District Tournaments start Monday across this state this week in Girls Flag Football and we look at each of the four regions across the two FHSAA classifications in Girls Flag Football to give you some of our thoughts with the expanded district tournaments.
DISTRICT 2A-5
TEAMS: Orlando Cypress Creek, Orlando Dr. Phillips, Orlando Freedom, Orlando Lake Nona, Orlando Oak Ridge, Orlando Olympia, Windermere
GLANCE: Despite Oak Ridge having the No. 1 overall seed, it is going to be hard for them to emerge through the district tournament without possibly getting dealt a blow again by Dr. Phillips which will likely come during the district championship. However, if there is one team that could be a dark horse in this, that is Windermere who was able to play a full 15-game schedule and got nine wins out of those 15 games.
DISTRICT 2A-6
TEAMS: Dover Strawberry Crest, Plant City, Plant City Durant, Seffner Armwood, Tampa Bay Tech, Tampa Leto, Tampa Plant, Tampa Wharton, Valrico Bloomingdale
GLANCE: This district is remarkably interesting with the fact the best team was not Bloomingdale as many expected but Durant who holds the No. 1 seed and only has one loss on the season. With that said, it is likely Durant will emerge out of the district, but could the Bulls have something waiting for the Cougars? That could be the biggest question in this district.
MORE: 2021 Class 2A District Tournament Pairings & Schedule
DISTRICT 2A-7
TEAMS: Largo, Largo Pinellas Park, Lutz Steinbrenner, Palm Harbor University, St. Petersburg, Tampa Alonso, Tampa Gaither, Tampa Sickles, Tarpon Springs East Lake
GLANCE: This district has a clear-cut leader and that is Alonso whose only loss this season was a 12-6 decision to Steinbrenner earlier in the season. Ever since that loss, the Ravens have made sure not to drop another game since then. Props to St. Petersburg for the season they have had so far, but it will be very hard to take down the defending Class 2A state champions in this one.
DISTRICT 2A-8
TEAMS: Bradenton Braden River, Bradenton Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton Manatee, Gibsonton East Bay, Lithia Newsome, Palmetto, Riverview, Ruskin Lennard
GLANCE: Two of the best teams in the state reside in this district and this exactly why there is advocacy for letting district runner-ups or allowing at-large bids outside of district champions into the playoff bracket. For both Newsome and Lennard, they have had tremendous seasons, so for one of them, they are going to be sitting at home when it comes time for the regional playoffs. So the question here is this: Does Lennard get revenge on Newsome in a possible district championship matchup? We will find out soon enough.
PROJECTED DISTRICT CHAMPIONS
2A-5: Dr. Phillips
2A-6: Durant
2A-7: Alonso
2A-8: Newsome
