Week 7
- Plant (12-1) – The Panthers only had one game last week, but it was a shutout at home against Freedom. Plant looks to have the busiest final week in the area with four games; Monday against Wheaton Academy (IL), Tuesday against Wharton, Thursday against Sickles, and Friday against rival Jesuit.
- Newsome (9-3) – Newsome beat Wharton last week as well as earned an 11-point win over Cardinal Mooney. Next week, the Wolves travel to TLR #5 Sickles, then host Illinois’ Wheaton Academy and Robinson.
- Mitchell (13-2) – The Mustangs beat both Wiregrass and Palm Harbor University last week. Next week shows only one game as they host Steinbrenner to end the regular season.
- Manatee (9-4) – Manatee lost their games to both TLR #1 Jesuit and TLR #4 Cardinal Mooney. Their wins came against Riverview and Gulf Coast. Manatee has finished their scheduled games.
- Sickles (12-2) – Sickles earned three wins last week, beating Bloomingdale, Robinson, and East Lake. The Gryphons end regular season play with maybe their hardest opponents so far; TLR #2 Newsome and TLR #1 Plant. It’s going to be a tough stretch for them.
Week 6
No changes due to spring break.
Week 5
- Plant (11-1) – Plant earned themselves two more wins last week, beating both TLR #3 Berkeley Prep and Durant. No games next week due to spring break.
- Newsome (7-3) – The Wolves played one game last week, shutting out Freedom on the road. No games next week due to spring break.
- Mitchell (11-2) – The Mustangs earned themselves two more wins last week, defeating both Cypress Creek and TLR #4 Sickles. We imagined a #3 vs #4 game to be one to watch, but we will admit when we are wrong. Mitchell walked away with a dominant win. No games next week due to spring break.
- Manatee (6-2) – Manatee won their game against Sarasota last week 13-3. But with Sickles blowout loss to Mitchell, TLR felt it was time to look at both Manatee and Sickles to figure out if we had this ranking correct. Manatee lost to Mitchell 9-8, but Sickles lost to Mitchell 21-5. It was an easy decision to switch these two teams this week.
- Sickles (9-2) – The Gryphons dropped their game against Mitchell 21-5, an ugly loss to be sure. In examining their overall schedule, we felt Sickles was ranked a bit high. Their best win so far is against FL #54 Northside Christian, and in looking at the schedules of both Manatee and Sickles, especially the results of their games against the common opponent Mitchell, we felt moving Manatee above Sickles was the right move.
Week 4
- Plant (9-1) – The Panthers finished week 4 with 3 more wins against Alonso, Manatee, and Calvary Christian. Plant is a very strong team and are currently ranked #4 in Florida 2A by LaxNumbers. Next week, Plant travels to both Berkeley Prep and Durant. TLR doesn’t expect any team in Tampa to challenge Plant until their final game of regular season against TLR #1 Jesuit.
- Newsome (6-3) – Newsome added two more points in the win column last week by defeating Durant and Lakewood Ranch. Next week, the Wolves only show a single game; March 11 on the road to Freedom.
- Mitchell (9-2) – The Mustangs beat Wesley Chapel, Angeline Academy, and Cardinal Mooney last week. Their loss last week was to TLR #1 Jesuit. Mitchell hosts Cypress Creek and Sickles next week.
- Sickles (9-1) – Sickles earned a nice win against a strong Northside Christian last week as well as a win against Wharton. Next week has them traveling to TLR #3 Mitchell on March 12th. A win would jump them over Mitchell, but that will likely be a tall order. This is likely a good game to catch if you can.
- Manatee (5-2) – As we predicted, Manatee did in fact split their games last week against TLR #1 Plant (3-7 loss) and TLR #5 Osceola (10-4 win). The Hurricanes are catching some attention lately, deservedly so. Next week, Manatee travels to Sarasota.
Week 3
- Plant (6-1) – Despite suffering their first loss in 2025 (to FL 2A #1 St. Thomas Aquinas), Plant is likely neck-and-neck with Jesuit as the top team in Tampa. According to Lax Numbers, Plant edges Jesuit by 6/10ths of a point, which is basically even. Next week, the Panthers host Alonso, travel to TLR #5 Manatee, then host TLR #2 Calvary Christian.
- Newsome (4-3) – The Wolves went 2-1 last week, beating both Steinbrenner and Alonso very comfortably, then dropping their match against visitng FL 2A #1 St. Thomas Aquinas. Next week shows Newsome at home against Durant and Lakewood Ranch.
- Mitchell (6-1) – Two more wins for Mitchell last week as they took down both Sunlake and Leon. The Mustangs have 4 games next week: on the road against Wesley Chapel, Angeline Academy, and TLR #1 Jesuit. They then finish by hosting TLR #4 Cardinal Mooney. If you can make it to New Port Richey Friday night, the Mooney vs Mitchell game could be one worth watching.
- Sickles (7-1) – Sickles continues to roll, earning 3 more easy wins last week against Durant, Countryside, and Freedom. Next week the Gryphons show only one game – at home against Wharton. Their next game that *could* move them up will be on March 12th when Sickles travels to TLR #3 Mitchell. A win there would tell us more about them for sure.
- Manatee (4-1) – As we start to get near the halfway point of the season, things are starting to get clearer. Manatee’s win over Lakewood Ranch was big for them. At 4-1, their only loss to-date was early in the season against TLR #3 Mitchell – and it was by a single goal. The Hurricanes have earned this spot. Next week, Manatee faces two very strong opponents in TLR #1 Plant and TLR #5 Osceola. Lax Numbers’ math predicts the Hurricanes will split these games. We’ll see.
Week 2
- Plant (4-0) – Plant continues to roll, booking two more wins last week including a 10-goal win against TLR #2 Newsome as well as a defensive 3-1 win against 2024 FL #7 Winter Park. Next week features games against Bloomingdale, Steinbrenner, and then a very tough game at home against 2024 FL #2 St. Thomas Aquinas on the 28th. If you can make that game, you should.
- Newsome (2-2) – While the Wolves are 2-2, keep in mind their two losses were to Tampa Lax Report‘s top teams: 1A #1 Jesuit and 2A #1 Plant. They haven’t been playing a cakewalk schedule at all to start this season. Next week has Newsome hosting Steinbrenner, then on the road to Alonso.
- Mitchell (4-1) – Last week the Mustangs went 2-1, booking solid wins against Land O’ Lakes and Calvary Christian, but dropping a home game to a traditionally solid Canterbury team. Next week, Mitchell is on the road to Pasco, then hosting Sunlake on Wednesday and Leon on Friday.
- Sickles (4-1) – The Gryphons went unbeaten in week 2, booking wins against Alonso, Cypress Creek, and Land O’ Lakes. Week 3 opponents include Durant, Countryside, and Freedom. As noted last week, these aren’t necessarily difficult games for the Gryphons and they should be 7-1 going into week 4.
- Venice (3-0) – Venice beat Riverview 5-4 on the road last week, then travelled to Ft. Meyers for an 18-6 win. Week 3 only shows a single game – 2/28 against Wiregrass.
Week 1
- Plant (2-0) – The Panthers have started the season strongly, taking down Cardinal Mooney by 9 goals. Every one of their games over the last 3 years have been decided by a single goal, so this outcome says a lot. Plant will host #2 Newsome next week and will travel to Winter Park. Neither of these games should be easy wins, so they will tell us where Plant is this season.
- Newsome (1-0) – The Wolves rolled to an easy win last week and are currently 1-0. Their schedule takes a serious jump next week as Newsome travels to both Jesuit and Plant. Booking a win in either of those games would be huge for the Wolves.
- Mitchell (2-0) – The Mustangs are beginning the season 2-0 after coasting to a win against Riverview, then battling to a 9-8 win on the road against a solid Manatee team. Mitchell is at home next week against Lando, Calvary, and Canterbury. If they are able to run that 3-game stretch and come away with a string of wins, Mitchell could certainly move up as well as put a lot of teams on notice.
- Sickles (1-1) – The Gryphons opened 2025 with a solid win against rivals Steinbrenner, but dropped an OT loss on the road against Berkeley. Judging by a quick look at their schedule, TLR doesn’t imagine Sickles will be tested much over the next handful of games, so we don’t expect to have them moving up from here yet.
- Venice (1-0) – Venice opened the season with an easy win against newcomers Angeline Academy. In looking at both Venice and Manatee, TLR is on the fence. We put Venice here on purpose, but Manatee’s single goal loss to Mitchell says that perhaps Manatee is deserving of the 5th spot. We will hold off for now, but will be keeping an eye on both teams over the next week or two.
Pre-Season
- Plant (0-0) – The Panthers were Florida 2A State Runners-Up last season, capping one of the best runs of any team from the TLR area ever. And surprise – they only lost 4 seniors from that team. Area teams are officially on notice – Plant will be STRONG this season. Be ready.
- Newsome (0-0) – Aside from their losses to Plant, Newsome flexed hard in ’24. They made it to the Florida Elite 8, but lost in that round to Plant by only a single goal (both losses to Plant were by 1 goal). The Wolves graduated 5 seniors from last season’s team, so TLR expects them to again be one of the top 3 teams in our area, regardless of classification.
- Lakewood Ranch (0-0) – Lakewood Ranch also went deep into the playoffs in ’24, losing to Newsome in the Regional Semifinal. Unfortunately, they graduated 11 seniors from that team and will need a bit of luck to continue to perform at last season’s level.
- Steinbrenner (0-0) – The Warriors lost by 1 in the Regional Quarterfinals to TLR’s #1 Plant in 2024. This was a strong team, but they have graduated quite a few of their top players – 11 seniors in all. More than a few of those seniors were on our Players of the Week lists multiple times.
- Venice (0-0) – Venice enjoyed a very good season last year, finishing 27th in the state and splitting their two games against Lakewood Ranch. Tampa Lax Report is interested to see more of them, but we are left wondering if they can continue playing at that level after graduating 13 (!) seniors. TLR will be watching.