Updated RPI Standings have been released for Class 4A and even though they won’t be made official until late tonight or tomorrow morning, they give us a glimpse on how the playoff bracket may end up. Official pairings are released on Sunday.
There is one important game left today that will impact the bracket quite a bit as Fruita Monument meets Vista Peak. Fruita lands the league championship with a win but a loss creates a three-way tie for the title with Standley Lake. The outcome will also impact final RPI as Fruita is currently seventh and could move up with a win and a boost in strength of schedule. Vista Peak also has plenty on the line as they start the game 18th in RPI and a win could also let them sneak into the playoff and bump either Heritage or Rampart out of the bracket.
Seeding setup is identical to other divisions. League champions are automatically in the bracket but must finish in the top 10 of RPI to get a home game. Dakota Ridge is impacted by this as the Eagles are 14th in RPI despite landing the Jeffco championship.
To start with, league champions are placed on the board and a number one seed is selected. Then the second place team from the same conference as the top overall seed is placed on the board with other league champions and a number two seed is then chosen. That process is conducted until all 16 teams are seeded.
So, we start with a bracket using only RPI.
#1 Pine Creek vs #16
#8 Pueblo West vs #9 Skyline
#4 Broomfield vs #13 Standley Lake
#5 Greeley West vs #12 Chatfield
#3 Montrose vs #14 Dakota Ridge
#6 Ponderosa vs #11 Longmont
#7 Fruita Monument vs #10 Grand Junction Central
#2 Loveland vs #15 Heritage
This is a good bracket with no issues concerns league pairings in round one but head-to-head has to be factored in and since Greeley West beat Broomfield and Ponderosa took out Montrose, we exchange those places a bit by moving Greeley West and Ponderosa into the third and fourth spot and dropping Montrose and Broomfield down to get these pairings.
#1 Pine Creek vs #16 Rampart
#8 Pueblo West vs #9 Skyline
#4 Ponderosa vs #13 Standley Lake
#5 Montrose vs #12 Chatfield
#3 Greeley West vs #14 Dakota Ridge
#6 Broomfield vs #11 Longmont
#7 Fruita Monument vs #10 Grand Junction Central
#2 Loveland vs #15 Heritage
Now there is a conflict with league pairings as Broomfield and Longmont are both in the Northern league so the Trojans would likely be exchanged with Chatfield to avoid that conflict. One other change could be a move involving Fruita Monument — Grand Junction Central. The teams are not in the same league and the matchup is excellent for travel but we’ll see if the committee leaves those two close rivals together in round one. If they decide to split up look for Grand Junction Central and Longmont to be flipped in the bracket. We will leave them be and our final bracket appears like this.
#1 Pine Creek vs #16 Rampart
#8 Pueblo West vs #9 Skyline
#4 Ponderosa vs #13 Standley Lake
#5 Montrose vs #12 Longmont
#3 Greeley West vs #14 Dakota Ridge
#6 Broomfield vs #11 Chatfield
#2 Loveland vs #15 Heritage
#7 Fruita Monument vs #10 Grand Junction Central
Again, this is all temporary as the outcome between Fruita Monument-Vista Peak later today could dramatically impact where teams are placed and which teams qualify.
