High school football playoff field set, brackets released

Area has 25 teams qualify; opening round is Friday

Mandarin players celebrate a touchdown against Atlantic Coast during the Publix Bold City Showcase.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The high school football playoff field is set. 

The Florida High School Athletic Association released the brackets Sunday morning, the first year of the new RPI-style format. A total of 25 area teams made the state playoffs. 

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The area has a few all-local matchups in Friday's opening round and they're good ones.

In Region 1-6A, No. 6 Columbia visits No. 3 Ponte Vedra and No. 7 St. Augustine travels to face No. 2 Lee. In Region 1-5A, No. 4 Raines hosts No. 5 Westside. And in 1-3A, No. 3 Episcopal hosts No. 6 Baldwin.

Also in 1-3A, Trinity Christian, whose schedule was one of the most challenging in the state, moved up a slot at starts its playoff chase on the road as the No. 5 seed at No. 4 Ocala Trinity Catholic. Trinity had been sixth since the first RPI standings came out. 

Games are 7:30 p.m., with the exception of the Raines-Westside game at 6:30 p.m.

Earning opening round byes: Bolles and West Nassau, seeded 1 and 2, respectively, in Region 1-4A and University Christian, the top seed in Region 1-2A. The top six teams in Class 1A-4A qualify, while the top eight in Class 5A-8A qualify. 

District champions in 5A-8A earned one of the top four seeds, while the top RPI teams took spots 5-8. RPI, or ratings percentage index, use percentages of a team's winning percentage, an opponent's winning percentage and an opponent's opponent's winning percentage to come up with an RPI. 

The biggest changes from Week 10's RPI standings were seeding changes and not many area teams falling out. 

North Florida Educational Institute had been hanging to a spot on in Region 1-2A, but slipped out of the No. 6 and final playoff position after a loss Friday to Hilliard. 

Other programs that finished with solid records, but missed out on the playoffs included Oakleaf (7-3) in Region 1-8A, Fletcher (6-4) in Region 1-7A and Wolfson (7-3) in Region 1-3A. 
 

First-round playoff matchups

Friday, Nov. 8

Class 8A

Region 1-8A

(8) Mandarin at (1) Seminole

(5) DeLand at (4) Timber Creek

(6) Flagler Palm Coast at (3) Apopka

(7) Spruce Creek at (2) Bartram Trail

Region 2-8A

(8) Lake Nona at (1) Riverview Sarasota

(5) Newsome at (4) Steinbrenner

(6) Riverview at (3) Osceola

(7) Lennard at (2) Dr. Phillips

Region 3-8A

(8) Boca Raton at (1) Vero Beach

(5) Treasure Coast at (4) Santaluces

(6) Palm Beach Gardens at (3) Deerfield Beach

(7) Centennial at (2) Palm Beach Central

Region 4-8A

(8) Taravella at (1) Miami Palmetto

(5) South Dade at (4) Western

(6) Miami at (3) Stoneman Douglas

(7) Coral Gables at (2) Columbus

C​​​​​​lass 7A

Region 1-7A

(8) Crestview at (1) Edgewater

(5) Lincoln at (4) Winter Springs

(6) Wekiva at (3) Fleming Island

(7) Chiles at (2) Niceville

Region 2-7A

(8) Melbourne at (1) Armwood

(5) Bloomingdale at (4) Winter Haven

(6) Tampa Bay Tech at (3) Viera

(7) Wiregrass Ranch at (2) Lakeland

Region 3-7A

(8) East Lake at (1) Palm Beach Lakes

(5) Venice at (4) Lehigh

(6) Pinellas Park at (3) Manatee

(7) Seminole Ridge at (2) Mitchell

Region 4-7A

(8) South Broward at (1) St. Thomas Aquinas

(5) Plantation at (4) Hialeah

(6) Blanche Ely at (3) Atlantic

(7) Fort Lauderdale at (2) McArthur

Class 6A

Region 1-6A

(8) New Smyrna Beach at (1) Escambia

(5) Pensacola Washington at (4) Mainland

(6) Columbia at (3) Ponte Vedra

(7) St. Augustine at (2) Lee

Region 2-6A

(8) Boca Ciega at (1) Gaither

(5) Clearwater at (4) Dixie Hollins

(6) Springstead at (3) Lake Minneola

(7) Countryside at (2) Largo

Region 3-6A

(8) Braden River at (1) Palmetto

(5) Port Charlotte at (4) Hillsborough

(6) Charlotte at (3) Westwood

(7) Auburndale at (2) Lake Gibson

Region 4-6A

(8) South Fort Myers at (1) Naples

(5) Dunbar at (4) Miami Central

(​​​​​​​6) North Fort Myers at (3) Fort Myers

(7) Lely at Dillard

Class 5A

Region 1-5A

(8) Suwannee at (1) Wakulla

(5) Westside at (4) Raines, 6:30 p.m.

(6) Tallahassee Godby at (3) Parker

(7) Baker County at (2) Pensacola Pine Forest

Region 2-5A

(8) Bishop Moore at (1) Orlando Jones

(5) Citrus at (4) Nature Coast Tech

(6) Vanguard at (3) Menendez

(7) North Marion at (2) Dunnellon

Region 3-5A

(8) Chamberlain at (1) Rockledge

(5) Eau Gallie at (4) Jesuit

(6) Atlantic at (3) River Ridge

(7) Sebring at (2) Lake Wales

Region 4-5A

(8) Key West at (1) Plantation American Heritage

(5) North Miami Beach at (4) Cypress Lake

(6) Miami Killian at (3) Jensen Beach

(7) Stranahan at (2) Miami Northwestern

Class 4A

Region 1-4A

(1) Bolles, bye

(5) South Walton at (4) Marianna

(6) Bradford at (3) Gadsden County

(2) West Nassau, bye

Region 2-4A

(1) Cocoa, bye

(5) Astronaut at (4) Keystone Heights

(6) Cypress Creek at (3) Villages Charter

(2) South Sumter, bye

Region 3-4A

(1) Lakewood, bye

(5) Clewiston at (4) Lake Placid

(6) Lemon Bay at (3) Tampa Catholic

(2) Delray Beach American Heritage, bye

Region 4-4A

(1) Gulliver Prep, bye

(5) Miami Carol City at (4) Miami Booker T. Washington

(6) Monsignor Pace at (3) Cardinal Gibbons

(2) University

Class 3A

Region 1-3A

(1) Pensacola Catholic, bye

(5) Trinity Christian at (4) Ocala Trinity Catholic

(6) Baldwin at (3) Episcopal

(2) Florida State University School, bye

Region 2-3A

(1) Lakeland Christian, bye

(5) Melbourne Central Catholic at (4) Frostproof

(6) Trinity Prep at (3) First Academy

(2) Holy Trinity Episcopal, bye

Region 3-3A

(1) Berkeley Prep, bye

(5) Clearwater Central Catholic at (4) Calvary Christian

(6) Benjamin at (3) Cardinal Newman

(2) Bishop Verot, bye

Region 4-3A

(1) Calvary Christian

(5) Edison at (4) Westminster Christian

(6) St. Andrew's at (3) Somerset Academy

(2) Chaminade-Madonna, bye

Class 2A

Region 1-2A

(1) University Christian, bye

(5) Florida A&M at (4) Tallahassee North Florida Christian

(6) St. Joseph at (3) Aucilla Christian

(2) Tallahassee Maclay, bye

Region 2-2A

(1) Victory Christian, bye

(5) Deltona Trinity Christian at (4) Orangewood Christian 

(6) St. Francis at (3) Oak Hall

(2) Foundation Academy, bye

Region 3-2A

(1) Cambridge Christian, bye

(5) Keswick Christian at (4) Admiral Farragut

(6) Zephyrhills Christian at (3) Seffner Christian

(2) Northside Christian

Region 4-2A

(1) Champagnat Catholic, bye

(5) Miami Christian at (4) Neumann

(6) Moore Haven at (3) First Baptist Academy

(2) Westminster Academy 

Class 1A

Region 1-1A

(1) Baker, bye

(5) Graceville at (4) Freeport

(6) Jay at (3) Northview

(2) Vernon, bye

Region 2-1A

(1) Blountstown, bye

(5) Port St. Joe at (4) Bozeman

(6) Jefferson County at (3) Sneads

(2) Taylor County, bye

Region 3-1A

(1) Madison County, bye

(5) Branford at (4) Hilliard

(6) Union County at (3) Dixie County

(2) Lafayette, bye

Region 4-1A

(1) Newberry, bye

(4) Trenton at (5) Chiefland

(6) Wildwood at (3) Hawthorne

(2) Pahokee, bye 
 


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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