The final week of district play is here, and it’s an important one.
Dwyer would win District 13-7A by beating West Boca Raton Friday. A Panthers’ loss would open a path for Forest Hill or Palm Beach Lakes. (Richard Graulich/Palm Beach Post)
Atlantic (10-8A) and Dwyer (13-7A) will clinch championships in their districts with wins Friday. But a loss by either would open the door to a handful of other teams to claim district titles, with points being part of the scenario in District 10-8A.
As part of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s new playoff format, district champions earn automatic postseason berths, while all other playoff qualifiers earn their spots through points.
District ties can be broken in a handful of ways. We explain below, courtesy of the FHSAA:
(a) If two schools are tied for first place in the final district standings, the winner of the regular season game between the two schools shall advance to the regional tournament.
(b) If three schools are tied for first place in the final district standings and one of the three schools defeated the other two in regular season competition, then that school shall advance to the regional tournament as the district champion.
(c) If three or more schools are tied for first place in the final district standings and the tie cannot be broken based on the results of regular season competition, then a district tiebreaker shall be based on the point system throughout the entire regular season to include week 11 games.
The only district where a tiebreaker might be needed is in 10-8A. If Atlantic defeats Boca Raton, then the Eagles are district champions. If Boca Raton wins that game, and Park Vista loses to Santaluces, then the Bobcats are district champions. If Boca Raton beats Atlantic and Park Vista beats Santaluces, then the Eagles, Bobcats and Cobras would be tied for the district lead. The district champion would be determined based on points, because all three teams would have beaten each other during the regular season.
9-8A
#Palm Beach Central 5-2 (3-0)
Seminole Ridge 6-2 (2-1)
Wellington 4-4 (2-2)
Palm Beach Gardens 3-4 (1-2)
Jupiter 0-7 (0-3)
10-8A
Atlantic 6-1 (5-0)
Park Vista 5-2 (4-1)
Boca Raton 5-3 (4-1)
Spanish River 3-5 (3-3)
Santaluces 2-5 (2-3)
Lake Worth 0-7 (0-5)
John I. Leonard 0-7 (0-5)
13-7A
Forest Hill 6-1 (3-1)
Dwyer 6-2 (3-1)
Palm Beach Lakes 4-4 (3-1)
Olympic Heights 3-4 (2-2)
West Boca Raton 3-4 (1-3)
Royal Palm Beach 0-8 (0-4)
15-6A
#Fort Lauderdale-Dillard 4-3 (3-0)
Southwest Ranches-Archbishop McCarthy 4-4 (2-1)
Lauderdale Lakes-Boyd Anderson 2-5 (2-2)
Boynton Beach 2-5 (1-2)
Oakland Park-Northeast 1-6 (0-3)
15-5A
#Fort Pierce-Westwood 5-2 (3-0)
Suncoast 5-3 (2-1)
Port St. Lucie 5-3 (2-2)
Fort Pierce-John Carroll 2-5 (1-2)
Pompano Beach 1-6 (0-3)
#-denotes district champion
