JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New high school football district assignments are out, and talk about one slam-packed grouping in the newly created 2-5A.
The Florida High School Athletic Association released assignments for the next two years on Monday afternoon, with the local headliner coming in the seven-team district, 2-5A.
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That proposed group includes Bartram Trail, Beachside, First Coast, Fletcher, Mandarin, Nease and Ponte Vedra. That’s two district champions from this year (the Barracudas, Mustangs) and a whole lot of firepower. The Sharks are coming off a state semifinal berth. Mandarin reached the regional finals, and Nease went two rounds deep.
Should that district hold up after appeals (they’re due by Dec. 15), it would easily become the area’s deepest. One oddity is in the adjacent 3-5A, where Oakleaf is packaged with teams from the Ocala/Gainesville region.
The FHSAA trimmed the seven classifications to six, which results in larger district sizes. District champions will still qualify automatically for the state playoffs, with the next four slots determined by rankings points. This is also the first year that the FHSAA is introducing its open division to put the top-ranked teams in the state into their own separate playoff bracket.
Some other notables from the initial release:
- Raines and Ribault are split apart this year, with the Trojans moving up to 3-4A and Raines staying in 3-3A and joining Bishop Kenny, Parker and Paxon.
- KIPP Bold City was moved up a classification and into a district with the likes of Bolles, Baldwin, Jackson and Episcopal.
- St. Augustine was placed into the Clay County District 4-4A along with Fleming Island and playoff team Middleburg.
- Teams like Paxon and Englewood are listed in districts, although Paxon has competed for years in the Sunshine State Athletic Association and wouldn’t be in an FHSAA district. The SSAA posted last week that Englewood was joining that association.
FHSAA proposed district assignments
District 1-6A
Atlantic Coast
Creekside
Sandalwood
Tocoi Creek
District 2-6A
DeLand
Flagler Palm Coast
Forest
Mainland
Spruce Creek
District 2-5A
Bartram Trail
Beachside
First Coast
Fletcher
Mandarin
Nease
Ponte Vedra
District 3-5A
Belleview
Buchholz
Matanzas
Oakleaf
South Marion
West Port
District 3-4A
Columbia
Englewood
Ribault
Riverside
White
Yulee
District 4-4A
Clay
Fleming Island
Middleburg
Orange Park
Ridgeview
St. Augustine
District 2-3A
Baker County
Godby
Suwannee
Wakulla
District 3-3A
Bishop Kenny
Parker
Paxon
Raines
District 4-3A
Menendez
Palatka
Westside
Wolfson
District 3-2A
Baldwin
Bolles
Episcopal
Jackson
KIPP Bold City
District 4-2A
Bradford
Keystone Heights
Newberry
Trinity Catholic
District 2-1A
Cornerstone Classical
Impact Christian
North Florida Educational
Providence
Trinity Christian
University Christian
Rural
Crescent City
Fort White
Hilliard
Union County