Conversely, their season could be over by the end of Friday night - if three things happen and they’re all bad.
After losing its first five games, Temple (4-5) has won its last four to move to 4-2 in District 12-5A entering Friday night’s regular-season finale against Killeen Shoemaker (4-5, 3-3) at Wildcat Stadium.
The Wildcats at least know they’ll be in the playoffs if they beat the Grey Wolves.
Two other certainties going into tonight’s Killeen Ellison-College Station A&M Consolidated clash at Leo Buckley Stadium are that first-place Copperas Cove (8-1, 5-1) has locked up a playoff berth and that Belton, Bryan and Harker Heights are out of postseason contention.
That leaves second-place squads Temple and A&M Consolidated (5-4, 4-2) and fourth-place teams Ellison (5-4, 3-3) and Shoemaker to battle for 12-5A’s final three playoff positions.
Don’t ask Temple coach Bryce Monsen to break down all of the scenarios, which he calls “headaches.” He’s trying to keep his team focused on only one thing - beating Shoemaker’s hungry Grey Wolves to finish 5-2 in 12-5A.
“Like everyone else, we realize it’s time to get ready to play,” Monsen said. “We’re getting ready for Shoemaker.”
The simplest scenario for settling the playoff picture is a win tonight by A&M Consolidated, which would clinch berths for its Tigers and Temple, plus Shoemaker on the strength of its victory over Ellison last week.
Even if Ellison beats Consol, Temple (a 49-42 winner over Ellison) will secure a spot if the Eagles win by seven points or less because of the positive-points system used to break a three-way tie. And even if Ellison tops Consol by eight or more, the Wildcats will clinch a berth if they stop Shoemaker.
The only scenario in which Temple will miss the playoffs is if Ellison wins by eight points or more tonight and the Wildcats lose to Shoemaker.
Those results would produce a four-way tie for second place at 4-3, and Shoemaker would advance behind its 3-0 record against the other three teams.
Temple, Ellison and Consol would all be 1-1 against each other, and Ellison would qualify because of its eight or more positive points compared to Temple’s seven and Consol’s three. Then, Consol would edge Temple for the final berth because of its 24-21 victory over the Wildcats.
In a strange twist, Consol will miss the playoffs if it loses to Ellison by four, five, six or seven points and there ends up being a four-way tie for second after Friday night’s games.
Meanwhile, Ellison’s playoff picture is clear - win and get in for the fourth consecutive season, or lose and stay home.
Shoemaker, seeking its first playoff trip in its ninth season, has two ways to qualify. Coach Ken Gray’s Grey Wolves will enter the playoffs if Consol beats Ellison tonight or if they prevail at Temple.
Seastrunk continues chase
of Wildcats rushing records
With at least one game remaining in his junior season, Temple running back Lache Seastrunk continues his climb up the Wildcats’ all-time rushing and scoring charts.
Seastrunk ran for 145 yards - he joined Derrick Davis and Daniel Carr as 100-yard gainers - and a touchdown in last week’s 46-21 win at rival Belton and added an 86-yard kickoff return for a score.
He passed Gerald Watson (2,835 yards from 1992-93) for third place on Temple’s career rushing list and now has 2,868 yards. That’s 30 yards behind second-place Kenneth Davis, who ran for 2,898 yards from 1978-80.
Seastrunk, the area leader in rushing yards, needs 202 yards against Shoemaker on Friday to surpass Delarrius Wilson (3,069 yards from 1992-93) as the leading rusher in Temple history. Seastrunk ran for 1,532 yards in 11 games as a sophomore and has 1,336 in nine games this season.
Seastrunk’s two touchdowns against Belton pushed his career totals to 32 TDs rushing (Wilson had 40, Watson 34 and Davis 33) and 36 overall, breaking out of a tie with Davis and Watson at 34. Wilson owns the touchdown record at 41, followed by Roy Chapman (1950-52) with 38.
