SWC75
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I’ve commented in my “Playoffs! Series that I think things could be organized a bit better than they are. I decided to take a look at what my fantasy playoffs might look like for fun.
HIGH SCHOOL
Here I see the problem as too many divisions. They used to have two designations: Large School and Small school, and the Post Standard/Syracuse.com still ranks them that way. Then they came up with a four, then five division system that produced all kinds of inequities because some sections didn’t have many schools that fit the designations, which are based on enrollment:
http://www.roadtosyracuse.com/reference/football_classes_2015.pdf
The result is that Tuckahoe, who comes from Section 1, which has only two Class D teams, won the section and made it to the state finals with a 3-7 record. Additionally, the designations ignore the traditional football strength of these school’s programs under the assumption that if you have more students you’ll have a better team. CBA started out in Class C based on enrollment and has to be promoted from class to class as they dominated each one until they final were put in Class AA, the highest classification, where they won the state title in 2004 and have competed for it ever since. In addition traditional football rivalries have been broken up because the schools are in different divisions. And those divisions are variable. A lot of schools exist on the ‘border’ of multiple divisions and constantly switch back and forth due to minor enrollment variations. When Mike Hart was at Onondaga they won the state Class D title, then the Class C title, then the Class D title again. Looking at the margins of victory for those season, they had an easier time in Class C. Cazenovia, Section 3’s dominant Class B team, moved down to Class one year and couldn’t win the section. They are back in Class B, going for the title on Sunday. In their opening game they beat Amsterdam, a Class A semi-finailst, 47-0. Maine Endwell won the 2011 Class A title, then three straight Class B titles before moving back to Class A and losing in this year’s playoffs. Chenango Forks, who has won two Class B state titles, is going for their third straight Class C title. Their one loss this year was 21-28 to Maine Endwell, now a Class A team.
It all indicates that the differences between the classes are small- probably too small. What might the match=ups have looked like if we had just big school and small school divisions? Cazenovia was referred to this week as “the State’s #1 small school”. They are the #1 ranked team in Class B, so that would mean that Classes B, C and D are the “small schools” and Class A and AA are the “large schools””, (which is just the way the Post Standard lists them.
Here is what the sectional playoffs might have looked like. I’ll put 8 teams in the Large School playoff and 16 in the Small School playoffs. I’ll just list the teams according to their records.
Section 3
LARGE SCHOOL
Christian Brothers Academy 6-1
East Syracuse-Minoa 6-1
Liverpool 6-1
Utica Proctor 6-1
Whitesboro 6-1
plus
Baldwinsville 5-2
Cicero-North Syracuse 5-2
Indiana River 5-2
or
Jamesville-Dewitt 5-2
SMALL SCHOOL
Cazenovia 7-0
Canastota 6-1
General Brown 6-1
Homer 6-1
Thousand Islands 6-1
Utica Notre Dame 6-1
Chittenango 5-2
Herkimer 5-2
Holland Patent 5-2
Mexico 5-2
Onondaga 5-2
Sandy Creek 5-2
Skaneateles 5-2
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 5-2
West Canada Valley 5-2
Westhill 5-2
The States
(With some guesswork as to who would have won each section.)
LARGE SCHOOL
Section 1: New Rochelle 10-0
Section 9: Cornwall 9-1
Section 2: Saratoga Springs 10-0
Sections 7-10: none as they don’t have schools that large so Saratoga Springs gets a bye.
Section 3 Liverpool 9-1
Section 4 Maine-Endwell 10-0
Section 5 Aquinas 10-0
Section 6 Buffalo Southport 9-1
SMALL SCHOOL
Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 7-0
Section 9 Marlboro 9-0
Section 2 Schuylerville 10-0
Sections 7-10 Franklin Academy 10-0
Section 3 Cazenovia 10-0
Section 4 Chenango Forks 9-1
Section 5 Batavia 10-0
Section 6 Cheektowaga 10-0
HIGH SCHOOL
Here I see the problem as too many divisions. They used to have two designations: Large School and Small school, and the Post Standard/Syracuse.com still ranks them that way. Then they came up with a four, then five division system that produced all kinds of inequities because some sections didn’t have many schools that fit the designations, which are based on enrollment:
http://www.roadtosyracuse.com/reference/football_classes_2015.pdf
The result is that Tuckahoe, who comes from Section 1, which has only two Class D teams, won the section and made it to the state finals with a 3-7 record. Additionally, the designations ignore the traditional football strength of these school’s programs under the assumption that if you have more students you’ll have a better team. CBA started out in Class C based on enrollment and has to be promoted from class to class as they dominated each one until they final were put in Class AA, the highest classification, where they won the state title in 2004 and have competed for it ever since. In addition traditional football rivalries have been broken up because the schools are in different divisions. And those divisions are variable. A lot of schools exist on the ‘border’ of multiple divisions and constantly switch back and forth due to minor enrollment variations. When Mike Hart was at Onondaga they won the state Class D title, then the Class C title, then the Class D title again. Looking at the margins of victory for those season, they had an easier time in Class C. Cazenovia, Section 3’s dominant Class B team, moved down to Class one year and couldn’t win the section. They are back in Class B, going for the title on Sunday. In their opening game they beat Amsterdam, a Class A semi-finailst, 47-0. Maine Endwell won the 2011 Class A title, then three straight Class B titles before moving back to Class A and losing in this year’s playoffs. Chenango Forks, who has won two Class B state titles, is going for their third straight Class C title. Their one loss this year was 21-28 to Maine Endwell, now a Class A team.
It all indicates that the differences between the classes are small- probably too small. What might the match=ups have looked like if we had just big school and small school divisions? Cazenovia was referred to this week as “the State’s #1 small school”. They are the #1 ranked team in Class B, so that would mean that Classes B, C and D are the “small schools” and Class A and AA are the “large schools””, (which is just the way the Post Standard lists them.
Here is what the sectional playoffs might have looked like. I’ll put 8 teams in the Large School playoff and 16 in the Small School playoffs. I’ll just list the teams according to their records.
Section 3
LARGE SCHOOL
Christian Brothers Academy 6-1
East Syracuse-Minoa 6-1
Liverpool 6-1
Utica Proctor 6-1
Whitesboro 6-1
plus
Baldwinsville 5-2
Cicero-North Syracuse 5-2
Indiana River 5-2
or
Jamesville-Dewitt 5-2
SMALL SCHOOL
Cazenovia 7-0
Canastota 6-1
General Brown 6-1
Homer 6-1
Thousand Islands 6-1
Utica Notre Dame 6-1
Chittenango 5-2
Herkimer 5-2
Holland Patent 5-2
Mexico 5-2
Onondaga 5-2
Sandy Creek 5-2
Skaneateles 5-2
Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 5-2
West Canada Valley 5-2
Westhill 5-2
The States
(With some guesswork as to who would have won each section.)
LARGE SCHOOL
Section 1: New Rochelle 10-0
Section 9: Cornwall 9-1
Section 2: Saratoga Springs 10-0
Sections 7-10: none as they don’t have schools that large so Saratoga Springs gets a bye.
Section 3 Liverpool 9-1
Section 4 Maine-Endwell 10-0
Section 5 Aquinas 10-0
Section 6 Buffalo Southport 9-1
SMALL SCHOOL
Section 1 Dobbs Ferry 7-0
Section 9 Marlboro 9-0
Section 2 Schuylerville 10-0
Sections 7-10 Franklin Academy 10-0
Section 3 Cazenovia 10-0
Section 4 Chenango Forks 9-1
Section 5 Batavia 10-0
Section 6 Cheektowaga 10-0
