Even though several regular season games remain, playoff fever is picking up across Oklahoma.

Area small schools already know their playoff destination and teams in the larger classes like the Woodward Boomers will discover their fate next Wednesday.

Here’s a look at some of the possibilities.

Class 4A

The Boomers are currently ranked 15th in the key okrankings.com boys poll that determines the area placements - at least to some extent.

The biggest thing is the top 8 teams in the rankings will be split up in the four areas - no more than 2 top 8 teams in one area.

Everyone else is filtered in from there, usually with little regard to rankings - though geography sometimes plays a role.

In this view the Boomers are underrated at No. 15. They’re 12-3 with 11 of the 12 victories by 15 or more points against good, solid teams. If the weather allows games this weekend, the Boomers could be 14-3 when the assignments are made.

Those numbers make the Boomers a state tournament contender regardless of area. If you can win at places like Clinton, Elk City and Weatherford along the I-40 corridor, you can win in most venues.

Can they move into the top 8 or even top 10 by next week? It’s not likely because the rankings don’t change significantly this late in the regular season, and if the weather is bad, a lot of games this weekend could be wiped out anyway.

What does that mean for the playoffs?

Here are the two most probable playoff assignments.

First is the southwest area the Boomers have been assigned to the last three seasons.

Likely candidates for the top two seeds in the southwest - Douglass and McGuinness or maybe John Marshall.

The other possibility is the Boomers being assigned to a more central area where the top seeds are likely to come from Star Spencer, McGuinness, John Marshall or possibly Blanchard.

In a similar central to central east area in 2004, the Boomers made a remarkable run to the state tournament after winning just two regular season games.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how things shake out as the Boomers shoot for only their third state tournament trip since the 1950s - the others were 1976 and 2004.

Woodward has come close a couple of other times this decade, twice coming up a game short of state in 2001 and 2008.

Class B

Woodward’s Boomer Fieldhouse will once again host the Area 1 tournament, where four state tournament teams - two girls and two boys - will be determined.

On the boys side, Forgan is a clear choice as the top squad in the 32-team area. The Bulldogs are undefeated and impressive. They’ve won all but one or two games by double figures.

Behind Forgan, there are a number of capable teams.

Burlington is the second seed in the area, but the Elks have lost a couple of games to Timberlake recently.

Fargo has been a fixture in the area tournament the last decade.

Kremlin-Hillsdale won the recent Cherokee Strip Tournament and Vici won the rugged Okeene Tournament.

Leedey has a few impressive victories and Erick-Sweetwater is always a team to consider.

A team that struggled through the midseason, but has now worked its way back into the conversation is Waynoka.

The girls field is also pretty deep. Lomega and Forgan are the two seeds, but they’re not guaranteed to advance.

Forgan’s lone loss to date was to Class 4A Guymon on the road.

Lomega has persevered despite losing its best player to a knee injury.

Other contenders?

Vici is making a move and Erick-Sweetwater has been quietly solid.

You can never count out a Leedey and Boise City from the Panhandle has lost just once all season.

Cherokee, Balko, Shattuck and Burlington are others you can’t discount. And, Timberlake also figures to make some noise.

DCLA is another team ranked in the bottom part of the top 20.

From the district finals on, every game could be competitive.

Class A

For the boys, Garber is close to an absolute look for one of the state berths. The Wolverines are a pretty big favorite to win state.

Texhoma is the other top 8 seed in the area and the Red Devils were in the championship game last year.

There are challengers. Turpin can play. Welch is highly regarded and Ripley is a contender. Seiling hosts the regional and used that as a springboard the area finals last season.

For the girls, Seiling is ranked third and the highest seed in the area.

The Lady Wildcats have lost just once this season and were impressive in a win over Mooreland earlier this week.

Copan is the other top 8 seed and was a state qualifier last season.

Look for Mooreland or Laverne or both to make a nice run and Beaver can’t be totally discounted.

Ripley is another team to watch, along with perhaps a Garber or even a Texhoma.



Johnny McMahan is managing editor of the Woodward News.