Cardinal Mooney High School will open the Class 3A playoffs as the No. 1 seed in Region 3, hosting No. 8 Dunedin on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in Sarasota.

The Cougars finished the regular season 9-1 and outscored opponents 540-209, according to the Herald-Tribune's bracket breakdown. Their lone loss came 47-46 to Cardinal Newman, ranked 12th in Florida.

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) released its football brackets on Nov. 6. Cardinal Mooney, the defending Class 2A state champion, moved up to 3A after the FHSAA reclassified for 2026-27.

The path to a state final got clearer after Central and Raines were pulled into the FHSAA's inaugural Open Division, the Herald-Tribune reported. That removed two elite programs from the 3A field.

If the Cougars advance past Dunedin, they would face the winner of No. 4 Robinson and No. 5 Tarpon Springs in the regional semifinals, according to the Your Observer's bracket report. A regional final matchup against No. 2 Nature Coast Tech looms after that.

Dunedin enters at 4-6, ranked 334th in Florida.

The offense

Senior running back Connail Jackson has piled up 2,066 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns on 150 carries. That averages out to 13.8 yards per carry, according to the Your Observer. He topped 2,000 rushing yards last season as a junior, too, when he ran for 2,452 yards and 39 touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Davin Davidson, a four-star Florida commit ranked No. 107 in the Class of 2027 by ESPN, has thrown for 1,446 yards and 13 touchdowns against five interceptions with a 60% completion rate. Davidson led Cardinal Mooney to last year's 2A state championship in his first season as a starter.

Receivers CJ King and Seneca Hawthorne have combined for 1,043 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

Defense and depth

On the other side of the ball, junior linebacker Travion Lester leads the defense with 77 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss, three sacks and 10 quarterback hurries. Senior defensive lineman Kaleb Exume, a Boston College commit, has 63 total tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Sophomore cornerback Amarian McRae has added two interceptions, 19 pass deflections and 34 tackles.

Head coach Jared Clark's squad graduated 25 seniors from last year's title-winning roster. Thirteen of those players are now in NCAA Division I football, the Your Observer reported in coverage published in November.

The bigger picture

Cardinal Mooney won state championships in 2023 and 2025. The 2025 title came with a 52-28 victory over Jacksonville Bolles, the Your Observer reported in coverage published in April. The program posted a 14-1 record that season.

Combining those three seasons from 2023 through 2025 with the 2026 regular season, the Cougars have compiled a 47-5 record. Each of the three completed seasons ended no earlier than the state semifinals.

If seeds hold in Region 3, Cardinal Mooney's path to a third state title in four years would run through Nature Coast Tech in the regional final.