The Path for Sioux Falls Lincoln to Make the 11AAA Playoffs

Sioux Falls Lincoln is the current team on the outside looking in, but they will have an opportunity to jump into the playoff field tomorrow.

The Patriots (2-6) are currently behind Rapid City Central (2-6) for the final playoff spot for Class 11AAA. Rapid City Central beat Lincoln 14-13 back in Week 1 and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

It is still possible, however, for the Patriots to jump into the playoffs.

In South Dakota, the playoffs for football are determined based on a point system. This takes into account strength of schedule over overall record. The seed point system is a graded system in which a team is given points based on wins/loses against teams they played against and that team's winning percentage. That number is then divided by the number of games played.

Sound confusing? It is. But it also sets up some interesting situations in the final week of the season.

So how can the Patriots get into the playoffs this weekend? They need a little bit of help in both scenarios of winning and losing. Here's just part of the breakdown.

Lincoln gets into the playoffs with:

Win + Watertown Loss
Win + Rapid City Central Loss
Win + Rapid City Central Win + Yankton Win + Brookings Win + Sturgis Loss + Aberdeen Central Loss
Loss + Rapid City Central Loss + Yankton OR Brookings Win and Aberdeen Central Loss + Sturgis Loss
IF Aberdeen Central wins + Lincoln Loss:
- Rapid City Central Loss + Yankton AND Brookings WIN + Sturgis Loss

The crazy part of the system is that there are many factors that can still play into it. This above is just the base ways for Lincoln to get it. Easiest way is to find a win.

Lincoln plays the night game against Washington as part of a doubleheader at Howard Wood Field on Thursday night.