Playoff scenarios for Midlands football teams: Who’s in, who’s out, who needs help?
With one week left in the high school football public school regular season, the playoff race is starting to take shape.
After the playoffs were shortened to two teams per region last year, this year the postseason is back to normal with top four teams making it — plus a chance for at-large berths in Class 2A and 4A because of the uneven amount of regions.
Here are the updated playoff scenarios for Midlands teams. Region records are in parentheses:
Class 5A
——Region 4——
Locks: Northwestern (3-0) is the region champion. Spring Valley (3-1) is the No. 2 seed.
In the mix: Ridge View (1-2) and Rock Hill (1-2) are tied for third. RV is the No. 3 seed with a win over Blythewood (0-3). If Blythewood wins and Rock Hill loses, a tiebreaker will determine the No. 3 and 4 seeds. If Blythewood wins and Rock Hill beats Northwestern, the Bengals and Rock Hill are in the playoffs.
——Region 5——
Locks: Dutch Fork (4-0) won the region championship and has a week off before playoffs begin. Lexington (2-1) and Chapin (2-1) are in the playoffs and play each other Friday. The winner is the No. 2 seed and loser the No. 3 seed.
In the mix: The fourth seed goes to the winner of next week’s River Bluff (0-3) and White Knoll (0-3) game.
Class 4A
——Region 4——
Locks: AC Flora (3-1), Irmo (3-1) and Westwood (3-1) are in but seeding still up for grabs. If three teams finish tied, Flora would be the No. 1 seed, Westwood No. 2 and Irmo the No. 3 seed based on defensive points allowed in games between the three teams. If two teams finish tied, the winner of the head-to-head matchup would be No. 1 seed.
In the mix: The final spot goes to either Dreher (1-3), Richland Northeast (1-3) or Lugoff-Elgin (1-3). If the teams finish in three-way tie, RNE earns playoff spot by virtue of defensive points allowed in games between the three teams. The matchups for the final week are AC Flora at Dreher, Irmo at Lugoff-Elgin and Richland Northeast at Westwood.
——Region 5——
Locks: South Aiken (3-0) has clinched the region title. The second seed goes to winner of next week’s Aiken (2-1) and North Augusta (2-1) game. Airport (1-3) is the No. 4 seed.
Class 3A
——Region 4——
Locks: Lower Richland (4-0) has won the region and Chester (3-1) is No 2, Fairfield Central (2-2) the third seed and Keenan (1-3) No. 4.
——Region 5——
Locks: Brookland-Cayce (3-1), Gilbert (3-1) and Orangeburg-Wilkinson (3-1) enter the final week tied for first. B-C hosts O-W. B-C is the No. 1 seed with a win. Gilbert is the No. 1 seed with a win and O-W victory. O-W is region champ with a win and Gilbert loss to Swansea. Strom Thurmond (2-2) has clinched a spot and will be the third or fourth seed. ST is the third seed if O-W wins and would be fourth seed if B-C wins.
——Region 6——
Locks: Camden (4-0) has clinched the region title. Crestwood (4-1) is the No. 2 seed and Lakewood (3-2) the No. 3. Lake City (1-4) is the fourth seed.
Class 2A
——Region 3——
Locks: Gray Collegiate (4-0), Saluda (3-1), Newberry (3-1) and Batesburg-Leesville (1-3) have clinched spots. The winner of Friday’s Newberry-Gray game is the region champion. If Gray wins, Saluda, is the No. 2 seed. If Newberry wins, Gray is the No. 2 and Saluda is No. 3 seed. B-L is the fourth seed.
In the mix: The winner of the Eau Claire (0-4) and Columbia (0-4) game gets the fifth spot since five teams from region make playoffs.
——Region 4——
Locks: Chesterfield (4-0), Andrew Jackson (3-1), Cheraw (3-1) have clinched playoff spots and Chesterfield plays Cheraw for region title this week. The winner of the game will be region champs. Andrew Jackson (3-1) can finish second with a Chesterfield win. AJ’s game against Buford was canceled because of Buford in COVID protocol. Central is the fourth seed (2-3) and North Central (1-3) the fifth seed.
——Region 5——
Locks: Silver Bluff (4-0) has won the region title. Wade Hampton (2-1) can wrap up second in region with a victory over Barnwell (1-2) on Friday. Pelion (1-2) can clinch third seed with a win over Edisto or Barnwell loss next week.
Class A
——Region 2——
Locks: Lamar (4-0) has clinched the region championship. The winner of Friday’s McBee (2-1) at CA Johnson (2-1) game is the No. 2 seed. Great Falls (1-3) is the fourth seed.
This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 1:45 PM.
