High school football is back in Manatee County with a new format. Here’s what to know
High school football is back in Bradenton, but with a twist.
While area teams kicked off the 2022 season in preseason games last week, the season starts counting Friday with regular-season matchups across the Suncoast.
So what’s the twist? The Florida High School Athletic Association revamped its classification system for the playoffs.
Here’s what to know about the changes and how it impacts Manatee County teams:
New designations
An eight-classification system was in place before a February decision overhauled Florida high school football’s format. The FHSAA used school population numbers to separate teams into the different classes, so location didn’t matter.
That changed in February when a narrow, controversial vote swung things into a new proposed format: dividing teams into metro, suburban and rural classifications.
From there, teams were divided based on enrollment numbers.
Eight counties, based on population density, were deemed metro: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Seminole, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Duval.
Manatee County qualified as a suburban division. Since 2010, there have been several times when a Manatee County team advanced to a state semifinal, where they were eliminated by a South Florida program that won that year’s state championship in its respective class.
- In 2010, Manatee lost to Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A semifinals.
- In 2011, Palmetto fell to Miami Norland in the 5A semifinals.
- In 2015, Braden River lost to Aquinas in the 5A semifinals.
- In 2019 and 2020, Palmetto lost to Miami Central in the Class 6A semifinals.
Local teams won’t have to face Miami-Dade or Broward schools in the playoffs moving forward. Instead, they’re paired with other similarly populated schools that are from the other 59 counties in the state over four suburban classes.
Lakewood Ranch, Manatee and Palmetto are in Class 4S-District 13. It is a three-team district.
Braden River, Parrish Community and Southeast are in 3S-District 13. It’s a four-team district with Port Charlotte also competing.
Bayshore is the lone local team in 2S-District 15, and the Bruins rejoined the FHSAA’s classification system after being an independent last season. The Bruins are competing against Sarasota Booker, Englewood Lemon Bay and Arcadia DeSoto.
And Cardinal Mooney is in 1S-District 6 with Fort Pierce John Carroll.
Bradenton Christian, Saint Stephen’s, Out-of-Door Academy and IMG Academy are independents and do not play in the FHSAA playoffs.
How do the playoffs work?
The longstanding system of a district champion and runner-up earning playoff qualification went out the window when the FHSAA tweaked its playoff format in 2017.
The state no longer guaranteed district runner-ups a playoff berth, to mitigate those in three-team districts from advancing to playoffs by only needing to win one game — a district contest — in the season.
Instead, teams were ranked in a ratings power index formula, which took into account strength of schedule based off your win percentage, opponent’s win percentage, and opponent’s opponent’s win percentage. District champs were still locked in as automatic qualifiers, while each at-large berths were given to the top remaining teams in the RPI per region.
That formula does not change for 2S-4S programs. A total of eight teams qualify per region, with four district champs and the next four at-large berths awarded via the FHSAA power rankings.
In 1S, there are fewer teams competing so the field is cut in half to four teams per region qualifying, two district champs and the next two at-large teams in the power rankings.
And the playoffs are single-elimination. Home field advantage is dictated by seeding through the power rankings.
Playoffs start Nov. 11, with state championships slated for December.
For 1S and 2S teams, the state championship is held in Tallahassee at Gene Cox Stadium between Dec. 8 and Dec. 10.
For 3S and 4S programs, the state championship game is scheduled for to occur between Dec. 15 and Dec. 17 at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Game time slots are not yet determined.
What are the enrollment number tiers?
The FHSAA breaks down the suburban schools based on the following enrollment numbers:
- 1S: 65-600
- 2S: 601-1,445
- 3S: 1,446-1,895
- 4S: 1,896-3,226
The classification cycle lasts two seasons, and teams are free to schedule teams from metro classes, the lone rural class or other suburban classes during the regular season to fill out their non-district schedules.
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 9:33 AM.
