So many options so little time/ This weekend's games will determine

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Oct 25, 2000 | by Kurt Eilmes

Depending on the league, the high school football playoff picture can be quite clear, or as confusing as a Dennis Miller rant on Monday Night Football.

The leagues of the area's smaller classes (3A, 2A and 1A) could sway in many directions heading into this weekend's games.

The best example is the Class 1A South Central League.

Ellicott sits in first place with a 5-1 conference record and is done with league games. Limon and Peyton are 4-1 and face league opponents this weekend.

If those three teams should tie for the conference title, Peyton will be awarded the first seed due to the league tie-breakers. Those rules say the that the team that has allowed the fewest points against the other two teams wins the top seed. Peyton leads this tiebreaker by 19 points.

If Ellicott and Limon should tie, Limon will enter as the No. 1 seed because it defeated Ellicott 55-28. Should Ellicott and Peyton tie, Ellicott will be No. 1 due to its 24-19 win over the Panthers.

Peyton's game against Las Animas on Saturday will be the main factor in the playoff seedings. Should the Panthers lose, Las Animas will enter as the No. 3 seed and Peyton will settle for a wild-card entry.

"This game is big for us," Peyton coach Matt McIntyre said. "We'll either be Southern League champions or the wild-card seed."

The difference will be between opening the playoffs at home or facing a league champion on the road.

In the Class 2A Southern League, things are a little more certain. La Junta (4-0) and Trinidad (4-0) have secured the two automatic bids. The only other team with playoff hopes is Falcon (4- 4 overall, 2-2 league), which must beat Colorado Springs Christian and get help from other 2A teams to earn the wild-card spot.

The Class 2A Pikes Peak League also gets two automatic bids, with Buena Vista (4-0), Florence (3-1) and St. Mary's (3-1) battling it out. The team that doesn't earn an automatic berth joins Falcon in the fight for a wild-card seed.

St. Mary's hosts Buena Vista on Saturday and can earn the No. 1 seed with a win and a Florence loss. However, if both Buena Vista and Florence win, both are in.

Finally, in the Class 3A Southern League, things are a little less settled. That is because the league sends five of its 12 teams to the playoffs and there are two games remaining.

Woodland Park (8-0) and Caon City (7-1) are in, but there is a logjam for the remaining three spots.

Cheyenne Mountain (6-2) is alone in third place, controlling its future. If the Indians win their last two games, against Pueblo West and Lamar, they enter as the third seed.

Alamosa, Liberty and Pine Creek are tied at 5-3, with Fountain- Fort Carson one game back. All of these teams are still alive for the playoffs.

"We should have a lot clearer picture after this weekend's game but all of us could still be in it after the end of the week," Pine Creek coach Mike Roof said.

Alamosa travels to Liberty on Friday in a game that could raise or crush either team's playoff hopes.

Roof said his team's game against Woodland Park is equally important because if the Eagles win both remaining games, they, too, will automatically qualify.

"Our biggest job is to go out and beat Woodland Park somehow," Roof said. "We have our work cut out for us."

Roof added that the Southern League has its own tie-breaking rules. If two teams tie, the winner of the head-to- head matchup is the higher seed. However, if the two teams did not meet in the regular season (a possibility because the 12-team league plays 10 games) or if three or more teams tie, a point system based on game scores is used.

"I've worked out every scenario that affects us," Roof said.

- Kurt Eilmes may be reached at 636-0250 or keilmes@gazette.com

Football

In the Class 2A Southern League La Junta (4-0) and Trinidad (4- 0) have secured the two automatic bids.