In a normal year a high school football team which goes 7-3 can almost certainly punch its ticket to the playoffs.

But not this year.

Not for the Logan Wildcats.

The Logan High School football team was left out of the post-season despite its 7-3 record and 16-3 win last Friday night at Class AA No. 6 Scott in the regular season finale.

The Wildcats finished in a 17th-place tie with South Charleston (6-4) in the Class AAA rankings. Both Logan and the Black Eagles had an 8.90 rating. The two teams were bested by one tenth of a point for the 16th and final playoff spot by Oak Hill (7-3) which had a 9.0 rating.

Logan was searching for its third straight Class AAA playoff appearance.

The Wildcats went 8-3 last season and grabbed the No. 4 playoff spot and home field advantage but LHS was hammered by Parkersburg South 51-8 in the first round of the playoffs.

Logan went 6-5 and advanced to the playoffs in 2010 as the No. 16 seed but lost 42-8 at No. 1 George Washington in the opening round.

The Wildcats also made Class AA playoff appearances under head coach Gary Mullins in 2005 and 2007, falling 66-0 at Weir and 55-40 to Berkeley Springs at Martinsburg.

Despite the near miss to this year’s playoffs, Mullins said he’s proud of his team.

“You want to finish strong and look in the mirror and say that you got everything out of yourself,” he said. “We left everything on the field and we don’t have any regrets. I honestly wanted to make it to the playoffs but if we we’re going to make it to the playoffs and get smoked like we have a couple of times I’d rather beat the No. 6 team in the state, move on to next year and try to do the little things and be a bit better. We’re 7-3 and it was still a great season. There’s all kinds of football players who played at Logan High School including myself who would have loved to have been 7-3.”

Mullins wanted to thank his senior class for another good season.

Several of Logan’s seniors, including quarterback Chris Marcum, played key roles in the Wildcats’ success. Marcum passed for nearly 2,000 yards and was also a big player on defense in Logan’s secondary. He had an interception and a fumble recovery in Friday’s win over the Skyhawks.

“It’s not going to be the same without them. I have two daughters and they’re like my sons. I wish the best for them,” Mullins said. “I am so proud of our seniors. They have been 21-9 in the last three seasons. They have put our program on the map.”

The Class AAA playoff field was released on Sunday by the WVSSAC.

No. 1 Cabell Midland (10-0) is scheduled to host No. 16 Oak Hill on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Cabell Midland. Oak Hill won 72-42 at winless Lincoln County last Friday night.

No. 8 Spring Valley (7-3) hosts No. 9 Wheeling Park (7-3) on Friday night at Timberwolf Stadium in Wayne County. Spring Valley rolled at Winfield last Friday night, 41-7. Wheeling Park won 40-13 at home over Hedgesville.

No. 4 Huntington (8-2) is scheduled to host No. 13 Elkins (7-3) on Friday night at Huntington High School.

No. 5 Morgantown (8-2) is slated to host No. 12 Point Pleasant (8-2) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Pony Lewis Stadium. Morgantown routed Brooke 45-21 on Friday night. Point Pleasant, last year’s Double-A runner-up, finished with a 48-15 win at home over Chapmanville. It’s the first ever trip to the Class AAA playoffs for the Black Knights.

No. 2 Martinsburg (9-1) hosts No. 15 Beckley Woodrow Wilson (6-4) on Saturday afternoon at Martinsburg. The Bulldogs and the Flying Eagles were both idle last Friday night.

No. 7 Capital (7-3) is scheduled to host the No. 10-ranked Musselman Applemen (7-3) on Friday night at Charleston’s Laidley Field. The Capital Cougars won 48-18 at Huntington last week in the regular season finale. Musselman creamed Shady Spring 65-34 on the road.

No. 3 George Washington (8-2) is slated to play host to No. 14 Hurricane (6-4) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at George Washington High School’s Steve Edwards Stadium on its Charleston area South Hills campus. Hurricane lost 31-13 at Cabell Midland last Friday night. The GW Patriots won 54-17 at home over non-playoff team Parkersburg.

Rounding out the field, No. 6 University (8-2) is scheduled to host No. 11 Lewis County (8-2) on Friday night at Mylan Pharm Stadium. University was idle on Friday night. Logan plays on the road at University in 2013 in one of the Wildcats’ four new games.

The reason for Logan missing the playoffs was its lack of bonus points.

Under the WVSSAC computer rating system, six points are awarded for a win over a Class A school, nine for a 2A school and 12 for a 3A team.

Bonus points are also handed out to beaten opponents’ win totals.

Only one of Logan’s beaten foes — Scott — had a winning season this fall as the Skyhawks went 7-3 and are Double-A.

The other teams Logan defeated this season — Lincoln County (0-10), Chapmanville (4-6), Man (2-8 Class A), Winfield (4-6) and Shady Spring (5-5) — were a combined 15-35.

The Class AA and Single-A playoff brackets were also released on Sunday.

No. 1 Wayne hosts No. 16 Clay County on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Wayne High School’s Pioneer Field.

No. 8 Ritchie County hosts No. 9 Nicholas County on Friday night.

No. 4 Robert C. Byrd is scheduled to host No. 13 Braxton County on Saturday night at 7:30.

No. 5 Bluefield is set to host No. 12 Roane County on Friday night at Bluefield’s Mitchell Stadium.

No. 2 Keyser hosts No. 15 Mingo Central on Friday night at Keyser in the eastern panhandle. The Miners slipped into the playoffs with a 5-5 record after shutting out Herbert Hoover 44-0 last Friday night.

No. 7 Scott is set to host No. 10 Wyoming East on Friday night at the Scott High School football field in Madison.

No. 3 Bridgeport is slated to host No. 14 River View on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Wayne Jamison Stadium.

No. 6 Frankfort hosts No. 11 Summers County on Saturday night at 7:30 at Frankfort High School in the eastern panhandle.

In the Class A playoff field, No. 1-ranked Tucker County is set to host No. 16 Moorefield on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at R.H. Armstrong Stadium.

No. 8 Clay-Battelle is set to play No. 9 Valley Fayette on Saturday night at University.

No. 4 Weirton Madonna hosts No. 13 Tug Valley on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Weir’s Jimmy Carey Stadium. Tug Valley, which dropped back to Class A this fall, finished with an 8-2 record after winning 16-8 at home on Saturday night over Class AA No. 14 Clay County at Bob Brewer Stadium in Naugatuck.

No. 5 St. Marys is set to play host to No. 12 Wirt County on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Marys High School.

No. 2 Magnolia is scheduled to host No. 15 Williamstown on Friday night at Magnolia High School.

No. 7 East Hardy hosts No. 10 Wheeling Central on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

No. 3 Wahama is set to play host to No. 14 Buffalo on Friday night at Point Pleasant High School.

No. 6 Greenbrier West take on No. 11 Meadow Bridge on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Cavalier Field.

Logan Wildcats

2012 season results

Aug. 24: Man, W 33-0

Aug. 31: Shady Spring, W 33-7

Sept. 7: at Lincoln County, W 48-0

Sept. 14: at Johnson Central, Ky., L 46-12

Sept. 21: Chapmanville, W 20-0

Sept. 28: at Winfield, W 38-28

Oct. 12: Huntington, L 37-18

Oct. 19: Mingo Central, W 28-16

Oct. 26: at Hurricane, L 41-14

Nov. 2: at Scott, W 16-3