Coin Flip Sends Two Oklahoma Teams to Football Playoffs

The coaches of Liberty, Central Sallisaw and Gore gathered with an Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association representative at Catfish Round Up in Seminole to resolve a tie for two playoff places. The toss took place around midnight after the teams finished tied for third in District A-II-3 and the other tiebreakers failed to separate them.

All three coaches cast their coins at one moment. Gore coach Nathan McCurley’s coin landed heads; the Liberty and Central Sallisaw coins landed tails. Under the rules explained to the coaches, the two teams with matching results moved on, ending Gore’s season. The toss was streamed on the association’s Facebook page.

Liberty had started the evening alone in third place but lost 63-8 to undefeated Talihina. Central Sallisaw beat Porter 52-14, while Gore defeated Mounds 49-0. Those results created the three-way tie. Head-to-head results and point differential did not resolve it, leaving the coin toss as the final step.

Central Sallisaw receives the district’s No. 3 seed because it beat Liberty head-to-head. It will play at Woodland in the opening round next week. Liberty takes the No. 4 spot and will face Ketchum. McCurley accepted the outcome, nodded and shook hands with the other coaches.