5 observations from the second FHSAA football rankings

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October 5, 2022

5 observations from the second FHSAA football rankings

The Florida High School Athletic Association released its second rankings for the 2022 season on Wednesday afternoon.

Chaminade-Madonna, the No. 1 team in Class 1M in USA Today’s Florida Top 100, remains the No. 1 team in the state regardless of classification.

More Florida HSFB: Best games, highlights from the first half of the regular season

Other sets:Edwin Joseph leads the state’s prospects on the rise after the first half

More football: Which schools did the best job recruiting Florida wide receivers in 2023?

Here are five observations from the second state ranking:

Bradford stands out

Bradford’s undefeated season was impressive for many reasons, not least because the Tornadoes outscored opponents a combined 164-7 with five shutouts in six games. Bradford, ranked No. 8 overall and No. 1 in Class 2S, also has the distinction of being the lone suburban program in the top 10. For what it’s worth, eight of the teams ranked 11 through 20 are suburban schools.

Cardinal Newman moves up

The Crusaders (6-0) beat previously unbeaten John Carroll Catholic, 40-7, on Monday to finish 10th overall in the state. Cardinal Newman plays in a deep classification (four of the state’s top 10 teams are in Class 1M) and has a very tough Region 3-1M checkpoint in Chaminade, but the ranking is a testament to the work coach Jack Daniels has done in his first 18 months in West Palm Beach.

more:Football Recruiting: The Curious Case of Cardinal Newman DB Winkevus Pierre

Class 4S is as deep as expected

Once the new football classes were released, it looked like the teams in Class 4S would have the toughest road to the state championship. The ratings after six weeks are the same. Five of the top 18 teams overall — Vero Beach (No. 11), Buchholz (12), Bartram Trail (13), Niceville (14) and Lakeland (18) — are in Class 4S. That doesn’t even include Venice, the 2021 state champion in Class 8A, which is No. 6 in the state. Undefeated Land O’Lakes is No. 7 and Lake Mineola (2020 5A state finalist) is No. 9.

Williston is the #1 rural program

Williston is off to an impressive 5-0 start to the season, posting three straight shutouts and scoring at least 42 points in each game. The Red Devils are the top-ranked rural team and No. 25 overall in the state — ahead of traditional powers like Tampa Bay Tech (2021, Class 7A state), Miami Northwestern, Venice (2021, Class 8A, champ state) and others. Chiefland (#30) and Hawthorne (#37) are the only rural programs in the top 40.

Just for fun

Let’s play the what-if game for a second. If the playoffs started today and the top-seeded team won every game, this is what the Final Four would look like in every classification.

4M class

Newsom in Columbus

Santaluces in Winter Park

Class 3M

Largo in St. Thomas Aquinas

Manor in Edgewater

2M class

Bishop Kenny at Plantation-American Heritage

Clearwater-Calvary Christian at Miami Central

1M class

Miami-Westminster Christian at Chaminade-Madonna

Northside Christian at Trinity Christian

Class 4S

Venice on Vera Beach

Lake district in Buchholts

Class 3S

Mainland in Dunbar

Pine forest on Lake Wales

Class 2S

Bishop Vero in Bradford

South Sumter on Florida High

1C class

Ocala-Trinity Catholic at Naples-First Baptist Academy

John Carroll, Catholic, Christian in North Florida

Class 1R

Had breakfast in Williston

Northview in Union County

John Santucci is the state high school football reporter for the USA Today Florida Network. He can be reached at jsantucci@gannett.com.