Notebook: Who’s in, who’s out of the playoff hunt with 2 weeks left?
Published at
With two weeks left in the regular season, here are the playoff scenarios for area District 5 and 6 football teams. Some have already clinched spots, while others need some help.
6A
With its win over Madison, Rigby earns the District 5-6 top seed and a bye in the opening round of the playoff.
Madison has a non-conference game at Minico this week, while Highland plays Skyline.
The big conference game is in two weeks when Highland travels to Madison for the regular-season conference finale. The winner earns the district’s second seed into the playoffs. The loser will have to earn one of the two at-large bids to continue its season.
Madison is currently third in MaxPreps rankings while Highland is No. 7.
5A
District 5 gets one automatic bid and District 6 gets two. There are eight at-large bids, so just about every team has a chance to make the postseason bracket.
Entering this week’s games, Minico and Twin Falls hold the top two spots in the 5A Great Basin Conference.
Minico has a nonconference game against Madison this week, but Twin Falls plays Burley, with the winner taking over the No. 2 spot. If Twin Falls wins, then that sets up a battle between Minico and Twin Falls for the conference title in two weeks.
In District 6, Skyline is the district champion, with Hillcrest No. 2. The remaining at-large berths should include Blackfoot and Bonneville, while Shelley and Idaho Falls each look for their first conference win.
4A
District 5 and District 6 each get one automatic bid, but there are eight at-large berths.
Snake River tops the East Idaho Conference but would have to beat American Falls this week to secure the district title.
The three-team Mountain Rivers Conference has been dominated by Sugar-Salem and the Diggers already have an edge with last week’s win over South Fremont.
Sugar-Salem has a bye this week and concludes the regular-season Oct. 25 with a conference game against Teton.
Teton and South Fremont play this week. A win by the Timberwolves would set up a championship game against Sugar-Salem in the regular-season finale.
3A
District 5 and 6 have been the most competitive in the state, so expect a thrilling playoff bracket.
Both districts get just one automatic bid, but most of the eight at-large berths will likely come from the east Idaho districts.
In District 6, Firth’s overtime win over North Fremont puts the Cougars in the driver’s seat with one game to go.
Firth plays West Jefferson this week and a win by the Panthers would put them in prime playoff positioning.
North Fremont hosts Ririe and West Jefferson to conclude the regular season and would put itself in a position to earn a high seed with wins in both games.
The South East Idaho Conference has been brutally competitive with four teams having winning records.
Unbeaten Aberdeen takes on 3A power West Side this week in a game that could determine the conference champion, although the final regular-season games could throw a wrench into the final standings.
Either way, the conference could land four teams in the playoff bracket.
2A
Butte County is the lone local team in District 5-6, and is a lock to make the playoffs at 6-0 with two games remaining.
The Pirates face a good Hagerman team this week and end the regular-season with a home conference game against Grace. Both games will determine seeding in the playoff bracket.
1A
There is one automatic bid for District 5-6 and Rockland is currently in the running at 2-0 with a win over Challis. The Bulldogs travel to Watersprings this week and then conclude the regular-season against North Gem, which will have playoff implications for both teams.
There are seven at-large berths up for grabs.