So, you think your life is complicated. Well, just read this and I guarantee your head will be spinning, helmet-head fans.
It's down to the wire for high school football teams hoping to qualify for the playoffs. And after what happened statewide this weekend on the field,it's going to take a lot of luck for the winner of the celebrated Severna Park-Annapolis season finale to make the Class 4A state playoffs. That's especially true in the category of bonus points.
Upset wins by Baltimore County's Woodlawn and Paint Branch of Montgomery County, not to mention another win by Perry Hall of BaltimoreCounty, have put the Annapolis-Severna Park winner's chances in jeopardy.
Old Mill (8-1) is definitely in as the 4A Region IV championwith 98 playoff points going into the final weekend and if North County -- with 79 points -- defeats Broadneck, the Knights would be in.
The Patriots clinched the Region IV title Friday night in a 34-7 romp over winless Queen Anne's (0-8).
Old Mill is one of four who will be playing in post season; the others, with not all bonus points included, are: Region II leader High Point of Prince George's (8-1, 94 points), Quince Orchard (8-1, 92 points) and Wootton (8-1, 91 points), both from Region I Montgomery County.
The point totals are based on the games they played this past weekend and what they were worth to them individually. All point totals for Anne Arundel and Baltimore County teams are up to date.
After that, things get very confusing, football fans, so bear with me and read slowly as we try to paint a playoff picture that makes some sense.
It's all part of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association playoff points scheme. The system goes like this: points are awarded by the size of the schools, with 4A being the largest and worth 8 points; 3A (7), 2A (6) and 1A (5). But that's not all.
Football is the only MPSSAA sport that also awards bonus points. A team receives one additional point each time a team they defeated wins, and those bonus points, reflecting the toughness of schedule, separate the playoff teams from those who stay home.
There is no way runner-up North County (7-2), a 7-6 winner over Glen Burnie (4-5) Saturday, can catch the Pats in playoff points even if Glen Burnie upsets Old Mill the final game this week.
North County has 79 playoff points through the weekend and, with a victory in their final game over Broadneck (5-4) plus bonus points, they still can't catch Old Mill. Even if Old Mill loses its last game, the Pats will earn at least three bonus points.
Since Old Mill defeated North County, 3-0, a Knights win would be one bonus point, and two more will come from the Severna Park at Annapolis and Arundel at Meade games. The Pats have beaten all four of those teams.
So, even with a loss to Glen Burnie, Old Mill could still end up with 101 points. The Patriots went into this past weekend with 86 points and picked up a dozen more via the win over Queen Anne's, which was worth 8 points since the Lions are a 4A team. Four bonus points were garnered with Annapolis, North County, Severna Park and LaPlata (6-3) of Charles County all winning.
If North County loses its final gameat home to Broadneck, which, by the way, is going to be a tough gamebecause of the Bruins' defense, the Knights still might slip in at 7-3 with possibly 83 or 85 points, but will need help around the state.
The maximum number of bonus points North County could earn the final weekend would be six. That would include a Glen Burnie upset of Old Mill and wins by Chesapeake (1-8) over 2A Northeast (4-5) and Queen Anne's (0-9) over Elkton (2-7).
North County would also have tohope for Severna Park to defeat Annapolis since the Knights beat theFalcons 28-20 but lost to the Panthers, 33-7. And if Howard County'sOakland Mills (6-3) wins at Howard High (5-4), it would be one more bonus point.
The Arundel/Meade game gives the Knights a point either way because they beat both of those teams.
So, to be on the safe side, the Knights have to win over Broadneck in order to play at least one more week.
Now getting to Annapolis and Severna Park, their chances of making it with a 7-3 record were dimmed when Woodlawn (7-2) won in football-nuts Cumberland over Class 2A Fort Hill (4-5) by 14-10 Saturday night, and PaintBranch (6-3) upset the D.C. area's topranked Wootton (8-1) 14-7 on Friday night.
Annapolis coach Roy Brown was banking on Woodlawn losing at Fort Hill because, as he said so well, "it's really tough to win up there." He meant Cumberland, where they pack in 7,000 to 8,000 fans a game.
But Woodlawn was up tothe challenge and Rodney Pettit's second touchdown run of the game from two yards out in the final period lifted the Warriors.
With that win worth 10 points (2A school with four wins) and a bonus point (Dulaney over Franklin by 42-18) over the weekend, Woodlawn starts thefinal weekend with 72 points.
After its 20-0 win over Chesapeake Friday night, plus bonus points picked up on wins by Broadneck (14-7 over Meade) and North County, Annapolis has 69 points. Chesapeake wasonly worth 9 points (8 for 4A and only one win) to the Panthers.
Severna Park rolled over Arundel 36-7 Thursday night and picked up 12points (Arundel is 4-5). The Falcons of coach Andy Borland added only one bonus point with Broadneck, the only winning team among those they have beaten this season. Severna Park enters the final week with 66 playoff points.
If Woodlawn wins at home Friday over Class 3A Dundalk (5-4), the Warriors could make it as Region II runner-up at 8-2. High Point of Princes George's, which is 8-1 and has at least 94 points (not including bonus points), has already clinched Region II.
Dundalk, a 27-6 winner over Randallstown (5-4) this past weekend, will not be an easy game for Woodlawn.
Paint Branch is the team with the biggest and most surprising point swing, going from 58 to 74 points (before bonus points from its other games) with its upset of previously unbeaten Wootton.
Wootton was worth 16 big points to the Panthers and could give them one more next week by winning its final game. Paint Branch could slip in at 7-3 by virtue of a potential 17-point victory over Wootton.
Others in the running, not including alltheir bonus points, which won't be tabulated until today, are RegionIII leaders Oxon Hill (7-2, 76 points) and Largo (7-2, 75 points), both from Prince George's; Perry Hall (6-3, 69 points -- up to date); and Magruder of Montgomery County (6-3, 66 points).
Perry Hall's final game is at 3-6 Dulaney and a win over the Lions would mean 11 points (8 plus 3).
The 32nd Annual Annapolis/Severna Park Classic, the county's oldest rivalry, is a must win for both. The winner will earn 14 points (8 for 4A and 6 bonus, each team has six wins).
Starting with Annapolis, here is what they hope for in terms of picking up those all-important bonus points if they beat the Falcons:
Annapolis has to hope for Meade to beat Arundel, since the latter defeatedthe Panthers 15-13; Glen Burnie to upset Old Mill; and Chesapeake and Queen Anne's to pull off upset wins in their final games. And the Broadneck-North County winner will be a bonus point either way for thePanthers since they won both those games.
If all that happens, Annapolis would pick up five bonus points and adding that to the 14 points for the final win, the Panthers would finish with 88 points. Theywould be very close.
Severna Park needs the 14-point victory plusBroadneck to win at North County; Glen Burnie over Old Mill; Chesapeake and Queen Anne's upsets; and no tie between Arundel and Meade since a win either way gives them a much needed bonus point.
With those five bonus points, Severna Park would finish with 85 and with their fingers crossed.
The best thing to happen for either Annapolis or Severna Park would be for North County, Oxon Hill, Largo, Paint Branch, Woodlawn, Perry Hall and Magruder to all lose the final week.
Since I've probably got you totally confused by now, and have had your mind working overtime, here's a little gift -- a simple scenario.
There is nothing confusing about the Anne Arundel County 4A Leaguechampionship. If Old Mill (6-1 in league play) wins over Glen Burnie, the Pats win it outright at 7-1, but if Old Mill loses, there couldbe a three-way tie.
The tri-title would be created by North County (5-2) defeating Broadneck and the Annapolis (5-2) and Severna Park (5-2) winner tying Old Mill. The trio would be 6-2 each in league play.
Now wasn't that easy? If only the state playoffs could be as simple.