No playoffs, no problem

The high school football playoffs start tonight, and, alas, the three Highlands County teams are making other plans. In the end, Sebring couldn't win The Big Game(s), Lake Placid coalesced too late and Avon Park, playing out an athletic director's ultimate nightmare, faced four top-10 teams in five weeks.

At issue now: Can a team still have a successful season without making the playoffs?

After examining these three case studies, most certainly.

Sebring (7-3) surely possessed all the pieces for its first foray into the postseason since 2003. With a traditional pocket passer (Matt Grubb), an explosive offensive weapon (Devin Clarke), and a defense that bore little resemblance to last year's porous unit, the Blue Streaks began the season 3-1, their loss coming to playoff-bound Hardee.

The test, we know now, came against Lake Wales. And that game, we know now, ultimately changed the complexion of their season. Three Blue Streaks were ejected after a brief on-field skirmish. Sebring eventually lost, 28-3, a final score inflated by two late Lake Wales touchdowns.

The news got worse: The FHSSA ruled that 19 Sebring players had stepped onto the field - most acting instinctually to aid a fallen teammate - and were promptly suspended for the following game, against Winter Haven, another matchup that would go a long way in determining this year's two district representatives.

And, perhaps not unexpectedly, Sebring lost 13-0, while playing with only 19 guys in uniform. Their playoff hopes were dashed.

Reflecting upon the season last Friday, after his players drenched him with an ice water shower, Sebring coach Jared Hamlin said: "This is kind of the coulda, woulda, shoulda season. Things didn't go right in a couple of instances for us but that's the things you learn from and that's the life lessons in this game that you preach every day."

A sobering lesson, surely. And Sebring responded in fitting fashion, in a manner befitting a playoff team: by winning five straight games (including a victory over rival Avon Park), allowing three total touchdowns and leaving many players to wonder whether this season was destined for more.

Said Daniel Burnett, the senior tailback: "We had little missteps but if I had one more chance, I'd want to play all three of them on this field."

In shambles after last year's 2-8 season, his first at the helm, Avon Park coach Andy Bonjokian inspired the masses - at least temporarily - during a 3-7 season. He also stumbled upon a star quarterback-in-waiting.

Too bad it came during the most unforgiving stretch of the season.

Hardee. Fort Meade. Lake Highland Prep. Tampa Catholic. They all awaited Teddy Allen, the Red Devils' most dynamic player, who was thrust behind center when incumbent starter Tekovan Miller went down with a cracked rib. The results were forgettable - they lost six straight to close the season - but the message was enduring.

"Teddy showed why he's going to be playing on Saturdays next year," Bonjokian said.

And in the most extreme case of all, Lake Placid turned back the clock - all the way back to the 1970s, no less - and recorded its first winning season since 1998. The turnaround wasn't complete until the Green Dragons' 41-6 demolition of Lemon Bay, an apt conclusion to a season that stunned nearly everyone - except the head coach, Jason Holden.

"I'm so proud of these guys," he said after, "because they were able to accomplish something that hasn't been done in a long time."

Indeed, it was only Lake Placid's fourth winning season since 1972 - 37 years of futility! - and this one may have been the grandest of all.

When fall camp began, Holden needed to find leadership. He needed to find a defense that didn't fold when faced with adversity. He needed to find a new quarterback.

It took some time - the Green Dragons didn't win back-to-back games until Oct. 23, after Holden scheduled two polished teams to start - but the finished product left little to question.

"I'm so happy to finish my high school career with a game like this that I don't want to take my jersey off," fullback Navahri Holden said in the aftermath of last week's emotional win.

"When I come back for my 10-year reunion we'll be talking about this night and the season we put together."

Surely they'll have put together another winning season by then.