FHSAA Playoff Brackets Set: Carol City Ban Upheld, Raines Makes Open Division History

A Miami-Dade circuit judge denied Miami Carol City’s emergency injunction Friday afternoon, sealing the Chiefs’ postseason fate hours before the FHSAA unveiled its first Open Division bracket and traditional class pairings across Florida.

Judge Antonio Arzola’s ruling upheld the association’s decision to ban Carol City from all playoff competition, a penalty triggered by an October 2 brawl against Georgia’s Grayson High School and compounded by the use of an ineligible player, Jailen Hill, who participated before his enrollment was valid and while living with a school representative. The sanctions include a $1,500 fine, 15 player suspensions, forfeited wins over West Boca Raton and Daytona Mainland, and administrative probation running through September 2027.

Carol City had appealed the ban to the FHSAA on November 1. That appeal was denied, prompting the court challenge that ended Friday.

The brackets released afterward confirmed the eight-team Open Division field, a format approved by the FHSAA Board of Directors in June. The top eight teams in the final MaxPreps rankings — regardless of classification — are split into two pools for round-robin play. Pool A holds Nos. 1, 4, 5, and 8. Pool B holds Nos. 2, 3, 6, and 7. Each team plays three group games; the top two from each pool advance to semifinals at The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium in Sumterville. The championship is set for Pitbull Stadium in Miami.

Jacksonville’s Raines High School, riding a 24-game winning streak, claimed the city’s first Open Division berth. The Vikings land in Pool B alongside Miami Columbus, West Boca, and Miami Central.

Coaches and observers continue to question the FHSAA’s reliance on MaxPreps rankings for selection and seeding. The algorithm is proprietary. No public contract exists between the FHSAA and MaxPreps. No formal appeals process exists for disputed rankings. Critics argue the system predicts game outcomes rather than rewarding earned standings, incentivizing difficult schedules over winning records.

In Classes 1A through 6A, district champions qualify automatically. At-large berths fill each region to eight teams via MaxPreps rankings. Higher seeds generally host first-round games, though district champions retain hosting priority against higher-seeded non-district winners.

The postseason opens Friday, November 13, with regional quarterfinals in Classes 1A-6A and the first round of Open Division pool play. Finals for all classifications and the Open Division championship run December 10-13 at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium on the Florida International University campus in Miami.