Road to a region championship: How Colbert Heights can clinch its first title since 1999

Colbert Heights (9-1 overall), West Morgan (9-1 overall) and Lauderdale County (6-3 overall) each finished 6-1 in Class 3A, Region 8, tying for first place. The team whose defeated non-region opponents have the most combined wins will be crowned region champion and earn the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.

• Colbert Heights defeated Red Bay (four wins thus far), Phil Campbell (one win) and Sheffield (three wins) in non-region play. Colbert Heights’ defeated non-region opponents currently have a combined total of eight wins.
• West Morgan defeated St. John Paul II (zero wins thus far), Priceville (two wins) and Cherokee (seven wins) in non-region play. West Morgan’s defeated non-region opponents currently have a combined total of nine wins.
• Lauderdale County does not have a non-region win thus far. Lauderdale County closes the regular season Friday with a non-region game at Brooks, which has six wins. The maximum number of wins by Lauderdale County’s defeated non-region opponents would be six, which would be less than the combined number of wins already accumulated by the defeated non-region opponents of both Colbert Heights and West Morgan. Hence, even with a victory over Brooks, Lauderdale County can NOT win the region.
• Each of Colbert Heights’ defeated non-region opponents (Red Bay, Phil Campbell, Sheffield) has one game remaining. Red Bay hosts Cherokee (7-2), Phil Campbell hosts Hackleburg (8-1) and Sheffield plays at R.A. Hubbard (2-7). All three games are scheduled for Thursday night.
• Each of West Morgan’s defeated non-region opponents (St. John Paul II, Priceville, Cherokee) has one game remaining. St. John Paul II plays at Clements (4-5) on Friday, Priceville plays at Westminster Christian (5-4) on Friday, and Cherokee plays at Red Bay (4-5) on Thursday.
• If the combined number of wins by Colbert Heights’ defeated non-region opponents winds up being the same as the combined number of wins by West Morgan’s non-region opponents, then West Morgan will win the region championship by virtue of its head-to-head victory over Colbert Heights. In other words, the combined number of wins by Colbert Heights’ defeated non-region opponents MUST be higher than the combined number of wins by West Morgan’s non-region opponents in order for Colbert Heights to win the region.
• If Cherokee beats Red Bay on Thursday night (no matter what happens in any other game), then West Morgan would be the region champion and Colbert Heights would earn the No. 2 seed. In other words, Red Bay MUST beat Cherokee on Thursday night for Colbert Heights to remain alive for the region championship. Therefore, the following scenarios all assume a Red Bay win over Cherokee.

If Red Bay beats Cherokee AND…

• Phil Campbell AND Sheffield both win on Thursday night, then a loss by either St. John Paul II OR Priceville on Friday would make Colbert Heights the region champion.
• Phil Campbell OR Sheffield lose on Thursday night, then both St. John Paul II AND Priceville would have to lose on Friday night in order for Colbert Heights to be the region champion.
• Phil Campbell AND Sheffield both lose on Thursday night, then West Morgan would be the region champion and Colbert Heights would earn the No. 2 seed. In other words, Colbert Heights needs a win by Red Bay AND a win by either Phil Campbell or Sheffield to remain alive for the region championship.
• There is no scenario in which Colbert Heights drops to the No. 3 seed. The Wildcats are guaranteed to host a first-round playoff game on Friday, November 10.