Mandarin, Columbia, Bolles and Trinity Christian Are No. 1 Seeds as the Football Playoffs Open Nov. 13: Every Northeast Florida First-Round Pairing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Florida High School Athletic Association released its 2026 football playoff brackets on Friday, Nov. 6, and the first round for Northeast Florida teams is set for this week. Mandarin, Columbia, Bolles and Trinity Christian earned No. 1 seeds in their regions, and each will play at home on Friday, Nov. 13, according to the brackets as reported by News4JAX and Duval Sports. Raines, the defending Class 3A state champion, opens the new Open Division with a road game at West Boca Raton the same night.

The FHSAA calls the first round of Classes 1A through 6A the regional quarterfinals. Regional semifinals follow Nov. 20, regional finals Nov. 27 and state semifinals Dec. 4, according to the association. The 1A-6A and Open Division state championships are scheduled for Dec. 9-12 at South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium in Miami.

Region 1-5A: Mandarin hosts Oakleaf

Mandarin (9-1) is the top seed in Region 1-5A and will host No. 8 Oakleaf (5-5) from Clay County, according to News4JAX. The bracket puts three St. Johns County teams on the road. No. 5 Bartram Trail (7-3) plays at No. 4 Orlando Evans (7-3), No. 7 Ponte Vedra (3-7) plays at No. 2 Gainesville Buchholz (9-1), and No. 3 Nease (7-3) travels to No. 6 Pace (7-2) in the Pensacola area.

Nease is the higher seed in that last game, but Pace is a district champion, which explains the trip west. The Pensacola News Journal's bracket notes that district champions host a first-round game unless they draw a higher-seeded district champion. Oakleaf and Mandarin also have recent history, since Oakleaf won their 2024 playoff opener 17-14, according to News4JAX.

Region 1-4A: an all-local opener in Lake City

Columbia (10-0), the No. 1 seed, hosts No. 8 Clay (8-2) from Green Cove Springs in the only first-round game in the region between two Northeast Florida schools. The Tigers finished their first unbeaten regular season since 1997, according to News4JAX. No. 2 St. Augustine (9-1) hosts No. 7 Tallahassee Lincoln (4-6), and No. 3 Ed White (8-2) hosts No. 6 Tallahassee Rickards (5-5).

That gives the region three home games for local teams on the first night. If the top seeds win, Columbia and St. Augustine would be on a path to meet in the regional final Nov. 27. That is only a possibility, because every round is single elimination.

Classes 6A, 3A, 2A and 1A

Creekside (8-2), seeded fourth in Region 1-6A, hosts No. 5 Lake Mary (2-8). In Region 1-3A, No. 2 Baker County (7-3) hosts No. 7 South Walton (7-3), and No. 4 Bishop Kenny (6-4) travels to No. 5 Pensacola Pine Forest (5-4), a district champion. Palatka (5-5), the No. 8 seed, is also a district champion and hosts No. 1 Tallahassee Godby (7-3).

Bolles (7-2) is the top seed in Region 1-2A and hosts No. 8 Freeport (5-5). No. 5 Andrew Jackson plays at No. 4 Florida High in Tallahassee, according to Duval Sports and the Pensacola News Journal bracket. Bradford, from Starke, is the No. 6 seed in Region 2-2A and plays at No. 3 Berkeley Prep in Tampa, according to Duval Sports.

Trinity Christian (6-4) is the No. 1 seed in Region 2-1A and hosts No. 8 Father Lopez (4-6), another Jacksonville private school. No. 3 University Christian (7-3) hosts No. 6 Wildwood (8-2). The 2026 Class 1A field combines the old Rural and 1A classes, according to the FHSAA, which dropped the Rural class this season.

Raines and the new Open Division

Raines (10-0) is the first Jacksonville program selected for the FHSAA's new Open Division, which takes eight teams regardless of classification, according to News4JAX and Duval Sports. The Vikings are seeded seventh and placed in Pool B with No. 2 Miami Columbus (9-1), No. 3 West Boca Raton (9-1) and No. 6 Miami Central (7-3). Raines has won 24 straight games, according to News4JAX.

News4JAX lists Raines at West Boca Raton in the first round Nov. 13, then home against Columbus Nov. 20 and at Miami Central Nov. 27. The top two teams in each four-team pool advance to the Open Division state semifinals on Dec. 5 at The Range at H.G. Morse Stadium, according to the FHSAA. Kickoff times for the pool games had not been posted in the reports reviewed for this story.

Thursday games: FIT and the Independent League

Four local teams start a day early, on Thursday, Nov. 12. Riverside (3-7) hosts St. Cloud (6-4) at 6:30 p.m. in the Florida Invitational Tournament for Classes 4A-6A, according to News4JAX, while Tocoi Creek (3-7) plays at top seed Lake Howell and Yulee (6-4) plays at Beachside. Hilliard (10-0), the No. 3 seed in the Independent League's North B bracket, hosts No. 6 Providence, according to News4JAX.

The FIT and Independent League are FHSAA postseason brackets for teams that did not make the traditional state series, and their championships are set for Dec. 3-4. Outside the FHSAA, West Nassau (9-2-1) hosts Union County on Nov. 13 in a Sunshine State Athletic Association Atlantic League semifinal. Episcopal (12-0) plays at Tallahassee Maclay that night in an 11-man state semifinal, according to News4JAX.

Tickets, times and streams

The FHSAA says digital tickets for all playoff games are sold through GoFan, and most games will be streamed on the NFHS Network. Kickoff times are set by host schools, and the association says all dates, times and locations are subject to change. Fans should confirm with the host school before driving, especially for road trips to Pensacola, Tallahassee, Orlando and Tampa.