This week in Florida, there was a big shakeup in the FHSAA rankings as the top ten teams made headlines after an intense Week 8 of high school football. The Nease Panthers continue to hold the top spot statewide with an impressive power ranking of 25.048.
Trailing behind are the Lakeland Dreadnaughts at 22.444, followed closely by Norland at 21.498 for the third position. The Armwood Hawks are right behind at 21.443, making them the fourth-ranked team, while Gadsden County rounds out the top five with a score of 20.984.
In a notable change, Norland leapfrogged Jones to take the number one seed in Class 4A after their recent victory over American Heritage-Plantation. Meanwhile, Gadsden County climbed to first in Class 2A following Bradford’s loss to Newberry.
Additionally, in a stunning upset, Chaminade-Madonna seized the lead in Class 1A after defeating St. Thomas Aquinas, pushing Cardinal Newman down to second.
Currently, the top teams in their respective classes include: Venice (Class 7A), Nease (Class 6A), Lakeland (Class 5A), Norland (Class 4A), Eau Gallie (Class 3A), Gadsden County (Class 2A), Chaminade-Madonna (Class 1A), and Union County in the Rural class.
If the playoffs started today, the brackets would feature a clash of top teams. In Region 1, Lake Mary would face Boone, while Venice would match up against Ridge Community in Region 2.
Overall, as we move closer to the playoffs, fans can expect thrilling matchups and shifting rankings as teams battle for supremacy in their classes.
