The Buzz: Trying to figure out the playoff picture

By Sean Mossman This is that magical week that comes along every high school football season. No, Iâ€™m not talking about the fact that everybody gets Friday off. I mean that

Tuesday, October 17th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

By Sean Mossman

This is that magical week that comes along every high school football season.

No, Iâ€™m not talking about the fact that everybody gets Friday off.

I mean that this is the week where we begin to pencil some teams into the playoffs. We begin to write off some teams post-season hopes. And, we begin to speculate about the majority of those teams still squarely in the middle of their districts.

Iâ€™ll run through each Green Country district one at a time. Weâ€™ll muddle through them in two installments, one today (Tuesday) and another Wednesday.

First we start with 6A through 3A. Weâ€™ll hit 2A and below Wednesday.

Some things are indisputable, like four wins get you into the playoffs. Some things are up in the air, like what teams will do with the remainder of their schedule.

So here goes, the following is what we know to be true and a bit of what I think will happen down the stretch. We begin withâ€¦

District 6A-3

Union- 4-0- Guaranteed playoff berth. Theyâ€™ll need to run the table to keep that Jenks-Union title game alive. There is a possibility they could finish out of first in the district. A loss to either Enid or Edmond Memorial would do the trick.

Stillwater-3-1- Remaining schedule: Ponca City, Sapulpa and Choctaw. Three wins gets a second place finish.

Enid- 3-1- Remaining Schedule: Edmond, Sand Springs and Union. A win over either Edmond or Sand Springs gets them in.

Edmond- 3-1- Remaining Schedule: Enid, Union and Sand Springs. Same scenario as Enid, win one game and youâ€™re in.

Sand Springs- 1-3- Remaining Schedule: Union, Enid and Edmond. Needs upset of Union for a chance.

What I think will happen

Union and Stillwater are mortal locks for the first two spots. The winner of the Enid-Edmond game should finish third. The loser should get the fourth spot. No one else has a real shot at the final spot.

District 6A-4

Jenks, Owasso and Tahlequah are all 4-0 and have clinched a berth because all have beaten Bartlesville. Any 4-3 tie with Bartlesville by any of these three teams will be broken by the head-to-head win. As for the fourth spotâ€¦

Muskogee-3-1- Not a lock with only one loss. Remaining Schedule: at Tahlequah, Jenks and at Owasso. The loss to Bartlesville two weeks ago could be the end of the Roughers.

Bartlesville- 1-3- Donâ€™t let the record fool you. Those three losses came to Tahlequah, Jenks and Owasso. Remaining Schedule: Rogers, Memorial and Broken Arrow. The week ten BA game could be the decider.

Memorial, Broken Arrow and Rogers are all mathematically eliminated.

What I think will happen

The top three teams will fight for playoff seeding. Muskogee needs an upset to get into the dance. I think Bartlesville and Muskogee will tie at 3-4 and the Bruins will get in based on the head-to-head win.

District 5A-3

Ada-4-0- Remaining Schedule: at Catoosa, East Central and at Shawnee. Three wins gets a district championship. Three losses likely still gets the Cougars into the playoffs. Anywhere in between is safe.

East Central-4-0- Remaining Schedule: at Edison, Ada and John Marshall. Same scenario as Ada. The week nine game between Ada and East Central will likely determine district champs.

Shawnee-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at McAlester, Central and Ada. One win gets the Wolves in.

McAlester-2-2- Remaining Schedule: Shawnee, at Catoosa and at Central. Needs any two wins to get in. A win over Catoosa could lock up a berth.

Catoosa-2-2- Remaining Schedule: Ada, McAlester and at Edison. Same scenario as McAlester.

What I think will happen

Ada and East Central will likely battle for district title next week. Shawnee has an outside chance at taking second if Ada loses twice. I think all three teams are in and the Catoosa-McAlester winner will fill the fourth spot.

District 5A-4

Booker T. Washington is in, Durant is out.

Claremore-3-1- Remaining Schedule: Coweta, Booker T. Washington and Bixby. Those are three tough opponents to end the season. One win gets them in.

Bishop Kelley-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at Durant, Bixby and at McLain. The schedules a bit easier. One win and youâ€™re in.

Bixby-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at McLain, at Kelley and Claremore. They need one win to get in. A playoff berth would be a tremendous achievement after a ton of early season injuries.

Coweta, Hale and McLain-All 1-3- Coweta and Hale play in week ten. If either pull off upsets the next two weeks they have a chance. McLain would need a string of upsets to get in.

What I think will happen

I think Booker T. Washington will win the district even if they slip to Claremore in week nine. From there it is a toss up. Bixby plays both Kelley and Claremore. Thatâ€™s the definition of holding your own fate. I think Kelley slides into the second spot and the winner of Bixby-Claremore in week ten gets third, the loser still finishes fourth. That all becomes a moot point if Coweta wins at Claremore this week. That puts Coweta at 2-3 with two winnable games remaining.

District 4A-2

Tecumseh-4-0- Remaining Schedule: Glenpool, at Webster and McLoud. A win over Glenpool seals the deal.

Glenpool-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at Tecumseh, Blackwell and at Cleveland. A win over Tecumseh puts three schools in a tie for first.

Mannford-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at Cleveland, Cushing and at Blackwell. Loss to Tecumseh did not mean the end of district title hopes. One win puts them into the playoffs. Running the table would mean a first round home game.

Blackwell and Cushing-Both 2-2- Cushing has the more favorable schedule and won the earlier meeting, 20-15.

What I think will happen

If Glenpool wins against Tecumseh there will be a three-way tie for first. Mannford doesnâ€™t have enough district points and will likely be squeezed to third with the other two claiming home playoff games. If Tecumseh wins, they are district champs and Mannford is likely second.

All three are likely in the playoffs with Cushing having the upper hand for the fourth spot. Webster is already eliminated. Cleveland and McLoud are long shots.

District 4A-3

Skiatook is 4-0 and in the playoffs.

Collinsville-3-1- Remaining Schedule: Grove, at Pryor and Skiatook. One win gets them in. Run the table and they might win district.

Stillwell-3-1- Remaining Schedule: Skiatook, at Jay and Pryor. They have the tiebreaker over Collinsville and will win district if they win all three games. Just win one and theyâ€™re dancing.

Jay-2-2- Remaining Schedule: at Oologah, Stillwell and Miami. Having those last two games at home will help a lot.

Grove, Miami, Pryor and Oologah-All 1-3- None of these teams are out of it. Check back with me next week.

What I think will happen

What a mess!!

I think the top three teams will get into the playoffs. The week ten game between Collinsville and Skiatook will likely decide the district champs, but we could have a three-way tie. Skiatook has an advantage on district points.

As far as that fourth spot goes, itâ€™s anybodyâ€™s guess. If I were forced to make a pick Iâ€™d simply say this; the week ten Jay-Miami winner will slide into the fourth spot.

District 4A-4

The only thing we know for sure is Wagoner is eliminated.

Sallisaw-4-0- Remaining Schedule: at Okmulgee, Wagoner and at Ft. Gibson. This is one of the best 4A teams in the state. Theyâ€™re a deadlock for at least first or second.

Ft. Gibson-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at Wagoner, Okmulgee and Sallisaw. Will likely have only one loss going into the week ten game at Sallisaw. The winner will be district champs.

Poteau-3-1- Remaining Schedule: Hugo, at Idabel and Broken Bow. Could finish in three-way tie for first. More likely to finish second or third.

Hugo and Okmulgee- Both 2-2- Hugo won the head-to-head game 21-14 and has the easier schedule. Okmulgee plays Sallisaw and Ft. Gibson the next two weeks.

Broken Bow and Idabel-Both 1-3- Outside chances, but both have a lot of work to do and need some help.

What I think will happen

Sallisaw looks too good to pick against for district champions. Poteau beat Ft. Gibson head-to-head and has the easier schedule remaining. Iâ€™ll say Sallisaw-Poteau-Ft.Gibson-Hugo, in that order.

District 3A-3

Dewey and Locust Grove are eliminated. Inola is a long shot at 1-3.

Claremore Sequoyah-4-0- Remaining Schedule: at Vinita, Locust Grove and Bristow. There are still a lot of non-believers when it comes to this team. A win at Vinita makes them a likely champ and gets others attention for good.

Vinita-4-0- Remaining Schedule: Cl. Sequoyah, at Inola and Berryhill. Two of their remaining three games could be for first in the district. Look for the Berryhill game to decide who gets a home playoff game.

Berryhill-3-1- Remaining Schedule: at Sperry, Bristow and at Vinita. A win at Sperry will get them into the playoffs. After that it becomes about seeding.

Bristow and Sperry-Both 2-2- Sperry won the head-to-head game. They also have the easier schedule, facing Dewey and Inola while Bristow battles Berryhill and Sequoyah.

What I think will happen

The top three teams are surely in the playoffs. There is a three-way tie possibility, which favors Vinita. Look for Sperry to squeak into the final spot unless Bristow can find a gear they havenâ€™t reached thus far.

District 3A-4

All eight teams are still in the race for at least a playoff berth.

Roland-4-0- Remaining Schedule: at Seminole, Checotah and at Muldrow. This week will show whether the Rangers can really contend for state. A loss on the road is not devastating, but a blowout loss might be.

Seminole-4-0- Remaining Schedule: Roland, at Hilldale and at Morris. Has the advantage of playing the likely district championship game at home.

Meeker-2-2- Remaining Schedule: at Muldrow, Morris and Stigler. The winner of the Morris game is likely third in the district.

Morris-2-2- Remaining Schedule: Hilldale, at Meeker and Seminole. Has a tougher schedule than Meeker. That makes a win in the week nine match-up more important to them.

Muldrow, Checotah, Stigler and Hilldale-All 1-3- Stigler is the only of the four that doesnâ€™t play either Seminole or Roland. They could help themselves a lot if they beat Meeker this week.

What I think will happen

I wonâ€™t pick the district champions. The winner of Roland-Seminole gets the title, the loser gets a home playoff game.

Iâ€™d have to say that Meeker has a better shot than Morris at that third spot. Morris is my choice for the fourth spot. Stigler has a chance.

Well, I hope this was all fairly understandable.

Remember that just because I left your team out of the playoffs doesnâ€™t mean it will happen that way. After all, these are teenagers on the field and anything can happen.

Check back with me Wednesday afternoon and Iâ€™ll try to sort out the smaller classes.