BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School’s football team moved back into the top spot in the latest Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps power rankings for Region 2-2A, which were released Oct. 21.
The Villages, which was previously number one and undefeated, dropped to second after its 27-6 loss to Cocoa. The Buffalo are now 8-1.
Bradford improved to 8-1 with its 45-10 win over Leon.
Rankings, which take record and strength of schedule into account, are updated weekly and will be used to determine playoff seeding and at-large qualifiers.
The four district champions in each of the four regions in 2A automatically qualify for the playoffs. Each region will also have four at-larger qualifiers.
Clearwater Calvary Christian (5-3) is ranked third in Region 2-2A behind Bradford and The Villages, followed by Cocoa 3-4) in fourth, Tampa Berkeley Prep (3-4) in fifth, Santa Fe (6-2) in sixth, Titusville Astronaut (5-3) in seventh and Newberry (4-4) in eighth.
The Tornadoes are ranked fourth in Class 2A overall behind Sarasota Cardinal Mooney (7-1), Jacksonville Bolles (7-1) and St. Petersburg Lakewood (8-1).
Bradford has played one team that is currently ranked in the top five of its class: Mandarin, which fourth in Class 6A. Mandarin defeated the Tornadoes 14-7.
The Tornadoes have two victories over current top-15 teams: 28-7 over Eastside, which is 11th in Class 3A, and 14-12 over South Sumter, which is 15th in Class 3A.
Complete rankings can be viewed at fhsaa.com.
