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Columbia receiver Bynton Edge returns a kickoff against Vero Beach on Friday. (JORDAN KROEGER/Lake City Reporter)
One long road trip has led to another for Columbia.
Friday’s 31-10 loss to Vero Beach dropped the Tigers (4-5) a spot to sixth in the final Region 1-3S rankings released Sunday, setting them up with a road contest at No. 3 Choctawhatchee (8-2) in the regional quarterfinals this upcoming Friday. Columbia finished with a 5.514 rating and was jumped by Escambia, which finished just ahead at 5.915.
While Columbia had a stronger strength of schedule than Escambia, which according to the FHSAA was calculated at 7.79 compared to Escambia’s 0.51, the difference in records appeared to be the difference. Escambia (7-3) won three more games while losing two fewer, which clearly affected the final numbers in a formula from MaxPreps that isn’t made public to the FHSAA or anyone else.
Prior to Friday’s loss, Columbia was ahead of Escambia and likely would have stayed there with a win considering Vero Beach finished ranked ninth overall in Class 4S. If the Tigers finished fifth, they would have hosted No. 4 Pine Forest (6-4, 7.025) because Pine Forest wasn’t a district champion. Instead, even though the Tigers were District 3-3S champions, Choctaw gets to host being the District 1-3S champs.
It’ll be a rematch of last season’s regional final, which Columbia won 20-14 in overtime.
“We kind of controlled our destiny, whether it was for the good or for the bad, handling business last week,” Columbia head coach Brian Allen said. “If we had played better than we did, it definitely wouldn’t have put us on the road on another 3-hour trip, so I’m just kind of disappointed that we didn’t do what we needed to do to secure a home game.”
The winner of Columbia-Choctaw will face the winner of No. 2 seed Lincoln (8-2, 13.409 rating, which won the District 2-3s title, and No. 7 seed Matanzas (7-3, 4.446). District 4-3S champion St. Augustine is the No. 1 seed and will host No. 8 Middleburg (5-5, 3.314), with the winner then taking on the winner of Pine Forest-Escambia.
“The bottom half of the bracket, I think whoever is the one who goes and plays good football in this first round is going to put themselves in the third round of the playoffs most likely,” Allen said.
2023 FHSAA Football State Championships 3 S
FORT WHITE GETS A BYE, RIVALS GET REMATCH
There weren’t any surprises in the Region 3-1R playoff bracket as the seeding held steady in the final rankings.
Fort White (9-1, 8.050 rating) is the No. 2 seed and will have a bye week in the regional quarterfinals before hosting the winner of No. 3 Union County (6-3, 3.641) and No. 6 Hilliard (3-7, -6.168) on Nov. 17. Hilliard edged Hamilton County (3-6, -7.861) for the final playoff spot in the seven-team region.
Lafayette (6-4, 1.647) and Branford (7-2, -0.220) will meet for the second time this season in the 4-5 matchup next Friday in Mayo in the regional quarterfinals. It’s been a one-sided rivalry for several years with the Hornets winning 15 straight in the series, including a 47-6 win on Sept. 29 and a 35-7 win in last season’s regional quarterfinals.
The winner will travel to top-seeded Madison County (7-1, 12.685) the following week.
2023 FHSAA Football State Championships 1 Rural
LONG TRIP FOR SUWANNEE
Suwannee’s 35-3 loss to Bradford didn’t change any potential first round matchup. Like a week ago, the Bulldogs (6-3, 6.551 rating) remained fifth in Region 1-2S and will now travel to No. 4 seed Pensacola Catholic (8-2, 11.019) for next Friday’s regional quarterfinal.
It’s a matchup of teams trending in different directions. Suwannee enters the contest on a 3-game losing streak, while Pensacola Catholic has won three straight. The winner of that game will move on to face the winner of top-seeded Walton (10-0, 15.863), which won the District 1-2S title, and No. 8 seed South Walton (6-4, 2.603).
The bottom half of the bracket has Wakulla (10-0, 14.704), which beat Suwannee for the District 2-2S title, as the No. 2 seed against No. 7 Gadsden County (6-4, 3.975). District 3-2S champion Florida High (8-2, 14.111) is the 3-seed and hosts 6-seed Marianna (6-4, 5.601).