Playoff time is upon us in high school football, and the Oskaloosa Indians have found a way to hang in the race to get to the postseason.
That being said, the Indians will need the right scenario to occur if they will be playing in the first round next Wednesday night.
There is a three-way tie for the last playoff spot coming into the final week of the season in Class 3A District 7 between Chariton, Knoxville, and Oskaloosa.
It’s important to note that three positions have been clinched in District 7. Pella is the district champion and will have the #1 seed regardless of their Week 9 result, and the same goes for Norwalk in the #2 spot. Saydel finishes in seventh.
Everything else is up for grabs, and there are eight possible scenarios for Friday.
The three big matchups are:
Carlisle at Oskaloosa
Chariton at #1Pella
#6Norwalk at Knoxville
Here’s how each scenario plays out:
All Three Schools Lose – This is the most likely scenario, as Chariton, Knoxville, and Osky will all go in as huge underdogs in Week 9. If this occurs, the three-way tiebreak remains, and the Point Differential Tiebreaker will be used. Chariton would come out on top in any scenario with any score difference with Knoxville the first team out, and Osky coming in after that.
Carlisle – 6-3 (4-2)
4. Chariton – 5-4 (2-4)
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5. Knoxville – 5-4 (2-4)
6. Oskaloosa – 2-7 (2-4)
Only Oskaloosa Wins – If Oskaloosa is the only team to win of the three, they would leapfrog both Chariton and Knoxville and tie Carlisle, in which case the head-to-head would give Oskaloosa the #3 seed.
Oskaloosa – 3-6 (3-3)
4. Carlisle – 5-4 (3-3)
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5. Chariton – 5-4 (2-4)
6. Knoxville – 5-4 (2-4)
Only Knoxville Wins – If Knoxville pulls the upset on Norwalk, while Chariton and Oskaloosa lose, then it is Knoxville who will jump into the playoffs. They lost previously to Carlisle this season, which is why they are stuck at #4.
Carlisle – 6-3 (4-2)
4. Knoxville – 6-3 (3-3)
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5. Chariton – 5-4 (2-4)
6. Oskaloosa – 2-7 (2-4)
Only Chariton Wins – Chariton already has the inside track with their point differential margin, but they could solidify the #4 seed by beating Pella in Week 9. Carlisle took out Chariton earlier this year to hold that Head-To-Head Tiebreaker.
Carlisle – 6-3 (4-2)
4. Chariton – 6-3 (4-2)
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5. Knoxville – 5-4 (2-4)
6. Oskaloosa – 5-4 (2-4)
Only Oskaloosa and Knoxville Win – This is where it gets tricky. Oskaloosa lost to Knoxville, and would have beaten Carlisle to get to this point, and Knoxville lost to Carlisle earlier this season. Everyone would have a 3-3 record in district play, and would have a 1-1 record against each other this year. That means that the Point Differential Tiebreak comes into play once again. And again, Oskaloosa would be on the outside looking in. Carlisle has a comfortable lead, and would not be tested for the #3 spot, with Knoxville taking the 4th spot, regardless of the final score.
Carlisle – 5-4 (3-3)
4. Knoxville – 6-3 (3-3)
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5. Oskaloosa – 3-6 (3-3)
6. Chariton – 5-4 (2-4)
Only Oskaloosa and Chariton Win – This is another ideal scenario for Osky. Should Chariton beat Pella while Osky pulls the home upset on Carlisle, that sets up another three-way tie. But this time, Oskaloosa has beaten both of the teams they are tied with, therefore giving them the highest seed of the three. Carlisle beat Chariton earlier this year, so they would be safe as well.
Oskaloosa – 3-6 (3-3)
4. Carlisle – 5-4 (3-3)
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5. Chariton – 6-3 (3-3)
6. Knoxville – 5-4 (2-4)
Only Chariton and Knoxville Win – This is another scenario which will be solved by the Head-To-Head Tiebreak, and Oskaloosa is outside of the pack with the loss. Chariton is safely ahead of Knoxville due to their victory against the Panthers earlier this year.
Carlisle – 6-3 (4-2)
4. Chariton – 6-3 (3-3)
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5. Knoxville – 6-3 (3-3)
6. Oskaloosa – 2-7 (2-4)
All Three Schools Win – In this scenario, Chariton would upset Pella, Knoxville would upset Norwalk, and Oskaloosa would beat Carlisle. This sets up a four-way tie for the #3 spot with the three schools in question and Carlisle. At that point, the tie-break goes to the teams with the best head-to-head records against the teams that they beat. Oskaloosa would be 2-1 against those teams, just like Carlisle, while Chariton and Knoxville would be 1-2. Osky would get the tie-break over Carlisle by beating them in Week 9, so the standings would look like this:
Oskaloosa – 3-6 (3-3)
4. Carlisle – 5-4 (3-3)
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Chariton – 6-3 (3-3)
6. Knoxville – 6-3 (3-3)
As you can see, there are many ways this could play out. From Oskaloosa’s standpoint, the first thing that needs to happen is a win over Carlisle on their home field. If they lose, there is no possible scenario that the Indians could back into the playoffs, as there isn’t enough room to catchup in the Point Differential Tiebreaker, regardless of the other scores in the district.
You can catch all the action on Friday night at 6 PM, as the Brown’s Shoe Fit Pregame Show gets your ready for the Indians game in Oskaloosa against Carlisle, which can be heard on 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and on kboeradio.com.
