SCPrepTalk

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OTS Sports Network Statewide High School Football Poll (Week 8)
1.Byrnes (11)
2.Goose Creek
3.Dutch Fork
4.Northwestern
5.Myrtle Beach
6.Hartsville
7.Dorman
8.York
9.Dillon
10.Westwood
(First place votes in parentheses)
Others receiving votes: Wren, Fort Dorchester, South Florence, Daniel, North Augusta, Christ Church, McBee

The OTS Statewide Poll is voted on by the following: Chris Miller, Robert Earl Carter, Gene Knight, Scott Wells, Coach Jimmy Wallace, Chuck Roberts, Kevin Robbins, Moe Bell, Brown Simpson, and Mario Washington.

I understand it's a journalist poll,...but does anyone really think that Myrtle Beach, Hartsville and (2A) Dillon are better than the 45 4A schools beneath them in that poll? They are very good teams, but they are not THAT good.

<Flame suit on>

I think Hartsville and MB belong in the top 10 but not ahead of Dorman. Dillon could beat a lot of 4a teams but not the top eschalon.

Tigerific wrote:I think Hartsville and MB belong in the top 10 but not ahead of Dorman. Dillon could beat a lot of 4a teams but not the top eschalon.

I know I am probably in the minority but I absolutely think that MB and/or Hartsville could beat any of the top 4A teams. They have proven that before when given the opportunity (Byrnes in 2012). Dillon has also gone toe to toe with much bigger and nationally ranked schools. Dillon lost 20-17 to Mallard Creek last season (Mallard Creek went 16-0, won the North Carolina 4A state title and finished #22 in the nation).
By no means am I saying MB, Hartsville, or Dillon WOULD beat those teams, but I would give them as good of shot as anyone. The elite teams in 3A and Dillon in 2A could compete in ONE game versus any of the top 4A teams. Where a team like Dillon would lose out is over the course of a season, through injuries, their lack of depth would become an issue. MB and Hartsville on the other hand are big 3A schools, so they wouldn't have as big of an issue with that.

FootballFan4343 wrote:

Tigerific wrote:I think Hartsville and MB belong in the top 10 but not ahead of Dorman. Dillon could beat a lot of 4a teams but not the top eschalon.

I know I am probably in the minority but I absolutely think that MB and/or Hartsville could beat any of the top 4A teams. They have proven that before.....

I agree with everything you said. It's just that these journalist opinion polls drive me nuts because locals that don't follow the sport closely think they mean something, and the journalists seem to give their favorites a little extra credit.

Dillon was a good program while in 4a and a brief time in 3a but never won a state title. It took going to 2a for them to become dominate and win a title. Yes they could beat some 4a teams but not as many as you think. They weren't dominate with 4a numbers so why would they be with 2a numbers? Not knocking them just stating facts. You could almost say MB is the Byrnes of 3a. They have modeled themselves after Byrnes and have dominated 3a lately. That still doesn't mean they could win a 4a championship. Don't think they have the depth to compete week in and week out. Win some? Absolutely

SF Band dad wrote:

FootballFan4343 wrote:

Tigerific wrote:I think Hartsville and MB belong in the top 10 but not ahead of Dorman. Dillon could beat a lot of 4a teams but not the top eschalon.

I know I am probably in the minority but I absolutely think that MB and/or Hartsville could beat any of the top 4A teams. They have proven that before.....

I agree with everything you said. It's just that these journalist opinion polls drive me nuts because locals that don't follow the sport closely think they mean something, and the journalists seem to give their favorites a little extra credit.

I guess we differ there. I am thrilled that High School Football means this much to the mainstream media. I lived briefly in New York City and Pittsburgh and high school sports don't get anywhere near the coverage. I am thankful that these guys care enough to take the time to do this for us to debate. Otherwise we would have no idea how teams do from around the state.

Tigerific, Your statement confirmed what I was saying. In a one game situation, they (Dillon) could hang with and potentially beat any 4A team, as they showed last year by nearly knocking off Nationally ranked Mallard Creek (4A state champion in NC). MB and Hartsville absolutely would probably be in the hunt for a 4A title, so there is no doubt that they should be ranked.

For comparison, here's their state ranking from MaxPreps' Freeman ranking system which is just based on statistics, without the "home cookin"...

• 9: Hartsville
  13: Myrtle Beach
  14: Dillon

BUT I LOVE HOME COOKIN....

Biscuits, Gravy..... oh, I'm off topic again ain't I?

Polls are nothing but popularity contests with human voters and when it comes to the computers, a human wrote the program and weighs things the way "HE" thinks they should be weighed...

Win is worth this many points
bonus for beating a team on the road
bonus for beating a team with a winning record
etc

There is no formula for determining the best team. It's done on the field but what makes it so much fun....
The best team doesn't win all the time.

2010 - 14-0 Byrnes against a Dorman team they beat earlier in the season at Columbia. Byrnes was the better team, Dorman won.
2011 - 14-0 Dorman with same circumstances, Byrnes won
2012 - 14-0 Gaffney with T shirts already printed up "15-0 AAAA Division One State Champs" and we all know how that turned out...

You could list games from your experience as well, I'm sure. But again, that is what makes it so much fun! Have you ever DVR or for you old foggies, recorded a game on VHS and before you get to watch it, someone says "WHAT ABOUT THAT UPSET?" and the game is ruined for you.... Even the blind dog finds a bone every once in a while,

How many folks picked:
Riverside over Boiling Springs
White Knoll over North Augusta
Conway over South Florence.. oops, that is this week's game, I wasn't supposed to let the cat out of the bag just yet, my bad!