Friday Football: Red Oak/Clarinda clash in 2A
It's getting down to the wire in the playoff races for Class 2A District 8. There will be a much better idea of the playoff picture after Friday night.
For the Red Oak Tigers, they face a must-win scenario Friday when they make the trip to Page County and face the Clarinda Cardinals. The game starts at 7 p.m. at Clarinda High School.
Red Oak is 1-3 in district play and currently in trouble in the standings after their loss at home to Southeast Valley last week.
A loss likely ends the playoff chances for Red Oak. They need a win this week, as well as a win next week to stay in the playoff hunt.
Red Oak's playoff chances hinge on another key game in the district Friday night when East Sac County hosts Kuemper Catholic. Neither outcome between East Sac County and Kuemper Catholic eliminates the Tigers.
Here are the two key scenarios for Red Oak to advance:
- Red Oak defeats Clarinda and East Sac County, Kuemper Catholic defeats East Sac County, Red Oak advances based on head-to-head.
- Red Oak defeats East Sac County, East Sac County defeats Kuemper Catholic, Shenandoah defeats Kuemper Catholic
For scenario two, Red Oak would need Kuemper Catholic to lose out. If Kuemper Catholic defeats Shenandoah, they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Red Oak.
Red Oak's current focus though is on Clarinda, a team they have defeated twice since 2006. The last Red Oak win over Clarinda came in 2012.
The Cardinals currently have a four-game winning streak. The lone blemish on their record this season was a 12-8 loss in week three versus AHSTW.
Clarinda leads the district in rushing yards with 2,630. Red Oak is third in 2A-8 with 1,686 yards.
Red Oak still has one of the top rushers in Class 2A in Brock Isaacson, who is tied for first with Carter Isley of Albia with 1,296 yards. Isaacson was held to 71 yards in last week's Southeast Valley loss.
The other game in the district taking place Friday night features a pair of one win teams when Shenandoah hosts West Central Valley. The Mustangs are the only winless team in the district. Both teams are out of playoff contention.
Finally, Southeast Valley will be home as they host St. Edmond in non-district action.
The Jaguars will face off against Clarinda in what will likely be a de facto district title game, next week.