Buchholz and Eastside are both at home. Santa Fe and Newberry look for road upsets. Those games and more highlight the first round of the HS football playoffs in the Gainesville area.
The months change, but the idea is the same.
January and February in the NFL, May and June in the NBA and NHL, November and December in Florida High School Football.
Yep, it is the postseason, and it’s officially here in the Gainesville-area.
In total, 12 local teams earned FHSAA Florida high school football playoff bids. Half come from the Rural Class. Throw in St. Francis Catholic and Oak Hall in the SSAA, and we have 12 playoff games this week.
Buchholz and Eastside each play at Citizens Field, fresh off district titles. The Bobcats face an Oveido team that hasn’t lost since September 5, while the Rams await a highly-anticipated rematch with South Sumter.
Hawthorne and Williston look to face each other next week. To do so, both must beat local teams in Branford and Lafayette respectively. Top three seeds in Chiefland, Columbia and Bradford look to avoid upsets, while Trenton, Santa Fe and Newberry seek upsets of their own.
Finally, Oak Hall and St. Francis Catholic are one win away from playing for a championship.
Here’s the full schedule for the first round of the FHSAA and SSAA playoffs:
Thursday, November 13
No. 8 Oviedo (8-2) at No. 1 Buchholz (9-1) – 7 p.m.; Class 6A-Region 1 Quarterfinals; Winner faces No. 4 Nease or No. 5 Oakleaf
Friday, November 14
St. Francis Catholic (5-6) at The Classical Academy of Sarasota (4-7) – 7 p.m.; SSAA Class 1A 8-man state semifinals; Winner faces All Saints or First Coast Christian
The Masters Academy (6-6) at Oak Hall (7-4) – 7 p.m.; SSAA Class 3A state semifinals; Winner faces St. Edward’s or Cambridge Christian
No. 14 Sneads (7-3) at No. 3 Chiefland (9-1) – 7:30 p.m.; Rural Class Semifinals; Winner faces No. 6 Baker or No. 11 Liberty County
No. 15 Branford (7-3) at No. 2 Hawthorne (7-1) – 7:30 p.m.; Rural Class Semifinals; Winner faces Lafayette or Williston
No. 6 Newberry (5-5) at No. 3 Cocoa – 7:30 p.m.; Class 2A-Region 2 Quarterfinals; Winner faces Santa Fe or Calvary Christian
No. 13 Trenton (7-3) at No. 4 Perry-Taylor County (9-1) – 7:30 p.m.; Rural Class Semifinals; Winner faces No. 5 Pahokee or No. 12 Fort Meade
No. 7 Santa Fe (7-3) at No. 2 Clearwater-Calvary Christian (7-3) – 7:30 p.m.; Class 2A-Region 2 Semifinals; Winner faces Newberry or Cocoa
No. 10 Lafayette (8-2) at No. 7 Williston (9-1) – 7:30 p.m.; Rural Class Semifinals; Winner faces Branford or Hawthorne
No. 5 Bushnell-South Sumter (6-4) at No. 4 Eastside (8-2) – 7:30 p.m.; Class 3A-Region 2 Quarterfinals; Winner faces No. 1 Bishop Moore or No. 8 Hernando
No. 8 Avon Park (6-4) at No. 1 Bradford (9-1) – 7:30 p.m.; Class 2A-Region 2 Quarterfinals; Winner faces No. 4 Villages Charter or No. 5 Berkeley Prep
No. 6 Tallahassee-Rickards (3-7) at No. 3 Columbia (8-2) – 7:30 p.m.; Class 4A-Region 1 Quarterfinals; Winner faces No. 2 Choctawhatchee or No. 7 Booker T. Washington
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1 and on Instagram @ramreporter. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com