New districts surprise

Home

Community

High School Football

Other Sun Publications

FREE DELIVERY!
Get Free Delivery! Request your Osceola News Gazette Today.

Login Form

2013 Osceola Health

2013 Sexual Predator Sexual Offender List sexualpredatorcover13

Windows on the Classroom March 2013

School Calendar
2012-2013

View our other Special Sections

New districts surprise

Sports

Friday, 10 December 2010 14:20

StCHSvsHHS02_110510

News-Gazette Photo/Andrew Sullivan

Harmony and St. Cloud will remain football district rivals in 6A-13 for the next two seasons.

Osceola, Liberty, Gateway together

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
If the proposed football districts for the next two football seasons remain released as of Wednesday by the Florida High School Athletic Association, at least two Osceola County teams will automatically qualify for the regional playoffs.
Gateway and Liberty have been grouped with Osceola to form three-team Class 7A District 6.

The top two teams from each district advance. Neither Gateway nor Liberty have ever reached the football playoffs.
The FHSAA is dropping classes 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B this year, and instead will use Class 1A through 8A for football.
County teams also reside in two more districts. Harmony, St. Cloud and Celebration are in Class 6A (old 4A) District 13 with Palm Bay and Eau Gallie. The Storm moved up one class .
Poinciana swaps classes with Celebration and is in 5A District 7 with Bishop Moore, Eustis, Lake Nona and Tavares.
Gateway drops from the largest class (the former 6A, the new 8A) and Liberty steps up a class to join it and Osceola.
Panthers Coach Marlin Roberts said Thursday he spoke with OHS Coach Doug Nichols and LHS Coach Dave Benson, and all were happy.
“Me and Nick had talked before and that’s what we wanted,” he said. “And folks at the county office were high on everyone playing within the county.”
Gateway leaves a district that included playoff teams Dr. Phillips and Oak Ridge along with Boone, Freedom and Oak Ridge. The Panthers have not played Osceola since 2003.
“I would gladly trade playing Osceola for Dr. Phillips, Boone and Freedom,” Roberts said.
Osceola leaves a district with Lakeland after six years; it could see the Dreadnaughts again in the first round of playoffs since Lakeland is in 7A-5.
Nichols said he likes the new alignment, except for the challenge of finding eight at-large opponents.
Celebration AD John Bangley said he’s happy that the new district gives his team in-county games.
“And it gets us out of Polk County; I won’t miss Lake Wales, Winter Haven and Sebring,” he said. “We’ll have a chance to schedule other county games, as I’ve been talking to a couple of schools. We’re pretty happy but we’re not throwing any party yet. These could change two or three times.”
The FHSAA will release new districts for other team sports Monday. Schools may petition their assignments through an appeal process. Those appeals are due to the Gainesville office by Jan. 7.