For some teams, getting into the playoffs isn’t common each year, but for some powerhouses across the state, winning and advancing to the playoffs comes with the name of the school. 

There are many steps and factors that go into deciding playoff standings and which teams play each other. Depending on rankings and losses, as well as scores across the district, many people don’t know all the details about how playoffs work. 

Playoffs come down to how many losses you have, the margin of victory, and how many teams are in your district. Most importantly, how many wins you have and if you win the header matchup. The header matchup is when two teams are tied for district champs with the same record. The team that wins the head-to-head game would win district. Whoever wins this game will decide the seeding and decide matches in the upcoming week. 

Once all the scores are finalized and all games are played, the UIL, also known as the University Interscholastic League, will come out with a playoff bracket and the first seed in every district will play the last seed in every district. The second seed will play the third seed in every district. The playoffs are always played the same way every year. In round one, it’s a bi-district game. The second game is an area game, and then regionals, quarter finals, semi-finals, and then finally, a big state game.

There are also Division one and Division two districts. Divisions only matter when it comes to how many enrollments you have at your school. Higher enrollment schools play other higher enrollment schools in the playoffs. The record of the overall season really doesn’t matter for playoffs. The only thing that matters is the team’s district record.

The reason the Rockets made the playoffs with a record of 4-6 is three of the Rocket losses were in the non-district games. During our district play they beat Clemens and San Marcos, then lost to Steele, New Braunfels and East Central.

That means Steele, with a record of 10-0, and New Braunfels with a record of 7-3 will go to the Division 1 playoff bracket. Judson and San Marcos will go to the Division 2 playoff bracket.

Last year’s playoff drought was a fluke; your Rockets will take on the Churchill Chargers on Thursday at 7pm.