Fresh off winning the Hitchcock’s Challenge, Columbia’s boys basketball team sits in playoff position in the first FHSAA rankings.
The Tigers (9-6) were sixth in Region 1-5A and third in District 2 in the first basketball release Tuesday, holding a 12.146 rating that is right behind 5 seed Lincoln (10-5, 12.653), which is also second in District 2. Those two squads are right on the heels of St. Augustine (8-1, 13.161) for the region’s 4 seed but also not too far ahead of District 1 leader Booker T. Washington (11-5, 11.401), who holds the 7 seed ahead of Mosley (7-6, 9.939).
If the playoffs started today, Columbia would travel to current 3 seed Gainesville (9-5), which leads District 2 with a 15.557. District 3 leader Fleming Island (9-3, 18.009) and District 4 leader Ponte Vedra (9-3, 17.595) currently hold the top two seeds in the region.
On the girls side, the news wasn’t as good for Columbia. The Lady Tigers (5-5) are third in District 2 but 11th in Region 1-5A with a 3.338 rating, leaving them little room for error in the final month of the season if they’re going to catch Ponte Vedra (6-6, 6.834) for the final playoff spot.
The CHS girls have a chance for a resume-building win next week though when they travel to face district leader Gainesville on Tuesday. GHS (5-5) is the region’s current 2 seed with a 14.611 rating.
FWHS HOOPS SQUADS HOLD PLAYOFF SPOTS
An impressive 7-3 start to the season has the Fort White girls basketball team not only in the top spot in District 6 but also in the top spot in Region 3-R. The Lady Indians are ranked seventh overall in Class Rural and hold the current 1 seed in the region with a 10.659 rating ahead of Trenton (9-4), which holds a 9.597 rating and notably lost to FWHS 54-46 on Dec. 3.
Fort White would host 4 seed Lafayette (6-3, 1.945) if the playoffs started today, while Trenton would face District 5 leader Hilliard (7-4, 5.582). Lafayette is barely clinging to the final playoff spot, with Madison County (5-5) not too far behind at 1.082, while Branford (5-6) is sixth in the region at -3.232.
On the boys side, Fort White (4-3) is ranked 10th in Class Rural and leads District 6 with a 6.535 rating. That’s good enough for the current 3 seed in Region 3-R and would set the Indians up for a playoff rematch against 2 seed Hilliard (4-3, 8.591).
The Madison County boys (7-2) are the 1 seed right now in the region with a 9.611 rating and would host 4 seed Trenton (7-6, 5.099) if the playoffs began today. Trenton holds a sizeable lead over Branford (5-5, -4.004) and Lafayette (5-5, -4.006) for the final playoff spot.
CHS SOCCER TEAMS OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Both Columbia soccer teams sit outside the Region 1-5A playoff field with just two weeks left in the regular season. The CHS boys are 10th in the region despite a 7-2-2 record with an 8.566 rating, more than three points behind Clay (10-1, 12.130) for the final playoff spot, while the CHS girls (9-2-1) are ninth with a 7.398 rating that’s within a point of Leon (7.686, 5-4-2) for the final playoff spot.
What’s hurting the boys is the strength of the region. Chiles is the 7 seed with a 13.910 rating while Booker T. Washington is the top seed all the way up at 22.042. Winning a district title might be the only path to the playoffs for the boys, who are third in District 3 behind Fleming Island (9-1-4, 17.013, third in region) and Clay.
The CHS girls are also third in District 3 behind Fleming Island (5-6, 12.764, fifth in region) and Orange Park (7-2-1, 8.469, seventh in region). The Lady Tigers are being held down by a -2.59 strength of schedule, which is the weakest of any of the top 12 teams in the region. But the CHS girls have a chance to boost that next Thursday when they host Orange Park.
LAFAYETTE SOCCER TEAMS IN GOOD SHAPE
The Lafayette soccer teams both hold playoff spots in their respective regions, with the boys sitting in sixth and the girls in eighth. Both teams lead their districts too.
The LHS boys (7-5) are sixth in Region 1-2A despite holding a -2.091 rating, which is ahead of Trinity Catholic (4-5-3, -2.408), Providence School (2-6, -2.507), Taylor County (6-6-2, -3.126) and Hamilton County (6-4, -3.543). Hamilton County is currently second in District 2 behind Lafayette, while Bell is third (6-4-1, -4.035), Branford (4-5, -10.656) is fourth and Fort White (0-13, -20.464) is fifth.
The LHS girls (7-5) hold a 0.838 for the 8 seed in Region 1-2A, more than a point ahead of Bishop Snyder (5-2-2, -1.247). No team in District 2 is close to the Lady Hornets either, with Bell (4-2-2) second at -5.892, Branford (5-5-2) third at -6.285, Fort White (4-10) fourth at -9.493 and Hamilton County (0-8) fifth at -23.623. Barring a massive upset in the district tournament, the Lady Hornets will receive the district automatic playoff berth,
If the playoffs started today, the LHS boys would face 3 seed P.K. Yonge (10-2-3, 4.951) while the LHS girls would face top-seeded P.K Yonge (9-2, 18.823).
A LOOK AT SUWANNEE’S TEAMS
— Boys basketball (3-6): 14th in Region 1-3A with a -0.044 rating, Fernandina Beach holds final playoff spot at 7.517
— Girls basketball (1-6): 20th in Region 1-3A with a -12.451 rating, Freeport holds final playoff spot at 2.620
— Boys soccer (2-12-1): 16th in Region 1-3A with a -5.977, Keystone Heights holds final playoff spot at 1.368
— Girls soccer (5-10): 11th in Region 1-3A with a -3.764 rating, Wolfson holds final at-large spot at 7.012