High school football - Check out the Section 9 playoff scenarios

The final weekend of regular-season action in Section 9 11-man football will finalize the postseason schedules, but there are already spots that are virtually clinched.Head-to-head tie-breakers apply as top separator. Section 9 utilizes a negative point differential among three- and four-way ties between the tied clubs as the second separator.None of these scenarios are official until verified by Section 9.Class AAMiddletown (4-0) has clinched the No. 1 seed and will host the No. 4 seed in a semifinal on Nov. 6 or 7.Newburgh Free Academy (3-1) would clinch the No. 2 seed with a win at Valley Central (2-2) on Friday. If so, Pine Bush (2-2) would take the No. 3 seed with a win at Monroe-Woodbury (1-3) on Saturday and VC would fall to No. 4.Wins by NFA and Monroe would forge a three-way tie for No. 3 seed at 2-3 between Monroe, Pine Bush and VC. In that scenario, Valley Central is a minus-4 and Monroe is a minus-5, so Pine Bush can lose to Monroe by 1-3 points to take No. 3 seed (and VC gets No. 4); if Pine Bush loses by 5-or-more, then VC gets No. 3, Monroe No. 4 and Pine Bush is eliminated.What’s unclear at the moment is what happens if Pine Bush loses to Monroe by only four points: Do the Bushmen advance based on a win over Valley Central, or does entire tie-breaker move to the third criteria of cumulative negative points among the three tied clubs? (still awaiting confirmation from Section 9 officials).If advanced to the cumulative negative points tie-break (which accounts for losses within the division), Valley Central is -25, Monroe-Woodbury is locked in at -26 and Pine Bush is -36. So in defeat, VC can afford to lose by 11 points, plus whatever margin Pine Bush loses by to give Monroe No. 3 and VC No. 4. A narrow loss by Pine Bush to Monroe keeps the Bushmen in contention as long as NFA beats VC by 13 points, plus one point per every point Pine Bush loses by unless it exceeds 11, though (there is a cap at minus-21 points per setback).If Valley Central and Pine Bush win, there will be a three-way tie for second at 3-2 with NFA, VC and Pine Bush. In that scenario, Valley Central is a minus-4 and Pine Bush is a minus-21, so if NFA loses by one, two or three points the Goldbacks will be No. 2, Pine Bush No. 3 and VC No. 4; if NFA bows by more than five points, VC would be No. 2, NFA No. 3 and Pine Bush No. 4. Again, if NFA loses by just four points, tying VC at minus-4, still awaiting word from section on whether VC tops NFA by head-to-head, or whether it goes to third criteria.If advanced to the cumulative negative points tie-break involving all teams in the division, NFA is minus-10, Valley Central is minus-25 and Pine Bush is minus-36. So NFA can only lose to VC by 14-or-fewer points to take No. 2 seed, and Pine Bush jumps VC for No. 3 by virtue of its win last week. If VC beats NFA by 16-or-more, then VC takes No. 2 seed and NFA No. 3 and Pine Bush is No. 4.If VC and Monroe win, VC takes No. 2 seed, NFA falls to No. 3 and Monroe takes No. 4.Class AWashingtonville (2-0) has clinched the top seed in Div. A-1, and will host the Div. A-2 runner-up in a Nov. 6 or 7 semifinal. The winner of Friday night’s Warwick (1-1) at Minisink Valley (1-1) finale gets the No. 2 seed and the loser is eliminated from contention. Roosevelt (0-2) can’t get out of fourth place, even with a home win vs. Washingtonville on Friday.Cornwall (2-0) clinches Div. A-2 with a win over visiting Goshen on Friday. A loss, though, could pull the Dragons and Gladiators into a three-way tie at 2-1 with Our Lady of Lourdes, should the Warriors beat visiting Wallkill on Friday – in that case, Lourdes is a minus-2 and Goshen a minus-8, so Cornwall can only lose to Goshen by one point to take No. 1 seed; or lose by 3-7 points to take the No. 2 seed; or be eliminated with loss by 8 points or more. Again, it’s unclear what happens if Cornwall loses by two points.If advanced to the cumulative positive points fourth tie-break, Cornwall is plus-31, Goshen is plus-22 and Lourdes is plus-8. Goshen would need to beat Cornwall by 10-or-more points to supplant the Dragons for No. 1 seed (barring Lourdes pounding Wallkill); also, Lourdes could sneak by Cornwall if the Warriors beat Wallkill by 24-29 points.Wins by Goshen and Wallkill would give the division to Goshen, and Cornwall takes No. 2 seed.Class BPort Jervis (5-0) has clinched the No. 1 seed and home semifinal on Nov. 6 or 7 - even with a loss at New Paltz on Friday, the Raiders already beat Beacon in case of a head-to-head tie-break. Beacon (4-1) has clinched the No. 2 seed – whether outright by beating Liberty on Friday, or earning the head-to-head tie-break over Marlboro or Saugerties with a loss.Marlboro (3-2) and Saugerties (3-2) meet Saturday, the winner taking No. 3 and facing Beacon in the semifinals; the loser taking No. 4 and facing Port in the semis.Class CHighland will be the No. 1 seed and receive a semifinal bye. For the Nov. 6 or 7 semifinal, No. 3 Dover (2-2) will play at No. 1 James I. O’Neill (3-1).The final will be Nov. 14 at Monroe-Woodbury High School.Class DThere are only two schools so the Nov. 13 final at Goshen High School (4:30 p.m.) will pit No. 2 Chester and No. 1 Burke Catholic.This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: High school football - Check out the Section 9 playoff scenarios