You would be wrong. In most any other small school conference Ft Recovery would be a standout team. Look at Lehman Catholic, 8-2 record, lost bad to MAC bottom Delphos StJohn's. Ft Recovery is likely one of the 10 best in the region.
Three teams drop out to avoid playing Marion Local in playoffs…
- Thread starter radiodaveagain
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TigerBeast78
Well-known member
Still when it comes to playing Marion local they still lost by a score of 63-0 and they are willing to go take another butt whooping. They have a running clock not like this other team that backed down was going to lose by 100
You have zero idea of the difference between Marion and these other schools. Look it up on Drew Pasteur 's site. Ft Recovery sits right between a 9-1 Ansonia and a 8-2 Lehman. Marion could score a hundred points per half on some of these lesser programs. Of course they would never do that , they would bench their starters after a quarter.
TigerBeast78
Well-known member
My point is the team that is playing them is going to get blasted no Doubt and they know it. They already got killed not too long ago but still they are going to play.
Yes, and they are a pretty decent team for D7. They will get stomped, but I think they can physically handle it. Some of those other schools I doubt their ability to handle it physically.
Crimson and Black
Well-known member
You have made me reconsider my stance as well. At first thought it seems cowardly. But your take on the teams simply trying to keep a 24 man roster alive is valid. And I agree that it was the OHSAA’s greed that created the problem. They are putting kids at risk by allowing 16 teams from each region. I don’t see anything wrong with implementing “in D6 & D7 only 8 teams will Qualify.
TigerBeast78
Well-known member
Gotcha
softball513
Active member
Fort Rocovery can make the 16 mile 20 minute trip get running clock and be home quick. Get some bowling in at Miracle Lanes and get some grab at all the nice restaurants in town
Then you better use something other than Harbins unless picking the top 8 is not the goal. St Henery is very likely #3 in the region and is outside of 8, as is new Bremen. I guess if just putting the teams with the best records in a playoff was the goal then it would work. I do recall a year though when a great MAC school almost missed the playoffs and if I recall won state from the 7 or 8 seed.
Crimson and Black
Well-known member
An example here or there, especially an example from the MAC who has a league filled with high quality championship caliber teams, doesn’t change the fact that some of these teams struggle to simply put a squad of 20 on the field. How many are on the Marional Local roster. I have no idea but I’d bet they are dressing 80 kids. I bet they have a roster larger than many D1 and D2 schools.
I imagine that the majority of us on Yappi represent high schools that don’t have issues that smaller D7’s have, so we won’t always understand what they have to go through just to field a team. This seems to be about more than just a potential loss.
Living in Warren, I’ve seen Facebook posts from people (who obviously don’t understand how Harbins work) complaining about Youngstown Chaney (3-7) making the playoffs over Youngstown East (6-4), especially since East just knocked off Chaney this past Friday. I didn’t see one comment mentioning that Chaney (seeded 16th) will be playing Youngstown Ursuline (it will be over quickly). People were just upset about not being able to see their kids play again.
Neither East or Chaney have “Division 7 issues” though.
Living in Warren, I’ve seen Facebook posts from people (who obviously don’t understand how Harbins work) complaining about Youngstown Chaney (3-7) making the playoffs over Youngstown East (6-4), especially since East just knocked off Chaney this past Friday. I didn’t see one comment mentioning that Chaney (seeded 16th) will be playing Youngstown Ursuline (it will be over quickly). People were just upset about not being able to see their kids play again.
Neither East or Chaney have “Division 7 issues” though.
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The Dock
Bad Takes; Even Worse Picks
Too true. Not to put down the NEO brethren here, but the idea that a team doesn’t even have enough guys to go full line or even practice how KOR/Kickoff Team is supposed to look… in week 1 no less… they would think it’s ridiculous. That someone would be joking about it.
Nah. It’s very real at a lot of places. That’s where my exposure to HSFB all got started. You do what you can to make it work, as far as you realistically can. It’d be easier if there was a magic wand to wave to turn injuries off (like it’s Madden) or even better, if you had another 20 kids so your practices can at least be more incorporative — and not be forced to play freshmen out of necessity as well.
My wk11 is my alma’s playoff game. Not under any expectation it’ll be a good game, or worth driving 10 under the entire way as you look for deer on them back-as roads. Going because I know they’re in the same boat as all these other teams being discussed. Always have been, always will be. Their injury situation has been bad, too. Also going because who they play, they know the deal. They understand it. They sympathize. They’re an opponent worth being honored, and I know based on my previous trips down there (and knowing their people) that they’ll beat my alma with honor… they’re not going to be jerks about the situation, instead they’ll see the good in it.
Why? Because when you’re in D7, you know full well how hard it can be to play a full season amid tough circumstances. Those seniors in the other jersey wear shoes that your freshmen could find themselves wearing 2-3 years from now… if the worst storm of circumstances hit.
MustRiders
Member
Playoffs need to be reduced to 12 qualifiers/region for just this reason. Football isn't a sport to insist on physically inappropriate matchups involving kids at the end of a long season, whether it's D VII or D I. Go to 12 with top 4 seeds getting byes. At least this way, a team having to play a MSML or Massillon will have had a playoff W the week before, always a good thing for a program, and 4 teams likely to be playing the longest get a week to rest their kids.
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Quebec
Well-known member
We have the results, survey says, “The system is broken.”
Let’s not act like 90% of the playoffs teams with seeds 14-16 have a chance or even want to get mauled this weekend. Ignatius is a massive exception.
Anyways if I had a 1-9 team, at least having the experience to go to ML and get running clocked would be a fun story to tell others and a good experience to explain “this should be our goal someday”
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
It is St. Henry, and I don't care about a team's schedule if you can't make the top 8 too bad. SH has the same size student body same athletes as ML, Cedarville. Lockland, some other teams do not.
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stripedwarrior
Active member
Talk to the 7-3 Lockland team that went up to Marion back in 2011. They had players quit during the game because the beating was so bad.
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
This, ML has a starting lineup of mostly all srs. maybe 2 jrs. started vs Coldwater. Teams like Cedarville, Lockland with likely less than 30 players on their roster play soph. and maybe frosh it would be men vs boys. I am all for being tough, but it is a total mismatch and OHSAA does not care one bit about the student athlete just lining their pockets.
Play60Football
Member
This also might not have been a coach or team decision. Administration could obviously over ride them and say we're not doing this from a ton of different angles... 1 being travel and busing..... I'm just speculating.
Egret
Well-known member
Post of the thread.
bob99
Well-known member
Isn't that what the teams that declined the playoff berth did?
Thank you for that info
Been following this team for 25 years. Do not recall there ever being this level of praise from EVERY sports outlet.
TheCincinnatiKid
Active member
If Fort Recovery played Lockland’s schedule they would be 7-3 at the absolute worst. Lockland had to cancel a game mid season due to number issues. Great call on Lockland’s end to not play ML… plus it gives the kids at FR, who are more physically prepared, to make a memory!
WishYouWereHere
Well-known member
Cedarville had some scrimmages and ten games to figure it out, and they didn’t.
They know their chance of winning or losing better than anyone; but mostly their chance of injuries, a week of practices during 80 degree sunny days that could be spent relaxing by the pool, and a useless long road trip.
This 16 seed position is a joke.
Good for you Cedarville.
They know their chance of winning or losing better than anyone; but mostly their chance of injuries, a week of practices during 80 degree sunny days that could be spent relaxing by the pool, and a useless long road trip.
This 16 seed position is a joke.
Good for you Cedarville.
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How is this situation in any way indicative of ML being unable to schedule a Top 50 team in the regular season? They have what, 2 measly open dates to fill? That AD's job is not "difficult", rather it could not be any easier.
That largely depends on who is sitting at #1. This year yes, 16 is a joke. Didn't we have either a 16 or 15 win their game in the last year or two?
nupanther
Well-known member
I couldnt go to the East- Chaney game (work), but I KNEW that would be the chatter. Sitting in the stands it flat out amazes me the lack of knowledge about Harbins.
However as an East grad and a ( former) Valley Christian parent Im aware of elite programs ( Ursuline and Mogadore for example) and strugglung D7s ( Leetonia/ St Thomas Aquanis today and Mathews a few years ago)
These struggling programs are together by spit and glue. There is no realistic expectation of playoffs at these places. Some of these teams have underclassmen lineman 150 lbs going bothways out of necessity.
PRobably going forward there needs to be a deadline to opt out of the playoffs. If unforseen circumstances occur (multiple week 10 injuries/ illness) it could be petitioned on a case by case basis. The upthread Ohio State vs Wittenberg is a great anology. Marion Local beating a last place MAC team is Ohio State vs Northwrstern.
These are the unfortunate situations when the playoffs went to 16 teams. A D3 1 versus 16 will be a blowout, but the D3 16 seed more than likely can punch back to a degree. Not so for these teams in D6 or 7 who are ranked mid 600s in Drew Pasteur
RollingTrain
Well-known member
Then that’s on those players and program and why they are so bad. You’d never see that in the MAC or any other respectable program