by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Figuring out the new football playoff format for a Kansas High School team can be a bit mind boggling.

But here are few things to remember before we analyze the playoff fate of seven Sumner County teams.

1. The Class 4A format is like the NCAA basketball tournament bracket. A No. 1 seed plays a No. 16 seed, No. 2 vs. No. 15, No. 3 vs. No. 14, etc. in week #9. The top seeds always get home field advantage.

2. 4A has 32 teams, divided into two regionals: the east side and the west side. Those seeds are based on records. The better the record, the higher seed. Wellington is in 4A-West.

3. For Class 3A to 8-man Div. II where the other six Sumner schools are classified, there are still districts. There are six team districts and the top four play the top four from an adjacent district. No. 1 plays No. 4 from the other district, No. 2 vs. No. 3 from the other district. The No. 5 and 6 district seed plays a No. 5 and 6 district seed in a non-playoff game in week #9.

4. There are no longer a Thursday-Tuesday-Saturday format. All teams play one game per weekend, usually on Friday night. This includes the eight-man schools.

5. A team can only pick up 13 points per contest. So let’s say a team wins by 14, then it is still 13.

Ok. Let’s just work through this together as we dissect the playoff fates of seven Sumner County teams.

Wellington – Class 4A

The Class 4A West bracket going into the final regular season week:

Analysis: Wellington is in a very good position in the Class 4A West. It will finish either finish at best a No. 2 seed or at worse a No. 4 seed no matter what happens with its home game against Mulvane Friday night.

McPherson has clinched the No. 1 seed with a 7-0 record and will play the No. 16 seed which is either Rose Hill or Independence which coincidentally play one another this weekend.

Wellington is currently No. 2 with a 6-1 record, so if it wins it will remain there no matter what. It will play the winner of Rose Hill-Independence in week #9.

If Wellington loses to Mulvane, at 5-2, there are several possibilities. Wellington will lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to Mulvane so it will be either a No. 3 or a No. 4 seed depending what Goddard does against Andover this weekend.

Wellington can maintain a No. 3 seed if it loses and Goddard loses.

Wellington can also still be a No. 3 seed if Wellington loses and Goddard wins based on points differential totals since the two teams did not play during the regular season. Wellington currently has 24 more points than Goddard. So if Wellington loses to Mulvane by 11 points or less it should maintain the No. 3 seed. If Wellington loses by 12 or more points and Goddard beats Andover by 13 or more, then Goddard gets the No. 3 seed and Wellington falls to No. 4.

Regardless, if Wellington keeps advancing, it will host the first two rounds, guaranteed since it is in the top four. Wellington will remain at Sellers Park as long as it is a higher seed.

Belle Plaine, Conway Springs – Class 2A

Analysis: Douglass has the inside track to win district 5. Belle Plaine’s only chance to winning District 5 is to beat Douglass and Fredonia losing to Neodesha – not likely. So the Dragons are likely to be a No. 3 seed because Fredonia beat them head-to-head.

In District 6, Conway Springs has clinched the district championship.

In week #9, No. 1 Conway Springs will play the winner of Cherryvale vs. Eureka. Belle Plaine is likely to travel to play the winner of Hutchinson Trinity or Chaparral.

Oxford, Argonia-Attica, Caldwell – 8 man Div. 1

Analysis: Oh, my goodness, 8-man Div. I, District 2 is a mess. Only thing is assured is that South Central is the champion, and Oxford is in sixth place. Remember, four of the six teams make the playoffs. Udall will play Oxford which is a likely win. That will move the Eagles to 3-2. Argonia-Attica is at South Central. On paper that seems like a loss. However, who knows what South Central’s state of mind will be since it has clinched everything here.

So here are the possibilities as long as Udall beats Oxford and clinches a playoff berth …

If A&A beats South Central, it will be in the playoffs. The winner of the Caldwell at Medicine Lodge will also be in the playoffs.

If A&A loses to South Central, the Caldwell-Medicine Lodge winner is in. Then it comes down to head-to-head tiebreakers between the Caldwell-Medicine Lodge loser and A&A.

If Medicine Lodge and A&A loses, A&A owns the tiebreaker and will be the fourth team.

If Caldwell and A&A loses, Caldwell owns the tiebreaker and will be the fourth team.

The fifth place team will play the fifth place team from District. 1.

Now if you want to analyze the playoff pairings, that may be impossible, since District 1 has a three-way tie. Cedar Vale-Dexter, Central Burden and Sedan are in. The playoff pairing possibilities is infinite.

South Haven – 8-man Div. 2

Analysis: South Haven is battling Hutchinson Central Christian for the No. 2 spot in the district. So it will either be a No. 2 or 3 team and play Stafford, Ingalls or Satanta in the first round of the playoffs.

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