Games to watch 10/10

[usfhawk]

1.) Ogden @ Fort Dodge St. Edmond

- Bigtime D7 matchup. This game more than likely will decide the district title. Can FDSE shut down class 1A's leading rusher? I think so.

- I'm taking FDSE by 14

2.) South Winn @ Dike New Hartford

- Could be the deciding game in D4. South Winn should have the advantage here, but they are on the road.

- I'm taking South Winn by 14+

3.) IKM Manning @ Manson NW Webster

- Good non district matchup against traditionally solid programs. IKM Manning will be out to make a statement.

- I'm taking IKM by 7

4.) Western Christian @ Hinton

- This game will decide 2nd place in D2. Should be a good one. Both teams have similar athletes.

- I'm taking Hinton in a close one. >7
This post was edited on 10/6 10:56 AM by usfhawk

This post was edited on 10/8 11:47 AM by usfhawk

 

[BlameIt]

IKM could win by 4+ scores and it would still not show me they are a top 10 team.

They would barely be top 10 if we took the Eastern IA districts and made a list.

 

[usfhawk]

Eastern Iowa looks quite a bit better than the west this year.

The first two rounds of the playoffs will be interesting in the east.

Quarterfinal predictions (complete guesses):

West Branch/Regina

South Winn/St. Ansgar

West Lyon/Fort Dodge St. Edmond

IKM Manning/Panorama

This post was edited on 10/8 11:47 AM by usfhawk

 

[Bringin the Heat]

No way that Panorama makes the quarters. D7 will sweep D8 if they are matched up in the first round.

 

[Makeweight35]

There are not sister districts anymore so saying that one district will sweep another is probably not a correct prediction.

 

[usfhawk]

Originally posted by Bringin the Heat:
No way that Panorama makes the quarters. D7 will sweep D8 if they are matched up in the first round.

Maybe not but there are not to many top tier teams in this region.

Other teams that could still be alive in this geographic region:

Ogden (if they dont play fort dodge in round 2)
South Central Calhoun
Avoca
Fort Dodge St. Edmond if they go south

 

[BlameIt]

Originally posted by usfhawk:
Eastern Iowa looks quite a bit better than the west this year.

The first two rounds of the playoffs will be interesting in the east.

Quarterfinal predictions (complete guesses):

West Branch/Regina

2 of the 3 teams in 1A having to play a quarterfinal game shows the IHSAA doesn't really care about getting the best teams to the Dome after all.

It is what it is.
To be the best you have to beat the best.

 

[usfhawk]

Originally posted by BlameIt:

Originally posted by usfhawk:
Eastern Iowa looks quite a bit better than the west this year.

The first two rounds of the playoffs will be interesting in the east.

Quarterfinal predictions (complete guesses):

West Branch/Regina

2 of the 3 teams in 1A having to play a quarterfinal game shows the IHSAA doesn't really care about getting the best teams to the Dome after all.

It is what it is.
To be the best you have to beat the best.

If they follow their new geographical format. How do they not play in the quarters?

 

[Pinehawk]

Regina plays at West Marshall this week. I'm shocked by the season that West Marshall is having. They have yet to win a game this year. Last year (in Class 2A) they were 9-1 at one point and there only loss was in the playoffs at the hands of the team that would go on to win the 2A Championship (Carroll Kuemper).
I recall thinking they would be a very tough division foe, but that certainly hasn't turned out to be the case.
I'd heard they lost their star running back. But, I'm surprised a former 2A playoff team could fall that far, that fast.

 

[DarkThunder#61]

Originally posted by usfhawk:

Originally posted by BlameIt:

Originally posted by usfhawk:
Eastern Iowa looks quite a bit better than the west this year.

The first two rounds of the playoffs will be interesting in the east.

Quarterfinal predictions (complete guesses):

West Branch/Regina

2 of the 3 teams in 1A having to play a quarterfinal game shows the IHSAA doesn't really care about getting the best teams to the Dome after all.

It is what it is.
To be the best you have to beat the best.

If they follow their new geographical format. How do they not play in the quarters?

I think with the new format, there is a little more leeway for these kind of situations where let's say West Branch is #2 and Regina is #1 and perhaps there are other teams in the Qtrs within the geographical limit that both could play, then you may see a split where these two could possibly meet in the Dome. (They've gotten Dowling and Valley in the semies before)

But based on who is leading the packs so far this year, it's very likely they'll be meeting before the semies and that's just the way it's always been. Not to mention it wouldn't make sense for any of those teams to travel much greater distances when Regina and West Branch are so close.

Then again, there is a possible loop-hole if BlameIt is willing to work his magic with the Board.

According to MapQuest, Calmar is 123 miles from Iowa City going on I-380. In order for Regina and West Branch to avoid meeting in the Qtrs, they would also need Dike-New Hartford to reach the 3rd round as they're well within the 125-mile requirement for both schools. This way West Branch plays D-NH and #1 Regina gets the #2 ranked team in the state in South Winn and if the Regals and Bears win, they can have their semifinal showdown.

Of course....that all depends on if the Board would even entertain having those teams travel greater distances.

 

[DarkThunder#61]

Originally posted by Pinehawk:
Regina plays at West Marshall this week. I'm shocked by the season that West Marshall is having. They have yet to win a game this year. Last year (in Class 2A) they were 9-1 at one point and there only loss was in the playoffs at the hands of the team that would go on to win the 2A Championship (Carroll Kuemper).
I recall thinking they would be a very tough division foe, but that certainly hasn't turned out to be the case.
I'd heard they lost their star running back. But, I'm surprised a former 2A playoff team could fall that far, that fast.

They didn't just lose their star running back, they lost a ton of their starters from last year. It would also appear that the younger groups now moving into varsity action aren't as strong as they had been in recent years.

 

[BlameIt]

Originally posted by DarkThunder#61:

Originally posted by usfhawk:

Originally posted by BlameIt:

Originally posted by usfhawk:
Eastern Iowa looks quite a bit better than the west this year.

The first two rounds of the playoffs will be interesting in the east.

Quarterfinal predictions (complete guesses):

West Branch/Regina

2 of the 3 teams in 1A having to play a quarterfinal game shows the IHSAA doesn't really care about getting the best teams to the Dome after all.

It is what it is.
To be the best you have to beat the best.

If they follow their new geographical format. How do they not play in the quarters?

(They've gotten Dowling and Valley in the semies before)

Dowling and Valley are 8 miles closer to one another than WB and Regina.

Seems like their is collusion in 4A that 1A doesnt have.

 

[usfhawk]

Here is a map including the locations of the top 15 according to bcmoore.

Outside of North Cedar and maybe Bellevue, Regina/West Branch are a good distance from the others. Unless North Cedar is still alive in the quarters West Branch and Regina should play. The way the teams are located gives the state very few options to split them. These teams on here are not set in stone, but I would guess that all 8 quarterfinal teams are shown.

This post was edited on 10/8 11:11 AM by usfhawk

 

[hawks127]

Originally posted by usfhawk:
1.) Ogden @ Fort Dodge St. Edmund

- Bigtime D7 matchup. This game more than likely will decide the district title. Can FDSE shut down class 1A's leading rusher? I think so.

- I'm taking FDSE by 14

2.) South Winn @ Dike New Hartford

- Could be the deciding game in D4. South Winn should have the advantage here, but they are on the road.

- I'm taking South Winn by 14+

3.) IKM Manning @ Manson NW Webster

- Good non district matchup against traditionally solid programs. IKM Manning will be out to make a statement.

- I'm taking IKM by 7

4.) Western Christian @ Hinton

- This game will decide 2nd place in D2. Should be a good one. Both teams have similar athletes.

- I'm taking Hinton in a close one. >7
This post was edited on 10/6 10:56 AM by usfhawk

Wait, who is St. Edmund?

 

[nwmsbearcat]

The 125 miles limit is only in effect for 8-man through 3A and only for the 1st Round of the playoffs.

After that according to the playoff manual, the 2nd Round will be created based on the following:


"Reasonable attempts will be made to find non-district playoff opponents for 2nd round games, but district match ups
could reoccur if an opponent cannot be found within a reasonable distance.
The Board of Control will determine the pairings based on geographic location of all remaining schools."

For the Quarterfinals:


"The Board of Control will determine the pairings based on geographic location of the remaining qualifying schools
and district finish."

So it seems to me that the IHSAA and the Board of Control are leaving themselves quite a bit of room to adjust pairings just about any way they deem appropriate. This appears to take into account not only geography but also district finish and by not having a pre-set bracket, they could do just about anything they wanted for the 2nd Round (except maybe pairing up two #1 seeds) and for Quarterfinals.

It should be interesting because as I've already stated I believe there is more flexibility with doing it this way than how brackets have been set up in the past. So there is at least a chance that the 2 best teams from a certain part of the state could end up in the semis rather than facing each other earlier in the playoffs due entirely to geography.