2019 playoff snub have Cobras ready to strike

SIGOURNEY - In light of what some would call a travesty, maybe it is a good thing that every high school football team qualifies for the playoffs this season because last season, one of the best teams in the state and in its class was not given a playoff berth.

The Sigourney-Keota Cobras blitzed through its regular season with an 8-1 record and was the only team in the state with an 8-1 record not to get a postseason game. Two district champions that had lower Ratings Percentage Index rankings, Osage and Pella Christian, both 5-4, earned automatic playoff berths eliminating ACGC (14th in RPI) and SK (16th) from the field.

The RPI was established in 2018 by the Iowa High School Athletic Association to determine playoff at-large qualifiers that did not win their district.

This year the RPI will not be used because the season was shortened from nine to seven games to allow every team a playoff berth.

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'It was a tough pill to swallow to see our seniors that have put so much effort and dedication into their careers not make the postseason with a 8-1 record,” SK coach Jared Jensen said. 'Honestly, it is a travesty for our players. They took care of business week in and week out like they were supposed to, but for the exception of Week 9 in the district championship game.”

The Cobras won their first eight games by a margin of almost 35 points, but the loss to 28-6 Mediapolis (which also had an 8-1 record, made the playoffs as the district champ) was the deciding factor.

'I don't think that any system will be perfect no matter what it is,” Jensen said. 'We just have to embrace it and get things taken care of on our end.”

The RPI used opponents won-loss record in its formula. SK's non-district opponents, Pekin (2-7), Lynnville-Sully (1-8), Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (3-6) and Albia (1-8) combined for seven wins with 29 losses. In 2018, they combined for 21 wins and 16 losses with every single team posting a better record by at least two games, most notably a 7-3 Lynnville-Sully team. SK head coach Jared Jensen beefed up his schedule in light of the postseason snub.

'We knew after last season's travesty, missing out on the playoffs, we needed to find teams that will be competitive week in and week out throughout the season,” Jensen said. 'We got that with a 6-3 Mid Prairie squad and a 10-1 West Branch team. We knew we wanted to find a couple games with teams that we have played in the past to have some familiarity and we got that with EBF (3-6) and Wapello (5-4).”

When the season was shortened because of the coronavirus and the threat it represented, SK lost the West Branch and Wapello games.

'I think the steps that are being taken are a positive spin on the steps needed to be taken to have a football season,” Jensen said. 'We don't know how many teams might be affected by a Covid quarantine and may miss a few games.”

Teams that miss games will not be penalized. It will not be a forfeit, just a game that didn't exist. The IHSAA groups districts together geographically as best it can. Non-district games are often further away, thus, eliminating half of them from the schedule was an attempt to insure against being exposed to the coronavirus.

'I understand limiting travel and contact with as few teams as possible for our non-district games, so that teams may have a better chance making it to district games unscathed,” Jensen said 'In this uncharted territory, there is a real possibility of teams sitting out games due to infection. With the schedule change, they still having the opportunity to still have a chance to make a run in the playoffs.”

When the IHSAA made Weeks 1 and 2 optional game dates on the schedule, it was then wide open for teams to find opponents.

'I think they did the right thing there,” Jensen said. 'I just really was caught off guard that the (IHSAA) didn't just say you have the option to play Week 1 and 2 games on the nine-game schedule and just take off Weeks 3 and 4.”

Instead the IHSAA contracted the schedule.

'It would have made things a little easier on the coaches finding new teams to play if the non-district opponents were wanting to sit out the non-district games,” Jensen said. 'Some teams may have had to reach out and find another team that may be in the same situation rather than it turning into a free-for-all with coaches trying to find new teams after most teams' Week 1 and 2 games were teams they already agreed upon playing.”

Jensen said the Cobras were lucky to still have Mid-Prairie as the Week 1 game and EBF agreed to move into the Week 2 slot from Week 4.

There are new districts this year, but Mediapolis still is one of the district opponents along with Van Buren County. Wapello, Wilton and Columbus are not in this year's district replaced by Pekin, Louisa-Muscatine and Cardinal.

'I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but if I look at last season and had to pick the top tier of the district, I would say SK and Mepo will be the front-runners,” Jensen said. 'The two of us had a combined loss record of three last year. Both teams lose some really good players but both have the ability to reload and be really competitive.”

There are a lot of ways to measure success throughout a season and the Cobras were very successful last year but the way it ended did not feel like success.

'I do think last year's season set a new precedent for our current players,” Jensen said. 'Missing out in the way we did last year there will be a chip on these guys shoulders.”

Aug. 28 at Mid-Prairie

Sept. 4 vs. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont

Sept. 11 at Louisa-Muscatine

Sept. 18 vs. Van Buren County

Sept. 25 at Pekin

Oct. 2 vs. Mediapolis

Oct. 9 at Cardinal

Oct. 16 First Round Playoffs