Playoff standings have area teams on the bubble

Lake Brantley, Winter Park and Lake Mary remain within reach of the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 8A, Region 1 football playoffs entering the final week of the regular season.

Lake Nona and Boone in 8A-2 and St. Cloud in 7A-2 are among other area hopefuls in need of some help, according to the final FHSAA Ratings Percentage Index postseason projections released Tuesday.

This week’s games will be factored in and the 2019 playoff brackets and final RPI rankings for all eight classifications will be released Sunday beginning at 7 a.m. at FHSAA.org.

St. Cloud (6-3 record, .574 RPI) remains at No. 9 behind Melbourne (7-2, .594) for a final playoff spot. Both are in position to improve their stock against teams with high win percentages on Friday. St. Cloud plays at Class 2A Lakeland Victory Christian (7-1) and Melbourne hosts Eau Gallie (8-1).

The RPI 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 change each week as new results are factored in.

Below are the projected playoff pairings for regions with area teams ranked among the top eight spots in Classes 8A through 5A and the top six spots in 4A through 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 atlarge spots — seeded No. 5 through No. 8 — are decided by the RPI numbers at the end of the regular season. ahead of its rivalry outing vs. 7A Edgewater (8-1).

■ No. 8 Navarre (6-4, .560) at No. 1 Edgewater (8-1, .697) *

■ No. 7 Crestview (5-4, .578) at No. 2 Niceville (10-0, .677) *

■ No. 6 Tallahassee Lincoln (6-3, .626) at No. 3 Orange Park Fleming Island (8-0, .650) *

■ No. 5 Wekiva (7-2, .631) at No. 4 Winter Springs (5-4, .475) *

Winter Springs ranks 12th in RPI, but jumped into the fourth seed after winning at East River (5-4, .487) for the District 4 title. A home matchup for the Bears vs. Wekiva appears imminent depending on how things play out this week. The Mustangs play Friday at 8A Apopka (8-1) while Lincoln hosts 5A Jacksonville Ribault (4-4).

■ No. 8 Clearwater Countryside (5-4, .522) at No. 1 Tampa Gaither (9-0, .683) *

■ No. 7 Gulfport Boca Ciega (6-3, .548) at No. 2 Largo (6-3, .617) *

■ No. 6 Spring Hill Springstead (8-1, .625) at No. 3 Lake Minneola (6-3, .595) *

■ No. 5 Clearwater (7-2, .633) at No. 4 St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins (7-2, .591) *

Lake Minneola could be in store for a rematch of the District 5 championship vs. Springstead should the current pairings hold. The Hawks prevailed 26-21 last week. Lake Minneola finishes at 5A Leesburg (4-5) while Dixie Hollins, which unseated Boca Ciega in District 8, plays at 5A Tarpon Springs (1-8).

■ No. 8 Citra North Marion (7-2, .554) at No. 1 Jones (8-1, .691) *

■ No. 7 Bishop Moore (7-3, .576) at No. 2 Dunnellon (8-1, .615) *

■ No. 6 Ocala Vanguard (6-2, .582) at No. 3 St. Augustine Menendez (6-2, .542) *

■ No. 5 Inverness Citrus (9-1, .620) at No. 4 Brooksville Nature Coast (5-5, .541) *

Bishop Moore has the fifth-highest RPI in the region and is projected to be seated on the opposite side of the bracket from district rival Jones. The Hornets could move up a spot and gain a more favorable matchup in the first round should Vanguard stumble this week at 7A Ocala Forest (3-6).