Monroe's eight-team playoff grouping
Division 3 eight-team grouping
Monroe
Waukesha Catholic Memorial
Evansville-Albany
East Troy
Mount Horeb-Barneveld
Jefferson
Pewaukee
New Berlin Eisenhower
MONROE - Playing in the new and improved Badger South Conference paid off for Monroe as the Cheesemakers were informed Friday night they were playoff-bound in Division 3. It is the second straight year the team has made the playoffs, this time after a playoff tiebreaker.
Across the state, 224 teams make the football playoffs. When there are years when there are not enough teams at or above .500 in conference play to fill the entire playoff field, some teams less than .500 in conference are selected based - on tiebreaker criteria - to fill the postseason field.
The first tiebreaker is a team's winning percentage in conference and that favors bubble-schools in a 10-team conference that play nine conference games, like the Big Eight and Rock Valley. It also favors teams like Monroe, which plays in the Badger South, with eight schools and a seven-team conference schedule. Monroe finished 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the Badger South with a .4287 winning percentage, which is better than most bubble-teams in six-team and less conferences that were under .500.
"It shows the competition in the conference," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "We are playing against some powerhouse Division 2 teams. "I think with Edgewood winning helped our winning percentage of teams we beat in conference (the second tiebreaker). I still think we would have been Ok. I think we earned our spot."
It's the first time the Cheesemakers have made back-to-back playoff appearances since 2000 and 2001.
"I think we are all proud of the guys and how hard they have worked and persevered through the injuries," Golembiewski said. "It's not like last year, but we are in."
Expected to be released between 1 and 2 a.m. was the eight-team playoff grouping the Cheesemakers would be included in for the postseason. The grouping for Monroe in Division 3 could include Mount Horeb-Barneveld, Evansville-Albany, Jefferson, East Troy, Pewaukee and Waukesha Catholic Memorial.
The other area teams in the playoffs include Evansville-Albany (6-3) in Division 3, New Glarus-Monticello (6-3) in Division 5, Darlington (4-5) in Division 6, Pecatonica-Argyle (7-2) in Division 6 and Black Hawk (9-0) in Division 7. Black Hawk is the smallest school based on enrollment (107 students) in the playoff field.
Across the state, 224 teams make the football playoffs. When there are years when there are not enough teams at or above .500 in conference play to fill the entire playoff field, some teams less than .500 in conference are selected based - on tiebreaker criteria - to fill the postseason field.
The first tiebreaker is a team's winning percentage in conference and that favors bubble-schools in a 10-team conference that play nine conference games, like the Big Eight and Rock Valley. It also favors teams like Monroe, which plays in the Badger South, with eight schools and a seven-team conference schedule. Monroe finished 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the Badger South with a .4287 winning percentage, which is better than most bubble-teams in six-team and less conferences that were under .500.
"It shows the competition in the conference," Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said. "We are playing against some powerhouse Division 2 teams. "I think with Edgewood winning helped our winning percentage of teams we beat in conference (the second tiebreaker). I still think we would have been Ok. I think we earned our spot."
It's the first time the Cheesemakers have made back-to-back playoff appearances since 2000 and 2001.
"I think we are all proud of the guys and how hard they have worked and persevered through the injuries," Golembiewski said. "It's not like last year, but we are in."
Expected to be released between 1 and 2 a.m. was the eight-team playoff grouping the Cheesemakers would be included in for the postseason. The grouping for Monroe in Division 3 could include Mount Horeb-Barneveld, Evansville-Albany, Jefferson, East Troy, Pewaukee and Waukesha Catholic Memorial.
The other area teams in the playoffs include Evansville-Albany (6-3) in Division 3, New Glarus-Monticello (6-3) in Division 5, Darlington (4-5) in Division 6, Pecatonica-Argyle (7-2) in Division 6 and Black Hawk (9-0) in Division 7. Black Hawk is the smallest school based on enrollment (107 students) in the playoff field.
