One of the nation's fastest-growing sports is in full swing in Florida.
With that, the Florida High School Athletic Association released its first flag football rankings with about a month to go until district tournaments begin on April 14.
The rankings came out on Monday, so any games that were played that night be area teams are not included in a team's record, rating or strength of schedule as far as the rankings go.
Pace, which made it to the state Final Four a year ago, is the area's top team ranked No. 12 in the state with a rating of 18.041. Entering the week, the Patriots were undefeated with a 5-0 record. Navarre is next at No. 86 in the state.
With district tournaments from April 14-17, region tournaments start the following week on April 23.
Here are the first FHSAA flag football rankings for teams from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, plus a way-too-early playoff watch.
District tournaments aren't for another month, but it's still fun to take a look at what the playoff scenarios would look like if the regular season ended today as far as region tournaments.
District champions automatically advance to the region tournament after the district tourney, and there are four at-large bids per region in all classifications.
Rankings are bound to change after district tournaments as well, so we'll pretend that they didn't change at all through districts to make things a little easier. Remember: anything can happen in the playoffs.
Here's what the region tournaments would look like.
Notes: As of now, as long as Pace kept winning, the region tournament would run through the Patriots' home field as the top seed in the region. All four district champions are in the top eight teams, though Oviedo is ranked No. 5 and would still host Fleming Island, an at-large bid team. Navarre would be on the road at Ponte Vedra to start, while Pace would host Lake Howell in the quartrfinals.
Notes: No area teams would be in the Region 1-2A tournament, as of now. All four presumed district champions are in the top eight, though Wakulla would lose out on hosting as it goes to a higher-seeded district champ in Riverside. Booker T. Washington is the closest area team, ranked 10th in the region.