WOODWARD — The IHSAA has released the first set of RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) for all classes of football, and Woodward-Granger tops the rankings for the 54 Class 1A schools.
Only district champions — or those tying for a district title — will automatically qualify for the playoffs, with a selection of at-large teams filling the 16-team postseason field in each class. In classes 1A, 2A and 3A there are 54 teams in nine districts of six teams, creating seven at-large qualifiers, which does not automatically guarantee a district runner-up of a playoff spot.
All nine games played by each team now count toward postseason qualifying, and the former 17-point district tiebreaker has been eliminated.
The generate a RPI, each team counts their own winning percentage and the winning percentage of each opponent. Each is weighted at 37.5 percent of the final rating, with the remaining 25 percent coming from an opponents’ opponents’ composite winning percentage.
Road and home wins count the same, as do wins against schools from a different class (defeating a 1A school is the same as defeating a 4A team). In addition, margin of victory no longer matters — winning 75-6 counts the same as winning 10-7.
District 7 in 1A has teams ranked 1-2-3-5 and 12, in Woodward-Granger (.7649), Interstate-35 (.7325), Colfax-Mingo (.7134), Pella Christian (.6764) and the Woodward Academy (.6121). Van Meter, who hosts W-G Friday, is fourth at .7204; District 8 Panorama is tied for 20th at .5432.
“All that means is that we have played a pretty tough schedule to start out with,” W-G head coach George Ashman said. “It also means we will have a pretty tough schedule down the line.”
Ashman was quick to downplay the attention given his Hawks.
“I told the guys not to get too excited — it is just a bunch of numbers on paper,” he said. “What we need to worry about it going out and taking care of business Friday night. If we do that, the numbers will take care of themselves.”
In Class 3A, District 9 team ADM stands third overall with a RPI of .7135. Perry and DC-G, both members of District 2, are rated 53rd and 54th, respectively, at .3355 and .3318. The highest District 2 team is Humboldt, currently 21st at .5736.
“Right now it (the RPI) is just something for people to talk about,” Ashman concluded. “Where we are after week nine is when it will matter.”
