INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — High school football sectionals get underway on Friday night across the state of Indiana, and there has been a lot of discussion among coaches, players, and fans about the idea of postseason seeding.

The IHSAA currently employs a random draw system to seed each team for the first round of sectionals, but many believe that a traditional merit-based system should be used to determine playoff matchups.

This year’s sectional draw has some of the best teams in the state facing each other in the first round, instead of later in the postseason.

This has brought more discussions about a possible seeding process for the IHSAA football postseason.

One big example lies in Class 6A’s Sectional 5. No. 1 Brownsburg travels to No. 3 Ben Davis in the first round while 2-7 Pike hosts 2-7 Avon. One of the top teams in the state will be eliminated after the first round, instead of saving the high-powered matchup for the sectional championship.

Commissioner Paul Neidig spoke exclusively on WISH-TV‘s ‘The Zone Extra’ about the idea of implementing a seeding system for the postseason.

“Seeding will always be a question,” Neidig said. “I understand that conversation, but I also understand the other side of it. Oftentimes teams may have had a tough year and they get that good draw.”

Think of Avon and Pike in this example. The winner of that game is guaranteed to host the Sectional 5 championship, despite only two wins on the regular season resume.

“They get a draw and have an opportunity to win a game that, if it was seeded, they could have been blown out by maybe 40 or 50 points and have to use the mercy rule,” Neidig explained. “And then, with the chance to get a great draw and win a game or even two like Knightstown did last year, it builds momentum for the next season… The blind draw is a unique part of high school sports in Indiana.”

Watch this week’s edition of ‘The Zone Extra’ on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.

On Friday, you can catch highlights from all of the sectional football action on ‘The Zone’ at 11:08 p.m.

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