Land O' Lakes, Sunlake Football Heading to New Districts?

Will Sunlake and Land O' Lakes high football players find themselves in new districts when the gridiron action heats up again next year?

That's the question on a lot of minds and one that will likely pan out with some changes next season.

The realignments are still tentative, however. When districts and classifications were realigned two years ago, they went very much the way of the original, "tentative" realignments though. 

The main thrust behind realignment is to keep up with enrollment numbers at the hundreds of high schools in the state. Newer schools tend to move up in classification as older schools tend to simmer back down into smaller ones.

Don't worry; the budding Land O' Lakes/Sunlake football rivalry isn't going anywhere. The new tentative districts not only keep Land O' Lakes and Sunlake together, they even have them in the same class, same district.

It's a sigh of relief for Land O' Lakes area football fans. The rivalry was virtually non-existent for years as Sunlake struggled to attain legitimacy. Then in 2011, Sunlake beat the Gators for the first time and went on to make the playoffs for another school first. This year, the Seahawks got the Gators again, solidifying the rivalry.

If the new realignments carry through the new Class 6A District 6 will contain: Sunlake, Land O' Lakes, Springstead, Mitchell and Fivay. Springstead was this past season's district champion, but district runner-up Hernando is gone. They move down to Class 5A in District 6 with regional finalist Pasco. Also moving into that district (5) is Central and Nature Coast Tech both previous district rivals for Sunlake and Land O' Lakes. Expect all three of those teams to remain on the schedule, they just won't have that district asterisk or that pressure that they had in the past. The only new team is Fivay moving into the district.

It's a favorable break for both teams as they try to rebuild after losing significant senior talent. The Seahawks lose most of their offensive production in Eddie Burgos and Josh Zifer, while the Gators will lose Harrison Wood's and Kyle Forchion's production.

Appeals to the new district assignments have to be in by Jan. 18. Soon after, the realignments will be set and the fall schedules will start to take shape.

Check the FHSAA's tenative new assignments here:http://www.fhsaa.org/sports/football/assignments/tentative_2013-15