Complex Points System Keeps Tigers Out of Playoffs

One win could have made all the difference for Twinsburg this season. One more win by the Tigers (7-3), or even by a team they beat, and the Tigers might be in the state playoffs.

, the top-ranked team in the state, the playoffs seemed certain. But the playoff pairings said otherwise.

Twinsburg Athletic Director Alex Popovich said it all comes down to a game of numbers.

“It is a complex mathematical formula,” Popovich said. “However, there’s a couple things that have to go your way.”

Popovich said that if you beat a team that has a good season, that increases the point total of each victory in the region. If Twinsburg would have beaten a team like Solon or Aurora, who both finished 9-1, they would most likely be in.

“You win one more game, that probably gets us in, or some of the teams we beat, if they win more games,” Popovich said.

While every team can control its own destiny, sometimes it needs a little bit of help, such as a loss by a team ahead in the standings. In Twinsburg’s case, a win over Mentor gives them a quality points win, but because teams in front of them kept winning, they didn’t move ahead much.

The toughest pill to swallow? In any other region, mathematically, the Tigers would be in the playoffs.

“Every year there’s teams that are darn good that just don’t get in,” Popovich said.

But even so, he said, the toughest part is knowing one more win gives the Tigers a chance to play for a state title. But after a win against Mentor, they have no reason to hang their heads, Popovich said.

“Our kids fought hard, our coaches fought hard,” Popovich said. “We can’t say it was an unsuccessful season. Was it disappointing to not get in the playoffs? Yeah, but we went out with a win against the number one team in the state.”