Thursday night lights: Playoff deciders

There are a handful of games tonight that will go a long way toward determining playoff positioning. Here they are, broken down by class:

Class 6A
Del City at Putnam North
Del City: A win gets Del City into the playoffs for the first time in a long time. A loss doesn’t completely rule out Del City but makes things very difficult.
Putnam North: The Panthers need a win tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive. It might not be enough just to win but the Panthers are likely in with a win.

My pick: Del City 28, Putnam North 14. The Eagles win and make things relatively easy to figure out.

Norman North at Lawton
Lawton: It’s pretty simple for Lawton: Win and the Wolverines are in. A loss leaves the Wolverines needing other things to happen, specifically a Del City win. If the Wolverines lose and Putnam North wins tonight, get ready to pull out the calculators and start figuring up district points.

My pick: Lawton 35, Norman North 17. Norman North’s slide continues and Lawton advances to the playoffs.

Class 4A
Piedmont at Douglass
Douglass: A win assures the Trojans of no worse than third place in 4A-1. Douglass could still finish in second with a win and an (unlikely) Elk City upset of McGuinness.

My pick: Douglass 41, Piedmont 12. Douglass wins tonight, McGuinness wins tomorrow and Douglass plays at either Star Spencer or Glenpool to open the playoffs next week.

Class 2A
Chandler at Eufaula
Chandler: Win. That makes things simple for the Lions and makes things simple for me. A Chandler win gives it the district title. A loss brings out the calculators in most cases depending on what happens Friday night.

My pick: Chandler 35, Eufaula 7. Chandler wins and keeps it simple, setting up a home first-round playoff game.