VHSL Rating Scale football playoff update
Who were the biggest gainers and biggest losers after the smoke cleared Friday night in Week 9 of the high school football regular season?
With regard to how Friday night’s outcomes affected the playoff scenarios, here is the scorecard:
For the official rating scale points updated by the VHSL, click here.
TOUCHDOWNS
1. Glenvar. The Highlanders’ 48-44 win over Radford moved them up to No. 16 in the Division 2 West Section. Glenvar now has a clear path to a playoff berth if the Highlanders can sweep Auburn and Eastern Montgomery in the last two weeks.
2. Northside. The Vikings all but locked up a playoff berth in Region III Division 3 with their overtime victory at William Byrd. Now the Vikings have their eyes on a possible No. 2 seed even though they are No. 5 currently.
3. Bath County. The Chargers remained No. 16 in the Division 1 East Section, but after Friday’s win at Craig County they have nearly a full two-point edge over Cumberland for the last spot. Bath might make it in the field even with losses in the last two games.
4. Patrick Henry. The Patriots took care of business with a 29-7 win at Halifax County. PH has the table set for its first postseason berth since 2010 if the Patriots can defeat Franklin County and William Fleming in the last two games. Osbourn’s loss to unbeaten Stonewall Jackson allowed PH to move into the No. 6 spot in the Northwest Region Division 6 race. Friday’s game in Rocky Mount is huge for PH.
5. Lord Botetourt. Actually, the Oct. 12 win over Rockbridge County was the big one, but last week’s victory over Staunton River has moved the Cavaliers up to No. 3 in Region III Division 4. Botetourt looks like a good bet to host a first-round regional game.
6. Fort Chiswell. The Pioneers’ 42-21 victory over Grayson County, combined with previously unbeaten John Battle’s loss to Honaker on Saturday, put the Wythe County team into the No. 1 spot in the Division 2 West Section. Wins over Graham and Bland County might be enough to clinch the No. 1 seed.
TURNOVERS
1. Franklin County. The Eagles’ postseason chances might have been slim to none before Friday night, but the 29-7 loss at George Washington sealed their fate. Franklin County will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
2. Robert E. Lee-Staunton. The Leemen were sitting comfortably in the No. 2 spot behind Brookville in Region III Division 3 until blowing a 20-point halftime lead in a loss to Turner Ashby. Lee’s chances of hosting a semifinal game now don’t look promising.
3. Blacksburg. The Bruins’ loss to Cave Spring, combined with Bassett’s one-point win over Martinsville allowed the Bengals to close the gap in Region IV Division 4. Blacksburg might need to beat either Pulaski County or Christiansburg to get into the field.
4. Radford. The Bobcats should still be safely in the Division 1 West Section field, but Friday’s loss to Glenvar has put Radford in a position to face a first-round road trip against a tough opponent. The Bobcats are seeded 14th heading into this week’s game against Floyd County.
5. Grayson County. The Blue Devils’ loss to Fort Chiswell sent them from No. 5 in the Division 1 West Section down to the No. 9 spot. If the playoffs began today, Grayson County would travel to Gretna.
IF THEY DID BEGIN TODAY…
Here is what the postseason matchups would be based on the VHSL points ratings released Monday (these are not projections):
Northwest Region Division 6
No. 1 C.D. Hylton, bye
No. 2 Stonewall Jackson, bye
No. 6 Patrick Henry at No. 3 Colonial Forge.
No. 5 Woodbridge at No. 4 Battlefield.
Northwest Region Division 5
No. 1 North Stafford, bye
No. 2 George Washington, bye
No. 6 Broad Run at No. 3 Potomac
No. 5 Massaponax at No. 4 Mountain View
Region III Division 4
No. 1 Heritage, bye
No. 2 Amherst County, bye
No. 6 William Byrd at No. 3 Lord Botetourt
No. 5 E.C. Glass at No. 4 Jefferson Forest
Region III Division 3
No. 1 Brookville, bye
No. 2 Liberty, bye
No. 6 Fort Defiance at No. 3 Robert E. Lee
No. 5 Northside at No. 4 Rockbridge County
Region IV Division 4
No. 1 Salem, bye
No. 2 Magna Vista, bye
No. 6 Blacksburg at No. 3 Hidden Valley
No. 5 Christiansburg at No. 4 Pulaski County
Region IV Division 3
No. 1 Richlands, bye
No. 2 Cave Spring, bye
No. 6 Martinsville at No. 3 Tunstall
No. 5 Abingdon at No. 4 Marion
Division 2 West Section
No. 16 Glenvar at No. 1 Fort Chiswell
No. 9 Grayson County at No. 8 Gretna
No. 12 Virginia High at No. 5 Giles
No. 13 Union at No. 4 John Battle
No. 14 Stuarts Draft at No. 3 Graham
No. 11 James River at No. 6 Dan River
No. 10 Riverheads at No. 7 Floyd County
No. 15 Central-Wise at No. 2 Wilson Memorial
Division 1 West Section
No. 16 PH-Glade Spring at No. 1 Honaker
No. 9 Holson at No. 8 Rural Retreat
No. 12 Chilhowie at No. 5 Eastside
No. 13 Northwood at No. 4 J.I. Burton
No. 14 Radford at No. 3 George Wythe
No. 11 Hurley at No. 6 Haysi
No. 10 Castlewood at No. 7 Galax
No. 15 Eastern Montgomery at No. 2 Clintwood
Division 1 East Section
No. 16 Bath County at No. 1 Franklin
No. 9 Parry McCluer at No. 8 Colonial Beach
No. 12 Charles City at No. 5 West Point
No. 13 Craig County at No. 4 Altavista
No. 14 William Campbell at No. 3 Central-Lunenburg
No. 11 Surry County at No. 6 Rappahannock
No. 10 Lancaster at No. 7 Covington
No. 15 Middlesex at No. 2 Sussex Central
October 22, 2012 - 8:34 PM
Robert,
Thanks for getting this out early so we can keep track of playoff picture. Next year you may need a new calculator to keep up with this.
We’ll have the official ratings after Friday’s games posted by midday next Monday. Plenty of fans do their own ratings and have them up sooner, and I do too but I hesitate to publish numbers that aren’t straight from the VHSL office. One wrinkle to consider this week is that some of the North Carolina teams who played a week-one “foundation” game and lost that game can replace that loss on their record with a victory they had in a nonconference game later on. This could change the points rating for several Virginia schools who played N.C. schools.
You are correct. Next year will require keeping track of more schools across the state in determining our local schools’ playoff positions.
Robert,
Are you sure about the North Carolina schools and the foundation games? I don’t believe the VHSL allows them to ‘pick and choose’ which 11 games count. At least they haven’t in past years, if memory serves.
The VHSL master schedule only shows NC schools’ games from 8/24 to 10/26 and the current official ratings don’t reflect the foundation games at all.
Liking the new blog a lot, by the way.
Patrick:
I was told twice by the VHSL that a loss in the North Carolina “foundation” game could be replaced by a win in a nondistrict game later on when it came time to count 10 games. The regular season ends this weekend so at least any changes should be known heading into the final week in Virginia.
And, of course, I meant to write ‘pick and choose’ which 10 games count.
Hey Robert,
If Bassett and Blacksburg both lose Friday 11-2-12 which one will go to the playoffs?
If both lose Friday, it would be very close on the VHSL Rating Scale between the two teams. Blacksburg leads 157-151 right now. If both lose Friday, Bassett would cut that gap by two points from those two games, then we would have to wait and see how all the other teams that Blacksburg and Bassett have played this year do on Friday. Making up those four points would be tough for Bassett to do, and in reality Bassett would need to make up five points because in the event of a tie on the Rating Scale, Blacksburg would win the tiebreaker. Bassett would need Radford to knock of Giles, and would need Martinsville to beat Tunstall to make up the extra five points. Looks good for Blacksburg now if both lose Friday.