Playoff brackets revealed as postseason arrives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – College football’s playoff course is set.

Providence (7-3), St. Augustine (8-1) and unbeaten Nease (9-0) and Raines (9-0) earned the No. 1 seed for the state playoffs during the Florida High School Athletic Association’s bracket release Friday night.

The opening round will include a pair of all-local matchups with Beachside-Ponte Vedra, Columbia-St. Augustine, Oakleaf-Mandarin, Baker County-Bishop Kenny and Impact Christian-University Christian.

Just missing the perennial playoff teams were Bartram Trail and Fletcher. The Senators (5-5) missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

Parker (5-5) finished in a three-way tie in District 3-4A with Menendez and Bishop Kenny, but finished 10th in the region and lost out on a playoff spot because of its placement points.

The Bears (4-6) dropped five games to St. Johns County team, including a shootout to Nease on Thursday night to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Despite Bartram’s close miss (the Bears finished out of a playoff spot by roughly 1 percentage point) St. Johns County had a great season.

Creekside, Nease and St. Augustine won all district championships. Beachside, Menendez and Ponte Vedra all made the playoffs. Factor in the private school St. Joseph, who went 8-1 in the regular season and is competing in the Sunshine State Athletic Association playoffs, had a great year in St. John’s.

Some oddities also happened. Despite being a district champion and actually beating both Beachside and Ponte Vedra, Fleming Island (7-3) managed just a No. 6 seed and must travel to Mosley for its playoff opener.

In Region 1-5A, Middleburg reached the playoffs for the third straight season, a massive accomplishment for coach Ryan Wolfe. The Broncos (7-3) posted their best record since 2003, though they travel to top-seeded Niceville for the opener.

High school football playoff games

First round, 15 Nov

Region 1-7A

(5) Spruce Creek (7-3) at (4) Flagler Palm Coast (9-1)

(2) Seminole (8-1) at (7) Creekside (5-5)

Region 1-6A

(8) Tate (7-3) at (1) Nease (9-0)

(5) Oakleaf (7-3) at (3) Mandarin (7-3)

Region 1-5A

(8) Middleburg at (1) Niceville (9-1)

(5) Beachside (7-3) at (4) Ponte Vedra (8-2)

(6) Fleming Island (7-3) at (3) Mosley (9-1)

Region 1-4A

(8) Columbia at (1) St. Augustine (8-1)

(4) Pine forest (5-5) by (5) White (7-3)

(6) Riverside (5-5) at (3) Escambia (8-2)

Region 1-3A

(8) Bay (5-5) at (1) Raines (9-0)

(5) Menendez (6-4) at (4) Wakulla (7-3)

(7) Suwannee (4-6) at (2) Godby (6-3)

(6) Baker County (5-4) at (3) Bishop Kenny (7-3)

Region 1-2A

(8) Baldwin (5-5) at (1) Gadsden County (9-1)

(6) Taylor County (7-3) at (3) Bolles (8-1)

Region 2-2A

(7) Villages (5-4) at (2) Bradford (8-1)

(6) Palatka (7-3) at (3) Newberry (8-2)

Region 1-1A

(1) Providence (7-3) at (8) Ocala Trinity Catholic (2-8)

(5) Impact Christian (6-4) at (4) University Christian (5-5)

(7) PK Yonge (5-4) at (2) Trinity Christian (7-3)

The rural districts

(12) Fort White (5-4) at (5) Jay (9-1)

(14) Holmes County (6-4) at (3) Union County (8-1)