By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports
There are two important pieces of equipment that high school football coaches are making sure they have as they prepare for this week’s games — a calculator and a sharpened pencil.
This is the final week of the regular season, which means the playoffs will follow. The Louisiana High School Athletic Association uses the power point system to seed teams in the playoffs. That’s based on a team’s total number of wins and their opponents’ total wins (there are also bonus points for playing up in class).
It can often come down to decimal places to determine if you will be playing across town or across the state in the playoffs.
Some are wanting to know if they are going to get a first-round bye. Some want to know if they are going to get a home game in the opening round. And some are just wondering if they are even going to be in the playoffs at all.
Get out the #2 Eberhard Faber and let the calculations begin!
Some coaches have been mentally grinding their potential playoff positioning for weeks. Others will tell you they haven’t hardly paid attention to it.
Both may be true … until this week. Now, they all have at least one eye on the power rankings.
That’s part of the reason why there are so many Thursday games this week. The theory is that it’s an extra day to prepare for a playoff opponent. Even though the official pairings won’t be released by the LHSAA until Sunday, most will have a really good idea of the potential teams they will be playing. Some will even start exchanging video way before the playoff announcements.
Here’s a look at the three scenarios involved for the local teams: (1) Will we make it? (2) Will we have a home game? (3) Will we have a first-round bye?
A couple of things to keep in mind before the deep dive into number crunching. There are two classifications – Select and Non-Select and four divisions within each. In the Select playoffs, there are 24 teams, which means the top eight ranked teams get a bye. In Non-Select, there are 28 playoff teams so only four teams get a bye.
WILL WE MAKE IT?
Non Select, Division 1 – It’s on to basketball season for Benton (35) and Haughton (37).
Non Select, Division 2 – Bossier (28) is sitting on the cut line but has to play North DeSoto. Woodlawn (31) and would have to defeat Booker T. Washington to have a chance.
Non Select, Division 3 – Green Oaks is too low (35) to have a chance to make it in.
Select, Division 1 – Huntington (17) and Captain Shreve (19) appear to be in good shape, but it looks like Evangel (24) will probably have to beat 8-1 Parkway to make it in. The Eagles could still be in if the other teams around them in the power rankings also lose. Southwood (36) is out.
Select, Division 3 – A tall order for North Caddo. At No. 27, the Titans are on the wrong side of the line and to get in, they’d need to beat district champion Calvary. Magnolia Charter is out.
WILL WE HAVE A HOME GAME?
Non Select, Division 1 – Parkway (5) will get a home game … if the Panthers don’t get into the top 4. Northwood (12) looks to be in good shape, but beating Loyola would certainly solidify that. Byrd will also have a home game if it doesn’t move into a first-round bye.
Select, Division 1 – Huntington (17) just needs to move up one spot to get a home game, but that would mean beating undefeated Airline. Shreve (19) would have a chance with a win over Byrd, but they’d probably need a little help by getting some losses by the teams above them.
Select, Division 2 – Even with a loss last week, Loyola (8) didn’t even fall in the power rankings. The Flyers play Northwood and are certainly in line for a home game, but a win would take them out of this category and give them the week off. BTW (18) would need to jump two spots if the Lions were to beat Woodlawn, which may be tough to do.
WILL WE HAVE A FIRST ROUND BYE?
Non Select, Division 1 – For Airline (2), a win over Huntington will give the Vikings a week off. But you can bet there are some calculations going on at Parkway (5). The Panthers would need to beat Evangel and probably need West Monroe to beat Ruston (currently No. 4) to get the Panthers a week off.
Select, Division 1 – Byrd (9) is in the same position as Parkway – one spot out of a first-round bye and would have to win over a tough district opponent (Captain Shreve) in order to have a chance. But St. Paul’s, the team above the Jackets, has a tough final game against 8-1 Covington, so there will be some internet score watching going on.
Select, Division 3 – A win over North Caddo would give Calvary (3) a first-round bye.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com