FHSAA’s new ‘Metro’ classifications set ultra-competitive districts in South Florida
The Florida High School Athletic Association’s decision to split its football classifications into metro and suburban divisions means some highly competitive districts in Miami-Dade County, and a chance two teams from South Florida could face off in state championships.
The FHSAA announced its new high school football classifications Wednesday, and teams from Miami-Dade and Broward counties are now bunched into only four classes, rather than spread across even, like in past years. These changes come as a result from a highly contentious, controversial vote last month to effectively split Florida into two — metropolitan teams and suburban teams — when it comes to high school football.
Every team in Dade and Broward, except independents, will play in one of four metro classes, based on enrollment. The state qualifies eight counties as “metro,” based on population density — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Seminole, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Duval — and the rest are “suburban.”
Some of the highlights:
▪ In Class 3M, there’s a strong possibility of an all-South Florida championship game with Deerfield Beach, St. Thomas Aquinas and Dillard in Region 3-3M, and Miramar and Homestead headlining Region 4-3M, which is made up entirely of South Florida schools. This is assuming the FHSAA keeps setting semifinal matchups based on rankings rather than locations.
▪ Region 4-2M is shaping up to be an absolute bloodbath for Dade County. Carol City, Central, Monsignor Pace and Norland all share District 13-2M; Booker T. Washington, Edison and Northwestern share District 14-2M; and Gulliver Prep and Killian share District 16-2M. The Bulls, Rockets, Chiefs and Tornadoes have combined for 26 FHSAA championships, and are four of the nine public-school teams two win at least five. Whoever comes out of this region, could wind up facing American Heritage or Cardinal Gibbons for the Class 2M title.
▪ After years of Chaminade-Madonna owning Class 3A and Champagnat Catholic owning Class 2A, the two private schools will have a chance to meet in the Class 1M title game. Chaminade-Madonna is in Region 3-1M and Champagnat is in Region 4-1M.
Here’s a full look at where every Miami-Dade and Broward team land in the new classifications:
4M
REGION 4-4M
District 12-4M: Coral Springs, Monarch, Stoneman Douglas, Olympic Heights*
REGION 4-4M
District 13-4M: Taravella, Coral Glades, Cypress Bay, Western
District 14-4M: Cooper City, Flanagan, Somerset Academy, West Broward
District 15-4M: Columbus, Doral Academy, Goleman, Miami
District 16-4M: Coral Gables, Palmetto, South Dade
3M
REGION 3-3M
District 10-3M: Blanche Ely, Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, West Boca Raton*
District 11-3M: Boyd Anderson, Dillard, Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas Aquinas
District 12-3M: Nova, Piper, Plantation, South Plantation
REGION 4-3M
District 13-3M: Dr. Krop, Hollywood Hills, McArthur, South Broward
District 14-3M: American, Everglades, Miramar, Pembroke Pines Charter
District 15-3M: Hialeah, Mater Academy Charter, Miami Beach, North Miami
District 16-3M: Belen Jesuit, Homestead, Southridge, Southwest
2M
REGION 3-2M
District 11-2M: Calvary Christian Academy, Coral Springs Charter, North Broward Prep, Northeast, Pine Crest
District 12-2M: American Heritage, Cardinal Gibbons, Hallandale, Stranahan, University
REGION 4-2M
District 13-2M: Carol City, Central, Monsignor Pace, Norland, North Miami Beach
District 14-2M: Booker T. Washington, Edison, Jackson, LaSalle, Northwestern
District 15-2M: Miami Springs, St. Brendan, Westland Hialeah
District 16-2M: Gulliver Prep, Killian, Somerset Academy Silver Palms, South Miami
1M
REGION 3-1M
District 6-1M: Avant Garde Academy, Chaminade-Madonna, Somerset Academy Key, St. John Paul II Academy*, Westminster Academy
REGION 4-1M
District 7-1M: Champagnat Catholic, Dade Christian, Florida Christian, True North Classical Academy
District 8-1M: Archbishop Carroll, BridgePrep Village Green, Palmer Trinity, Somerset Academy South Homestead, Westminster Christian
Independents
Archbishop McCarthy, Braddock, Coral Park, Coral Reef, Everglades Prep, Ferguson, Hialeah Gardens, Hialeah-Miami Lakes, Keys Gate, Miami Country Day, Mourning, Palm Glades Prep Academy, Pinecrest Glades Prep Academy, Pompano Beach, Ransom Everglades, Reagan, Somerset Prep, Sunset, Varela
* — denotes a Palm Beach County school playing in a district with Broward County teams
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 3:32 PM.
