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Florida Prep Coaches Learn New Classes, Districts Tuesday

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By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough High School football coach Earl Garcia has calculated the possibilities. One could say he was borderline obsessed.

On Nov. 25, when the Florida High School Athletic Association board of directors approved a two-year reclassification plan for all sports, the 23-year veteran coach went to work.

In a state where football is king, Garcia, like many football coaches, is anticipating Tuesday's release of the new football classifications and districts.

FHSAA schools are divided into classifications based on student enrollment and geographically divided into districts.

"Every coach I talk to, the first thing out of their mouth is "I heard this" or "I heard that," said first-year Bloomingdale High coach Jason Stokes, who guided the Bulls to their first winning season. "And it's always a different story."

The changes were supposed to be released Friday, but the announcement was postponed.

"I won't be able to sleep Monday night," said Garcia, who in 2006 learned his Terriers would be paired in Class 4A with juggernaut Armwood, a nationally ranked program that won state titles in 2003 and 2004.

"We're all just sweating it right now," Stokes said. "The one concern is you don't want to travel across the county. Two, is your new district more competitive or less competitive?"

Schools can appeal the district assignments through Jan. 9. They will be made final Jan. 16.

The board of directors also voted unanimously to accept the operations committee's "hybrid plan" for football classifications.

Under the two-year plan, districts will become larger, each with a maximum of nine teams. In each of the four larger classifications (6A, 5A, 4A, 3A) the top four teams in each district will advance to the state regional playoffs. Currently, only the district champion and runner-up advance. The smaller classifications (2A, 2B, 1A, 1B) will allow the top two teams to advance.

"You're not going to have any games where you can take a breather," Stokes said.

The eight classifications in the state football series will be divided geographically with eight districts per classification.

"Putting more teams in one district means games are going to be more critical," Wharton High coach David Mitchell said.

"It gives us variety," Garcia said. "It gives some other schools hope."

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 259-7851

New Football Classifications

Classifications for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years for football are:

Class 6A (2,482 students or more).

Class 5A (2,100 to 2,481).

Class 4A (1,801 to 2,099).

Class 3A (1,404 to 1,800).

Class 2A (961 to 1,403).

Class 2B (547 to 960).

Class 1A (289 to 546).

Class 1B (288 or less).

Current County Districts

Hillsborough County's football district assignments from 2006 to 2008:

Class 6A: District 6 (Durant, Riverview)

Class 5A: District 5 (Gaither, Wharton); District 6 (Alonso, Chamberlain, King, Sickles); District 7 (Bloomingdale, Brandon, East Bay, Newsome, Plant City).

Class 4A: District 10 (Blake, Leto, Jefferson, Plant); District 11 (Armwood, Freedom, Hillsborough, Middleton, Tampa Bay Tech)

Class 3A: District 11 (Jesuit, Robinson, Spoto)

Class 2A: District 5 (Lennard, Tampa Catholic)

Class 2B: District 6 (Berkeley Prep)

Class 1A: None.

Class 1B: District 6 (Cambridge Christian); Independent (Carrollwood Day School)

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