St. Marys, Anna make big moves in the points

This week's big mover in the computer points is St. Marys. The Roughriders most likely started playing playoff games in week 5, needing to win the rest to make the playoffs.

While the Roughriders had a 3-2 record going into this last weekend, St. Marys lacked a big computer points generating win. This week's win over Ottawa-Glandorf solved that problem and vaulted the Roughriders up from 20th to 12th in the standings.

St. Marys still has four more places to climb to qualify for the playoffs, but the Roughriders'' schedule looks favorable. Their next three opponents are either 3-3 or 4-2, meaning they all generate a good number of computer points if St. Marys defeats them, but none of the games appear to be as difficult as Ottawa-Glandorf.

The other game which had a big effect on the computer points was Anna's double-overtime victory over St. Henry. The win moved Anna up to third place in its region, and probably forces St. Henry to win its last four games to have a shot at the playoffs, with perhaps the most important of the four being this week's game against Parkway.

Here's a listing of how all the Midwest Athletic Conference and Western Buckeye League teams stand in the computer rankings after the sixth week, as well as a few other teams they are competing against for one of the highly sought after playoff berths. The computer points for the five regions involving Mercer, Auglaize and Shelby county teams can be found at http://www.bright.net/~monninb/football.htm

Team - Ranking (Computer Points)
Region 6:
Lodi Cloverleaf - 8th (8.83)
Wapakoneta - 21st (3.25)
Celina - 28th (0.00)

A nice win by Wapakoneta over Van Wert moves the Redskins up a bit in the rankings.

Region 10:
Clyde - 8th (9.75)
Defiance - 11th (7.13)
St. Marys - 12th (6.93)
Kenton - 15th (5.83)
Lima Shawnee - 17th (5.38)
Van Wert - 24th (3.00)
Elida - 30th (0.00)

St. Marys moves up eight spots with its win over Ottawa-Glandorf. There are now four WBL teams in this region between 11th and 17th in the standings. Interestingly enough, the highest team of that group, Defiance, has a 3-3 record while the other three teams have a 4-2 record.

This region is showing the effect of the yearly WBL "cannibalization" of each other. Instead of a few playoff bound teams rising to the top of the conference (as often happens in the MAC), the WBL teams insist on beating each other just enough to damage everyone's computer points.

Region 14:
Ottawa-Glandorf - 8th (8.02)
Sparta Highland - 9th (7.72)
Lima Bath - 27th (0.83)

Ottawa-Glandorf holds onto eighth place in this region despite losing to St. Marys. However, O-G's next three games are against opponents with just four wins between them, so the Titans could win all three and fall in the standings. The week-10 game against Lima Shawnee is lurking as a huge game for the Titans and their playoff hopes.

Region 16:
Clinton-Massie - 4th (10.40)
Coldwater - 6th (10.17)
North College Hill - 9th (6.75)

Coldwater moves up two more positions this week. However, most of the Cavaliers' good opportunities to earn computer points are now over. They are likely to fall in the rankings even with wins the next two weeks. The good news is that the Cavaliers had a good cushion over the team in 9th place in the standings. The bad news is they likely need to win out to stay in the top eight, with 4-2 Fort Recovery lurking as the game remaining which could earn Coldwater the points it needs to reach the playoffs.

Region 20:
Marion Local - 2nd (9.12)
Anna - 3rd (7.93)
Cin Hills Christian Academy - 8th (6.01)
Milford Center Fairbanks - 9th (6.00)
Parkway - 10th (5.98)
St. Henry - 11th (5.22)
Versailles - 26th (0.58)

Marion Local and Anna are starting to look good not only for playoff berths, but also to host a first-round game. It appears two more wins should get the Flyers in the playoffs, while Anna may need three more victories.

Parkway and St. Henry play a big game this weekend, with the winner likely moving into the top eight and the loser falling to the brink of playoff elimination.

Region 22:
Defiance Ayersville - 8th (5.70)
Delphos St. Johns - 24th (1.60)

The loss to Fort Recovery makes Delphos St. Johns and its playoff hopes very dim. The Blue Jays will probably need to win out against teams including Anna, Marion Local and Coldwater.

Region 24:
Fort Recovery - 8th (5.02)
Cincinnati Country Day - 9th (4.78)
New Bremen - 27th (0.58)
Minster - 29th (0.00)

Fort Recovery moves back into the top eight this week. The Indians need to win two more games to have any playoff hopes, and may need to win three of the final four. A win over 6-0 Marion Local this week would almost bring in enough points by itself to get the Indians into the playoffs.