Seminole, Edgewater, Jones stand as top seeds

Seminole High of Sanford enters Week 10 of the high school football regular season as one of the top ranked teams in the state, according to the latest Florida High School Athletic Association playoff rankings.

The Class 8A Seminoles (8-0) own the highest ranking among area teams in the FHSAA Rating Percentage Index standings at .775. That mark is third-best in the state behind Class 6A’s Palmetto (.796) and 8A’s Vero Beach (.779).

Class 7A Edgewater is second among area teams at No. 13 in the state with a .710 RPI, followed by No. 17 Jones (.706), a 5A team, and No. 18 Apopka (.705).

Seminole, Edgewater and Jones — the top-rated teams in the Sentinel Super 16 area rankings, in that order — currently own the No. 1 seed in their respective regions. Apopka ranks third behind Seminole and St. Johns Bartram Trail out of the Jacksonville area in 8A, Region 1.

In 7A, Region 2, St. Cloud (5-3, .566) is in danger of missing the postseason after dropping its second district game in as many weeks. The Bulldogs lost 42-7 vs. Viera after losing to Melbourne (7-1, .615), which has a hold on the eighth and final playoff spot. St. Cloud opened the season with five straight wins.

The FHSAA RPI formula factors a team’s winning percentage, the combined win percentage of the teams it plays, and the combined win percentage of its opponents’ opponents. The ratings will change each week as new results are factored in.

Below are the projected playoff pairings, based on current RPI numbers, for regions with area teams ranked among the top eight spots in Class 8A-5A and the top six spots in 4A-1A. The six postseason spots and seeding for teams in the small classifications are based solely on the RPI standings.

Four automatic playoff berths go to district champions in each large classification region. The remaining four at-large spots — seeded No. 5 through No. 8 — are decided by the RPI numbers at the end of the regular season.

Class 8A, Region 1

■ No. 8 Winter Park (6-3, .596) at No. 1 Seminole (8-0, .775)*

■ No. 7 Spruce Creek (4-3, .621) at No. 2 St. Johns Bartram Trail (8-0, .737)*

■ No. 6 DeLand (5-2, .630) at No. 3 Apopka (6-1, .705)

■ No. 5 Flagler Palm Coast (7-1, .667) at No. 4 Timber Creek (7-1, .622)

Seminole leads a District 2 group that features four teams likely headed for the playoffs. DeLand and Port Orange Spruce Creek swapped spots in the rankings on the eve of the Bulldogs’ home date Friday with Flagler Palm Coast. Winter Park replaced West Orange (4-4, .566) at No. 8 ahead of its District 3 finale at Timber Creek in a game that could prove costly for the losing team. Lake Mary (5-3, .575), which plays at Apopka for the District 4 title, sits at No. 10 behind reigning 8A state champion Jacksonville Mandarin (5-3, .593). Lake Brantley (5-3, .570) has entered the conversation at No. 11 after winning 28-21 at West Orange, which dropped to No. 12 in RPI.

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Class 8A, Region 2

■ No. 8 Lake Nona (6-2, .537) at No. 1 Sarasota Riverview (6-2, .709)*

■ No. 7 Riverview High (7-2, .563) at No. 2 Dr. Phillips (7-2, .663)*

■ No. 6 Ruskin Lennard (6-2, .583) at No. 3 Lutz Steinbrenner (8-0, .652)*

■ No. 5 Lithia Newsome (7-2, .608) at No. 4 Osceola (7-1, .603)

Don’t expect the playoff field to change much as Tampa Plant (2-6, .517) is the nearest challenger to the eighth and final spot. Lake Nona plays at Osceola on Friday to decide

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the District 6 championship and secure the fourth seed. The Lions then host 7A rival East River (5-3). A four-game win streak has pushed Boone (4-4, .485) to No. 11 in the RPI standings. Wins the final two weeks against Windermere (1-6, .322) and rival Edgewater (7-1) are needed for the Braves to get much closer.

Class 7A, Region 1

■ No. 8 Tallahassee Chiles (4-4, .542) at No. 1 Edgewater (7-1, .710)*

■ No. 7 Tallahassee Lincoln (5-3, .596) at No. 2 Niceville (9-0, .678)*

■ No. 6 Crestview (5-3, .606) at No. 3 Orange Park Fleming Island (7-0, .659)*

■ No. 5 Wekiva (6-2, .642) at No. 4 East River (5-3, .511)

Winter Springs (4-4, .449), ranked No. 15 in RPI but sitting at 2-0 in District 4, can jump into the No. 4 spot in the region with a district-title win this week at East River (1-1 in 7A-4), which is 10th in RPI standings for the region but the highest ranked among the four district teams. That result likely would knock the Falcons out of the playoff picture. But if East River wins, it either would claim the district title outright or force an RPI three-way tiebreaker should Lake Howell (5-3, 1-1, .500) defeat Lyman (0-7, .302). Lake Howell ranks slightly behind the Falcons at No. 11 in RPI at this point, with Winter Springs trailing both.

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Class 6A, Region 2

■ No. 8 Clearwater Countryside (4-4, .520) at No. 1 Tampa Gaither (8-0, .689)*

■ No. 7 Lake Minneola (5-3, .567) at No. 2 Spring Hill Springstead (8-0, .653)

■ No. 6 St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins (6-2, .571) at No. 3 Largo (6-2, .652)*

■ No. 5 Clearwater (6-2, .643) at No. 7 Gulfport Boca Ciega (6-2, .575)

Lake Minneola’s 50-34 non-district loss vs. Ocala Vanguard (5-2) did little to hurt its playoff chances. The Hawks dropped from No. 6 to No. 7

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in the postseason projections, but play for the District 5 title and one of the remaining top seeds in the region at home against Springstead this week. A loss for Lake Minneola is unlikely to push the Hawks outside of a wild-card spot entering its final game at Leesburg (3-5).

Class 5A, Region 2

■ No. 8 Citra North Marion (7-1, .575) at No. 1 Jones (7-1, .706)*

■ No. 7 Bishop Moore (6-3, .577) at No. 2 Dunnellon (7-1, .603)

■ No. 6 Ocala Vanguard (5-2, .591) at No. 3 Brooksville Nature Coast (5-4, .570)*

■ No. 5 Inverness Citrus (8-1, .616) at No. 4 St. Augustine Menendez (5-2, .524)

There was a lot of movement this week in 5A-2. Nature Coast’s 39-14 win vs. previously unbeaten Citrus in District 8 dropped Bishop Moore two spots to No. 7 despite the Hornets owning the fifth-best RPI in the region. Bishop Moore will finish no worse than No. 8 when the final pairings are released, but that position would set up a district rematch with Jones for the second year in a row. Bishop Moore closes the regular season this week against Mount Dora (2-6).

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Class 3A, Region 2

■ No. 6 Pierson Taylor (3-4, .467) at No. 3 The First Academy (3-4, .502)

■ No. 5 Daytona Beach Father Lopez (4-4, .474) at No. 4 Frostproof (4-5, .483)

■ No. 1 Lakeland Christian (5-2, .605); No. 2 Melbourne Holy Trinity (5-3, .572)

The First Academy remains on the move while rising from No. 5 to No. 3 after winning 38-17 at Windermere Prep (2-6). Staying in the third spot could be a challenge, though, after adding a game this week at home against Akelynn’s Angels Academy (1-6) of Winter Haven. The Royals end their season vs. The Villages (5-2). Trinity Prep (4-5, .451), which ranks No. 8 behind Melbourne Central

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Catholic (2-5, .455), will need a win this week vs. Cocoa Beach (2-6) and help elsewhere to reach the playoffs.

Class 2A, Region 2

■ No. 6 Gainesville Saint Francis (2-6, .352) at No. 3 Gainesville Oak Hall (6-2, .560)

■ No. 5 Deltona Trinity Christian (3-5, .428) at No. 4 Orangewood Christian (4-4, .498)

■ No. 1 Lakeland Victory Christian (7-1, .688), No. 2 Foundation Academy (7-2, .646)

No surprises here as all that needs to be decided is the final seeding. Foundation inched closer to the top spot after winning 42-21 vs. Orangewood while Victory was losing 26-23 at Ocala Trinity Catholic. But Victory finishes against St. Cloud (5-3) while Foundation hosts West Oaks (2-6) in a game that offers little in obtaining additional points. Orangewood hosts Deltona Trinity this week in what could be a preview of a first-round matchup.

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