Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Section II football postseason scenarios

Here are your Section II football postseason scenarios with one week left remaining in the regular season.

For more on the Section II postseason procedures, click here.

As far as I understand, if there are two-way ties for any spot, the first tiebreaker is the result of a head-to-head meeting. Lansingburgh, for example, is guaranteed the Reinfurt Division No. 1 seed, even with a loss at Ravena on Friday, thanks to its victory over second-place Cohoes.

If three teams are tied for one spot, or if two or more teams are tied for the final spot, the tie-breaker used is quarter points against divisional opponents.

2009 Section II High School Football Standings

Class AA

Definitely in: La Salle, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Ballston Spa, Shenendehowa, Guilderland

One the bubble: Colonie, Columbia, Bethlehem, Shaker (only two make the cut)

Eliminated: Albany, CBA

Liberty Division

League, Overall, PF, PA

La Salle (12), 4-0, 6-0, 186, 40

Schenectady, 4-0, 5-1, 209, 88

Colonie, 2-2, 3-3, 93, 123

Bethlehem, 1-3, 2-4, 84, 201

Columbia, 1-3, 1-5, 59, 190

Shaker, 0-4, 1-5, 66, 134

-- La Salle hosts Schenectady Friday night. The winner earns the division title, but both are assured home games in the Class AA quarters.

Colonie has a lock on the No. 3 seed if it beats Bethlehem Saturday afternoon. The Raiders would hold head-to-head tie breakers against Bethlehem and Columbia.

Columbia is still alive for a postseason bid, but a victory over Shaker Friday night would certainly punch the Blue Devils' ticket. The Blue Devils hold the head-to-head tie breaker over Bethlehem, so a tie benefits Columbia, even if both Bethlehem and Columbia both lose or win this weekend.

Shaker forces a three-way tie for fourth place with a victory over Columbia and if Colonie beats Bethlehem. The Blue Bison will need to get ahead early and hope Bethlehem doesn't score any points if they wish to catch up on quarter points.

Divisional quarter points through six weeks: Colonie 12.5, Bethlehem eight, Columbia seven and one half, Shaker one and one half.

Empire Division

Saratoga Springs (22), 4-0, 5-1, 168, 61

Ballston Spa (25), 3-1, 5-1, 207, 69

Shenendehowa, 3-1, 5-1, 205, 109

Guilderland, 2-2, 3-3, 119, 160

Albany, 0-4, 0-6, 68, 168

CBA, 0-4, 0-6, 62, 185

--Saratoga hosts Shenendehowa Friday night with major playoff implications on the line for both teams, as well as for Ballston Spa, which hosts Guilderland. All four teams are in the playoffs, but the seeding is still up in the air.

Assuming Saratoga beats Shenendehowa and Ballston Spa beats Guilderland, here are your first round matchups:

L1 (Schenectady/LSI winner) vs. E4 Guilderland

E2 Ballston Spa vs L3 Colonie

(Winners of above games play each other in semis)

and

E1 Saratoga Springs vs. L4 (Columbia or Bethlehem)

L2 (Schenectady/LSI loser) vs. E3 Shenendehowa

(Winners of above games play each other in semis)

Or

Assuming Shenendehowa beats Saratoga and Ballston Spa beats Guilderland, there would be a three-way tie for first place and the seedings would come down to divisional quarter points. Entering the final week of play, Saratoga has accumulated 27.5 quarter points, Ballston Spa 21.5 and Shenendehowa 21.0.

If Shen beats Saratoga by scoring in the first quarter and leading the entire game, they could earn up to seven quarter points and leapfrog into first place, assuming Ballston Spa earns fewer than 6.5 quarter points against Guilderland.

If Shen earns seven and Ballston Spa beats Guilderland, but is tied after the first quarter (earning 6.5), Ballston Spa would earn first by head-to-head, Shen would finish second and Saratoga would hit the road for the Class AA quarterfinal round.

In other words, the Class AA seedings are still up in the air.

Class A

Definitely in:Niskayuna, Troy, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Gloversville, Queensbury, Glens Falls

On the bubble: Scotia-Glenville, Averill Park, Bishop Maginn, Mohonasen

Eliminated: Amsterdam, South Glens Falls

Division I

W-L, W-L, PF, PA

Niskayuna, 4-0, 5-1, 153, 102

Troy (6), 4-0, 6-0, 303, 7

Scotia-Glenville, 2-2, 2-4, 94, 208

Averill Park, 1-3, 2-4, 78, 174

Bishop Maginn, 1-3, 2-4, 95, 190

Mohonasen, 0-4, 0-6, 32, 176

--The Troy-Niskayuna winner Saturday locks up the No. 1 seed, although both are guaranteed first round home games.

Averill Park and Scotia-Glenville square off Friday night. Bishop Maginn plays at Mohonasen on Friday and all three have a shot to finish 2-3 if AP beats S-G and Maginn defeats Mohon.

In that case, we turn to divisional quarter points. Scotia leads with 13 DQPs heading into Week 7. Averill Park and Bishop Maginn each have seven and a half, but Bishop Maginn holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Averill Park.

If Scotia beats AP and Maginn beats Mohon, they're both in, but if Averill Park beats Scotia, then it starts to get messy.

Mohon could force a three-way tie in quarter points by scoring in the first quarter and never trailing the rest of the way in a seven-quarter point victory over over Maginn AND a no-quarter point loss for Averill Park against Scotia. All teams would have 7.5 quarter points and none would have a clear head-to-head advantage since all the teams would have defeated one of the opposite pairing. Only one of the three could qualify.

Division II

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (2), 4-0, 6-0, 280, 40

Gloversville, 3-1, 5-1, 177, 101

Queensbury, 3-1, 4-2, 150, 71

Glens Falls, 2-2, 3-3, 105, 107

Amsterdam, 0-4, 0-6, 46, 240

South Glens Falls, 0-4, 1-5, 60, 157

--Amsterdam and South Glens Falls have been eliminated from playoff contention, so we know the top four teams are all in, but in what order?

Burnt Hills all but has the division title wrapped up, assuming the Spartans can hold off the Spartans from Queensbury Friday night.

If Queensbury beats BH-BL and Gloversville beats Glens Falls, there would be a three-way tie for first place, so we would turn to quarter points again.

But, if BH-BL beats Queensbury and Gloversville beats Glens Falls, the division falls nicely into order. BH, Gloversville, Queensbury and Glens Falls would be seeded 1-4, each separated by a win.

Division II could wrap up quite nicely if everything goes according to plan, but since Division I is wide-open, I'll hold off on potential matchups.


Class B

Definitely in: Lansingburgh, Cohoes, Albany Academy, Hudson, Schalmont, Hudson Falls

On the bubble: Broadalbin-Perth, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Johnstown

Eliminated: Ravena

Reinfurt Division

League, Overall, PF, PA

Lansingburgh (12), 3-0, 5-1, 246, 109

Cohoes (17), 3-1, 5-1, 171, 133

Albany Academy, 1-2, 4-2, 218, 148

Hudson, 1-2, 4-2, 142, 140

Ravena, 0-3, 1-5, 96, 165

Ichabod Crane*, 0-0, 0-6, 12, 264

--Lansingburgh has clinched the No. 1 seed, because even if the Knights lose to Ravena on Friday, they own the head-to-head over Cohoes. Both 'Burgh and Cohoes are assured first round home playoff games.

Albany Academy travels to Hudson Friday night. The winner is the Reinfurt No. 3 and the loser is the No. 4 seed.

Ravena, which loses head-to-head tiebreakers against every team in the division, has been eliminated.

West Division

Schalmont, 3-0, 4-2, 170, 147

Hudson Falls, 3-1, 3-3, 144, 139

Broadalbin-Perth, 1-2, 3-3, 147, 130

Cobleskill-Richmondville, 1-2, 1-5, 84, 156

Johnstown, 0-3, 0-6, 91, 242

--Schalmont hosts Broadalbin-Perth Friday night, but the Sabres have a lock on the No. 1 spot with a victory over Hudson Falls, which is guaranteed the No. 2.

If Johnstown defeats Cobleskill-Richmondville and Schalmont beats Broadalbin, three teams finish with 1-3 records. All would own head-to-head tiebreakers over one team but none holds head-to-head advantage over the two other teams, so it would come down to divisional quarter points in that case.

Heading into Week 7, Broadalbin leads with eight DQP, Cobleskill has six and a half and Johnstown has two.

Assuming, however, that Academy beats Hudson, Cobleskill beats Johnstown and Schalmont beats B-P, your first round matchups will likely look like this:

R1 Lansingburgh vs. W4 Broadalbin-Perth

R3 Albany Academy vs. W2 Hudson Falls

(winners of above games square off in semis)

W1 Schalmont vs. R4 Hudson (Bluehawks pulled off the upset in the same situation last season)

W3 Cobleskill-Richmondville vs. R2 Cohoes

(winners of above games square off in semis)


Class C

Definitely in: Granville, Hoosick Falls, Chatham, Voorheesville, Fonda-Fultonville, Canajoharie

On the bubble: Cambridge, Corinth, Mechanicville,

Eliminated: Tamarac, Schuylerville, Hoosic Valley, Stillwater, Taconic Hills, Watervliet, Catholic Central, Cairo-Durham, Coxsackie-Athens

North Division

League, Overall, PF, PA

Granville, 5-0, 6-0, 172, 66

Hoosick Falls (7), 5-0, 6-0, 209, 64

Cambridge (10), 4-1, 5-1, 227, 28

Corinth, 4-1, 5-1, 180, 67

Mechanicville, 4-2, 4-2, 139, 129

Tamarac, 1-4, 1-5, 61, 170

Schuylerville, 1-5, 1-5, 135, 177

Hoosic Valley, 0-5, 1-5, 73, 200

Stillwater, 0-6, 0-6, 27, 245

--If Hoosick Falls defeats Corinth, the Panthers clinch at least a share of the division title, but they would also set up a tie-breaker for fourth place between Mechanicville and Corinth.

Granville can tie for the division title with a victory over Cambridge and if Corinth loses, there would be a three-way tie for the third and fourth spots with Cambridge, Corinth and Mechanicville all 4-2.

Here we go, DQPs again. Heading into Week 7, Corinth leads with 29, Cambridge has 28 and Mechanicville has 26.5. Cambridge holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Mechanicville should it come down to a tie.

South Division

Chatham (13), 6-0, 6-0, 295, 68

Voorheesville, 5-1, 5-1, 180, 123

Fonda-Fultonville, 4-1, 5-1, 212, 81

Canajoharie, 3-2, 4-2, 167, 61

Taconic Hills, 3-3, 3-3, 135, 158

Watervliet, 2-3, 3-3, 146, 104

Catholic Central, 1-4, 2-4, 112, 116

Cairo-Durham, 0-5, 1-5, 42, 218

Coxsackie-Athens, 0-5, 1-5, 111, 223

--If Taconic Hills beats Voorheesville AND Catholic Central beats Canajoharie, Taconic Hills would finish 4-3 and Canajo would finish 3-3. Since Canajo beat Taconic Hills 45-3 in Week 1, they hold the tiebreaker and would advance to the postseason anyway.

If Fonda and Voorheesville both win this weekend, they will be "tied" at 6-1 and 5-1 respectively because Voorheesville did not have a non-division game on the schedule.

The decision would come down to common Class C opponent quarter points, which Fonda currently leads 27.5 to 25. Both of their games this weekend, however, would count towards that total so taking an early lead and holding is important if Fonda wants that home playoff game.

Class D

Definitely in: Rensselaer, Lake George, Greenwich, Bishop Gibbons

On the bubble: Warrensburg, Spa Catholic, Fort Edward, Salem

Eliminated: Whitehall

League, Overall PF, PA

Lake George (15), 5-0, 5-1, 177, 63

Rensselaer (11), 5-0, 5-1, 231, 59

Greenwich, 4-1, 4-2, 174, 79

Bishop Gibbons, 3-2, 4-2, 167, 126

Warrensburg, 2-3, 2-4, 125, 147

Fort Edward, 2-4, 2-4, 104, 151

Saratoga Central Catholic, 2-4, 2-4, 85, 158

Salem, 1-4, 1-5, 42, 217

Whitehall, 0-6, 0-6, 34, 214

--Lake George and Rensselaer square off for first place and the No. 1 seed Friday night in Rensselaer.

The top six teams will qualify for the postseason with the top two seeds getting "bye weeks" in crossover competition against Class C teams that do not qualify for the postseason.

Greenwich and Gibbons are in, likely Nos. 3 and 4.

If Warrensburg beats Gibbons Saturday, the Burghers would vault into the four spot because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The sixth spot is still a toss-up. If Salem beats Whitehall, there could be a four-way tie for fifth place if Warrensburg and Spa Catholic lose. Only two of the four would get in.

--

*Ichabod Crane playing a Class C schedule and is ineligible for postseason

Numbers in parentheses indicate New York State Sportswriters Association ranking


--

Have a headache yet?

Check back tomorrow at 6 p.m. for our weekly live chat to discuss the scenarios and potential first round matchups with me and football fans from across Section II.

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