Week 8 Super 16 Coaches Poll: DeLand remains unanimous No. 1; TFA solidifies No. 2

Sports admin October 13, 2026 0 Comments

Week 8 Super 16 Coaches Poll: DeLand remains unanimous No. 1; TFA solidifies No. 2

For the sixth straight week and seventh time this season, DeLand (6-1) is the unanimous No. 1 choice of Orlando area coaches in the Super 16 Coaches Poll, gaining all 14 votes from the panel. The First Academy (6-1) solidified its spot at No. 2 with 12 of the 14 coaches voting the Royals second.

The rest of the Top 5 remained the same, with Jones (5-2), Seminole (7-0) and Bishop Moore (5-2), although the undefeated Seminoles gained ground on Jones and the two teams are separated by only two points this week.

There was a bit of jostling among the second five, with Lake Nona (6-1) moving up two spots to No. 6, and Edgewater (4-3) and West Orange (6-1) each dropping a spot to 7 and 8.

The same eight teams occupied the remaining spots of the Super 16, with the exception of Lake Howell moving back into the poll, knocking out Lake Brantley.

Most teams take a break from district play this week, with the exception of Jones and Lake Nona. Jones will be going on the road to face Brandon in 4A District 7, the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Lake Nona, the front runner in 6A-5, hosts Gateway and can clinch the district title with a victory and a Tohopekaliga loss at St. Cloud. One other district game has Oviedo hosting Lyman in 5A-5.

The biggest game on the Week 9 docket has two-time 5A defending state champion West Boca Raton visiting Orlando for a possible FHSAA Open 8 playoffs preview at TFA (6-1). West Boca (6-1) is currently ranked No. 3 in the MaxPreps state rankings, while TFA is No. 8. The eight highest ranked teams by MaxPreps will go to the Open Division.

Also Friday, No. 10 Evans (4-3) will host No. 7 Edgewater (4-3) in a non-district Orlando showdown, and Windermere (5-2) coach Riki Smith returns to the place where it all started as he faces his alma mater at Dr. Phillips. He was a DP (4-3) assistant for 16 years before taking the Windermere head coaching job in 2022.

Super 16 Coaches Poll

Teams are listed with (record), number of votes, (first-place votes), results from last week, next game. All games 7 p.m., unless noted. (*denotes district games).

Voting: First-place vote = 1 point, second = 2 points, etc. There were 17 coaches voting this week (listed below). A coach cannot vote for his own team.

1. DeLand (6-1) 14 (14): def. University (Orange City 57-7; Next: Friday, vs. Tavares (4-3).

2. TFA (6-1) 30: def. Archbishop McCarthy 31-24; Next: Friday, vs. West Boca Raton (6-1).

3. Jones (5-2, 1-1) 49: Lost to Lake Wales 28-6, def. No. 6 Edgewater 25-14; Next: Friday at Brandon (3-4, 2-1)*.

4, Seminole (7-0) 51: def. Lake Mary 21-19; Next: Thursday, at Spruce Creek 4-3.

5. Bishop Moore (5-2) 67: def. Winter Springs 52-0; Next: Friday, at Hagerty (5-1).

6. Lake Nona (6-1, 2-0) 84: def. Harmony 63-0; Next: Friday, vs. Gateway (6-1, 2-1)*.

7. Edgewater (4-3) 88; def. Olympia 34-0, lost to No. 3 Jones 25-14; Next: Friday at No. 10 Evans (4-3).

8. West Orange (6-1) 92: def. No. 13 Dr. Phillips 44-27; Next: Friday, vs. South Lake (2-5).

9. Oviedo (5-2, 3-0) 113: def. Viera 44-6; Next: Friday, vs. Lyman (2-5, 1-2)*.

10. Evans (4-3) 119: def. South Lake 48-17; Next: Friday, vs. No. 7 Edgewater (4-3).

11. East Ridge (6-2, 2-0) 143: def. Horizon 51-7; Next: Oct. 23, at Ocoee (3-3, 2-0)*.

12. Ocoee (4-3) 150: def. Celebration 66-0. Next: Friday, vs. Boone (3-4).

13. Hagerty (5-1) 169: def. Boone 28-17; Next: Friday, vs. Bishop Moore (5-2).

14. Dr. Phillips (4-3) 176: lost to No. 7 West Orange 44-27; Next: Friday, vs. Windermere 5-2.

15. Innovation (7-0) 178: def. Colonial 51-0; Next: Friday, vs. Oak Ridge (3-4).

16. Lake Howell (4-3, 2-1) 180: lost to Melbourne 42-35. Next: vs. Viera (3-4, 1-2)*.

Others receiving votes, in the order of votes received: St. Cloud, Windermere, Gateway, Lake Brantley, Lake Mary, Osceola, Winter Park, Apopka.

*- denotes district game.

Coaching panel: Orange County – Travis Gabriel (Olympia), Karlos Odum (Evans), Tim Shifflet (Winter Park), Dennis Thomas (Horizon), Geno Thompson (West Orange), Elijah Williams (Jones). Seminole County – Karl Calhoun (Seminole), Dazzie Morris (Lake Howell), Greg Odierno (Oviedo), Scott Perry (Lake Mary). Lake County – Donnie Burchfield (East Ridge), Brad Lord (South Lake). Osceola County – Eric Pinellas (Osceola), Mike Short (St. Cloud).

Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.

This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 12:58 PM.