When I lived in Fargo, North Dakota, from 2012-15, I got exposed to the Minnesota style of high school football playoffs.
They were unlike anything I’d ever heard of: Every team qualifies for the playoffs, and the playoffs are set in regions.
That means the first three rounds of playoffs are against the teams from your conference — usually teams you’ve played before.
Minnesota’s regions are divided pretty evenly, with most regions having six, seven or eight teams. The first two rounds of the playoffs are played in the same week — first-round games on Tuesday, second-round games on Saturday — and then the regional final, the section final, the semifinals and the championship game coming on successive Fridays (usually) after that.
That means the Minnesota high school playoffs are six rounds: three rounds of regional qualifying, three rounds of section-level and state-level finals. For example, here’s last year’s Class AA bracket.
I started to think what playoffs might look like in Wyoming under the same system. So… here’s what Wyoming’s 2016 playoffs would have looked like under a Minnesota-style playoff system where every team qualifies, and playoffs are in regions rather than statewide cross-bracketing:
Class 4A
First round
(10) Evanston at (7) Cheyenne East
(9) Cheyenne Central at (8) Cheyenne South
Second round
Central/South winner at (1) Gillette
(5) Natrona at (4) Kelly Walsh
(6) Laramie at (3) Rock Springs
Evanston/East winner at (2) Sheridan
Of course, there wouldn’t be any changes in 4A, except for the addition of a first-round game for the bottom four seeds.
Class 3A East
First round
(6) Buffalo at (3) Riverton
(5) Rawlins at (4) Lander
Second round
Buffalo/Riverton winner at (2) Torrington
Rawlins/Lander winner at (1) Douglas
Class 3A West
First round
(6) Jackson at (3) Green River
(5) Worland at (4) Cody
Second round
Jackson/Green River winner at (2) Star Valley
Worland/Cody winner at (1) Powell
In 3A, we definitely don’t get a Powell-Star Valley title game. That comes as a regional final rather than a state championship.
Class 2A East
First round
(7) Thermopolis at (2) Big Horn
(6) Burns at (3) Wheatland
(5) Moorcroft at (4) Newcastle
Second round
Thermopolis/Big Horn winner vs. Burns/Wheatland winner
Moorcroft/Newcastle winner vs (1) Glenrock
Class 2A West
First round
(7) Kemmerer at (2) Greybull
(6) Big Piney at (3) Pinedale
(5) Lovell at (4) Lyman
Second round
Kemmerer/Greybull winner vs. Big Piney/Pinedale winner
Lovell/Lyman winner at (1) Mountain View
In 2A last year, we ended up with an East vs. West title game. Would we see the same in a different qualifying path, though?
Class 1A 11-man East
First round
(6) Lusk at (3) Pine Bluffs
(5) Wright at (4) Southeast
Second round
Lusk/Pine Bluffs winner at (2) Tongue River
Wright/Southeast winner at (1) Upton-Sundance
Class 1A 11-man West
First round
(6) Wyoming Indian at (3) Cokeville
(5) Wind River at (4) Saratoga
Second round
Wyoming Indian/Cokeville winner at (2) Rocky Mountain
Wind River/Saratoga winner at (1) Shoshoni
Obviously, in 1A 11-man, we don’t get a Pine Bluffs-Tongue River title game. At best, that’s a second-round game. At worst, neither one of those teams even makes it to Laramie.
Class 1A six-man East
First round
(7) Rock River at (2) Guernsey-Sunrise
(6) Hulett at (3) Midwest
(5) NSI at (4) Hanna
Second round
Rock River/Guernsey-Sunrise winner vs. Hulett/Midwest winner
NSI/Hanna winner at (1) Kaycee
Class 1A six-man West
First round
(7) Ten Sleep at (2) Meeteetse
(6) St. Stephens at (3) Snake River
(5) Dubois at (4) Burlington
Second round
Ten Sleep/Meeteetse winner vs. St. Stephens/Snake River winner
Dubois/Burlington winner at (1) Farson
And, in 1A six-man, both top seeds advanced. These brackets were drawn up eliminating Riverside and Lingle.
Would a Minnesota-style playoff qualifying system work for Wyoming? Post your thoughts and let’s walk through what would work and what wouldn’t about this system being applied in the Equality State.
–patrick