Both Sharkey-Issaquena Academy (5-2, 1-1 District 4-A) and Tallulah Academy (5-1, 2-0) seem like locks to make the MAIS eight-man playoffs.

The eight-team bracket will be comprised of four district champions and four wild cards determined by a power point average. Both SIA and Tallulah are among just seven teams with a double-digit average, and because their losses were to other top teams it’s not likely to dip significantly.

All of that said, their matchup Friday in Tallulah still has plenty of meaning. SIA needs a win to keep its district title hopes alive, and Tallulah needs one to maintain the upper hand in the race.

“The way this is set up, we could still lose to Sharkey and beat Franklin (Academy) and it’s a three-way tie. That’s not what we want. We want the whole thing. That’s what we’re shooting for,” Tallulah coach Bo Barton said.

The game is a rematch of last year’s eight-man championship game, which SIA won 82-42. Barton, though, downplayed the revenge factor, as well as the chance to make a statement by knocking off the reigning king of eight-man football. SIA, he said, is just like Tallulah — a good team in need of a district win.

“It’s a district game,” Barton said. “Not saying anything negative about Sharkey. They’re a great football team and well-coached. But they’ve lost twice already. If they were working on winning 35 or 36 in a row, you could say, ‘We’re playing Sharkey.’ It’s the next game and we’re treating it that way.”

 

Rebul at Park Place

Rebul Academy (4-3, 1-0 District 3-A) is contending for the last eight-man wild-card berth and can likely take it with a strong stretch run. Three of its last four opponents have losing records.

 

Central Hinds at Riverfield

Central Hinds (4-2, 1-0 District 3-AAA) begins a run of three straight district games. Riverfield (5-2, 2-0) is the defending district champion and can all but wrap up another title with a win.

 

Port Gibson at Wesson

Port Gibson (1-6, 0-1 Region 3-7A) will try to get back on the right track Friday night at Wesson (3-4, 0-1). Port Gibson has been shut out twice in four losses since beating Lanier on Sept. 4.

 

Wossman at Madison Parish

Madison (5-0) is one of only four remaining undefeated teams in Louisiana Class 3A, but three victories over winless teams haven’t helped its power point ranking. It is currently 23rd out of 59 teams, and the only one of the four unbeatens outside the top 10.

The Class 3A playoff bracket includes nine district champions and 23 wild cards, selected and seeded based on the power point rankings.