Archives > Sports > Schools
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Brain Teaser: Playoff ramifications galore in 10-5A's wild Friday finale
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
What would the final week of district be without a smorgasbord of confusion and calamity in the playoff picture?
With just four postseason spots up for grabs between six 10-5A teams, there's potential for just that Friday night.
"It can be exciting, nerve-wracking and disappointing," said Jaydon McCullough, Plano Senior head coach. "You can just imagine all the different scenarios and all the different things that could happen if certain teams won. It's exciting, but at the same time, it could be pretty tragic for some of these schools that are very deserving."
Despite their .500 district record, the Wildcats get the upper hand of every tiebreaker in play. Such is the benefit for drubbing Plano East, 42-12, and McKinney, 38-21, while only losing to Plano West and McKinney Boyd by a combined three points.
Allen and Plano play each other Friday at 7:30 p.m. from Eagle Stadium.
"It's very rewarding just to know we can go out and concentrate on playing well," McCullough said. "We can focus on the game at hand and then we'll worry about the playoffs when we get to that."
It's the other two matchups -- Plano West (2-2) versus Plano East (1-3) at 7:30 p.m. from Clark Stadium and McKinney Boyd (2-2) versus McKinney (1-3) at 7:30 p.m. from Ron Poe Stadium -- where things get murky.
With its season in the balance, East kept its playoff hopes from flat-lining after taking a 22-20 decision over Boyd. The win featured the return of senior quarterback Mario Smalls, who suffered a broken fibula on Sept. 21.
The Panthers had gone 0-3 in Smalls' absence.
That win added further intrigue to Friday's matchup with West since both teams are in the playoff hunt, whereas an East loss to Boyd would have assured the Wolves a playoff spot.
Fortunately for West, it still controls its own destiny.
That wasn't the case last season when the Wolves faced a similar scenario in their finale against Plano. Despite thumping the Wildcats, 24-10, the Wolves were denied a playoff spot after losing on tiebreaker points to the Panthers, whom they had beaten too.
This time, a win is all it takes to advance West to the postseason.
A win-and-you're-in scenario is also in play for the Broncos, who continue their city rivalry with McKinney. Now in its seventh edition, Boyd hopes history is on its side Friday as winners of five consecutive meetings against the Lions.
"It's kind of crazy how it all turned out," said Don Drake, Boyd head coach. "I figured several weeks ago this district would come down to Week 10 for everything to play itself out given how competitive this district is. That's kind of where it's at."
Should West and Boyd each win, the playoff picture will be assumed without any hitches with the Wolves and Broncos joining Allen and Plano.
If an upset or two is to be had, there's plenty of potential for a chaotic finale.
The scenarios run the gamut with wins by Allen, East and Boyd creating a three-way tie between Plano ISD at 2-3 and bringing points into play. With a 14-point cap in determining margin of victory, the Panthers would have to beat the Wolves by at least nine to snag that last playoff spot.
A four-way tie is possible if Plano, East and McKinney all win.
And if that's not enough, flip-flop Plano with Allen and that would equal a five-way tie at 2-3 for second place.
From that point on, the margins of victory for East-West and McKinney-Boyd come into play with mixed results at every turn. For instance, the Panthers can win by 14 points against West but if McKinney beats Boyd by seven, then the two McKinney ISD schools get the last two playoff spots. That's not even taking into account what happens if two teams finish tied in points, which may well be the case in the Plano ISD three-way tie scenario should East beat West by eight points.
Simply put, there's more than just a "W" at stake Friday.
"As coaches you've got to know the scenarios," said Jeff Smith, McKinney head coach. "But what it comes down to is it's important for our kids to just go out and play the game.
"That's all we can control."
District 10-5A Playoff Scenarios
(* indicates playoff berth)
1. West wins, Allen wins, Boyd wins
*McKinney Boyd (3-2)
*Plano West (3-2)
*Plano (2-3)
McKinney (1-4)
Plano East (1-4)
2. West wins, Allen wins, McKinney wins
*Plano West (3-2)
*Plano (2-3) (+13)
McKinney Boyd (2-3) (0 to -13)
McKinney (2-3) (-13 to 0)
Plano East (1-4)
3. West wins, Plano wins, Boyd wins
*McKinney Boyd (3-2)
*Plano West (3-2)
*Plano (3-2)
McKinney (1-4)
Plano East (1-4)
4. West wins, Plano wins, McKinney wins
*Plano West (3-2)
*Plano (3-2)
*McKinney (2-3)
McKinney Boyd (2-3)
Plano East (1-4)
5. East wins, Plano wins, Boyd wins
*Plano (3-2)
*McKinney Boyd (3-2)
*Plano East (2-3)
Plano West (2-3)
McKinney (1-4)
6. East wins, Plano wins, McKinney wins
*Plano (3-2)
McKinney Boyd (2-3) (+11 to -2)
Plano East (2-3) (-9 to +4)
McKinney (2-3) (-1 to +12)
Plano West (2-3) (-1 to -14)
7. East wins, Allen wins, Boyd wins
*McKinney Boyd (3-2)
*Plano (2-3) (+12)
Plano West (2-3) (+1 to -12)
Plano East (2-3) (-13 to 0)
McKinney (1-4)
8. East wins, Allen wins, McKinney wins
*Plano (2-3) (+25)
McKinney Boyd (2-3) (+12 to -1)
Plano West (2-3) (+1 to -12)
McKinney (2-3) (-15 to -2)
Plano East (2-3) (-23 to -10)
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Plano «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
