All 6 finals blowouts
- Thread starter Lafayette
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Average margin of victory 30.5 for the 6 games. Seems all the favorites won rather handily. Not a single competitive game. Congrats to all the Champions!
Not quite sure I'd characterize the 5A game as a blowout although 14 is a decent margin for a finals game. If Maury hadn't spend the first half throwing the ball back to HS, that might have been a very close game.
But overall yes, this has seemed like a season of destiny from the get-go. Outside of maybe Freedom (not sure if C6 people talked them up or not) every winner has essentially been the preseason favorite or the favorite no worse than late September or so.
But overall yes, this has seemed like a season of destiny from the get-go. Outside of maybe Freedom (not sure if C6 people talked them up or not) every winner has essentially been the preseason favorite or the favorite no worse than late September or so.
Do away with regions, move all playoff games to Saturday (for travel) Best 24 teams in each class, bracket them out and play ball. Best road to having the best teams in the state final.
That's a bit off but I wouldn't mind seeing us do what California does, or at least part of it (I think Southern Section is the only one atm but they're most of SoCal). They have a formula (this is literally the function of CalPreps btw) and they look at everything involved and spit out a number. Your area code, your history, none of it means anything, just what you did and who you did it against. Remember when Eastern View would manhandle their regular season schedule and had a huge regular season win streak and got bounced easily virtually every year? They wouldn't necessarily be in the C4 playoffs, the computer would see they're beating up on nobodies and place them correctly. Teams who played up their OOD scheduling would be rewarded if they win against a tough opponent or simply don't get humiliated. You probably would have seen Phoebus, Dinwiddie, HSHS, and Freedom all in the same playoff bracket this year, for instance. An elite C1/C2 school could end up playing C3 or higher schools schools instead of trouncing their class endlessly. The purpose is to create the best games possible. I know a lot of people are talking about the C3-C6 winners this year and who could beat who well this would solve that question but those teams would also have to deal with not being champs probably as often as they'd like either. You'd put them all in and only one of them would exit as champions.
Not sure where it’s off, essentially we are saying the same thing other than keeping the classes You’re ranked by the point system you bracket it out 1, 2, 3, 4 head up the 4 parts of the bracket. 1 plays 24, 2 plays 23 and so on. The bracket would look like it does now, just no regions, just simply beat to worst and the brackets are made based on that. No regions, the brackets would more than likely be different every year, and you would have the best chance for the 2 best teams playing in the final.
I actually hate the Cali system best way is enrollment by far.
End of the day, I'd caution against overreacting to what happened this year because it's a fluke. Merely one year ago the C3, C4, and C5 title games were decided by one score and earlier that spring (the "2020" season) you had the C2, C4, and C5 games decided by one score with the C3 game decided by two scores.
This year is not the norm, you don't need to redesign the wheel because of it.
This year is not the norm, you don't need to redesign the wheel because of it.
Looking beyond the scores...C5 has had the same three teams in the final for the last five years. C6 not as bad, but you still see a lot of Smith, JM, South County. Freedom's best win this year, at least on paper, was Stone Bridge. To me, it doesn't look like there's quite enough meat on the bone for six classes in VA. Five seems about right.
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Another alternative would be to take the GA route, allow the privates to compete with a district-assigned service area, and use a multiplier for out-of-zone students to determine enrollment for classifications. That might be an unpopular opinion, but it seems to have worked well for GA, of course they also have restricted open enrollment, so maybe that changes the calculus a little. But then you could probably stay at six classes, just beef things up a bit.
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Or leave alone what I think is a pretty darn good system.
It’s not perfect, and it’s impossible to make it so. Too many variables in the geography, demographics, financial situations, and intangibles to every get it much closer to “perfect” than it is right now. LOL, and as soon as you get it “neatly perfect”, the world changes, and we are chasing our tail again.
We have the opportunity to tweak the placement of schools in the classes every four years. Plus an additional avenue to make changes, if needed after two years in a new cycle.
We had a decade of multiple changes, and now we have had about 8 years of relative stability. I like this stability.
It’s not perfect, and it’s impossible to make it so. Too many variables in the geography, demographics, financial situations, and intangibles to every get it much closer to “perfect” than it is right now. LOL, and as soon as you get it “neatly perfect”, the world changes, and we are chasing our tail again.
We have the opportunity to tweak the placement of schools in the classes every four years. Plus an additional avenue to make changes, if needed after two years in a new cycle.
We had a decade of multiple changes, and now we have had about 8 years of relative stability. I like this stability.
There's nothing wrong with that either if everyone's happy with it. You're right there's not really a perfect system that's going to please everyone. I would add this is looking through a football only lens basically over the last five years. I look at it as kind of an iron sharpens iron type of deal. Freedom has the season they do and barely manages to be ranked at #100. That's unfortunate, but it's a good example of how you get a lot less exposure with a light schedule. Maybe you're right, though, maybe it'll change.
Bravo DP. I think I said something similar (yet much more longer winded) on 3a board.
Its easy to look at small sample sizes, or at certain parts of state and when you look at bigger picture its not as easy.
The lower level schools are in far less populated areas or the state (which makes sense) and thus further travel.
I even understand the thoughts of people. But in my mind there are bigger factors than competitive games.
So while I can agree that some of these teams may not "deserve" to make the playoffs, it results in kids getting one more chance to enjoy a game they have worked hard at all year. That is what it should be about, the KIDS playing.
I’m with you keep the classes. How about after the State finals a State Champion Challenge where 6 vs 5, 4 vs 3, 2 vs 1
I still think they should mix the teams up with #1 and #2 in each region placed on opposite sides of the bracket.
I know we would all love to see what you called the State Champion Challenge, but I can’t see it ever happening. I know that not that many schools are affected, but look at the overlap into winter sports already.
There is a certain contingent of schools that are in favor of dropping one scrimmage and moving the start of the season up one week. And this is a pretty strong contingent. Look for it to be an official proposal at the next series of meetings this spring.
Another issue, the number of games played. 15 for the championship games. I know this only affects 12 teams, but that is a lot of games and about the maximum that most feel is enough. And remember, round 14 means 24 teams play 14 games.
I don’t know, the selfishness in me wants them to play 52 games a year. But maybe high school football season is like the leaves changing in fall. You love it because it’s over so quickly.
Freedom had a great year as well as great coaching and talented players. The reason I feel they didn't crack the top 100 is because of their schedule. Outside of Stonebridge they didn't play anyone that could match them. Even SB couldn't match them athletically but they have talented players along with great coaching so SB would not suffer a blowout like other teams Freedom played. I would have loved to see HSHS play Freedom this year because I believe they have the speed and athletes to beat Freedom. I believe Freedom benefited from Oscar Smith being down this year. If Oscar Smith team was like last years team I believe that would have been one helluva match up. I guess I will have to wait until next year's playoffs to see that HSHS and Freedom match up.
Their schedule definitely hurt them. HS supplements their schedule with OOS opponents, so it's not a big deal. IJS it doesn't look like there's quite enough meat on the bone for six classes. What's the point if your C6 winner's best opponent was in C5 🤷🏻♂️😂? BUT I certainly understand there are pros and cons to whatever you do.
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I suggested in another post that Freedom should play one of the top Maryland public schools because of close proximity, or Maybe one of the top Pennsylvania schools within 3 hours drive.
That’s essentially why I suggested 24 teams, instead of the normal 32(8 per region) that way Everyone would play the 1sr round the highest seed of the winners of the first round gets a bye in week 2.. this would take a game(week) off the schedule in the playoffs and allow everyone to have a normal season with the scrimmages without taking away the scrimmages, the scrimmages are needed, If theres a huge thing about not having a region champion, just replace that with the “bracket champion” call it whatever is came up with..
This doesn't fix any of the issues mentioned though. You still have a week because not every team in round 2 would have a BYE, so those teams could still play 15 games.
Like I said in the other thread:
1v24
2v23
3v22
4v21
5v20
6v19
7v18
8v17
9v16
10v15
11v14
12v13
1,2,3,4 BYE
5v12
6v11
7v10
8v9
1v8
2v7
3v6
4v5
1v4
2v3
1v2
That saves 4 games total.
Much less factoring in travel, and numerous other factors.
It makes very little sense to me why IF you have BYES why they would not be 1st round.
But another factor that hasn't been brought up is that reducing number of teams in will more than likely dilute the regular season schedule. Teams are required (unless agreed upon by other member schools) to play a full district schedule. And depending on strength/lack there of district, teams will not want games to hurt them when that one game could be difference in making playoffs etc.
We seems to be wanting to upset the apple cart because of some blowouts in 1st round, while ignoring what an alternative would do all over the place to budgets, etc. These schools already struggle with budget, so adding the bigger travel costs is going to hurt. And taking away games is going to hurt.
Class 1: 1st round 5 games 4 TD+, 2nd 4, 3rd 2,
Class 2: 1st round 7, 2nd 4, 3rd 1, 4th 1
Class 3: 1st 6, 2nd 6, 3rd 2, 4th 2, 5th 1
Class 4: 1st 10, 2nd 3, 3rd 0, 4th 1, 5th 1
Class 5: 1st 4, 2nd 4, 3rd 4
Class 6: 1st 8, 2nd 4, 3rd 1, 4th 1, 5th 1
There are MUCH more important things than having a blowout
Wasn't a huge blowout but given SB's high standards I'd actually argue it was one in a relative sense. Most points given up in three years, biggest margin of loss since Tuscarora in 2015 (also 23) and you have to go back to Westfield in 2013 to find a larger one. It is very rare to see SB get tooled around like what Freedom did to them. Hate to point it out but looking at that and looking at them hanging super close with HSHS doesn't lend me to think HSHS handles Freedom.
Well if you were at the HSHS game against SB this year, it was 19-0 in the 4th quarter and SB looked befuddled and couldn't move the ball. HSHS stopped attacking offensively and went to prevent defense to run the clock out and that was the only reason the game was close. People had started leaving late in the 3rd quarter because SB was dead in the water before our coaches allowed them to get started. I'm pretty sure Freedom kept attacking them the entire game, which was a smart strategy.
Taking away games in the reg season hurts, not in the playoffs. Look, I disagree with you, I heard you in the other thread, if you want to continue to say the same thing in this one, you win!! You’re the only one who makes any sense!!
