Mules out of running for football playoffs

UPDATE: In writing the story Friday night it wasn't clear to me if Poplar Bluff was still in the playoff hunt even after looking at the MSHSAA guidelines. So, I left it as vague as possible.

After going over things again, I can say, that the Mules have no shot at the playoffs, probably. Here's why:

The Mules, Seckman and Jackson could end in a 3-way tie for second, IF the Mules beat Seckman by 13 points AND if Jackson beats Summit by 13 points. All three of those teams would have a 1-2 district record with a minus-13 point tiebreaker. The next tiebreaker is winning percentage on games with common opponents but those common opponents are in the district so everybody is 1-2. The fourth tiebreaker is winning percentage throughout the season. Under this example, Jackson (3-7) would edge Seckman (2-7) and Bluff (2-8).

The thing that tripped me up was that a., I don't like to be wrong and b., I don't guess. I had to get confirmation from PBHS Athletic Director Jim Brown, which I did today.

Oddly enough, if that example actually happens, Jackson would make the playoffs based on a Week 1 win against an opponent playing their first-ever varsity game or could have been held out after a 1-point loss at Vashon; Seckman would be just .078 off the pace despite beating Jackson by 23 and could be 3-7 had they played and beaten 0-8 Fox before the start of districts (they're scheduled to play Nov. 6); The Mules' had two opponents in which they beat last year not on this year's non-district schedule which features teams that are a combined 43-17.

We could have actually had all three teams tie at 3-7 or 2-8 needing a coin flip to fill out the bracket.

Still, the district champ could come down to a tiebreaker as well IF Jackson beats Summit and IF Seckman beats Bluff on Thursday to create three 2-1 teams.

Meanwhile in District 2, the four teams are a combined 27-7 but two of them will not make the cut.

Do we really need two teams out of each district? Is it time we just scrap the whole district concept? Break up the conferences? Let MSHSAA draw up the schedules for everybody?

FENTON -- Poplar Bluff got nearly all of its offensive weapons together for the first time this season, but a week worth of practice wasn't enough for the Mules.

Summit scored twice in the span of 49 seconds midway through the first half and never looked back, beating visiting Poplar Bluff 40-6 Friday night.

The Mules (1-8) didn't score until the final 38 seconds on a 3-yard run by Pete Bryant, who ran for 17 yards in all.

Michael Griggs made his first appearance since last year's playoff game but Poplar Bluff's junior quarterback threw two interceptions and was 14-of-35 for 150 yards passing. Kendric McCain caught five passes for 73 yards.

Summit (5-4) improved to 2-0 in the district and can wrap up a district title Thursday with a win at Jackson.

Summit's Alex Clark ran 19 times for 123 yards while senior quarterback Myles Robinson threw four touchdowns in the first half. He finished with 245 yards on 12-of-16 passing for the Falcons, who scored on their first possession. After Robinson hit Joey Schenck for an 11-yard touchdown pass on third-and-9, he hooked up with C.J. Neal for a 49-yard touchdown less than a minute later.

Summit took a 21-0 lead with 10:43 left in the half when Robinson hit Sean Duggan with a 9-yard touchdown pass. Another 9-yard touchdown pass, this time to Neal with 8:08 left, gave the Falcons a 28-0 halftime lead.

Summit's defense scored twice in the third quarter. First, Ian McIntosh picked off Griggs and ran back 60 yards for a touchdown and a 35-0 lead. The Falcons then forced Griggs to throw from his own end zone while scrambling and a penalty for intentional grounding gave Summit a safety.

Justin Wittrock kicked a 25-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter after a penalty on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Poplar Bluff's Allen Scott also intercepted a pass in the end zone but the Mules allowed over 35 points for the eighth time this season.

Poplar Bluff closes out the regular season Thursday against visiting Seckman.

Read more in Sunday's DAR.

Poplar Bluff 0 0 0 6 -- 6

Summit 14 14 12 0 -- 40

First Quarter

RS -- Schenck 11 pass from Robinson (Wittrock kick), 6:50.

RS -- Neal 49 pass from Robinson (Wittrock kick), 6:01.

Second Quarter

RS -- Duggan 9 pass from Robinson (Wittrock kick), 10:43.

RS -- Neal 9 pass from Robinson (Wittrock kick), 8:08.

Third Quarter

RS -- McIntosh 60 interception return (Wittrock kick), 7:28.

RS -- Safety, 5:32.

RS -- Wittrock 25 FG, 0:46.

Fourth Quarter

PB -- Bryant 3 run (run fail), 0:38.

Team PB RS

First downs 11 10

Total yards 143 401

Rushes-yds. 16-(-7) 26-156

Passing yds. 150 245

Punt returns 0-0 3-0

Kickoff return 6-80 0

Interception returns 0 60

Comp-Att-Int. 14-35-2 12-17-0

Sacked-yds. lost 1-6 0-0

Punts-Avg. yds. 3-32.6 0-0

Fumbles-lost 4-1 0-0

Penalties-yds. 10-50 7-60

Time of possession 26:06 21:54

RUSHING: Poplar Bluff, Bryant 7-17. Griggs 5-4. McCain 2-2. Team 2-(-30). Summit, Clark 19-123. Hartmann 1-18. Beisel 2-9. Exler 1-4. JSmith 3-2.

PASSING: Poplar Bluff, Griggs 14-35-2 150. Summit, Robinson 12-16-0 245. Beisel 0-1-1 0.

RECEIVING: Poplar Bluff, McCain 5-73. Hibler 1-29. Ramos 3-24. Bryant 4-17. Goodrich 1-7. Summit, Neal 3-92. Beisel 1-64. Hartmann 4-52. Schenck 3-28. Duggan 1-9.