Schools

Friday Night Lights at Armwood, Photos From the Field (Sept. 7)

Photographs capture life in the stands and on the field at the Lyle Flagg Field in Armwood on Sept. 7, where the Hawks battled the American Heritage Stallions. The team from Plantation went home with the win.

 

Everywhere you looked, both in the stands and on the field at the Lyle Flagg Field in Seffner on Sept. 7, people young and old were sporting black shirts with white letters spelling out a simple message: "We're Still Here."

It's the theme for the season for the Armwood High School Hawks, who start the season 1-1, with a Sept. 7 defeat to the American Heritage Stallions (36-28) after a win over the Brandon Eagles the week before (55-0).

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The Hawks are coming off a rough summer. The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) in June held the program accountable for using ineligible players and then stripped the team of its 2011 Class 6A state championship. The Hawks' 2010 state runner-up status was negated as well.

According to a Forbes sports & leisure report, the school had to "send back the trophies associated with those appearances" and the FHSAA "also fine the school $12,743, and made it forfeit 26 wins."

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But that's old news now to the Armwood fans.

"We have a lot of people doubting us, we're telling them, 'We're still here,' " said Tyler Manning, a second-string varsity player who plays junior varsity football as well. "We're still a team and we're still strong and we need the community to come out and support us."


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