Font ResizeBut if the No. 10 Scorpions pull off the upset over No. 4 PV on Friday, the District 1-4A title picture becomes murky with three teams potentially sitting with a 2-1 record.
Assuming Aztec holds serve versus Kirtland Central, the Tigers will possess the tiebreaker via point differential.
After the 20-7 win over the Scorps and the 24-21 loss to PV, Aztec would have a plus-10 point differential tiebreaker.
The Panthers sit at plus-3 and a loss to Farmington wouldn't improve that, so they'd be eliminated in the three-way tie.
The New Mexico Activities Association caps the spread used at 13 points, so Farmington's 20-7 loss to Aztec is as bad as 50-0 as far as the tiebreaker is concerned, and because of that cap, all the Scorps can do is break even, leaving their only path to a district title being a win over the Panthers coupled with Aztec losing to Kirtland in an upset that monumental falls short of describing.
The Scorps will have plenty on the line Friday night, though.
A win over a top-five PV squad could be just what Farmington needs in order to scrape into the top eight seeds and secure a home playoff game.
Farmington has already beaten the current No. 8 team — St. Pius X — in Albuquerque, and it would be hard for the NMAA not to reward a 7-3 Scorps side with another game at Hutchison.
It's also tough to
It's a spot where Farmington has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
The Scorpions aren't concerned with the playoff scenarios and have their attention squarely on PV.
"There is not a whole lot we can do but play a good football game," said Farmington head coach Gary Bradley. "The rankings are all computer generated so it's out of our hands in that regard. If we play a good game, playoffs and seeding will take care of themselves."
The Panthers, on the other hand, could see nine games of hard work undone by an upset.
A win locks up the district title for PV and likely puts them in line for a top-four seed and a first round bye.
But a loss could be catastrophic for the Panthers.
Aztec would likely get the highest seed as district champs in the No. 5 or No. 6 spot.
Then how will the NMAA view PV?
Do they reward an 8-2 season with a home game in the first round as a No. 6-No. 8 seed, or do they punish them with a road game for losing to St. Pius and Farmington?
The most plausible scenario would be the Panthers ending up a seed below Aztec in the No. 6 or No. 7 spot, and Farmington being placed in the No. 8/No. 9 game.
"I wouldn't want to be any of the other teams who have to play the teams from here," said PV head coach Jared Howell. "Whoever gets the seven or eight seed, I wouldn't want to play them. That's a scary proposition, and I think it's a credit to the kids and coaches in our district."
All the speculation will be put to rest Friday night, and only one thing is certain heading into the cross-town rivalry. It's been awhile since both teams had so much riding on the final game of the regular season.
"I don't expect anything less than a hard fought game," Howell said. "We know coach Bradley will throw the kitchen sink at us."
