East Greene rolled over Walnut in Grand Junction tonight, 56-8, to move its season record to 6-1overall and 4-1 in District 7.
The win over Walnut with Ar-We-Va’s loss to Woodbine guarantees EG a spot in the playoffs as the Hawks are in third place at 4-1, just behind co-leaders Coon Rapids-Bayard and Glidden-Ralston at 5-0. GR rolled over Boyer Valley 46-6 to drop the Bulldogs to 2-3 in D7.
The top four teams in the 8-team division qualify for the playoffs.
Ar-We-Va and Woodbine entered tonight’s game with 1-3 records in the division standings, which made the matchup an “elimination round” game as the loser would end up with 4 division losses and even with two more wins to close out the year, would still end up at only 3-4, making it nearly impossible to the get the fourth playoff spot.
If BV had upset GR, moving to 3-2 in the league, and then won its final two games to finish 5-2, and Ar-We-Va had beaten Woodbine to go 2-3 and then win its next two games (Walnut, EG), and EG were to enter that AWV game at 4-2 having lost to Coon Rapids-Bayard the previous week, then AWV and EG would tie at 4-3 for fourth. And BV could easily finish in third place at 5-2 since its last two games are against Woodbine and Walnut. Glidden-Ralston and Coon Rapids-Bayard would finish in first and second depending on the winner of their matchup the last week of the season.
AWV would have gotten the fourth playoff spot based on beating EG which is the tie-breaker (head-to-head competition) when two teams tie. If more than two teams tie, and each as a loss to one of the other two teams, then the point differential is used.
If GR were to have actually been upset by BV and then beat CRB in the finale, they would get the No. 1 seed in D7 as both teams would finish tied at 6-1 but GR would get the top spot because the tie breaker between two teams is the winner in head-to-head competition. And if CRB were to win in that game under the same circumstances, then the Crusaders get the top seed.
Ar-We-Va had put a scare into GR last week before falling by just 11 points, and that coming just a week after GR had drubbed then undefeated EG by 32 points. GR, ranked No. 7 in the state, seemed vulnerable again tonight, leading BV by just 16-6 at the half, but the Wildcats prevailed by outscoring BV 30-0 in the second half to win 46-6. Meanwhile, Ar-We-Va trailed Woodbine by just 8 points in the first quarter, 14-6, but Woodbine put 12 points on the board just after halftime to go up 26-6 and hang on for the win, 34-20.
BV’s loss to GR drops the Bulldogs to 2-3 and even if BV wins its next two games and ends up 4-3 and the above scenario of EG losing its last two games were to happen, EG would finish at 4-3 and still get the tie-breaker because EG beat BV in head-to-head competition. Another concern, though, was if this same scenario had played out but Ar-We-Va actually beat Woodbine, and then won out for the season, going from 1-3 to 4-3 and beating EG, then then all three teams would have tied for third, and the No. 3 and No. 4 spots would be determined by the points differential.
Fortunately, for the Hawks, the Woodbine win over Ar-We-Va means that EG has already beaten the two teams in the No. 4 spot, and has a two-game lead over them, 4-1 vs. 2-3.
EYE ON GJ SAYS: The Hawks actually still have a chance for the Division 7 title despite their loss to GR two weeks ago. If EG gets by CRB next week, and then the Crusaders should beat GR in the season finale—while EG gets by Ar-We-Va—then GR, EG, and CRB all would finish in first place with 6-1 records. The tie-breaker invoked then in is the points differential, and that final number would not be determined until the games are played and the margins of victory and defeat calculated for all three teams.
EG’s biggest challenge right now is Coon Rapids-Bayard. The game is in Coon Rapids, so the Crusaders have the home field advantage. They bring a high-powered passing game into this showdown of longtime Central Valley and West Central conference rivals. CRB’s Michael Schwenk set a new state mark in an 85-12 drubbing of winless Charter Oak-Ute last night— scoring 9 touchdowns in the first half.
The Hawks will need to put the breaks on the Crusader offense and make sure they keep their own offense in gear. The Hawks have scored 52 and 56 points in their last two games, while the defense has given up an average of just 10. For the season, the Hawks are scoring at a 41.7 average while holding opponents to just 13.1. CRB has a whopping 58.9 per game scoring average and a 24.1 defensive average.
Friday, Oct. 8 games:
East Greene 56, Walnut 8
Coon Rapids-Bayard 85, Charter Oak-Ute 13
Glidden-Ralston 46, Boyer Valley (Dunlap) 6
Woodbine 34, Ar-We-Va (Westside) 20
Standings, Division/Season Records, Pt. Diff. Average
Coon Rapids-Bayard 5-0, 6-1 (13)
Glidden-Ralston 5-0, 6-1 (12.6)
East Greene 4-1, 6-1 (7.8)
Boyer Valley 2-3, 4-3 (-5)
Woodbine 2-3, 3-4 (-2.6)
Ar-We-Va 1-4, 2-5 (-5)
Walnut 1-4, 1-6 (-7.8)
Charter Oak-Ute 0-5, 0-7 (-13)
