FHSAA football playoff brackets: Naples, Bishop Verot, First Baptist lock down top seeds
The FHSAA released their football playoff brackets Sunday morning, and a handful of Southwest Florida teams are in the big dance.
There are three local No. 1 seeds in the new Suburban classification, with real shots of teams making the Final Four. Some teams barely got into the postseason by a few spots.
Teams in bold are district champions. Teams in italics are local teams.
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Class 4S-Region 4
(8) Riverdale at (1) Venice
(7) Riverview at (2) Gulf Coast
(6) Sarasota at (3) Manatee
(5) Lehigh at (4) Palmetto
Analysis: Consider this region Venice and their friends, as the Indians remain the clear favorite to get out of 4S-4. The Sharks are the second seed and get one of the tougher matchups against a bottom four seed in Sarasota Riverview, which beat Lehigh and has the second-highest strength of schedule behind Venice. Lehigh will have to hit the road against Palmetto in a matchup of district champions. The Tigers are the higher-seeded district champion. Riverdale barely made it into the postseason, finishing just four spots ahead of Lakewood Ranch.
Regional Champion: Venice
Class 3S-Region 4
(8) Braden River at (1) Naples
(7) Lely at (2) Dunbar
(6) Barron Collier at (3) North Fort Myers
(5) Fort Myers at (4) Port Charlotte
Analysis: The Golden Eagles, as expected, are the top seed in 3S-4 after a 7-2 season. The real drama was down the bracket between Barron Collier and Lely, which were separated by just three spots in the statewide rankings. Dunbar will face a red-hot Lely team, looking to avoid being upset in the first-round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. A win over Fort Myers put the Greenies at the fifth seed and will have to travel to Port Charlotte. Could we see Naples and Dunbar in a regional final this time around?
Regional Champion: Naples
Class 2S-Region 4
(8) Mulberry at (1) Bishop Verot
(7) Booker at (2) Frostproof
(3) Estero at (6) DeSoto County
(4) Fort Meade at (5) Clewiston
Analysis: The Vikings easily clinch the top seed in 2S-4, as Frostproof holds down the second seed to stay ahead of Estero. Because of that, the Wildcats will have to travel to DeSoto County, a lower-seeded district champion. The team to watch here is Clewiston, which could face Verot in the second round of the playoffs, but is likely the second-best team in the region after rattling off four consecutive wins to close out the year. Booker is another dark horse, which closed the regular season winning its last four contests.
Regional Champion: Bishop Verot
Class 1S-Region 4
(4) CSN at (1) First Baptist
(3) Moore Haven at (2) ECS
Analysis: The Lions hold the top seed in 1S-4, but it was separated by nine spots, much closer than anticipated. All four teams will face off for the second time this season, as the Terriers and Sentinels played in Week 2, while First Baptist played CSN just two weeks ago. We are likely to be on a collision course for an FBA-ECS regional title game but don't write off Moore Haven, which won four of their final five games to close out the regular season.
Regional Champion: First Baptist
Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SW FL high school football: See where your team is seeded in playoffs
