I hope so. But Charlotte teams are always tough. Even those Charlotte teams with closer to .500 records often give Triad teams with very good records trouble. Football seems to be at a different level down there. As of now, only Grimsley and East seem to compete well against Charlotte teams.
You may, or may not, know that Independence did not have a .500 record. They actually were 9-1, and the one game they lost was by 3 points. In my opinion the seeding process royally crapped on them.
Yes I think we all agree that Independence is a good football team but we all know how RPI is generated. When they play only 2 teams with winning records and opponents winning percentage is the largest part of the RPI, that’s what hurt them as far as seeding. I’m sure they banked on some teams having better records but that’s the reason they are the scariest 21 seed imaginable
That's what I said earlier. A team's seeding is not based on their record. It's based on the records of the teams they played, which they really can't control. I'm sure the powers that be tried to come up with an objective system. My question/problem is, does the system accurately seed the teams from best to worst, and reward home games to the best teams?
Play someone. I think they beat one team with a winning record.
Fully agree that Indy got crapped on by the seeding system as defined. They are also not the team that a high seed wants to draw in round 1. They have the talent to play with anyone in the state. Most of the games in round 1 will be blowouts with a few running clocks in the mix. This one will not be. It is the equivalent of a round 3, maybe 4 game and one very good team will go home early in 4A this year.
They made a big mistake when they chose the conference they're in. I'll send them a text message and tell them they need to move to a better conference immediately. Right now they're somewhat like Florida State was last season. Florida State won all their games, but coming from the ACC, they couldn't get enough respect to qualify for the National Championship.
Stop it. You know good and well he was referring to their non conference schedule.
Non Conference teams were 14-27. Some how teams like Hough, Catholic. Mallard Creek, Butler all figure out how to play one or two big matchups in the non conf schedule.
Why would any non conference team want to play Independence. If they beat Independence, they only beat a habitually low seeded team from a weak conference. Nothing to gain from that.
My bigger point is that HS football in Charlotte is usually at a higher level than the rest of the state. So that even a 5-5 or 6-4 Charlotte team often presents a challenge for a Triad team that may be 8-2 or 9-1. They play big boy football down there. And yes, you are right, the seeding process for the playoffs is whacky and not sure how they arrive at some of the seedings. Clearly, a team like Independence should be seeded higher.
A team that plays in a weaker conference but manages to secure a perfect record often gets a higher seed, while a team like Independence, which faced tougher competition and still came out with only one loss, is penalized. This seems counterintuitive and unfair, especially when considering that teams can falter in a given season despite having a strong history of performance.
I disagree, IMO Charlotte football has been down lately. I’m from Charlotte and still live in Charlotte. It’s not like it was when there was one or two teams we knew for sure would win it all from the beginning of the season. I’m not including Weddington in this, only Mecklenburg County. NC as a whole is better than some people give credit for but I feel like it’s a toss up for Championships in the higher classifications now and not just dominated by Charlotte schools.
I think if you are gonna say Charlotte football you have to include Weddington.
I think the transfer portal has contributed to this as much as anything. There was a day when East Forsyth and Grimsley couldn't compete with the better Charlotte teams. That's why, to me, and it's only my opinion, the playoffs have gotten more boring every year. Because of the constant feed from the transfer portal, it's the same three or four teams who are true contenders at the 4A level. Even before the season begins, you can pretty much predict the top 4A teams in the state.
I include Weddington when speaking for the 704 as a whole but I was just referring to Meck. Co.
That’s exactly what it is. Other areas have caught up and are benefiting from the portal. Also, there’s too many schools in the bigger areas that water down the talent. That’s because it was Page who was really good and not Grimsley. They’ve only been good for 5-6 years but there’s always been a team or two that would compete from the triad. I agree though, looking at the brackets now and from the beginning of the year you have Weddington, Hough and Grimsley. It’s a game of who can put together the best teams.
No, those are the top 3 for now. East Forsyth is good enough to knock one of them off but I have East Forsyth in the next tier with a few other teams. I don’t think East Forsyth defense is that good either.
Hell, Grimsley has to be the school you described when you said getting home field advantage with the RPI the last few years and then getting phantom calls at home. No other team fits the description because nobody else has benefited from getting a top 1 or 2 seed in the triad for 3A-4A the last 4 years except them. Everyone also knows about the calls at home that have benefited them against Weddington to win two years ago and both times they played Hough.
In the last 2 years (2022 and 2023) Grimsley has played 8 playoff games, 7 at home which they won, some by fairly close margins; and 1 on the road, which they lost. They are a very good team, but to some extent seeding has stacked the deck in their favor. Once again this year they are seeded Number 1, so they have no concerns about bus rides.
Which is why I said he has to be talking about them. They don’t have ANY big playoff wins on the road since becoming a state power the last 5 years. Went on the road last season and Weddington beat them by 17. They’ve also only won the spring championship we had during Covid.
Saw Weddington, Hough, Rolesville, Gibbons and East Forsyth all Live this year and I would have EF 5th in that list with Hough/Weddington a toss up at the top, maybe a slight lean to Weddington.
Grimsley's ability to capitalize on this advantage is a testament to their skill level, but it does raise questions about whether their seeding truly reflects their overall capabilities or if it is somewhat inflated due to favorable scheduling. It might be interesting to consider how they would perform against top-tier opponents in a neutral setting, where factors like crowd support and familiarity would be minimized.
