Region 1-4A football’s fourth seed may face unusual tiebreakers

If Carver beats Americus-Sumter on the road Friday, the Tigers seal the fourth seed in Region 1-4A. If the Tigers fail to top the region’s No. 1 team, a wild set tiebreakers could determine which team plays in the postseason.

Mathematically, four teams are still alive for the fourth seed: Carver (3-3 region record), Columbus (2-4), Hardaway (2-4) and Westover (2-4). On Friday, Columbus plays at Cairo, Westover hosts Northside and Hardaway faces Shaw in Kinnett Stadium.

It’s important to note the results of the four teams’ head-to-head matchups, which were:

• Carver beat Hardaway 38-31, lost to Columbus 36-13 and beat Westover 20-0
• Columbus beat Carver 36-13, lost to Westover 26-13 and lost to Hardaway 41-14
• Hardaway lost to Carver 38-31, beat Westover 28-6 and beat Columbus 41-14
• Westover beat Columbus 26-13, lost to Hardaway 28-6 and lost to Carver 20-0

Here are the seven scenarios that could play out if Carver loses:

Carver loses, Hardaway and Columbus win, Westover loses: Carver, Hardaway and Columbus have a three-way tie with identical 3-4 region records. The GHSA’s initial tiebreaker for this situation -- taking the team with the best head-to-head record -- is not applicable because each team went 1-1 against the other two. The next tiebreaker gives the nod to the team with the highest winning percentage against the other tied teams, which again is not applicable because all three were .500. As a result, the three teams would play a GHSA tiebreaker mini-game to determine the fourth seed.

Carver loses, Hardaway, Columbus and Westover all win: All four teams are tied with 3-4 region records. The head-to-head record is not applicable; however, the second tiebreaker regarding highest winning percentage eliminates Columbus and Westover, which hold .333 winning percentages against the other three. That leaves Carver and Hardaway, and Carver gets the fourth seed because of the head-to-head victory.

Carver loses, Hardaway and Westover win, Columbus loses: Carver, Hardaway and Westover have a three-way tie with 3-4 region records. Westover is eliminated because it did not beat Carver or Hardaway. That leaves Carver and Hardaway, and Carver gets the fourth seed because of the head-to-head victory.

Carver loses, Columbus and Westover win, Hardaway loses: Carver, Columbus and Westover have a three-way tie with 3-4 region records. This would play out just like the first option because no one team beat the other two and no team has a higher winning percentage against the others. As a result, the three teams would play a GHSA tiebreaker mini-game to determine the fourth seed.

Carver loses, Hardaway wins, Columbus and Westover lose: Carver and Hardaway are tied with 3-4 region records. Carver holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Hardaway, which means the Tigers get the fourth seed.

Carver loses, Columbus wins, Westover and Hardaway lose: Columbus and Carver are tied with 3-4 region records. The Blue Devils hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Carver, which means Columbus makes the playoffs for only the second time since 1994.

Carver loses, Westover wins, Columbus and Hardaway lose: Carver and Westover are tied with 3-4 region records. Carver blanked Westover 20-0 in September, which means the Tigers take the fourth seed.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Region 1-4A football’s fourth seed may face unusual tiebreakers."