GHSA associate athletic director Kevin Giddens said earlier this week that the number of COVID-impacted high school football games has sharply declined each week, and that’s good news for teams trying to make the playoffs.
The numbers are encouraging.
Giddens said there were 47 COVID-19 cancellations in Week 1. That number dropped to three in Week 7. GHSA executive director Robin Hines added that many of the canceled games earlier this season were re-scheduled or new matchups were created.
As teams enter the heart of region play, however, they don’t have as many open weeks to re-schedule, should COVID shutdowns occur. That scenario is compounded for the six of the state’s largest regions, all of which have nine football-playing schools.
In cases where a region’s teams finish not having played the same number of games or common opponents, tiebreakers unique to the pandemic are used. It’s up to each region to decide the best system for its situation, and some are different from others.
But COVID forfeits could leave deserving playoff teams on the outside, having been eliminated by variables out of their control.
If all games aren’t completed in the nine-team 6-6A, they’ll use a system that removes uncommon opponents among the tied teams, then fall back on the GHSA-provided tiebreaker system. The region used that format last season to determine seeding when all region games couldn’t be completed.
Pope, where 6-6A secretary Josh Mathews is athletic director, finished in fifth place after the tiebreaker system awarded Kennesaw Mountain (4-3) the No. 4 seed over the Greyhounds (4-2). The two never got to play each other.
“We didn’t like it last year because we were the team left out, but we had that tiebreaker in place for a reason,” Matthews said. “That’s why you work through them, and those that are fortunate enough to get the higher ranking move on. It becomes a game on paper, and nobody wants to win a game that way, but that’s why you have them.”
Region 6-2A, another nine-team region, will use a points system and, if needed, a coin toss to determine tiebreakers.
That’s a change from last year, when all region games couldn’t be played once DeKalb Schools postponed all fall sports until Oct. 1. As a result, 6-2A officials decided to count only each team’s final six region games toward the standings, then fell back on a points system that accounted for which team canceled a matchup because of COVID. When Lovett beat South Atlanta early in the season, it didn’t count as a loss for the Hornets since the game fell outside of their last six region games. The Hornets officially finished with a 5-0 region record to claim the 6-2A title.
“Last year was difficult because we wanted to be as fair as possible to (all member schools),” 6-2A secretary Myss Johnson-Jelks said. “This year, we’re on a better page because I think everybody is counting on the whole season being played.”
Region 4-1A Public is a nine-team region team that got through last season completing all games. It uses a power-ranking system in the event all region games can’t be played. It was in place last year, but not needed.
Region secretary David Coffey said there have been league games re-scheduled from COVID-related postponements this year and last, but that all games to date have been played.
“We’ve been lucky so far, and we hope that continues,” he said.
Whatever the process, Giddens said the GHSA won’t get involved with region disputes over which four teams should earn playoff berths.
“We’ve stood firm since we’ve been here with Dr. Hines that we just need your four seeded playoff teams from your region,” Giddens said. “We’re not getting into the business of how you got there unless there’s a question about the GHSA tiebreaker policy.”
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