New football rules allow more into playoffs
Newly adopted rules on how teams qualify for high school football playoffs could benefit area schools.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association has doubled the number of 11-man teams that will participate.
Instead of just the winner of each district qualifying, both the best team and the runner-up will reach the playoffs.
The net effect is that at least half of all 11-man teams in the state will qualify for the playoffs.
A team like Marion, which is in the same district as a Wichita team, will not automatically be aced out.
In fact, two strong teams in a single district might not face each other until the fourth game of the playoffs, in what would be the state semifinals.
Previously, the second best team in the state might not even have made the playoffs if it played in the same district as the state's best team.
The new tournament brackets also allow for second-round playoffs game featuring historical rivals Marion vs. Hillsboro and Peabody-Burns vs. Remington.
And they give Peabody a very easy path into the playoffs. The Blue Warriors, in a district with one fewer team than most schools, will qualify if their record is better than either Moundridge's or Canton-Galva's.
District champions will be the home team for first-round games. Thereafter, the school that has served as host for the fewest post-season games will be the home team.
Here's how area high schools will qualify and whom they will play if they do.
Hillsboro
To qualify, the Trojans would have to have the best or second best record in District 11 of Class 3A. Other teams in that district are Halstead, Hesston, and Lyons.
The Trojans' first-round game would be against Belleville, Minneapolis, Riley County, or Southeast Saline.
Goessel
Playoff formats for eight-man Divisions I and II are unchanged.
Centre and Goessel compete against Little River in District 5 of Division I.
The winner will visit Baileyville, Elwood, or Wakefield for its first-round game Nov. 9, then continue on against eastern division schools, hoping to reach the championship game Nov. 23 in Russell.
