There's one football game left on the schedule for almost every team in the 2017 Wyoming High School Regular Season.

Some teams have their playoff spot secured and are waiting to learn which team is their first round opponent.

Others are in the post-season, but don't know yet if they will play at home, or on the road in the first round.

A few teams haven't made it in yet, but are close.

They just need a win, and a few need a win and some help from other teams.

If worse comes to worse, there is a flip of the coin.

In the long run, not only to some teams need to take care of business in week 8, but they have to watch the scoreboard as well, because there are certain scenarios that will determine their playoff fate.

Before going through the scenarios, first an explanation of tie-breakers, according to the Wyoming High School Activities Association:

2-way tie: Use head-to-head result.

3-way tie: If one team beat the other 2 tied teams, or lost to the other 2 tied teams, that team moves up or moves down. Use head-to-head for the remaining 2 tied teams.

3-way tie, all beat each other, regardless is all will or will not make the playoffs: This happens when Team A beats Team B, Team B beats Team C, and Team C beats Team A. The first thing is check record vs. the highest team in the conference, not involved in the tie. If that doesn't work, use the next highest team, next highest, etc...until all teams in the conference not involved in the tie have been checked. If and when a difference is found while going down the standings, that team will move up or move down. Use head-to-head for the other 2 tied teams. If the tie has not been broken, then a 3-way coin flip will be conducted to determine seeding. In some cases, a 3-way coin flip could determine whether a team makes the playoffs or not.

3-way Coin Flip: The coin flip can either be done by the teams themselves (coaches and/or AD's will gather at a pre-determined location) OR it can take place on Saturday, October 21st, during the State Cross Country Meet in Sheridan. Representatives from each of the 3 teams will flip their own coin. If all 3 gets heads or tails, then reflip. Once there is 2 heads and 1 tail, or 2 tails and 1 head, the team with the odd flip of the coin is the LOSER and moves down in the tie-breaker scenario (could be eliminated). Use head-to-head for the remaining 2 tied teams.

4-way Tie: (We believe similar rules are used for a 5-way tie)

If one team beat the other 3, or lost to the other 3, that team moves up or moves down. Revert back to 3-way tie-breaker rules for the remaining tied teams. If that doesn't work, check head-to-head vs. highest team in the conference not involved in the tie. If that doesn't work, use the next highest team, next highest, etc...If and when a difference is found while going down the standings, that team will move up or move down. Revert back to 3-way tie-breaker rules for remaining tied teams. If the 4-way still isn't broken, then there will be a coin flip to break the tie. Details to be announced later.

With the tie-breaker rules covered, let's examine the situations. These are not official and are subject to error.

4A:

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Cheyenne East at Sheridan, Rock Springs at Natrona, Thunder Basin at Laramie, Cheyenne South at Cheyenne Central.

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Campbell County at Kelly Walsh.

Sheridan, Natrona and Cheyenne East are still jockeying for the 1, 2 and 3 seeds.

Sheridan beats East: If Sheridan beats East, then the top 3 seeds are set with Sheridan #1, Natrona #2, and East #3. The outcome of the Rock Springs at Natrona game becomes irrelevant, because Natrona has head-to-head vs. East.

East beats Sheridan, and Natrona wins: 3-way tie with all teams being 8-1. Sheridan beat Natrona, Natrona beat East, East beat Sheridan. 3-way coin flip for 1, 2, and 3 seeds.

East beats Sheridan, and Natrona loses: East (8-1) gets #1 seed due to head-to-head win vs. Sheridan (8-1). Natrona (7-2) be #3.

Kelly Walsh: Locked into the #4 seed. A win or loss vs. Campbell County changes nothing. The Trojans have head-to-head wins vs. both Thunder Basin and Rock Springs.

Thunder Basin, Rock Springs and Laramie are still jockeying for the 5, 6 and 7 seeds.

Thunder Basin beats Laramie:The Rock Springs at Natrona game becomes irrelevant. TB gets #5 seed and goes to Kelly Walsh, RS #6 and Laramie #7. TB won head-to-head vs. RS, and RS won head-to-head vs. Laramie.

Laramie beats Thunder Basin, and Rock Springs wins: RS (5-4) gets #5 seed and goes to Kelly Walsh. Laramie (4-5) gets #6 seed over TB (4-5) due to head-to-head win. The Bolts drop to #7.

Laramie beats Thunder Basin, and Rock Springs loses: 3-way tie with all teams being 4-5. Rock Springs beat Laramie, Thunder Basin beat Rock Springs, Laramie beat Thunder Basin. 3-way coin flip for 5, 6, and 7 seeds.

Cheyenne South at Cheyenne Central: Winner is in the playoffs as the #8 seed. Loser is done.

Campbell County: Will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1989. A win vs. Kelly Walsh changes nothing, because they can't catch the South-Central winner in the standings.

 

3A East:

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Douglas at Buffalo, Rawlins at Lander

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Riverton at Torrington.

Torrington: Locked into the #1 seed. A win or loss vs. Riverton changes nothing, because they have head-to-head vs. Douglas, if they lose. The TrailBlazers will host Worland in the first round.

Douglas, Rawlins and Buffalo are still jockeying for the 2, 3 and 4 seeds.

Douglas beats Buffalo: The Rawlins at Lander game becomes irrelevant. Douglas gets the #2 seed and will host Cody. Rawlins gets the #3 seed (regardless of win or loss vs. Lander), due to head-to-head win vs. Buffalo and will travel to play the Star Valley-Green River loser. Buffalo gets the #4 seed and will travel to play the Star Valley-Green River winner. The Bison have head-to-head vs. Riverton, should they lose and the Wolverines win.

Buffalo beats Douglas, and Rawlins wins: 3-way tie with all teams being 3-2. Rawlins beat Buffalo, Douglas beat Rawlins, Buffalo beat Douglas. 3-way coin flip for 2, 3, and 4 seeds.

Buffalo beats Douglas and Rawlins loses: Buffalo (3-2) gets #2 seed over Douglas (3-2) due to head-to-head win and will host Cody. The Bearcats would be the #3 seed and travel to the Star Valley-Green River loser. Rawlins (2-3) would be the #4 seed and will travel to play the Star Valley-Green River winner. The Outlaws have head-to-head vs. Riverton, should this situation play out, and Riverton wins.

Riverton: Eliminated. Even if the Wolverines beat Torrington, they lose head-to-head vs. both Rawlins and Buffalo and can't catch Douglas or Torrington in the standings.

Lander: Eliminated. The Tigers can't catch Torrington, Douglas, Rawlins or Buffalo in the standings.

 

3A West:

Because there are an odd number of teams in the 3A West, one team must finish conference play ahead of the others. Worland is that team this year.

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Star Valley at Green River

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Powell at Cody, Worland at Pinedale, Jackson at Evanston.

Star Valley at Green River: Winner is the #1 seed and the loser is #2. GR already has 1 conference loss, but would have head-to-head vs. SV, should they win. GR can't do any worse than the #2 seed, because of head-to-head win vs. Cody.

Cody: Locked into #3 seed. A win or loss vs. Powell changes nothing. The Broncs lose head-to-head vs. GR, but have head-to-head vs. both Worland and Evanston.

Worland: Locked into #4 seed and will go to Torrington in the first round. The Warriors play a non-conference game at Pinedale, and have head-to-head vs. Evanston, so a win or a loss vs. the Wranglers changes nothing. Worland loses head-to-head vs. Cody for #3 seed, should the Broncs lose vs. Powell.

Evanston: Eliminated. The Red Devils could wind up in a 3-way tie with Cody and Worland for the #3 and #4 seeds, should they beat Jackson, and Cody loses to Powell. However, Evanston loses head-to-head vs. both the Broncs and Warriors.

Powell and Jackson: Eliminated. Can't catch SV, GR, Cody and Worland in the standings.

 

2A East:

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Thermopolis at Newcastle

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Burns at Glenrock, Wheatland at Moorcroft.

Glenrock: Locked into the #1 seed. The Herders have head-to-head vs. Wheatland should they lose and the Bulldogs win.

Wheatland: Locked into the #2 seed. The Bulldogs lose head-to-head vs. Glenrock for #1 seed, but have head-to-head vs. the Thermopolis-Newcastle winner.

Thermopolis at Newcastle: Winner is the #3 seed and the loser is the #4 seed and will travel to Mountain View. The winner loses head-to-head with Wheatland for the #2 seed, but has head-to-head vs. Moorcroft for the #4 seed.

Moorcroft: Eliminated. the Wolves lose head-to-head vs. the Thermopolis-Newcastle loser.

Burns: Eliminated. Lost head-to-head vs. Moorcroft and can't catch any other team ahead of them in the standings.

 

2A West:

Because there are an odd number of teams in the 2A West, one team must finish conference play ahead of the others. Pinedale is that team this year.

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding::: Mountain View at Greybull, Big Piney at Lyman, Lovell at Kemmerer

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Worland at Pinedale

Mountain View: Locked into the #1 seed. The Buffalos have head-to-head vs. Big Piney, should they lose at Greybull. MV will host the Thermopolis-Newcastle loser in the first round.

Big Piney: Locked into the #2 seed. The Punchers have head-to-head vs. Greybull, should they lose and Greybull wins.

Greybull (3-2 in conf), Lyman (2-3 in conf) and Lovell (2-3 in conf) are still jockeying for the 3 and 4 seeds. One team will not make it.

Greybull beat Lyman, Lyman beat Lovell and Lovell beat Greybull, but Greybull has a 1 game lead on the other 2, heading into week 8.

Greybull wins, Lyman wins, Lovell wins: Greybull gets the #3 seed and will travel to Wheatland. Lyman gets the #4 seed over Lovell, due to head-to head and will travel to Glenrock. Lovell will miss the playoffs.

Greybull wins, Lyman wins, Lovell loses: Greybull gets the #3 seed and will travel to Wheatland. Lyman gets the #4 seed and will travel to Glenrock. Lovell will miss the playoffs.

Greybull wins, Lyman loses, Lovell wins: Greybull gets the #3 seed and will travel to Wheatland. Lovell gets the #4 seed and will travel to Glenrock. Lyman will miss the playoffs.

Greybull wins, Lyman loses, Lovell loses: Greybull gets the #3 seed and will travel to Wheatland. Lovell, Lyman and Pinedale would be in a 3-way tie for the #4 seed at 2-4 in conference and they all beat each other (Lyman beat Lovell, Pinedale beat Lyman, Lovell beat Pinedale). Checking record vs. highest team in the conference not involved in the tie, all 3 lost vs. MV and BP, but Lovell has a win vs. Greybull, where as the other 2 don't. The Bulldogs would get the playoff spot and travel to Glenrock. Lyman would miss the playoffs.

Greybull loses, Lyman wins, Lovell wins: This creates a 3-way tie between the 3 teams. Checking record vs. highest team in the conference not involved in the tie, all 3 lost vs. MV, but Lyman would have a win vs. BP, where as the other 2 don't. The Eagles would get the #3 seed and travel to Wheatland. Lovell would then get the #4 seed over Greybull due to head-to-head win, and travel to Glenrock. Greybull would miss the playoffs.

Greybull loses, Lyman wins, Lovell loses: Greybull gets #3 seed over Lyman, due to head-to-head win and will travel to Wheatland. Lyman would get the #4 seed and travel to Glenrock. Lovell would miss the playoffs.

Greybull loses, Lyman loses, Lovell wins: Lovell gets the #3 seed over Greybull due to head-to-head win and would travel to Wheatland. Greybull would get the #4 seed and travel to Glenrock. Lyman would miss the playoffs.

Greybull loses, Lyman loses, Lovell loses: Greybull gets the #3 seed and travels to Wheatland. Lovell, Lyman and Pinedale would be in a 3-way tie for the #4 seed at 2-4 in conference and they all beat each other (Lyman beat Lovell, Pinedale beat Lyman, Lovell beat Pinedale). Checking record vs. highest team in the conference not involved in the tie, all 3 lost vs. MV and BP, but Lovell has a win vs. Greybull, where as the other 2 don't. The Bulldogs would get the playoff spot and travel to Glenrock. Lyman would miss the playoffs.

Pinedale: Eliminated. There are 2 scenarios where the Wrangles could end a 3-way tie with Lovell and Lyman, but Lovell's win over Greybull would trump it.

Kemmerer: Eliminated. Can't catch any team ahead of them in the standings.

 

1A East:

Because there are an odd number of teams in the 1A East, one team must finish conference play ahead of the others. Wright is that team this year.

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Upton-Sundance at Pine Bluffs, Tongue River at Big Horn, Lusk at Southeast

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Rocky Mountain vs. Wright (at Sheridan)

Pine Bluffs, Big Horn and Upton-Sundance are still jockeying for the 1, 2, 3 seeds.

Pine Bluffs beats Upton-Sundance: The Tongue River-Big Horn game becomes irrelevant. PB would be the #1 seed and host the Saratoga-Wind River loser in the first round. Big Horn has head-to-head vs. Upton-Sundance should they lose vs. TR. The Rams would be the #2 seed and host the Saratoga-Wind River winner in the first round. U-S would be the #3 seed and travel to Rocky Mountain in the first round.

Upton-Sundance beats Pine Bluffs, and Big Horn wins: 3-way tie with all teams being 5-1. Pine Bluffs beat Big Horn, Big Horn beat Upton-Sundance, Upton-Sundance beat Pine Bluffs. 3-way coin flip for 1, 2, and 3 seeds.

Upton-Sundance beats Pine Bluffs and Big Horn loses: Upton-Sundance (5-1) gets the #1 seed and will host the Saratoga-Wind River loser in the first round, due to head-to-head win vs. PB (5-1). The Hornets would be the #2 seed and host the Saratoga-Wind River winner in the first round. Big Horn (4-2) would be the #3 seed and travel to Rocky Mountain in the first round.

Lusk at Southeast: Winner gets the #4 seed and will travel to Cokeville in the first round. The loser is eliminated. If Lusk and TR both win, this would create a 3-way with the 2 teams and Southeast, but Lusk would win, due to having wins vs. both SE and TR.

Tongue River: Eliminated. Can't catch Pine Bluffs, Big Horn and Upton-Sundance in the standings, and lose head-to-head vs. both Southeast and Lusk.

Wright: Eliminated. Too many teams ahead of the Panthers in the standings, and the only game left on the schedule is a non-conference game vs. Rocky Mountain,

 

1A West:

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Saratoga at Wind River

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Cokeville at Shoshoni, Wyoming Indian at Rocky Mountain (RM wins by forfeit), Rocky Mountain vs. Wright (at Sheridan)

Cokeville: Locked into the #1 seed and will host the Lusk-Southeast winner in the first round. The Panthers have head-to-head vs. Rocky Mountain, should they lose at Shoshoni.

Rocky Mountain: The Grizzlies win their week 8 game vs. Wyoming Indian via forfeit, thus the Grizzlies are locked into the #2 seed. R.M. has head-to-head vs. the Saratoga-Wind River winner. RM has a non-conference game vs. Wright in week 8 at Sheridan.

Saratoga at Wind River: Winner is the #3 seed and the loser is the #4 seed. The loser has head-to-head vs. Shoshoni, should the Wranglers beat Cokeville.

Shoshoni: Eliminated. Even if the Wranglers beat Cokeville, they lose head-to-head vs. the Saratoga-Wind River loser.

Wyoming Indian: Elminated.

 

6-Man East:

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Midwest at H.E.M., Hulett at Guernsey-Sunrise

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Normative Services at Kaycee, Rock River at Lingle-Ft. Laramie (Lingle-Ft. Laramie wins by forfeit)

Kaycee: Locked into the #1 seed. Will host Meeteetse in the first round.

Midwest: In the playoffs, but seeding is unknown.

 

Midwest beats H.E.M. and Guernsey-Sunrise beats Hulett: Midwest gets the #2 seed. Guernsey-Sunrise gets the #3 seed. H.E.M. gets the #4 seed. Hulett misses the playoffs.

Midwest beats H.E.M. and Hulett beats Guernsey-Sunrise: Midwest gets the #2 seed. G-S, H.E.M. and Hulett would be in a 3-way tie (G-S beats H.E.M., H.E.M. beat Hulett, and Hulett beat G-S), and all 3 lost to Kaycee and Midwest, and beat Lingle-Ft. Laramie, Normative Services and Rock River. 3-way coin flip for #3 and #4 seeds. The odd flip of the coin is the loser and misses the playoffs. Use head-to-head for the remaining 2 teams to determine #3 and #4 seed.

H.E.M. beats Midwest and Guernsey-Sunrise beats Hulett: Midwest, G-S and H.E.M. would be in a 3-way tie (Midwest beat G-S, G-S beat H.E.M. and H.E.M. beat Midwest), and all 3 lost to Kaycee, and beat Hulett, Lingle-Ft. Laramie, Normative Services and Rock River. 3-way coin flip for #2, #3 and #4 seeds. The odd flip of the coin is the loser and is the #4 seed. Use head-to-head for the remaining 2 teams to determine #3 and #4 seed.

H.E.M. beats Midwest and Hulett beats Guernsey-Sunrise: H.E.M. would get the #2 seed over Midwest due to head-to-head win. Midwest would be #3. Hulett gets #4 seed over Guernsey-Sunrise due to head-to-head win. Guernsey-Sunrise would miss the playoffs.

Lingle-Ft. Laramie, Normative Services and Rock River: Eliminated.

 

6-Man West:

Week 8 games that will have an impact on playoff seeding: Farson-Eden at Little Snake River, Burlington at Riverside

Week 8 games that will not have an impact on playoff seeding: Dubois at Ten Sleep, Meeteetse at St. Stephens

Farson-Eden, Burlington and Little Snake River are still jockeying for the 2, 3 and 4 seeds.

Farson-Eden beats Little Snake River: The Burlington-Riverside game becomes irrelevant. F-E gets the #1 seed. Burlington gets the #2 seed regardless of win or loss, because they have head-to-head vs. Little Snake River, who would be the #3 seed.

Little Snake River beats Farson-Eden, and Burlington wins: 3-way tie with all teams being 6-1. Farson-Eden beat Burlington, Burlington beat Little Snake River, Little Snake River beat Farson-Eden. 3-way coin flip for 1, 2, and 3 seeds.

Little Snake River beats Farson-Eden, and Burlington loses: Little Snake River gets the #1 seed over Farson-Eden due to head-to-head win. F-E would be the #2 seed, and Burlington #3.

Meeteetse: Locked into the #4 seed and will travel to Kaycee in the first round of the playoffs. The outcome of their week 8 game at St. Stephens is irrelevant.

Riverside: Ineligible for playoffs, due to WHSAA rules.

Ten Sleep, Dubois and St. Stephens: Eliminated.

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