Playoff alchemy, Part 3

The NCHSAA has churned the ADM numbers provided by the DPI (the source of the enrollment figures I discussed earlier in the week) through some sort of secret decoder ring and presented them to the world.

For some reason, several of the figures are higher than originally indicated. Other numbers are identical. Hickory is one of those that has higher numbers than previously indicated. So once again the Red Tornadoes will be heading into the 3AA West bracket for the playoffs.

I don't know what caused the discrepancy in numbers or why some numbers are different while others are identical. It's a moot point since the NCHSAA's figures are the "official" ones. The "official" numbers that the NCHSAA has presented for the Unifour schools are as follows:

4A
South Caldwell 1,755
Alexander Central 1,655
Freedom 1,293
East Burke 1,123

3A
Hickory 1,366
St. Stephens 1,288
Fred T. Foard 1,103

2A
Hibriten 1,156
Patton 1,008
West Caldwell 974
Bunker Hill 935
Bandys 917
Newton-Conover 853
Maiden 837
Draughn 723

The other new development occurred last night when Maiden beat St. Stephens. That loss dropped the Indians into a tie with Hickory in the CVAC. How's that for a nasty trick-or-treat for the Trailer Park folks? If last night had been the end of the season then the Indians would still have the edge on Hickory thanks to their historic victory over the Red Tornadoes earlier in the season.

However, with one week to go the Indians now must face Fred T. Foard while Hickory gets Bunker Hill. This means that, barring upsets, Hickory should finish a game ahead of St. Stephens and thus earn the CVAC's second and final automatic playoff berth. Oh, snap!

In addition to cancelling out whatever joy the Indians took in finally getting a win over Hickory, finishing ahead of St. Stephens will allow Hickory to get seeded as a conference #2, which is significantly better than being a wildcard bracket filler. It could even mean getting a home game in the first round. While it's true that home field advantage hasn't been worth much this season for the Red Tornadoes it's still better than hitting the road in the playoffs.

Stay tuned.