From The Sun's Stefen Lovelace:

There’s just one week remaining in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference, yet little has been decided as far as playoffs go. Nine teams are jockeying for six seeds.

Gilman has clinched the No. 1 seed with a 9-0 record and the tiebreaker over the teams below them. Loyola is currently No. 2 with a 7-1 record and Calvert Hall No. 3 with a 6-2 record. The Dons don’t have the No. 2 seed locked up just yet, with Boys' Latin and Spalding looming this week, but they have the tiebreak over the Cardinals, so they’d have to lose both to fall to No. 3.

After the top-three seeds, things get interesting. As of today, St. Mary’s, McDonogh and Boys' Latin are all tied at 4-4. Boys' Latin is in the driver’s seat, having beaten McDonogh and St. Mary’s in the regular season already. If they were to tie with those teams in records, they’d be the first to get in and get the highest seed.

A No. 4 seed would be ideal for the Lakers, since it would guarantee them a home game in the playoffs, and they’re 8-1 at home this year. Boys' Latin has a tough road game against Loyola today, before finishing the season at home against St. Paul's.

A game with major playoff repercussions takes place later today, with McDonogh traveling to St. Mary’s. Whichever team loses isn’t necessarily out, as a 5-5 record should still be good enough to get in. The Saints play Severn away in their regular-season finale, while the Eagles play Mount St. Joe at home.

Spalding currently is the first team out, with a 4-5 record. They play Loyola at home in their regular-season finale on Friday night. Working in the Cavaliers favor is their major upset against Boys' Latin during the regular season. That tiebreaker gives them a shot of sneaking in. Severn and St. Paul's both have 3-5 records and little chance of getting in. It doesn’t help that both teams have difficult games this week with the Admirals facing Calvert Hall and St. Mary’s and St. Paul's facing Gilman and Boys' Latin. If either team manages to sweep though, the quality wins would surely put them back in position to get in via tiebreakers.

The Sun's prediction: :

The St. Mary’s-McDonogh matchup should be a well-played close game, but we’re giving the edge to the Saints. The Saints and Eagles should both win their finales.

We think Boys' Latin will lose to Loyola before beating St. Paul's at home. Based on tiebreakers, these team should be playing in mid-May.

1. Gilman
2. Loyola
3. Calvert Hall
4. St. Mary’s
5. Boys' Latin
6. McDonogh