St. Augustine's football playoff vs. Choctawhatchee postponed due to Tropical Storm Nicole

St. Augustine's high school football playoff opener against Choctawhatchee was postponed to Saturday evening because of the approach of Tropical Storm Nicole.

Fourth-seeded St. Augustine (7-3) and fifth-seeded Choctaw (5-5) are now scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Yellow Jackets' home at Foots Brumley Stadium. The winner advances to meet Pensacola Pine Forest or Tallahassee Rickards on Nov. 18.

“We made that decision this morning,” St. Augustine coach Brian Braddock said. “With all the uncertainty, it looks like Saturday will be a nice day. With Choctawhatchee making a bit of a lengthy trip, it just seemed like it was in everybody’s best interest to get it moved and solidified so everyone could be on the same page.”

The game marks St. Augustine's return to the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs, after their 22-year postseason streak ended last fall. The Yellow Jackets enter the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, including last week's 42-10 rout of traditional rival Palatka. St. Augustine swept District 4-3S opposition by a combined score of 180-21.

The postponement is the second in Northeast Florida, after Mandarin also postponed its Region 1-4M playoff in Jacksonville against Sanford Seminole to 6 p.m. Saturday.

FHSAA officials confirmed to the USA Today Sports Florida network Tuesday that teams will be permitted to reschedule games between Thursday and Saturday because of the tropical weather, but they are not allowed to push games back to Monday at this time.

The National Hurricane Center projects Nicole to make landfall at near hurricane strength along the Florida coast overnight Wednesday or early Thursday.

The St. Augustine Record's Ryan Pritt contributed to this story.