Defending state champions Chaminade-Madonna and Miami Northwestern are moving up, and West Boca is dropping down a class next year.The Florida High School Athletic Association released the tentative football classes for the 2026-27 and 27-28 school years on Dec. 8. The FHSAA board voted recently to go down from seven classes plus one rural to six classes plus one rural. Not only does it mean bigger districts in some cases, but it also means some top programs are in new classes.Among the top highlights are Class 1A state finalists Chaminade-Madonna and Cardinal Newman both moving up to Class 2A, and Class 3A power Miami Northwestern moves up to Class 4A.West Boca, which is looking for its second consecutive Class 6A state title, drops down to Class 5A in a region with St. Thomas Aquinas and several other strong programs. Here are five takeaways from the FHSAA’s class release. Chaminade-Madonna joins a loaded Class 2A Some classes are always tougher than others. Class 2A is shaping up to be an absolute gauntlet for the next cycle. Perennial state power Chaminade-Madonna, The First Academy, Cardinal Newman and Clearwater Central Catholic are among the schools moving up from Class 1A. The Class 2A group already included Cardinal Mooney, Bolles, Cocoa, Bradford Gadsden County, Berkeley Prep and Lakewood.Miami Northwestern moves up to a deep Region 4-4ANorthwestern, the defending Class 3A state champion, has been in a class with rival Miami Central the past two years. Not anymore. Central remains in 3A, while Northwestern joins a crowded Region 4-4A. The region includes Atlantic (2024 Class 5A regional finalist), American Heritage (defending Class 4A state champion), McArthur (2025 Class 5A regional finalist), Miami Noland (2023 Class 2M state runner-up), Plantation and Miramar. District 9-5A may be the most top heavy in the stateThe six-team district includes three state powers: Armwood, Plant, and Tampa Bay Tech. Armwood went undefeated until falling in a defensive battle to West Boca in the state semifinal on Dec. 5. Plant was a state semifinalist in 2023. Tampa Bay Tech was the Class 7A state runner-up in 2021. All three were playoff teams this year. Spoto won six games this season, too.West Boca, St. Thomas Aquinas in the same region Defending state champions St. Thomas Aquinas (Class 5A) and West Boca (Class 6A) will be paired together in Region 4-5A. Those two are the headliners, but there’s a lot more talent here. Coconut Creek, Monarch, Archbishop McCarthy, Mater Academy, and Miami Southridge also are in this region. This could be a lot of fun come playoff time.Don’t forget about the Open DivisionThe first thing a lot of people do when seeing a list like this is play out all the possible postseason scenarios. It makes sense. But unlike previous years, the FHSAA is introducing an eight-team Open Division that takes the top-ranked teams and places them in their own bracket. So, while it’s fun to theorize, just remember that the final bracket in each class may not look that way come next November.This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 5 takeaways from FHSAA’s new football classifications for next 2 years