The Florida High School Athletics Association rolled out its first power rankings of the 2025 football season, and of the Orlando-area teams, Bishop Moore is the only one sitting atop its class.
The rankings, which have stirred controversy among coaches, will be the determining factor for selecting at-large teams for the playoffs, which begin the week of Nov. 14. District champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, regardless of rating, and the top four remaining teams, according to the rankings, will be slotted into eight team regional brackets.
The rankings will also determine playoff seedings with higher seeds playing at home — with one exception. District champions will always host first round games unless they are matched against a district title team with a higher ranking.
Teams that finish No. 1 in their region are guaranteed to play the first three rounds at home if they advance.
Among the top-rated local teams, Bishop Moore (5-0) is No. 1 in Class 3A.
No. 3 DeLand (5-0) is No. 3 and No. 4 Boone (5-0) No. 4 in 7A.
Edgewater (5-0) is No. 4 in 5A.
South Lake (4-1) is No. 9 in 6A, and Jones (3-2) is No. 10 in 4A. The First Academy, despite being banned from the postseason this year, is ranked No. 12 in Class 1A.
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Let’s take a look at what the playoff path could look for Orlando teams:
First-year Lake Brantley coach Garrett Kruczek has his Patriots sitting 4-0 and ranked No. 11 in the FHSAA Class 7A Power Rankings. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
Class 7A
Class 7A appears to be wide open. Among Orlando-area teams, DeLand, Boone, West Orange (4-1), Hagerty (3-1), East Ridge (5-0) and Lake Brantley (4-0), Dr. Phillips (4-1) and Ocoee (3-2) are all in the Top 20.
District play is just getting cranked up, so with six weeks left in the regular season, a lot can change. DeLand will find out Friday away how it stacks up as the Bulldogs travel to face Spruce Creek on Friday. The Hawks are also 5-0 and are just ahead of DeLand in the power rankings at No. 2. This game determined the District 2 champion a year ago and likely will again this year with teams like Flagler Palm Coast and Orange City University being down a bit. Last year, all four District 2 teams made the playoffs.
District 3 is again hotly contested between Lake Mary (2-2) and Seminole (2-3), but there is a new contender in the mix, as unbeaten Lake Brantley looks to stir up some chaos. Hagerty also has reason to have hope. Lake Mary was a district and region champ on its way to a state runner-up finish behind Venice in 2024.
Boone is on top of the District 4 rankings, but nemesis Winter Park (2-2) is standing in the way for the Braves. They meet at Boone, Oct. 10. Last year, Winter Park knocked Boone out of contention.
West Orange (4-1) and Ocoee (3-2) figure to vie for the District 5 title on Oct. 24 at Ocoee.
District 9 should come down to Dr. Phillips at East Ridge, Oct. 10.
District 10 is a dogfight among underdogs, as it was last season. Lake Nona (3-2) has the highest ranking at No. 27 in 7A, but St. Cloud (3-2), Harmony (3-2) and Tohopekaliga (2-2) are right behind the Lions. Last year, Lake Nona and Toho advanced, and St. Cloud coach Mike Short was not happy with the formula that left his team out.
He is one of many coaches who have criticized the rankings system because they aren’t told exactly how the rankings are configured.
Class 6A
South Lake is favored in District 6, followed by Ocala Forest (3-1), which plays the Eagles this week.
District 4 should be a battle. Evans (4-1) is No. 12 and Lake Howell (4-1) No. 14. Oviedo (2-2) is No. 38, but the Lions — district winners a year ago — have had a tough schedule with losses to unbeatens Bishop Moore and Lake Brantley.
Osceola (3-2) No. 19, should again rule District 5. But Melbourne (4-1) and Viera (3-2) seem improved. A run to the state title game again this year could be a bit more difficult for the Kowboys, and with 4A Lake Wales and undefeated 2A Lakewood at the tail end of the schedule, Osceola’s finish could be interesting.
Edgewater coach Patrick Browning has his Eagles sitting 5-0 and ranked No. 4 in the FHSAA Class 5A Power Rankings. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Class 5A
Edgewater will roll through District 5, but the Eagles do have tough non-district games remaining against 7A teams in Winter Park and Dr. Phillips prior to the annual Barrel Game against Boone at the end of the season. Victories over all three of those teams could give Edgewater a significant boost in the playoff seedings and enhance its chances for multiple home games.
Class 4A
The only real local contender is 2024 state runner-up Jones, which has tripped up a couple of times against good teams after winning 18 straight regular-season games. The Tigers are home Friday in a crucial game against Auburndale (3-1), which is ranked just ahead of the Tigers a year after Jones clobbered the Bloodhounds 49-7. Jones went 14-1 a year ago, losing to Plantation American Heritage in the state final.
Class 3A
Bishop Moore is on a mission. It’s 3A title game or bust. The Hornets felt wronged last season not only by some unfortunate officiating calls in a 3A state semifinal at Eau Gallie, but also just by a string of bad luck that saw players like Kenyon Alston, Jaxon Anderson and Peter Cannon out with injuries in that game. The Hornets have a scoring average of 50 points per game and an average victory margin of 30 points. The Hornets close their regular season against 7A Lake Mary.
Class 2A
With TFA out of the playoffs, Orlando Christian Prep (3-2), ranked No. 18, has only one team to beat to make it to the playoffs. The winner of the Oct. 17 OCP-Melbourne Central Catholic game will be the District 6 champion. Tough non-district games against Fort Meade and New Smyrna Beach do remain.
The FHSAA updates its power rankings each Tuesday from now until the final week of the regular season.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.
