Road to FHSAA postseason: Area teams look to seal spots in Week 11

PALM BEACH COUNTY – We have reached the final week of the regular season.

For some reason, this particular season has flew by us. It officially started with fall practices at the end of July, followed by preseason games in mid-August.

And then the regular season came and pretty much went.

Weeks 1-10 lasted for two months with plenty of great games that would decide the postseason fate of many teams. Some teams were elevated in the process, while some others have been eliminated from postseason contention.

With that said, our focus will be on the team’s we believe will make this year’s FHSAA postseason.

RURAL

Pahokee (7-2; No. 6 ranking in Palm Beach County)

The Blue Devils will most certainly be in the Rural playoffs. We fully expect them to make a run for the Rural state championship game at the very least.

This is one of the best Pahokee teams we have seen in years. Led by head coach Carlos Lammons, they have played against stiff competition with games against Palm Beach Central (27-25 win in Week 1), Cardinal Newman (26-10 loss in Week 4), and Vero Beach (53-14 loss in Week 9).

But this battle tested team is projected to be the No. 5 seed, which is a problem for us. If the seedings hold, the Blue Devils will have only one home game for the playoffs.

It would be in the Rural regional semifinal round against projected No. 12 seed Liberty County (7-2). We see a win in this round.

What we do not want is for Pahokee to make a trip to North Florida for the playoffs. It looks like this could happen in the Rural regional final round.

The Muck Bowl could change that. 

If we get a Pahokee win over Glades Central (8-1; No. 5 ranking in Palm Beach County) tomorrow night at Anquan Boldin Stadium, then the final seeding could go up from No. 5, meaning that the Blue Devils would get at least two home games.

We will see what happens at next week’s FHSAA Selection Show.

CLASS 1A: REGION 3

Projected seeds

Cardinal Newman (7-2; No. 2 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 2 seed

Benjamin (3-6) – No. 7 seed

Both Palm Beach County teams would meet in the Class 1A-Region 3 quarterfinal round if the seedings hold next week. It would be a rematch of the District 12-1A title game in Week 3, when Cardinal Newman blanked Benjamin with a 47-0 win at home.

A first-round home game awaits for Cardinal Newman. With a win in Week 11 over Buchholz (8-1; No. 1 in Class 6A; No. 6 overall ranked team in FHSAA), Newman (No. 20; FHSAA) could vault to the region’s No. 1 seed and earn up to four home games in the Class 1A playoffs.

CLASS 1A: REGION 4

Projected seeds

St. Andrew’s (8-1; No. 7 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 3 seed

St. John Paul II (3-4) – No. 8 seed

We are looking for St. Andrew’s to host at least one playoff game this season. It could be another one, depending on how things go tonight in Week 11 against Benjamin. 

St. Andrew’s will have either one or two home playoff games this season. We can see St. Andrew’s possibly reaching the 1A-Region 4 final against defending state champion Chaminade Madonna (7-1; No. 1 in 1A; No. 7 overall in FHSAA).

As for St. John Paul II?

If the seedings hold, congratulations on making the Class 1A postseason. If so, it will be one-and-done against Chaminade.

We fully expect Chaminade to go back to the 1A state title game and possibly win it all again.

CLASS 2A: REGION 3

Projected seeds

Glades Central (8-1; No. 5 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 4 seed

King’s Academy (5-4) – No. 6 seed

Somerset Academy Canyons (4-5) – No. 7 seed

Of the three Palm Beach County teams in this region, we see Glades Central as the one which can potentially make a deep run.

Reason?

If the seedings hold, we could have a rematch with Bishop Verot (4-5; Potential No. 5 seed in 2A-Region 3). In Week 8, Glades Central scored a 14-12 comeback win at home over Bishop Verot.

Guess where the first round would be held at?

We’re going to the Muck. It will be fertile ground there and a grand opportunity for Glades Central to win its first playoff game since 2021.

CLASS 5A: REGION 4

Projected seed

Atlantic (9-0; No. 1 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 1 seed

We can see Atlantic cruising in its first two playoff games at home and waltz through the Class 5A-Region 4 final against defending 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (8-1; No. 2 projected seed in 5A-Region 4; No. 29 overall; FHSAA).

We want to see a rematch between Atlantic and St. Thomas Aquinas in Delray Beach. We want to see if Atlantic could avenge its 49-42 overtime loss at home to the 16-time state champion.

We cannot guarantee anything. But we can project into the near future.

This is what we see happening. Any other matchup in the 5A-Region 4 final would be a complete shocker for us.

CLASS 6A: REGION 3

Projected seed 

West Boca Raton (7-2; No. 3 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 2 seed 

We fully expect West Boca Raton (No. 58 overall; FHSAA) to dominate its first two playoff games at home. We do not know yet if the defending 6A state champion will get any more than that.

We can project West Boca Raton to at least make the Class 6A-Region 3 final. While we do expect the Bulls to make a repeat 6A state semifinal appearance, we cannot guarantee it at this time.

Reason?

Palmetto (8-1; No. 4 in 6A) is the No. 1 seed in 6A-Region 3. This means if Palmetto reaches the regional final round, we could see West Boca Raton having to make the trek northwest to the Gulf Coast area.

Anything can happen there.

CLASS 7A: REGION 3

Projected seeds

Jupiter (9-0; No. 4 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 2 seed

Palm Beach Central (5-4; No. 10 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 6 seed

We could see a Jupiter-Palm Beach Central rematch in the 7A-Region 3 semifinal if both teams win their first round games. In Week 6, Jupiter outlasted Palm Beach Central in a 27-20 win that eventually propelled it to the District 12-7A title.

CLASS 7A: REGION 4

Projected seeds

Spanish River (6-3) – No. 2 seed

Santaluces (6-3; No. 9 ranking in Palm Beach County) – No. 4 seed

We can see both Spanish River and Santaluces winning at least one playoff game. We will speak more on that with the next update.

PHOTO CREDIT: Florida High School Athletic Association