BY CLIFF SMELLEY
The latest Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps football power rankings still have Bradford High School as the top team in Region 2 of Class 2A.
Bradford (8-1), which is coming off a 44-0 win over Santa Fe, has been the number-one team in the region in all six rankings, which are updated weekly. The rankings, which take into account results and strength of schedule, will be used to determine playoff qualifiers and seeding.
The top eight teams in each region at the end of the season will be in the playoffs. Bradford’s region experienced two changes from the previous week. Cocoa (4-3) jumped from third to second, replacing Newberry (7-2), which is now third. Clearwater Calvary Christian (5-2) moved from fifth to fourth, replacing Palatka (6-3), which is now fifth.
Tampa Berkeley Prep (3-4) is sixth, followed by Titusville Astronaut (5-3) in seventh and The Villages (4-3) in eighth.
District champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, so either Lake Placid or Tenoroc will be in the top eight at the conclusion of the regular season.
In looking at Class 2A overall, Bradford is ranked fourth behind Gadsden County (7-1), Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (8-0) and Pensacola Catholic (7-1). Gadsden and Pensacola Catholic are Region 1 teams, while Cardinal Mooney is a Region 3 team.
