Football: 5 regions with the best playoff races to watch this season

The high school football postseason is right around the corner but several teams still are fighting for a higher seed or a just trying to be one of the top eight seeds in their respective regions.

Some regions appear to be all but set in stone, at least as far as the eight playoff teams. Others, still have plenty of possible outcomes, which could create plenty of chaos and intrigue during the final two weeks of the regular season.

Region 1-4S has 12 teams still very much in the mix for a playoff spot. Region 3-4M has four teams fighting for the No. 8 seed.

Here is a look at the five most interesting regions to keep a close eye on over the next two weeks.

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Region 3-4M

1. Palm Beach Central 10.920

2. Monarch 9.575

3. Boca Raton 6.038

4. Jupiter 5.790

5. Palm Beach Gardens 5.670

6. Santaluces 4.843

7. Spanish River -.0569

8. Palm Beach Lakes -2.153

9. Stoneman Douglas -3.132

10. Park Vista -3.250

11. Coral Springs -3.939

This region has separated into three distinct tiers. Palm Beach Central, the defending region champion, has a 1.345-point lead over Monarch for the No. 1 seed. ... Boca Raton, the No. 3 seed and Santaluces, the No. 6 seed, are only 1.195 points. Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens play for the District 9 championship on Thursday, which should go a long way in determining which will be the higher seed. ... Stoneman Douglas, Park Vista and Coral Springs all are within striking distance of Palm Beach Lakes at the No. 8 spot. Even if Lakes wins out, its strength of schedule could be an issue as its final two games are against teams with a combined 3-13 record.

Region 1-3M

1. Edgewater 17.584

2. Armwood 12.646

3. Tampa Bay Tech 11.712

4. Oviedo 10.859

5. Jones 8.332

6. Fletcher 7.196

7. Wharton 4.786

8. Wekiva 3.580

9. Lyman 2.895

10. First Coast 2.251

11. Englewood 1.093

Undefeated Edgewater has essentially locked up the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the regional playoffs. ... The first real battle in the region is for the No. 2 seed. Armwood leads Tampa Bay Tech by less than a point, but this one likely will be decided on the field as the two play on Friday. Oviedo is less than two points out of the No. 2 spot, but the winner of the Armwood-Tech game almost certainly will see its rating go up. ... Five teams are in the mix for the final two spots in the region. Lyman and First Coast are within 1.329 points of the No. 8 seed. Lyman ends the regular season with one-loss University on Friday, which should help the Greyhounds’ strength of schedule.

Region 2-2M

1. Calvary Christian 12.011

2. Berkeley Prep 11.322

3. Clearwater 6.637

4. Robinson 1.953

5. Blake 1.502

6. Tampa Catholic 1.485

7. Lakewood -3.801

8. Middleton -6.662

9. Boca Ciega -7.869

It’s a tight battle for the No. 1 seed. Calvary Christian currently holds a .689-point lead over Berkeley Prep. Calvary Christian beat Berkeley Prep 28-21 on Sept 29. ... The race for the No. 4 spot — and potential home field advantage in the regional quarterfinal — is between a trio of District 6 teams. Robinson, Blake and Tampa Catholic are separated by just .0468. Robinson travels to Blake for the district championship on Friday. ... The final two spots will go to the District 5 and District 8 champions. Middleton will win the District 5 champion if it beats King on Friday and Boca Ciega will be the District 8 champion if it beats Gibbs on Friday. The only way for Lakewood to reach the postseason is for Gibbs to beat Boca Ciega and force a three-way tie, which would be decided by the FHSAA power rankings.

Region 1-4S

1. Buchholz 18.086

2. Ponte Vedra 14.416

3. Niceville 14.319

4. Bartram Trail 10.760

5. Navarre 9.681

6. Pace 8.238

7. Chiles 7.219

8. Creekside 7.018

9. Leon 6.197

10. Mosley 4.752

11. Nease 4.739

12. Tocoi Creek 4.699

Buchholz, the top ranked team on the USA Today Florida Network High School football poll, is firmly in control of the No. 1 seed after beating Bartram Trail in Week 9. ... Ponte Vedra and Niceville are in a close battle for the No. 2 spot – and home field advantage in a potential regional semifinal. Ponte Vedra currently has a .097 edge. ... Bartram Trail has a 1.079 lead over Navarre for the No. 4 seed and potential home field advantage in the regional quarterfinal. ... Pace is an interesting spot at No. 6. The Patriots are legitimately within striking distance of the No. 4 seed, but also have three teams within 2.041 points with two weeks remaining. The race for the No. 8 spot also is congested as four teams are within 2.39 points of Crestview for the final playoff spot.

Region 2-3S

1. Vanguard 13.648

2. Lake Wales 11.996

3. Leesburg 11.098

4. Zephyrhills 9.517

5. Cypress Creek 9.515

6. Auburndale 6.854

7. Gulf 2.485

8. Tavares 2.262

9. River Ridge 1.954

10. Lecanto 1.679

11. Fivay .839

Vanguard is the No. 1 seed at the moment but Lake Wales, the defending Class 3S champion, and Leesburg aren’t far behind. Vanguard currently has a 1.652-point lead over Lake Wales. ... It isn’t out of the question for Zephyrhills or Cypress Creek to jump into the top three, but keeping these two together in the race for No. 4 just makes sense as they’re separated by just .002. Based on the rankings, it seems that Auburndale is all but locked into the No. 6 seed. ... Gulf has a 1.223-point advantage over Tavares for the No. 7 seed. After that, there are three teams separated by less .600. Fivay currently is 11^th in the region, but the Falcons close with teams that are .500 or better so their strength of schedule could put them in play for the No. 8 seed.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Football: 5 regions with the best playoff races to watch this season