The Section Four Football Conference playoffs officially start next week.

Unofficially, however, the postseason essentially begins this weekend for some area teams.

Take Saturday afternoon’s Oxford at Delhi game, for example, which features two teams that are 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Division VII. The winner clinches the No. 2 spot in D-VII for the Section Four Class D Tournament, meaning the loser will not reach the postseason.

"We have to move it or we’re done in terms of sectionals and all," Delhi coach Dave Kelly said. "We have to stop their ability to throw. They have a nice rushing attack, but we’ve done reasonably well against the rush. We’ve done fairly well against the pass but have had some six-point mistakes."

Walton (5-2 overall) earned the top seed in D-VII by virtue of a 4-0 division record, which includes victories over Delhi and Oxford. Although the Warriors are in, they still have to win at Bainbridge-Guilford (5-2, 2-2) tonight to clinch the division title outright. Should B-G win, Walton and the winner of Saturday’s Oxford-Delhi game will share the D-VII title.

Walton will play the D-VIII runner-up in a Class D semifinal next weekend, when Oxford or Delhi will play the D-VIII champion. Those seeds also will be determined this weekend, when Candor (7-0, 3-0) plays Newfield (5-2, 3-0).

The only sure thing in Class C at the moment is that 2005 state champion Sidney (7-0, 3-0) will get a chance to successfully defend its sectional title. The Warriors can clinch the Division V crown outright with a victory over visiting Unatego at 7 tonight.

Although it’s the state’s top-ranked team in Class C, Sidney shouldn’t _ and probably won’t _ take the Spartans lightly. Not only is Unatego playing for a playoff berth, but it actually has an outside shot at winning the D-V title.

For that to happen, Unatego (5-2, 2-1) would have to snap Sidney’s 18-game winning streak tonight, then pray for a Seton Catholic Central upset of Greene at 7 p.m. Saturday. Should that happen, Unatego and Sidney would tie for the division title with 3-1 records in D-V, but the Spartans would earn the top seed based on beating the Warriors head-to-head.

Greene (6-1, 2-1) can clinch a Class C playoff spot by beating SCC (3-4, 1-2) on Saturday as the Trojans have amassed more points than Unatego in the Section Four tiebreaker system. Greene defeated Unatego, 28-6, in Week 4, but the Trojans’ advantage came this past Tuesday, when the Section Four Football Committee voted to award Greene three points instead of one for its victory over Unadilla Valley/Edmeston earlier this season.[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Greene successfully argued that although UV/E is among the independents of the conference, which are normally treated as Class D teams, the Storm is in fact a Class B program.

"The decision was they had to support Greene because it doesn’t specifically state that UV/E would only bring Class D points (in the Section Four handbook)," said Kelly, who is a member of the committee. "Nobody liked that it was happening, but they felt they couldn’t make (the Class D points) stick."

Should Greene and Unatego both lose this weekend, they would tie SCC for second place in the division. In this scenario, Greene still would advance based on points.

The bottom line: Unatego must win and Greene must lose for the Spartans to have a shot at the postseason.

"We’re just focusing on Sidney," Unatego coach John Mushtare said. "The other stuff is outside of our control. We just hope for a win and then we’ll see what happens.

"I said to our guys we need to play well to win," he continued. "We need to limit our penalties. If we play well and they play well, it’ll be a good game. If we don’t play well, they could thump us."

"They are the scariest team we play," Sidney coach Jeff Matthews said of Unatego. "They have so many playmakers and can go at any given time. They score so quickly on the field that they are scary to prepare for."

The D-V winner will face D-VI runner-up Trumansburg (5-2, 4-1) in the first round of the Class C playoffs next weekend. The second seed in D-V plays D-VI champion Lansing (7-0, 6-0), which has outscored opponents, 285-13, this season.

ALSO ON DECK: Oneonta and Norwich continue their long-standing rivalry at 7 tonight at Lloyd Baker Field.

There are no playoff implications as both teams are 3-4 overall and 1-3 in D-III.

OHS rookie coach Adam Hoover will get his first taste of this battle, but he’s no stranger to bitter rivalries. Hoover used to assist his father, Walton coach Jim Hoover, who has fought Kelly’s Bulldogs for division and conference supremacy for decades.

IF YOU CAN MAKE ONE GAME THIS WEEK: This week is a pick ’em. It really doesn’t get much better than tonight’s rivalries between Norwich and Oneonta or Unatego and Sidney, so both games are worth the drive. If you still have your voice after Friday night, visit Dave Kelly Field in Delhi at 1:30 p.m. Saturday for the Bulldogs’ meeting with Oxford.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bainbridge-Guilford celebrates homecoming against Walton at 7 tonight. At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, West Canada Valley visits Richfield Springs.

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P.J. Harmer covers high school football for The Daily Star. E-mail him at mailto:pharmer@thedailystar.com">pharmer@thedailystar.com.