New era in high school football: Playoffs go to a points system, Manatee County teams schedule tougher games

For the first time, high school football schedules matter.

The first regular-season game matters as much as the last one.

That’s because the Florida High School Athletic Association altered the playoff structure for the 2017 season, and Manatee County public school programs were forced to shake up their schedules.

Manatee traded its out-of-state venture and archrival Southeast for traditional state power Lakeland and county rival Braden River.

The Pirates beefed up their schedule to include playoff-caliber non-district opponents like the Hurricanes, while Palmetto High’s schedule got even tougher than the usual gauntlet that’s been listed during head coach Dave Marino’s seven years in charge.

Southeast, Bayshore, Lakewood Ranch and Cardinal Mooney also were affected by the FHSAA’s new playoff formula, which uses a points system to seek a fairer way to divvy up playoff berths at season’s end.

“I’d have years when I was in Broward (County) and we’d go 7-3 or 8-2, but the two teams ahead of us beat us and the team in the other district won three games and they were able to get in,” Southeast High head coach Rashad West. “So I understand the frustrations of those teams where the districts are really top heavy and you come in third, but you’re behind two of the top teams in the state and the rival district probably isn’t as strong.”

Teams are getting three bonus points each time they play a team that qualified for the playoffs in either of the past two seasons.

Beating stiffer competition gets you more points, and the average comes into play at the end of the year when calculators tabulate the four wild-card berths for each region in Class 8A-5A.

That effects Manatee, Braden River, Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch, Southeast and Bayshore in Manatee County.

“The goal is to win the district and then I don’t have to be a mathematician,” West said.

Sarasota’s Cardinal Mooney is the lone private school in the area to participate in the FHSAA classification system, competing in 3A without a district as the FHSAA moved away from the district system for Class 4A-1A.

Consequently, scheduling was difficult for head coach Drew Lascari.

However, Lascari said he’s in favor of the power points system.

“That’s what I came from in New Jersey,” Lascari said. “I think in the state of Florida we’re going to learn from it this year and I’m sure (FHSAA football director) Frank Beasley will continue to make tweaks and changes as we go along.”

This first year is a trial-and-error process for fans, athletic directors, coaches and players. But regardless of how many points are earned, winning the district title is the most direct path to the playoffs for the 8A-5A programs.

The new system means new changes to schedules across Manatee County. Programs are stacking the non-district portion with stout opponents.

For Braden River head coach Curt Bradley, he switched from having outclassed teams such as Cape Coral Ida Baker and Leesburg on the Pirates’ schedule for difficult tests against Manatee, Clearwater and more.

Getting Clearwater and other teams on this year’s schedule came through word of mouth. Bradley originally contacted Tarpon Springs East Lake head coach Bob Hudson about playing, but the Eagles were already booked. Hudson tipped Bradley off to Clearwater being a viable replacement.

“You just call around and ask,” Bradley said. “We tried to find playoff teams from previous years that we knew would have solid programs to schedule and know that they’re going to have good seasons.”

Braden River’s first exam comes in the opening week when the Pirates battle Chatfield High, a state semifinalist in Colorado’s playoffs last year, at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista.

“We knew we wanted to do something that we hadn’t done before,” Bradley said.

Manatee head coach Yusuf Shakir wasn’t hired until after the Canes’ 2017 schedule was set. But regardless of who the Canes are playing, Shakir is used to playing tough schedules.

In 2015, he led Tallahassee Lincoln from a difficult opening stretch, when the Trojans dropped the first three games and defeated Manatee on the road, to earn a playoff berth.

“The key is who has the best team in December,” Shakir said. “That’s the key.”

Filling Palmetto’s schedule with tough teams isn’t new for Marino, but he said this year’s slate is the toughest schedule he’s put together. The Tigers face five 2016 playoff teams in the first five weeks, including in-county foes Southeast, Manatee and Braden River.

They also travel to Sarasota Riverview, which topped the Canes for the 8A-District 6 title last year, on Sept. 8 and to Lakeland Lake Gibson, last season’s Class 6A state runner-up, on Sept. 22.

“The end-of-the-year record is what matters,” Marino said.

The new playoff system was created for teams such as Palmetto, which is saddled in a top-heavy district alongside Braden River and Venice.

Those two teams have traded district titles and state semifinal runs the past two seasons.

And instead of playing for a potential playoff berth in the final regular-season game against area power Punta Gorda Charlotte, Palmetto already was eliminated from postseason contention and used that game against the Tarpons the past two years to prepare for the future.

That dynamic could change this season with every game mattering.

“You still don’t know, because you have to play that last game,” West said.

Winning is king, regardless of how each team’s strength of schedule works for the bonus points. Playing more high-profile non-district games, though, could swell local fan support instead of games that often featured running clocks that are prevalent each fall.

“Time will tell,” Marino said. “I think without a doubt, whether they are actually at the stadium or watching on the live streams, I think yes, there’s going to be more interest because of the FHSAA’s new rule.”

Another wrinkle to the new system: Teams now have a vested rooting interest in opponents they’ve already played, specifically non-district opposition.

For example, Southeast plays Sarasota, a Class 7A program, this year as an addition to the Noles’ 2016 schedule. Instead of just playing the Sailors and moving on, Southeast is going to hope Sarasota produces a winning record to give the Seminoles the right amount of points in the event the Noles don’t win the district title.

“It’s different,” West said. “Honestly, we’ll keep our eyes on scores of games of past teams we played, because you want them to continue to win because it helps you.”

After the playoff system came into focus, it forced teams that didn’t always schedule difficult programs in the past to add some competitive opponents this season.

It’s produced several top-notch games and given fans the long-awaited clash for Manatee County bragging rights between the Hurricanes and Pirates.

Manatee and Braden River last played in 2012, which was Bradley’s first season in charge of the Pirates. He’s built Braden River into a consistent playoff contender, including reaching the Class 7A state semifinals in 2015.

Meanwhile, Manatee is a tradition-rich program with five state championships and a plethora of state title and semifinal game appearances.

Getting those two together – as well as the other phenomenal matchups not previously seen – makes for what could be a fantastic season.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 7:00 AM with the headline "New era in high school football: Playoffs go to a points system, Manatee County teams schedule tougher games."