'Friday Night Lights': Running the Numbers
By Christopher Gray, 4:40PM, Fri. Nov. 10, 2006
This is it, folks. Last night of the 2006 regular season. Next week the second season, which lasts almost as long, begins with the bi-district playoff round. Here's what the Central Texas playoff picture looks like, district by district. Bear in mind 5A sends four teams per district to the playoffs now, two apiece to Division I and II, while the other classifications continue to send three.
14-5A: Leander, Westwood, and Cedar Park are in; if the Lions win at home vs. Cedar Park tonight, they'll finish 7-0 in district. Georgetown, entertaining McNeil, has a long shot of taking the fourth playoff spot, but Round Rock can make it academic by beating Pflugerville.
25-5A: It's set: Seguin and Westlake are Division I, Austin High and San Marcos go D-II. The only thing not determined is the district title, Seguin's if the Matadors beat Bowie tonight at Berger Stadium.
17-4A: McCallum and Elgin are in. Third spot goes to the winner of tonight's Travis-LBJ showdown at Nelson Field, making it an easy pick for game of the night.
25-4A: Done deal: District champ Lake Travis goes D-II with Burnet, while Connally looks to go deep in the Division I bracket for the third year in a row.
26-4A: Only Schertz Clemens is in, but a New Braunfels school will make it. Maybe. All New Braunfels High has to do is beat Lehman, who have yet to record a district win. Canyon has it a little tougher: They have to beat Clemens and hope for a Lehman upset. Should both lose, Hays Consolidated can slip in by beating Schertz Steele.
18-3A: Liberty Hill is safe. Hutto and Cameron Yoe will likely advance, provided Hutto beats Taylor tonight. If the Ducks pull off the upset and Yoe beats Liberty Hill, things get a little more complicated.
23-3A: Giddings' 35-28 win over Bellville last week handed the No. 3 Buffs the district title, but they're both in. La Grange joins them unless Caldwell beats Bellville by a field goal or more, in which case the Hornets would swarm into the postseason.
25-3A: Believe it or not, winless Ingram Moore can still make the playoffs with a win over Bandera. More likely, Bandera will join Llano and No. 5 Wimberley.
25-2A: Wide open: Rogers and Salado are out front with 5-1 district marks, Jarrell and Troy trail at 4-2, and Rosebud-Lott is still in it at 3-3. A pair of 1-5 teams are poised to play spoiler: Academy at Troy and Florence at Rogers, and if Rosebud-Lott upsets Salado, it's really going to be a mess.
27-A: Thrall and Thorndale can relax. Granger joins them by beating 1-8 Burton, but an upset could open the door for Milano or Bartlett.
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