Playoffs?!?!? Playoffs?!?

Of course, that title is recreation of sorts from Jim Mora's memorable press conference as the Colts head coach. Ah, I always enjoy that.

Anyway, I wanted to give you all a quick update on how the L-L League Field Hockey playoffs are shaping up. In Section Two, which E-town is in, there are three playoff berths up for grabs. Here are the standings as of today.

Ephrata...9-1-0
L-S.........6-4-0
Central...5-2-1
E-town....5-3-1

For all intents and purposes, I'm leaving out Lebanon, Garden Spot and Cocalico, since they have no shot at the postseason. So there are four teams battling for three spots. Actually, Ephrata has already clinched a playoff berth, so there are three teams battling for two spots.

Last night, Ephrata beat L-S (which helped E-town), while the Bears and the Barons battled to 0-0 tie (which didn't help E-town, but it certainly didn't hurt the Bears either). Right now, either of those three teams could still finish in second place, although E-town has played one less section game than L-S and Ephrata and Central has played two less section games.

The Bears have three games left:
Friday at L-S (huuuge game for E-town)
Monday at Cocalico
Wednesday, home against Garden Spot at 4 p.m.

Manheim Central's remaining games look like this:
Friday, vs. Cocalico
Monday, @ Lebanon
Tuesday, @ Lebanon
Wednesday, vs. L-S

L-S has this left:
Friday, vs. E-town
Monday, vs. Annville-Cleona (who is 0-10 right now)
Wednesday, vs. Manheim Central.

Cocalico and Garden Spot are defintely two teams that E-town can (and should) beat. They are 2-0 against them so far. The Bears also beat L-S 1-0 back on Sept. 19. So the Bears pretty much control their own destiny. If they win out, they should be in, because they will finish at 8-3-1.

IF they lose to L-S and finish at 7-4-1, it gets a little tricky. E-town would need to hope for Cocalico, Lebanon or Annville-Cleona to pull an upset in the final week. If the Bears can't beat L-S, than the Pioneers and the Barons would likely be in with E-town just missing out. But E-town definitely needs to finish at least 2-1 to have a shot.

The playoff picture is definitely a little murky right now, but it will get a little clearer after E-town and L-S do battle tomorrow.