Several area football coaches will be glued to their tablets, I-Phones, laptops or television sets early Sunday morning, only it won’t be to watch the Jaguars play in London; they will be eagerly waiting to see if their teams are in the state high school football playoffs or not.
After 11 weeks of intense and tightly contested regular season games, for many area teams their playoff fate will come down to the final playoff power rankings released on the statewide show Sunday morning by TV 27 in Orlando. Fans and coaches can watch the live show here https://www.wftv.com/ .
🚨11 A.M. SUNDAY🚨@wftvsports and the #FHSAA present the DRIVE TO DECEMBER TV SPECIAL!
Hosted by @CBrueyWFTV
& @JKepnerWFTV, we will reveal the 2018 Football Playoff Brackets! https://t.co/QeGhryINfD pic.twitter.com/5F1iq8NNK9— FHSAA (@FHSAA) November 1, 2018
Coaches like Bobby Ramsay (Mandarin), Brian Allen (Columbia), Verlon Dorminey (Trinity), Kelvin Smith (Ribault) and Jamie Rodgers (Baker County) all can enjoy their breakfast and cup of coffee knowing they are in the playoffs by virtue of winning their respective district titles. For them Sunday will all about learning their opponent and getting ready for preparation.
Other coaches like Ronny Pruitt (Union County), Clarence Williams (Crescent City), David Penland III (U.C.), Brandon Tidwell (St. Joseph), Steve Shields (Baldwin), Demetric Jackson (Fort White), Deran Wiley (Raines), Rickey Armstrong (West Nassau), Brian Tomlinson (Bradford), Wayne Belger (Bolles), Matt Toblin (Ponte Vedra), Kyle Skipper (Menendez) and OJ Small (Lee) have likely done enough to get in but a win Friday would almost certainly be enough to get in and will be watching the show to see what seeding they are and who and where they will be going in the playoffs.
And then there are coaches like Darrell Sutherland (Bartram Trail), Frank Garis (Oakleaf) and Mark Whittemore (Buchholz) that are sitting in a three-way tie in District 3-7A, as well as Brian Braddock (St. Augustine), Kevin Sullivan (Ed White) and Tim Krause (Nease) in a three-way tie in District 4-6A; both district champions will be decided Sunday morning.
Imagine the anticipation for all six of those coaches Sunday morning, eagerly awaiting the final power rankings to see who won the district and the rest left wondering did they do enough to earn one of the four wild cards in each region.
Then there is teams like Jackson (4-5), Episcopal (7-2), Keystone Heights (4-5), Suwannee (5-4), Orange Park (6-3), First Coast (4-5) and Sandalwood (6-3) that are sitting in the final playoff spot or just outside the last spot.
As we approach the final week of the regular season, teams have one final audition to make the playoffs or start thinking about the off season.
The biggest game of the week appears to be Mandarin (6-3) at Fletcher (6-3) for so many reasons. Mandarin is already in the playoffs having already won District 1-8A last week but a win over Fletcher could put them as the No. 1 seed in Region I-8A.
A Mandarin win would also boost Raines, Sandalwood, Flagler Palm Coast, Deland, Godby, Apopka, Bartram Trail and St. Augustine rankings.
While a Fletcher win would not only secure a playoff spot for themselves it would also help benefit Ed White, Raines and First Coast rankings.
Class 8A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region I-8A
#8 Flagler Palm Coast at #1 Wekiva
#7 West Orange at #2 Mandarin
#6 Deland at #3 Winter Park
#5 Apopka at #4 Oviedo— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Region 1-8A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/3TUhKjFwrR
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Mandarin (6-3) has already won District 1-8A after knocking off Flagler Palm Coast last week, the Mustangs are in the playoffs and can only improve their seeding.
Palm Coast (7-3) is idle this week and will eagerly watch the show Sunday while also root for all of its opponents; while Deland (7-2) is in likely in as well and will host Seabreeze this Friday.
Sandalwood (6-3) once thought of being out of the playoff picture moved up to ninth only .082 behind Flagler Palm Coast.
Class 7A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region I-7A
#8 Fletcher at #1 Columbia
#7 Edgewater at #2 Buchholz
#6 Oakleaf at #3 Lincoln
#5 Lee at #4 Hagerty— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Region 1-7A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/Kj1voG9JdF
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Columbia (8-1) won District 2-7A and is in the playoffs most likely as the Region I top seed, while Lee (7-1) is also in as one of the four wild card berths.
The rest is a hot mess as they say as Bartram Trail (6-3) upset Buchholz (6-3) Friday to create a three-way tie for the District 3-7A title with Oakleaf (5-4). The tiebreaker will be broken on Sunday in the statewide show with the team with the highest power ranking.
Oakleaf likely gets in as a wild card if they are unable to win the district title, however Bartram Trail is the wild card of the district and likely needs a lot of help Friday night from its opponents.
First Coast (4-5), which just last week was sitting in the eighth spot, dropped to eleventh and appears to be out of the mix now. The Bucs are idle this week and will have to root for their opponents and several upsets to get in the playoffs.
Class 6A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region 1-6A
#8 Pace at #1 Navarre
#7 Gulf Breeze at #2 Pine Forest
#6 Escambia at #3 Crestview
#5 Niceville at #4 St. Augustine *— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Class 6A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/utPmUjsELj
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
St. Augustine (4-5), Ed White (4-5) and Nease (3-6) are all tied for the District 3-6A title race and the tiebreaker will be broken Sunday on the statewide show.
Class 5A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region I-5A
#8 Mosley at #1 Trinity
#7 Ponte Vedra at #2 Godby
#6 Bolles at #3 West Florida
#5 Wakulla at #4 Ribault— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region II-5A
#8 Eastside at #1 Zephyrhills
#7 Crystal River at #2 North Marion
#6 Menendez at #3 Nature Coast
#5 Hernando at #4 Baker Co.— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Class 5A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/KzGf2qo9Br
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Ribault (5-4) clinched the District 3-5A title with a win over Yulee last week and sits in the fourth seed, a win over Raines could potentially move them up to the third seed.
Trinity Christian (10-0) clinched the District 4-5A title and is in good position to be the overall top seed for not only Region I-5A but in Class 5A meaning the Conquerors would never have to leave their home field until the state championship game.
Baker County (6-3) clinched the District 5-5A title and sits in the fourth seed in Region II-5A and will likely stay at the four seed even with a win over Dunnellon.
The four wild card spots in Region I-5A are up for grabs and will likely go to Wakulla, Bolles (6-3) and Ponte Vedra (7-2) and Mosley.
In Region II, Menendez (7-2) keeps sliding down and now sits in the sixth seed and could move up to the five seed with a win over Matanzas.
Class 4A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region I-4A
#6 Jackson at #3 Marianna
#5 Rutherford at #4 South Walton
#2 West Nassau bye
#1 Raines bye— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region 2-4A
#6 Dunnellon at #3 PK Yonge
#5 South Sumter at #4 Villages
#2 Bradford bye
#1 Santa Fe bye— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Class 4A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/N6wtJ2pjQQ
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Raines (8-1) and West Nassau (7-2) still remain the top seeds in Region I-4A and will get the first round byes.
Jackson (4-5) remains in the eighth spot and host Stanton Friday and needs a win to secure a spot in the playoffs.
In Region II-4A, Bradford (5-4) sits in the two spot behind Santa Fe and will get one of the two byes.
Class 3A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region I-3A
#6 Taylor County at #3 Baldwin
#5 Pensacola Catholic at #4 Fort White
#2 St Joseph bye
#1 Florida High bye— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Class 3A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/WASfmsy4Kz
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Baldwin (8-1), a 45-14 winner over West Nassau last night, sits in the three spot but gained on second seeded St. Joseph trailing now only by 1.23 heading into the final week.
St. Joseph (9-0) remains in the two seed and host Aucilla Christian in the North Florida Football Conference title game, however that game will not count point wise since it wasn’t on the initial schedule.
Fort White (7-2) is sitting in the fourth spot and only 1.22 behind Baldwin for the three seed, the Indians conclude their regular season hosting Terry Parker.
Episcopal (7-2) is in the seventh spot 2.22 points behind sixth seeded Taylor County, the Eagles host Bishop Kenny Friday and would need Taylor County to lose to have any chance.
Class 2A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region I-2A
#6 Munroe at #3 University Christian
#5 FAMU at #4 Aucilla Christian
#2 Maclay bye
#1 NFC bye— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Class 2A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/fXE4tUTgP1
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
University Christian (6-3) travels to Clay Friday night and sits tied for the two seed with Aucilla Christian with 38.89 points.
Aucilla Christian travels to undefeated St. Joseph (9-0) for the North Florida Football Conference title, but it won’t count point wise due to not being on the original schedule.
Eagle’s View (3-6) host Merritt Island Christian Friday and appears to be out of the playoff race being 2.11 behind sixth seed Munroe.
Class 1A
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Class 1A, Region 3-1A
#6 Branford at #3 Dixie County
#5 Union County at #4 Lafayette
#2 Chiefland bye
#1 Madison County bye— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Here are the updated playoff pairings, remember this is not the final pairing. Final pairing will be released Sunday morning by the FHSAA.
Region 4-1A
#6 Wildwood at #3 Crescent City
#5 Frostproof at #4 Fort Meade
#2 Pahokee bye
#1 Hawthorne bye— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Class 1A Power Rankings pic.twitter.com/pkwAMJOhcq
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) October 30, 2018
Union County (5-5) is done and will be eagerly watching the statewide show Sunday sitting in the fifth and next to last spot in Region 3-1A.
Crescent City (7-2) is sitting in the three seed in Region 4-1A the Raiders travel to Newberry Thursday to close out their regular season.
