Football Playoff Information
There are many questions that arise this time of year regarding high school playoffs. Who do we play? Where do we play? How are the opponents and sites determined? This article may be a bit lengthy, but hopefully will explain the football playoff procedure as it applies to St. Francis Community High School. Much of the information comes directly from the KSHSAA Football Manual.
District Assignment
First of all, the 48 teams participating in 1A Division I football are divided into districts by the Kansas High School Activities Association (KSHSAA). Teams are assigned geographically. St. Francis was assigned to District 8 which also contains Atwood-Rawlins County, Hoxie, Leoti-Wichita County, Oberlin-Decatur Community, and Wakeeney Trego. There is a formula for determining the date and location of district contests established by the KSHSAA, but it will not be discussed here.
Determining District Qualifiers
Once the district contests are completed, the district qualifiers must be determined. Here is the procedure for determining the qualifiers.
Four teams from each football district will advance into the playoff bracket. The four teams qualifying from each district shall be determined on the percentage of games won in district competition. The team(s) with the best district win-loss record will qualify for the playoffs.
• Should a school voluntarily forfeit a district contest, that school is considered removed from contention as a possible qualifier from the district for the remainder of the current season, even though it may play the other district games remaining on their schedule.
• A school that has been required to forfeit a district game as a sanction for a violation of KSHSAA rules is not automatically considered removed from contention as a possible qualifier from the district. Such sanction (i.e., removal from contention in district play) may be imposed upon the offending school but such sanction must be one imposed upon the school by the KSHSAA.
Twenty-One (21) Point Tiebreaker – Determining the Points
Total the margin of points each team had in all district contests. Marginal points will be the point difference in final game score. No team will add or subtract more than twenty-one (21) points in any district contests. No team will add or subtract more than one (1) point in any district contest which was tied at the end of regulation time and the winning team was eventually determined in overtime.
In overtimes, extra points (PAT) would not be attempted if the winner has been determined.
1. Tie(s) (in either win-loss percentage or in marginal points) involving two teams is first broken on the basis of district head-to-head game results between those two teams. In such a two-way tie, the team that won in district play the game between the two tied teams shall advance or be identified as the first qualifier. The other team that was tied in either district win-loss percentage or in marginal points with the first qualifying team will be the second qualifier from that district.
2. If more than two teams are tied in either district win-loss percentage or in total district marginal points, and one team won over the other teams it is tied with, that team shall be identified as the first qualifier. If the remaining teams are still tied in win-loss percentage or in total district marginal points for the second playoff spot, and one team won over other teams it is tied with, that team shall advance.
3. If there is no common winner (one team defeated all the others it is tied with) or there is no common loser (one team was defeated by all of the other teams it is tied with and thus eliminated as one of the tied teams) then the 21-point tiebreaker procedure is applied to determine the qualifying teams (subject to points 1 and 2).
4. After determining the points using the 21-point tiebreaker, the team with the greatest number of total district marginal points (as determined by the results of all games between the teams in that district) will be the first qualifier. If another qualifier is to be determined, the team with the second highest total of marginal points will be the qualifier. If two teams are tied in marginal points, the team that defeated the other in head-to-head district play will be the qualifier.
5. In the case of more than three teams tied in district win-loss record, and if two of those teams are also tied with the most marginal points, the head-to-head results of the game between those two tied teams will be used to break the two-way tie.
6. If teams are not tied in total district marginal points (one or more teams have thus been eliminated from the tie on the basis of total district marginal points), then the district head-to-head game results between those teams (in either win-loss percentage or in total district marginal points) is used to break that tie.
7. If after determining total district marginal points in all district games the tie involving more than two teams remains, then marginal points among only the tied teams when they played each other in district games will be calculated to break the tie.
8. In the event that ties involving three or more teams cannot be broken as outlined and through application of the 21-point tiebreaking procedure, the following criteria will be used to identify the first qualifying team:
e. If a tie remains after application of the above criteria, the qualifying teams will be determined by lot (the qualifying team will be drawn from a hat).
Example: Since D is not in contention as a tied team based on D’s district win-loss record, of the three teams tied in winloss record, the total of marginal points for all district games would be used to break the three-way tie between teams A, B and C. In this example, team B would be declared the winner of the district (based on the district game results and application of the 21-point tiebreaker procedure). With B now identified as the district winner, to determine the second qualifying team (between teams A and C) the marginal points would be used. Since A had more marginal points, A is the second qualifying team.
Playoff Brackets
Playoff brackets are set up to ensure two teams qualifying from the same district would not possibly meet each other until the sub-state round of the playoffs. Thirty-two of the 48 1A - Division I teams will be seeded on the bracket. The 2018 8-man Division 1 Playoff Bracket is viewable by clicking on this link.
Playoff Dates
In 2018 the games, unless otherwise specified or approved by the KSHSAA, will be played on the dates below. Friday games requiring the visiting school to travel 151 miles or more (one way) shall be played on Saturday at the request of the visiting school in order to reduce the loss of school time. If a Saturday game is to be played, and if the two schools cannot agree on a game time, the KSHSAA will set the time so as to best accommodate the school's travel demands. Tuesday and Friday games will be played at 7 p.m. unless otherwise announced by the KSHSAA. (KSHSAA must approve postponed games, as there shall be at least three days between playoff games.)
Thursday, October 25, 2018 or Friday, October 26, 2018---- Week #9 Bracket Game – All Classes
Friday, November 2, 2018--------------------------------------------- Regional – All Classes
Friday, November 9, 2018--------------------------------------------- Sectional – All Classes
Friday, November 16, 2018 ------------------------------------------- Sub-State – All Classes
Saturday, November 24, 2018---------------------------------------- State Championships – All Classes
Selection of Host Sites for Playoff Games
1. The host school in week #9 (October 26) is the school with the better seed.
2. The host school in the regional round will be the school with the better seed.
3. In all classifications other than 6A, 5A, and 4A in all subsequent rounds after the regional round, the host school will be the school hosting the least number of playoff games this year. If both teams have hosted an equal number of playoff games, then the East-West formula will be used to determine the host site.
East-West Formula
When questions arise as to which school is farthest east or west when applying the formula, the KSHSAA will make a determination. Final determination will be based on the location of the front door for the high school attendance center of the two schools involved.
FARTHEST EASTERN SCHOOL WILL SERVE AS HOST IN THESE ROUNDS/CLASSES
2018 Sectional Round ---- 3A, 2A and 1A 2018 Sub-State Round --- 8-Player DI and 8-Player DII
FARTHEST WESTERN SCHOOL WILL SERVE AS HOST IN THESE ROUNDS/CLASSES
2018 Sectional Round ---- 8-Player DI and 8-Player DII 2018 Sub-State Round --- 3A, 2A and 1A
If you've read to this point, you now know how the playoff system is designed. You must also be an Indian fan!
Go, Indians!
