By Tamas Mondovics
That the 2017 fall high school varsity football season managed to post some excellent results, there is little doubt.
Area schools including Bloomingdale, Durant, Newsome, East Bay and Armwood all have worked hard and made their marks on the season.
Interestingly the teams that got the most attention this year included the Bloomingdale Bulls and the Armwood High School Hawks.
The Hawks (Overall 14-1 District 5-0 National Rank 32, State (FL) Rank 6) begin the season with new program head coach Evan Davis, following the departure of former head coach Sean Callahan, who led the program to a pair of state championships.
Without looking back, Armwood plowed through the regular season and then the postseason to meet region three opponent Miami Northwestern Bulls for the title game on Friday, December 8, 2017.
While the Hawks managed to get an early boost with a 9-0 lead, the Bulls managed to hold Armwood to only 150 total yards and to win the state title 21-16 in front of nearly 6,000 fans.
The loss was the first of the season for the Hawks.
As for Bloomingdale, the season was as exciting as it could get. The Bulls began with a two-game loss but turned things around to prove their right to appear in the postseason after defeating Class 7A, District 9 rival Durant 21-15.
The win set up the program for a round-two, against the Titans in the 7A region three quarterfinal game; the Bulls’ third postseason appearance in school history.
Unfortunately, to win its 10th consecutive contest, the Titans (10-1, No. 2 seed) defeated Bloomingdale 42-22. It was the Bulls second lost to TBT. The first loss came early in the season 49-21.
The Brandon Eagles, under program head coach Isaac Anderson, closed the season with an overall 4-7, District 1-4 record.
The Durant Cougars under head coach Mike Gottman ended the year with an overall 7-4, district 3-3 record, closely followed by East Bay (Overall 5-4 District 3-3) and Newsome (Overall 6-4 District 4-2)
With its rather disappointing overall 11-2, district 0-6 record, the Riverview Sharks hope for a better outcome next year.
For a full list of teams and results, please visit www.maxpreps.com.
