HS football playoffs in a year like 2020

As if 2020 hasn’t been strange enough already, wait until you hear how the playoffs for Garland ISD high school football – District 9-6A – will shake out.

 

Because of COVID-19, several of the teams had to cancel/postpone multiple games this season and these schedule changes have affected the playoff picture. The district voted to separate the eight high schools into two zones to determine which teams advance to the playoffs.

 

Naaman Forest HS (first seed), Lakeview Centennial HS (second seed), South Garland HS (third seed) and Wylie HS (fourth seed) are in Zone A.

 

Zone B includes Rowlett HS (first seed), Sachse HS (second seed), Garland HS (third seed) and North Garland HS (fourth seed).

 

The playoff method chosen pits the first seed in each zone against the fourth seed in the other zone and the second seed in each zone against the third seed in the other zone.

 

Two of these games were played Nov. 12 and 13.

 

The Sachse Mustangs (Zone B, second seed; 3-3, 3-2) defeated the South Garland Colonels (Zone A, third seed; 2-4, 2-3) Thursday, Nov. 12, by a score of 57-13. This victory puts the Mustangs into the playoffs.

 

The Rowlett Eagles (Zone B, first seed; 3-1, 3-1) were defeated by the Wylie Pirates (Zone A, fourth seed; 1-5, 1-3) Friday, Nov. 13, by a final score of 30-27. The Pirates will now advance to the playoffs.

 

Two of the games are yet to be played. The Lakeview Centennial Patriots (Zone A, second seed) will go up against the Garland Owls (Zone B, third seed) and the Naaman Forest Rangers (Zone A, first seed) will play the North Garland Raiders (Zone B, fourth seed). The North Garland-Naaman Forest game is scheduled for Nov. 27. The date for the Garland-Lakeview Centennial game will be announced later.

 

None of the team’s past performance in non-district or district games plays any role in which teams make the playoffs. That decision is made strictly on the results of the four games listed above.

 

The UIL allowed each district the authority to decide how the playoffs teams would be determined, and District 9-6A voted on this zone system. This explains why the teams with the best records might not be the teams that advance to the playoffs.