Union County vs Chester

[UC Jackets]

Predictions? Thoughts? Stats? Lets hear them! Hear is mine, Chester seems to be very similar to UC when looking at run to pass ratio. Chester has a very explosive QB and a stout OL. However UC's running game is second to none. Chester's defense is very fast and they tackle well in space. Union County's defense has found a ton of success when playing a run heavy team. This game should be packed out and the weather looks great. Going to be a fun one! Of course I am going with the Jackets in a close one something around 38-32!

[All We Do Is Win]

Good luck to both teams. Looking forward to seeing either of y’all at state

[Chuckster]

This should be one of the BEST games to see across the state. Chester has come a long way in the last 2 years due to their Head Coach. Both schools have a great history from years ago. It is great to see both where they are. With all due respect, Union County should be a 4A school in Region 3 4A NOT a 3A school. Your thoughts on this?

[SF Band dad]

This should be one of the BEST games to see across the state. Chester has come a long way in the last 2 years due to their Head Coach. Both schools have a great history from years ago. It is great to see both where they are. With all due respect, Union County should be a 4A school in Region 3 4A NOT a 3A school. Your thoughts on this?

The situation with Union County is what provoked me to post the "Does size matter?" topic.

Statistically, it does. But Union County is not THAT much larger than the other schools in 3A. They have 451 more students than the smallest 3A school, 68% more students.

For comparison, in 5A the largest school has 2869 more students than the smallest, a difference of 292%

The other 3A schools doth protest too much, methinks.

[UC Jackets]

This should be one of the BEST games to see across the state. Chester has come a long way in the last 2 years due to their Head Coach. Both schools have a great history from years ago. It is great to see both where they are. With all due respect, Union County should be a 4A school in Region 3 4A NOT a 3A school. Your thoughts on this?

First I do appreciate you asking my thoughts instead of just coming out and saying how terrible we are for being in 3A and how we do not deserve to be playing for a chance to go to state, which most people do. Here are my thoughts on it, as SF Band Dad has said we are really not much bigger than other 3A schools around the state. Secondly what most people do not understand is that there are much more factors the SCHSL looks at when choosing classifications. It is not just overall student numbers. With those factored in we are in my opinion where we are supposed to be. I am extremely proud of how are kids and coaching staff have responded all year. Picked to finish 3rd in the region and end up winning the whole thing was epic, and now playing for a chance to go back to Willy B, this group have been the underdogs through out the year, no one thought we would be where we are today, however now that we are there people want to complain about what class we are in which I do not agree with. If it was that big of a deal I feel that those same people should have picked us to go this far from the start. With that being said I hope that situation does not take away any luster from Friday nights game which I think is going to be a good one.

[FootballFan4343]

This should be one of the BEST games to see across the state. Chester has come a long way in the last 2 years due to their Head Coach. Both schools have a great history from years ago. It is great to see both where they are. With all due respect, Union County should be a 4A school in Region 3 4A NOT a 3A school. Your thoughts on this?

First I do appreciate you asking my thoughts instead of just coming out and saying how terrible we are for being in 3A and how we do not deserve to be playing for a chance to go to state, which most people do. Here are my thoughts on it, as SF Band Dad has said we are really not much bigger than other 3A schools around the state. Secondly what most people do not understand is that there are much more factors the SCHSL looks at when choosing classifications. It is not just overall student numbers. With those factored in we are in my opinion where we are supposed to be. I am extremely proud of how are kids and coaching staff have responded all year. Picked to finish 3rd in the region and end up winning the whole thing was epic, and now playing for a chance to go back to Willy B, this group have been the underdogs through out the year, no one thought we would be where we are today, however now that we are there people want to complain about what class we are in which I do not agree with. If it was that big of a deal I feel that those same people should have picked us to go this far from the start. With that being said I hope that situation does not take away any luster from Friday nights game which I think is going to be a good one.

Your points are well taken and its unfortunate the circumstances that will follow UC if they win state. If they win state, then MANY folks around the state will say there should be an asterisk next to it due to their enrollment. I hate that for the young men who play the game, because all they are doing is playing the opponent that is put in front of them.
On the note about ONLY 368 students bigger, I still think that is significant. While it is nowhere near the amount when it comes to 5A, I can assure you that the school with 368 more students has a BETTER chance of being a BETTER team than the smaller school. Now, everyone can argue coaching, facilities, money, etc, etc and YES those do play a big role, but the numbers matter too.
I think we can all agree that if everything else is equal, then the school with 368 students is likely to have the chance at being a better football team.
At the end of the day, there is no perfect scenario.

[Deputy]

All of these folks that have their world upended by Union being in 3A. First, Union had valid reason for appealing to stay in 3A. Now if in 4A would they have won their region? No. Nobody was touching Greer down that way. But that 4A region as a whole is easier than the 3A region they were in. 5 A has a huge stretch when it comes to numbers. Nobody has an issue with that it seems. I suppose we ought to generate about 15 classifications so everybody can win and nobody will have an excuse.

[FootballFan4343]

All of these folks that have their world upended by Union being in 3A. First, Union had valid reason for appealing to stay in 3A. Now if in 4A would they have won their region? No. Nobody was touching Greer down that way. But that 4A region as a whole is easier than the 3A region they were in. 5 A has a huge stretch when it comes to numbers. Nobody has an issue with that it seems. I suppose we ought to generate about 15 classifications so everybody can win and nobody will have an excuse.

What are you saying may be right, but the issue is Union County was originally slated to be 4A based on size. However, they appealed and were allowed to play athletics at the 3A level with 4A enrollment numbers. While their reasoning may be legit (in some people's minds), that still doesn't change the fact that they are a 4A school playing athletics at the 3A level.
I get the argument of the size differential in 5A, but those are the "rules" in this state. The top 48 biggest schools are 5A, the next 40 are 4A, and then so on. Those are the established High School League rules, and Union County isn't playing within those rules, due to their appeal and subsequent threaten of legal action earlier this year. Like I said earlier, this will continue to follow them for the next two seasons when they compete for state championships.

[#1cyclonefan]

Chester and union are playing some good sound football but in the end I’ve got to put my money on the Cyclones! Good luck to both teams and I can’t wait until Friday.

[UC Jackets]

Chester and union are playing some good sound football but in the end I’ve got to put my money on the Cyclones! Good luck to both teams and I can’t wait until Friday.

Will be a good one for sure!