By Staff
Scot Beard
RED BAY – Officials at the Alabama High School athletic offices were busy last Friday night as they tried to figure out which schools earned playoff berths and which schools did not.
Across the state, many regions in every classification had three-way ties to be resolved to determine playoff seeding.
Red Bay was one of those schools. The Tigers, with a 4-3 record in region play, were tied with Cherokee and Clements for the final two playoff berths in Class 2A, Region 8.
Clements won the tie on a coin flip to earn the region's No.-3 seed while Red Bay, which defeated Cherokee earlier in the season, earned the No.-4 seed.
Cherokee's season was over.
"We're proud to be in," Red Bay coach Dale Jeffreys said. "It is now 10 years in a row."
While Jeffreys was happy his squad earned a berth, Cherokee's coach, Jeff Peek, was upset by the outcome.
Cherokee finished the season winning three of its last four games to finish with a 6-4 record. Red Bay closed out its season on a four-game losing skid to finish with a 4-6 record.
Jeffreys said he was not worried Friday night as officials determined the berths.
"It was no big deal, I knew we had a pretty good chance of getting in," Jeffreys said. "There were three scenarios and two were in our favor."
Now that the Tigers are playoff bound, the team can focus on their next opponent without the pressure of qualifying for the playoffs hanging over their head.
It will be a tough test as Red Bay heads to Sulligent to face the Region 7 champions.