Escambia County currently boasts the No. 1 boys soccer team in the Florida High School Athletic Association.
In the latest rankings for high school soccer that were released on Tuesday, Booker T. Washington is now the No. 1 team in the state of Florida, still unbeaten on the year, with a rating of 23.120. The Wildcats are above both Mandarin (22.699) out of Jacksonville and Arnold (21.153) out of Panama City Beach. Not too far behind, on the boys side, is Gulf Breeze, ranked ninth overall with a rating of 20.027.
On the girls side, Gulf Breeze is the top-ranked team at No. 48 with a rating of 16.284. Pensacola Catholic is the second-best program, still undefeated on the year through Monday, at No. 77 with a rating of 13.487.
District tournaments are slated to begin in a couple weeks. The last day of the regular season is about a week-and-a-half away, slated for Jan. 18. District tournaments begin after that weekend on Jan. 22 and go through Jan. 30.
State tournaments are slated for Feb. 17-22 for Classes 4A-7A in Auburndale at Lake Myrtle Sports Park, and Feb. 25-March 1 for Classes 1A-3A at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.
Here’s the latest rankings from the FHSAA.
Similar to most sports across the state, to make it to the regional playoffs, a soccer team must win the district tournament or be ranked within the top eight teams to secure an at-large bid.
This is what the playoff scenarios would look like if the regular season ended today as far as region tournaments (with the No. 1 seed in each district being the presumed district champion).
Rankings are bound to change after district tournaments as well, so we’ll pretend that they didn’t change at all through districts to make things a little easier. Remember: anything can happen in the playoffs.
Here’s what the region tournaments would look like (note: the number in the parenthesis is the team’s district. A team with an asterisk is the presumed district champion).
Playoff notes: Compared to last week, Tate joins the playoff talks as a presumed at-large bid, sneaking in at No. 8 in the region. Navarre, No. 7 in the region, would also be in. The four district champions – Mandarin (District 2), Bartram Trail (District 3), Horizon (District 4) and Niceville (District 1) – are all within the top eight teams. However, Niceville would be on the road despite being district champ. Navarre and Tate would also be on the road.
Playoff notes: There are a few changes compared to last week in Region 1-5A. The four district champions – Booker T. (District 1), Arnold (District 2), Fleming Island (District 3) and Ponte Vedra (District 4) – all remain the same. However, with seeding flips, Gulf Breeze, as an at-large bid, would be able to host as the No. 3 team. The region tournament, as of now, would go through Booker T. Washington as the top-ranked team.
Playoff notes: As long as West Florida keeps winning, Region 1-4A goes through the Jaguars’ stadium as the top-ranked team. The four district champions – West Florida (District 1), Bishop Kenny (District 2), Vanguard (District 4) and Stanton (District 3) – are all within the top eight teams, but things are a little crazy in this region. District 1 appears to rule the region, meaning Fort Walton Beach, despite being ranked higher, loses the right to host since it goes to the District 4 champ, Vanguard. West Florida would still host Stanton.
Playoff notes: With the four district champions – Wolfson (District 3), Santa Fe (District 4), Florida High (District 2) and South Walton (District 1) – all within the top four-ranked teams, things are pretty straight forward. All four district title-holders host. However, as of now, this is the only boys soccer region without local representation, as Pensacola Catholic is seeded 10th overall in the region.
Playoff notes: Region 1-6A gets a touch weird with the rankings. Three of the four district champions – Bartram Trail (District 3), Fletcher (District 2) and Niceville (District 1) – are within the top eight teams, and they would all host. Forest, the District 4 champ, is 11th the region, but still gets an automatic bid, knocking out No. 8 Buchholz of an at-large bid. Navarre and Tate would both be in as at-large bids, but would be on the road as the lower-seeded teams.
Playoff notes: The four district champions – Ponte Vedra (District 4), Chiles (District 2), Gulf Breeze (District 1) and Fleming Island (District 3) – are within the top eight teams, but Fleming Island, seeded fifth, would still host as Beachside is an at-large bid team. Gulf Breeze, the third-ranked team in the region, would host to start things off in the regional playoffs.
Playoff notes: With the four district champions – Bishop Kenny (District 2), Stanton (District 3), Vanguard (District 4) and Wakulla (District 1) – within the top eight teams, there is no knocking out of teams. However, Wakulla would lose out on hosting since it goes against a higher-ranked district champion. There would be no area teams in the regional playoffs, as of now, in Region 1-4A.
Playoff notes: The only notable thing here is that three of the four district champions – Florida High (District 2), Pensacola Catholic (District 1) and West Nassau (District 3) – are within the top eight teams. Keystone Heights (District 4) is ranked ninth, knocking out eighth-ranked South Walton of an at-large bid. Pensacola Catholic would host to start the tournament, taking on District 3’s Wolfson.
