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Playoff positions to be decided
Published November 1, 2009
High school football teams are gearing up for the playoffs, and once again there are some amazingly close races for final postseason berths.
Teams in District 24-4A have grown accustomed to tie-breaking scenarios. Last year, four teams tied for fourth place and the final postseason berth. This season, four teams have a shot at fourth place as they head into the regular season finale.
Angleton (6-0 district, 9-0 overall), the fifth-ranked Class 4A team in the state, has proven to be the best in 24-4A and has secured the district title and the top seed in the Division II playoffs. Pearland Dawson (4-2, 7-2) has clinched a playoff berth, its first in school history, and will be in the Division I playoffs with Friendswood (4-2, 7-2).
Friendswood holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Dawson and will be the top Division I seed if the teams end with identical league records.
Then there are four teams in the running for fourth place in District 24-4A. Only Brazosport (1-5, 3-5) has been eliminated from the playoffs in the eight-team league.
Santa Fe (3-3, 6-3) leads the playoff-hopeful pack but has lost three straight games since a 6-0 start. One game behind the Indians are Manvel (2-4, 4-5), La Marque (2-4, 4-5) and Texas City (2-4, 3-6).
Santa Fe will wrap up the last playoff berth with a home win Friday against Dawson, but a Santa Fe loss opens up a Pandora’s Box of playoff possibilities.
Manvel has the toughest road to the playoffs. The Mavericks must beat undefeated Angleton to even be considered in any tiebreaker scenario. La Marque plays at Friendswood on Friday and Texas City is home against Brazosport.
Santa Fe holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against only Texas City and would advance if only those two teams were tied for fourth place at 3-4. Manvel and La Marque beat Santa Fe during the season and would make the playoffs if one of those teams were tied with the Indians in the final standings.
Since no one squad has swept all others in multiple-team tie scenarios, seeding would be decided by a point-differential tiebreaker between the teams involved.
In a four-way tie between Santa Fe, Manvel, La Marque and Texas City — Manvel would get the playoff nod with a +8 differential.
La Marque would make the postseason in a three-way tie with Santa Fe and Texas City with a +5 differential.
In a three-way tie with Manvel, Santa Fe and Texas City, there is a tie in point-differential at zero. In 24-4A play, Santa Fe beat Texas City by four points, Manvel beat Santa Fe by four points, and Texas City beat Manvel by four points. Coaches could not confirm the next district tiebreaker, but it could be a coin flip that determines the last playoff berth.
DISTRICT 24-5A
The Brazoswood Buccaneers (4-2, 6-3) have come on when it counts most with three straight District 24-5A wins and have clinched a spot in the playoffs heading into their final game Friday at Hopper Field against Galveston Ball (4-2, 5-4).
“We’re in, and that’s great,” Brazoswood head coach Dean DeAtley said. “We’ve played really well lately and want to keep that going.
“But there’s still more to play for. We still can win a share of the district title and want that top seed in the playoffs — that’s what we’re heading into the last week thinking.”
Brazoswood can claim part of a three-way district title with a victory over Ball paired with a Dickinson (4-2, 6-3) win against first-place Clear Springs (5-1, 7-2). A win over Ball also would secure Brazoswood the top seed in the Division I playoffs.
Clear Springs has clinched at least a share of the 24-5A crown and also has earned a postseason berth, but the final two playoff spots won’t be determined until after the final games.
Ball, Dickinson and Clear Creek (3-3, 4-5) all have a shot at making the postseason. Ball and Dickinson will reach the playoffs with a win or a Clear Creek loss to Clear Lake (1-5, 2-7). Clear Creek needs a win plus a loss by Ball or Dickinson to advance to the playoffs.
DISTRICT 26-3A
Sweeny (4-0, 7-2) already has its playoff ticket in hand and a share of the District 26-3A title. The Bulldogs can win the title outright and go unbeaten in league play for the second straight season with a victory this week at Wharton.
All three postseason berths from the league are set. Sweeny will be the top seed in the Division II bracket and Brookeshire Royal (3-1, 4-5) also will play in the smaller-school playoffs. Needville (3-1, 7-2) will go into the Division I postseason.
DISTRICT 29-2A
Danbury (1-3, 1-8) still can finish in a three-way tie for third place in District 29-21 with a win in the final week and some help, but the Panthers’ 25-year playoff drought will continue.
Industrial (4-0, 8-1) has locked up at least a share of the league title and the top seed in the Division II playoffs. Hitchcock (3-1, 3-4) has clinched a playoff spot and will be the Division I representative, and Boling (2-2, 4-5) will make the Division II playoffs despite a 13-9 loss Friday to Van Vleck.
Danbury could climb in the standings with an upset win in the finale against Industrial, but Boling holds the head-to-head tiebreaker and point-differential tiebreaker on all the teams below it in the standings no matter the scenario and will play its last game against Hitchcock as a playoff warm-up.
Jim Levesque is a sports writer for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0161.
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