JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The final week of the high school football season is here, and the bubble watching has begun.
Region 1-4S remains the wild one for area programs. Nease’s upset win over Ponte Vedra vaulted the Panthers into the No. 8 spot in the region. A win over Tocoi Creek on Friday night would deliver Nease (6-3) the District 4-4S title and likely the No. 7 seed in the region.
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Creekside moved up a spot to No. 7, but the Knights aren’t comfortable there. Mosley is seeded ninth but has won its district and automatically gets a playoff spot. That means Creekside (5-4) needs a chain reaction of things to happen to reach the playoffs. The Knights need to beat Ponte Vedra (7-2) on Friday night for starters, which is a tough assignment in itself, but even that may not be enough.
Pensacola Pace, the No. 6 seed, replaced Jacksonville’s Hollis Christian with a 6-3 Mayo Lafayette. Hollis Christian is 1-6, so a Pace win there would have carried little to no weight in the rankings. But a Pace win over a 6-3 Lafayette could be just enough to withstand a Creekside win. Pace is at 8.897 points in the FHSAA rankings, while the Knights are at 8.551. Also in 1-4S, could Bartram Trail climb as high as No. 2? The Bears face Mandarin in Week 11 and could get a major boost with a Niceville loss to Navarre and a Ponte Vedra loss to Creekside.
In Region 1-3S, Menendez’s win over Matanzas last week but it in the playoff conversation. The Falcons (4-5) are No. 9 in the region and within striking distance of No. 8 Middleburg.
First Coast’s upset of Fletcher for the District 1-3M title locked the Buccaneers into the postseason and didn’t hurt Fletcher too much. The Senators are still a No. 6 seed.
Episcopal (4-5) is No. 7 in Region 1-2M and should be safe, barring a Jackson upset of First Coast and a Ribault stunner over Riverside.
In Region 1-1M, Providence’s loss to Trinity Christian sent it tumbling to No. 3 in the region. A loss to Beachside this week and a University Christian win over Bishop Kenny could flip UC and the Stallions at 3-4 in the region rankings.
Playoff locks
A look at teams who have clinched playoff spots in their regions by a district title or by significant rankings points margins. Regions (not districts) are shown below.
1-4M: Mandarin (district champ).
1-3M: First Coast (district champ).
1-2M: Raines (district champ), Bolles (district champ), Riverside (district champ), Bishop Kenny, White.
1-1M: Trinity Christian (district champ), Providence, University Christian.
1-4S: Gainesville Buchholz (district champ), Bartram Trail, Ponte Vedra.
1-3S: St. Augustine (district champ), Columbia (district champ)
1-2S: Suwannee.
2-2S: Baker County (district champ), Bradford (district champ), Yulee, Palatka, Baldwin.