FOOTBALL FRIDAY: Tigers at Paola -- Both teams assured of playoff berths

The game between Fort Scott High and Paola in the final game of the 2014 regular season Friday night will be for playoff seeding.

Both teams are assured of berths in the first-ever Class 4A-Division I playoffs, which begin a week from tonight. Both teams are 2-0 in the district while visiting Fort Scott is 7-1 overall and homestanding Paola is 6-2.

The only thing on the line is where each team will play their Bi-District (first-round) playoff game. The winner will be the District 4 champion and host the runner-up from District 3. The loser has to play on the road against the District 3 champion.

DeSoto (0-2 district, 3-5 overall) is the only team in District 3 that's been eliminated from a playoff berth. The Wildcats are at home against Ottawa and wouldn't be able to catch up in the tie-breaker points system even if they defeated the Cyclones (1-1, 5-3). The other game features Baldwin (1-1, 5-3) at Eudora (2-0, 5-3). Eudora has the easiest way in as all the Cardinals need to do is win to clinch the district title.

If Eudora loses and Ottawa wins, the tie-breaker system would come into play as there would be three teams with 2-1 district records. Baldwin has to beat Eudora by at least 12 points to secure a playoff berth in that scenario. Otherwise, Eudora and Ottawa will advance.

Meanwhile, at Paola, the Tigers will face off against the Panthers for the 13th time in school history. Of those 13 meetings, nine have come in either district or playoff games. This will be the first time they've met in a district contest since 1984, when both were Class 5A schools. While Fort Scott leads the series overall, 8-5, the teams have split four district meetings against each other. The last three meetings between the schools have occurred in playoff games, with Paola winning the last two meetings in 2010 and 2013.

Last week in Chanute, Paola saw a game go to overtime for the third time this season before winning 21-20. The Panthers' previous two extra-time affairs had both ended in losses. Paola lost to Spring Hill at home in the season opener, 14-13, and at home against Baldwin, 20-14, in Week Six.

Last week's game went into overtime tied 8-8. Running back Nathan Staats scored first to put Paola ahead but quarterback Ryan Gleghorn was sacked on the 2-point conversion attempt.

Chanute tied the game with a touchdown run but was also sacked on the 2-point conversion play, forcing the second overtime. The Blue Comets had the ball forst, scored on a 5-yard run but threw an incompletion on the 2-point conversion.

Staats scored on a 2-yard run on Paola's possession. Donovan Sutti's extra-point kick sailed through the uprights to give the Panthers the victory.

Staats carried the ball 27 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Jake Robison ran for 107 yards on 23 carries. He scored the Panthers' touchdown in regulation, which tied the score at 8-8.

Last week, Fort Scott didn't have too much of a problem disposing of Labette County in a 49-12 victory. Brendyn Quinney scored 4 touchdowns to vault his way into a tie for 13th on the SEK scoring leaders list.

Junior kicker Brody Southwell leads the SEK in kick scoring --and is ninth overall --with 41 points. His 5 field goals are the second-most in a season in league history.