Tournament draw Div 3 and Div 4

[trojandave]

Jimmy the Greek: If Portsmouth beat Mifflin this year, I would not consider it a quality win....and we're D3 like Piketon..... having Brookhaven, Beechcroft, and Northland all in the North division of the City League makes for a very tough schedule, but Mifflin is still not a good team this year........

And I have been to Mifflin HS watching the Trojans play there twice....in 1980 and 2001........we had good teams both times and lost........but there were hardly any home fans at the game.......the atmosphere was not intimidating......the Punchers were the problem instead.......in both of those years we went there Mifflin had good teams.......they beat us 49-42 in 1980 and 96-77 in 2001........

Like I said above, I respect Coach Lisath for scheduling this game.......I don't see any other SE district school willing to go into a City League gym for a game........I think the real benefit for Piketon in playing this game is that they most likely won't see a more athletic team in the tournament, not even Portsmouth for that matter.

That's why I always liked Portsmouth playing Columbus City League or Dayton City League teams, because it gave us a much different look than what SE Ohio has to offer. Some people in this district think their team is fast and quick.......play one of those teams.........you'll get a dose or what real athleticism is like........I remember McClain several years ago played Linden McKinley in the regionals......Linden had Sam Payne and Shaun Gunnell(Shawnee State).......they ran McClain off the floor.....quick, athletic, and brutally tough on the boards........the Tigers had not seen that type of team on their schedule all year, certainly no one in the SCOL.......

Two things are a constant when you play a City League team.......they are athletic and they crash the boards......they are fearless about mixing it up........they aggressively go after everything on the glass.......and even if you box out, you may not get the rebound........now at times the play can get sloppy with turnovers and bad shots, but there's an absolute beauty to watching those kids play. I love to watch City League teams........some of the plays you see watching one of those games you would never see in our district.

I'm trying to get Coach Shoemaker and our AD to get a Columbus school back on the schedule........it's just one game, and I think over the course of a season it would help the Trojans........but I would like to see us play one of the better teams of the City League.......not one of the bottom dwellers.

But also like I said above, when this game was scheduled, Mifflin was a better team........they have fallen quite a bit since then which wasn't anticipated when the two schools agreed to play. Considering the Punchers history, this is a rare down year for them. Mifflin has been to the Final 4 on a couple of occasions.

[JIMMY THE GREEK]

[u][quote="trojandave"]Jimmy the Greek: If Portsmouth beat Mifflin this year, I would not consider it a quality win....and we're D3 like Piketon..... having Brookhaven, Beechcroft, and Northland all in the North division of the City League makes for a very tough schedule, but Mifflin is still not a good team this year........

And I have been to Mifflin HS watching the Trojans play there twice....in 1980 and 2001........we had good teams both times and lost........but there were hardly any home fans at the game.......the atmosphere was not intimidating......the Punchers were the problem instead.......in both of those years we went there Mifflin had good teams.......they beat us 49-42 in 1980 and 96-77 in 2001.......
.[/u]trojandave, you are missing my point......read between the lines.....Portsmouth kids are not Piketon kids....what Portsmouth kids are use to.....a lot of Southern Ohio Teams are not....so with that; going into a Columbus City League School (in which Piketon has NEVER been) is quite intimidating! Besides that, Mifflin had a nice crowd that night, the music was loud, and the atmosphere was different (like I said you had to be there), I do understand it wasn't the usual Mifflin Team, but they were quick. So maybe to your Trojans it wouldn't be a quality win...but to Piketon and the fans that made the trip it was impressive! My last post on the subject! Just ask your Portsmouth buddies Coach Lisath, and Coach Stanley, I'm sure they would agree.

[coop]

For Piketon, Waverly is more of a quality win that Mifflin. Waverly is D-2, and just because you go to Columbus and play a team that has "Columbus" in front of their name, it is NOT a quality win if they are a bad team. Sorry.

According to this: http://www.columbuscityleague.com/Sport ... dings.html Mifflin is 1-10 (1-7 CCL). So beating a 1-10 team is a "quality" win? Come on now.....

You should be harping on that Waverly win.....NOT the Mifflin.

[sparky]

a lot of apples and organges comparisons and a lot of what ifs. it will all work out on the floor. if you are going to advance in the tournament you are going to have to beat a good team sometime. upsets happen every year and they will happen again this year. it seems to me strength of schedule is seldom considered. a win against adams county christian is better than a loss to the boston celtics. i didn't make the rules but i understand them.

[Ironman92]

^^^^^sparky knows more than most!

[hook em horns]

it seems to me strength of schedule is seldom considered. a win against adams county christian is better than a loss to the boston celtics. i didn't make the rules but i understand them.

I don't want to take anything away from North Adams as they have a great program with a lot of success under Dave Young but it seems that is there philosophy as well which may have assisted in a higher seed typically and an easier Sectional draw which results in more trips to the Convo. No, there is nothing wrong with that as it has obviously worked but it would be nice to see them schedule a couple of challenging non-conference games annually as they are fun to watch but not against Williamsburg or Whiteoak in a non-league game.

[Jeff Lisath]

jimmy the greek, although I appreciate your enthusiasm, give it a break! It doesnt matter who is better than who, or what seed any team gets. Tournament Time you throw records out the window, you forget who played who and you start over, the only difference is winners keep playing and loser's go home. This will be one the toughest Sectional that I can ever recall. No team will have it easy, regardless of seed.
As for Mifflin, our kids were not the least intimidated, we played better and more athletic teams during the summer and pre-season. Don't try to speak up for us, we are concentrating on our next game vs. Paint Valley, the tournament draw is always tricky. Just let the chips fall where they may.

[Ironman92]

I don't see how playing Whiteoak or Williamsburg in a non-league helps North Adams get a higher seed. If any set of coaches gets their way in the Waverly sectional it is the SVC coaches. Every year you can just about shake your head in amazement of how the sectional SEEMS to lay out for the SVC......but fizzles out in the districts.


Wasn't it 2 straight years the higher seeded North Adams team was in a sectional final facing a perceived hotter and better Zane Trace team....a few years back it was a 16-5 ZT team I think......and then onto the district to face a "better" 3 loss Fed Hock team.

[hook em horns]

Good point Ironman, my comments don't have much merit as North Adams has won its share of tournament games regardless of seeds and opponents.

In years such as this, I would have liked to seen them schedule a Wilmington or Mason County or a better Cincinnati or Columbus school. As TrojanDave pointed out in a previous post, it gives them a different look than what they are used to in the SHL or Southeast District. Its just my two cents worth from the cheap seats.

[sparky]

the weather and the date of make up games will definitely affect the tournament seeding. if you miss a couple of wins before the draw it can really hurt your seeding. it is all about the wins, however, playing some quality non league games helps you more in making a good tournament run. usually it boils down to talent, bad teams may get to the districts at athens but they never get out.

[coop]

Valley wouldn't beat the top 3 teams in the SVC in a best of 3 series. I saw Westfall play my LE Braves tough and Piketon is just flat out better. Zt is no slouch either.

I can not wait for the SOC 2 and the SVC to match up in the sectionals...

[Bozo]

Ironman,
ZT ended 14-8 that year if I remember right and got beat by NA in the sectional. It was when Hitchens was a frosh and Kellough's last year. I believe that was 2004-2005 season. That is the best ZT record since the 2000-2001 season.

[Bozo]

Zane Trace moves to 10-4 on the season with a 39-28 win over Unioto on Saturday night.

Unioto drops to 1-12.

[Ironman92]

bozo....I'm probably wrong.......and I recall the 13-7 team that was hot late and North Adams defeated.......but I thought the year before...or after they were 15-6 when they faced North Adams and NA won by about 10.