Last week I stated that the Red Tornadoes must win two of the next three games. It didn't matter which two but it had to be two wins. Well, we still need two wins and now there is no margin for error. Hickory needs one more victory this season to become "playoff eligible" - which means that if the NCHSAA needs teams to fill in the brackets then a team with four wins could be selected as "wildcard" team. So even if Hickory doesn't earn a berth that isn't necessarily the end of it. But that's hardly a comforting thought for a team that has only missed the playoffs once since 1994.
As it stands now the Red Tornadoes must win the rest of their games in order to have a shot at earning the second and final 3A berth in the playoffs. They must finish ahead of either St. Stephens (still possible) or Fred T. Foard (not likely). Because they lost the head-to-head matchups with both schools the Red Tornadoes will be eliminated if there is any kind of tie at the end of the season. The Red Tornadoes also need St. Stephens to lose two of their remaining games. If you assume (for the sake of argument) that the Red Tornadoes will take care of business against teams like Patton, West Caldwell and Bunker Hill and that St. Stephens will lose to Foard in the final week then the whole scenario boils down to two games.
St. Stephens visits Bandys this Friday night. I believe that besides Foard the team with the best chance of knocking off the Indians is Bandys. A loss Friday night would set Saint up to get its fourth CVAC loss on November 7th at Fred T. Foard. The other key game will happen next week when Hickory hosts Hibriten. The Red Tornadoes will have to find a way to upset the Panthers.
For the time being, however, all that matters is beating Patton this Friday night. If that doesn't happen then the playoff mathematics gets wiped off the board. Then the Tornadoes will have to hope for a last-minute vacancy at the Playoff Motel.
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