2021 2A High School Boys Polls

After Districts (Last Poll)

  1. Plant (19-1) – Plant was our #1 in pre-season poll and stayed in the top spot all year. They were 2A District 10 champions, easily dispatching district opponents. Their ultimate goal for 2021 begins now. They’ll have to get through Steinbrenner as well as either Newsome or Riverview. Then things get WAY harder as they’ll likely need to get by Florida #3 St. Thomas Aquinas to make it to the final 4. If it can be done, this is their year to do it.
  2. Newsome (15-2) – Newsome was #2 in our pre-season poll. And like Plant, has stayed in that spot all season. Newsome earned their umpteenth consecutive district title in 2021. They are certainly the big fish in that pond! Newsome will need to get by Riverview to advance in post-season play. If they can, they’ll get a third shot at Plant.
  3. Steinbrenner (14-3) – Steinbrenner took down previous #3 Mitchell in the 2A District 9 title game and that moves them up a spot in our last poll. Coincidentally, #3 is where we placed the Warriors in our pre-season poll. Steinbrenner has a very tough road ahead as their state series begins on the road against Plant.
  4. Mitchell (13-2) – Mitchell’s one-goal loss to Steinbrenner in their district title game drops them a single spot to #4 on our 2A poll to finish out 2021. We added Mitchell in week 1 and they’ve remained there all season. They’ve had one heck of a season and we look forward to them continuing to impress in 2022.
  5. Alonso (14-7) – The Ravens were #4 on this poll for pre-season. After a very rough schedule to begin 2021, Alonso has come together and played some very good lacrosse. They had holes to fill and found the right players to make their team click. They will likely have similar troubles in 2022, so we hope they again find the talent to put into the empty spaces.

Week 8

  1. Plant (17-1) – Plant finished up the regular season with impressive road wins against both Riverview and Berkeley Prep. The Panthers have exhibited nothing but spectacular game play all season. They have easily earned the top seed in District 10, which gives them a bye straight into the semi-finals which they themselves host. We just don’t see an upset heading their way and look forward to them again putting Tampa on the map during the state playoffs.
  2. Newsome (13-2) – Newsome’s only two losses during regular season came at the hands of Plant. The Wolves should continue their streak as District 11 champions again in 2021. They’ve continually placed players in our Player of the Week lists and we expect those athletes to carry this squad into the state playoffs.
  3. Mitchell (12-1) – Mitchell was one of TLR’s biggest surprises of 2021. They have earned the top seed in District 9 and we expect them to take the district title. And as good as they are this season, they don’t graduate many and should be even better in 2022 – where they’ll likely begin the season with everyone gunning for them.
  4. Steinbrenner (12-3) – The Warriors finish the regular season with just 3 losses (Plant, Mitchell, Newsome). This effort earns them the #2 spot in District 9 behind Mitchell. And if things play out as expect, will get their chance at a rematch in the district championship on April 16th.
  5. Lakewood Ranch (6-4) – Lakewood Ranch took down the previous #5 team Lakeland 11-10 on April 8th. Their only losses were to Riverview, Plant, Mooney and Alonso. They are the #3 seed in District 10 and will face Sickles on April 12th. We expect to see them in a rematch with Alonso in the district semi-finals on April 13th.

Week 7

  1. Plant (14-1) – Plant added two more wins in week 7 – a blowout against Wharton at home and a major road win against rival and TLR #1 / Florida #5 Jesuit. If you didn’t catch it, our highlight video is on YouTube. The Panthers close out regular season with TLR #2 / Florida #8 Newsome (a rematch!) on April 5th, a road game against Florida #12 Riverview on April 6th, and another road game against TLR #4 / Florida #20 Berkeley Prep. Plant will be the #1 seed in 2A District 10.
  2. Newsome (12-1) – Newsome added three more wins in week 7 – against Florida #21 Steinbrenner, Bloomingdale, and TLR #4 / Florida #20 Berkeley. Newsome’s final week of the regular season sees them in a rematch with TLR #1 / Florida #4 Plant, then Wharton, TLR #2 / Florida #12 Cardinal Mooney, and finally Florida #30 Alonso. Newsome will be the #1 seed in 2A District 11.
  3. Mitchell (10-1) – The Mustangs split their two games in week 7 – suffering their first loss of the season to Florida #15 Forest 15-9, then bouncing back with a big 23-2 win against Land O’ Lakes. Mitchell will finish regular season play against TLR #5 / Lakeland on April 6, then against Sickles on April 9th. Mitchell will be the #1 seed in 2A District 9.
  4. Steinbrenner (9-3) – The Warriors dropped the sole week 7 game against TLR #2 / Florida #8 Newsome, 18-10. They will finish regular season play with games against Robinson and Bloomingdale. Steinbrenner will be the #2 seed in 2A District 9 behind Mitchell.
  5. Lakeland (12-3) – The Dreadnaughts took their games last week against Cypress Creek and Lake Nona to bring them to 12-3 on the season. Their final week of regular season will be at home against TLR #3 / Florida #24 Mitchell, Florida #18 Lakewood Ranch, and Land O’ Lakes. Lakeland will be the #2 seed in 2A District 11 behind Newsome.

Week 6

  1. Plant (12-1) – Three wins for the Panthers in week 6: Bloomingdale, Robinson, and then capping it off with a big road win against TLR #2 / Florida #6 Newsome 12-9. Week 7 has Plant hosting Wharton on March 29, then traveling to TLR #1 / Florida #4 Jesuit on March 31 for Tampa Lax Report’s Week 7 Game of the Week.
  2. Newsome (9-1) – Returning from Spring Break, Newsome split their week 6 games: handling Sunlake, but suffering their first loss of 2021 at home against TLR #1 / Florida #4 Plant 9-12. Week 7 has Newsome with games against TLR #4 / Florida #18 Steinbrenner on March 30th, Bloomingdale on March 31st, and TLR #4 / Florida #18 Berkeley Prep on Saturday, April 3rd.
  3. Mitchell (9-0) – Mitchell nearly got a rude return from their break when they found themselves down early against Alonso. But the Mustangs owned the second half and won 12-8 to remain unbeaten. Week 7 has Mitchell on the road for both games: March 29th against Forest and March 31st against Land O’ Lakes.
  4. Steinbrenner (9-2) – Two more wins for the Warriors in Week 6: a 16-5 win over Admiral Farragut and a 17-4 win over Bloomingdale. Their next game will test the Warriors as they host TLR #2 / Florida #6 Newsome on March 30th. After that, Steinbrenner’s schedule gets easier.
  5. Lakeland (10-3) – No games last week due to Spring Break. Week 7 games include Cypress Creek on March 30th and a road game to Lake Nona on April 2nd.

Week 5

  1. Plant (9-1) – Spring Break – no games last week. Plant has two road games next week: Robinson on March 25 and Newsome on March 26. We’ve circled the Plant v Newsome game and hope more than a few fans get to Newsome to see it.
  2. Newsome (8-0) – Spring Break – no games last week. Week 6 has Newsome on the road against Sunlake on 3/24 and then at home against TLR #1 / Florida #4 Plant on March 26. As noted above, this is a must-see game if you can make it.
  3. Mitchell (8-0) – Spring Break – no games last week. Week 6 has the Mustangs with only one game – on the road against Florida #23 Alonso. This is another Florida Top 25 game for week 6 that will likely draw some crowds.
  4. Steinbrenner (7-2) – Spring Break – no games last week. The Warriors resume play following the break on March 26 when they host Bloomingdale.
  5. Lakeland (10-3) – Unlike the other teams here, Lakeland was busy with three games last week: a win against Discovery, a loss in the rematch to Bartow, and a road win against Winter Haven. It looks like their Spring Break will be next week, so no games on the schedule.

Week 4

  1. Plant (9-1) – No tough games for Plant in week 4. The Panthers cruised past both Sickles and Durant last week. No games in week 5 due to spring break. As we’ve stated already, we don’t see anyone getting in Plant’s way until they face TLR’s #2 and Florida #4 Newsome 3/26
  2. Newsome (8-0) – The Wolves handled Lakeland on 3/10 and Durant on 3/11 during week 4. They won’t play again until 3/24 following their time off due to spring break.
  3. Mitchell (8-0) – Mitchell continues to handle things for themselves taking care of both Wiregrass and East Lake in week 4. Like the other public schools, they are on hiatus during week 5 due to spring break.
  4. Lakeland (7-2) – Lakeland suffered a loss to TLR’s #2 and Florida #4 Newsome last week, 14-4. Unlike Hillsborough public schools, Lakeland plays games in week 5 – Discovery on 3/15, Bartow on 3/17, and Winter Haven on 3/18.
  5. Steinbrenner (7-2) – With an impressive week 4, the Warriors jump back into TLR’s top 5. Steinbrenner earned victories over East Lake, Wiregrass, and Sickles last week. No games for them in week 5 due to spring break.

Week 3

  1. Plant (7-1) – Two more easy local wins for the Panthers in week 3. One more game for Plant before spring break will be on 3/10 as they host Sickles.
  2. Newsome (6-0) – Newsome, like Plant, enjoyed comfortable wins in week 3. And, like Plant, only have a single game before spring break and that is a 3/10 home game against #4 Lakeland.
  3. Mitchell (6-0) – The Mustangs are still winning games. TLR doesn’t see any major powerhouses on their remaining schedule, so even of they run the table, they likely won’t move up, unfortunately. Mitchell does have what could be two difficult games in week 4: 3/9 against Wiregrass and 3/11 against East Lake.
  4. Lakeland (7-1) – With the East Lake loss in week 3 to unranked Alonso, Lakeland moves up to #4. Very tough game for the Dreadnaughts on 3/10 when they travel to #2 Newsome. That is their only week 4 game.
  5. Wiregrass (4-0) – Wiregrass ended up with a late start to the season, but has quietly remained unbeaten. No major opponents yet, though. But that changes on 3/9 when they host #3 Mitchell. Will this be their only week on the top 5, or will a win surprise some folks and move them up?

Week 2

  1. Plant (5-1) – Plant proved TLR correct in choosing the Panthers our overall #1 team in the area by their play in week 2. First with their 10-6 road win against Cardinal Mooney, then with a long trip to Ponte Vedra and nearly taking that game from the top program in the state. Given another minute or two, Plant may have won that battle. The Panthers are for real in 2021. They likely won’t see any trouble locally until week 6 when they face #2 on this poll, Newsome.
  2. Newsome (3-0) – The Wolves retain their position in the #2 spot this week. This likely won’t be changing any time soon. As we have already mentioned, these top 2 teams will probably be in these spots at least until week 6 when they face each other. Tampa Lax Report is looking forward to that game.
  3. Mitchell (4-0) – The Mustangs continue to impress, notching 2 more wins in week 2 and moving up a spot to #3. They are certainly in the driver’s seat in 2A District 9. Their March 11th meeting with East Lake could turn out to be very important, though. It may even be a match to determine the top seed going into district playoffs.
  4. East Lake (3-1) – TLR’s first new 2A team to make an appearance on the Top 5 poll for their week 2 action. Don’t be surprised if East Lake goes 2-0 in week 3 against Alonso and Steinbrenner. They are a tough team. Their only loss was in week 1 against Berkeley, and that game was 2-1 Berkeley at halftime.
  5. Lakeland (4-1) – A big welcome to our 2nd new team in our Top 5 poll, Lakeland. The Dreadnaughts’ only loss was a defensive 2-4 decision to #4 East Lake in week 2. Lakeland faces Admiral Farragut, Durant, and Bloomingdale in week 3. The game is growing and the TLR area is expanding. #4 and #5 on this list is proof of that.

Week 1

  1. Plant (2-0) – We said Plant would be tough this season. Their two games were won by a combined score of 45-6. TLR anticipates a lot of running clocks in their future. We are looking forward to their game on February 24 against hosts Cardinal Mooney. Great week 2 contest for both schools.
  2. Newsome (2-0) – Newsome was also earning running clocks in week 1. They easily handled both Alonso and Robinson. Their tougher games don’t start until late March, though.
  3. Sickles (1-0) – Sickles earns their way onto the Top 5 by way of their dominating shutout against previously unbeaten Sunlake 16-0. They may stay here for a bit as they don’t have a difficult schedule until March.
  4. Mitchell (2-0) – The 2nd of our 3 new teams on the Top 5 got this spot due to their 2-0 start as well as comfortable wins in both. Neither opponent was particularly troublesome, so this may not last long. Their next 3 games are against Wharton, Sunlake, and Steinbrenner. Any (or all) of them can be tough. But wins against all three would likely move them up!
  5. Wharton (1-0) – Our 3rd new team earned the 5-spot on this list by taking it away from the last owner – Bloomingdale – 12-4. The Wildcats’ week 2 opponents Mitchell and Wiregrass may have something to say about things. We’ll see.

Pre-Season

  1. Plant – Plant didn’t lose major talent and is keeping an extremely good team from 2020 together for 2021. They are older, stronger, and smarter this season and have a good chance at making a deep run in state playoffs.
  2. Newsome – A traditional local powerhouse, Newsome has dominated their district for what feels like forever. TLR is looking forward to seeing them play some tougher out of district games this season.
  3. Steinbrenner – The Warriors finished 6-2 in 2020 with their two losses coming at the hands of Plant and Newsome, the two teams above them on this list.
  4. Alonso – Alonso looked solid in 2020 dropping only a single game to the top-rated Plant squad. Stronger opponents like Steinbrenner and Newsome ended up being cancelled. The Ravens placed 2 players in our Players to Watch list and may be hitting their peak this season.
  5. Bloomingdale – Bloomingdale finished 2020 at 3-1 in district play. They’ve got a tough road ahead if they want to go toe-to-toe with Newsome, but that’s what we play for – the chance to take the top spot.

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