Manatee, Braden River could finally play under FHSAA’s new playoff format

One of the best side effects of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s new playoff format, which was voted into existence by the FHSAA Board of Directors on Monday in Gainesville, could come from Manatee County.

Manatee and Braden River have been the county’s two powers for most of the last three seasons, each winning at least two straight district championships and positioning themselves for another postseason run this fall. The two schools have not played, however, since 2012, when the Pirates were still building into the program they are now.

An emphasis on strength of schedule put forth by the new playoff proposal could finally end the drought. Braden River head coach Curt Bradley said he and Canes head coach John Booth have discussed playing in 2017, where there is a tangible benefit from playing a tough non-district schedule.

“We’re in talks to play Manatee next year,” Bradley said Monday. “Coach Booth and I have talked about playing next year.”

The FHSAA ushered in a new era Monday when its Board of Directors voted to approve a points-based playoff system by an overwhelming 14-2 margin. The new system rewards teams as much for losing to a team with an .800 winning percentage as it does for beating a team with a win percentage worse than .400, incentivizing teams to play more rigorous competition and add meaning to non-district games.

The new format eliminates districts in Classes 1A-4A — of which there are no more in the county with Saint Stephen’s and Bradenton Christian’s move to independence — in favor of an entirely points-based playoff system. In Classes 5A-8A, playoff spots are guaranteed to district champions with four wild cards per region determined by points.

One of the few criticisms to levy against the Pirates during the past two, undefeated regular seasons is the level of non-district competition. Braden River, the Class 7A-District 11 champion, only played two playoff teams during non-district season, and both were Class 5A programs.

In Classes 4A-8A, the FHSAA is still leaving a significance to winning the district — a district title guarantees a top four seed in the region playoffs — so Bradley doesn’t expect to seriously overhaul the way he schedules. He still wants his team to take one road trip a year, and a game against the Hurricanes would be a big deal, but he feels comfortable enough with the level of competition in Manatee and Sarasota counties to continue focusing on mainly opponents in the 941 area code.

“I don’t think we have to travel as much as some of the other counties,” Bradley said. “You control your own destiny. In our district — I think two teams will be out of our district regardless of what format it was. For our district it’s a matter of whether a third team gets in.”

Palmetto head coach Dave Marino, whose Tigers finished third in Class 7A-11 last year and missed the postseason, has been among the most outspoken coaches in favor of the format. Four of Palmetto’s five non-district games in 2015 were against playoff teams, and when the Pirates and district runner-up Venice are included, the majority of the Tigers’ entire schedule was played against postseason teams.

Palmetto still would have missed the postseason in 2015, but instead of being left without any chance because it plays in the same district as Braden River and the Indians, there would have been a possibility if they had managed one more non-district win.

“I wish it had been like this the last two years. It might be a seven-year (playoff) streak,” Marino said. “You want to play tough teams and we’re fortunate that we have great football in Manatee County.”

Booth remains in a bit more of a state of flux with the Canes. The FHSAA plans to announce updated regions and districts in December, and until then the Hurricanes are stuck in a seven-team district they’ve perpetually dominated. With an out-of-state trip, and rivalry games against the Tigers and Southeast filling part of the schedule, the Canes have had limited flexibility.

The Seminoles appear to have returned to a point of perennial playoff contention, but for a couple years playing a rebuilding Noles team wouldn’t have benefited the Hurricanes’ playoff positioning. For all the benefits of the new format, the potential casualties still exist.

“We’ve tried to schedule tough non-district, anyway,” Booth said. “What kind of throws a wrench in is some of the rivalry games.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Manatee, Braden River could finally play under FHSAA’s new playoff format."