What's so interesting about teams with a combined record of 3-13 playing each other?
Absolutely nothing unless, of course, you're among the players and coaches involved.
We're picking on Texarkana and Siloam Springs today to illustrate how goofy high school sports in Arkansas can be. Siloam Springs will leave this morning to play a conference game in Texarkana, which is 225 miles away with no easy way to get there.
Yes, a conference game. Siloam Springs is in the same 6A-West Conference as El Dorado, Benton, and Lake Hamilton, where the Panthers played two weeks ago. That's a lot of mileage and a lot of tread off those yellow dog tires.
Secondly, it's odd that two teams who'll finish below .500 for the season still have a chance to make the playoffs, but that's how we roll in Arkansas. Texarkana (2-6, 1-4) will clinch a playoff spot tonight with a win over Siloam Springs (1-7, 1-4), which must beat the Razorbacks and Russellville Cyclones to stay alive.
Arkansas isn't quite all-play, but teams have to be pretty bad not to make the playoffs in this state.
Although the format is bloated, we can at least make some sense of the playoff system for high school football. It's much easier to grasp than the new format for basketball, where teams in different classifications will be grouped into districts before breaking away for conference tournaments against teams in many instances they hadn't faced all year.
I think that's how it will work. Maybe not.
In Arkansas, who knows?
RICK'S PICK Texarkana
Other games involving teams from Northwest Arkansas (selections are capitalized).
CLASS 7A/6A
BENTONVILLE at Rogers Heritage
ROGERS at Bentonville West
FAYETTEVILLE at Springdale High
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER at Van Buren
Siloam Springs at TEXARKANA
CLASS 5A
MORRILTON at Farmington
ALMA at Greenbrier
Maumelle at HARRISON
CLASS 4A
Lincoln at GENTRY
PEA RIDGE at Huntsville
Berryville at PRAIRIE GROVE
Gravette at SHILOH CHRISTIAN
BOONEVILLE at West Fork
CLASS 3A
ELKINS at Greenland
CLASS 2A
Decatur at DANVILLE
Magazine at MOUNTAINBURG
LAST WEEK 12-4 (75 percent)
OVERALL 107-34 (76 percent)
Sports on 10/28/2016