Bill Castle is a man who knows about winning. In his 33 years as the coach of Lakeland (Fla.), the Dreadnaughts have compiled 325 wins, 18 district championships and six state titles.
So when Castle says St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) -- the Dreadnaughts' opponent in Friday night's Class 5A state championship game -- is the best high school football team he's ever seen, his players and assistant coaches take notice.
"Coming from a man that's coached as long as he has and done some of the great things he has in his career, that's saying a lot," Lakeland assistant head coach Dan Talbot said.
It would seem most of the nation agrees. The Raiders are ranked No. 1 in the ESPN RISE FAB 50, as well as by most every other media outlet that covers high school football.
"They are the No. 1 team in the nation, there's no question about that," Talbot said. "Watching film on them and doing our homework on them, they're probably one of the best teams we ever saw. They can do it all. They can run. They can pass. They've got great athletes. They're coached up very well. They don't make mistakes, and when you make mistakes, they're going to make you pay for it. In the games we've seen on them, that's what they've done."
Indeed, the defending Class 5A state champions appear unbeatable.
St. Thomas Aquinas (14-0) has won each of its four playoff games by a wide margin of victory, outscoring opponents 175-43. Also, no team has scored more than 14 points against the Raiders in the playoffs.
Conversely, FAB 50 No. 10 Lakeland (14-0) has taken a different path to the finals. The Dreadnaughts survived a four-point victory in the regional finals and a one-point victory in the state semifinals just to make it to Orlando, the site of this year's state championships.
Longtime St. Thomas Aquinas coach George Smith isn't buying into the hype of being the nation's No. 1 team.
Race For No. 1
We've reached the final week of the high school football season with several teams still vying for the ESPN RISE FAB 50 No. 1 spot and a mythical national championship.
No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 10 Lakeland
No. 3 Allen vs. No. 15 Hightower
"The national rankings to me are a whole other story," Smith said, adding that
he didn't understand how high school teams can be nationally ranked when they don't play each other. He compared the high school rankings method to the Bowl Championship Series system college football uses to determine a national champion.
"Are they [national rankings] nuisances? No, not at all, but it's certainly not any type of motivation for us," he said.
While he may dispute the validity of the rankings, Smith isn't complaining about being included in them. His team's case for No. 1 was bolstered with a win over Ohio powerhouse Elder (Cincinnati) to start the season.
National rankings aside, there is no argument about the Raiders' place as Florida high school football royalty.
St. Thomas Aquinas, which hasn't missed out on the playoffs since 1990, is tied with fellow Archdiocese of Miami-run Monsignor Edward Pace High School for the most consecutive playoff appearances (18) in the state. St. Thomas Aquinas currently owns the record for most postseason games played (87 after Friday's state title game) and is tied with Glades Day School (Belle Glade, Fla.) for the second-most playoff appearances (27) in the state behind The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Fla.).
Along the way, the Raiders have brought home four state championships (1992, 1997, 1999 and 2007).
Most of St. Thomas Aquinas' accolades have come under Smith's tutelage. Except for a two-year sabbatical in 1993 and 1994, Smith has been involved with St. Thomas Aquinas football since he was hired as an assistant coach in 1972 and took over the reins in 1975.
Smith, who also serves as the school's athletic director, said that much of the program's dominance is built on the school's foundation of success from past teams. "This group here is now building on that foundation. So that's a tradition that's built up through the years, but you have to have a support group and kids that know what's expected of them, what the program's about and they're willing to work hard enough to try to maintain that."
Asked how this year's team compares to the championship teams of years past, Smith was noncommittal.
"I don't know if you can compare teams to teams," Smith said. "I think the mark of any good team, which it's certainly been here, is that you've got a group of great human beings that care about each other. That's been kind of the trademark of our better teams since I've been here over the years."
Adding another trophy to the case won't come easy for the Raiders. They'll be facing a Lakeland program that has stood in their way in recent years.
Lakeland has faced St. Thomas Aquinas in state championship games four times since 1996 and won all of them, including three in a row in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Dreadnaughts won 40-6 in 1996, 31-7 in 2004 and 39-10 in 2005. The closest the Raiders ever came to beating Lakeland was a 45-42 double-overtime loss two years ago.
Although the Dreadnaughts return only 11 players who were on the varsity roster in 2006, Talbot said he hopes Lakeland's history against the Raiders in championship games will give his team the mental edge.
But then Castle reiterated what he has said so many times before.
"I think they're the best high school football team I've ever seen," Castle said.
Peter Burke is a freelance writer in Florida.