Numbers never lie: Lakers, Eagles, Panthers and Warriors have been dominant

Currently, the Sports section of the West Orange Times & Observer covers eight high schools that field eight respective football programs.

Lucky us: We haven’t gone wanting for contenders to cover this fall.

So far this season, four of those eight local teams have displayed an ability to be dominant on a weekly  basis.

Windermere Prep, West Orange, Dr. Phillips and Central Florida Christian Academy haven’t just been defeating opponents. They’ve been demoralizing them. The four juggernauts each have a margin of victory of at least 24 points per game (Windermere Prep has the largest margin at 38.6 points per game), and each is scoring more than 38 points per game (Dr. Phillips has the lowest average scoring output at 38.2).

It has made for some impressive — if not completely exciting — games so far this season. 

And, with the firepower that the respective four teams bring to the table on offense, it’s also a testament to the need for high-school programs to be dynamic on offense to be competitive with the way game play has shifted in recent years.

“When teams are known as high-profile offenses, and they do score, you can just see the other team get very deflated — and there’s the opportunity to score again, quickly,” Windermere Prep coach Jacob Doss said. “One of the things we try to do is get up and run as many plays as possible. … We’re 200 mph, all the time.”

With the Warriors and Panthers each considered state-title contenders in the FHSAA’s Class 8A and the Eagles and Lakers entrenched as contenders for the Sunshine State Athletic Conference’s championship, the regular season stands the risk of getting a bit monotonous. 

Rest assured, that is something the four coaches are working to avoid.

“That’s one of the things we battle with a little bit,” Doss said. “We try to practice at game speed, everyday. We’ll go at it on Tuesdays and Wednesdays pretty hard. 

“We try to simulate that stuff in practice as much as possible to where in the game, it’s second-nature to them,” he said. “They just play.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].

Fantastic four: Dominance, by the numbers, for four area programs