By Staff
Scot Beard
RED BAY – The Red Bay football team is still unsure of its playoff hopes as the Tigers sit in a 3-way tie for the final two playoff spots in Class 2A, Region 8.
With a 4-3 record in region play, the Tigers are tied with Cherokee and Clements for the region's third and fourth playoff berths.
The playoff berths will not be decided until after tonight's games have concluded.
The first tiebreaker used by the Alabama High School Athletic Association is, "the team whose defeated required opponents have the most victories."
For Red Bay, that would be the total number of wins by Cherokee, Hatton, Phil Campbell and Westminster Christian Academy.
Clements defeated Hatton, Phil Campbell, Red Bay and WCA while Cherokee has wins over Clements, Hatton, Phil Campbell and WCA.
That means teams that have already been eliminated from playoff contention and teams in other classes can influence the standings.
It also means – depending on how the games of all the other teams involved end – a win by Red Bay tonight could actually hurt the Tigers playoff chances since Clements would count the total number of Red Bay wins in its tiebreaker total.
If that tiebreaker does not determine the final berths, "the team with the most victories if all teams involved in the tie play an equal number of total games" would earn the third seed.
The final two tie-breaking procedures include, "the team with the most victories and by flip of a coin."