Annapolis in control of destiny

This feeling is familiar for Annapolis High's football team. It's just a little different and much better.

Last season, while in the Class 3A East Region, coach Brian Brown watched his Panthers fall a few points shy of the postseason. Due to an early-season, two-game stumble, Annapolis lost its postseason berth to Howard in Week 9.

This is a new year.

Annapolis (6-2), renters of the No. 4 seed for now, is now the chased, and Broadneck and North County will spend the next two weeks waiting to catch a couple breaks.

"We needed help from people last year," Brown said. "All we need to do now is win, and we control our destiny."

With only two games left, Annapolis can clinch the final spot in the Class 4A East Region playoffs by beating Southern (6-2) and North County (5-3) - by records, the toughest test of any of the three remaining contenders. Broadneck has to get through Northeast (1-7) and Old Mill (7-1), while North County plays Glen Burnie (1-7) before closing with Annapolis in Week 10.

Arundel (8-0) and North Point (8-0) have clinched berths, while the Patriots are relatively comfortable as the No. 3 seed.

While neither team can walk to a pair of wins, Annapolis' playoff scenario is, by far, the simplest: Two victories and the fourth spot is the Panthers'. If they don't win, things get complicated.

If the Panthers finish 1-1, while

Broadneck goes 2-0, they won't make the playoffs. Even though both teams' records would be 7-3 and Annapolis beat Broadneck, all ties are broken by the points race.

Annapolis, which holds a 63-62 lead, would receive 12 or 13 points by beating Class 2A Southern or 13 or 14 with a win against North County - depending on each teams' win total at the end of the season; six points are awarded for beating a Class 2A school, seven for Class 3A, eight for a Class 4A team, plus a point for each win said team owns. Broadneck would get eight or nine for beating Class 3A Northeast and 15 or 16 for Class 4A Old Mill.

"We take it one game at a time and see what happens," Bruins coach Jeff Herrick said. "Annapolis is still the front-runner, as far as I'm concerned - in our particular situation. … We've got to see what happens and continue to do the best that we can."

The Bruins need help from North County. If the Knights can beat Annapolis, the door is open for Broadneck. If Southern can beat the Panthers, too, things look even better for Broadneck, which missed the playoffs by a point to Severna Park last season.

If Annapolis loses both games and Broadneck beats only Northeast, the positioning would shift. Both with 6-4 records, Annapolis would have 65 points - it'll receive an additional two points for each of the Bruins' wins - while Broadneck's total jumps to 70.

"Somebody besides me will have to do the math," North County coach Gary Liddick said.

If that scenario plays out, Liddick might need to scour the math department for some help. Should North County sweep its last two games, it'll pick up between 23 and 25 points just on Glen Burnie and Annapolis. The Knights, who have 49 points, will jump Annapolis if they finish 2-0 and 0-2, respectively, and challenge Broadneck for the fourth spot.

If Annapolis and Broadneck both go 0-2, North County could slide into the No. 4 and earn a chance to play Arundel.

"Our job is to win the next two games," Liddick said. "And if we do, we're 7-3. I don't think we were supposed to be 7-3."

All of these numbers, of course, could fluctuate depending on which teams win around the county over the last two weeks.

The numbers are irrelevant if the teams don't win. And no Annapolis, Broadneck or North County coach or player is looking toward the playoffs yet - let alone Week 10.