Week 8 Preview: FHSAA football playoff picture starts to develop
Three Orlando area high school football teams will try to defend undefeated records at home in Week 8 of the high school football regular season.
Lake Mary ranks No. 10 and Edgewater is No. 11 among all classifications in the latest Florida High School Athletic Association playoff power ratings.
Orange City University (6-0, 15.84 rating) slots at No. 13 in the state and No. 2 in Class 4 Suburban. The Titans entertain Port Orange Spruce Creek (5-2, 6.71) in a tough District 9 matchup that has resulted in six consecutive losses for UHS since 2017.
Lake Mary (6-0, 16.68) leads all teams in Class 4 Metro ahead of its District 2 contest vs. Evans (4-3, 4.59). The Trojans currently hold a likely playoff spot as the No. 6 seed in 4M Region 1.
Four district champions and four at-large teams per region based on FHSAA rankings qualify for the postseason.
Edgewater (7-0, 16.24) faces Ocoee (3-4, 1.42), which has fallen in the playoff picture in 4M Region 2. The district-champion Eagles rank No. 2 in all of 3M behind Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (6-1, 17.02).
Class 3M district games with Region 1 implications include Lake Howell (4-2) at Oviedo (4-2) and Horizon (4-2) at Wekiva (3-4).
Oviedo ranks No. 4 in the region behind Edgewater, Seffner Armwood (5-1, 11.92) and Tampa Bay Tech (7-0, 11.50) with an 8.31 rating. Wekiva (2.50), Lake Howell (1.20) and Horizon (0.54) need wins to get back in the race.
Jones High, No. 7 in 3M-1 with a 3-3 record and 4.29 rating, is home vs. 4M Boone (3-3).
Edgewater is No. 1 and Lake Mary is No. 2 in the area Sentinel Super 16 rankings, which includes teams from Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake and southwest Volusia counties.
No. 3 Sanford Seminole (5-2) hosts No. 4 DeLand (5-1) and No. 11 Dr. Phillips (4-2) is home vs. No. 7 Olympia (4-2) in top-ranked Super 16 matchups.
In other games, The Master’s Academy (5-1) plays at Jacksonville Providence School (6-1) while ranked No. 3 in the independent Sunshine State Athletic Association behind Fort Lauderdale schools Westminster Academy (6-0) and NSU (6-0).
Nazir McMillan is 74-of-109 passing for 1,063 yards, 13 TDs and 2 interceptions for Master’s. Jake Hormell has 33 catches for 750 yards and 8 TDs and Davon Washington has 35 receptions for 456 yards and 5 TDs.
The SSAA regular season ends next week. Playoff games take place Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.
Most teams in Osceola and Lake counties play Thursday due to school being closed on Friday.
The complete Week 8 schedule is listed below. Rankings are from the Sentinel Super 16. Team overall and district win-loss records are included in parentheses.
Top matchups
No. 4 DeLand (5-1) at No. 3 Seminole (5-2), 7
Buzz: ‘Noles have won seven of past eight meetings between long-time rivals by average score of 25-8. Preston Watson has 44 tackles and 7 sacks for Seminole, which ranks No. 2 in 4M Region 1 with 12.85 power rating. DeLand (9.28) is No. 5 in 4S Region 3. Javon Ross averages 220 all-purpose yards with 12 TDs for Bulldogs. QB TJ Moore has 1,393 total yards and 16 TDs.
No. 7 Olympia (4-2, 2-0) at No. 11 Dr. Phillips (4-2, 1-0), 7
Buzz: Crucial 4M Region 2 showdown is for District 5 lead. DP’s 5.95 power rating is good for No. 6 in the region. Olympia (4.02) ranks No. 9. Titans snapped 19-game skid in 2022 with 11-0 win. Joshua Evans and Xavier Tucker have 44 catches for 759 yards and 7 TDs for Olympia. DP defense is led by Jerard Smith (74 tackles) and Damien Jackson (3 sacks, 3 INTs).
Orlando Christian Prep (7-0) at Bishop Moore Catholic (3-3), 7
Buzz: OCP ranks No. 1 in 1M Region 1 with 11.50 power rating. Avery Anderson, Akeevin Anderson and Adryan Marayne have combined for 1,705 rush yards and 22 TDs for Warriors. Bishop Moore (5.64 rating) is No. 4 in 2M Region 1. Bjorn Jurgensen is 99-of-152 passing for 1,192 yards with 11 TDs and 4 INTs. Hornets won 20-14 last year.
Other area games
Thursday
Umatilla (1-5, 0-1) at Eustis (4-2, 1-0), 7
Viera (3-3, 0-1) at Harmony (1-5, 0-1), 7
Gulf Breeze (2-4) at Tohopekaliga (4-2), 7
Miami Gardens TRU Prep (1-3) at St. Cloud (3-3), 7#
Ocala Forest (3-3, 0-1) at Clermont East Ridge (3-3, 0-1), 7
Deltona (0-6, 0-1) at Daytona Beach Mainland (6-0, 1-0), 7#
South Lake (2-4, 1-1) at No. 10 Lake Minneola (4-3, 2-0), 7
Friday
No. 13 Ocoee (3-4) at No. 1 Edgewater (7-0), 7
No. 14 Evans (4-3, 1-1) at No. 2 Lake Mary (6-0, 1-0), 7
No. 4 DeLand (5-1) at No. 3 Seminole (5-2), 7
Boone (3-3) at No. 5 Jones (3-3), 7
Lake Brantley (1-5, 0-2) at No. 6 Apopka (4-2, 0-1), 7
No. 7 Olympia (4-2, 2-0) at No. 11 Dr. Phillips (4-2, 1-0), 7
Spruce Creek (5-2, 0-1) at No. 9 Orange City University (6-0, 1-0), 7
Windermere High (3-4, 0-2) at No. 12 West Orange (2-4, 1-0), 7
Lake Howell (4-2, 0-1) at No. 15 Oviedo (4-2, 1-0), 7
Horizon (4-2, 0-0) at No. 16 Wekiva (3-4, 0-1), 7
Orlando Christian Prep (7-0) at Bishop Moore (3-3), 7
Celebration (1-5, 0-1) at Osceola (1-5, 1-0), 7
Lyman (5-2, 2-0) at East River (2-5, 1-1), 7
Hagerty (4-2, 1-1) at Colonial (1-5, 0-1), 7
Lake Nona (2-4, 1-1) at Freedom (1-5, 0-2), 7
Oak Ridge (2-3, 1-0) at Cypress Creek (0-6, 0-1), 7
Timber Creek (2-5, 1-1) at Orlando University (1-5, 0-1), 7
Lake Highland Prep (4-1) at Lake Buena Vista (3-2), 7
Trinity Prep (0-6) at Deltona Trinity (1-5), 7
Riverview Bell Creek (3-3) at Legacy Charter (1-4), 7
Seabreeze (1-5, 1-0) at Deltona Pine Ridge (3-3, 0-1), 7#
Jacksonville Harvest Community (2-4) at Faith Christian (3-3), 7
Jacksonville Duval Charter (0-5) at The First Academy (4-2), 7
Leesburg (6-1, 1-1) at Belleview (0-5, 0-1), 7:30
Mount Dora (5-1, 1-0) at The Villages (1-5, 0-1), 7
Gateway (0-6, 0-2) at Lake Wales (6-0, 2-0), 7
Liberty (2-4, 1-1) at Auburndale (5-1, 2-0), 7:30
Orangewood Christian (3-3) at Mathews Covenant Day, N.C. (3-5), 7
The Master’s Academy (5-1) at Jacksonville Providence School (6-1), 7
Central Florida Christian (0-4) at Ocala Trinity (1-5), 7
First Academy-Leesburg (2-4) at Keswick Christian (3-4), 7
West Oaks (3-3) at St. Augustine St. Joseph (2-4), 7
Poinciana (2-4) at North Port (4-1), 7
#Home sites: Deltona Trinity at Dewey O. Boster Sports Complex; Mainland at Daytona Stadium; St. Cloud at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex, Kissimmee.
Off this week: No. 8 Winter Park (6-0), Cornerstone Charter (3-4), Foundation Academy (4-3), Mount Dora Christian (2-5), Windermere Prep (1-4), Winter Springs (0-7). Played Wednesday: Ocala Vanguard (6-1, 2-0) at Tavares (3-3, 0-1).
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
