EXPANDED PLAYOFF SYSTEM WORKING LIKE IS SHOULD

Before last season, the District 9 Committee decided to expand its football playoff format to include more teams.

In Class A, that means up to eight teams qualify for the playoffs instead of the four that previously qualified.

Last year some wondered if that was a wise move when only seven teams elected to enter the postseason.

But last year wasn’t a typical year in Class A in District 9. There was one dominant team – Curwensville – and the rest of the pack was far away from the Tide. (Although a Clarion-Limestone team with Hayden Johnston would have given Curwensville a bit more competition). Because of Curwensville’s dominance and a very unbalanced AML and KSAC, only seven teams had winning records and the eighth seed would have been Otto-Eldred with a 3-6 record. The Terrors elected not to go. That caused some people to say Curwensville got an unfair bye in the first week and that District 9 should have never expanded.

Well I bet a year later those people are thinking District 9 made a great move expanding to an 8-team tournament.

This year’s Class A field through eight weeks looks wide open. Any one of the eight teams has a chance to win the title. Of course there are favorites like Coudersport, Clarion and Curwensville. But the rest of the field is deep in quality as well.

All eight teams are two games over .500 entering the final week of the season and all eight could easily finish with at least six wins.

Under the old system, three teams that could be considered among the favorites – Clarion and Johnsonburg – would still be playing for their playoff lives next week. Both teams are 6-2 but one would be left out because Curwensville and C-L only have one loss and Coudersport has none. In Clarion’s case, both of the Bobcats’ losses have come in tight games against good teams by a total of five points. Clarion lost 17-14 in overtime to Class AA Karns City, and the Bobcats fell 14-12 to one of the top teams in District 10 Class A – Kennedy Catholic – this past week.

Also under the old system, a team like Kane, which is currently 5-3 and could easily finish 6-3, would also be left out. The Wolves are a relatively young team that struggled at the start of the year going 2-3. But Kane has now won three straight and could be one the hottest teams in District 9 entering the playoffs. I would bet that not one of the top seeds wants to see the Wolves in the first round.

Johnsonburg is another team that would have unfairly been left out under the old system.

The Rams have had some big wins this year including being the only D9 team to beat Curwensville in the last two seasons. But the J-Burg has also lost twice in overtime (Brockway and Kane) while having to play the last two weeks without Calvin Grumley, who is possibly their best player. Yet despite the big wins and close games, the injuries and losses would have kept the Rams away from the postseason in the old system. Now they get a chance in the postseason and anything can happen.

Actually the anything can happen argument is the reason Class A schools should go to the playoffs – if they qualify – with or without .500 records. Look at what Brookville did in Class AA last year going in with a 3-6 record but getting hot at the right time and finishing with a D9 title.

While a lot of people criticize the Raiders and even D9 for going to the postseason, why shouldn’t they have if they thought they had a shot at winning a title?

There are many examples of .500 or sub .500 teams making their marks in the postseason. Look at the 1973 New York Mets who finished 82-80 but won the National League title that season.

Other district’s teams with awful records qualify for the playoffs all the time. In the WPIAL (District 7) for example, there are a handful of 3-6 teams that will be in the postseason, and if District 6 expands to 16 teams in Class A next year, it will have sub-.500 teams as well.

That being said, there are some sub- or possible sub-.500 teams in District 9 that I think should look long and hard about entering the playoffs. This doesn’t mean that any of these teams ARE NOT thinking about going to the playoffs at under .500. It just means that if they are thinking about not going to the playoffs they should reconsider. Granted, in some cases school policy seemingly prohibits entering postseason at under .500 but as we all know, school boards can change school policy any time they want.

Brookville is 4-4 right now and could be 4-5 if it loses to Grove City next week. But considering the Raiders’ success in the postseason last year they should get an opportunity to defend their title.

Moniteau is another 4-4 team that closes with a tough game against Clarion. If the Warriors lose, I think they should still go in. Class AA is wide-open this season, and the Warriors have as much of a chance as anyone to win the title.

Bradford (2-5) should go to the Class AAA playoffs go if it beats Harbor Creek next week. The Owls have had a tough schedule that included unbeaten DuBois, one-loss C-L and a tough Olean (NY) team. Not only that, two of the Owls’ losses came in double-overtime. And if that isn’t enough, consider the fact that there is no reason Bradford can’t win Class AAA. The Owls lost to Clearfield in double overtime and beat St. Marys in a close game.

Speaking of St. Marys (4-4), it looks like the Dutch will go to the postseason even if they lose to Philipsburg-Osceola (2-7) this week and well they should. The players under second-year head coach Joe Schlimm have taken a huge step up this season and should be rewarded with a postseason trip. Friday’s pasting of Clearfield is proof enough that the Dutch – if they enter – would be the favorite to win the D9 title. Even in its four losses, St. Marys has been in three of the games, falling in the final seconds to Karns City, in the final minutes to Bradford and in the final quarter to Clarion. Two of those teams (Karns City and Clarion) could be considered potential favorites to win District 9 titles.