The change of going back to classifications and districts that are strictly formed based on enrollment numbers, it has set up new districts, new opponents, and ultimately new opportunities for teams to see some teams they have not seen before.
We will dive into determining the best districts in the state going into the 2024 season based on the final classification and district assignments that were released on Tuesday by the FHSAA.
In this article, we will look at Class 6A and we ranked the districts from 1 through 16 using winning percentages of the last two years (2023 and 2024) to come up with our ranking.
1. District 6A-3
Teams: Bartram Trail (St. Johns), Buchholz (Gainesville), Nease (Ponte Vedra), Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine)
2 Year Combined Win %: .670
Skinny: What happens when you have a district that saw three of the four teams have deep playoff runs over the last two seasons? The expectation of a very strong district for the next two seasons.
2. District 6A-14
Teams: East Lake (Tarpon Springs), Largo, Steinbrenner (Lutz), Palm Harbor University
2 Year Combined Win %: .640
Skinny: The last two years have been pretty good for all four teams in the district and all were district champions at one point during those two years. This should be a fun district to watch with all four teams.
3. District 6A-13
Teams: Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Monarch (Coconut Creek), Piper (Sunrise)
2 Year Combined Win %: .632
Skinny: Monarch’s 20-6 record over the past two seasons along with improvements from Piper and Coral Springs this past season helped bring the combined two-year winning percentage of the teams in this district above 60%.
4. District 6A-8
Teams: Armwood (Seffner), Plant (Tampa), Sickles (Tampa), Wharton (Tampa)
2 Year Combined Win %: .589
Skinny: Well, this is exciting to see as we have not had Armwood and Plant in the same district in a very long time. Given that, combined with the recent success from Wharton this district has a strong ranking among the strongest districts in Class 6A.
5. District 6A-2
Teams: First Coast (Jacksonville), Fletcher (Neptune Beach), Mandarin (Jacksonville), Oakleaf (Orange Park)
2 Year Combined Win %: .586
Skinny: Mandarin reaching the state championship game this past season certainly helped boost the win percentage for this district and the fact First Coast and Fletcher have also been playoff teams over the last two years will make this district battle one worth watching.
6. District 6A-1
Teams: Crestview, Navarre, Pace, Tate (Cantonment)
2 Year Combined Win %: .553
Skinny: This district has some strong competitive teams that have been in the playoff hunt or have reached the playoffs over the last two years. This will be a fun district to watch even if the ranking does not reflect this thought initially.
7. District 6A-4
Teams: Evans (Orlando), Lake Howell (Winter Park), Oviedo, Wekiva (Apopka)
2-Year Combined Win %: .547
Skinny: Oviedo comes in as the strongest team in this mix. Evans was a playoff team this past season while Wekiva was in the playoffs in 2022. Lake Howell has had back-to-back winning seasons but does not have a playoff appearance. The question will be if this district looks weaker after the 2024 season.
T8. District 6A-12
Teams: Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens), Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach, Seminole Ridge (Westlake), West Boca Raton
2 Year Combined Win%: .542
Skinny: This district is mixed when it comes to successful teams and teams that have struggled as of late. However, being in the middle of the pack is not necessarily a bad thing given Palm Beach Gardens and Seminole Ridge have been typically successful teams. For West Boca Raton their incredible improvement this past season also helps as well.
T8. District 6A-15
Teams: Doral Academy, Homestead, Miami Southridge, Southwest Miami
2 Year Combined Win %: .542
Skinny: If you took Southwest Miami out of the equation who is a combined 1-19 over the last two seasons, this district would be one of the strongest in Class 7A and in the entire state thanks to playoff appearance by the other teams. Homestead’s two deep runs to the state championship game the last two years certainly helps here.
10. District 6A-7
Teams: Bartow, Bloomingdale (Valrico), Durant (Plant City), Riverview (Riverview)
2 Year Combined Win %: .540
Skinny: This is an interesting Polk-Hillsborough district and the wins and playoff success of the teams in the district has been limited outside of Durant in recent years. However, with Bartow, Durant, and Riverview all being playoff teams this past season, this district could shape out to be a solid one.
11. District 6A-5
Teams: Melbourne, Osceola (Kissimmee), St. Cloud, Viera
2 Year Combined Win %: .517
Skinny: The ranking of this district could be much higher, but the slide of Osceola last year brings down the ranking with the combined two-year winning percentage along with the struggles both Melbourne and Viera have had. St. Cloud boasts the best winning percentage over the last two years but against some inferior opponents.
12. District 6A-9
Teams: Land O’ Lakes, Mitchell (New Port Richey), Sunlake (Land O’Lakes), Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel)
2 Year Combined Win %: .500
Skinny: Three of the four teams here in this district have been playoff teams over the past two years. However, Sunlake’s last two years have been disappointing and thus drag down what might be a much stronger district than not.
13. District 6A-6
Teams: Davenport, Forest (Ocala), Horizon (Winter Garden), Lake Minneola, South Lake (Groveland)
2 Year Combined Win %: .481
Skinny: Of all the teams on this list, only one has seen the postseason over the last two years and that is Lake Minneola. Davenport, Forest, and Horizon all were .500 programs this past year while South Lake started to turn the corner by getting a couple of wins.
14. District 6A-14
Teams: Cooper City, Nova (Davie), South Broward (Hollywood), South Plantation
2 Year Combined Win %: .432
Skinny: South Broward has had some success the last couple of years, but it has been a struggle with all the other team inside the district. However, it will be interesting to see if any improvement comes in 2024 to ranking of how strong this district truly is.
15. District 6A-11
Teams: Gateway (Fort Myers), Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton), Lennard (Ruskin), Palmetto, Parrish Community
2 Year Combined Win %: .394
Skinny: You would like to give this district a chance but coming into the new cycle with a 39%-win percentage combined of the last two years makes this district one of the weakest in the state. Yes, you can say Gateway and Parrish Community are still the new kids on the block so to speak, but Parrish has risen further compared to Gateway in a short amount of time.
16. District 6A-15
Teams: Dr. Krop (Miami), Flanagan (Pembroke Pines), Miami Beach, West Broward (Pembroke Pines)
2 Year Combined Win %: .388
Skinny: When Flanagan and Miami Beach are a combined 9-32 over the last two years, that should tell you all you need to know why this district is the weakest in all of Class 6A and one of the weakest in the entire state. That is on top of Dr. Krop and West Broward hovering just above the 50% win mark the last two seasons.
