Wins Don't Always Guarantee Playoff Appearnces

[Bobcat Thunder]

Some eight and nine-win teams are sitting home during the playoffs because of tough regions and weak schedules. Here is a list of the 2008 tough luck teams.

9-1
Girard-Region 13
Northwood-Region 18
Urbana-Region 10

8-1
Grove City Christian-Region 24

8-2
John Adams- Region 1
Garfield-Region 2
Fremont Ross-Region 2
Sycamore-Region 4
Maumee-Region 6
Indian Hill-Region 12
Hicksville-Region 18
Paint Valley-Region 19
Fredricktown-Region 19
Fairbanks-Region 20


On the other hand, weak regions and tough schedules have helped propel six and five-win teams into the postseason. Here is a list of those playoff teams.

6-4
Lakewood St. Edward-Region 1
Canton McKinley-Region 2
Massillon Washington-Region 2
Grove City-Region 3
Moeller-Region 4
Hoban-Region 5
Dublin Jerome-Region 7
Franklin-Region 12
Ottawa Glandorf-Region 14
Sparta Highland-Region 14
Bridgeport-Region 23
Bishop Rosecrans-Region 23

6-3
Bishop Hartley-Region 15

6-2
Bishop Ready-Region 19

5-5
Bishop Watterson-Region 7
Chardon NDCL-Region 9


Tough schedules have also helped several teams lock up first round home games. Six seven-win teams have first round games (two are from Southeast Ohio).

Huber Heights Wayne-Region 4
Howland-Region 5
Walsh Jesuit-Region 9
Canton South-Region 11
Chillicothe-Region 12
Ironton-Region 15

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

Schedule well known cream puffs and you will not make it.

More times then not those in the know can see what teams will be good and which teams are going to be not so good.

[Mohawk06]

didnt lucasville valley once go 10-0 and not make the playoffs like 98 97 96 somewhere around there?

[loganlocos]

didnt lucasville valley once go 10-0 and not make the playoffs like 98 97 96 somewhere around there?

Before 1999 the playoffs only took 4 teams from each region and a lot of 10-0 teams were left out.

Since the expansion in '99, only one 10-0 team (Newcomerstown in 2001) has been left out of the playoffs.

[JohnKnight]

That is why I would love to see OHSAA go to a district system in football. Break the region into 4 districts of 8 teams and they play each other in a computer generated schedule and keep 3 non-playoff games. That way you would have a true measure of how good teams were and head to head play. None of this playing in an big easy league and getting points every week when teams not in a big league have less control over the quality of their wins.

[d-5]

Some eight and nine-win teams are sitting home during the playoffs because of tough regions and weak schedules. Here is a list of the 2008 tough luck teams.

9-1
Girard-Region 13
Northwood-Region 18
Urbana-Region 10

8-1
Grove City Christian-Region 24 May be it's a payback for hanging 96 on Manchester

[WHSwarrior]

Whine.

Vincent Warren Local has had their fair share of 9-1, 8-2, and 7-3 seasons (12, I believe) and has never made the playoff ONCE. Never. Ever. We are consistently playing 5 games per year against team in higher divisions or w/ higher enrollments...and we still can't get any love. Went 9-1 in 1996, and couldn't even win the SEOAL...8-2 in 1995, an SEOAL title, but no playoff berths.

I'm not talking about the recent 10 year run by my Warriors (three 6-4 years followed by much mediocrity), but if a team manages to ride through a season with 8, 9, or 10 wins, they should go to the playoffs.

That district system is a good idea.

[tl895]

flat out if the teams you beat suck, you should NOT go to the playoffs! dont mess up a great system just to make it easy for teams that dont belong to have a second chance to get in!!

[boogerred]

Why not expand the playoffs even more?

[superblue]

Why fix something that's not broken?????

[boogerred]

MONEY!!!

[peeblesbuck]

Thanks for this topic Bobcat Thunder. It was some interesting reading.

[Bobcat Thunder]

Why not expand the playoffs even more?

If the OHSAA expanded the post season, they would have to cut into the regular season. Teams that make it to the state championship play fifteen games. Most Division I college football teams only play 12 games. Remember, these are high school kids and they can only handle so much of a pounding. Also, a lot of the teams that advance late in to playoffs have athletes that play winter sports. Many times, winter sports teams have to move their season around because players are still busy with football.


Also, there is the cost issue.

[JohnKnight]

by going to the district system everyone would basically be in the playoffs. More like other sports. Your last 6 or 7 games would be playoff qualifier games.

[bengalfan76]

When I was in HS back in the 80's that was the way it was done in Fla.
Your league was essentially teams the same size as you the winner went to the playoffs.
It works there.

[WHSwarrior]

That's how its done in Western Pennsylvania, too.
The teams that win the 'sections' composed of similarly sized schools make the 'league' playoffs, and the top 4 teams in each division (A, AA, AAA, AAAA) left standing in the 'league' playoffs make the 'state' playoffs. Central, Northern and Eastern PA also are set up the same way, creating a 16-team 'state' tourney for each division.

But, I think that this system would be difficult to adopt in Ohio, esp. in SE Ohio.
We don't have the ability to adjust school districts' athletic affiliation based on size.

Teams in Western PA move 'sections' every other year, but because the sizes stay the same, it doesn't affect scheduling (They play 9 league games in a 10-team section). We don't have that same flexibility because of longstanding ties between schools and athletic conferences. (i.e., Logan, Jackson, Gallia in the SEOAL--three very differently sized schools competing in one conference).

[JohnKnight]

That is the BROKEN part that needs to be fixed IMHO. It would be very easy in Region 15 to match schools up by locations. Waverly would be in this district for example.

Unioto
Piketon
Northwest
Portsmouth
ZT
Wellston
Westfall
Waverly

another district in Reg 15 would be
Martins Ferry
St C
New Lex
Union Local
WMusking
Bellaire
Licking Heights
Maysville

Just for example

[WHSwarrior]

I like that...not bad really.

Let me give you the example from Western PA.

Beaver County, PA.
15 high schools (14 after a merger following this school year)
4 A
9 AA
5 AAA

The AA section drive, from end to end, is 45 minutes.
The A drive includes 5 more schools in neighboring counties. Longest drive, 1 hr.
The AAA is longer, 75 min.


It would be difficult to create that in SEO.

[loganlocos]

Whine.

Vincent Warren Local has had their fair share of 9-1, 8-2, and 7-3 seasons (12, I believe) and has never made the playoff ONCE. Never. Ever. We are consistently playing 5 games per year against team in higher divisions or w/ higher enrollments...and we still can't get any love. Went 9-1 in 1996, and couldn't even win the SEOAL...8-2 in 1995, an SEOAL title, but no playoff berths.

I'm not talking about the recent 10 year run by my Warriors (three 6-4 years followed by much mediocrity), but if a team manages to ride through a season with 8, 9, or 10 wins, they should go to the playoffs.

That district system is a good idea.

Those Warren teams were trying to qualify under the old system when only 4 teams were taken. Under the current system, those Warren teams would have made the playoffs.

The Warriors ALMOST made the playoffs this year at 5-5.

[WHSwarrior]

And the fact that a 5-5 team can get in could be part of the problem.

This isn't West Virginia.