The road to a Florida high school football state championship officially begins as the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) released its 2026 football playoff brackets on Friday, November 6.
The Raines Vikings have made history by becoming the first Jacksonville high school football program selected for the newly introduced FHSAA Open Division. After winning 24 consecutive games and capturing the 2025 Class 3A state championship, Raines will compete against seven of Florida’s highest-ranked programs for the inaugural Open Division championship.
Meanwhile, several other Northeast Florida programs will begin their state championship journeys in the traditional classifications, while additional teams will compete in the Florida Invitational Tournament (FIT) and Independent League postseason brackets.
Raines Makes History in the Open Division
The biggest headline coming out of Northeast Florida is the selection of the Raines Vikings into the inaugural FHSAA Open Division.
Head coach Donovan Masline has built Raines into one of the premier high school football programs in Florida. The Vikings enter the postseason riding a 24-game winning streak and looking to defend their state championship.
Rather than competing in the traditional Class 3A bracket, Raines will face some of the state’s elite programs in a round-robin format.
Raines’ Open Division opponents:
- Miami Columbus
- West Boca Raton
- Miami Central
The Open Division features eight teams separated into two groups of four. Each team will play three pool games. The top two teams from each pool advance to the semifinals.
Raines will have an opportunity to demonstrate that its success extends beyond Northeast Florida. The Vikings have already established themselves as a state powerhouse, but the Open Division presents an opportunity to compete for an even bigger prize: Florida’s first Open Division football championship.
Class 6A: Creekside Earns a Home Playoff Game
The Creekside Knights are the lone Northeast Florida representative in Region 1-6A. Creekside captured its district championship and earned the No. 4 seed.
The Knights will host No. 5 Lake Mary in the opening round.
Region 1-6A
- (5) Lake Mary at (4) Creekside
- (8) Lake Brantley at (1) Sanford Seminole
- (3) Mainland at (6) Winter Park
- (7) Spruce Creek at (2) DeLand
Creekside has the advantage of playing at home, but Lake Mary presents a significant opening-round challenge. A victory would move the Knights into the regional semifinals and closer to a regional championship.
Class 5A: Mandarin Leads a Loaded Northeast Florida Group
Region 1-5A features several Northeast Florida programs, including Mandarin, Oakleaf, Bartram Trail, Nease and Ponte Vedra.
The Mandarin Mustangs enter as the No. 1 seed after winning their district championship. Mandarin will host No. 8 Oakleaf in an all-Northeast Florida opening-round matchup.
The Mustangs have put together an impressive season and will look to take advantage of home-field advantage as they begin their championship pursuit.
Oakleaf, meanwhile, gets another opportunity to prove itself against one of the area’s top programs. The Knights earned their postseason position despite a challenging regular season.
Other Northeast Florida programs in the region include Bartram Trail, Nease and Ponte Vedra.
Region 1-5A
- (8) Oakleaf at (1) Mandarin
- (5) Bartram Trail at (4) Orlando Evans
- (3) Nease at (6) Pace
- (7) Ponte Vedra at (2) Gainesville Buchholz
Bartram Trail will travel to Orlando to face Evans, while Nease travels to Pace. Ponte Vedra faces a difficult road test against second-seeded Buchholz.
This region could produce some interesting matchups in the coming weeks, particularly if the Northeast Florida teams continue advancing.
Class 4A: Columbia, St. Augustine, Ed White and Clay Headline the Region
Region 1-4A might be one of the most interesting brackets for Northeast Florida football fans.
Columbia enters as the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season undefeated at 10-0. The Tigers will host Clay, the No. 8 seed, in an all-Northeast Florida matchup.
Columbia has established itself as one of the area’s most dominant programs this season. The Tigers will look to continue their undefeated run and defend their home field.
Clay enters the postseason with an 8-2 record. The Panthers have earned an opportunity to challenge the region’s top seed, but they will need a strong performance on both sides of the football to pull off the upset.
Ed White rounds out the Northeast Florida representatives in the region. The Commanders finished 8-2 and earned the No. 3 seed. They will host No. 6 Tallahassee Rickards.
St. Augustine also enters the region as a major contender. The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season 9-1 and earned the No. 2 seed. They will host No. 7 Tallahassee Lincoln.
Region 1-4A
- (8) Clay at (1) Columbia
- (5) Lynn Haven Mosley at (4) Choctawhatchee
- (6) Tallahassee Rickards at (3) Ed White
- (7) Tallahassee Lincoln at (2) St. Augustine
There is plenty of opportunity in this region. Columbia, St. Augustine and Ed White all have home-field advantages in the opening round. However, Clay has the opportunity to create an upset and change the regional picture.
If the higher seeds advance, Northeast Florida could have multiple teams competing for a regional championship.
Class 3A: Baker County and Bishop Kenny Lead the Local Charge
Class 3A features two Northeast Florida programs competing for a regional championship: Baker County and Bishop Kenny.
Baker County earned the No. 2 seed in Region 1-3A after finishing the regular season with a 6-2 record. The Wildcats will host No. 7 South Walton.
Baker County has an opportunity to make a deep postseason run, but the Wildcats will need to take care of business at home.
Bishop Kenny earned the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Pine Forest in Jacksonville. The Crusaders will look to use home-field advantage to advance to the regional semifinals.
Region 1-3A
- (1) Tallahassee Godby vs. (8) Palatka
- (4) Bishop Kenny vs. (5) Pine Forest
- (6) Panama City Bay vs. (3) Wakulla
- (7) South Walton at (2) Baker County
Both programs have opportunities to advance, but the opening round will determine whether Northeast Florida can place multiple teams into the next round.
Class 2A: Bolles, Jackson and Bradford Enter the Championship Race
Class 2A features three Northeast Florida programs, including Bolles, Jackson and Bradford.
The Bolles Bulldogs earned the No. 1 seed in Region 1-2A and will host No. 8 Freeport. Bolles finished the regular season 7-2 and will look to begin its postseason with a victory.
Jackson earned the No. 5 seed and will travel to face No. 4 Florida High. The Tigers finished 7-1 and have an opportunity to make noise in the postseason.
Bradford, meanwhile, enters Region 2-2A as the No. 6 seed. The Tornadoes finished an impressive 9-1 season and will travel to face No. 3 Berkeley Prep.
Bradford has been one of the area’s most successful programs this season. Although the Tornadoes will be on the road, their regular-season success gives them reason to believe they can compete with the region’s top teams.
Region 1-2A
- (8) Freeport at (1) Bolles
- (5) Jackson at (4) Florida High
- (6) Gadsden County at (3) Walton
- (7) Destin at (2) Pensacola Catholic
Region 2-2A
- (8) Clearwater Calvary Christian at (1) Orlando First Academy
- (5) Cocoa at (4) Tampa Catholic
- (3) Berkeley Prep at (6) Bradford
- (7) St. Petersburg Lakewood at (2) Clearwater Central Catholic
Bolles has the advantage of being the region’s top seed, while Jackson and Bradford face challenging road assignments. All three programs will need strong performances to continue their championship pursuits.
Class 1A: Trinity Christian, University Christian and Fort White
Northeast Florida will also be represented in Class 1A by Trinity Christian, University Christian and Fort White.
Trinity Christian earned the No. 1 seed in Region 2-1A after winning its district championship. The Conquerors will host No. 8 Father Lopez.
University Christian earned the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Wildwood.
Fort White, located in Columbia County, earned the No. 3 seed in Region 1-1A. The Indians will host No. 6 Baker.
Region 1-1A
- (8) Chipley at (1) Madison County
- (5) Taylor County at (4) Holmes County
- (6) Baker at (3) Fort White
- (7) Marianna at (2) Blountstown
Region 2-1A
- (8) Father Lopez at (1) Trinity Christian
- (5) Williston at (4) Melbourne Central Catholic
- (6) Wildwood at (3) University Christian
- (7) Chiefland at (2) Hawthorne
Trinity Christian and University Christian will have home-field advantages in the opening round. Fort White also gets to play in front of its home crowd.
For these programs, the goal is simple: advance, survive and keep the championship dream alive.
Independent League: Hilliard Earns Its Postseason Opportunity
Nassau County will have representation in the FHSAA Independent League postseason through Hilliard.
The Hilliard Flashes earned the No. 3 seed in the Independent League North B bracket. They will host No. 6 Providence in the opening round.
Independent League North B
- (8) Oviedo Master’s Academy at (1) Mount Dora Christian
- (5) Bozeman at (4) Gainesville Oak Hall
- (6) Providence at (3) Hilliard
- (7) Geneva at (2) Jay
Hilliard will have an opportunity to compete for an Independent League championship and represent Nassau County on the postseason stage.
Florida Invitational Tournament: Additional Opportunities for Northeast Florida (FIT)
Not every team qualified for the traditional FHSAA state championship brackets. However, the Florida Invitational Tournament provides another postseason opportunity for programs that did not qualify for the primary championship series.
Several Northeast Florida programs will participate in the FIT brackets.
FIT Classifications 4A-6A North
- (8) Tocoi Creek at (1) Lake Howell
- (5) St. Cloud at (4) Riverside
- (6) Pensacola Washington at (3) Land O’Lakes
- (7) Yulee at (2) Beachside
The Road Ahead: November 13 Is the Starting Point
The traditional FHSAA regional quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday, November 13. Teams will then compete in the regional semifinals on November 20 and regional finals on November 27. State semifinals for Classes 1A-6A are scheduled for December 4.
The Open Division will follow its own schedule, with pool games on November 13, 20 and 27. The Open Division semifinals will follow in December.
The FHSAA state championships are scheduled for December 9-12 at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. Florida High School Athletic Association+2
For Northeast Florida, the playoff picture offers several intriguing possibilities.
- Can Raines Coach Donovan Masline defend his championship and have Raines become the first Open Division champion?
- Can undefeated Columbia finally take it all the way for Head coach Brian Allen?
- Can Mandarin finally win the big one with Coach Bullock and 5-star phenom Brysen Wright?
- Can Coach Braddock’s St. Augustine get the championship monkey off his back?
- Can Coach Johnso at Ed White and Creekside with Coach McIntyre finally make deep runs?
- Can Bradford and Baker County surprise their regional opponents?
- Can Coach Tobin finally return Bolles to the championship prominence?
- Can State championship Coach Bobby Ramsay lead another team to an improbable run, this time Jackson
The regular season has determined who gets an opportunity. Now the postseason will determine who is prepared to take advantage of it.
The road to Miami begins November 13.
Official bracket reference: FHSAA 2026 Football Playoff Brackets
