In 2020, Baker was the face of Rural Class high school football when it finished 14-0 and won an area-best fifth state title in a 27-14 rout of Hawthorne at FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium.
Six years later, a new landscape faces Matt Brunson and his program following FHSAA’s vote on Jan. 29 to merge Rural football into 1A for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Where does that leave the Gators?
“We are remaining with FHSAA at this point,” Brunson said. “Now again, every day’s an evaluation period as to what would be best for our program. I want to see what the districts are going to be and they didn’t answer the question of would there be mandatory district play. So that’s, I want to know who’s in our district and whether it be mandatory district play, because I’m for district play.”
Even so, he understands why so many teams out there have jumped ship to the Sunshine State Athletic Association (SSAA), which has ballooned to 51 football schools ahead of the 2026 season.
“I think the SSAA option is very intriguing, althought who knows what’s going to happen with them too,” he said. “But every team that got into Rural because what Rural is, well it seems like they’re now in the SSAA.”
The Gators are coming off a 12-1 run to the Elite 8, improving Brunson’s record to 231-78 in the Sunshine State. But even so, the Gators lost 49-19 in the region title against a Chiefland team that was routed 36-6 by state champion Hawthorne. A lack of competitiveness that late into the playoffs represents a problem in equity behind a state that prides itself on open enrollment.
“When they created the Rural league, it was a good little deal for the first, I don’t know, four or five years,” Brunson said. “And now there has to be more disparity in the Rural league from top to bottom then there was in 1A from top to bottom for the reason we created the Rural league. So that’s the reason the original Rural teams are now in the SSAA.”
Even so, Brunson is loyal and has never backed down from a challenge.
“We want to be in the state association competing for a state title,” said Brunson, who from 2015-2020 led the Gators to six straight Final 4s. “I’m not for leaving the (FHSAA); I’ve been with them forever. But we need to see the districts, so right now it’s good to have options and we’ll do what’s best for the program.”
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Baker football wants to see 1A districts as it mulls its future
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
