From the notebook…………Okay fasten your seatbelts. The biggest three weeks of the season are nearly here. Three district races could very well come down to the final week. Bowling Green travels to Brookhaven in week eleven, Winston is at Oak Hill and Central Private travels to Centreville that same week. But wait…..week ten has #1 Lamar making the trip to Mendenhall to take on Simpson in what could be another district deciding title game. What’s stopping these four scenarios from materializing? If Simpson slips up this week at Canton, Bowling Green somehow is on the losing end of what would be the biggest upset in school history should they lose to ASC this Friday night or should Brookhaven fall at Columbia in week ten. The Oak Hill/Winston game is set but the Patriots are the better team. All four squads are prohibitive favorites in those games but anything can happen.
Marshall can nail down the district 1AA title on Friday night at Indianola but the Colonels are playing well and Marshall could be in for a nail-biter. If the Patriots take care of business, North Delta will need a week eleven win over Kirk in Batesville to be district runners up and Indianola will more than likely qualify as a wildcard team.
In what most consider the weakest district in AA the Winston Patriots and Oak Hill Raiders will play in week eleven for the district 2AA crown. Winston will be favored in that matchup and Oak Hill would finish runners up and secure a playoff spot with the possibility of finishing with a 3-8 overall record.
The second weakest district is 6AA. No disrespect to the River Oaks Mustangs who are clearly one of the better teams in AA this season but Glenbrook is struggling, and Cenla and Prairie View have been out of the picture for some time.
How does district 5AA shake out at season’s end? Centreville’s game with Trinity this week will shed much light on whether the Tigers will make a serious run at another title. If the champs earn a home win over the Saints this Friday night I think they will finish on top in the district race but it won’t be easy. They’ll travel to Natchez to play Adams Christian next week before finishing at home against Central Private. All signs point to Central Private winning their second straight district title. The Rebels host a battered WCCA squad this Friday night and have an idle week before the Centreville game. I still think Centreville has yet to play their best football and with that in mind I have them edging Central Private in week eleven. A wildcard team will come from this district. Adams Christian should be the favorites but I'm going to tread against the current and predict Silliman will earn a south wildcard bid when all is said and done. The Wildcats host ACCS Friday night and if they play defense as they have since week three they’ll stand a good chance of finishing 6-4 overall and 2-2 in district play.
District 4AA has the makings of a gut wrenching final week for Brookhaven and Bowling Green. Brookhaven is on a serious roll and is one of the two best teams in AA football. Bowling Green has dropped two straight and seems to be fading a bit but all one has to do is look at one glaring statistic……..Bowling Green has won 3 of the last 4 games at Brookhaven including two wins last season, each by two points. Central Hinds will finish strong after a grueling schedule. The Cougars could finish at 7-4 overall and 2-2 in district play and qualify as a wildcard squad.
In what was earlier considered the toughest in all of AA football, district 3AA has turned into a two team race. Leake and Canton have faded leaving a week ten Lamar at Simpson game deciding who enters the playoffs with a number one seed. All won’t be lost for the Leake Rebels as they should qualify as a wildcard team. Caution to Lamar fans…….Mendenhall is a tough place to play.
I’ll admit that I’ve already filled out my playoff brackets but I’ll also admit that the chances are slim that they play out exactly as I see them.
This season there have been lots of conversations about the current playoff structure and whether it should be modified. What has fueled the topic is the reality that a 3-8 team will qualify for the playoffs as district runners up while better squads in tougher districts stay at home. The overwhelming conclusion has been that the power point system or some type of seeding be used for all teams to qualify with the exception of district champions. The issue will continue to grow as November nears.
Did you know that four of the top five rushers in AA football come from one district? District 5AA has Bobby Muse (1,555 yds) of Central Private, Zach Sinclair (1,107 yds) of Centreville, Brandon Sanders (1,000 yds) of Adams Christian and Tip McKenzie (914 yds) of WCCA.
Basketball season gets underway at the end of the month. The Southern Sports & Travel Top 5 polls are posted.
See ya somewhere…………
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Anonymous said...
What exactly do you have against District 2AA? Admitted there is probably not a potential AA State Champion but these teams have played some very good oponents. Winston is probably the best team in the division, but that will be decided on the last week of the season. Oak Hill is much improved over the past few weeks and will give there remaining opponents (Kirk, Marshall, and Winston) all they want in those games. Oak Hill has not been healthy all season, but they are getting some players back that are real producers for that team. Oak Hill may end up 3-8 and make the playoffs. But I believe they will finish with a flourish. Potentially finishing 6-5 or 5-6. The other point is that why does it matter if a 3-8 team makes the playoffs. Public schools have made the playoffs with similar records in the past. The schools did not draw up the divisons, nor did they make the schedules. The higher ups in the political MAIS made all of those decisions. So I'm sure this district along with the teams made up of 15-18 year old kids would like you to withdraw this obvious displeasure you have for them.
What exactly do you have against District 2AA? Admitted there is probably not a potential AA State Champion but these teams have played some very good oponents. Winston is probably the best team in the division, but that will be decided on the last week of the season. Oak Hill is much improved over the past few weeks and will give there remaining opponents (Kirk, Marshall, and Winston) all they want in those games. Oak Hill has not been healthy all season, but they are getting some players back that are real producers for that team. Oak Hill may end up 3-8 and make the playoffs. But I believe they will finish with a flourish. Potentially finishing 6-5 or 5-6. The other point is that why does it matter if a 3-8 team makes the playoffs. Public schools have made the playoffs with similar records in the past. The schools did not draw up the divisons, nor did they make the schedules. The higher ups in the political MAIS made all of those decisions. So I'm sure this district along with the teams made up of 15-18 year old kids would like you to withdraw this obvious displeasure you have for them.
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Darron Thomas said...
There is no displeasure for those kids, that's a big over-statement. This is an opinion article on a topic that didn't just surface this season. I would pose this question.....is it fair for teams that have higher power-points to be left out of the playoffs? No disrespect was intended towards any particular team. I respect your opinion.
There is no displeasure for those kids, that's a big over-statement. This is an opinion article on a topic that didn't just surface this season. I would pose this question.....is it fair for teams that have higher power-points to be left out of the playoffs? No disrespect was intended towards any particular team. I respect your opinion.
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Bret Rutland said...
I'm not sure it's fair to post a write up about the obvious. Comparatively speaking, that is the weakest district. I say that because the other districts, especially those in the south have a much more difficult strength of schedule and the records reflect it. Central Private, Brookhaven, Centreville, and Bowling Green all have extremely difficult schedules and still have managed to lose no more than three games. And the two teams with three losses (Bowling Green and Centreville) could have very easily won the games they lost, and more importantly are still in a position to make a lot of noise in the playoffs. I'm not saying that a team from district 2 will not do the same. But thus far, if you look from top to bottom in each district, they are the weekest district. It is nothing against the kids whatsoever, the the number of quality teams that are in the other districts. Imagine if you had a district with Lamar, Brookhaven, Simpson, Bowling Green, River Oaks, and Central Private all in the same district. Would anyone argue that this would be the best district? Now imagine a district with 6 teams that, going in to district play, had not won a game. How could you not say that was the weakest district?
I'm not sure it's fair to post a write up about the obvious. Comparatively speaking, that is the weakest district. I say that because the other districts, especially those in the south have a much more difficult strength of schedule and the records reflect it. Central Private, Brookhaven, Centreville, and Bowling Green all have extremely difficult schedules and still have managed to lose no more than three games. And the two teams with three losses (Bowling Green and Centreville) could have very easily won the games they lost, and more importantly are still in a position to make a lot of noise in the playoffs. I'm not saying that a team from district 2 will not do the same. But thus far, if you look from top to bottom in each district, they are the weekest district. It is nothing against the kids whatsoever, the the number of quality teams that are in the other districts. Imagine if you had a district with Lamar, Brookhaven, Simpson, Bowling Green, River Oaks, and Central Private all in the same district. Would anyone argue that this would be the best district? Now imagine a district with 6 teams that, going in to district play, had not won a game. How could you not say that was the weakest district?
Anonymous said...
If the MAIS wants to fix this problem, they need to realign and have only 4 districts in AA. There are 28 teams in AA. Have 4 districts made up of 7 teams in each. Then they can either take the top 4 in each district. Or they can take the top 3 in each district and then 2 wiildcards with the best power point ranking. Just a suggestion.
If the MAIS wants to fix this problem, they need to realign and have only 4 districts in AA. There are 28 teams in AA. Have 4 districts made up of 7 teams in each. Then they can either take the top 4 in each district. Or they can take the top 3 in each district and then 2 wiildcards with the best power point ranking. Just a suggestion.
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