Fort Hill versus Southern
- Thread starter Argox66
- Start date
FH only ran 13 offensive plays in the first half.
time of possession was 20-4 in favor of southern.
time of possession was 20-4 in favor of southern.
I am all about equality and equity, but the “everyone gets a trophy” mentality and regional representation in all sports in MD is a joke.
In football, you have lopsided scores in regional games like last night and tonight.
In other sports, solid student-athletes sit at home because they belong to a quality region while much, much lesser student-athletes qualify for a state meet because they compete in a very weak region. The latter only opens student-athletes up for embarrassment at the state level.
Unfortunately this unintended, and unnecessary consequence is the by-product of the participatory generation. I noticed that Hess, and Palmisano did not dress, and Allen, and Daniels limping out of the locker room after the half. Hate to lose anyone in a unnecessary game.
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FH possessing the ball 3 minutes and scoring 53 points in a half in a "playoff game" is just embarrassing. This playoff system can kick rocks. Makes a mockery of the whole thing. 1-8 teams shouldn't be qualifying.
The new system allows everyone to be in, you no longer have to qualify. You can choose to opt out and not participate. Hancock opting out is the only reason Mountain Ridge has a bye this weekend. The new system is whack.
I saw something for the first time tonight. FH got called for a blind side block committed by the kickoff team.
southern needs some help. That program is in trouble if they don’t get it. That was the worst I’ve ever seen in that stadium.
Last night’s Linganore-Rockville game was a perfect example of why the state went to this playoff format. Under the old system, Linganore would not have qualified in favor of Rockville. Linganore takes their worst team in over a decade to Rockville and wins 45-8. I watched it on the NFHS Network and honestly, Rockville looked like a JV team. There was a span of 4 consecutive offensive plays for Linganore where RB Ethan Arneson scored on 3 of them, 2 of them without even being touched by a Rockville player. This is the same Linganore offense that went 6 straight quarters without scoring a point and only getting 3 or 4 total first downs. So yes, the blowouts suck, but it’s almost become a necessary evil to account for the huge disparity between talent in certain areas.
7th seeded North Caroline also handily beat 2nd seeded Easton last night. So there are some upsets, not many, but some.
There has to be a better way. I know it has been discussed at length, but the heck with the regional fluff and seed the top 16 teams in the state.
Again, I don’t want to hear the tired argument that teams would have to travel…bull hockey! Geographically, MD is not that large.
If MD border states that cover a much larger geographic area can do it, so can MD. However, I don’t think it will change because the MPSSAA has now found a way to suck more money out of fans to watch such lopsided first-round playoff games. All the while, each county loses revenue from a 10th game.
I make a similar argument for T&F. Seed the top 16 performances and those who meet the designated qualifying standard per event based on performances at regional meets.
Any sport that can be quantified, should be seeded 1-16, whether it be a team performance or individual performance.
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Just when you think you seen it all. Unbelievable that the refs gathered and had a lengthy enough discussion, and still made that ridiculous call.
Don’t disagree that there is a better way but what I don’t understand is why no one complains about the other sports? You get the same ugly games in soccer, basketball, etc, but everyone just accepts it. I’ve come to terms with it in all sports because of the huge disparity of talent and resources within the state. Should we be rewarding teams for losing during the regular season, no, but when there is no continuity with scheduling, we can’t punish teams that are in better regions either.
But at the end of the day didn't both of those teams enter the game with under .500 records. Years past neither qualify. By the way, I don't know the answer either. The system needs some tweaking.
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That is my point…accept there is disparity but don’t penalize teams or individuals that participate in better regions.
Again, if a sport can be quantified to measure success, use such measures to seed the top 16 teams or individuals. Forget about the regional fluff.
There is a measuring stick for football, and times and distances don’t lie in T&F and in XC.
I too do not believe that other sports should automatically qualify either. Most other sports are non- revenue generating, other than maybe basketball, and most of John Q. Public just don't care about girls volleyball and the such.
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No, Rockville entered at 5-4 and still would have qualified under the old format. If they had played in Frederick County, they would have won 1 or 2 games tops which is my point.
I’m far from a participation trophy kinda guy, but this isn’t professional sports where you have continuity of schedules and fairly equal talent levels across the board. So sure, in football, and any other sport, you can “quantify success” but in high school sports there are other factors that you can’t ignore when trying to quantify it. I keep seeing to rank the top 16, that still doesn’t solve the problem of teams getting in that shouldn’t. Rockville would have still made it in that scenario and Linganore would not have. Rockville still would have gotten blown out in the first round, probably even worse than they did. I have more of an issue with taking away the 10th regular season game and going to 6 classes than I do letting everyone into the playoffs. No reason that both couldn’t happen.
I have no issue with anything you just said. If 5-4 Rockville would have qualified under the old system, well then that system was broken as well.
Oh it was broken lol. But I absolutely understand why people don’t like the current either. If the state had a better way of assessing strength of schedule, I think there would be more of a case for a system that doesn’t allow everyone in. I think my issue with our points system is that all losses are treated equally. Let’s face it, all losses aren’t equal. A loss to a 2 win team isn’t equal to a loss to a 9 win team but we treat it so. I’d like to see at least a fraction of a point given for losses. At least reward teams a little bit for playing a better schedule.
Absolutely. I stated earlier this season that back in the 70s,and 80s FH, and Alco were obligated to play Bishop Walsh. While they played, neither were very happy about it. The system then punished both FH, and Alco win or lose. Can't remember exactly how it worked, but a win against BW got you less than normal, and really punished a loss. It had to with the big difference in school size. I don't know if the difference in class is as severe today. I also stated earlier this year that I thought that the all included would help with better regular season games, but that hasn't come to fruition either, and as some said on here, never will. It's a shame we can't have more competitive high school football all season long. Congrats on the win.
This could be done by reseeding at the end of the season based on points for wins and losses. This would reward teams for playing a harder schedule. Genius.
The teams split the gate for the first round. The state made nothing from last night. It was cash only at the gate. Next week the state takes all the money and tickets need to be purchased online.
Another prime example of the regional fluff in order to have regional representation: In boys’ soccer today, Allegany 14 - Dunbar 0.
Meanwhile, much more competitive teams such as MR, Northern, and Southern sat at home today or watched from the stands.
Meanwhile, much more competitive teams such as MR, Northern, and Southern sat at home today or watched from the stands.
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Allegany had already beaten MR and Northern in the playoffs. That's why they sat home.
If everyone makes the playoffs, who cares about doing the playoffs by region? It's not keeping anybody out.
Every time the playoffs were expanded the schedules got weaker. Not sure why everyone kept saying that including everyone in the playoffs would change that trend.
I care. Any true sports’ fan cares. It only makes sense to play against better competition as the playoffs move from one round to the next - not much weaker competition.
Yes, AHS beat MR in the playoffs 1-0. AHS scored with 17 minutes remaining in the match. During the regular season the teams tied 1-1, and MR beat AHS 4-1 during the rematch.
A 14-0 pounding in soccer is analogous to an 84-0 (14x6) win in football…both are rather indicative of poor playoff planning in the effort to provide regional equality…quite the opposite.
I wish AHS the best as they pursue their state championship goal in soccer.
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All you have to care about in the playoffs is winning. Mtn Ridge and Northern didn't win, so they stopped playing. No fan cares, only those worried about perception care.
You lost in the playoffs. Nobody cares what round.
It's a shame that as a culture we've decided that the path of least resistance is the only way. Lose a round earlier in the playoffs than you wanted and you cry about unfair playoffs. You might as well complain about separating teams into classes isn't fair.
Some 4A team that could have smoked MR lost even earlier in the playoffs. Why should they go home and watch just because MR is a smaller school? Sports fans want the best competition. Not charity to small schools.
Some people just have to cry.
Seriously... every sport except football has always had regional play in the playoffs. Even the beloved WV has sectionals and regional playoffs in all other sports.
It's literally tradition at this point that there are regional playoffs in Maryland.
It's kind of sad if you have to sit around and pray to avoid the same part of the bracket as the good teams so you can say you advanced further in the playoffs.
I'm not going to pretend that I have the answer, but do agree that as each week goes by that the competition should get better. I have always been a fan of re-seeding after each round, regardless of sport. Including every level from pee- wee through the pros. I'm sure someone has the answer to a question I have. Through the years how many times has FH, Alco, and MR/Beall, knocked each other out of the states while lesser talented teams from other regions moved on.
I agree with this analysis. Who cares when you lose in the playoff. Who beats their chests over a semi final?
In the 4 Classification system Hancock, Southern, Clear Spring, Smithsburg, etc. were not making the playoffs in this new expanded format because there were 12 teams in the West Region. That lasted one stinking year (2019) and then COVID hit. What made this new expanded set up hideous was the expansion to 6 classes so everyone can make the playoffs. I was OK with this concept for 2021 COVID because we could not be sure if some teams would play 9 games or 4 games. There was no point system that could work under this guise. But when the MPSSAA made 6 classes permanent for 2022 I almost puked. Now we get to sit through 74-0 first round games.
Fort Hill needs 3 games next year. Maybe 4 if/when Hollidaysburg finally joins a league as they have been trying to do for 6+ years. FH in particular is now back in the same boat as they were 10 years ago. Nobody is going to play FH, not a single team in Frederick County anymore. The Linganore, Oakdale, Urbana, Middletown, Walkersville teams that were once an option are gone. They don't want that game because of what FH did to Oakdale the past two seasons. Nothing from Washington County but that has always been the case. Even the current heavily recruited St. James said they can't compete at that level. None anywhere really. The ONLY team in the entire state of WV that will play FH is Martinsburg. That is not a joke, trust me. Get ready for teams that want to take a paycheck to get their butts beat at Greenway. It is what it is. And honestly, the argument not many attend these games is not relevant from a financial stand point any more because the stands are rather empty regardless of the opponent.
What is most disappointing is knowing that coaches are still avoiding good competition during the regular season. The "Everyone Makes The Playoffs" format did nothing to break up feelings getting hurt plain and simple. The excuses have evolved. Now it's we want home field in the playoffs. We don't want to get kids injured. It's this way in all of sports society at every school in every state.
Fort Hill needs 3 games next year. Maybe 4 if/when Hollidaysburg finally joins a league as they have been trying to do for 6+ years. FH in particular is now back in the same boat as they were 10 years ago. Nobody is going to play FH, not a single team in Frederick County anymore. The Linganore, Oakdale, Urbana, Middletown, Walkersville teams that were once an option are gone. They don't want that game because of what FH did to Oakdale the past two seasons. Nothing from Washington County but that has always been the case. Even the current heavily recruited St. James said they can't compete at that level. None anywhere really. The ONLY team in the entire state of WV that will play FH is Martinsburg. That is not a joke, trust me. Get ready for teams that want to take a paycheck to get their butts beat at Greenway. It is what it is. And honestly, the argument not many attend these games is not relevant from a financial stand point any more because the stands are rather empty regardless of the opponent.
What is most disappointing is knowing that coaches are still avoiding good competition during the regular season. The "Everyone Makes The Playoffs" format did nothing to break up feelings getting hurt plain and simple. The excuses have evolved. Now it's we want home field in the playoffs. We don't want to get kids injured. It's this way in all of sports society at every school in every state.
Unless a team that far away wants to travel to Cumberland on their own dime then it's not affordable.
I think the Howard schools all play each other. I doubt if the Fred Co. schools won't play FH, the Carroll schools would.
Good, let's watch them play. There is no reason for FH not to play Martinsburg if this playoff setup stays in place. None of the old excuses matter. Play it early in the season.
