FB - Week 8 Class 3A Playoff Picture

If you are a fan of down-to-the-wire football, watching the playoff races in Class 3A in the state of Kansas has been a joy. It seems as if there are a handful of district races up for grabs, and more playoff positioning will play out on Friday.

Southwestern Kansas is not immune to the mess.

In a mathematical sense, when it comes to the teams Southwest Preps covers in Class 3A football, only Goodland is not part of the picture, and Colby has already clinched the District 8 title.

Here's a breakdown - the best we can, anyway - of all the district races involving the Class 3A teams Southwest Preps covers. The first one we will address may be the most interesting race of the bunch.

Class 3A District 7 Welcome to October madness, everyone.

Entering the final week of the regular season, Hugoton, Larned and Holcomb all have 3-1 district marks and have clinched a playoff berth. And, what a time for Holcomb and Hugoton to meet on the gridiron.

With their win over Larned last week, Hugoton find themselves in the best position. If they can beat Holcomb at Hugoton, they will be district champs. Larned beat Holcomb earlier in the season, and can win the district's top spot if Holcomb is victorious and the Indians can beat 1-6 Kingman.

If Kingman - who is eliminated from the playoff picture - pulls off an upset, and Holcomb wins on the road, then the Longhorns end up district champs. Since Holcomb beat Nickerson earlier this season, the Longhorns can't finish with anything worse than the No. 3 seed. Nickerson, however, beat Hugoton, so the Eagles can fall from the top spot to the No. 4 seed with a loss and if Pratt upends Nickerson.

Class 3A District 8

The top of the district has been decided, but because of some wild games the past two weeks, nothing else is clear.

Colby faces Goodland in their traditional rivalry game, but the only thing up for grabs, outside of bragging rights and pride, would be an unbeaten mark for the Eagles. Concordia lost to Colby earlier this season, so the best they can finish is with the No. 2 seed. Concordia has already clinched a playoff berth.

That leaves Beloit, Scott City and Russell to fight it out for the final two playoff spots. Concordia heads to Scott City, who will be looking to snap a rare two-game skid, while Russell will look to solve the Beloit puzzle on the Trojans' home field. It's pretty simple - the Beloit-Russell winner earns a playoff spot.

Scott City could earn a playoff berth even if they lose to Concordia. If Beloit wins at home, Scott City clinches the No. 4 playoff spot no matter what. If Scott City wins and Russell upends Beloit, then Scott City would move up to the No. 2 seed, and Beloit would be out of the playoffs.