Victory tonight would clinch playoff spot for Patriots
It's very simple for the Bob Jones Patriots if they want to make the postseason this year - win and you're in.
Bob Jones (4-4, 3-3 in Class 6A Region 8) has one region game remaining at home against Sparkman (2-6, 2-4). Austin (4-4, 3-3) is currently tied with the Patriots for fourth place and hosts Buckhorn (5-3, 4-2).
If Bob Jones beats Sparkman and Austin beats Buckhorn, the result would be a three-way tie with all three teams holding 4-3 region records. Because Bob Jones would have beaten Austin, Austin would have beaten Buckhorn and Buckhorn would have beaten Bob Jones, additional tiebreakers would need to be used.
All three teams would have lost to Huntsville and Florence but have beaten Sparkman, Grissom and Hazel Green, so the next tiebreaker is common non-region opponents. There are no common non-region opponents among the three, so the next tie breaker is (according to the Alabama High School Athletic Association 2007 Fall Sports Book) "(l) The team whose opponents in class and above have the most victories if all teams involved in the tie play an equal number of games."
Because all three teams would have identical records against their other region opponents, only non-region games would apply in this tiebreaker. Bob Jones has a win over Mountain Brook (Class 6A), which currently has four wins; its other non-region games of Spain Park (loss) and Madison Academy (Class 3A opponent) do not apply. Buckhorn has beaten Lee-Huntsville (Class 5A) and lost to North Jackson (Class 4A), but neither team applies in this tiebreaker. Buckhorn has a game remaining against Clay-Chalkville (Class 6A), which currently has two wins. Austin's non-region opponents are all Class 5A, so the Black Bears have no wins to apply to this tiebreaker.
The current total then is Bob Jones (4), Buckhorn (2), Austin (0). If Clay-Chalkville wins tonight then loses to Buckhorn next Friday, that would change the Bucks' number to 3. Regardless of how Mountain Brook finishes the season, the Patriots still receive credit of at least 4. Therefore, there is no way Bob Jones can fail to make the playoffs if it comes down to tiebreaker (l).
Under this scenario, Bob Jones would take the No. 3 seed in the region while Austin would finish at No. 4 by virtue of a win against Buckhorn head-to-head.
If Bob Jones beats Sparkman and Austin loses to Buckhorn, then Buckhorn finishes with a 5-2 region record and takes the No. 3 seed. Bob Jones would be 4-3 and take the No. 4 spot.
If Bob Jones loses to Sparkman and Austin loses to Buckhorn, then Bob Jones, Austin and Sparkman finish in a tie for fourth place with 3-4 records in region play. Once again, there is a three-way tie for third place and once again all three teams would have lost to (Huntsville, Florence, Buckhorn) and beaten (Grissom and Hazel Green) the same teams in region competition. Also, again each of the three would have beaten one of the other two and lost to the other.
There are also no common non-region opponents among all three teams, so again it comes down to tiebreaker (l). Sparkman has already lost to two of its non-region opponents and its remaining game is against Athens (Class 5A), which would not apply.
Again, the tiebreaker is in Bob Jones' favor (at least 4) against both Austin (0) and Sparkman (0). Bob Jones would advance to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
If Bob Jones loses to Sparkman and Austin beats Buckhorn, there would be a two-way tie for third with Buckhorn and Austin each holding 4-3 records in region play. Austin would be the No. 3 seed by virtue of beating Buckhorn head-to-head and Buckhorn would then take the No. 4 seed.
This is the only scenario under which Bob Jones would be eliminated.
