Mark your calendar. Here are the best Polk County football games to watch each week
Polk County boasts some of the best high school football in the state. Two teams, Lakeland and Lake Wales, won state titles last season, and teams like Winter Haven, Lakeland Christian and Frostproof made deep playoff runs.
This year should be no different with above-named teams expected to again be strong and other squads including Bartow, Lake Gibson and Fort Meade aiming to join the top teams.
And there could be surprise teams like Haines City, George Jenkins and Ridge Community — Richard Tate's teams should never be overlooked.
There will be plenty of good games each week, so we're here to help.
Here is the best game each week for 2023 plus one game each week to keep an eye on.
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Kickoff Classic: Seffner Armwood at Lakeland
7:30 p.m., Aug. 18.
This is a preseason game but Lakeland and Armwood each have been to nine state championship games with Lakeland winning eight titles and Armwood three, although it was stripped of its 2012 title. However, Armwood is just 16-14 in three years since going 12-2 and reaching the state semifinals in 2019.
Week One: Frostproof at Lakeland Christian
7:30 p.m., Aug. 25
This has been a nice small-school rivalry since Shannon Benton left LCS as an assistant in 2014 to become Frostproof head coach. Benton is back on the sidelines as an assistant to Richie Marsh. This is a good early test to see how each team looks.
Keep an eye on: Lake Region at George Jenkins.
Week Two: Haines City at Auburndale
7:30 p.m., Sept. 1
This was a nice little rivalry back in the '90s, but Auburndale has won eight in a row since 2004. Haines City, however, is 12-6 in two years under Pat Herrington and will look to take advantage of a rebuilding Auburndale team that lost several players to transfer.
Keep an eye on: Kathleen at Bartow.
Week Three: Sebring at Lake Wales
7:30 p.m., Sept. 8
Sebring and Lake Wales have developed a rivalry in recent years and have often been in the same district — and not just football. Sebring came closest to beating Lake Wales last year as the Highlanders needed defensive touchdowns to pull away for the win.
Keep an eye on: St. Joseph's Prep at Lakeland
Week Four: Bartow at Ridge Community
7:30 p.m., Sept. 15
Bartow travels to face former coach Richard Tate, who is back at Ridge for the third time. That could make this game appealing in a week where the in-county match-ups appear one-sided. It's also a district game.
Keep an eye on: Haines City at Winter Haven
Week Five: Lakeland at Winter Haven
7:30 p.m., Sept. 22
Lakeland is the district favorite in 4S-7, and Winter Haven is one of the favorites in 4S-8, so this game between two of the oldest schools in Polk County could also be a playoff preview.
Keep an eye on: Fort Meade at Victory Christian
Week Six: Lakeland at Lake Gibson
7:30 p.m., Sept. 29
Although this game won't clinch a district title for either team, the winner will likely go on to win the title. If Lake Gibson has truly bounced back from its sub.-500 record in 2022, this could end up being the biggest game of the season.
Keep an eye on: Winter Haven at Bartow.
Week Seven: Lake Wales at Lake Gibson
7:30 p.m., Oct. 6
Both squads boast talented skill position players on offense, so this could one of the best non-district match-ups of the season.
Keep an eye on: Bartow at Lakeland.
Week Eight: Victory Christian at Lakeland Christian
7 p.m., Oct. 13
The two private school powers met for the first time last season and the game lived up to the hype with LCS winning by one point in overtime. Their playoff matchup later in the season was another classic with LCS prevailing with another one-point victory.
Keep an eye on: Frostproof at Mulberry.
Week Nine: Winter Haven at Lake Gibson
7:30 p.m., Oct. 20
Both teams should be gearing up for the playoffs by this week as either a district champion or an at-large candidate.
Keep an eye on: George Jenkins at Haines City.
Week 10: Frostproof t Fort Meade
7:30 p.m., Oct. 27
This game likely will decide the district champion in 2S-13. Frostproof won last year's match-up and has won five of the past six regular-season meetings. From 2004 through 2015, Fort Meade was 10-3 vs. Frostproof.
Keep an eye on: Kathleen at Lakeland.
Week 11: Lake Wales at Bartow
7:30 p.m., Nov. 1
When both teams are strong regardless of the sport, this ranks with Lakeland-Kathleen as the best rivalry in the county. Lake Wales won eight games in a row over Bartow from 2006 through 2014 but the rivalry has become more competitive over the past eight meetings with Lake Wales holding a slim 5-3 mark.
Keep an eye on: Auburndale at Winter Haven.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Here are the best high school football games each week in Polk County
