Final regular-season week in high school football amounts to a playoff

By TOBIAS XAVIER LOPEZ

tlopez@star-telegram.com

Time has run out on many high school area football squads, but for some, it has come down to one final game, one last shot to reach the playoffs. Here’s a look at the playoff situation heading into the final week of the regular season. Four teams from each Class 5A and 4A district qualify, three teams from Class 3A districts.

District 3-5A

In: Abilene (8-0, 5-0), Haltom (4-5, 3-2)

On the bubble: Burleson (6-3, 2-3), Richland (6-3, 3-2), Weatherford (5-4, 3-2)

The scenario: Richland and Weatherford are in with wins. Burleson needs a win and a Richland win. Point differential comes into play if all end up 3-3.

District 4-5A

In: Arlington (7-2, 4-1), Arlington Bowie (7-2, 4-1)

On the bubble: Arlington Lamar (6-3, 3-2), Arlington Martin (5-4, 3-2) , Mansfield Summit (4-5, 3-2)

The scenario: Lamar is in with a win or a Summit loss to Bowie. Summit needs a win and a Martin loss. Martin must beat Lamar.

District 5-5A

In: Euless Trinity (7-2, 6-0), Colleyville Heritage (7-2, 5-1), Grapevine (5-4, 5-1)

On the bubble: Keller (5-4, 3-3), Keller Fossil Ridge (2-6, 2-4)

The scenario: Keller and Fossil Ridge face off Friday in a winner-take-all, loser-leaves-town battle.

District 6-5A

In: Southlake Carroll (8-1, 4-0), Coppell (8-1, 3-1)

On the bubble: Flower Mound (6-3, 2-2), Flower Mound Marcus (5-3, 2-2), Hebron (4-5, 1-3)

The scenario: Flower Mound is in with a win or Hebron loss to Marcus. Marcus is in with a win. Hebron needs a win and a Flower Mound loss.

District 6-4A

In: Aledo (8-1, 6-0), North Richland Hills Birdville (9-0, 6-0), Saginaw Boswell (6-3, 4-2), Saginaw (4-5, 3-3)

District 7-4A

In: Fort Worth Arlington Heights (7-2, 4-0), FW Eastern Hills (3-6, 3-1), FW Dunbar (7-2, 4-0), FW Polytechnic (6-3, 2-2)

District 8-4A

In: Stephenville (7-2, 6-0), Everman (7-2, 5-1)

On the bubble: Mansfield Timberview (5-4, 3-3), Mansfield Legacy (6-3, 4-2), Arlington Seguin (3-6, 3-3)

The scenario: Legacy is in with a win, a Joshua victory over Seguin or if it stays within 8 points in a loss to Timberview. Seguin is in if it beats Joshua (2-7, 0-6). Timberview must win by nine points or more or needs a win and a Seguin loss.

District 16-4A

In: Waxahachie (9-0, 6-0), Waco Midway (8-1, 5-1)

On the bubble: Cleburne (6-3, 3-3), Waco University (5-4, 3-3), Corsicana (4-5, 3-3), Ennis (5-4, 3-3)

The scenario: Four teams sit tied at 3-3, meaning the winners of the Cleburne-Corsicana and the Ennis-University games are in.

District 11-3A

In: Lake Worth (6-3, 5-0), Dallas Madison (6-3, 4-1)

On the bubble: FWCastleberry (4-5, 3-2), FW Carter-Riverside (4-5, 3-2)

The scenario: It’s simple; the winner of the Carter-Riverside-Castleberry game is in the playoffs.

District 12-3A

In: Nobody yet but Venus is out

On the bubble: Alvarado (5-4, 3-1), Kennedale (8-1, 3-1), Ferris (5-4, 2-2), Kaufman (4-4, 2-2), Crandall (5-4, 2-2)

The scenario: Kennedale simply needs to defeat Crandall. If the Wildcats lose and Ferris wins then Kennedale is out. Alvarado gets in by knocking off winless Venus. The winner of the Kaufman-Ferris game also grabs a spot. The wild card in all this is if Venus (2-7, 0-4) pulls the upset against Alvarado then tie-breaking points will determine the three spots.

TOBIAS XAVIER LOPEZ, 817-390-7760

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