Iowa HS FB -- Week 9

[theshadow]

The last Friday of the season is a fun one -- district titles and playoff berths on the line.

"All or Nothing" games (winner in, loser out)
4A-1: DM East at SC North
3A-8: Harlan at ADM
A-1: Tri-County at Griswold
A-5: Edgewood-Colesburg at Starmont
8P-1: River Valley at Ar-We-Va
8P-4: Midland at Kee

"Top of the Heap" games (district title up for grabs)
4A-1: Southeast Polk at Ankeny
4A-7: Pleasant Valley at IC West
3A-2: Carroll at Greene County (Carroll has a safety net if Humboldt beats Perry)
3A-6: Ballard at Grinnell (Bondurant-Farrar swoops in if Ballard loses)
2A-3 Battle Royal: New Hampton at North Fayette Valley; CP-Urbana at Beckman (all teams 4-1)
2A-4: Anamosa at Cascade
2A-8: Clarinda at Southeast Valley (Clarinda's safety net is East Sac beating Red Oak)
1A-4: Hudson at South Winneshiek (a D-NH win over Jesup also saves South Winn)
1A-6: Pella Christian at IC Regina
A-7: BGM at Montezuma
8P-2: West Bend-Mallard at Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn (if Graettinger-Terril beats Remsen St. Mary's, WB-M would need to win by 7 or more)

 

[CycloneDaddy]

What are the chances that Norwalk and Indianola make the playoffs?

 

[theshadow]

What are the chances that Norwalk and Indianola make the playoffs?

Norwalk/Knoxville is for position. Winner #3, loser #4.

Indianola is in if they beat Marshalltown. If we assume that Waukee beats Mason City by 13+, Indianola can still get in if they lose by 8 or less. Of course, Indianola can only be the #4, which means facing Valley, Dowling, or the SEP/Ankeny winner in Round 1.

 

[CyFan61]

Ah, the reminder that four teams out of a five team district will make the playoffs.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad that more teams get the chance to play another game, but the money grab from Boone on this is especially sad when the extra game now forces teams to turn around extra quickly.

The playoffs will start next Wednesday, followed by the Monday after that and Friday of that same week. That's four games over the span of only 15 days, and it's pretty exhausting - I did it both my junior and senior years.

I wouldn't mind seeing them cut the playoffs back down to size, only playing on Fridays, and then on the week of the first playoff game they pair up the teams that didn't make it with a nearby opponent of perceived equal quality and give them a chance at one last game. Especially for the 1-8 and 0-9 teams, half of their seniors would get to end high school with a rare win. That would be cool.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

Norwalk/Knoxville is for position. Winner #3, loser #4.

Indianola is in if they beat Marshalltown. If we assume that Waukee beats Mason City by 13+, Indianola can still get in if they lose by 8 or less. Of course, Indianola can only be the #4, which means facing Valley, Dowling, or the SEP/Ankeny winner in Round 1.

Thanks for the info ... Looking good for Indianola to make the playoffs.

 

[CloneinWDSM]

Ah, the reminder that four teams out of a five team district will make the playoffs.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad that more teams get the chance to play another game, but the money grab from Boone on this is especially sad when the extra game now forces teams to turn around extra quickly.

The playoffs will start next Wednesday, followed by the Monday after that and Friday of that same week. That's four games over the span of only 15 days, and it's pretty exhausting - I did it both my junior and senior years.

I wouldn't mind seeing them cut the playoffs back down to size, only playing on Fridays, and then on the week of the first playoff game they pair up the teams that didn't make it with a nearby opponent of perceived equal quality and give them a chance at one last game. Especially for the 1-8 and 0-9 teams, half of their seniors would get to end high school with a rare win. That would be cool.

I agree. Back in 06 we went Wednesday, Monday, Saturday, and then Friday. That can get extremely tiring when your in a small class A playing both ways and most special teams. Wouldn't mind even seeing the season end a bit sooner. That same year, we won football on that Friday and bball practice started Monday with our first game later that week I believe.

 

[theshadow]

Thanks for the info ... Looking good for Indianola to make the playoffs.

Disclaimer: These scenarios are based on my math, and are therefore not necessarily "official".

 

[theshadow]

I think the IHSAA is in a no-win situation when it comes to playoff size. At 16 teams, everyone howled about 8-1 teams being left out (mostly due to a 3-way tie where points were involved). The solution was to expand so those 8-1 teams get in. The side effect of bringing in that 3rd team is that you bring in a 4th team to balance the round -- and that 4th team is often .500 or worse.

So, what is the next "solution"?

For me, personally, I think that they could do 24 in 4A, and 32 in other classes. In 4A, give all #1s byes, and then cross-match #2 vs #3 in round 1. EX: Dist 1 #1 plays winner of Dist 2 #2 vs Dist 1 #3 (and so forth).

 

[RING4CY]

Ah, the reminder that four teams out of a five team district will make the playoffs.

Don't get me wrong, I am glad that more teams get the chance to play another game, but the money grab from Boone on this is especially sad when the extra game now forces teams to turn around extra quickly.

The playoffs will start next Wednesday, followed by the Monday after that and Friday of that same week. That's four games over the span of only 15 days, and it's pretty exhausting - I did it both my junior and senior years.

I wouldn't mind seeing them cut the playoffs back down to size, only playing on Fridays, and then on the week of the first playoff game they pair up the teams that didn't make it with a nearby opponent of perceived equal quality and give them a chance at one last game. Especially for the 1-8 and 0-9 teams, half of their seniors would get to end high school with a rare win. That would be cool.

That's the way it was before they even expanded the playoffs.

 

[cyclonepower]

it definitely was a money grab by the IAHSAA expanding the playoffs, but if more teams make so be it, is it really hurting anything?

 

[CyFan61]

That's the way it was before they even expanded the playoffs.

Do they start a week earlier now, then? If so, putting the playoffs back while keeping the earlier start date would allow them to make the playoffs Fridays only - which would be a huge improvement, I think, for many reasons including the quality of play on the field.

I'd like to see 48 schools as the permanent 4A number (rather than all schools over X enrollment, giving a varying amount of schools that is currently 46). Put those schools into six districts of 8 teams each, resulting in 7 meaningful games for playoff purposes rather than the current 5 (or even 4 - less than half! - in some districts). There would still be space for two non-district games for rivalries or whatever that didn't make it in-district for any given two year period.

The top two teams in each district would then be guaranteed playoffs. The IHSAA would then have some metric to take four out of the six 3rd place teams as well, which would alleviate the 8-1 three-way tie issue, and have 16 playoff teams total.

And also, as I've said before, if the state figured out a way to take the remaining 32 schools not in the playoffs and have them play a 10th game against an opponent of roughly equal quality, I'd be all for it. Let's get those 1-8 or 0-9 teams a real shot to send their seniors out with a win.

 

[CyFan61]

it definitely was a money grab by the IAHSAA expanding the playoffs, but if more teams make so be it, is it really hurting anything?

It looks like at least a couple of 3-6 teams (maybe even a 2-7 team) will be thrown out there to get continuous clocked against an 8-1 or 9-0 squad in the first round. Is that really a good thing for the players in the game or for the quality of the playoff itself? Let's say one of the 3-6 teams got a win on Senior Night in front of a home crowd in the last game of the season. Then the following Wednesday they got on a bus to drive an hour and lose by 45 points in their last-ever football game. Is that good?

If your point is that "It's great to have more teams in the playoff," then what's the point of the regular season anyway? Let's just throw all 46 schools in a playoff.

 

[wartknight]

Urbandale/Fort Dodge has some implications as far as who will get to host a first round game.
Very curious to see outcome of Ankeny/SEP game though. Ankeny had some very tough luck early in the year otherwise would be sitting at 8-0 going into this game. (Granted not the hardest schedule in the state)

 

[KidSilverhair]

It looks like at least a couple of 3-6 teams (maybe even a 2-7 team) will be thrown out there to get continuous clocked against an 8-1 or 9-0 squad in the first round. Is that really a good thing for the players in the game or for the quality of the playoff itself? Let's say one of the 3-6 teams got a win on Senior Night in front of a home crowd in the last game of the season. Then the following Wednesday they got on a bus to drive an hour and lose by 45 points in their last-ever football game. Is that good?

If your point is that "It's great to have more teams in the playoff," then what's the point of the regular season anyway? Let's just throw all 46 schools in a playoff.

Remember, a couple of years ago a 1-8 Mason City team made the playoffs. The only team they beat was in their district and finished 0-9, so ... playoffs, baby!

And no, they did not win their first-round game.

 

[KidSilverhair]

Also some other interesting possibilities in 3A statewide. In District 6, if Grinnell beats Ballard there's a five-way tie for first in the district. The same thing could happen in District 3, but that requires a Decorah win over West Delaware plus Charles City beating Waverly-Shell Rock. If West Delaware's top running back is still sidelined with mono, that Decorah victory may not be all that far-fetched.

In District 4, it looks like a three-way tie is coming between Xavier, Solon and Western Dubuque (all three teams should win Friday). If Xavier wins by 2 points or more, there's no way Solon can catch them in the points tiebreaker. If Solon loses, Western Dubuque takes the district with a win. If Xavier loses, they probably drop to third. It's crazy how many good teams are in 3A this year.

 

[KidSilverhair]

This year's playoffs will also be interesting, with no set brackets and matchups set by the state every round. There's a 125-mile travel restriction in place for the first round (except for 4A), which is going to affect the game assignments across the state.

Likely district winners on the non-western side are West Delaware, Xavier, Clear Creek-Amana, Pella, Dallas Center-Grimes and Ballard or Bondurant-Farrar. Possible fourth-place finishers are Charles City, Dubuque Wahlert, Fairfield, Knoxville or Ballard, and Newton, maybe? So ... work out those pairings.

 

[Cpech56]

This year's playoffs will also be interesting, with no set brackets and matchups set by the state every round. There's a 125-mile travel restriction in place for the first round (except for 4A), which is going to affect the game assignments across the state.

Likely district winners on the non-western side are West Delaware, Xavier, Clear Creek-Amana, Pella, Dallas Center-Grimes and Ballard or Bondurant-Farrar. Possible fourth-place finishers are Charles City, Dubuque Wahlert, Fairfield, Knoxville or Ballard, and Newton, maybe? So ... work out those pairings.

No set brackets? Unless I'm confused by what you mean't I think this is wrong. They're going to let us know our first round matchup tomorrow around 2am. After the first games they'll reseed every team. Then things will be set in a bracket format with no changes being made. Clearly just a money grab by Boone to set up the games that will bring the biggest gates. Personally it sounds like Valley/Dowling on top half and Centennial/AnkenySouth on the other. These will draw the biggest gates in the metro and will set up nicely for all teams involved.

I've also heard some stuff about next wednesday being a double header in Ankeny. With the team that had to travel the furthest to play either us or the Hawks playing the first game followed by the other two teams. I've been wrong plenty of times before. Just a few things I've been hearing.

 

[theshadow]

After the first games they'll reseed every team. Then things will be set in a bracket format with no changes being made.

There are no preset pairings (i.e., no set brackets) for any round. Each round's matchups will be determined at the conclusion of the previous round.

 

[CyFan61]

No set brackets? Unless I'm confused by what you mean't I think this is wrong.

In the past it used to be #1 from District 1 vs. #4 from District 2 (and #2 vs #3 as well) or whatever, so then teams wouldn't need to wait for anything to be announced; it was already predetermined. This year the state is just gonna do it ad hoc.

 

[Cpech56]

You guys are correct. Here is what the 2014 Postseason Football Manual states regarding the playoffs:

1st round: A 125 mile limitation for 1st round games is in place for classes 3,2,1,A and 8 man. District Champions and District Runner-Ups have the opportunity to host. No preset brackets will be made for the playoffs. Pairings will be determined after each round of the playoffs. Reasonable attempts will be made to find non district playoff opponents for the 1st round games, but district match ups could reoccur if an opponent cannot be found withing 125 miles. The board of Control will determine the pairings. The Board based on geographic location of all qualifying schools will pair the district champion of one district with the fourth place team from another district. The runner up of one district will play the third place team of another district in the 1st round.

2nd Round: Highest seeded teams will have the opportunity to host and a district champ cannot play another district champ. No preset brackets will be made for the playoffs and pairings will be determined after all 1st round games are complete.