Rick Patrick
ECB Publishing, Inc.
On Sunday, Nov. 6, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) released their brackets for the 2022 State Football Championship Tournament. Brackets were released for Class 1R, Class 1S, Class 1M, Class 2S, Class 2M, Class 3S, Class 3M, Class 4S and Class 4M. Classifications are based on student population and area population density (Rural, Suburban and Metro). The State is divided into four geographical regions.
In Class 1R, the top six teams (based on a formula used by the FHSAA that considers both win/loss record and strength of schedule) in each region are in the playoffs, with the top two seeded teams having a first-round bye. In Region Three, Madison County (number four seed) will host Ft. White (number five seed) in the Region Quarter-final, on Friday, Nov. 11. The winner of that game will travel to Union County to face the number one seeded Tigers of Union County High School on Friday, Nov. 18. In the same region, the number three seed Hornets of Lafayette High School will host the number six seed Buccaneers of Branford High School, on Friday, Nov. 11. The winner of the Lafayette vs Branford game will travel to Hilliard to play the number two seed Red Flashes of Hilliard High School, on Friday, Nov. 18. Over in Region Two, the number four seed Warriors, of Aucilla Christian Academy, will host the Hornets of Cottondale High School, the number five seed, on Friday, Nov. 11. The winner of the Aucilla vs Cottondale game will travel to Sneads to play the number one seeded Sneads High School Pirates, on Friday, Nov. 18.
In the Class 2S tournament, eight teams from each region were selected to play in the tournament. In Region One, the Suwannee High School Bulldogs are the number two seed team and will host number seven seeded Walton High School, on Friday, Nov. 11. The winner of that game will progress to play the winner of the West Florida vs Bay game, on Friday, Nov. 18.
According to the FHSAA, admission to all regional tournament games is $8 and kickoff for each game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Before heading to the game, fans should check with the host school to verify kickoff times.
The 2022 State Championship Games for Class 1R and Class 2S will be held at Gene Cox Stadium, in Tallahassee, from Thursday, Dec. 8, through Saturday, Dec. 10.