How the Rankings Work

Regional Rankings & Power Points

Most regions select their top 8 teams based on power points, but some regions are different:

• Top 6 only: Region 6A, Region 5D, and Region 2B
• District Play: Region 6D uses district record only, with power points as a tiebreaker
• Special Format: Region 4C uses district champions and runners up. Power points for 5th and 6th seed

In most 6-team regions, the #1 and #2 seeds get a first-round bye.

What are Power Points?

Power Points are Virginia's official ranking system for high school football. Teams earn points for every game they play, with more points for wins against stronger opponents. Only games against VHSL teams with known classifications count toward power points.

Each game gives you points based on two things:

1. Game Points: Win or lose, you get points based on the highest class level of the two teams:
   • Class 6: 26 points (win) / 14 points (loss)
   • Class 5: 24 points (win) / 12 points (loss)
   • Class 4: 22 points (win) / 10 points (loss)
   • Class 3: 20 points (win) / 8 points (loss)
   • Class 2: 18 points (win) / 6 points (loss)
   • Class 1: 16 points (win) / 4 points (loss)
2. Opponent Win Bonus: Extra points based on how many games your opponent has won:
   • If you beat them: 2 points × their total wins
   • If you lose to them: 1 point × their total wins

Note: Historically, Virginia awarded bonus points to higher class teams when playing lower class opponents. The math works out identically — it's just easier to understand as "points are based on the higher class team."

Example

Central High (Class 6) beats Grove High (Class 4)
This is scored as a class 6 game (highest rank of either team).
Central has won 5 games this season. Grove High has won 7 games this season.

Central High gets:
26 game points (class 6 win) + 14 opponent win bonus (2 x Grove's 7 wins) = 40 total points

Grove High gets:
14 game points (class 6 loss) + 5 opponent win bonus (1 x Central's 5 wins) = 19 total points

Per Game Average

Since teams play different numbers of games, power points are shown as an average per game. This makes rankings fair across all teams.

RPI: Rating Percentage Index

Region 6C uses RPI (Rating Percentage Index) instead of Power Points to rank teams. RPI is a strength-of-schedule formula borrowed from college sports — it rewards teams that not only win, but win against tough competition.

How RPI is calculated

RPI is a weighted average of three things:

• 40% — Your winning percentage (WP): How many games you've won out of your total games played.
• 40% — Your opponents' winning percentage (OWP): The average win rate of every team you've faced (not counting games against you).
• 20% — Your opponents' opponents' winning percentage (OOWP): The average win rate of the teams your opponents have played (not counting games against the common opponent).

Formula: RPI = (0.40 × WP) + (0.40 × OWP) + (0.20 × OOWP)

RPI vs Power Points

Power Points reward you based on the class of your opponents and how many wins they have. RPI cares only about winning percentage — yours and your opponents'. A team with a great record against a soft schedule will score lower on RPI than a team with the same record against tough competition.

Example

Team A goes 8–2 against a strong schedule. Their opponents won 65% of their games on average.
Team B also goes 8–2 but played weaker teams. Their opponents won only 40% of their games on average.

Both teams have the same record, but Team A will have a higher RPI because their wins came against tougher competition.