The first round of the state playoffs begin Thursday and Friday for 192 football teams, the dream to win a state title is their for every team.
The playoff format is simple just ‘survive and advance’ and move on to the next round of the playoffs. It takes 4 wins to win the small school state title (1A-4A) and 5 wins to win the big school state title (5A-8A).
So without further ado, here is my prediction for all of the eight classes.
Projected spreads are from notorious expert Joe Pinkos, who has a mathematical formula for picking high school football games across the state of Florida
First round
Region I-6A
Middleburg (4-5) at Crestview (9-1)
Pinkos: Crestview by 24
Corey: Crestview
Outlook: Its been 13 years since Middleburg was last in the playoffs and that night they upset Palatka in the first round before stumbling against Dunnellon. Tonight’s assignment will be extremely difficult going up against one of the states best passing games.
Niceville (8-2) at St. Augustine (9-1)
Pinkos: St. Augustine by 1
Corey: Niceville
Outlook: Extremely tough draw for the Yellow Jackets, Niceville is virtually in the playoffs every year and is use to going on the road and pulling off big upsets. On the other hand, St. Augustine has the revenge factor on its mind after seeing its season end last year at Niceville.
Region II-6-A
Okeechobee at Mainland (9-0)
Pinkos: Mainland by 34
Corey: Mainland
Outlook: If not for Miami Central, Mainland would likely have 4 straight state titles on its shelf. With Central shockingly out of the playoffs, the Bucs are overwhelming favorites to get to Orlando now.
Matanzas (7-3) at Sebastian River
Pinkos: Sebastian River by 19
Corey: Sebastian River
Outlook: Matanzas makes its first ever playoff appearance unfortunately its likely to be a short one. Sebastian comes into the playoffs with a tenacious defense.
Final 4
Vanguard over Navarre
Mainland over Naples
State title
Pinkos: Mainland over Lake Gibson
Corey: Mainland over Vanguard
