This District 20-4A playoff scramble is such a mess that most district head football coaches prefer to avoid any discussion of it.
When asked if his West Orange-Stark Mustangs have clinched a state playoff berth with two games left, head coach Dan Hooks responded, “I think we have but I don’t really know.”
District 20-4A policy states that the head-to-head score settles any two-way ties in the final standings and the commonly used 18-point tiebreaker untangles any three- or four-way ties in the standings.
As the district’s smallest-enrollment school, WO-S (8-0 and 3-0) virtually is assured of a 4A Division II bid by virtue of its victory margins over its three previous 20-4A opponents.
WO-S can clinch a 12th district championship in 16 years by winning tonight at Thomas Jefferson. But that’s the most simple element of the intricate 20-4A playoff puzzle. Nederland, Lincoln, Port Neches-Groves and TJ all remain in a position to control their playoff destiny, too.
Owning the league’s highest enrollment, Nederland (7-1 and 2-1) is headed toward the 32-team Division I bracket if it clinches a playoff berth. The combination of a Nederland win over Lincoln and a WO-S win over TJ would enable the Bulldogs to clinch a Division I bid for the fourth straight year.
The third and final league playoff bid could involve TJ, PN-G, and Lincoln. Being the only one with one loss at this point, TJ (6-2 and 2-1) is assured of a playoff spot if it is able to capture back-to-back wins over WO-S and Lincoln.
PN-G and Lincoln (both 1-2 in district) can strengthen their playoff postures by winning each of their two remaining games. PN-G is still alive for a playoff berth in Divisions I or II by defeating both LC-M and Nederland. Lincoln stays alive for a return to the 64-team Division II bracket by beating both Nederland and TJ. Neither PN-G nor Lincoln is in position to clinch a playoff berth tonight, though.
— TOM HALLIBURTON
