Our 1st Foray Into Class 3A
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 1:01 pm
Beaufort High has always had a student body comprised of enough people to play at either the top, or next-to-the-top Classification in Football. After last years realignment, and due to population explosions in other parts of the state, too many senior High Schools in our County, manipulated attendance zones, and the advent of Charter Schools in our area, Beaufort High's 135 ADM numbers decreased significantly. Going strictly by those 135 ADM numbers, the SCHSL moved us down to the next Classification, 3A.
I have never paid a whole lot of attention to this Classification because it never dawned on me that this would be our home for the next while. I knew about Daniel, Dillon, Camden, and even Chapman, as being perennial powerhouses in this Classification. Other than those handful of schools, I would just scoreboard watch because of the Pic-Em contests. I would try to figure out who ranked where in the grand scheme of things.
Looking at our Region, knowing about the teams that we would have to face to get back to the playoffs, I was very skeptical of the depth and strength of the Classification as a whole. After our draw in the playoffs, and our first round humiliation of Orangeburg-Wilkinson, I was further convinced that 3A was as I thought, not very good, top-to-bottom.
THEN, along comes the round of 16, and I got smacked in the jaw by the extremely high level of play by Crestwood. I figured that this was just a fluke, and our narrow escape figured to make the next game a cakewalk. Enter the Gilbert High Indians. Holy cow! This Classification is loaded!. After defeating the Indians in a very high level contest, I was forced to reflect on my perception of Class 3A. I knew that the task ahead against Dillon was monumental, and lying in the weeds would be one of the top ranked teams in the State. Not sure which one, but, one that will be nearly impossible to beat. That game is yet to be played, but that is not relevant to this thread.
From the Round of 16 forward, there were at least 14 or 15 teams who were more than capable of winning this entire thing. I was, and am, blown away by the high level of competition around the state in this Classification. There is some extremely high caliber football being played in Class 3A. For those of you who so quickly dismiss these lower Classes as not as good as the higher ones, I have some news for you. Consider our record against the higher classes. We went 1-1 against 5A schools, losing only to a team that will play Saturday for the State Championship in that Class. We went 3-0 against Class 4A schools, and 2 of those 3 resulted in our winning so big that there was a running clock before Halftime. One of them had a running clock by the middle of the 1st quarter.
So I offer my congratulations to all of those 3A schools who play such high level football. I will never underestimate any of the lower Classifications again. Just because a school cannot dress 65 or more players for a game, does not mean that they cannot compete with anybody in this state. While numbers do help to wear other teams down, only 11 can be on the field at once. And I dare say that schools like Abbeville can put 11 out there as good as most any team out there. Best of luck to all teams remaining (Except Fart D, I hope they get beat by 100) and congratulations to everyone on a great season.
I have never paid a whole lot of attention to this Classification because it never dawned on me that this would be our home for the next while. I knew about Daniel, Dillon, Camden, and even Chapman, as being perennial powerhouses in this Classification. Other than those handful of schools, I would just scoreboard watch because of the Pic-Em contests. I would try to figure out who ranked where in the grand scheme of things.
Looking at our Region, knowing about the teams that we would have to face to get back to the playoffs, I was very skeptical of the depth and strength of the Classification as a whole. After our draw in the playoffs, and our first round humiliation of Orangeburg-Wilkinson, I was further convinced that 3A was as I thought, not very good, top-to-bottom.
THEN, along comes the round of 16, and I got smacked in the jaw by the extremely high level of play by Crestwood. I figured that this was just a fluke, and our narrow escape figured to make the next game a cakewalk. Enter the Gilbert High Indians. Holy cow! This Classification is loaded!. After defeating the Indians in a very high level contest, I was forced to reflect on my perception of Class 3A. I knew that the task ahead against Dillon was monumental, and lying in the weeds would be one of the top ranked teams in the State. Not sure which one, but, one that will be nearly impossible to beat. That game is yet to be played, but that is not relevant to this thread.
From the Round of 16 forward, there were at least 14 or 15 teams who were more than capable of winning this entire thing. I was, and am, blown away by the high level of competition around the state in this Classification. There is some extremely high caliber football being played in Class 3A. For those of you who so quickly dismiss these lower Classes as not as good as the higher ones, I have some news for you. Consider our record against the higher classes. We went 1-1 against 5A schools, losing only to a team that will play Saturday for the State Championship in that Class. We went 3-0 against Class 4A schools, and 2 of those 3 resulted in our winning so big that there was a running clock before Halftime. One of them had a running clock by the middle of the 1st quarter.
So I offer my congratulations to all of those 3A schools who play such high level football. I will never underestimate any of the lower Classifications again. Just because a school cannot dress 65 or more players for a game, does not mean that they cannot compete with anybody in this state. While numbers do help to wear other teams down, only 11 can be on the field at once. And I dare say that schools like Abbeville can put 11 out there as good as most any team out there. Best of luck to all teams remaining (Except Fart D, I hope they get beat by 100) and congratulations to everyone on a great season.
