*all information has been taken from the FHSAA wildcard

Robinson’s football season begins this Friday, August 18. But this year, FHSAA has established new regulations for the season. Here’s what you need to know:

This year, FHSAA has implemented a new policy regarding district playoffs. In the past, the district champion and runner-up have automatically advanced to the next round, but this year a point system will determine the second team to advance.

Teams will be able to rack up points throughout the season, with a chance to earn points each game.
The district is separated into four categories, based on win percentages divided by total number of games played. For instance, if a team wins more than 80% of their games, they are considered a category one team. If a team wins between 60% and 79% of their games, they are a category two team. A category three team has between a 40% and 59% winning percentage and a category four team has below a 39% winning percentage.

A team is then awarded points based on the opponent that they play. If a team plays a category one team, they get 50 points for a win and 30 for a loss. Playing a category two team will get a team 45 points if they win, 25 if they lose. If a team plays a category three team, they will gain 40 if they win or 20 if they lose. And if a team plays a category four team, they will get 35 points for a win and 15 for a loss.

Along with the basic point system, bonus points can also be awarded. A team can be awarded three bonus points for playing a team that participated in either the 2015 or 2016 district playoffs. Three points can also be awarded for playing a team that finished in the top 25 end of the year USAtoday or Maxpreps final expert football rankings.

In order to qualify for the playoffs, a team must play a minimum of eight regular season games. If a team plays an opponent more than once, only the first game will count in calculating total points. The score of the game does not affect the point total that a team may receive, only the wins and losses matter.

The Knights face off against Tampa Catholic in their first regular season game of the season this Friday, August 18 at Tampa Catholic High School (4630 N Rome Ave, Tampa, FL 33603).