Play-off Picture

[ChickenNuggets]

Can someone describe to me the way that the play-off bracket is constructed? I know the top 4 from each region make the play-offs, but once they're in, how are they placed on the brackets? Thanks

[Run4Fun2009]

Can someone describe to me the way that the play-off bracket is constructed? I know the top 4 from each region make the play-offs, but once they're in, how are they placed on the brackets? Thanks

Basic Set Up Below
PLAYOFF FORMAT
9-Man
Region 1 #1 vs Region 2 #4
Region 2 #2 Region 1 #3

Region 2 #1 vs Region 1 #4
Region 1 #2 Region 2 #3

Region 3 #1 vs Region 4 #4
Region 4 #2 Region 3 #3

Region 4 #1 vs Region 3 #4
Region 3 #2 Region 4 #3

HOWEVER: The Top 4 #1 seeds QRF (www.northdakota-scores.net) will be used to determine a #1 Overall, #2, #3, #4; then #1 will be on the top of the bracket with their grouping and then #4 will be next.

SO HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING RIGHT NOW (FYI: QRF is ever changing and will continue to change each week)

#1 Overall: R3 #1 Ray/Powers Lake
#2: R2 #1 Cavalier
#3: R1 #1 L-LM/MPCG (tie right now)
#4: R4 #1 Kidder County (Being hurt by L-HMB not playing last week).

SO THE HYPOTHETICAL BRACKET IS:
Region 3 #1 vs. Region 4 #4
Region 4 #2 vs. Region 3 #3

Region 4 #1 vs. Region 3 #4
Region 3 #2 vs. Region 4 #3

Region 2 #1 vs. Region 1 #4
Region 1 #2 vs. Region 2 #3

Region 1 #1 vs. Region 2 #4
Region 2 #2 vs. Region 1 #3

LONG STORY SHORT - Things will change weekly.

[Flip]

QRF's biggest weakness WRT football is sample size. Being that the sample size will be even smaller this year. It might be good year not to use it.

[ChickenNuggets]

I do not 100% understand the QRF ranking, but am I right in saying that you get points for beating teams and the more quality the team the more points you would get?

How will these Covid cancellations/no-contests effect the QRF rankings?

looking at the polls I see most teams have 4-5 games and Linton who one could argue is one of the top 2-5 best team in the state only has 2 games and are 1-1. They're currently #20 in the QRF. Does having a lack of games hurt Linton in the QRF? Does the fact that Linton has a lack of games played actually hurt Kidder County who has a win over Linton? Does it make the win over Linton less valuable since they only have 2 games played?

Is there anything in place to break ties in the event that meaningful games are not able to be played in the regular season? For example- I saw that New Rockford postponed FB and Volleyball. They're scheduled to play North Prairie next week. The winner of that game very likely becomes the 4-seed I that region and the loser would be out of the playoffs. If that game isn't contested due to covid, who makes the play-offs?

[Run4Fun2009]

The QRF will only matter for the winning region team (KC beat Linton & Beach already).

There is a set formula number that is multiplied by the win total of a team defeated and then a division by games played. KC QRF is being hindered by Linton’s 1 win but once Linton starts playing again they’ll gain an advantage

Also, yes, the NDHSAA May do away with it this year as well if many of these games were cancelled...that will be their choice

[ChickenNuggets]

So KC is in the drivers seat to win their region with wins over Linton and Beach already.
Ray/PL and Surrey are both unbeaten and play this week.
St. John and Cavalier are both unbeaten and play next week.
MPCG and LaMoure are both unbeaten and play in two weeks.
There are some very big match-ups happening each of the next three Fridays that should really help shape this play-off picture.

[canoworms]

So a team that is out of the playoff picture could determine the fate some what of a playoff team that is in the play off or on the edge of the playoff picture by not playing them because the non playoff team canceled the remainder season?

[ChickenNuggets]

So a team that is out of the playoff picture could determine the fate some what of a playoff team that is in the play off or on the edge of the playoff picture by not playing them because the non playoff team canceled the remainder season?

I wouldn't necessarily say "determine the fate" but if the QRF rankings are used to seed the top 4, they could hinder that seeding process. If Ray/PL is the #1 seed right now based on QRF and the remainder of their schedule forfeits their season due to covid and they do not get any more games, they would very likely be passed in the QRF rankings. Likewise, a team like Kidder or Cavalier/St. John or Lamoure/MPCG who has a good chance to move up in the QRF rankings may lose that ability to do so if they lose future games on their schedule. It would not, however, have any bearing on which teams actually make the playoffs.

The biggest question that I still have is how to break a tie if a game has been cancelled due to covid. From everything I have read on NDHSAA, if a game is NOT played because of Covid-19, it is a "NO CONTEST" and does not count as a win or a loss for either team affected. There is a very real chance that at the end of the regular season that North Prairie and New Rockford could finish with 3-losses each (to the exact same 3 teams) and be tied for the 4th play-off spot in that region, but due to Covid-19 they will miss their game against each other next week as it appears New Rockford is out for 2 weeks.

[UNDSiouxfan]

Some quick observations on some of the teams I’ve seen:

In Region 1:
* W/L has a darn good QB.
* MPCG also has a good QB, and they will make some noise in the playoffs.
* LaMoure is the real deal and they will be legit for the next 3-4 years, if not more. This team is solid at every skill position on offense, has a good O-Line, but Defense is where they excel. Defense wins championships and I believe they have what it takes in ND 9 Man this year.

In Region 4, KC sure looks the part so far. If anyone from their region will beat them, look for GCF to give them a run. They have revenge on their minds from last year and they have a very solid team that could do it. GCF doesn’t rely on one player, they have several which is very rare to see. KC, Linton, Beach, & GCF will probably represent, and there’s a good chance 3-4 of these teams could advance in the tournament.

Looking forward to the Playoffs, & hopefully all the teams can stay healthy.

[ChickenNuggets]

With two weeks to go, things are getting a little clearer. I'm not 100% sure on all of this but this is how it shakes out to the best of my knowledge.

Region 1-
#1/2 LaMoure and MPCG play this week- Winner wins the region, loser is 2nd (Barring any big week 9 upsets)
#3- Wyndmere/Lidgerwood
#4 Tri-State
I am not sure who W/L or Tri-State play in the final week, but I don't foresee any movement from these spots this week.

Region 2-
#1- Cavalier had a huge win over St. John. They will win the region unless they lose both of their remaining games.
#2/3- St. John and North Border play this week with a home play-off game on the line. St. John also has a game remaining with North Prairie that could have potential playoff implications.
#4- North Prairie and New Rockford- I still don't know how this tie will be broken if they don't play head to head. Their game was supposed to be this past week but was not played due to covid. If NP defeats St. John I would think that puts them over New Rockford. If NP loses to St. John I don't know how the tie is broken.

Region 3-
#1-3: Divide County, Surrey, and Ray/PL are all 1-1 vs. each other.
Surrey beat RPL 28-6
R/PL beat Divide County 26-22
Divid beat Surrey 36-6
Surrey (-17 vs. Divide, +17 vs. RPL= 0)
Divide (+17 vs. Surrey, -4 vs. RPL = +13)
Ray/PL (-17 vs. Surrey, +4 vs. Divide= -13)
#1= Divide County
Then head to head would be Surrey for #2
#3- Ray/PL
#4- Mohall and TGU look to have the same record and I do not believe they have played yet. That could be a week-9 match-up with a play-off berth on the line.

Region 4-
This region I think has its 4 teams pretty well determined, but order could change a lot over the next few weeks.
#1- Kidder- Undefeated
#2- Grant County/Flasher- 1loss to Beach
#2- Linton HMB- 1 Loss to Kidder
#4- Beach- 2 losses to Linton and Kidder and a win over GCC.
Kidder vs. GC/Fthis week and I am not positive, but I think Linton vs. GC/F next week.
If GC/F wins out they could still win the region. If they lose any more games they likely fall all the way to #4 and Kidder wins the region. Beach is stuck at either 3 or 4 I think and Linton could finish anywhere between 2-4.

[caserace0710]

Nice job ChickenNuggets! Especially when the picture is so convoluted because of COVID. All the details for Week 8 are below.

Region 1
Clinched Playoff Berth/Home Field in First Round: LaMoure/L-M (7-0), May-Port-CG (6-0)
Mathematically eliminated: Richland (0-6)
PPD/CCD games due to COVID: Hankinson vs. Maple Valley/Enderlin; Hankinson vs. Tri-State

Scenarios

• The winner of LaMoure/L-M and May-Port-CG will be the #1 seed; loser is the #2 seed
• Wyndmere/Lidgerwood (4-2) clinches a playoff berth and the #3 seed with a win

Region 2
Clinched Playoff Berth: Cavalier (6-0)
Mathematically eliminated: North Star (1-5)
PPD/CCD games due to COVID: Benson County vs. Dunseith (makeup on October 13th); Nelson County vs. North Border (makeup on October 13th); New Rockford-Sheyenne vs. North Prairie; Nelson County vs. New Rockford-Sheyenne

Scenarios

• Cavalier clinches the #1 seed in the region with a win
• St. John (5-1) clinches a playoff berth with either:
  
  • A win OR a New Rockford-Sheyenne loss
  • A win AND a North Prairie loss
• North Border (4-1) would clinch a playoff berth with a win AND either a loss by North Prairie OR New Rockford-Sheyenne

Region 3
Clinched Playoff Berth: Divide County (5-1), Ray/Powers Lake (5-1)
Mathematically eliminated: Central McLean (2-5), Lewis & Clark (1-5), Parshall/White Shield (0-5)*, Trenton (0-4)
PPD/CCD games due to COVID: Ray/Powers Lake vs. Trenton; Ray/Powers Lake vs. TGU; Divide County vs. Lewis & Clark (unconfirmed but likely since all extracurriculars for DC are cancelled through 10/21)

Note: Parshall/White Shield has cancelled their season

Scenario

• Surrey (5-1) clinches a playoff berth with a win

Region 4
Clinched Playoff Berth: Kidder County (6-0), Grant County/Flasher (4-1), Linton/HMB/Strasburg/Zeeland (4-1)
Mathematically eliminated: Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter (1-4), South Border (1-6), Hettinger/Scranton (0-5)
PPD/CCD games due to COVID: None

Scenarios

• Kidder County clinches the #1 seed in the region with a win
• Beach clinches a playoff berth with a Mott-Regent/New England loss

[ChickenNuggets]

Looks like some very meaningful games on this last week of the regular season.

Region 1- Pretty well locked up I believe
1- LaMoure
2- MPCG
3- Wyndmere
4- Tri-State

Region 2- Still a few things to sort out.
1- Cavalier (Unless they were to lose both games this week to NR and Nelson County)
2- North Border
3/4- Big game between St. John and North Prairie! I believe a NP win puts them at 3 and St. John 4. A St. John win puts St. John at 3 and NP and New Rockford would be tied for 4 (Not sure how that's broken since they didn't play due to covid) New Rockford could also do a lot to help themselves with a win over Cavalier

Region 3- I think the top 3 are locked in with 4 being decided this week.
1- Divide County
2- Surrey
3- Ray/Powers Lake
4- Winner of TGU and MLS on Saturday gets this spot I think.

Region 4- A lot in the air after this last week.
Correct me if I'm wrong- but this is going to come down too the LInton/Grant county game. If Grant county wins, then it goes:
1- Grant County
2- Kidder County
3- Linton HMB
4- Beach
But if Linton wins it would go:
1- Kidder County
2- Linton HMB
3- Beach
4- Grant County
So Grant county and Linton are both playing for a home play-off game, which could be huge because in either situation, these two teams would be on the same quadrant in the playoffs and if they both won their first round game, would play each other in the playoffs with the team that wins this week hosting that potential playoff matchup.

[caserace0710]

Correct me if I'm wrong- but this is going to come down too the LInton/Grant county game. If Grant county wins, then it goes:
1- Grant County
2- Kidder County
3- Linton HMB
4- Beach
But if Linton wins it would go:
1- Kidder County
2- Linton HMB
3- Beach
4- Grant County

The Grant County/Flasher winning scenario is correct. There is one more caveat to the Linton/HMB winning scenario. If Beach wins, then what is listed would be correct. If Beach loses, then Grant County/Flasher would be the #3 seed and Beach is the #4.