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DESOTO – If we win, and that other team loses by more than three points, and our total point differential is more than that other team ...

For many schools, the equation to get into the playoffs was still pretty complex Friday night. But for DeSoto and Arlington Bowie, the playoff numbers already added up before kickoff.

All they had to do was focus on one thing: who is No. 1 in District 8-5A.

Officially, that designation belongs to DeSoto and Bowie, who both finished 6-1 in district. But it was DeSoto that was wearing the crown Friday after a 24-23 victory at Eagle Stadium.

"We treated it like it was a playoff game, and I'm sure they did, too," DeSoto coach Dave Meadows said. "As we see it, Bowie is as good as any team in the playoffs."

If that's true, DeSoto (8-2) should feel pretty good about its postseason chances after winning its fourth straight game. It ended the perfect season for Bowie (9-1), which had beaten its first nine opponents by an average of 28 points.

DeSoto, No. 6 in SportsDay's Class 5A area rankings, did it with a big defensive effort in the final minutes.

Bowie, No. 3 in 5A, took over at its own 6-yard line with two minutes left and drove to near midfield with 1:33 left. But on the next play, Bowie receiver Roddy Maginot was stripped of the ball after making a catch near midfield.

DeSoto recovered and was able to run out the clock because Bowie had used its timeouts.

"It was a high-scoring game there for a while," Meadows said, "but at the end, both defenses were able to buck up and make it tough on the other team."

That wasn't the case early, as DeSoto made it look easy on its first possession. After a bad pitch left DeSoto with a third-and-16 at its 21-yard line, quarterback/running back Cyrus Gray got the first down with a 17-yard scramble. Two plays later, Chad Winbush took a sweep to the left and ran 58 yards for a score.

Bowie responded with an 83-yard scoring drive that was almost as quick. Christian Matthews kept the ball on a quarterback draw, faked out two defenders and ran untouched for a 38-yard touchdown.

Less than five minutes into the game, both teams were in the end zone. But the potential shootout was nearly a shutout for the rest of the half. DeSoto had a 10-7 lead after two quarters.

It got going again in the second half, as the teams scored touchdowns on all four possessions of the third quarter. Early in the fourth, a 37-yard field goal by Bowie's Eric Molina cut DeSoto's lead to 24-23.

The teams then exchanged turnovers before DeSoto put together an 83-yard drive that didn't result in points but did drain nearly four minutes off the clock. Included in that drive was a 48-yard pass from freshman quarterback Ryan Polite to fellow freshman Antoine Jimmerson.

"Those guys are some of the best players on our team," Meadows said. "They've played in a lot of games. They're not freshmen anymore."

And they're not playing in the regular season anymore. Now we'll see how DeSoto and Bowie do when the playoffs open next week.

Friday's game was a great way to prepare for the next challenge.