Rockford in RPI playoff football hunt

Press Staff Report

There are Associated Press Polls and Ratings Percentage Index rankings … yet the most reliable way of assuring yourself a playoff spot is to take care of business on the football field.

For the most part, the Rockford Warriors have been doing that this season.

Since returning to the 8-Player class, the Warriors have put a 23-game losing that spanned two-and-a-half seasons behind them as they are now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in their district with three more regular-season games to play.

After the Iowa High School Athletic Association realigned the football districts for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, it made some changes regards to postseason qualification. The field of playoff teams for each class remains at 16, but only the district champions or co-champions are automatic qualifiers.

As for the remaining eight at-large qualifiers … that’s determined by a Ratings Percentage Index formula using three criteria: 1. Team’s overall win-loss percentage (accounting for 37.5 percent of the index); 2. Team’s opponents’ win-loss percentage (37.5 percent); 3. Team’s opponents’ opponents’ win-loss percentage (25 percent).

After six weeks, the Warriors are ranked No. 11 in 8-Player class … only two spots behind Don Bosco, which had its 38-game regular-season winning streak snapped by Northwood-Kensett on Friday.

Rockford will finish the regular-season when it hosts N-K on Oct. 19 — the currently undefeated Vikings have only given up 8 points all season, a feat made more remarkable amid wide-open 8-Player football play.

After having their 4-game winning streak snapped by Decorah last Friday, the Charles City Comets have dropped to 18th in Class 3A RPI rankings.

To move up, the Comets will have their work cut out for them as they will host Independence (No. 17 in Class 3A RPI) this Friday (Oct. 5), travel to West Delaware (No. 29) on Oct. 12, before finishing the regular season at Waverly Shell-Rock (No. 13) on Oct. 19.