Region Playoffs Just Not Doing It For Me

Everyone likes the playoffs. Yep, let’s decide it on the field. I don’t disagree with that. I do disagree with WHO is deciding it on the field though. The best teams should be playing. This Friday, region championships will be decided across the state as many regions will play their play-in games between subregions, where seeding will be decided and berths won. The BCS, this is certainly not. But in some cases, are the right teams playing in the “playoffs?”

Take Region 8-AA for example. North Oconee entered last Friday’s game with Elbert County with the South subregion title on the line. Elbert County won a thrilling game 6-0 and will now face a 6-3 Fannin County for the region title while a one-loss North Oconee will have to win a game in order to get into the playoffs…as a No.3 seed.

Take Region 8-AAA next. Johnson at 2-6 and West Hall at 3-5 have a better shot at making the playoffs and Walnut Grove at 1-7 has an equal an outside shot of making the playoffs as North Hall (4-4) does. That just isn’t right. North Hall is in trouble because those squads with the losing records are in a different subregion and can make the region playoffs without any outside help. And you know that if North Hall played those teams, the Trojans would roll.

My bottom line is that this subregion playoff business is just crazy. If there are too many teams for one region that you must break it down into sub-regions, DON’T: just create a new region. If that is going to mess up the playoffs, create a Class AAAAAA and move schools accordingly. I like the idea of the playoffs if the BEST teams are in the bracket. Otherwise what is the point? The BEST teams should be allowed to play it out on the field. You want sub-region playoffs, cherry-pick the best teams to be in the sub-region playoffs. That is what I would do.