BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School is number one in Class 2A, while Union County is number two in Rural with the release of this season’s first Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps football rankings.
The rankings, which rely upon a formula that factors in results and strength of schedule, will be updated every week, with the final rankings determining playoff seeding.
The Tornadoes (5-0) have a rating of 19.366, which places them atop Class 2A and ahead of Taylor County (5-0), which is second with a rating of 16.119. Ranked third through 10th are Sarasota’s Cardinal Mooney (5-0), Gadsden County (4-1), Bolles (3-1), Pensacola Catholic (3-1), Fort Lauderdale’s Calvary Christian (5-0), Marianna (5-0), Glades Central (5-0) and Fort Myers’ Bishop Verot (3-2).
Reigning state champion Cocoa (3-2) is 11th.
Bradford and Cocoa are first and second in Class 2A’s Region 2, which consists of 15 teams. The top teams within each classification’s four regions play each other in the postseason, with the region champions advancing to the state semifinals.
Keystone Heights (2-2) is ranked eighth in Region 2 and 27th in 2A overall.
Union (5-0) has a rating of 13.357, which puts the Tigers behind Jay (5-0) in the Rural Class. Jay has a rating of 16.381.
The teams ranked third through 10th in Rural are Madison County (4-1), Cottondale (4-0), Chiefland (5-0), reigning state champ Hawthorne (4-1), Chipley (4-1), Aucilla Christian (5-0), Franklin County (5-0) and Fort White (3-2).
In combining all of the state’s classifications, Bradford is ranked eighth behind 6A Nease (4-0), 7A Venice (5-0), 6A Armwood (5-0), 5A Lakeland (4-0), 3A Bishop Moore (4-0), 1A The First Academy of Orlando (5-0) and 1A First Baptist of Naples (4-0).
Union is ranked 47th when all classifications are combined.
