The high school football season is coming to a close, but not every game takes place on a Friday.
In fact, the lights are coming on at both Sunlake and Zephyrhills high schools Monday, as teams from both schools take part in a rather unusual tiebreaker game that could mean a district championship for one team, and a runner-up status for others.
Football teams from Springstead and Mitchell high schools will travel to Sunlake in Land O’ Lakes tonight to participate in one of the two tiebreaker games. Both teams will play a single 12-minute quarter, with the leader at the end of that quarter going on to play another quarter against Sunlake for Class 6A-District 6.
Springstead and Mitchell are tied overall at 6-3, including 3-1 marks in district play. Sunlake is 8-1 overall, but also is 3-1 in the district. So the winner of the second quarter will be named the district champion, and the loser of that quarter will become the runner-up.
It will be pretty much the same at Zephyrhills High School when Nature Coast Tech and Pasco show up to play a quarter against each other, with the winner taking on Zephyrhills in the second quarter in a Class 5A-District 6 showdown.
Zephyrhills is 7-2 overall, but 4-2 in the district after a loss to district champ South Sumter earlier in the season, and being edged by a single point in its game against Pasco last Friday. Nature Coast Tech and Pasco are 6-3, but also are 4-2 in district play. The team that comes out on top at the end of the second quarter will be the district runner-up, and will advance to the playoffs.
All teams are allowed a maximum of 60 players in uniform, and marching bands are not invited.
The games — which begin at 7 p.m. — are open to fans. Admission is $7.
All teams are scheduled to play their final regular season games next weekend, with district winners and runners-up then heading to the playoffs.
