The various district tournaments are over and the fields for the regional rounds in each classification are set. Time to look at what took place and what lies ahead this coming Thursday.
CLASS RURAL
District Upsets: The only upset in the Rural Classification came in District 1. Jay was slated to get the four seed in Region One but was defeated by long-time rival Paxton in the district semifinals, thus ceding its spot to Graceville, who was the District Two Runner-Up. Jay, Graceville, and Paxton were ranked 22, 23, & 24 in the classification, so it only makes sense that with Jay’s loss Graceville and Paxton get bumped up. Chipley, even though it lost in the semis to lower-ranked Graceville, still gets in the regional round because of its higher classification ranking.
Toughest Region: While Region Four has three of the top seven teams in the classification, it is Region Three that actually looks the toughest with Hilliard ranked third, Madison County fifth, Fort White eight and Trenton eleventh. Fort White, with just an 8-9 record heading into district play, has the highest strength of schedule in the region.
Best Opening Matchup: While you wouldn’t think that the Hilliard/Trenton matchup in Region Three would be that interesting as a One vs. Four seed, it is the only matchup where both teams have a positive strength of schedule rating. There are other closer matchups in terms of ranking, but we think it could be a quality game as both teams come into the game tested.
Best Chance for an Upset: Port St. Joe was ranked sixth in the classification but has to go on the road to #14 Munroe. The Tiger Sharks have a reasonable chance of advancing. Hawthorne, ranked #1 going into the district tournament, lost in the final but still retains its top seed, but has to go on the road to Moore Haven in this round. Moore Haven will have the homecourt advantage, but Hawthorne has the talent and experience to pull this one off.
Our Picks:
Bethlehem over Graceville
Baker over Chipley
Crossroad Academy over Blountstown
Munroe over Port St. Joe
Hilliard over Trenton
Fort White over Madison County
Hawthorne over Moore Haven
Williston over Wildwood
CLASS 1A
District Upsets: Upsets were few and far between in this classification. In District 1, the two seed North Florida Chrisitan defeated top seed Tally St. John Paul II. In District 3, St. John’s Country Day ousted top seed Christ’s Church Academy. In District 12, two seed Donahue Catholic defeated top seed Seacrest Country Day. In all three of these instances, each team would have made the regional round had the seeds held. The only instance of a team getting “bumped” out of the regional round was with Pine School in District 13. They were ranked ahead of Miami Schoolhouse Prep going into the playoffs, but because Schoolhouse reached the final, it gave them enough juice to leapfrog Pine School into the regional round.
Toughest Region: Region 2 looks to be the most daunting. Five of the top eight teams in the classification are alive and kicking. While North Tampa Christian is the clear favorite, Central Florida Christian (#5), Zephyrhills Christian (#7), and Legacy Charter (#8) will do their best to knock them off. Only five teams in the classification rank in the top 100 overall in the state.
Best Opening Matchup: Looking over the brackets, the best matchup by the numbers is Miami Dade Christian, ranked #11, hosting #12 Grandview Prep out of Boca Raton. On the court, we think Legacy Charter in Ocoee taking a short trip up US 441 to Mount Dora Christian will be extremely competitive.
Best Chance for an Upset: While Central Florida Christian Academy defeated Orlando Christian Prep in the District 7 playoffs, OCP simply has too much of a championship pedigree to be dismissed at this time of the year. While this season certainly hasn’t been what OCP had hoped for, they are still a more than formidable program come playoff time.
Our Picks:
Jacksonville Impact Christian over Ocala Meadowbrook Academy
St. John’s Country Day over Jacksonville North Florida Educational Institute
Tallahassee North Florida Christian over Jacksonville Eagle’s View
Jacksonville Christ’s Church Academy over Tallahassee St. John Paul II
North Tampa Chrisitan Academy over Melbourne Florida Prep
Mount Dora Christian over Ocoee Legacy Charter
Orlando Central Florida Christian Academy over Orlando Christian Prep
Zephyrhills Christian Academy over Altamonte Springs Christian
Lakeland Victory Christian over Tampa Cambridge Christian
Tampa Gulf Coast HEAT over Kissimmee City of Life Academy
Naples Seacrest Country Day over Sarasota Christian
Ava Maria Donahue Catholic over Brandon Academy
Weston Sagemont Prep over Miami Schoolhouse Prep
Miami Dade Christian over Boca Raton Grandview Prep
West Palm Beach Atlantic Christian over Lake Worth Christian
Miami Westwood Christian over Miami Christian
CLASS 2A
District Upsets: Once again, very few upsets overall in the classification. In District 8, second seed Oxbridge Academy defeated Katz Yeshiva, bumping Katz out of the eighth and final spot of the regional playoff. The same thing happened in District 11, where the two seed Admiral Farragut defeated top seeded Bradenton Christian, taking their spot in the regional playoff as the eight seed. Other than that, all was status quo.
Toughest Region: NO QUESTION that Region Four, with the top seven(!) teams in the classification coming into the district playoffs, is the toughest. Riviera Prep is the one seed, but without 7’0 senior Gustavo Gumeareas who is out with a knee injury, makes their road to a three-peat much tougher. Likewise, should Westminster Academy’s Alex Constanza not be able to play due to a foot injury, their path to Lakeland is a bit more challenging. No matter what program comes out of the region, it will be favored to win the title.
Best Opening Matchup: It’s a pick’em between Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy at Hialeah Educational Academy and Miami Country Day hosting district rival Doral Divine Savior. Westminster Academy has an advantage in terms of experience at this time of the season while Hialeah Educational is at home. Though in the same district, Miami Country Day and Divine Savior have not played each other this season. Both teams offer a good mix and talent, experience, and youth.
Best Chance of an Upset: Not really seeing any looking over the brackets. Westminster Academy as a four seed over five seed Hialeah Educational on the road is about as close as you might find. Otherwise, expect chalk all the way across the bracket.
Our Picks:
Jacksonville University Christian over Tallahassee Maclay
Jacksonville Providence over Jacksonville Bishop Snyder
Oviedo The Master’s Academy over Gainesville P.K. Yonge
Orlando The First Academy over Orlando Faith Christian
Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic over West Palm Beach Oxbridge Academy
Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal over Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin
Winter Garden Foundation Academy over Orlando Cornerstone Charter
Boca Raton St. John Paul II over Fort Pierce John Carroll
Tampa Prep over St. Pete Admiral Farragut
Tampa SLAM over Clearwater Indian Rocks Christian
Naples First Baptist Academy over St. Pete Carrollwood Day
Riverview Bell Creek Academy over Clearwater Central Catholic
Miami Riviera Prep over Miami Palmer Trinity
Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy over Hialeah Educational Academy
Hollywood Chaminade Madonna over Miami Westminster Christian
Miami Country Day over Doral Divine Savior
CLASS 3A
District Upsets: A few more upsets this time around. A trio of district top seeds went down early and so did their chances of reaching the regional playoff. In District 1 in the Panhandle, second seeded Walton defeated top seed South Walton to reach the regional round as an eight seed, leaving South Walton at home. In District 7, top-seeded Cocoa went down in the semis to fourth seed and eventual district winner Titusville Astronaut. This knocked Cocoa out and put Astronaut, who was on the outside looking at the start of the district playoffs, into the regional round. In District 14, top seed Downtown Doral lost in the finals to Carol City. Thus, Carol City became the eighth seed in that region and Downtown Doral was left out. Chaos reigned in District 8 as both top seed Clearwater Calvary Christian and third seed Sarasota Cardinal Mooney each lost in the semis. Calvary was strong enough to survive the loss and reach the regional round as a five seed, but Mooney could not.
Toughest Region: A strong case can be made for either Region 2 or Region 3. In Region 2, programs such as The Villages Charter (#3), Lake Highland Prep (#8), Clearwater Calvary Christian (#9), Tampa Catholic (#12), Lake Alfred Discovery (#13) and Windermere Prep (#15) are all viable candidates to reach Lakeland. Region 3 features Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian (#1), Boca Raton St. Andrew’s (#7), Fort Myers Gateway Charter (#10) and North Broward Prep (#11). That is a lot of very good teams vying for just two spots in Lakeland.
Best Opening Matchup: Our guess is the Tampa Catholic/Windermere Prep game in Tampa has all the makings of a close contest. Both teams have played challenging schedules to prepare for just such an event. There are also a lot of good individual matchups in this game. On the wing, Brandon Bass of Windermere Prep and Willie Piggott of Tampa Catholic are athletic finishers and respectable perimeter shooters. At the point, both Sam Shoptaw of Windermere Prep and Isaiah Campbell-Finch are D-I bound. Inside, Malichi Martis of Windermere Prep and TC’s 6’7 junior K.J. Morgan are roughly the same size and strength. This one could last well into the night.
Best Chance of an Upset: There are two games where the home team needs to be on upset alert. The first one is Newberry, where the last undefeated team hosts Jacksonville Bolles. Bolles is just barely over .500 on the season but does have a bit better strength of schedule. There is just this feeling that Newberry will have a challenge in dealing with its first encounter with a team from “the big city”. In Orlando, Berkeley Prep out of Tampa heads to Lake Highland Prep with an inside game anchored by 6’8 sophomore Jadus Sorhaindo that Lake Highland doesn’t really have a matchup for. Both teams have played challenging opposition all year long to get ready for a game like this.
Our Picks:
Jacksonville Andrew Jackson over Walton
Marianna over Fernandina Beach
Newberry over Jacksonville Bolles
Tallahassee Florida High over Episcopal School of Jacksonville
The Villages Charger over Titusville Astronaut
Clearwater Calvary Christian over Lake Alfred Discovery
Orlando Lake Highland Prep over Tampa Berkeley Prep
Tampa Catholic over Windermere Prep
Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian over Avon Park
Fort Myers Bishop Verot over North Broward Prep
Boca Raton St. Andrew’s over West Palm Beach The King’s Academy
Fort Myers Gateway Charter over Belle Glade Glades Central
Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons over Miami Carol City
Miami SLAM over Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest
Fort Lauderdale Nova Southeastern over Somerset Academy Silver Palms
Miami Gulliver Prep over Don Soffer Aventura