PALM BEACH COUNTY – The 2021 FHSAA state playoffs for football will feature multiple Palm Beach County teams, spanning across multiple classes.

In total, 15 Palm Beach County teams made the playoffs, with 13 of those teams set to play in the first round. Pahokee (2-seed in Class 1A, Region 4) and Benjamin (2-seed in Class 3A, Region 2) were the two teams that earned bye weeks.

Likewise, five teams will have home games in Round 1. Two of those – Cardinal Newman and American Heritage-Delray Beach – will host another Palm Beach County opponent.

Regional quarterfinal games will begin on Nov. 12 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Here is a breakdown of the 15 teams that made the playoffs.

CLASS 1A

Pahokee earned the No. 2 seed in Region 4 and will have a bye week for the regional quarterfinals.

The Blue Devils finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, and are riding a four-game winning streak to close the regular season. They finished their regular season with a 28-0 victory over Glades Central in the Muck Bowl.

Pahokee will host the winner of No. 3 Bradford and No. 6 Newberry in the 1A – Region 4 semifinal.

CLASS 2A

Glades Day is the lone Palm Beach County representative in Class 2A. The Gators earned the No. 3 seed in Region 4 and will host No. 6 Westminster Academy.

Glades Day finished the regular season with an 8-1 record and is currently riding a six-game winning streak. It opened up the season against Westminster Academy and came away with a 41-7 victory.

CLASS 3A

Region 2:
Benjamin earned the No. 2 seed in Region 2 and will have a bye week in the regional quarterfinals.

Benjamin closed out its regular season with a 42-6 victory over The King’s Academy, elevating its record to 7-3.

Benjamin will host the winner of No. 3 The First Academy and No. 6 Lake Placid in the regional semifinals.

Region 4:
In an intra-county matchup, No. 3 seed Cardinal Newman will host No. 6 seed Saint Andrew’s in the regional quarterfinals.

Cardinal Newman finished with a 7-3 record in the regular season and won six of its final seven games.

Saint Andrew’s had a 6-4 record in the regular season. The Scots won their final two games against Saint John Paul II and Pine Crest.

CLASS 4A

Region 3 features two Palm Beach County teams who will play against each other in the regional quarterfinals, as No. 4 seed American Heritage-Delray will host No. 5 seed Glades Central.

After starting 1-4, the Stallions finished the regular season with a five-game winning streak. The Stallions defeated Somerset Academy Silver Palms to finish their regular season.

Glades Central finished the regular season with a 5-5 record.

CLASS 5A

No. 7 seed Boynton Beach will travel to No. 2 seed American Heritage-Plantation in the Region 4 quarterfinals.

Boynton Beach finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, which included a 54-24 victory over Lake Worth in Week 11.

Boynton Beach hosted American Heritage Plantation earlier in the regular season, losing 56-0.

CLASS 7A

Region 2:
No. 6 seed Seminole Ridge will travel to No. 3 seed Melbourne in the Region 2 quarterfinals.

Seminole Ridge finished the regular season with an 8-2 record, winning five of its final six games.

Region 4:
No. 8 seed Atlantic will travel to No. 1 seed St. Thomas Aquinas in the regional quarterfinals. Atlantic finished the regular season with a 5-5 record.

CLASS 8A

Class 8A is well represented for Palm Beach County, with five teams making it from the area.

Palm Beach Central (8-0) finished with the No. 1 seed in Region 2, and will host No. 8 seed Centennial in the regional quarterfinals.

Forest Hill (6-2) earned the No. 4 seed in Region 2 and will host No. 5 seed Vero Beach in the regional quarterfinals. Should it come away with a win, Forest Hill will play the winner of Palm Beach Central and Centennial.

Also in that region, No. 6 seed Wellington (7-3) will travel up to Orlando to play Boone in the regional quarterfinals.

Earning the No. 7 seed in Region 2 was Palm Beach Gardens (6-4), which will be away at No. 2 Treasure Coast in the regional quarterfinals.

In Region 4, Boca Raton (8-2) earned the No. 6 seed and will travel to play No. 3 seed Deerfield Beach. The matchup will be a rematch of the Class 8A-District 13 title game, a game that Deerfield Beach won by a score of 40-0.

PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde and Fred Self