The good news for the Siuslaw Vikings football team is that 24 of 39 Class 4A schools qualify for the 2016 Oregon School Activities Association playoffs.

The bad news is that it's still a long road to the playoffs for the Vikings, who are 1-2 entering Far West League play.

Three of five league games are on the road, beginning with Friday's game against No. 8-ranked Douglas at Winston. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

It's safe to say the Vikings need at least two wins in league to have any chance of making the playoffs.

Last season, three schools made the playoffs with 3-5 season records, including league member South Umpqua. Klamath Union and North Marion also slipped in with 3-5 records. (And all three were eliminated in play-in games.)

With their blossoming spread offense, the Vikings should be in every game. But they will be heavy underdogs against the Bay Area schools, No. 2-ranked Marshfield (3-0) and No. 3 North Bend (2-0).

Road games at Douglas (2-1) and No. 20 South Umpqua (1-2) figure to be toss-ups at best. Siuslaw's best bet for a win is its league finale against No. 31 Brookings-Harbor (1-2) at Hans Petersen Field.

The OSAA uses both the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and the College Bias Free Rating Method to arrive at its rankings. Each system produces a ranking that is averaged to achieve the OSAA rank.

Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the OSAA rankings are available at http://www.osaa.org/help/rankings.

In other league games Friday, Marshfield is at South Umpqua and North Bend is at Brookings-Harbor.

After Friday, the Vikings host North Bend on Sept. 30, go to Marshfield on Oct. 7 and to South Umpqua on Oct. 14, then finish at home Oct. 21 against Brookings-Harbor.

The Brookings-Harbor game will be homecoming and senior recognition night for the Vikings.

NOTES

The Siuslaw Vikings' weekly QB Club meeting, led by head coach Jamin Pool, is 11 a.m. Friday at the Siuslaw High School lecture Hall A. The public is welcome. ...

Siuslaw was 6-3 last season, going 3-0 in nonleague games to start the season, then 3-2 in league. The Vikings were eliminated in a playin game at Junction City, 24-21. ...

The Vikings beat the Trojans at Hans Petersen Field last season, 42-20. ...

Douglas has made a dramatic turnaround from last season, when the Trojans finished 1-6 and ranked No. 38 among 39 schools. (Only winless Yamhill-Carlton was ranked below them.) ...

Douglas has won back-to-back games — 27-0 over Sutherlin and 46-27 over Hidden Valley — after opening the season with a 41-28 loss to No. 4-ranked Valley Catholic (3-0) ...

Using Google numbers, the Winston trip is 2 hours long and 103 miles, one way. The trip to Tri City for the South Umpqua game is 2 hours, 11 minutes and 114 miles. ...

The five road trips by bus this season should total nearly 800 miles and take 17-18 hours. ...

By contrast, the 2017 schedule flips, with only three road games — hour-long rides to Newport and North Bend and a three-hour plus trip to Brookings-Harbor. ...

The Vikings have a rooting interest in the fate of their three nonleague opponents. The success of Elmira, Pleasant Hill and Newport will impact Siuslaw's ranking. ...

Elmira is now 3-0 and ranked No. 11 in Class 4A, Pleasant Hill is 2-1 and ranked No. 17 in Class 3A. Newport is 0-3 and ranked No. 34 in Class 4A. ...