Look, let me start this out by saying that you folks in Burnet have an amazing football team that barring some unforeseen miracle will probably win state this year. Having said that, there are some who absolutely feel that the Burnet squad could compete at the class 5A level. No you couldn't. I'm not saying that smaller schools cannot win vs. larger schools; God knows it happens all the time. I'm saying that when you get to the 4A and 5A level, it is an entirely different "ballgame". In the upper echelon 4A and 5A schools, every kid on the team is an athlete. They have more kids to choose from, and thus produce exceptional teams through a process of elimination. Stepping up one classification to play games, you really don't see that drastic of a difference (IE 1A vs. 2A, 3A vs. 4A). But, and I mean absolutely no disrespect by this, and I'm just using Burnet as an example, if the Burnet Bulldogs stepped onto the field against the Lufkin Panthers or the Longview Lobos, they would get pulverized! It's only a matter of having a larger and more diversified talent pool to choose from. That's why I disagree with most of the ranking on that "statewide, all classifications" site. At #88, I still don't think Gilmer could beat most of the 5A teams ranked below them.
I'm just putting out an opinion here, and I honestly am not putting down Burnet or anyone else's program. I wish the best of luck to all 3A teams, because 3A is truly the only class that I love!!!!