2015 District Projections: Class 8A, Region II – Districts 5, 6, 7 & 8

District projections for Class 8A – Region II for the 2015 season.

District 8A-5
1. Dr. Phillips
2. Oak Ridge
3. Olympia
4. Freedom (Orlando)
5. Cypress Creek

Comment: Dr. Phillips is clearly the favorite for this district, but that doesn’t mean Oak Ridge won’t challenge for the district title. The battle for the district championship will come down to these two. Olympia could improve this year and finish at least third, but Freedom will have a certain say on that one.

District 8A-6
1. Manatee
2. Steinbrenner
3. Newsome
4. Alonso
5. Riverview (Sarasota)
6. Riverview (Riverview)
7. Palm Harbor University

Comment: This district was really tough to put any order to outside of Manatee being the district champion. However, Steinbrenner did show a lot of improvement last year and could certainly be in contention for the second playoff spot. Newsome, Alonso and Sarasota Riverview are also capable teams of competing for the second playoff. This will be one district to watch for sure this season!

District 8A-7
1. Osceola (Kissimmee)
2. Haines City
3. Gateway (Kissimmee)
4. Ridge Community
5. George Jenkins

Comment: It is clear that the team to beat in this district is Osceola. They have the most talent returning and will be hard to stop even with the schedule they have. Second place could be a dog fight between Haines City, Gateway and Ridge Community, but at this point Haines City came the closest last year to reaching the playoffs of the remaining teams in the district and they likely know they can edge over that hump this year.

District 8A-8
1. Vero Beach
2. Fort Pierce Central
3. Treasure Coast
4. Centennial

Comment: Vero Beach is the favorite at this point, but in all intents and purposes, the district will come down between Vero Beach and Fort Pierce Central for the District Championship in Week 10. Fort Pierce Central returns a lot of talent like Vero Beach and this matchup will be a sold out one for sure. Treasure Coast and Centennial will have to play their best games and knock off either of the top two teams to make things interesting in the district.

Projected Regional Quarterfinal Matchups (Round 1)
Steinbrenner (R6) vs. Dr. Phillips (W5)
Oak Ridge (R5) vs. Manatee (W6)
Fort Pierce Central (R8) at Osceola (W7)
Haines City (R7) at Vero Beach (W8)

Projected Regional Semifinal Matchups (Round 2)
Dr. Phillips vs. Manatee
Osceola vs. Vero Beach

Projected Regional Final Matchup (Round 3)
Osceola vs. Dr. Phillips

State Semifinalist
Osceola