donniepaschal's Blog

Friday night's game on ESPNU is a perfect opportunity for the Darters to show the country that the state of Florida reigns supreme among prep football talent. South Panola brings a 77 game winning streak to the table, but the Darters won't be intimidated. This may be a homer pick, but I'm going with the Darters to pull out the victory.

Prediction: Apopka 25 South Panola 22

I wouldn't want to be the team that faces Osceola this week. The loss at East Ridge last Friday night was tough to swallow and I'm sure the Kowboys have been itching to get back on the field since the time clock struck 00:00 in week 2. Osceola has to get a consistent running attack to contend with 5A opponents, but 3A Harmony just doesn't have enough horses to stop these Kowboys from riding away with a victory.

Prediction: Osceola 36 Harmony 7

How can you not love what the Boone Braves are doing this season after a very impressive performance last week at Timber Creek. Winter Park is counting down the days until basketball season. The Wildcats may put up a fight, but ultimately I think this Boone team is just too strong.

Prediction: Boone 31 Winter Park 10

This is a tough game to pick following the performance of West Orange last week against Cypress Creek. They can clearly put points on the board as they showed in the 45-28 victory over the Bears. Oak Ridge has star power on defense, even with the loss of William Harvey. I think Oak Ridge's running game will step up this week in a Pioneer victory.

Prediction: Oak Ridge 27 West Orange 21

Good luck in Mississippi Darters! I wish everyone a safe trip.

Thanks for the reply gentlemen. Nate you're right about Olympia, they do look very good on both sides of the football. I was there last week vs. Evans and the week before when they got trounced by Edgewater and I'm telling you guys right now that this Olympia team did not show anything in the kickoff classic. They are a good football team! They run that spread offense very well and their quarterback has great accuracy. Keep an eye on Kent Little, the Titans running back. That kid is a playmaker. Billy I hope you'll be there to see Olympia face East Ridge. That's going to be a great game.

After a terrible performance against Edgewater in the Kickoff Classic, Olympia fans and faithful grew concerned about how the 2008 season would play out. The Titans seemed to right the ship last week at Oak Ridge as their spread offense was able to penetrate a stingy Pioneer defense for 35 points and a road victory. This week they will be heavily favored at home against Evans. The Trojans fell by three scores last week to Jones and hope to rebound from a disappointing performance. Look for Bob Head's Titans to bring a much more agressive offensive attack and light up the scoreboard through the air.

Prediction: Olympia 45 Evans 12

Two very different outcomes in the opening week lead most to believe that this game will not be very close. Apopka rolled over Lake Brantley, a traditionally competitive program, by a score of 33-14, and most who saw the game said that it wasn't even that close. While Apopka kicked the season off with an impressive victory, Freedom fell at the hands of Bishop Moore 16-6. Freedom can only hope that the Darters are looking ahead to next week's game at South Panola (Mississippi) which can be seen on ESPN U. With the home crowd behind them, I like the Darters to win convincingly.

Prediction: Apopka 41 Freedom 10

Friday Night, CFS will once again be covering games that will feature the best teams in Central Florida. Perhaps none more exciting than Osceola traveling to Clermont to battle the Knights of East Ridge. The Kowboys looked sluggish in the first half at St. Cloud, but came out and put up 38 second half points behind quarterback Bryant Butler. East Ridge lost by only four points last week at South Sumter and look to avenge last week's loss. The Knights of 'Easy' Ridge will have a home crowd behind them as they try to pull an upset over the 2007 5A State Runner-up. Despite the home crowd, I look for Osceola to win behind the triple-option running attack and solid defense.

Prediction: Osceola 24 East Ridge 10

Thanks for the feedback Deneen. We are planning to go to Freedom on October 3, 2008 for their game against Oak Ridge. We would be willing to cover more of the Patriots' games if they are interested in our broadcasts.

After much anticipation for the 2008 football season, CFS has finally wrapped up construction on a brand new website devoted strictly to prep football. www.CFSfootball.com is up and running! Feel free to visit the site, browse around, and enjoy Central Florida's NEW home for live prep football action!

After a great night of baseball last night,CFS will continue covering Osceola and West Orange as they will face off Friday night at West Orange High School. Both teams are coming in with impressive records and it looks to be an outstanding game. Tune in to http://www.centralfloridasportscasting.com Friday night at 7:00pm! Good luck to the Kowboys and Warriors!

Elroy was implemented as a joke when I first created this website in October of last year. I put him on the site and I planned on taking him off after the first person told me how ridiculously unprofessional he looked. Turned out he was actually a big hit. Everyone who saw the CFS website at that time thought he was the funniest thing and told me to keep him on. The voice might be mine... I really enjoy setting up the Elroy scenes, although it can take quite a bit of time. I appreciate the positive feedback guys! Good luck to your Warriors!

Log onto http://www.centralfloridasportscasting.com for complete coverage of the Apopka/Osceola baseball game.

This is my last post for today because I have to go to Kissimmee for tonight's baseball game between Apopka and Osceola (7:30pm only at http://www.centralfloridasportscasting.com) You guys just keep putting things on the board that makes me want to respond. Gentlemen, you are crazy if you think that San Antonio won 4 championships without playing great defense. They have a guy by the name of Bruce Bowen who has made a career out of guarding NBA superstars and shutting them down in the playoffs. This guy is notorious in the NBA for being a nasty defender. I use the word nasty because Brent Barry once told a reporter that he would rather be "punched in the face" than have Bruce Bowen guarding him. I'm not saying that he will shut Kobe or Chris Paul completely down, but he will bring their numbers down to Earth a bit. I hate to say it, but San Antonio is on their way to the Finals again. I hate watching them just as much as every other NBA fan, but they just have the pedigree for winning playoff basketball games. I think the Finals will feature Boston vs. San Antonio with the Spurs winning in 6.

Well Rick, I am not old enough to compare the Lakers teams of today with the teams of the 80s, but I will say that even Magic and Kareem would struggle getting out of the Western Conference this year. It looks like the Lakers will face Utah and Rick I am telling you this could really be a trap series for the Lakers. Utah has outstanding point guard play from Derron Williams, and I can't wait to watch the inside battle between Gasol and Boozer. Let's say for your sake that LA does indeed survive this series, they would face either the defending champion Spurs, or Chris Paul's Hornets. Nobody really believes in the Hornets yet, but the way they are schooling Dallas, I'm telling you right now that San Antonio will lose some sleep thinking about guarding Chris Paul. Either one of those two teams could be trouble for Kobe and the Lakers. The Western Conference is wide open, and I would not be shocked if any one of the 4 teams I just mentioned advanced to the Finals. No offense Rick, but I really don't see the Lakers surviving two grueling series in a row. The Nuggets were a breeze for them, but that is not a preview of things to come.

How about the Orlando Magic?? With Boston and Detroit struggling, this has to favor Dwight Howard and company going on in the playoffs. It doesn't look like the Detroit series is going to end anytime soon, and either way I really like how the Magic match-up against the Pistons. Detroit really lacks a presence in the middle that can stop Howard, and Hedo Turkoglu is an x-factor that could make them a serious contender out of the East. The only thing that could hurt the Magic, is relying too heavily on the three-pointers. They really jump out to huge leads when they're shooting them well, but when they go cold, they tend to let teams back into the game. When you have a dominant player in the post, there is no reason to shoot threes with a 20+ point lead. That could really be the achilles heal for Orlando going forward in the playoffs.

Well after winning the two games in Atlanta, the Hawks chances certainly look better than they did a couple a few days ago. Atlanta has a young, and extremely athletic basketball team. Joe Johnson was unstoppable in game 2 and he has the Celtics scratching their heads for answers. Josh Smith is a player who has really been under the radar due to lack of Hawks coverage over the last few years. This guy can really play and he is showing the "Boston Three Party" that he and the Hawks are not going to be an easy out. I have a hard time seeing Atlanta winning in Boston in game 5, but if they can win game 6 in Atlanta I like their chances in Boston for game 7. Good luck to the Hawks

I thought the Dolphins really botched their #1 overall pick. I know he seems like a safe pick, but I don't think he was the best player in a draft that lacked great talent outside of Darren McFadden. The Bucs picked a good player in Talib, but they really needed a receiver to help Jeff Garcia, and they passed up on talented players like Limas Sweed, Devin Thomas, and DeSean Jackson. Kevin Smith was one of 3 UCF players selected in this year's draft. He was picked by Detroit in the 3rd round. Josh Sitton (Catholic High School), one of Smith's lead blockers was picked up by Green Bay in round 4.

Well I know it's early in the year, but I am really excited about what the Rays are doing over in Tampa this year. I don't think they'll make it to the Series, but I won't be shocked if they're still playing in October. My pick has to be the Cubs vs. Yankees. ~The Lovable Losers vs. The Evil Empire~ How's that for a story line?

Thanks Pops! As always, I appreciate your feedback and we will try to keep up the good work. I hope to see you within the next few days!

We do plan on broadcasting football games in Fall 2008. We will cover 4 teams on a weekly basis throughout the season. We have selected 3 of the 4 teams, and we will release which teams they are sometime in May. Thanks for the support!

Our coverage of the Metro-Conference contenders continues as we will be at West Orange for their game against Eau Gallie and we will follow Apopka at Osceola. Tune in at 7:30pm on Tuesday for both games! We will also be attempting to have an in-game message board. If you are interested, please let me know!