FHSAA releases finalized football districts for next four seasons
The layout of South Florida high school football for the next four seasons was finalized Friday.
After a month of reviewing school appeals, the Florida High School Athletic Association completed its new football districts for the next four years, keeping its original plan mostly intact after granting a few appeals by local teams to remain in their respective districts or classifications.
One of the most diverse and competitive new-look districts is District 16-5A, which will have two-time defending state champion Plantation American Heritage retain rivals Miami Jackson and Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons and add Hallandale, Coconut Creek and Fort Lauderdale Stranahan to the mix.
Hallandale started last season 11-0 before losing to eventual Class 6A state champion Miami Central in the regional semifinals.
District 16-6A, which was widely considered the deepest in the state in recent years, keeps Central with rivals Northwestern, Carol City and Norland.
The new addition to the group is Hialeah-Miami Lakes after Homestead moved back up to Class 8A to rejoin longtime rivals Killian, South Dade, Palmetto and Southridge in District 16-8A. Killian had originally been placed in District 15, but will remain in District 16.
Coral Reef moves into District 15 where Belen Jesuit will remain following appeal. The two will be joined by Southwest, Braddock, Ferguson and Varela.
North Miami Beach will remain in District 13-8A and keep its rivalry with North Miami with the addition of American, a perennial district champion the past few years in Class 7A beefing up that division.
The rest of Class 8A looks the same as the original plan released in December with Flanagan, Miramar, Cypress Bay, Plantation and South Plantation grouped into a seven-team District 12-8A.
The largest new district will be 16-7A, which will include Doral Academy, Goleman, Mater Academy, Miami Springs, Sunset, Mourning, Westland Hialeah, Reagan and South Miami. Defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas remains two districts to the north in 14 with Blanche Ely and Fort Lauderdale.
Other than Keys Gate joining District 8-4A with three-time reigning state champion Booker T. Washington, the small school districts involving South Florida teams remained as indicated in the preliminary plan.
The new-look districts
11-8A: Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Douglas, Monarch, Piper, Taravella
12-8A: Cypress Bay, Plantation, South Plantation, Everglades, Flanagan, Miramar, Western
13-8A: Dr. Krop, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, North Miami, North Miami Beach, American
14-8A: Miami Beach, Miami High, Coral Park, Columbus, Coral Gables
15-8A: Coral Reef, Belen Jesuit, Ferguson, Braddock, Varela, Southwest
16-8A: Killian, Palmetto, South Dade, Homestead, Southridge
14-7A: St. Thomas Aquinas, Blanche Ely, Fort Lauderdale
15-7A: Hollywood Hills, South Broward, McArthur, Nova, Cooper City
16-7A: Doral, Goleman, Mater Academy, Miami Springs, Sunset, Mourning, Westland Hialeah, Reagan, South Miami
15-6A: Boynton Beach, Dillard, Boyd Anderson, Northeast
16-6A: Hialeah-Miami Lakes, Miami Carol City, Norland, Northwestern, Central
16-5A: Plantation American Heritage, Cardinal Gibbons, Coconut Creek, Jackson, Hallandale, Stranahan
7-4A: Belle Glade Glades Central, Somerset Academy, North Broward Prep, Clewiston, University School
8-4A: Gulliver Prep, Keys Gate, Edison, Monsignor Pace, Booker T. Washington
8-3A: Westminster Christian, Chaminade-Madonna, Everglades Prep, Homestead Somerset Charter
8-2A: Champagnat Catholic, Dade Christian, Belle Glade Glades Day, West Palm Beach Village Academy
Independents: Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Curley, Archbishop McCarthy, Calvary Christian, Coral Glades, Coral Shores, Coral Springs Charter, Coral Springs Christian, Florida Christian, Highlands Christian, Hillel, Key West, La Salle, Marathon, Miami Community Charter, Miami Country Day, Palmer Trinity, Pembroke Pines Charter, Pine Crest, Pinecrest Prep, Pompano Beach, Ransom Everglades, West Broward, Westlake Prep, Westminster Academy.
This story was originally published January 23, 2015 at 6:41 PM with the headline "FHSAA releases finalized football districts for next four seasons."