1 – Newsome
Most consider District 14 to be locked up by Newsome. Tampa Lax Report agrees, at least for 2018. Their only loss in 2016 was to eventual Elite 8 finalist Plant. Newsome’s only loss in 2017 was to eventual Elite 8 finalist Berkeley Prep. The Wolves have run the table in this district for a few years now and we think they’re on track to do it again. However, having graduated 10 seniors from last year’s team, maybe teams like Freedom and Durant can start seeing a way past Newsome to gain the district 14 title. Look for great matchups March 2 at Plant and March 21 at home against division rival Freedom.
2 – Freedom
Freedom finished 2017 with a record of 7-6. Apart from Newsome, they were the only team to finish with a winning record. They were able to take wins against district foes Durant, Tampa Bay Tech, Bloomingdale, and Wharton last season. TLR believes they may finish 2018 with an even better record than 2017. Freedom starts off with a great matchup this season on February 20 at Steinbrenner, then look for the already mentioned game against Newsome on March 21.
3 – Durant
Not many teams can graduate 12 seniors and still compete in their district. Durant can and will. Anchored by the stellar goalkeeping of Wingate commit Alex ‘AC’ Cordero, Durant’s defense is usually pretty solid. However, they’ve lost two starting attackmen, a faceoff specialist, and their entire starting middie line from 2017. They will certainly suffer some growing pains in the initial portion of their schedule. Their game at home against Newsome on March 27 is one to watch in District 14.
4 – Bloomingdale
Rounding out the top 4 from district 14 is Bloomingdale. With an even 7-7 record in 2017, they will certainly compete for second place with Freedom and Durant. Honestly, any of those three teams can take the #2 seed heading into the district playoffs and it wouldn’t surprise anyone. Bloomingdale only lost two senior starters from 2017, so their 2018 graduates running the offense and defense should prove very important for both leadership and talent. However, Bloomingdale may start a freshman in the cage, so that would be a position to keep an eye on as well. Bloomingdale will host Durant on March 6, which should be a great game.
