Bird has playoff berth in hand

L.C. Bird has secured a spot in the Central Region, Division 6 football playoffs as the Dominion District's automatic qualifier.

The Skyhawks can wrap up the Dominion title outright by beating Manchester tonight. Bird is 6-0 in the district, 8-0 overall with two district games remaining. No other team has fewer than two district losses.

Even if the Skyhawks lose their last two games and end up in a tie, they will have more points on the Virginia High School League rating scale, according to calculations by The Times-Dispatch.

The rest of the four-team Division 6 field will come from district champs. Hermitage (5-0, 7-1) is in the driver's seat in the Colonial, although J.R. Tucker (4-1, 6-2) and Deep Run (4-1, 5-3) are lurking.

Tonight's showdown between Meadowbrook (5-0, 8-0) and Thomas Dale (5-0, 6-2) likely will determine the Central District title and its automatic berth. Next week's winner between Varina (4-0, 7-1) and Highland Springs (4-0, 7-1) will claim the Capital and its automatic bid.

The four-team Division 5 field will be filled by at-large teams. They are determined by the rating scale as well. Hanover (5-3) and Clover Hill (6-2) are in the best positions to claim two spots. - Tim Pearrell

VHSL RATING SCALE

Rating : 1. Hanover 26.8; 2. Clover Hill 26.4; 3. Dinwiddie 24.9; 4. Atlee 24.0; 5. Petersburg 22.5; 6. Monacan 20.9; 7. Huguenot 20.5; 9. John Marshall 20.4; 9. Patrick Henry 20.4.
Top Division 6 teams

Rating: 1. L.C. Bird 32.0; 2. Meadowbrook 31.8; 3. Varina 31.1; 4. Hermitage 31.0; 5. Highland Springs 28.5; 6. Thomas Dale 27.6; 7. J.R. Tucker 27.6.

Rating is determined by dividing the number of points earned for winning and losing by the number of games played against VHSL opponents.