Tharptown, Vina hoping to put kink in playoff standings Thursday

By Staff
Scot Beard
Although both the Vina and Tharptown football teams have been eliminated from playoff contention, they can still influence the way the Class 1A playoffs develop.
The Red Devils and the Wildcats host a pair of games Thursday night against teams trying to clinch the second seed in Class 1A, Region 8 and the first round home game that goes with it.
Tharptown hosts R.A. Hubbard, which currently holds the second spot with a 6-1 record in region play while Vina hosts Speake, which occupies the third spot with a 5-1 record in the region.
R.A. Hubbard and Speake have already earned playoff berths, but the final seeding has yet to be determined.
This will be the final region game for R.A. Hubbard, and the Chiefs can clinch the second seed with a win.
Speake will need to win its final two region games and a loss by the Chiefs for the Bobcats to move into the second seed.
The two teams will face tough challenges against Tharptown and Vina.
Both of those teams struggled for most of the season, but the offenses and defenses have improved in the last couple of weeks and could pull an upset.
Wins by Tharptown and Vina would also help pull the teams out of the Region 8 basement.
Both games begin at 7 p.m.