 
The 64 Team Field For 2018 – Utilizing MaxPreps Final Rankings
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Central Boys, Featured Posts, Florida Lacrosse News, High School, Northern Boys, Southeast Boys, Tampa/Treasure Coast Boys.
 
In this part FLN went through the final MaxPreps rankings to populate a field of 64, split into 4 quadrants of 16 teams each.  All district champions were included and we went straight down the final rankings to figure the next 8 teams in each current quadrant.
Remember that some teams might have fallen through the cracks if they did not post 15 game results.  A second place finish did not guarantee a bid and in some cases one district got three teams into the field.  I seeded the teams 1-16 based on their final rankings.  A link to the first page of the rankings are here:
http://www.maxpreps.com/rankings/lacrosse-spring-18/1/state/florida.htm
Again, I have some real issues with some of these rankings so don’t shoot the messenger!  There is a lot of good in this approach and it’s safe to say that the good outweighs the hiccups.
Here’s the teams by quadrant, in order of their ranking:
 
 
Again, remember this is based on the FINAL rankings.  Obviously, Oxbridge would have been the #1 seed in the Southeast going into the playoffs as one example.  But you get the point.
So how would the first round matchups have looked?  For simplicity I didn’t take into account District championships.
 
North:
#1 Ponte Vedra hosts #16 Bolles
#2 Nease hosts #15 Providence
#3 Oak Hall hosts #14 Episcopal School-Jacksonville
#4 Lake Mary hosts #13 West Florida
#5 St. Augustine hosts #12 Fletcher
#6 Creekside hosts #11 Buchholz
#7 Gulf Breeze hosts #10 Matanzas
#8 Bartram Trail hosts #9 Chiles
 
Tampa/Orlando:
#1 Bishop Moore hosts #16 Steinbrenner
#2 Tampa Jesuit hosts #15 Boone
#3 Winter Park hosts #14 Oviedo
#4 Plant hosts #13 Montverde Academy
#5 West Orange hosts #12 All Saints Academy
#6 Newsome hosts #11 Lake Highland Prep
#7 Sickles hosts #10 Hagerty
#8 First Academy hosts #9 Lake Brantley
 
Gulf Coast/Treasure Coast:
#1 Jupiter hosts #16 Cocoa Beach
#2 Cardinal Mooney hosts #15 Bishop Verot
#3 Benjamin hosts #14 Naples
#4 Riverview-Sarasota hosts #13 Barron Collier
#5 Canterbury hosts #12 Merritt Island
#6 Viera hosts #11 Wiregrass Ranch
#7 St. Edward’s hosts #10 ODA-Sarasota
#8 Gulf Coast hosts #9 Melbourne Central Catholic
 
Southeast:
#1 Saint Andrew’s hosts #16 Key West
#2 Oxbridge hosts #15 Gulliver Prep
#3 St. Thomas Aquinas hosts #14 WT Dwyer
#4 King’s Academy hosts #13 Park Vista
#5 American Heritage-Delray hosts #12 Cardinal Gibbons
#6 American Heritage-Plantation hosts #11 Western-Davie
#7 Saint John Paul II hosts #10 Pine Crest
#8 Belen Jesuit hosts #9 Stoneman Douglas
 
One thing that really stands out about this is all the fresh matchups!  We get new games that have not occurred yet.
We get nearly ONE-THIRD of all the programs playing an FHSAA playoff game.
It only takes ONE MORE ROUND of playoffs to do this.
Don’t sweat the travel . . . our sport is used to it.
32 more games for the FHSAA to cash in . . . that’s got to be a good incentive for them.
And twice as long a podcast for Wells and I after District . . . I’m game if he is!
Again, don’t write in to complain that a team or two is missing.  That’s easy enough to slot in.  Just take in the most important thing . . . double the pleasure and double the fun!
 
 
                
            
        
    
| North | Orlando/Tampa | 
| Ponte Vedra | Bishop Moore | 
| Nease | Tampa Jesuit | 
| Oak Hall | Winter Park | 
| Lake Mary | Plant | 
| St. Augustine | West Orange | 
| Creekside | Newsome | 
| Gulf Breeze | Sickles | 
| Bartram Trail | First Academy | 
| Chiles | Lake Brantley | 
| Matanzas | Hagerty | 
| Buchholz | Lake Highland Prep | 
| Fletcher | All Saints Academy | 
| West Florida | Montverde Academy | 
| Episcopal School – Jacksonville | Oviedo | 
| Providence | Boone | 
| Bolles | Steinbrenner | 
| Gulf Coast/Treasure Coast | Southeast | 
| Jupiter | Saint Andrews | 
| Cardinal Mooney | Oxbridge | 
| Benjamin | St. Thomas Aquinas | 
| Riverview-Sarasota | King’s Academy | 
| Canterbury | American Heritage-Delray | 
| Viera | American Heritage-Plantation | 
| St. Edwards | Saint John Paul II | 
| Gulf Coast | Belen Jesuit | 
| Melbourne Central Catholic | Stoneman Douglas | 
| ODA-Sarasota | Pine Crest | 
| Wiregrass Ranch | Western-Davie | 
| Merritt Island | Cardinal Gibbons | 
| Barron Collier | Park Vista | 
| Naples | WT Dwyer | 
| Bishop Verot | Gulliver Prep | 
| Cocoa Beach | Key West | 
