PARKING: https://gofan.co/app/school/FL5995
The question is, can PHU (5-1 this year) continue to trailblaze in 2023? There’s no reason to believe the Hurricanes can’t do exactly that against Steinbrenner (1-5). Yes, the Warriors have played a tougher schedule than PHU, according to the updated FHSAA Oct. 10 state playoff rankings criteria (see and click to expand the playoff chart below).
Out of 17 teams in Class 4M, Region 2 (translation: the teams PHU is competing with to make the state playoffs), Steinbrenner has played the second-toughest schedule. Translation again? Yes, Steinbrenner is 1-5 but has run into some brutal competition over in Hillsborough County.
Palm Harbor comes in with the No. 9 toughest sked out of 17 teams but is currently ranked No. 2 in what matters most — the ‘Rk Points’ (again, see chart at bottom of story).
What does all this mean for PHU? Absolutely nothing without winning in the next few weeks. But isn’t it nice to control your own destiny, PHU? And not rely on this team losing, this team winning, etc. — as in most years past?
As of right now, the ‘Canes don’t need help from anyone except the guys wearing the same jerseys standing next to them, the coaches who’ve drawn up one helluva 2023 game plan to fit this team’s collective skill set — and you fans who will make PHU loud the next few weeks (hint hint, let’s repeat that ticket link below).
PURCHASE STEINBRENNER GAME TICKETS & PARKING: https://gofan.co/app/school/FL5995
PHU can really take a massive step up in terms of qualifying for the playoffs by beating its district foe Steinbrenner at home on Friday.
The next three home games (also non-district Seminole next week, district foe East Lake on Oct. 28) are absolutely critical and won’t be easy, but none of the three is out of the realm of possibility for a ‘W’ either — and by the end of the night of Oct. 28 (East Lake at home), we’ll know a lot about where this team stacks up, legacy-wise.
NOTE – HOW DO THE FLORIDA PLAYOFFS WORK IN 2023?: In the FHSAA rankings chart below, ‘Rk Pts’ is the most important criterion. ‘SOS’ indicates the strength of schedule, and obviously ‘SOS Rk’ 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 ‘Rk Pts’ 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 will get into the postseason on Nov. 10.
The other 9 will see their seniors play their final games on Nov. 3.
The four district champions from Class 4M-Dists. 5, 6, 7, and 8 will automatically host at-large qualifiers on Nov. 10, and the four at-larges will be based on this weekly/Tuesday FHSAA chart and the strongest ‘Rk Pts’ category. Also, the ‘Rk Pts’ 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.
