Step 1 is head-to-head - How the tied teams did against each other straight up.
Step 2 is how the tied teams did (via straight W/L per team) against the highest seeded teams in the region.
Step 3 is point difference ONLY among the tied teams (Max Point Difference of 12 points per game).
Step 4 is point difference among the highest seeded teams - meaning however the tied teams did against the 1-seed. If tied there, then how the tied teams did against the 2-seed. If tied there, the 3-seed, etc...
Step 5 is fewest points allowed in all division games (no maximum points).
Step 6 is a coin flip.
Okay, with that out of the way, here we go...
Here is what the playoff picture will look like for 1-5A and 2-5A. I'll start with 1-5A.
Currently we have Oxford locked in at the 1-seed with a 6-0 record. Clarksdale and West Point tied for second at 4-2, Saltillo and Lake Cormorant tied for 4th at 3-3, New Hope and Lewisburg tied for sixth at 2-4, Center Hill is at the bottom at 0-6.
Lewisburg is out due to having lost to every team they could tie with for the 4-seed. Even if they were to force a 4-way tie with New Hope, Saltillo, and Lake Cormorant at 3-4, they are 0-3 head-to-head against those 3 and would lose the tiebreaker right there.
New Hope is out - barely - because of the fourth MHSAA tiebreaker. New Hope has to win by 12 over Saltillo to have a chance at the fourth tiebreaker (first two tiebreakers - head-to-head, all teams are 1-1, and W/L vs other teams in region 1-5A - which was all the same, don't work). Earlier this year, Saltillo beat Lake Cormorant by more than 12 (in tiebreakers, the highest point difference in a game is 12), and Lake Cormorant beat New Hope by more than 12. New Hope must beat Saltillo by 12 to force the point difference tiebreaker to be a tie (all three being at 0 for a point difference). The fourth tiebreaker is point difference among highest seeded teams. The first team is Oxford - should Lake Cormorant lose to Oxford by just 11 points or less, then Lake Cormorant wins the tiebreaker as Saltillo and New Hope has lost to Oxford by at least 12. If Lake Cormorant loses to Oxford by at least 12, then that part is a tie and we now go to whoever is the 2-seed. If West Point is 2-seed, then we have Lake Cormorant coming out of there because they only lost to West Point by 3 and Saltillo and New Hope lost by more than 3. If Clarksdale is 2-seed, then Saltillo comes out of there because they lost to Clarksdale by only 7 and Lake Cormorant and New Hope lost by more than 7. New Hope is eliminated in all three situations.
Clarksdale and West Point each have clinched playoff births.
So, with all that in mind here are the ways the seeds can go:
Clarksdale and West Point cannot drop lower than the 3-seed. Both have beaten Saltillo and Lake Cormorant thus cannot drop to a 4-seed even if both Clarksdale and West Point gets into a 3 or 4-way tie, they hold head-to-head tiebreakers.
If Clarksdale wins, they are the 2-seed, regardless of the West Point outcome (they hold head-to-head tiebreaker). If Clarksdale loses and West Point wins, West Point is 2-seed and Clarksdale is 3-seed.
If Saltillo wins, they are the 4-seed, regardless of the Lake Cormorant outcome (they hold head-to-head tiebreaker). If Lake Cormorant wins and Saltillo loses, Lake Cormorant is the 4-seed.
This is where is gets tricky.
If Saltillo and Lake Cormorant were to both lose AND Saltillo loses by 12 or more to New Hope (forcing previously mentioned 3-way tie for the 4-seed) AND Lake Cormorant loses by 11 or less to Oxford. Lake Cormorant is the 4-seed because where the 1-seed is Oxford in the 3-way tiebreaker with New Hope after the point difference tiebreaker - the Gators hold the tiebreaker as they have performed the best against the Chargers. Saltillo and New Hope have each lost by at least 12 points to Oxford.
If Saltillo and Lake Cormorant were to both lose AND Saltillo loses by 12 or more to New Hope AND Lake Cormorant loses by 12 or more to Oxford AND Clarksdale loses AND West Point wins: Lake Cormorant is the 4-seed due to the previously mentioned tiebreaker where Lake Cormorant only lost by 3 to West Point - who would have earned the 2-seed in this case - and the others lost by more than 3.
If Saltillo and Lake Cormorant were to both lose AND Saltillo loses by 12 or more to New Hope AND Lake Cormorant loses by 12 or more to Oxford AND Clarksdale wins: Saltillo is the 4-seed because they only lost by 7 to Clarksdale - who would have earned the 2-seed in this case - while the others lost by more than 7.
If Lake Cormorant loses AND Saltillo loses BUT only by 11 or less to New Hope, Saltillo earns the 4-seed by the point-difference between tied teams tiebreaker in the 3-way tie with New Hope.
Now for 2-5A. Pearl and Callaway are tied for 1st at 6-0, Ridgeland is 4-2 in third, Germantown is at 3-3 in fourth, Vicksburg & Canton is at 2-4 tied for 5th, Neshoba Central (1-5) and Lanier (0-6) are awful and out of contention.
**Note: Canton had to forfeit their win to Callaway as they used in ineligible player that did not sit out his entire 4-quarter suspension.
Top 2 seeds are simple. Pearl and Callaway have clinched those two seeds and they play each other next week. Winner is the 1-seed, loser is the 2-seed.
The trickier part is deciding the other 2. Canton has Lanier, Germantown has Ridgeland, and Vicksburg has Neshoba Central next week.
Canton is eliminated from playoff contention, they will have lost the 3-way tiebreaker with Vicksburg and the only team they need to tie with has the head-to-head tiebreaker on Canton.
If Germantown beat Ridgeland, Germantown is the 3-seed and Ridgeland is the 4-seed (via tiebreaker) - regardless of the Canton and Vicksburg outcomes.
If Germantown loses AND Canton wins AND Vicksburg Wins, we have a 3-way tie for the 4-seed. This would go to point difference. Vicksburg is +3, Canton is at 0, Germantown is -3. Vicksburg is the 4-seed in this situation. Ridgeland is the 3-seed outright.
If Germantown loses And Canton loses AND Vicksburg Wins, Vicksburg is the 4-seed via head-to-head over Germantown. Canton is eliminated.
If Germantown loses AND Canton Wins OR loses AND Vicksburg loses, Germantown is the 4-seed. They hold the head to head tiebreaker on Canton if they tie with Germantown.
I hope this sets things right in the playoff picture.