The FHSAA, after announcing two weeks ago its plan to restructure football classifications, released the new State Series alignments for district play Friday afternoon.

Within the new structure, Orlando Christian Prep, originally scheduled to play in a district with only Father Lopez, gained three new district opponents with Melbourne Central Catholic, Wildwood and Pierson-Taylor now joining 1A District 6. Wildwood and Taylor were previously in the Rural division, which was put on hold for the 2026 and 2027 seasons due to a shortage of teams.

All other teams within the Sentinel’s coverage area remained in the same district with the exception of Pine Ridge in Deltona. Panthers athletic director John New said Friday the school opted to join the Sunshine State Athletic Association for football only, and will be an FHSAA Member By Sport for all other sports.

Eight Orange County Public School schools registered as FHSAA football independents in December: Colonial, Cypress Creek, Freedom, Innovation, Lake Buena Vista, Oak Ridge, University and Windermere.

Scott Jamison, an FHSAA associate director, said those teams were rolled onto the Independent Series list and are now eligible for playoff participation.

Jamison said the survey he sent to schools this week went to “about 120 schools”, aimed at teams that were previously signed up to play as independents, either within the FHSAA umbrella or outside that system.

The three survey options were:

1) FHSAA State Series — participation in a district with a district schedule with the opportunity to qualify for the State Series playoffs.

2) FHSAA Independent State Series — create your own schedule in its entirety and be eligible for participation in Independent series playoffs (should your school choose to participate in the playoffs. (There will be an option to opt out of the Independent league postseason play prior to the start of the season).

3) Participating in another association for football (“Member by Sport” affiliation with FHSAA).

The survey deadline was Thursday. Friday’s district realignment was based on those responses.

Schools that initially declared their intention to not play football under the FHSAA umbrella are still juggling the options. Some will opt to be part of the new Independent Series. Others will play outside the FHSAA as Members By Sport, with the likely governing body being the Sunshine State Athletic Association.

FHSAA’s revised football classification adds new-look independent league

Mount Dora Christian, a former SSAA football member, decided to switch to the FHSAA Independent Series, according to head coach Kolby Tackett.

Legacy Charter athletic director Katherine Bernard said her school will remain a SSAA member for football.

Lake Highland Prep, Central Florida Christian Academy and Foundation Academy told the Sentinel they have not yet made a firm decision.

OCP coach Guerschom Demosthenes will be ready no matter who is in his district.

“It’s going to be a challenge, Melbourne Central Catholic is always good and we’ve always played Wildwood. I don’t know a lot about Pierson-Taylor,” Demosthenes said. “So, it will be a very challenging district, but we’re just gonna have to strap it up and go play football.”

FHSAA football realignment lets Edgewater jump to top class, 6A

OCP and MCC split two games in 2024, with OCP winning in the playoffs. MCC went 2-0 against the Warriors in 2025.

MCC hired Ryan Schneider away from Cocoa, where he won three state titles in eight years, as its new head coach. He had previously been an MCC assistant.

“I am familiar with the body of work [Schneider] put together at Cocoa,” Demsothenes said. “I don’t know him personally. MCC has always been tough and physical, and I know with him and the name that he brings to MCC I’m pretty sure he will attract some kids over there and make it a more challenging district.”

Demosthenes, who had completed his 2026 schedule, will have to do some backtracking. OCP had MCC on the schedule, but will have to cancel games against two teams to make way for Wildwood and Pierson-Taylor.

“It’s never easy to schedule. Somebody is gonna get left out and you gotta make a call that you never wanna make,” Demosthenes said.

Those circumstances aside, Demosthenes said having a five-team district makes it far less difficult to compile a schedule when four opponents already determined.

“Having a larger district makes it easier just because you don’t have to chase a lot of games. You just play your district games and it’s less teams you have to schedule,” Demosthenes said.

Mount Dora Christian coach Kolby Tackett said the FHSAA's new Independent Series structure is a good fit for his team. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)Mount Dora Christian coach Kolby Tackett said the FHSAA’s new Independent Series structure is a good fit for his team. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)

Mount Dora Christian’s Tackett, who had great success within the SSAA the past two seasons, going 20-5 and reaching the 2025 championship game, said he’s excited about the next challenge.

Rejoining the FHSAA as an all-sport member also allows MDCA to have a voice in FHSAA policy-making.

“It’s not like there is any bad blood with the SSAA or like there is this big rivalry with the Sunshine State,” Tackett said. “Its just something that we see as appropriate for us at this time.

“I think it depends on your school. I think districts are great for some schools and I think independent is good for some. “We are grateful for what we have had with the SSAA and we’re excited for the future.

“It’s a good fit for us right now. The model they have for the postseason is really good and it’s actually kind of similar to the SSAA, which we all enjoyed.”

FHSAA independents will build their own schedules with no mandatory district games. Jamison said power rankings, enrollment counts and geography are all elements that may factor into what the independent playoff brackets look like.

“We don’t want to have teams traveling nine hours for a playoff game,” he said. “As of now, our plan is to have the Independent Series championship games played at The Villages in the first weekend of December.”

Tackett praised FHSAA chief executive officer Craig Damon for his consideration for all schools involved.

“He listened to the need of what smaller school like ours were wanting,” Tackett said of MDCA, which has a grades 9-12 enrollment of 270. “He listened to those needs and he deserves some credit for doing his best to accommodate all of those things.”

Here are realigned districts with Orlando area teams. Teams can request changes, which typically are granted only if schools ask to shift to reduce travel:

6A District 2

DeLand

Mainland

Spruce Creek

Orange City University

6A District 3

Apopka

Lake Brantley

Lake Mary

Sanford Seminole

6A District 4

Boone

Hagerty

Timber Creek

Winter Park

6A District 5

Gateway

Harmony

Lake Nona

St. Cloud

Tohopekaliga

6A District 6

Dr. Phillips

Edgewater

Olympia

West Orange

6A District 7

Celebration

East Ridge

Horizon

Ocoee

6A District 9

Davenport

George Jenkins

Haines City

Poinciana

Ridge Community

Winter Haven

5A District 4

Evans

Lake Minneola

South Lake

Wekiva

5A District 5

East River

Lake Howell

Lyman

Melbourne

Oviedo

Viera

5A District 6

Auburndale

Bartow

Lake Gibson

Lakeland

Osceola

Sebring

4A District 5

Gainesville

Lake Weir

Lecanto

Leesburg

Mount Dora

Ocala Vanguard

4A District 6

Bishop Moore

Deltona

New Smyrna Beach

Seabreeze

Winter Springs

4A District 7

Brandon

Jones

Kathleen

Lake Region

Lake Wales

3A District 5

Eustis

South Sumter

Tavares

Villages Charter

3A District 7

Avon Park

Hardee

Lake Placid

Liberty (Kissimmee)

Mulberry

Tenoroc

2A District 5

Cocoa

Discovery Academy

The First Academy

1A District 6

Melbourne Central Catholic

Father Lopez

Orlando Christian Prep

Pierson Taylor

Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays. Buddy Collings contributed to this report.