Jimmy J. Mitchell
Vestavia Hills vs. Hoover Football
Action from a game between Vestavia Hills and Hoover on Friday, October 14, 2016, at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama.
The Rebels are not done just yet.
While it seemed that Vestavia Hills' loss to Hoover may have eliminated the Rebels from postseason contention -- as they now sit with a 2-4 record in Class 7A, Region 3 play -- there appears to be one remaining scenario for Buddy Anderson and crew to qualify for postseason play.
The top four teams in each region advance to the state playoffs, and three of those spots have been secured in Region 3, by Hoover, Spain Park and Mountain Brook. The fourth one is still undecided, and has come down to do Oak Mountain, Thompson, Vestavia Hills or Huffman.
Thompson and Oak Mountain enter the final week of region play with 3-3 marks in region play, while Vestavia Hills and Huffman sit at 2-4. Thompson faces Hoover, Oak Mountain plays Spain Park, Vestavia hosts Tuscaloosa County, and Huffman travels to Mountain Brook.
If either Thompson or Oak Mountain win this week, one of them would advance to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. If both lose while Vestavia wins and forces a three-way tie, Oak Mountain would advance due to beating both Vestavia and Thompson during the regular season.
But the most chaotic scenario is what Rebel fans will be pulling for. If Thompson and Oak Mountain lose, while Vestavia defeats Tuscaloosa County and Huffman upsets Mountain Brook, a four-way tie would persist, with all four teams with 3-4 records.
If that is how it shakes out, Hoover would be No. 1 at 7-0. Spain Park would be No. 2 at 5-2. Mountain Brook ends up No. 3 at 4-3.
Vestavia Hills would prevail out of that four-way tie. By consulting the AHSAA 2016-17 Sports Book's tie-breaking procedure, the Rebels would emerge if this scenario presents itself.
Here's how. These are the applicable tiebreakers listed in order.
- The team that defeated all other tied teams in the regular season will be placed ahead of all other tied teams. No resolution, because none of the four teams beat all of the other three.
- The team that had the highest winning percentage against the No. 1 ranked team will be placed ahead of all other tied teams. No resolution, because none of them beat Hoover, the region's top seed.
- Apply using percentage against the No. 2 ranked team. No resolution, because all four lost to Spain Park.
- Apply using percentage against the No. 3 ranked team. Here's where dominoes begin to fall, because Huffman and Vestavia Hills would be the two teams to have defeated Mountain Brook. The tie between Huffman and Vestavia Hills must be resolved, and it's resolved by looking at the head-to-head result between the two during the year.
Vestavia Hills defeated Huffman, 35-21, in the regular season, and thus would advance to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed out of Region 3.
In summation, what Rebel fans should pull for on Friday night:
- Thompson to lose to Hoover
- Oak Mountain to lose to Spain Park
- Huffman to beat Mountain Brook
- Vestavia Hills to beat Tuscaloosa County
That's a lot to have fall into place, but there is at least a chance.
Author's note: Playoff scenarios are difficult to navigate, so if there is another scenario that I am not accounting for, please feel free to point that out.
