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Here's Rundown On Proposed Realignments

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By DAREK SHARP

dsharp@tampatrib.com

Published: December 3, 2008

PLANT CITY - Big changes are afoot for the Florida state football playoffs. Among the effects of an upcoming district realignment is the likely return of Plant City and Durant as district rivals, but that is just the start of the intrigue for those schools, and really for everyone else around the state.

In a move unanimously approved by the Florida High School Athletics Association last week, the setup for football districts and the playoff format will drastically change. For the four largest classifications, starting with 6A and going down to 3A, the number of districts will be cut in half, resulting in much larger groupings.

Along with that, the number of playoff-bound teams from each district doubles, going from two to four. The number of playoff qualifying teams per region, eight, remains the same.

Considering a typical district will now contain as many as nine teams, it will also make for a season full of meaningful contests.

"Every week now you're going to have something to play for," Durant head coach Mike Gottman said.

For his team, the new districts will likely mean the end of a five-year stint where the Cougars were in Class 6A.

Because its higher attendance put the Cougars apart from most Hillsborough County schools for football, Durant has had to be grouped with Sarasota and Sarasota Riverview. But according to tabulations by Hillsborough County Athletic Director Lanness Robinson, Durant will likely go down to the 5A level.

Durant and Plant City would naturally be in the same district for football. That won't be official until Dec. 12, when the association will release its proposed new districts. Schools will have three weeks to protest.

Plant City and Durant can count on being placed with other area 5A schools including the ones Plant City has shared District 5A-7 with: Newsome, East Bay, Bloomingdale and Brandon. Other potential new district foes could include top Hillsborough County teams such as Chamberlain, Gaither, Alonso andWharton.

There is also a chance that powerhouse Lakeland may be in the Raiders' and Cougars' district; however, with four playoff spots available, that news would not be quite as daunting. A team could afford to lose to a couple of strong foes and yet still have third or fourth place to shoot for.

So for many teams, the change, which will go into effect for the 2009 season, means new hope. Lakeland's district is a great example, as the Dreadnaughts' presence has meant that between two very strong teams, Kissimmee Osceola and Lake Gibson, one has had to be left out of the playoff picture.

This year in 5A-11, there were three teams ranked in the top 10 but only two made the playoffs, with Manatee going 8-2 but not making the postseason.

For others, such as Jefferson High, the road actually becomes more difficult. With only four teams in its district (4A-11), the Dragons have had a cakewalk to the postseason, just needing to beat perennial losing teams Leto and Blake to get in.

Durant was also in a four-team district, but 6A-6 has been pretty even during the Cougars' stay.

Either way, no longer will a team have as few as three district games: the ones that decide their playoff fate. Durant needed just one victory (and then to prevail in a three-way tiebreaker) to get into the 6A postseason this year.

One big plus is that no longer will a school be able to reach the playoffs with a below .500 record. For example, had Riverview defeated Durant this year, the Sharks would have made the playoffs by going 2-1 in district play, but their overall record would have been 2-8.

But Durant got in, and the Cougars fell 14-7 to a very strong Orlando Dr. Phillips team Nov. 21 to see their season end with a 6-5 record.

"It was our first winning season in four years," Gottman said. "Dr. Phillips had a whole lot of skill, and their defense was tall and physical. We played 'em tough, but we just couldn't move the ball."

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