RURAL
We finished 6-2 in our first-round predictions in this classification. While maybe a three-seed over a two-seed on the road isn’t that big of a surprise, the double-digit margin of victory most certainly was. Ponce De Leon, the three-seed in Region One, headed up close to the Alabama border and defeated the second seed Paxton by eleven, 49-38. To the east, Port St. Joe, the two seed, had to go on the road the three-seed Munroe in Quincy. That turned out to be a 19-point win for the Tiger Sharks. Only a few games were single-digit victories. Holmes County, the top seen in Region One, held on by four at home over Chipley. In Region Three, second seeded Hilliard held on to a five-point win over Union County. For the region finals, it is all ones vs. twos except for Region One were top seed Holmes County takes on Ponce De Leon, a battle of district foes.
Best Matchup: In Region Two, Crossroad Academy is ranked #3 in the Rural Classification while Port St. Joe is ranked #4. The Scorpions of CA won the district title over the Tiger Sharks by six points at Crossroads, ending Port St. Joe’s bid for an undefeated season, just two weeks ago.
Best Chance for an Upset: There are a couple. With Holmes County winning by just four at home to Chipley, one has to think that Ponce De Leon, a team that is experienced with Holmes County, could steal one on the road. The last two games between these two have come down to just three points each time. Down in Region Four, Williston defeated Wildwood at Wildwood for the district title two weeks ago. The Red Devils must now do the same thing to advance to Jacksonville. We’ll see if Wildwood makes the right adjustments to pull out a win on Saturday night.
Our Picks
Holmes County over Ponce De Leon
Crossroad Academy over Port St. Joe
Trenton over Hilliard
Wildwood over Williston
CLASS 1A
We came out 13-3 in our predictions for the first round of the 1A regionals. Mount Dora Christian won a four-point squeaker on the road at Florida Prep. In Southwest Florida, Donahue Catholic won at Everglades City by nine points. In South Florida, fifth seeded Grandview Prep travelled down to Miam to take on the four seed Schoolhouse Prep and came home with a one-point win. In a contest where the higher seed had to go play on the road at a district champion, the home court theory held up as #6 FAMU in Tallahassee clipped Eagle’s View out of Jacksonville. Most seedings held true to form. Sadly, there were some substantial beatdowns administered by the one seeds against the eight seeds in each region. We’ll put it this way: the lowest score by a one seed was 82 points while the highest score for an eight seed was 46 points. Hopefully Saturday night’s games will be much more competitive.
Best Matchup: By the numbers, it should be #7 Dade Christian hosting #8 Atlantic Christian out of West Palm Beach. Each team has only two losses on the season. Dade Christian has a higher Strength of Schedule number, but the margin is so small that it is negligible.
Best Chance for an Upset: From our vantage point, none really exists. All of the one seeds are vastly superior in not just rankings but talent on the floor. Legacy Charter at Orlando Christian Prep is a district rematch of teams ranked #10 and #5 respectively, but the one time they played in the district tournament was a running clock win by OCP.
Our Picks
Impact Christian over Christ’s Church
North Florida Educational over FAMU DRS
Central Florida Christian over Mount Dora Christian
Orlando Christian Prep over Legacy Charter
Victory Christian over Sarasota Christian
City of Life Christian over Donahue Catholic
Sagemont Prep over Grandview Prep
Dade Christian over Atlantic Christian