Raines and Armwood replace Cardinal Newman and Cardinal Mooney in Florida's eight-team Open Division football playoff projection. St. Thomas Aquinas remains first after a 71-20 win over Monarch, while Columbus strengthened its hold on second with a 28-3 win over Miami Central.
Under the FHSAA's new postseason format, the eight highest-ranked eligible teams from Classes 1A-6A at the end of the regular season advance to the Open Division. The lists below reflect the Oct. 18 ratings and include projected Open Division teams in their current classifications.
Projected Open Division Field
1. St. Thomas Aquinas, Class 5A (8-0) - 100.19
2. Columbus, Class 6A (8-1) - 95.82
3. West Boca Raton, Class 5A (6-1) - 90.35
4. Chaminade-Madonna, Class 2A (6-2) - 89.75
5. Miami Central, Class 3A (6-2) - 87.01
6. The First Academy, Class 2A (6-1) - 85.06
7. Armwood, Class 5A (7-1) - 83.75
8. Raines, Class 3A (8-0) - 83.44
First three out: Venice (83.41), Cardinal Newman (83.35), Lakeland (83.29)
Armwood moves into seventh after a 38-3 win over Bloomingdale improved the Hawks to 7-1. Raines follows in eighth after winning twice during the week to reach 8-0. Venice is the first team out, 0.03 points behind Raines. Cardinal Newman trails the cutoff by 0.09 points, and Lakeland is 0.15 points behind.
Carol City carries an 88.45 rating, which would otherwise place the Chiefs fifth among eligible teams. This projection applies the postseason ban reported Oct. 8; an appeal reversing that sanction would change the field.
Class 1A
1. Carrollwood Day (8-0) - 80.72
2. Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville (4-4) - 80.71
3. True North Classical Academy (4-4) - 80.61
4. Hawthorne (9-0) - 77.38
5. Madison County (4-4) - 67.52
6. Lakeland Christian (7-0-1) - 64.55
7. John Carroll Catholic (6-2) - 63.68
8. University Christian (6-3) - 60.98
9. Melbourne Central Catholic (5-1) - 60.74
10. St. John Neumann (7-1) - 60.51
Carrollwood Day takes over first after a 63-6 win over Community School of Naples improved the Patriots to 8-0. Just 0.11 points separate the top three, with Trinity Christian only 0.01 behind Carrollwood Day. Hawthorne remains fourth after beating previously unbeaten Hardee 38-3 to reach 9-0. Lakeland Christian stays sixth at 7-0-1 following its 28-28 tie with American Heritage of Delray Beach.
Class 2A
1. Chaminade-Madonna (6-2) - 89.75
2. Miami Carol City* (5-3) - 88.45
3. The First Academy (6-1) - 85.06
4. Cardinal Newman (5-2) - 83.35
5. Clearwater Central Catholic (6-2) - 82.48
6. Bolles (5-2) - 81.67
7. Berkeley Prep (5-2) - 80.82
8. Tampa Catholic (6-2) - 73.86
9. Bradford (9-0) - 67.54
10. Cocoa (3-4) - 66.90
Chaminade-Madonna remains first after a 47-12 win over McArthur. The First Academy passes Cardinal Newman for third in the class and rises to sixth in the Open Division projection. Newman is now the second team out, just 0.09 points behind Raines. Bradford remains ninth after a 27-24 win over University Christian pushed the Tornadoes to 9-0.
*Miami Carol City remains listed in the published class ratings but is excluded from the Open Division projection under its current postseason ban.
Class 3A
1. Miami Central (6-2) - 87.01
2. Raines (8-0) - 83.44
3. Cardinal Mooney (7-1) - 82.49
4. Merritt Island (8-0) - 76.51
5. Eau Gallie (5-3) - 76.50
6. Godby (5-3) - 75.15
7. Cardinal Gibbons (6-2) - 66.60
8. Bishop Verot (5-2) - 64.63
9. Bishop Kenny (3-4) - 62.00
10. Baker County (6-2) - 61.75
Raines passes Cardinal Mooney for second after winning twice during the week, 48-3 over Bishop Kenny on Monday and 48-0 over Riverside on Friday. The Vikings are now 8-0 and hold the final projected Open Division spot, while Mooney sits 0.95 points below the cutoff. Miami Central remains first despite its loss to Columbus. Merritt Island and Eau Gallie are separated by just 0.01 points at Nos. 4 and 5.
Class 4A
1. American Heritage, Plantation (5-3) - 82.72
2. Columbia (8-0) - 82.17
3. Port Charlotte (5-2) - 80.01
4. Jones (6-2) - 77.75
5. Bishop Moore (6-2) - 77.19
6. Lake Wales (6-1) - 75.32
7. Mosley (7-0) - 75.16
8. St. Augustine (8-0) - 73.66
9. Choctawhatchee (4-2) - 73.35
10. Miami Northwestern (6-3) - 73.05
American Heritage moves past Columbia for first after a 53-42 win over True North Classical Academy. The Patriots lead the unbeaten Tigers by 0.55 points, reversing the margin between the teams in last week's ratings. Both remain outside the Open Division projection, with Heritage 0.72 points below the cutoff and Columbia 1.27 behind. Miami Northwestern enters the top 10 after beating South Dade 30-16 on Saturday.
Class 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (8-0) - 100.19
2. West Boca Raton (6-1) - 90.35
3. Armwood (7-1) - 83.75
4. Lakeland (7-1) - 83.29
5. Mandarin (7-1) - 79.35
6. Tampa Bay Tech (8-1) - 75.98
7. Buchholz (8-0) - 74.87
8. Nease (5-3) - 73.64
9. Archbishop McCarthy (3-5) - 73.28
10. Evans (4-3) - 72.65
St. Thomas Aquinas scored a season-high 71 points against Monarch and leads West Boca Raton by 9.84 points in the Class 5A ratings. Armwood remains third in the class but moves into the projected Open Division field, while Lakeland is 0.46 points behind the Hawks and 0.15 below the Open cutoff. Mandarin passes Tampa Bay Tech for fifth, and unbeaten Buchholz climbs from eighth to seventh.
Class 6A
1. Columbus (8-1) - 95.82
2. Venice (8-1) - 83.41
3. Miami Palmetto (6-2) - 82.44
4. Vero Beach (7-1) - 80.46
5. Seminole, Sanford (8-0) - 78.99
6. Mainland (4-3) - 75.13
7. Edgewater (4-3) - 74.40
8. DeLand (7-1) - 73.29
9. Cypress Bay (8-0) - 66.69
10. Western (6-2) - 66.68
Columbus remains first after beating Miami Central 28-3, with the Explorers holding a 12.41-point lead over Venice. The Indians climb from third to second after a 41-32 win over Riverview of Sarasota and sit just 0.03 points outside the Open Division field. Miami Palmetto jumps from eighth to third, while unbeaten Seminole slips from fourth to fifth.
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