New football districts for Osceola County schools

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  • The Osceola Kowboys, who finished as state runner-ups in 2020, will stay in Class 8A this season but move to District 5 where they will compete with state powers Dr. Phillips and West Orange.  Photo courtesy of Osceola High School.
    The Osceola Kowboys, who finished as state runner-ups in 2020, will stay in Class 8A this season but move to District 5 where they will compete with state powers Dr. Phillips and West Orange. Photo courtesy of Osceola High School.
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Several Osceola County schools will find the path to the football playoffs a little more difficult this season, as the Florida High School Athletic Association announced its long-awaited reclassification plan for the 2021 season.  

Among the major changes will be a return to mandatory district competition after a one-year hiatus.  

In order to automatically qualify for the post season, teams will have to win their district championship. Additional at-large teams will be selected on a points system, based on several factors – including wins and strength of opposition. Last year because of the COVID-19 crisis, district play was suspended and any team that opted into the state series automatically qualified for the post-season.  

Among the major realignment changes for the coming year was the placement of Osceola into the Class 8A, District 5 where they will compete in the same league as Celebration, Olympia, Windermere, West Orange and Dr. Phillips.  The Kowboys ran a hot streak through the post-season last year, advancing to the state championship game for the third time under Head Coach Doug Nichols.  

Although not a regular season opponent, Osceola has clashed frequently with Dr. Phillips in the post-season in recent years – as both teams have qualified for the playoffs for the more than a decade.  Under new head coach Mike Granato, a young West Orange team won two playoff games in 2020 and with its inclusion the district will now feature three powerhouse teams.  According to Max Preps, it is the toughest district in the state – at least in Class 8A – as it features three teams that finished in the top 11 in the state’s power rankings.

For Nichols, the district change was not surprising.  

“They have moved us around so much over the years, putting us with the Polk County schools one season, moving us over into the Melbourne district the next and back with Orange County schools a year later,” Nichols said. “Because of that, moving to a different district every other year has sort of become the norm for us.  This latest move will certainly put us in an extremely tough and competitive district, but we welcome the challenge as it will prepare us for the post-season.”

About the only thing surprising to Nichols was the fact that county school Tohopekaliga, which moves up from Class 7A to 8A was not included in the Kowboys’ district. 

“Two big county schools less than 10 miles apart and not only are they not in our district but not even in the same region.  That doesn’t make much sense to me.” Nichols added.  

 Tohopekaliga, which saw its enrollment increase above the 2,356 threshold, was moved up one class from 7A to 8A; where they will compete with Cypress Creek, Boone, Freedom, Lake Nona and Oak Ridge.

Harmony and St. Cloud, who have developed a great rivalry with the Soldier City Classic, were both placed in Class 7A, District 7.  They will compete with East River, Melbourne and Viera.  

“Reclassification is a tough job where you try to balance fairness with geography,” St. Cloud Head Coach Bryan Smart said. “Our new district is fair but is certainly going to be challenging.  About the only complaint is that we have four Class 7A schools in the county and only two of them are in our district.  In terms of travel and building rivalries, I wish we could all be in the same district.”

Gateway was placed in the Class 6A, District 7 with Auburndale, Palm Bay Heritage, Lake Wales, and Eau Gallie. Gateway Head Coach Marlin Roberts believes the district is far too spread out but said he wasn’t sure there was a reasonable alternative.  “We have lost a lot of our enrollment when Toho opened a couple of years ago.  If we were in 7A, it would make sense for us to be in same district with Harmony and St. Cloud.   It’s just something we have to live with.”

 Osceola’s other public schools, Liberty and Poinciana, elected to go independent for the 2021 season. While the move will give both schools flexibility in scheduling they will not be eligible for post-season.  

“It’s something we will continue to address in the coming years, but it didn’t make a lot of sense to be placed in a district with teams that we had no hope of competing against.  We had three games last year that went to a running clock at halftime,” Liberty Coach Brandon Pennington said.  “By going the independent route, we will hopefully be able to put together a schedule where we can be competitive.”

Although most reclassifications last for two years, the current districts are in place for the coming year only.

 

Photo Caption:  The Osceola Kowboys, who finished as state runner-ups in 2020, will stay in Class 8A this season but move to District 5 where they will compete with state powers Dr. Phillips and West Orange.  (Photo courtesy Osceola High School).