FHSAA releases first football RPI of 2019 season

The Florida High School Athletic Association's first football RPI of season reveals five St. Johns County programs occupy playoff positions.

The Florida High School Athletic Association released its first football rankings of the 2019 season on Tuesday afternoon.

The state switched from a points system to a Ratings Percentage Index this year with the intention of measuring the strength of a team based on the strength of their schedule.

Bartram Trail (6-0, .785 RPI) is first in Region 1-8A. Creekside (3-3, .554 RPI) is eighth in Region 1-7A. Ponte Vedra (5-1, .637) is ranked fourth in Region 1-6A. St. Augustine (3-3, .580) is ranked sixth in Region 1-6A. Menendez (3-2 .515) is ranked ninth in Region 2-5A. St. Joseph (2-4, .441) is ranked fifth in Region 1-2A.

The FHSAA’s RPI formula features three things:

• Winning percentage will be 35% of the formula
• Opponent’s winning percentage will be 35% of the formula
• Opponent’s opponent’s winning percentage will be 30% of the formula

For schools in the four largest classifications the district champions automatically qualify for the playoffs. The RPI is used to decipher the 16 wildcard berths — four teams from each of Florida’s four regions — in each classification. In the four smaller classifications, the six playoff opponents in each region are selected solely through RPI.

The Bears have the second-highest RPI, out of 483 playoff eligible teams in Florida. If the season ended today Bartram Trail, Creekside, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine and St. Joseph would be playoff teams.

The calculus for the six St. Johns County public schools is simple: Win your district and you are guaranteed a trip to the postseason.

The only public school whose path to the playoffs is closed is Nease (1-5, 0-2; .386 RPI, 21st Region 1-8A). Nease has plenty to play for, including an opportunity to be a season-spoiler, over the next 10 days. The Panthers travel to Bartram Trail on Friday and host St. Augustine on Oct. 18.