Who would Manatee County football teams play if the 2023 FHSAA playoffs were this week?
The high school football regular season concludes Friday.
It’s the last chance for county teams to pad their resumes before the Florida High School Athletic Association’s playoff bracket show on Sunday.
The FHSAA’s power rankings determine playoff teams and seeding. The latest iteration was released Tuesday.
Manatee is the highest-ranked school from the county after snapping a two-game losing streak.
The rankings determine who gets into the playoffs as an at-large wild card and playoff seeding. There are 32 playoff teams per classification, with eight teams qualifying in each region. Those eight teams comprise four district champions and four at-large berths awarded to the non-district champion teams with the highest power rating.
Teams are seeded 1-8 in each region based on the final FHSAA power rankings.
Higher seeds host regional playoff games, except in the first round whenever district champions play wild card teams. District champions get a home game, regardless of seeding in that situation, according to the FHSAA’s football handbook.
The Hurricanes, who defeated Palmetto to win a district championship last week, are ranked No. 62 in the state and No. 12 in Class 4S-Region 4.
They’re the only county school receiving an automatic bid into the playoffs as a district champion.
The Canes (7-2) have a 10.834 power rating.
Palmetto’s loss to Manatee dropped the Tigers one spot to the six seed, while Lakewood Ranch’s victory over Bayshore pushed the Mustangs up one spot to seventh.
In Class 3S-Region 4, Parrish Community lost its district championship game to Port Charlotte. That dropped the Bulls one place to the seventh seed if the playoffs started this week. Braden River and Southeast are currently outside the top eight.
In 2S-4, Bayshore remained in 10th place on the wrong side of the playoff bubble following Friday’s loss to Lakewood Ranch.
The final playoff seeding and matchups won’t be decided until Sunday. However, here’s a look at what the first-round playoff games would look like if the postseason started this week.
Seeding is numbered, with record and FHSAA power rating in parentheses. Manatee County schools are in bold. The asterisk indicates a district champion.
Class 4S-Region 4
*1. Venice (7-2, 14.004) vs. *8. Punta Gorda Charlotte (4-5, -1.155)
*2. Manatee (7-2, 10.834) vs. 7. Lakewood Ranch (4-5, -0.723)
3. Sarasota Riverview (5-4, 7.362) vs. 6. Palmetto (4-4, 1.959)
4. Naples Gulf Coast (5-3, 5.232) vs. *5. Immokalee (5-4, 3.939)
Class 3S-Region 4
*1. Naples Golden Gate (7-2, 11.874) vs. *8. Cape Coral Mariner (8-1, 4.557)
2. Naples (8-2, 11.226) vs. 7. Parrish Community (6-3, 4.987)
3. Naples Barron Collier (7-2, 9.098) vs. *6. Port Charlotte (7-2, 7.570)
*4. Fort Myers Dunbar (7-2, 8.816) vs. 5. Fort Myers (7-2, 8.309)
Locals out: Braden River (4-4, 0.621), Southeast (0-9, -10.641)
Class 2S-Region 4
*1. Fort Myers Bishop Verot (9-1, 14.343) vs. 8. Sarasota Booker (5-4, 1.571)
*2. Fort Meade (8-0, 12.424) vs. 7. Frostproof (5-3, 2.398)
*3. Englewood Lemon Bay (8-1, 8.030) vs. 6. Mulberry (7-2, 2.976)
4. Estero (7-2, 7.352) vs. *5. Wauchula Hardee (7-2, 3.541)
Locals out: Bayshore (4-5, -3.031)
