Plenty left to play for as 4A playoffs approach
With one week to go in high school football’s regular season, all but one of the Class 4A playoff spots have been decided.
But there’s still plenty to play for this week as few teams know where they’ll be or who they’ll face in the first round Nov. 7.
Even though 15 of the 16 playoff spots have been decided, only six teams are locked into seeds for the first round. The top two teams in each league host first-round games Nov. 7.
Here’s a closer look at each league and what could happen Thursday.
Northwest League
Who’s in: Palo Verde, Cheyenne, Cimarron-Memorial and Legacy.
Who could still get in: None.
Palo Verde (9-0, 6-0) has locked up the No. 1 seed and will host the No. 4 seed from the Southwest (Sierra Vista) in the playoffs. The Panthers host Legacy on Thursday in a game with very little meaning in terms of the standings.
Palo Verde beat both of the teams directly below it in the standings (Cheyenne and Cimarron) and wins all tiebreakers.
Legacy (7-2, 4-2) is locked into the No. 4 seed, having lost to both Cheyenne and Cimarron.
The only thing still in the air in this league are the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds. Cheyenne (8-1, 5-1) hosts Cimarron (6-3, 5-1) on Thursday, with the winner claiming the No. 2 seed and the loser having to travel for the first round.
Who’s in: Bishop Gorman, Spring Valley, Bonanza and Sierra Vista.
Who could still get in: None.
Sierra Vista (4-5, 3-3) is the only team that knows its fate. The Mountain Lions are the No. 4 seed and are headed to Palo Verde.
Bishop Gorman (9-1, 6-0) is in the driver’s seat and would lock up the No. 1 seed with a win at Bonanza (6-3, 5-1). Gorman could still be the No. 1 seed with a close loss, but it would take a lot of help.
If Gorman wins, Spring Valley (7-1, 5-1) will be the No. 2 seed and Bonanza the No. 3.
If Bonanza wins, it’s a little more complex.
Spring Valley would move into the No. 1 seed if it wins at Durango and Gorman loses by four or more points. That would leave Bonanza as the No. 2 seed and Gorman the No. 3.
Bonanza could still be the No. 1 seed if it wins and Durango beats Spring Valley. If that happens, Gorman would be the No. 2 and Spring Valley the No. 3.
Northeast League
Who’s in: Las Vegas, Rancho and Desert Pines.
Who could still get in: Eldorado, Chaparral or Valley (one of the three gets in).
Las Vegas (8-1, 5-0) has clinched the top spot in the Northeast and will face Foothill in the first round of the playoffs.
Rancho (5-4, 4-1) has locked up the No. 2 seed, and Desert Pines (3-5, 3-2) has secured the No. 3 seed.
The No. 4 seed is very much up for grabs.
Eldorado (4-5, 2-3) locks it up with a win at Las Vegas.
If Eldorado loses, there will be a tie for fourth place with Chaparral (3-6, 2-4) and possibly Valley (4-5, 1-4) and/or Canyon Springs (1-7, 1-4).
Here’s who wins the tiebreakers.
Two-way tie between Eldorado and Chaparral: Chaparral wins and gets the No. 4 seed.
Three-way tie between Eldorado, Chaparral and Valley: Valley wins.
Three-way tie between Eldorado, Chaparral and Canyon Springs: Chaparral wins.
Four-way tie: Chaparral wins.
Who’s in: Green Valley, Basic, Del Sol and Foothill.
Who could still get in: None.
Just like the Southwest, the No. 4 seed (Foothill) is the only one locked in. The Falcons (4-5, 2-3) are at Coronado this week but get in even if they lose.
Green Valley (7-2, 5-0), Basic (6-3, 4-1) and Del Sol (7-2, 4-1) could finish in any order depending on the outcome of this week’s games.
Green Valley visits Basic. If the Gators win, they’re the No. 1 seed. Del Sol would be the No. 2, and Basic would head to Rancho for the playoffs.
If Basic wins and Del Sol loses to Silverado, Basic is the No. 1 seed, Green Valley the No. 2 and Del Sol the No. 3.
But if Basic wins and Del Sol wins, all sorts of crazy clauses in the tiebreaker procedures come into play.
It could be decided by point differential in head-to-head games or even by points allowed for all league games.
The only way Del Sol grabs the No. 1 seed is if Basic beats Green Valley by one point and allows at least 13 points and Del Sol allows six or fewer points to Silverado, otherwise the Basic-Green Valley winner is the No. 1.
Thoroughly confused yet?
The tiebreakers are no secret. They’re available at the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s Web site (www.niaa.com). You, too, can spend hours figuring them out.
Check back on Nevadapreps.com late Thursday night or early Friday morning for all the playoff matchups.
