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With two weeks left in the high school football season, schools from Prince George's County and across the state of Maryland are jockeying for the precious few playoff positions that exist. Sixteen teams in each of the four classes will advance to the postseason, which begins the weekend of Nov. 13-14.

The 4A South Region has the clearest situation, with four teams from the County 4A League guaranteed to advance. Henry A. Wise (8-0) already has clinched a position and is a victory away from locking up the top seed. Suitland (7-1) clinched a playoff spot last weekend with a 34-0 victory against Laurel.

Charles H. Flowers (7-1), Eleanor Roosevelt (5-2), Bowie (4-4) and DuVal (4-4) are competing for the final two spots in the 4A South Region. Flowers and Roosevelt have the upper hand, as both will have the chance to gain ground by playing teams with strong records in the last two weeks. The Jaguars and Raiders play one another on Saturday, and Flowers ends the season against Wise, while Roosevelt will play Suitland next week.

The 3A South Region is becoming clearer with Potomac a virtual lock as the fourth seed. The Wolverines (5-3) picked up a big victory last weekend against Crossland. Potomac has a chance at catching Lackey for the No. 3 seed, but won't be able to catch Huntingtown and Westlake unless it defeats Gwynn Park on Saturday.

That could be more difficult without senior quarterback/defensive back Devonta Tabannah, who missed the last game with a sprained knee. Potomac coach Chris Davidson said Tabannah is questionable for Saturday's game with the Yellow Jackets.

"It looks like the top two spots are entrenched, but the third and fourth spots are still up for grabs," Davidson said. "It looks like we are right in the mix and our kids look like they are peaking at the right time. Our kids are loose and they have a good demeanor, but we will see how that is come playoff time."

Gwynn Park (8-0) is a lock in the 2A South Region and is likely to end up with the top seed. But County 3A/2A/1A League rival Frederick Douglass could be sliding out of the playoffs.

The Eagles cruised to a 6-0 start, but consecutive losses to Gwynn Park and Forestville have dropped Douglass from the top spot down the fourth position. The Eagles now sit percentage points ahead of McDonough High for the final playoff spot in the region.

Douglass also has been without star quarterback Richard Barber, who missed the last two games with a sprained foot. The Eagles hope to have him back in an important game against Friendly on Saturday.

"We have been doing the numbers because of the current situation that we are in, but we need to win and that's our primary focus," Douglass coach J.C. Pinkney said. "We put ourselves in this situation and we have to worry about doing our part and not worry about what happens."

Forestville's victory against Douglass last weekend launched the Knights back into the playoff chase in the 1A South Region. Forestville (4-3) is third in the region and can clinch a playoff spot with victories against Fairmont Heights and Largo.

But coach Charles Harley said he doesn't pay attention to where his team sits in the standings. He uses the approach of looking at the current opponent and not what could happen down the road.

"My kids give me plenty of updates about where we sit in the rankings," he said. "Last year I looked at the points every day and I couldn't wait for them to be released. I have looked at them once this year and will probably look at them again once the season is over."

E-mail Joshua Hudson at

jhudson@gazette.net.