Games not-so canceled after all following lightning delays

Some interesting news developed Tuesday about a handful of games that had been more or less postponed permanently as a result of inclement Milwaukee-area weather. Games featuring Greenfield, Germantown and Brookfield Academy have been considered final for WIAA postseason purposes.

That means, officially, Germantown is given a 21-7 loss to Kenosha Indian Trail, Greenfield is given a 41-27 loss to Hudson, and Brookfield Academy is awarded a 24-7 win over Cambridge.

Previously, those games were suspended and, by mutual agreement between the teams, left as neither wins nor losses. But according to Travis Wilson, that arrangement will not stand.

Tiebreaking criteria for the playoffs, which are employed every year to identify the final playoff qualifiers, eliminated a prominent value on nonconference games a few years ago, but those outcomes could still play a role. If more than two teams are tied to make the playoffs, the WIAA evaluates head-to-head result and result vs. conference champion, both elements that seldom come into play (since teams battling for a playoff spot have seldom defeated the conference champion that year, and usually the schools have not met on the field).

Next comes the win-loss percentage against the teams already identified as playoff teams, which does include nonconference games. Next on the criteria list is defeated opponents' overall win-loss percentage (in conference games only), and if that fails to break the tie, next on the list is overall win-loss percentage of teams defeated. So, while a team won't specifically be evaluated on its nonconference wins or losses, it still plays a role in the equation to break ties.

Not only that, but if two teams are tied for a playoff spot, one of the deep tiebreaking factors is first-half points allowed through Week 8. Making the Week 1 games final ensures that those values can be used as such.

Several Milwaukee area games were suspended by the weather and rescheduled for Saturday, Sunday and even Monday conclusions. One game, in which Hartford led Cedarburg at the half, 28-0, and was not resumed, was considered final.

It raises a couple interesting questions. One, even though this is an unusual situation, what is the proper procedure for completing a suspended game? Is it incumbent upon both schools to find a mutually agreeable time, or does the visiting school need to accommodate the host school's availability? It's unreasonable to think Greenfield and Hudson could have met again because of massive travel, so does Greenfield simply have to bite the bullet?

It's also clear not every coach is aware of the NFHS regulations dictating how to handle a suspended game, or they may have been more aggressive about completing the suspended games this weekend. Then again, perhaps not, since the likelihood of being impacted by a tiebreaker is minimal, but still not impossible.

According to Wilson, the schools could still finish the game or even use "Week 10" to complete the games -- an option afforded to all non-playoff qualifiers who want to play one last game. But given that playoff tiebreaking criteria is the only real value in the outcome, it's hard to imagine that schools would be motivated to pursue just a half-game of football once the playoff field is set. In the unlikely event both schools missed the playoffs, surely they would seek out a full game, not a half game.