The FHSAA’s newest playoff bracket is also its most exclusive. Pinellas County didn’t make the cut.
No county team landed in the first Open Division. The eight-team bracket takes the state’s top-ranked programs out of their classifications, no matter their size. The field was set Nov. 6 from the final regular-season FHSAA rankings, which are powered by MaxPreps.
Clearwater Central Catholic came closest. The Marauders went into the last week of the regular season ranked 10th, just 0.20 rating points behind the final projected spot. They then beat unbeaten Clearwater 44-0, but it wasn’t enough.
Instead, CCC (8-2) is the No. 2 seed in Class 2A, Region 2. That’s the highest seed of any Pinellas team in any bracket. The district champion Marauders open at home against a county rival, No. 7 Lakewood (4-6). CCC beat the Spartans 42-6 on Oct. 23.
Top-seeded The First Academy stands in CCC’s way in the region. No. 4 Tampa Catholic is in the bracket, too, and the Marauders beat the Crusaders 14-10 in September.
St. Thomas Aquinas (10-0) is the No. 1 seed in the Open Division. Columbus, West Boca Raton, Chaminade-Madonna, Lakeland, Miami Central, Raines and Venice fill out the field. Raines started the last week ranked behind CCC and still got in. Carrollwood Day, unbeaten in Tampa, was left out.
The Open Division starts with pool play Friday, Nov. 13, and its final is Dec. 12 at Pitbull Stadium in Miami.
Seven other Pinellas teams are in the traditional brackets. Regional quarterfinals start Friday, Nov. 13.
Clearwater (9-1) won its district and will host No. 4 Dunbar of Fort Myers as the No. 5 seed in Class 4A, Region 3. Dunbar edged Gibbs 17-16 in the regular season finale.
Class 3A, Region 3 has three county teams, and all three start on the road. Tarpon Springs (8-2) won its district and has won five straight. The No. 5 Spongers visit No. 4 Robinson. No. 7 Gibbs (4-6) travels to No. 2 Nature Coast Tech in Brooksville. No. 8 Dunedin (4-6) visits top-seeded Cardinal Mooney (9-1) in Sarasota. Mooney also beat CCC on Oct. 2.
No. 8 Calvary Christian (6-4) goes to The First Academy in Orlando.
In Class 1A, Region 3, No. 4 St. Petersburg Catholic (6-4) hosts No. 5 Community School of Naples. The Barons went 12-1 last season and reached the region final.
Regional semifinals are Nov. 20 and regional finals Nov. 27. State semifinals follow Dec. 4. The Class 1A-6A title games are Dec. 9-12 at Pitbull Stadium.
St. Petersburg (7-3) and East Lake and Countryside, both 6-4, will be watching from home.
Quick hits
Calvary Christian falls in first Open Division volleyball final
Calvary Christian ended its season one win short of Florida’s first Open Division volleyball title.
Orangewood Christian swept the Warriors 25-18, 25-10, 25-19 in the final Nov. 7 at Polk State College’s Winter Haven Health Center. Calvary finished 30-3.
The Warriors got to the final by beating Winter Park, the defending Class 7A champion, in the Nov. 6 semifinal.
The FHSAA added the Open Division this season. It takes the state’s eight highest-ranked teams out of their classifications, no matter their size. That meant Calvary, which went 31-1 and won the Class 3A title last fall, never got to defend its crown. It played as the No. 2 seed for a bigger prize instead.
The run started badly. Beachside beat Calvary in five sets in the pool opener Oct. 21. It was the Warriors’ first home loss of the season.
They didn’t lose again until the final. Calvary swept First Baptist Academy in Naples on Oct. 24, then beat Plant 3-1 on Oct. 28. Calvary, Beachside and Plant all finished pool play 2-1. Calvary won the pool on set percentage after taking 8 of 12 sets.
In the final, the Warriors ran into a national power. Orangewood, the top seed from Maitland, climbed to No. 3 in the MaxPreps national rankings. Its only losses came against two California teams at a Las Vegas tournament, and both were ranked in the top two nationally at the time.
Kennedy Langmo led Orangewood with 12 kills. Setter Ellie Enger had nine kills and 23 assists. Isabel Incinelli, a 6-foot-5 senior headed to Texas A&M, transferred in from Winter Park this season.
The title was the third for Orangewood coach Diane Langmo in 37 seasons. It was also her last season coaching her twin daughters, Kennedy and Kaleigh.
Calvary loses a strong senior class. Baylor commit Sophia Puleo passed 1,500 career kills during the district tournament. Setter Noelle Sarigumba and libero Olivia Badyna ran the back row and the offense. Freshman Lola Mogridge returns for coach Kim Whitney.
Pinellas still left Winter Haven with a trophy. Northside Christian won the Class 2A title.