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Andy’s Take: Has Florida high school football taken a nose dive?

IMG_8358by: Andy Villamarzo09/03/25Andy_Villamarzo
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Ponte Vedra fans show their support during the first half at Ponte Vedra High School Friday August 22, 2025. (Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

As the clock hit all zeros at Brian Piccolo Stadium on the campus of St. Thomas Aquinas on Aug. 23, it marked the conclusion of the fourth annual Broward County Classic High School Football Showcase. The No. 2 ranked St. Frances Academy Panthers of Maryland had just finished exacting a bit of revenge by defeating nine-time state champion Chaminade-Madonna Prep, 42-13. 

The last time the Lions had taking such a beating was in 2022 in the GEICO national championship game versus Bishop Gorman (Nev.). This seemed a little different. It was pure domination from start to finish.

This wasn’t a unique story from over the course of the first two weeks of Florida high school football. It has become a growing trend this 2025 season as Sunshine State programs – I’m not counting IMG Academy here – have gone 11-27 against out-of-state competition.

The Florida Coaches Coalition, an organization dedicated to the cause of helping high school football coaches in the Sunshine State, took to social media to point out the state’s poor showing from the opening week of Aug. 21-23:

Florida went 1-11 vs out-of-state teams this weekend (avg. score 31-14). 

Florida football is paying the price for transfers, 7v7 summers, and the high turnover of underpaid coaches. As we predicted for years, the crisis is here.

It’s well documented that Florida high school football coaches are underpaid when compared to their counterparts across the Southeast. Many Florida coaches receive stipends between $3,000 and $6,000 per year, with some counties — like Broward — paying as little as $3,038 per season for a head coach. Charlotte County has the highest paying stipend for head coaches, with it being at $8,317.

Compare Florida’s highest stipend minus teaching position up against a state like Georgia, which their highest paid coach is Carrollton Trojans’ Joey King, who made $219,215 from the 2024-25 school year.

Because of Florida’s lower pay, the Sunshine State has seen a number of talented head coaches leave for higher-paying jobs in other states, such as Travis Roland (Camden County, Ga.) Cam Duke (Marietta, Ga.) and Eric Lodge (Berkeley, S.C.), just to name a few.

“I think it’s just all the frustration of coaches leaving to go to Georgia to go to Texas,” Florida Coaches Coalition Executive Director Andrew Ramjit said via a News4Jax report. “Our profession in the state of Florida cannot survive if coaches keep leaving.”

The lack thereof of pay has undoubtedly impacted the kind of coaching Florida players are receiving at the high school level. High turnover rates in the coaching ranks impact relationships between the high school programs, junior high programs and youth programs. That hurts development up and down the chain of football at the age for adolescents.

The debate on coaching and how it effects the landscape of high school football in Florida is one that gets louder year by year, but what can’t be argued is the level of talent in the state remains top notch.

There’s also more parity around the country than ever before when it comes to high school football. Teams like Utah’s Corner Canyon, which etched its name on the national scene last year by beating IMG Academy, followed it up over the weekend by trouncing West Broward, 38-13. 

St. Joseph’s Prep (Pa.) lost to American Heritage, then the Hawks proceeded to get blasted by DeMatha Catholic (Md.) in a 45-17 rout at the Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic in Wilmington, Delaware. The Patriots being the lone major win from Florida’s opening week of play came from furious fourth quarter rally.

Why is it so surprising that talking heads and folks are coming for Florida teams because of a few losses to national powerhouses? Much of it has to do with the standard that the Sunshine State brings on a yearly basis for some of the best talent around.

You don’t just have teams like Chaminade-Madonna, St. Thomas Aquinas and American Heritage annually showcasing themselves against the nation’s best just because. Pinning those teams against the best of the best sends a statement every year that they are willing to play the best teams in the country.

”It’s not like Florida didn’t play some of the best teams in the country,” Larry Blustein, who has covered the state for more than 50 years, said. “They played four of the top nine teams in the country.”

The opening week wasn’t just exclusive to South Florida teams, but also other areas of the state. Teams like Gadsden County fell to Georgia’s Tift County and East Lake to Camden County, another Peach State school. Manatee, a state semifinalist from the 2024 season, dropped a 31-0 decision to California’s St. John Bosco, a top five team in the country.

The second week for Florida didn’t fare any better, it was more of the same for in-state teams against out-of-state programs, with notables being Columbus losing to Good Counsel (Md.), Cardinal Mooney falling against Cherry Creek (Co.) and Lakeland going out to the West Coast and dropping a 10-6 decision to De La Salle (Calif.).

It didn’t stop there, though, from Week 2 action as The First Academy just got edged out by Phenix City Central (Ala.), FSU High was dismantled in a 79-14 loss to Thomas County Central (Ga.) and Cardinal Newman lost by multiple scores to Roman Catholic (Pa.). Edgewater was the lone Florida school against an out-of-state opponent to win, defeating the NFL Academy 42-7 in Orlando.

Florida high school football doesn’t have to be per se down, but that much more of the talent is spread out around the nation and programs are remaining on par or slightly ahead because of it.

The same big name states will always be in the mix when it comes to the national rankings like Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas. The last couple of weeks has more of a reminder that maybe the rest of the country is catching up a little bit to the top states, like Florida, when it comes to high school football. 

For everyone jumping to the conclusion that high school football is taking a free fall from grace in the state of Florida, just pump the brakes and let the season play itself out.

There’s great programs from California to Florida and though the Broward County Classic and other national matchups may or may have not painted a pretty picture. Whatever it is, the Sunshine State has seen itself come closer back to Earth when it compares to the days of dominating other states.

A changing of the guard or not, something has changed with Florida high school football and with coaching pay certainly being the primary topic of conversations for coaches all around the state, nothing changes if nothing changes.

“I think that’s at the end of day, it’s really just about fairness. I don’t think anybody does this to be expected to be paid exorbitant or unrealistically, but as the job description has changed over the years and a lot more things that were not expectations are now expectations and hours have increased,” Jackson head coach Bobby Ramsay said via the News4Jax report. “I do think it’s important that people are compensated for their time so they can justify spending the time doing what they do so that they can help take care of their families.”

How to Follow National High School Football

For high school football fans looking to keep up with scores around the nation, staying updated on the action is now easier than ever with the Rivals High School Scoreboard. This comprehensive resource provides real-time updates and final scores from across the state, ensuring you never miss a moment of the Friday night frenzy. From nail-biting finishes to dominant performances, the Rivals High School Scoreboard is your one-stop destination for tracking all the gridiron excitement across the country.