3+ hour, 43+ min ago   (232+ words) It was a match made in heaven for George Jenkins junior linebacker Darius Hayes. Hayes made several key plays as both a pass catcher and playmaking on defense. And he attributed that to his upbringing. This encouragement started when Hayes…...

3+ hour, 44+ min ago   (631+ words) How deep was Polk County’s wide receiver pool last year? Consider the players who graduated. DJ Howard, Derrick McBride, Darion Jiles, Gabe LeGrand and Tucker Fox were all first-, second- or third-team, all-county selections along with Omari Russell, who was…...

1+ day, 13+ hour ago   (746+ words) MIAMI GARDENS — If Malik Willis was making an error, it was a minor one. Willis was reflecting on the talk he’d recently given teammates, and in doing so, he tried to pass it off as no big deal. See if…...

5+ day, 3+ hour ago   (519+ words) Ten of the top 12 running backs to start the 2026 season are all seniors, but in terms of experience, that number is deceiving. Here are the 12 area running backs we have our eyes on going into the 2026 high school football season....

6+ day, 3+ hour ago   (89+ words) Winter Haven News Chief Experience rules for Polk County's top 12 quarterbacks entering 2026 What's new in the ranks of quarterbacks for 2026? Well, not a lot − at least among the top ranks of the position − as experience rules in Polk County. Last…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago   (858+ words) AUBURNDALE — Anthony Howard Jr. has more than 15 Division-I offers. He is ranked No. 62 in the Florida in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of ’28 as one of the top juniors in the state. But none of that matters right now…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago   (608+ words) (Editor's note: Lakeland senior defensive lineman Drew Sapp wrote the following first-person story to announce his commitment to Colorado. The 6-foot-3, 235 pound Sapp is the No. 59 overall player in the USA TODAY Florida Network Top 100.) I've been an underdog since…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago   (620+ words) FORTE MEADE — All third-year Auburndale head football coach Antonio Thomas wanted to do was evaluate his unproven guys headed into the spring games versus Manatee and Fort Meade Thursday at Fort Meade High School. After all, the Bloodhounds head into…...

2+ mon, 3+ week ago   (477+ words) “I just try to focus on keeping my teammates calm and see that we all have the same energy and mindset. We try to keep it as fun as possible because that’s when we all play our best.” ― A Florida…...

3+ mon, 1+ day ago   (726+ words) LAKELAND — Lakeland didn’t lose a lot of seniors from its 2025 squad but that doesn’t mean there aren’t new faces on the field. However, the biggest new faces might be on the sidelines. Former head coaches Doug DeMyer and Dedrick Dodge…...