My outlook for the Florida football playoffs

[SoftballGuy]

So I spent a good chunk of yesterday going bracket by bracket and evaluating where the teams are currently and where I think everything will end up in a few weeks. Feel free to make your own or comment on it but I feel pretty confident on most of these results 

 

Also sidenote I'll revisit these in the regional finals and give my picks at that stage (with the exception of 1R which I underlined my picks in regional finals)

 

Florida Postseason Breakdown 

*first round picks are underlined*

 

1R

Overall, a quick glance at this bracket I would identify Madison County and Hawthorne as the best two teams in the bracket and I expect them to meet in the finals. Any other matchup and the finals will be a blowout

Regional finals predictions 

Bracket 1

Blountstown vs Madison County 

Bracket 2

Taylor County vs Pahokee 

Bracket 3

Chiefland vs Baker

Bracket 4

Williston vs Hawthorne 

 

Brackets 

Bracket 1

1 Blountstown vs 16 Jay

 

8 Chipley vs 9 Madison County

 

Bracket 2

4 Taylor County vs 13 Trenton

5 Pahokee vs 12 Fort Meade

 

Bracket 3

3 Chiefland vs 14 Sneads

6 Baker vs 11 Liberty County

 

Bracket 4

7 Williston vs 10 Lafayette

2 Hawthorne vs 15 Branford

 

 

 

 

 

1A

This class is Chaminade Madonna and everyone else. The only question will be which team will win enough games to be the school who loses to Chaminade in the finals

Regional finals predictions 

Region 1

University Christian vs Trinity Christian 

Region 2 

Carrollwood Day vs Clearwater Central Catholic 

Region 3

St Petersburg Catholic vs Cardinal Newman 

Region 4

Chaminade Madonna vs True North 

 

 

Brackets 

Region 1

 

1 University Christian vs 8 Trinity Catholic

4 Episcopal School of Jacksonville vs 5 Impact Christian Academy

2 Trinity Christian Academy vs 7 Providence School

3 Maclay vs 6 North Florida Educational Institute

 

 

Region 2

 

1 Carrollwood Day vs 8 Father Lopez

4 Melbourne Central Catholic vs 5 Orlando Christian Prep

2 Clearwater Central Catholic vs 7 Indian Rocks Christian

3 Lakeland Christian vs 6 Victory Christian Academy 

 

 

Region 3

1 St. Petersburg Catholic vs 8 Evangelical Christian

4 Neumann vs 5 Southwest Florida Christian

2 Cardinal Newman vs 7 Benjamin

3 Community School of Naples vs 6 Northside Christian

 

Region 4

1 Chaminade-Madonna vs 8 St. John Paul II Academy

4 Miami Edison vs 5 Westminster Christian

2 True North vs 7 Palmer Trinity

3 Saint Andrew's vs 6 Archbishop Carroll

 

 

 

2A

This is a class that looks wide open to some out there but for me when I evaluate this class a few teams specifically stand out to me. Bolles, Cocoa and Cardinal Mooney. Right now the best of this group is Bolles 

 

 

Regional finals predictions 

Region 1 

Bolles vs Pensacola Catholic 

Region 2 

Bradford vs Cocoa 

Region 3

Cardinal Mooney vs Glades Central 

Region 4

Lasalle vs Cardinal Gibbons 

 

 

Brackets 

Region 1

 

1 Bolles vs 8 Walton

 

4 Florida High vs 5 Baldwin

 

2 Pensacola Catholic vs 7 Bozeman

 

3 South Walton vs 6 Freeport

 

Region 2

 

1 Bradford vs 8 Avon Park

 

4 The Villages Charter vs 5 Berkeley Prep

 

2 Calvary Christian vs 7 Santa Fe

3 Cocoa vs 6 Newberry

 

 

Region 3

1 Cardinal Mooney vs 8 North Broward Prep

4 Calvary Christian Academy vs 5 Bishop Verot

 

2 Lakewood vs 7 Somerset Academy - Canyons

 

3 Glades Central vs 6 King's Academy

 

Region 4

1 La Salle vs 8 Somerset Academy (Silver Palms)

4 Gulliver Prep vs 5 Ransom Everglades

2 Cardinal Gibbons vs 7 Monsignor Pace

3 Miami Killian vs 6 Miami Carol City

 

 

 

3A

When I look at this classification I have no doubts on two things. 1 if Raines doesn't running clock every team between them and the state finals they are gonna get blown out to whoever comes out of Miami Central vs Miami Northwestern and 2 the winner of Central vs Northwestern will win 3a likely in a running clock.

 

Regional finals predictions:

Region 1

Raines vs Panama City Bay 

Region 2

Eastside vs Eau Gallie 

Region 3

Sarasota Booker vs Tampa Jefferson 

Region 4

Miami Central vs Miami Northwestern 

 

 

 

Brackets 

Region 1

1 Raines vs 8 Baker County

4 Yulee vs 5 West Florida

2 Panama City Bay vs 7 Godby

3 Bishop Kenny vs 6 Wakulla

 

Region 2

1 Bishop Moore vs 8 Hernando

4 Eastside vs 5 South Sumter

2 Eau Gallie vs 7 Tavares

3 Merritt Island vs 6 Titusville

Region 3

1 Sarasota Booker vs 8 Mulberry

4 Chamberlain vs 5 Bayshore

2 Nature Coast Tech vs 7 Gibbs

3 Tampa Jefferson vs 6 Boca Ciega

 

Region 4

1 Miami Northwestern vs 8 Somerset Academy

4 Key West vs 5 Cypress Lake

2 Miami Central vs 7 St. Brendan

3 Lely vs 6 Estero

 

 

4A

This class as a whole is more wide open than in the past but the regions on the north end have very little depth. Region 1 has 3 realistic contenders with St Augustine,  Choctawhatchee and Columbia but all have question marks on their potential run and all would likely struggle to match up with a team like American Heritage Plantation who despite entering the playoffs at 4-5 is probably the best team in 4A. In Region 2 outside of Jones and Lake Wales I would identify Vanguard as a potential dark horse. Region 3 will come down to Port Charlotte and Tampa Jesuit.  Region 4 likely comes down to the rematch between AHP and Archbishop McCarthy.

 

 

Regional finals predictions 

Region 1

Columbia vs St Augustine 

Region 2

Orlando Jones vs Lake Wales 

Region 3

Tampa Jesuit vs Port Charlotte 

 

Region 4

Archbishop McCarthy vs American Heritage Plantation 

 

 

Brackets 

Region 1

1 St. Augustine vs 8 Arnold

4 Ed White vs 5 Pine Forest

 

2 Choctawhatchee vs 7 Booker T. Washington

3 Columbia vs 6 Rickards

 

Region 2

1 Orlando Jones vs 8 Deltona

4 Auburndale vs 5 Vanguard

2 Zephyrhills vs 7 Rockledge

3 Lake Wales vs 6 New Smyrna Beach

 

 

Region 3

1 Tampa Jesuit vs 8 Osceola

4 Naples vs 5 South Fort Myers

 

2 Port Charlotte vs 7 Dunbar

3 Clearwater vs 6 Blake

 

Region 4

 

1 Archbishop McCarthy vs 8 Hialeah

4 Miami Norland vs 5 Jensen Beach

2 American Heritage Plantation vs 7 John Carroll Catholic

3 Dillard vs 6 Plantation

 

 

5A

Overall regions 1 2 and 4 are solid regions while Region 3 is one of the weakest large school postseason brackets. Manatee probably rolls in Region 3 but they will hit a brick wall in the final 4. The other 3 regions should be competitive and lead to a great elite 8 game for this classification. St Thomas Aquinas should be the favorite to win their 7th consecutive state title when looking at this classification. 

 

 

Regional finals predictions:

Region 1

Ponte Vedra vs Mainland 

Region 2

Edgewater vs Tampa Gaither 

Region 3

Riverdale vs Bradenton Manatee 

Region 4

St Thomas Aquinas vs Atlantic Delray Beach 

 

 

Brackets 

Region 1

1 Ponte Vedra vs 8 Niceville

4 Beachside vs 5 Milton

2 Mainland vs 7 Middleburg

3 Mosley vs 6 Lincoln

 

 

Region 2

1 Edgewater vs 8 Lake Gibson

4 Tampa Bay Tech vs 5 Sebring

2 Lakeland vs 7 Wesley Chapel

3 Tampa Gaither vs 6 Winter Springs

 

Region 3

1 Riverdale vs 8 North Fort Myers

4 Immokalee vs 5 Pinellas Park

2 Cape Coral vs 7 Gulf Coast

3 Bradenton Manatee vs 6 Charlotte

 

Region 4

1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs 8 Heritage

4 Coconut Creek vs 5 Mater Academy Charter

2 Atlantic Delray Beach vs 7 North Miami

3 Martin County vs 6 McArthur

 

 

6A

Overall a really good classification in terms of depth. Buchholz, Mandarin, Armwood, West Boca Raton and Miami Southridge all stand out here in this class and any are capable of winning 6A. 

 

Regional finals prediction

Region 1

Buchholz vs Mandarin 

Region 2

Armwood vs Osceola 

Region 3
Palmetto vs West Boca Raton

Region 4

Miami Southridge vs Monarch 

 

 

Brackets:

Region 1

1 Buchholz vs 8 Oviedo

4 Nease vs 5 Oakleaf 

2 Mandarin vs 7 Crestview 

3 Pace vs 6 Evans

 

Region 2

1 Armwood vs 8 Melbourne 

4 Viera vs 5 Riverview

2 South Lake vs 7 Plant

3 Osceola vs 6 Durant 

Region 3

1 Palmetto vs 8 Wiregrass Ranch 

4 Lennard vs 5 Mitchell 

2 West Boca Raton vs 7 Largo

3 Parrish Community vs 6 East Lake 

Region 4

1 Miami Southridge vs 8 Nova

4 Flanagan vs 5 Piper 

2 West Broward vs 7 South Plantation 

3 Monarch vs Doral Academy 

 

 

 

7A

This class is wide open and has plenty of teams who could realistically walk away as state champions in this bracket. Its tough to say who the favorite is but it would likely be Venice at this stage. 

 

Regional finals predictions:

Region 1

Deland vs Lake Mary 

Region 2 

Venice vs Sarasota Riverview 

Region 3

Vero Beach vs Palm Beach Central 

Region 4

Miami Palmetto vs Western 

 

 

Brackets

1 Deland vs 8 Creekside 

4 Boone vs 5 Winter Park

2 Lake Mary vs 7 Hagerty 

3 Spruce Creek vs 6 Sanford Seminole 

Region 2

1 Venice vs 8 Ridge Community 

4 West Orange vs 5 Plant City 

2 Sarasota Riverview vs 7 Winter Haven 

3 Sumner vs 6 Ocoee 

 

Region 3 

1 Vero Beach vs 8 East Ridge 

4 St Cloud vs 5 Lake Nona 

2 Jupiter vs 7 Dr Phillips 

3 Fort Pierce Central vs 6 Palm Beach Central 

Region 4 

1 Miami Palmetto vs 8 Coral Glades

4 Santaluces vs 5 Columbus 

2 Spanish River vs 7 Western 

3 Goleman vs 6 South Dade 

[SoftballGuy]

Went a full 100% in picking Thursday games, let's see how well I do tonight 

[fishspinners]

3A- Sarasota Booker is going to give the MC/MNW winner a serious fight.

 

5A- I don't see Lakeland losing to Gaither. But STA is still the toughest out.

 

6A- Palmetto(Manatee) is going to take WBR to the wire.

Other than that, I'm fairly agreeable with your playoff views.

[SoftballGuy]

3 minutes ago, fishspinners said:

3A- Sarasota Booker is going to give the MC/MNW winner a serious fight.

 

5A- I don't see Lakeland losing to Gaither. But STA is still the toughest out.

 

6A- Palmetto(Manatee) is going to take WBR to the wire.

Other than that, I'm fairly agreeable with your playoff views.

My concern with Booker is they will be coasting for the entire regional Playoffs then hit a buzzsaw. I think booker can hold on talent wise for a little bit but idk if they will be battle tested enough to keep that game close for 4 quarters 

 

Lakeland may beat Gaither but anything can happen in the playoffs and looking at the matchups I felt that one could be a sneaky one for Lakeland especially since Gaither qb was a mid season transfer from Lakeland and Gaither has largely flown under the radar during the season 

 

They may make that game competitive but I definitely have to lean WBR in that matchup but I haven't made my pick in that game yet as I'll wait until we get to Thanksgiving week when I reevaluate it 

[Bamarod]

Viera hawks will shock the high school world when they fly over Armwood next week!! 

[nolebull813]

9 minutes ago, Bamarod said:

Viera hawks will shock the high school world when they fly over Armwood next week!! 

Why is that? Because they beat a bad Riverview team at home?

[Beek]

14 minutes ago, nolebull813 said:

Why is that? Because they beat a bad Riverview team at home?

I will be ok with that! But we have other business first!

[nolebull813]

21 minutes ago, Beek said:

I will be ok with that! But we have other business first!

I need a game to watch in the Tampa area in 2 weeks!! Can’t have all the Hillsborough teams on the road or out of the playoffs by then!

[SoftballGuy]

Remember my picks, lots of these teams still alive to be in the regional finals as I predicted 

[Mike E]

On 11/15/2025 at 3:57 PM, nolebull813 said:

I need a game to watch in the Tampa area in 2 weeks!! Can’t have all the Hillsborough teams on the road or out of the playoffs by then!

We have some room on the bandwagon down here. 

[Perspective]

2 hours ago, Mike E said:

We have some room on the bandwagon down here. 

Venice always seems to have room for folks from Hillsborough County, although usually they play QB.  

[nolebull813]

1 hour ago, Perspective said:

Venice always seems to have room for folks from Hillsborough County, although usually they play QB.  

I can suit up. 
 

 

[Mike E]

7 hours ago, Perspective said:

Venice always seems to have room for folks from Hillsborough County, although usually they play QB.  

If you build it, they will come...