Where will area teams land in new FHSAA football structure?

St. Augustine QB Trevon Dirden (2) evades Menendez linebacker Jayden Williams and picks up yards in the second quarter. SAHS won the game 44-0. (Ralph D. Priddy, News4Jax)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With the Florida High School Athletic Association board of directors voting to change the structure of football in the state, how will teams be placed when new classes and districts are unveiled?

The FHSAA staff has been given flexibility by the board to design a policy that will create new Metro and Suburban divisions that schools in the state will be placed in. The Metro division includes schools in the eight most densely populated counties, as determined by census data. The Suburban division includes schools in the remaining 59 counties.

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There remain numerous questions that have yet to be answered. FHSAA executive director George Tomyn said that the staff will work to address those as quickly as possible. Questions about moving up or down a class, how schools on the border of metro areas are handled, among others, will likely be answered when the FHSAA releases its policy in the coming weeks.

Below is what current enrollment numbers for area schools look like and how those schools would be placed in those classes using the metric provided by the FHSAA during Monday’s board meeting.

Metro Class 4A

64 schools (2,356 and above enrollment)

Sandalwood: 2,751

Mandarin: 2,465

Atlantic Coast: 2,421

Metro Class 3A

64 schools (1,675-2,355 enrollment)

First Coast: 2,161

Fletcher: 2,099

Englewood: 1,806

Parker: 1,677

Metro Class 2A

64 schools (601-1,674 enrollment)

Riverside: 1,600

White: 1,503

Westside: 1,501

Stanton: 1,460

Ribault: 1,373

Paxon: 1,319

Bishop Kenny: 1,296

Raines: 1,244

Jackson: 953

Wolfson: 902

Baldwin: 739

Bolles: 813

Episcopal: 605

Metro Class 1A

36 schools (below 600 enrollment)

Providence: 458

Bishop Snyder: 428

Trinity Christian: 355

University Christian: 236

North Florida Educational Institute: N/A

Christ’s Church: 155

Cedar Creek Christian: 92

Eagle’s View: 82

Harvest Community: 94

Suburban Class 4A

68 schools (1,893 enrollment)

Bartram Trail: 3,214

Oakleaf: 2,658

Flagler Palm Coast: 2,652

Nease: 2,573

Creekside: 2,458

Fleming Island: 1,909

Suburban Class 3A

68 schools (1,443-1,892 enrollment)

Ponte Vedra: 1,889

St. Augustine: 1,800

Columbia: 1,736

Ridgeview: 1,727

Matanzas: 1,716

Middleburg: 1,711

Clay: 1,634

Orange Park: 1,551

Menendez: 1,489

Suburban Class 2A

68 schools (601-1,442 enrollment)

Baker County: 1,442

Yulee: 1,381

Tocoi Creek: 1,322

Suwannee: 1,120

Palatka: 1,044

Fernandina Beach: 980

West Nassau: 960

Keystone Heights: 850

Bradford: 766

Interlachen: 678

Crescent City: 613

Suburban Class 1A

30 schools (below 600 enrollment)

St. Joseph: 237

Rural Class 1A

33 schools (below 600 enrollment)

Union County: 593

Fort White: 585

Hilliard: 424


About the Author

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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