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Playoff possibilities plentiful for football
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | No comments posted.
Marshfield High School’s football team enters its Midwestern League finale at Thurston on Friday knowing the Pirates can finish the night ranking anywhere from the Midwestern League’s top seed to out of the Class 5A playoffs.
North Bend knows it’s in the playoffs going into its home game against Douglas, but the Bulldogs could have any of the league’s three seeds for the playoffs.
In the Sunset Conference, the top three seeds are set, but the fourth could come down to a three-way tie if Reedsport manages to beat Myrtle Point.
The final week of the season always seems to bring up multiple playoff scenarios, and this year is no different.
Midwestern League
Thurston enters the final week in first place at 4-0, while Marshfield is second at 3-1. Springfield and Churchill are tied for third place at 2-2 and Willamette is a game back at 1-3, with slim playoff prospects.
The best-case scenario for Marshfield is to beat Thurston and take the league’s top seed.
In contrast, if the Pirates lose to the Colts, while Springfield tops Willamette and Churchill beats North Eugene, Marshfield would be tied with the Millers and Lancers for second place. The league only has three playoff spots, so one of the teams would miss out, with the final seeding determined by a drawing of cards by the schools’ athletic directors Friday night after the final games are played.
If Marshfield loses, Churchill wins and Willamette beats Springfield, the Pirates and Churchill would be tied for second, but the Lancers would get the No. 2 and Marshfield the No. 3 seed because Churchill won the head-to-head matchup.
If Willamette beats Springfield and North Eugene upsets Churchill, Springfield, Willamette and Churchill would end up in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, also settled by a drawing of cards.
Far West League
Douglas enters Friday’s game at Vic Adams Field with a 4-0 record and North Bend is 3-1, but the winner is the top seed. If the Bulldogs prevail, North Bend and Douglas would share the league title, but the Bulldogs would be the top seed by virtue of their win over the Trojans.
Meanwhile, the winner of South Umpqua’s game at Siuslaw also will be in the playoffs, breaking their tie for third place.
North Bend beat Siuslaw, but lost to South Umpqua during the season. So if North Bend loses to Douglas, the Bulldogs would be the No. 2 seed if Siuslaw wins and the No. 3 seed if South Umpqua wins, based on the head-to-head results.
Sunset Conference
Gold Beach, Cascade Christian and Myrtle Point are locked into the top three seeds. Bandon is in fourth place at 3-3 in league.
The only scenario that would force a tiebreaker Friday would require Reedsport winning at Myrtle Point and Bandon losing at Gold Beach. In that case, the Braves, Tigers and the winner of Glide’s game at Coquille all would have 3-4 league records and be tied for fourth place.
If Bandon ends up tied with either Coquille or Glide, but not Reedsport, the Tigers win the tiebreaker because they beat both the Wildcats and the Red Devils. Reedsport beat Bandon, which is why there would be a perfect three-way tie if the Braves win Friday and the Tigers lose to the top-ranked Panthers.
This year, the league set up a new tiebreaker system that included all eight of the league schools drawing envelopes with a secret number between 1 and 8 inside. In the case of a tie, the envelopes for the three schools that are tied would be opened, and the school with the lowest number would take the league’s No. 4 seed.
Glide athletic director Al Skinner, the league’s chairman this school year, and his school’s principal would open the envelopes after the games Friday night.
Skinner said the league switched to the envelope system because it is a lot easier than getting together for a flip of coins or drawing of cards.
“It makes it a lot cleaner instead of having all three (schools) show up,” Skinner said.
North Bend knows it’s in the playoffs going into its home game against Douglas, but the Bulldogs could have any of the league’s three seeds for the playoffs.
In the Sunset Conference, the top three seeds are set, but the fourth could come down to a three-way tie if Reedsport manages to beat Myrtle Point.
The final week of the season always seems to bring up multiple playoff scenarios, and this year is no different.
Midwestern League
Thurston enters the final week in first place at 4-0, while Marshfield is second at 3-1. Springfield and Churchill are tied for third place at 2-2 and Willamette is a game back at 1-3, with slim playoff prospects.
The best-case scenario for Marshfield is to beat Thurston and take the league’s top seed.
In contrast, if the Pirates lose to the Colts, while Springfield tops Willamette and Churchill beats North Eugene, Marshfield would be tied with the Millers and Lancers for second place. The league only has three playoff spots, so one of the teams would miss out, with the final seeding determined by a drawing of cards by the schools’ athletic directors Friday night after the final games are played.
If Marshfield loses, Churchill wins and Willamette beats Springfield, the Pirates and Churchill would be tied for second, but the Lancers would get the No. 2 and Marshfield the No. 3 seed because Churchill won the head-to-head matchup.
If Willamette beats Springfield and North Eugene upsets Churchill, Springfield, Willamette and Churchill would end up in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, also settled by a drawing of cards.
Far West League
Douglas enters Friday’s game at Vic Adams Field with a 4-0 record and North Bend is 3-1, but the winner is the top seed. If the Bulldogs prevail, North Bend and Douglas would share the league title, but the Bulldogs would be the top seed by virtue of their win over the Trojans.
Meanwhile, the winner of South Umpqua’s game at Siuslaw also will be in the playoffs, breaking their tie for third place.
North Bend beat Siuslaw, but lost to South Umpqua during the season. So if North Bend loses to Douglas, the Bulldogs would be the No. 2 seed if Siuslaw wins and the No. 3 seed if South Umpqua wins, based on the head-to-head results.
Sunset Conference
Gold Beach, Cascade Christian and Myrtle Point are locked into the top three seeds. Bandon is in fourth place at 3-3 in league.
The only scenario that would force a tiebreaker Friday would require Reedsport winning at Myrtle Point and Bandon losing at Gold Beach. In that case, the Braves, Tigers and the winner of Glide’s game at Coquille all would have 3-4 league records and be tied for fourth place.
If Bandon ends up tied with either Coquille or Glide, but not Reedsport, the Tigers win the tiebreaker because they beat both the Wildcats and the Red Devils. Reedsport beat Bandon, which is why there would be a perfect three-way tie if the Braves win Friday and the Tigers lose to the top-ranked Panthers.
This year, the league set up a new tiebreaker system that included all eight of the league schools drawing envelopes with a secret number between 1 and 8 inside. In the case of a tie, the envelopes for the three schools that are tied would be opened, and the school with the lowest number would take the league’s No. 4 seed.
Glide athletic director Al Skinner, the league’s chairman this school year, and his school’s principal would open the envelopes after the games Friday night.
Skinner said the league switched to the envelope system because it is a lot easier than getting together for a flip of coins or drawing of cards.
“It makes it a lot cleaner instead of having all three (schools) show up,” Skinner said.
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