Going into the final two weeks of the regular season, there’s not much left to decide concerning league championships and overall conference races in the six-man football ranks.  Each league has already crowned a champion and second place is only up for grabs in the East Central and Southeast divisions.
We provide a quick breakdown of each conference race and then use the current RPI standings to help develop our first look at a potential playoff bracket.
 

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

CENTRAL

  • Genoa Hugo has clinched the championship
  • Deer Trail has clinched second
  • RPI: Genoa Hugo is 13th and likely the only bid / Deer Trail is 19th

EAST CENTRAL

  • Stratton/Liberty has clinched championship
  • Winner between Otis & Arickaree/Woodlin this week is 2nd and loser 3rd
  • RPI: Stratton/Liberty #1, Otis #3, Arickaree/Woodlin #4, Idalia #9, Flagler/Hi Plains #14 so a good chance all five teams are in the bracket

NORTH

  • Peetz has clinched the championship
  • Prairie has clinched second
  • Fleming has clinched third
  • RPI: Peetz #5, Prairie #8, Fleming #10, Briggsdale #15, North Park #17 — The top three teams seem to be locks for playoff bids with the last two on the bubble

SOUTH CENTRAL

  • Manzanola has clinched the championship
  • La Veta has clinched second
  • RPI: Manzanola #16, La Veta #21 — Manzanola is in the bracket as the league champion but could bump someone from the playoffs if they don’t finish in the top 16.

SOUTHEAST

  • Kit Carson has clinched the championship
  • Granada wraps up second place with a win over Walsh
  • Walsh creates a three-way tie for second with Cheyenne Wells & Granada if they beat the Bobcats
  • RPI: Kit Carson #2, Cheyenne Wells #7, Granada #12, Walsh #18, Eads #23, Cheraw #24 — the top three teams should get in with Walsh on the bubble.

SOUTHWEST

  • Mountain Valley has clinched the championship
  • Cotopaxi has clinched second
  • RPI: Mountain Valley #6, Cotopaxi #11, Sierra Grande #22 — top two teams should land playoff berths.

 

PLAYOFF PROJECTIONS

Seeding for the six-man playoff bracket is very straight forward this year.  League champions receive automatic bids and the remaining slots are determined by RPI.  Winning a league championship though is no guarantee of hosting a first round game this year.  Teams that finish in the top eight will host first round games.  League champions outside the top 16 make the playoffs but are not guaranteed the benefit of playing at home in the opening round.
Using this information, the playoff bracket would true seed in this manner based on RPI standings from October 14th.

#1 Stratton/Liberty vs #16 Manzanola

#8 Prairie vs #9 Idalia

#4 Arickaree/Woodlin vs #13 Genoa Hugo

#5 Peetz vs #12 Granada

#3 Otis vs #14 Flagler/Hi Plains

#6 Mountain Valley vs #11 Cotopaxi

#2 Kit Carson vs #15 Briggsdale

#7 Cheyenne Wells vs #10 Fleming

Teams in the bracket can be moved for geography and to avoid first round pairings of teams from the same league.  In this case, there are two league conflicts as Flagler/Hi Plains is paired with Otis and Cotopaxi is matched up with Mountain Valley.  Cotopaxi would likely be flipped with Granada to remedy that issue while Flagler/Hi Plains and Briggsdale could also exchange spots at #14 and #15.  If that happens then the bracket is altered to this setup.

#1 Stratton/Liberty vs #16 Manzanola

#8 Prairie vs #9 Idalia

#4 Arickaree/Woodlin vs #13 Genoa Hugo

#5 Peetz vs #12 Cotopaxi

#3 Otis vs #14 Briggsdale

#6 Mountain Valley vs #11 Granada

#2 Kit Carson vs #15 Flagler/Hi Plains

#7 Cheyenne Wells vs #10 Fleming