Determining the Top Region

[Matthew328]

There was much discussion in the off-season about which region was the best..which way would you choose the best region?? Would you take the top 10 teams in each region or the top 50?? Or what about a combo of the top 10 and bottom 10?? You get the point...LOL
In my opinion if you rank teams from 1-10 in each region last year it would been this:
1. Region 2
2. Region 3
3. Region 4
4. Region 1

But if you woulda done the teams 1-25 it woulda been this:
1. Region 3
2. Region 2
3. Region 1
4. Region 4

For me I kinda don't even consider the worst teams in each region...I know I have heard the saying a chain is only as strong as its weakest link...but I think the worst team in Region 1 is about the same as the worst in Region 3..LOL When I rate the regions I pretty much only go by the top 10...but I can see someone rating the teams 1-25...

[Old Cardinal]

I see it a little different, Example: Gatesville two seasons ago, wins State Div. I. They won state because they had a very fast kid that would make a difference in a tight ball game. The fact that Gatesville won state from 3A that year does not elevate or deflate any OTHER team in Region III. For the matter it does not make any other team better or worst in any other Region. I really think it is ludicrous to say one Region is better than another. The Division I and Division II Champion could emerge out of any of the four Divisions. All have viable contenders. To try to compare the teams that did not participate very far in the playoff is silly because they have not played other folks in other Regions to make a really valid comparison between the Regions.

[Matthew328]

I agree Old_Card....ranking regions is totally an inexact science...it is all a matter of opinion...but that is what makes it fun...for instance my basis on regional rankings would be that I think the number 3 team in Region 2 last year (Forney) likely would have beaten the best in Region 3 last year (Giddings)...there is no way we can prove that...it is just my opinion..by the way that is just one example..it is all basically useless off-season convo...LOL But it is fun to compare and hear what others think...

[SintonFan]

Sadly enough, Matthew328, I don't disagree with your analysis. I do firmly believe that region 4 is on an upswing and hope that higher levels of competition can be maintained. Old Cardinal, you have some valid points.

[Big Tarp 74]

I fully agree!


Originally posted by Old Cardinal:
I see it a little different, Example: Gatesville two seasons ago, wins State Div. I. They won state because they had a very fast kid that would make a difference in a tight ball game. The fact that Gatesville won state from 3A that year does not elevate or deflate any OTHER team in Region III. For the matter it does not make any other team better or worst in any other Region. I really think it is ludicrous to say one Region is better than another. The Division I and Division II Champion could emerge out of any of the four Divisions. All have viable contenders. To try to compare the teams that did not participate very far in the playoff is silly because they have not played other folks in other Regions to make a really valid comparison between the Regions.

[Clyde12]

Excuse me! I'm not taking offense to the topic, but rather Old Cards remarks. For being a region 3 "expert", I would expect him to know better. When you say that Gatesville won state because of "one kid" you must be joking. Maybe you haven't been watching football in Bridge City until they make the playoffs. That would explain the 30+ year nap you have been taking. After all, Rip Van Wninkle only slept for 20 years. Look at the track record, in the pat 12 years, here are the records in State Championship games, Region 1 (3-2), Region 2 (5-6), Region 3 (5-2), and Region 4 (3-6). In the past 4 years, Region 2 has dominated (winning 5 of 8 state titles), but Region 3 has been 2-0 in Texas Bowls. As for your Gatesville comment, maybe you weren't paying attention or your team didn't advance far enought to get beat by them, but they had 2 first team All-State offensive players and 2 defensive players. Yes, Taurean was very good (you can watch him on Saturdays this fall for Tech, if they get cable in the swamps), but some of the players off of that team were very good. They pitched 5 shut outs, gave up 52 points in regular season, 95 overall (I don't remember Taurean doing all of that). Even without him, they would have been an awesome team. You must not have had the fortune of seeing them play. Yes, I'm calling you out! Back region 3 because I believe it is the strongest region in the state, but don't start to talk about a Gatesville team that you know nothing about. Oh I forget, your only playoff teams coincided with Steve Worster, so you must think all good 3A teams only have 1 player.

[j_dog]

Originally posted by Clyde12:
Excuse me! I'm not taking offense to the topic, but rather Old Cards remarks. .... Oh I forget, your only playoff teams coincided with Steve Worster, so you must think all good 3A teams only have 1 player.

Now that is not true. Bridge City also made the playoffs in 1969, the year after Worster graduated if I remember correctly! Right?

[sinton66]

Clyde, take a chill pill dude. Re-read the comment. He DIDN'T mean to imply it was ONLY because of ONE kid. He said that ONE kid could make a DIFFERENCE in a TIGHT game. BTW, they also made the semifinals this last season. http://bbs.3adownlow.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


[This message has been edited by sinton66 (edited August 03, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by sinton66 (edited August 03, 2002).]

[BH_146]

j_dog, you are very close about Steve Wooster. He graduated in the spring of 1967. So, it was 2 years after he had graduated. BC lost that year in the playoffs to Brenham who had a running back by the name of Roosevelt Leaks.

[vet93]

Clyde...I think that you missed the point. I don't think that old card was slandering Gatesville. He was making the point that just because a team wins state doesn't necessarily mean that the region that they come from is the strongest. I think that he was trying to say that it is impossible to accurately diagnose the comparible strength of the regions because the teams do not play each other routinely and football is often a game of matchups. Ex. Gatesville beat Wylie that year for the state championship. However, it is possible that had they played say Everman (who Wylie beat)they may have lost that game due to differences in the matchups on the field. That far up in the playoffs, sometimes it is the individual matchups of the teams that determines the outcome. I hope I am not putting too many words in Old Card's mouth. By the way, you are right, that Gatesville team was a very talented and deserving state champion.


Originally posted by Clyde12:
Excuse me! I'm not taking offense to the topic, but rather Old Cards remarks. For being a region 3 "expert", I would expect him to know better. When you say that Gatesville won state because of "one kid" you must be joking. Maybe you haven't been watching football in Bridge City until they make the playoffs. That would explain the 30+ year nap you have been taking. After all, Rip Van Wninkle only slept for 20 years. Look at the track record, in the pat 12 years, here are the records in State Championship games, Region 1 (3-2), Region 2 (5-6), Region 3 (5-2), and Region 4 (3-6). In the past 4 years, Region 2 has dominated (winning 5 of 8 state titles), but Region 3 has been 2-0 in Texas Bowls. As for your Gatesville comment, maybe you weren't paying attention or your team didn't advance far enought to get beat by them, but they had 2 first team All-State offensive players and 2 defensive players. Yes, Taurean was very good (you can watch him on Saturdays this fall for Tech, if they get cable in the swamps), but some of the players off of that team were very good. They pitched 5 shut outs, gave up 52 points in regular season, 95 overall (I don't remember Taurean doing all of that). Even without him, they would have been an awesome team. You must not have had the fortune of seeing them play. Yes, I'm calling you out! Back region 3 because I believe it is the strongest region in the state, but don't start to talk about a Gatesville team that you know nothing about. Oh I forget, your only playoff teams coincided with Steve Worster, so you must think all good 3A teams only have 1 player.

[sinton66]

Good points Old Cardinal and Vet93. I've often wished the brackets would alternate, north/south, then east/west the following year. Call me crazy, but I think all regions would benefit from the different competitions.

[Jacket2000]

Originally posted by BH_146:
j_dog, you are very close about Steve Wooster. He graduated in the spring of 1967. So, it was 2 years after he had graduated. BC lost that year in the playoffs to Brenham who had a running back by the name of Roosevelt Leaks.

Small correction. Roosevelt Leaks went to Jasper High School and graduated in '71.
J2K

[sinton66]

Jacket, I'm sure you're right, did Jasper have a playoff game with a San Antonio team back then? I somehow had his name connected to an SA team. Might even be I'm thinking of someone else entirely. Was he the one back then everybody was saying was gonna be the next Earl Campbell? The one I'm thinking of went on to play for UT, and was drafted into the pros by Baltimore(I think) and didn't play long in the pros.(showing my age and my fuzzy memory).

[Old Green]

I beg to differ with you with Jacket, But Rossevelt Leaks Did play for Brenham. Had the pleasure of him running over Cuero two years in a row In regular season games. He was the strongest and biggest running back I ever saw. That was in 69 and 70.

[This message has been edited by Old Green (edited August 03, 2002).]

[sinton66]

Old Green, do you remember who the star back was for the 1971 state champion SA Lee Rebels? That's the guy I was thinking about.
Thought it was Leaks, but geez, it WAS 30+ years ago. Maybe he moved to SA for the '71 season?

[Old Cardinal]

Thank you Vet 93, of course I was not slandering the Gatesville team that was Division I State Champion...I was just making a point that a good speedster can make a difference in a tight ballgame. Thank you for defending me against the onslaught of ole Clyde. He just must have forgotten his medicene this morning.

[Old Green]

Sinton66 The star Player for SA Lee was Tommy Kramer and I can't remember his Star Reciever. They both went on to play pro football after College.

[Old Green]

Sinton66 just remembered .The star reciever for SA Lee that year was Richard Osborne.

[Jacket2000]

Originally posted by Old Green:
I beg to differ with you with Jacket, But Rossevelt Leaks Did play for Brenham. Had the pleasure of him running over Cuero two years in a row In regular season games. He was the strongest and biggest running back I ever saw. That was in 69 and 70.

[This message has been edited by Old Green (edited August 03, 2002).]

Ahh, you are correct. I got the teams mixed up. My dad played for the '70 Ennis team that beat Brenham 33-17 in the first round of the playoffs, then was upset by Cuero in the semis. They played Jasper in between the two.
J2K

[This message has been edited by Jacket2000 (edited August 03, 2002).]

[sinton66]

I must be gettin' old, I remember listening to a game in '71 while living in SA, and I sure thought Leaks was playing in that game. May well have been Brenham playing somebody in SA. Geez, this was buried under tons of cobwebs! (and its the SA Lee Volunteers, not the Rebels.)

[This message has been edited by sinton66 (edited August 03, 2002).]

[Old Green]

Hey Jacket. What ever happened to Ennis' Sidney Fields. He was a hell of a running back. Remember him getting his bell rung a couple of times in that semi-final game.

[BH_146]

J2K, along the line of the discussion of Leaks, Jasper did have an allstate player playing for them at that time. It was Ronnie Pickle who was their quarterback and lead them to the playoffs in 1970. Jasper was state ranked when Bridge City defeated them in '69 for the district title. It is now Coach Pickle and I believe he was in charge of the offense for Jasper last year. I don't know about this year.

[Jacket2000]

Originally posted by Old Green:
Hey Jacket. What ever happened to Ennis' Sidney Fields. He was a hell of a running back. Remember him getting his bell rung a couple of times in that semi-final game.
He was signed by A&M, and set all kindsa freshman rushing records. But, before the end of his freshman year, he was caught breaking into the lockers and stealing his teammates' belongings. A habit that he began in HS from what I understand. He is now serving a 40 year prison sentence, along with another awesome running back from Ennis Russell Robinson, for murder. It was drug related, from what I understand. Sad, isnt it?
J2K

[Old Green]

That's sad J2K. Hell of a player. Didn't have his head on straight.

[Old Green]

Sinton66. I went through 32 old issues of DCTF to find the answer to your 1971 Final question and low and behold someone answered it on another Board.It was Ronnie Littleton of Wichita Falls who was running back. I'm tired Now after all that reading. http://bbs.3adownlow.com/ubb/smile.gif

[sinton66]

Old Green, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you thru all that, but I certainly appreciate your effort! Turns out the game I remembered listening to had to have been the playoff game between Brenham and Gregory-Portland in '71.(makes sense that I woulda tuned in for a San Patricio county team) Fridaynightheros on txpreps was a big help on that. Again, I'm sorry, but THANK YOU very much for your efforts.

[This message has been edited by sinton66 (edited August 03, 2002).]

[Old Green]

Just joking Sinton66. I enjoyed going thru the old mags.

[j_dog]

Originally posted by BH_146:
J2K, along the line of the discussion of Leaks, Jasper did have an allstate player playing for them at that time. It was Ronnie Pickle who was their quarterback and lead them to the playoffs in 1970. Jasper was state ranked when Bridge City defeated them in '69 for the district title. It is now Coach Pickle and I believe he was in charge of the offense for Jasper last year. I don't know about this year.

Yes, Ronnie made allstate in 1970, as a defensive back. Don't know that he made it in '69. In '70 Jasper also had 3 others make 1st team allstate if I remember correctly, Jesse Borner on the line (one way and second team the other), Mike Ratcliff as linebacker, and Johnny Limbrick as running back.