Best weekend of prep football ever

MAT-SU — Two days. Three conference titles up for grabs. Fourteen playoff seeds to be settled.

Is this the best regular season weekend of Alaska prep football ever?

I think so.

It has to be.

Not only are all these spots up for grabs, but head-to-head play will decide nearly them all.

Colony plays Juneau for the Railbelt title game tonight. West Anchorage faces South Anchorage for the Cook Inlet Conference title tomorrow. And on the Kenai Peninsula, Kenai and Soldotna will tangle with the Northern Lights crown on the line.

By the time sports fans settle in for the evening edition of SportsCenter Saturday night, champions in the Railbelt, Cook Inlet and Northern Lights conferences will be crowned. And we’ll know which teams will be going where during the first round of the playoffs.

Right now, about two hours until the Friday night varsity games are scheduled to kickoff, we don’t know much of anything.

The four playoff teams in the CIC are set: West Anchorage, South Anchorage, Bartlett and Chugiak will participate in the second season in some fashion.

Two of the four Railbelt berths have been claimed. Colony and Juneau have each punched their postseason ticket, but North Pole, Palmer and Wasilla are still alive for the final two spots.

In the Northern Lights, Kenai, Soldotna, Homer and Kodiak are in. But all four seeds are up for grabs.

The only thing we do know is undefeated Eielson will win the Greatland, and Nikiski and Barrow appear to be headed for the playoffs. But the fourth seed will be determined when Monroe faces Seward tonight.

Like I said, best regular-season weekend ever?

Definitely.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

On Thursday, Colony head coach Jamie Mayo said he doesn’t remember so much being decided during one weekend, and he’s been roaming the Colony sidelines for about 18 years.

Mayo said he also asked another longtime Alaska football figurehead, Tom Huffer, Sr., — who’s sort of the Bobby Bowden of prep pigskin in the Last Frontier — Huffer couldn’t recall anything like this either.

Like I said, best ever.

Right now, the playoff scenarios are plentiful, and here’s a quick break down.

Starting with the Railbelt — the conference the majority of Valley fans most care about — all four seeds and the conference crown will be determined tonight.

Here’s a breakdown …

Colony (5-0) is at Juneau (4-1), with the conference title on the line. Either team can clinch the regular season title and a No. 1 seed in the postseason with a win.

If Juneau wins, the Bears are No. 1 and Colony is the No. 2. But if Colony wins, the Bears could slip to third.

A Colony win would actually make things much more complicated.

To figure that out, the outcome of the Palmer-Wasilla and North Pole-Lathrop games will have to be factored in.

With a victory over winless Lathrop, North Pole is in. No disrespect to the Malemutes or the coaching staff, but most see the Patriots as a postseason lock.

So if that happens, and Wasilla beats Palmer tonight in the Potato Bowl, and Colony beats Juneau, the top four would look like this: 1. Colony (6-0), 2. North Pole (4-2), 3. Juneau (4-2), 4. Wasilla (3-3).

Colony would be undefeated, North Pole and Juneau would both be 4-2 in conference play, and the Warriors and Moose would both sit at 3-3.

North Pole would jump to No. 2 in that scenario thanks to an identical conference record and the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker. Wasilla would have that same tiebreaker over the Moose.

But things would be different if Colony, North Pole and Palmer all win.

Colony would be undefeated. North Pole, Juneau and Palmer would all sit at 4-2. With North Pole’s win over Juneau, Juneau’s win over Palmer, and Palmer’s win over North Pole, each team would remain locked in the head-to-head tiebreaker. That takes us to the next tiebreaker, defensive points allowed.

Keeping up with me?

Before gametime Friday, Juneau had allowed 39 points, North Pole had given up 69 and Palmer had allowed 84 in Railbelt play.

So with Colony, North Pole and Juneau wins, we’ll have to wait and see the final scores before determining the seeds.

Confused?

Don’t worry too much if you are.

If Juneau, North Pole and Palmer all win, things would be a bit more simple, and look like this: 1. Juneau (5-1), 2. Colony (5-1), 3. Palmer (4-2), 4. North Pole (4-2).

Head-to-head play gives Juneau the No. 1 seed, and Palmer the nod at three over North Pole.

If Juneau, North Pole and Wasilla win, things would be even more easy.

1. Juneau, 2. Colony, 3. North Pole, 4. Wasilla.

Head spinning?

Mine is.

The wildest scenario could force Wasilla out of the playoffs, even with a win. If Lathrop does do the unthinkable, beat North Pole, and the Warriors beat the Moose — Palmer, North Pole and Wasilla would be all at 3-3.

Again, the teams would be in a three-way tie in the head-to-head tiebreaker. And again, we’d be down to points allowed. Wasilla has already allowed 161 points to conference opponents, nearly double that of Palmer, the next closest team on the list.

But, like I said before, don’t expect that to happen. Unless a flu bug wipes out North Pole, I have a better chance of becoming the next long snapper for the Chicago Bears than the Malemutes have of winning that game tonight.

Man, going through those scenarios are exhausting.

You’re probably tired, just reading all of this, right?

The CIC is much easier to project.

West and South will play for the title. The loser is the No. 2 seed, and will host the Railbelt’s No. 3 next weekend.

Bartlett and Chugiak also meet Saturday afternoon. Both are at 4-2 in the CIC, and the winner will be ranked third, while the loser is fourth.

Pretty cut and dry.

I like that.

In the Northern Lights, Kenai will meet Soldotna on Saturday with the title on the line. Home will play Kodiak to decide the third and fourth seeds.

OK, I have officially hit playoff scenario overload.

But, this is part of what makes it fun right?

I’ll say it again, best regular season weekend ever.

— Jeremiah Bartz.