I really think this is the first year Danville is gonna make their maiden voyage to Canton. I'm kind of torn between which team I root for. CV or Danville? Why not both? Not a hunch to Eastern or Miller, both having fantastic seasons (I'll have my crow now for the Eastern and Miller comments).
Sadly, though, there is disparity in the region. Danville then everyone else. Whoever reads this might be asking themselves, "didn't he say Trimble and Danville the top 2 all year?" I did. Here's why:
Historically, in Region 27, Trimble and Danville are usually the top teams (whenever Shadyside and NC are down). Now, I'm biased of course, you could've asked me in 2022 when we was 3-7 and I would've told you in Region 23 we was one of the top teams. It's just how I am. *get to the point already*
With NC, River, and Shadyside so down, it's kind of hard to say that Trimble and Danville aren't the top 2 teams in the region from a quick glance. Why? 2 towns that embody football like no other, great traditions, one team has a legendary coach, the other is making his way to become a legend.
What is fun about this year though, a new team is going to get to learn week 14 football. (no disrespect to Miller once again, Danville is just that good. I am pulling for the Falcons, though.) A community is going to experience something that a lot of communities don't. That, itself is awesome.
Good luck to the 4 R27 teams that remain this Friday night. To the 3 that have never been there before, take it all in. Live in the moment. No matter what the result is Friday, all 3 schools that whomever reads this post is from will make history.
Very good post.
I admit that I can get redundant on this matter, but I'll punctuate some of these points for the audience.
trimblefootball said:
With NC, River, and Shadyside so down, it's kind of hard to say that Trimble and Danville aren't the top 2 teams in the region from a quick glance. Why?
They're also, bluntly, the two most consistent programs when it comes to fielding a good team along with the fact their schedules have long been above the rest of the pack.
Why does that matter? Let me preface by saying I'm an R27 guy at heart. Going back to the days when it was the old Region 23 in the previous six division playoff model. Hopefully that clues in on the reliable narrator, here.
To have the level of depth, to have the consistency in numbers, to have everything part-and-parcel that results in insulation from the lowest depths of 'down years', there's really only three programs in R27 that have it -- Danville, Trimble, and NC. Just so we're all on the same page, the only team(s) that would bat better than 1-9 on NC's schedule would be Danville and possibly Trimble.
To have that depth and consistency, paired to a generally challenging schedule, that sets you pretty fair for success in playoffs.
River and Shadyside are pretty firmly in that second-tier on level of program. They just happen to be on bad waning periods currently, and in Shadyside's case it's been a very turbulent last three years along with that wane in talent & numbers.
With that in mind, it is
good for the state of Region 27 that the opportunity exists for those 'remainder of the regional field' teams to have meaningful November's. I'll follow that up below this other astute
@trimblefootball observation
trimblefootball said:
What is fun about this year though, a new team is going to get to learn week 14 football. (no disrespect to Miller once again, Danville is just that good. I am pulling for the Falcons, though.) A community is going to experience something that a lot of communities don't. That, itself is awesome.
Before this November, two of this year's four R27 semifinalists had never won a playoff game before. Outside of Danville, for obvious reasons, the fourth team only had one playoff win -- and they also happen to be the most recently created program (Eastern.)
Frankly, I was pulling for a Danville/SCC and Trimble/South Gallia week 13. Namely because I did think and feel those were the four best teams in R27, because that's primarily what 15 years of watching playoff ball in this region tells me
would have happened. And I'm not saying that from the motivation to
posture, because I also happened to pick those teams to all win this week in the Yappi Challenge. Went 0/2 picking South Gallia to beat Eastern, pretty sure I was the only one out of 280 players statewide to pick them either time -- it's kind of biting me in the behind now (I'm only ahead of second place by three games now.) So, I'm 0-4 in the week 12 games involving Miller, Eastern, and CV + SG/Eastern regular season and fighting to maintain my spot at the top now more than ever.
But, the trade-off on being
wrong there does mean there's good to be had for others. I'd say that's a pretty fair trade, all in all. More cups getting filled in the process, and it's refreshing to see pessimism from the man in the mirror get defeated.
Especially relevant is the fact Miller won a Round of 32 game. I'd like to think that can send a message that physical, intense ground game is a winning formula for their brothers-in-arms in the MSL-Cardinal, which I spent
a lot of time following (probably too much in retrospect.) 'Cause, like I said upthread, first Round of 32 win for that league since '06.
It will be good for those three teams to get a feel for what the 'next step' looks like. It's also a great opportunity for those programs to finally meet what happens when you commit to your goals, what you want to do, etc. Maybe it won't be immediately obvious after next Friday, but it will be obvious how big the moment -- with a firm appreciation for the opportunity of making it this far -- is for them.
