Most of the participants are now set for MIAA football playoffs

Although some seeds need to be finalized, we do know seven of the eight teams that will compete for MIAA football championships - four in the A Conference and four in the B - with postseason games set to begin next weekend.

One seed that is known is the top one in the A Conference, which goes to two-time defending champion Archbishop Spalding. The Cavaliers (7-2 overall) are 6-0 in the conference after last week’s 56-6 rout of Loyola Blakefield and can wrap another undefeated regular season when they host Mount St. Joseph on Friday night.

The team that has faced Spalding in the last two title games, McDonogh (6-2, 4-2) has also claimed its playoff spot, as the second-seed. The Eagles, who close their regular season at home on Saturday against arch-rival Gilman, can do no worse than tie with third place St. Mary’s (6-3, 4-3), but own the head-to-head tie-breaker.

Currently, the Saints hold third-place, but would surrender the third seed to Gilman (4-4, 3-3), should the Greyhounds knock off McDonogh. Again, it would be the head-to-head to tie-breaker that would give Gilman the edge.

Should Gilman lose, it would be in danger of elimination, if St. Joe (4-4, 2-4) could pull off an upset of Spalding on Friday. That scenario would leave the Greyhounds and Gaels tied for fourth and St. Joe won the head-to-head.

Calvert Hall (4-4, 2-3) could also reach three league wins, if it defeats Concordia Prep on Saturday, to equal Gilman and St. Joe, but it would fall short on the tie-breakers. It lost head-to-head to Gilman. In a three-way tie with Gilman and St. Joe, all three would be 1-1 head-to-head, but MSJ would advance due to the fact that it would then have a win over top-seeded Spalding.

Thus, if Gilman wins on Saturday, they will face McDonogh again next week and St. Mary’s would travel to Spalding. If the Eagles win, they would host St. Mary’s and Gilman or St. Joe would get the invitation to Spalding.

In the B Conference, St. Paul’s (7-1, 6-0) remains undefeated in league play, but still needs to defeat arch-rival Boys’ Latin (6-4, 5-1) to lock up the top-seed. A BL win could result in a three-way tie for first place between the Lakers, Crusaders and St. Vincent Pallotti (5-5, 5-1), if Pallotti defeats Mount Carmel, in its regular season finale on Friday night.

A three way tie would leave all three teams 1-1 head-to-head and would require a coin flip to separate the teams. If St. Paul’s wins it would be the top seed, Pallotti would be second (head-to-head win over BL) and Boys’ Latin would be third. BL takes the top seed with a win and a Pallotti loss.

John Carroll (5-4, 3-3) is locked in as the fourth seed, regardless of what occurs in its final game with Archbishop Curley. A win would give the Patriots fourth place outright. A loss would drop them into a tie with Severn (4-5, 3-4), which has completed its regular season and has already lost to JC this season. 

With that said, here is the complete MIAA football schedule for this weekend:

Thurs, Oct. 30

A CONFERENCE

SEED School at Loyola Blakefield, 4:00 pm

Fri., Oct. 31

A CONFERENCE

Severn at St. Mary’s, 5:30 pm

Mount St. Joseph at Archbishop Spalding, 7 pm

B CONFERENCE

Boys’ Latin at St. Paul’s, 2:30 pm

Archbishop at John Carroll, 3:30 pm

Annapolis Area Christian at St. John’s Catholic Prep, 6 pm

St. Vincent Pallotti at Mount Carmel, 7 pm

Sat., Nov. 1

A CONFERENCE

Calvert Hall at Concordia Prep, 12 pm

Gilman at McDonogh, 2 pm