ScotSports.com Blog

The playoffs are still a day away for HP and Rockwall-Heath. But we can still look forward to the postseason matchups between 10-4A and 9-4A.

Or can we?

Since District 9-4A is headed to a tiebreaker of some sorts, we won't immediately know who HP is going to play in next week's bi-district playoffs. But that is also an advantage, in that HP will be able to see any of their future opponents in their playoff games, and get a solid scouting report on them. Surely the HP coaches have been scouting possible opponents already. But one more good read on another team's lineup can't hurt. 

Of course, the 9-4A tiebreaking teams could elect to flip coins to determine their playoff seeding. But that would be a rarity.

Here's the scenarios for the 9-4A tiebreakers. HP will eventually play the third-place team from 9-4A.

- Frisco Wakeland (8-5) plays McKinney North (8-5) on Friday, and the winner is assured a playoff spot as the district's second playoff seed. 

- Frisco Centennial (8-5) hosts Frisco (4-9). If Centennial wins, it too will have earned a playoff spot, though the seeding will be undetermined. A loss drops Centennial into a tiebreaker with at least the Wakeland-North loser, and also perhaps Sherman. 

- Sherman (7-6) hosts Denison (0-13). If Sherman wins, it will move into a tiebreaker tournament with at least one team. A loss eliminates Sherman, and immediately clinches playoff spots for Wakeland, McKinney North and Centennial, regardless of their outcomes Friday.

There is little change in the state polls this week, except for Canyon Randall dropping four spots after losing a game. Here are the two major state polls. HP faces the consensus No. 1, Rockwall-Heath, tonight.

Here's this week's coaches poll, with their published overall records:

THSBCA Class 4A State Poll, April 29
1. Rockwall-Heath (31-0)
2. Corpus Christi Moody (27-3)
3. Corpus Christi Calallen (26-3)
4. Pflugerville Hendrickson (26-2)
5. Brenham (25-4)
6. Mesquite Poteet (23-2)
7. Canyon Randall (24-4)
8. McKinney (22-4)
9. Texarkana Texas (22-5)
10. Wichita Falls Rider (24-5)

MAXpreps.com State Poll, updated constantly
(this 4A poll list is taken as a subset of MaxPreps' published all-classification poll)
1. Rockwall-Heath (31-0)
2. Brenham (26-4)
3. McKinney (23-4)
4. Corpus Christi Moody (28-3)
5. Texarkana Texas (22-5)
6. Corpus Christi Calallen (28-3)
7. Pflugerville Hendrickson (24-2)
8. Magnolia (21-6)
9. Mesquite Poteet (23-2)
10. Wichita Falls Rider (27-5)

HP's boys soccer team handed out its annual team awards at its banquet this week. The Scots named Trevor Hubbard as their Most Valuable Player. 

Here are the other awards given by the program:

Offensive Player of the Year: Scott Mitchell
Defensive Player of the Year: Dalton Brantley
Co-Utility Players of the Year: Trevor Hubbard and Barrett Barger
Newcomer of the Year: Ryan Alexander
Tim Marron Leadership Award: Trevor Hubbard and Dalton Brantley

The HP Division II boys lacrosse team advanced into the North District semifinals with a 4-3 win at McKinney on Tuesday night. Three different Scots - Kyle Wallace, Joe Lang and Robert Schmitz - scored for HP, which will play district champion and undefeated Coppell at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Hillcrest's Franklin Stadium. 

Scot captains Davis Briggs and HP goalkeeper Trafford Lamar helped keep the Lions scoreless in the first half, and goals by Wallace and Lang gave HP a 2-0 lead at the half. Lang tallied a second goal, and Schmitz's score iced the game in the second half.

A win over defending Division II state champion Coppell would put the Division II Scots into the District Championship match at 3 p.m. Sunday, also at Franklin Stadium. The North District champion advances to the State Championships hosted by HP May 8-9 at Highlander Stadium. The Scots won the Division II title in 2009.

Here's the North District tournament schedule:

North District Championships
(at Franklin Stadium at Hillcrest HS)

Sat., May 1 Semifinals
1:30 p.m. – Plano West vs. Hillcrest
3:30 p.m. – HP vs. Coppell

Sun., May 2
3 p.m. – Championship

HP plays for a share of the District 10-4A championship tomorrow night at Rockwall-Heath. An HP win creates co-champions, but could also create a rematch for the district's top seed in the state playoffs. The 10-4A top seed would play the yet-to-be-determined fourth-place team out of 9-4A. The 10-4A second seed plays the yet-to-be-determined third-place 9-4A team. But a closer look at District 9-4A shows there may not be too much difference in the opponents HP or Rockwall-Heath would play in the first round.

The biggest difference in the first and second seeds' playoff roads is that the 10-4A runner-up, which if it won in the first two rounds, could face 9-4A champion and No. 10 state-ranked McKinney in the third round, assuming McKinney advances also. Avoiding that possible road and a tougher opponent three rounds deep may not be enough incentive for HP and Rockwall-Heath to play again for the top seed (should HP win on Friday). 

As for facing 9-4A in the first round, there's a hodge-podge of tiebreakers waiting to happen as four teams compete for the final three playoff spots. None of the four have clinched playoff bids heading into their final game, and solving the tiebreaker is an algebra equation waiting to happen. 

In an earlier post we showed you who HP would play had the season ended last Friday. There are only three absolutes in the 9-4A tiebreakers based on Friday's results. Here's what we know:

Frisco Wakeland (8-5) plays McKinney North (8-5) on Friday, and the winner is assured a playoff spot. Which playoff seed the winner earns is undetermined at this point. 
Frisco Centennial (8-5) hosts Frisco (4-9). If Centennial wins, it too will have earned a playoff spot, though the seeding will be undetermined.
Sherman (7-6) hosts Denison (0-13). If Sherman wins, it will move into a tiebreaker scenario. A loss eliminates Sherman, and immediately clinches playoff spots for Wakeland, McKinney North and Centennial, regardless of their outcomes Friday.

Every other result not listed above leads to a tiebreaker scenario between two or three teams, meaning HP and Rockwall-Heath will have to wait an extra few days to find out their opponents. But they'll also get at least one additional game of scouting their possible playoff foes. 

We already knew that HP would be facing in the winner between Episcopal Houston (12-9) and Austin Westlake (7-5) in the final of the South Super Regional on Sunday, May 2. Now the rest of the bracket is complete with ESD and Jesuit winning district playoff matches Monday night. The winners of each Super Regional sub-bracket come to Highlander Stadium on May 8-9 for the THSLL Final Four.

And one note - there is a possibility of all four North District teams making it to the Final Four. HP is the state's top-ranked team in the latest LAXpower.com computer rankings, followed by No. 2 St. Mark's. ESD is No. 5 and the highest-ranked team in its sub-bracket of the Central Super Regional. Jesuit is No. 6, and must go through No. 3 Austin High in the South Super Regional.

Here are the state playoff pairings, which by the way, aren't available on the THSLL website at the time of this post. You're reading it here first. Times for the matches have not been released:

The HP tennis players heading to the UIL Championships in Austin in two weeks found out how the bracket lays out today.

In girls singles, Melanie Marlin will face Meredith Wilemon of Wichita Falls in the quarterfinals. Marlin won the Region II Championships, while Wilemon was the runner-up in Region I. There are only two singles players in the 2010 bracket who returned after qualifying in 2009: Gregory-Portland's Lauren Quisenberry and Rosenburg Lamar Consolidated's Chan Rutherford. Both players lost in the first round last year. Quisenberry is in the quarterfinal opposite Marlin.

In girls doubles, HP has two doubles teams entered on opposite sides of the eight-team bracket. But all eyes are on HP's Abby Stainback, who can make UIL history by becoming the first player to win four state championships in doubles. And she will have done it with four different partners. This year's partner, Kristin Adams, played in the state title match last year but with former partner Kristin Mee. This time's she's paired with Stainback.

The Stainback/Adams pair face Paige Murdock and Brianna Fellows of Boerne Champion in the first round. 

Alin Piranian and Sarah Cannon make up the regional runner-up (to Stainback and Adams) HP duo in the bottom half of the bracket. They'll face a team returning to the state tournament from last year in Montgomery's Cori Bloh and Carly Riney. Montgomery has another doubles team back from last year in Lizzy Ulam and Taylor Hadesh, who will play on the Stainback-Adams side of the bracket.

An HP girls doubles team has won the state championship the past five seasons. The UIL Championships at May 10-11 at the World of Tennis at Lakeway.

HP has a big game to play next Friday, but thoughts have already turned toward the postseason. Yet determining who the Scots might play in the first round is still muddied as District 9-4A baseball race continues its logjam in the middle. 

If the season ended today, based on current standings HP would play Frisco Centennial (22-9) in the first round, with the winner playing either North Dallas or Woodrow Wilson in the second round. 

Based on current standings, here are the other matchups involving teams in Districts 9-, 10-, 11- and 12-4A following Friday's results. The district placings are included, and District 10-4A teams are in bold.

Region II-4A Bi-District and Area Pairings
(1st-9) McKinney (22-4, 13-0) vs. (4th-10) Rockwall (6-7 17-11-1) or Rich. Pearce (6-7, 11-11)
(winners meet in area round)
(3rd-11) Seagoville (9-12, 9-4) or (2nd-12) Bryan Adams (15-8-1, 10-1) or Hillcrest (19-7, 10-1)

(2nd-9) Frisco Wakeland (19-8, 8-5) vs. (3rd-10) Carrollton Smith (16-9, 9-4)
(winners meet in area round)
(4th-11) Adamson (11-10, 9-4) vs. (1st-12) Bryan Adams (15-8-1, 10-1) or Hillcrest (19-7, 10-1)

(3rd-9) Frisco Centennial (22-9, 8-5) vs. (2nd-10) HP (24-7-1, 12-1)
(winners meet in area round)
(1st-11) North Dallas (19-5-1, 12-1) vs. (4th-12) Woodrow Wilson (7-13, 5-6)

(4th-9) McKinney North (12-10, 8-5) vs. (1st-10) Rockwall-Heath (31-0, 13-0)
(winners meet in area round)
(2nd-11) Kimball (14-9, 11-2) vs. (3rd-12) Thomas Jefferson (9-11, 7-5)