The FHSAA’s board voted unanimously, 10-0, that the top eight ranked teams will be moved into a separate Open Division postseason bracket.
How the FHSAA plans on dividing up the eight Open Division teams is into two brackets in two separate pools. Instead of the proposed North/South scenario, there will Pool A with seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 and Pool B consisting of 2, 3, 6 and 7. Per the board meeting, all quarterfinal games will be held at the lower seeds, with the host schools keeping all of the profits from the contests.
Based on the post-district playoffs rankings from last season, the top eight teams in the open division would have been:
- Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian (3A)
- Miami Columbus (7A)
- Orlando Lake Highland Prep (3A)
- Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (6A)
- Fort Lauderdale North Broward Prep (3A)
- Jacksonville Providence School (2A)
- Miami Riviera Prep (2A)
- Jacksonville Andrew Jackson (3A)
The eight teams will be placed into two “pools” with teams rated 1, 4, 5, & 8 in Pool A and teams rated 2, 3, 5, & 7 in Pool B. The teams would play a round-robin format with the two top teams in each pool advancing to the site of the state semi-finals. The round robin schedule will follow the same schedule as the regional rounds with every team guaranteed at least one home game.
One interesting scenario might be as follows:
Team X is ranked #8 heading into the last week of the regular season. They are also the top ranked team in their particular classification. With the odds being against them getting out of pool play in the open division, does Team X “tank” the last week of the season and the district playoffs, dropping them below the eight seed and ensuring their chance to play for a state title?