Seven Pensacola-area teams earn high school football playoff berths in FHSAA bracket release

Thirteen Pensacola-area football teams began the 2022 season with their sights set on postseason glory.

After nearly three months of games played through the late summer and early fall, seven teams have kept alive their hopes for a state championship.

The Florida High School Athletic Association released brackets for the 2022 state postseason on Sunday, with Escambia, Navarre, Northview, Pace, Pensacola Catholic, Pace, Pine Forest and West Florida each earning a spot.

Introduced to the state in 2019, RPI rankings helped determine the state postseason field. RPI is calculated using a team's winning percentage (WP), its opponents' winning percentage (OWP) and its opponents' opponents' winning percentage (OOWP).

What you need to know: USA Today Network reporters break down the FHSAA football playoffs

Week 11 Roundup: West Florida denies Gulf Breeze, Northview claims perfect regular season

In the suburban and metro classes, teams that win a district title automatically advance while the rest of the field — four per region per class — is selected through RPI.

In the rural class, RPI solely decides the state participants since there are no districts. Six teams are selected per region per class.

The Jaguars, Eagles, Raiders all qualified by winning their respective district championships. The Crusaders, Gators and Patriots are playoff-bound by receiving at-large bids.

Meanwhile, after putting the finishing touches on an unbeaten regular season, the Chiefs will be the only squad of the seven not in action this week after earning a first-round bye.

Sitting with a 10-0 record, Northview is the No. 1 seed in Region 1-1R and will host the winner of No. 4 Freeport and No. 5 Holmes County on Nov. 18.

Another undefeated No. 1 seed is Pine Forest (9-0).

High school football: FHSAA Class 3S state tournament playoff preview

Ranked 11th overall in the state, the Eagles were the decisive top seed in Region 1-3S after accumulating an RPI rating of 17.320, more than eight points higher than the next closest team. Their run back to the state championship game begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Rickards (4-6) from Lon R. Wise Stadium.

The Raiders from Tallahassee were ranked ninth in the region, one spot behind Booker T. Washington, but they are in by virtue of winning the District 2-3S crown. Rickards and Pine Forest played in a Region 1-6A quarterfinal last season, which the Eagles won 26-7.

Elsewhere in Region 1-3S, Escambia (7-3) is the No. 2 seed and will face No. 7 Middleburg (5-5) from Emmitt Smith Field. The Broncos were the last team in the region to pick up an at-large berth.

With wins in its last five games, West Florida (7-2) enters the Region 1-2S bracket as the No. 3 seed. The Jaguars (12.345) just missed out on the second seed, which went to Suwannee (12.393). Because of that, West Florida plays No. 6 Bay (8-2) from Marlon L. Bullock Field.

High school football: FHSAA Class 2S state tournament playoff preview

Despite missing out on a perfect regular season and the District 1-2S title, Pensacola Catholic starts their championship chase at home. The No. 4 Crusaders (9-1) take on No. 5 Wakulla (7-3) from Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium.

The last area team set to play in front of its home fans is Navarre (8-2).

The No. 5 Raiders host a Region 1-4S quarterfinal against No. 4 Creekside (8-2), who finished with a higher RPI rating. However, with the Knights earning an at-large bid and Navarre entering the postseason as a district champion, the game will be played at Bennett C. Russell Stadium.

High school football: FHSAA Class 4S state tournament playoff preview

Lastly, Pace (7-3) is the only area squad that plays away from home this week. In another Region 1-4S matchup, the No. 6 Patriots will travel to Gainesville to face No. 3 Buchholz (7-2).

Joining Booker T. Washington on the outside looking in is Jay (1A). Those two programs were the first team in their respective region to miss the cut.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828 or pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: High school football: Pine Forest, Pace make FHSAA playoff bracket