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Here’s a look at the Valley football playoff scenarios and possible matchups heading into Week 11. In 6A and 5A classifications, four teams advance to the playoffs from each district. The two with the larger enrollments are placed in the Division I bracket, and the two with the smaller enrollments are placed in the Division II bracket. Teams will then enter bi-district play. District 29-6A will face District 30-6A, District 31-6A will face District 32-6A, and District 31-5A will face District 32-5A.
In each bi-district pairing, the No. 1 seed in each division will face the No. 2 seed in the same division from the opposing district. For example, the No. 1 seed in District 30-6A Division I will face the No. 2 seed in District 29-6A Division I.
DISTRICT 29-30 6A
McAllen Memorial (9-0, 5-0) finishes in first place and is District 30-6A champion under any circumstances. If Memorial can take care of business against Mission High (4-5, 2-3) and finish off an undefeated season, the four playoff teams will be McAllen Memorial, McAllen High (4-5, 3-2), La Joya Palmview (4-5, 2-3) and the winner of Friday’s game between La Joya High (3-5, 2-3) and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (3-6, 2-3).
McAllen High can only miss the playoffs through one extreme scenario: Mission High beats McAllen Memorial, La Joya High beats La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, and McAllen High loses to La Joya Palmview by 16 or more points. This would put McAllen High as the odd team out in a four-way tie for second place at 3-3.
La Joya Palmview is in the playoffs unless it loses to McAllen High, and Mission High beats McAllen Memorial.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln is in the playoffs with a win against La Joya High. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln is out with a loss.
La Joya High is in the playoffs with a win against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, unless (a.) Mission High beats McAllen Memorial, and (b.) La Joya Palmview beats McAllen High by fewer than 16 points. La Joya High is out with a loss.
Mission High needs to upset undefeated McAllen Memorial to potentially qualify for the playoffs. Mission High is out with a loss. The only scenario in which a win does not assure Mission a playoff berth is if (a.) La Joya Juarez-Lincoln beats La Joya High and (b.) La Joya Palmview beats McAllen High.
McAllen Rowe (2-6, 2-4) can finish in a four-way tie for the fourth and final playoff spot, but would still be out via tiebreakers.
McAllen Memorial will compete in Division I regardless of how the remaining games play out. The winner of the matchup between La Joya High and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln will also play in Division I, except in the scenario in which neither team reaches the playoffs. Under those conditions, La Joya Palmview would be the second Division I representative.
McAllen High and Mission High will play in Division II under every scenario in which they qualify for the playoffs. La Joya Palmview will play in Division II if it qualifies for the playoffs and one of those teams does not.
The District 29-6A playoff picture is almost equally jumbled, with Laredo United and Del Rio at 3-1 while Laredo United South, Laredo Alexander and Laredo LBJ are tied at 2-2.
DISTRICT 31-32 6A
Weslaco High (7-2, 5-0) is locked in as the No. 1 seed among Division I teams. The Panthers will likely face Los Fresnos (8-1, 5-1) during the bi-district round.
If Harlingen High (7-2, 5-1) defeats Harlingen South (3-6, 3-3), the Falcons would be set as the No. 2 seed among Division I playoff teams in District 32-6A.
If Harlingen High loses to Harlingen South and Los Fresnos defeats Brownsville Hanna (4-5, 2-4), the Panthers would face Harlingen High for the second time this season. The teams met in Week 4 with the Cardinals winning 21-14.
The winner of Edinburg North (3-6, 2-3) vs. Edinburg Economedes (4-5, 2-3) secures the fourth and final playoff spot in 31-6A, and will in all likelihood square off against Harlingen High.
Among Division II teams in 31-6A, Weslaco East (7-1, 5-0) has clinched the No. 1 seed and will face either Brownsville Veterans Memorial (6-3, 3-3) or Harlingen South. If Brownsville Vets defeats Brownsville Lopez (1-7, 1-5), or Harlingen South loses to Harlingen High, the Chargers secure the last playoff spot in 32-6A.
PSJA North (4-5, 3-2), the No. 2 seed in Division II, opens the playoffs against San Benito (7-2, 5-1).
DISTRICT 31-32 5A
Donna High has clinched a share of the District 32-5A title after its win over Donna North on Friday. The Redskins (7-2, 6-0) can win the title outright with a win over Edcouch-Elsa (6-3, 4-2) next week. If the Redskins lose and Mercedes (6-3, 5-1) beats Brownsville Porter next week, then Donna High and Mercedes share the district title despite the Redskins beating the Tigers earlier this season. That understanding abides by 32-5A regulations.
The four playoff seeds are set in 32-5A. Donna High and Brownsville Porter (5-4, 4-2) are Division I representatives, with Donna High taking the No. 1 seed. The Redskins will play the loser of next week’s Edinburg Vela-Mission Veterans Memorial matchup in the bi-district round of the playoffs. Porter plays the winner of Vela-Mission Vets in the first round of the playoffs.
Vela (9-0, 5-0) is coming off a bye, while Mission Veterans (7-2, 4-1) has four straight wins to its credit after beating Rio Grande City on Thursday. The Patriots can share the District 31-5A title with a win. Otherwise, Vela will claim the championship outright. Either way, the two teams are locked in as 31-5A’s Division I representatives.
Mercedes is locked in as the No. 1 seed in District 32-5A Division II, with Edcouch-Elsa as the No. 2.
Sharyland High (5-4, 3-2) and Roma (7-2, 3-2) will be the Division II representatives in District 31-5A. The two are even heading into Week 11, but Roma holds the tiebreaker by way of a head-to-head win. If both teams pick up expected wins — Sharyland against Rio Grande City (3-6, 1-4) and Roma against Valley View (0-9, 0-5) — Roma would take the No. 1 seed in Division II, with Sharyland at No. 2.
That would pit Sharyland High against Mercedes and Roma against Edcouch-Elsa in the bi-district round.