oldschool2

I would think that it would be difficult to go into a week of practice/preparation and then after kickoff NOT try to win. I understand that it may be a better option in the playoffs but I'm sure it doesn't sit well with anyone to not give it their all to win. Don't know. I think this might be a situation where "if we happen to lose, it's not the end of the world" but I think business as usual is what should happen.

University of Alabama

Better late than never...and yes it will make them better.

If I could only go back to some arguments about this very thing.. oh well. Congrats WOS. This is more than deserved.

Excuse me for thinking that "it does not matter if they lost their QB or not" was an implication of losing one kid didn't make a big difference. You're right, though. Hardin seems to historically be competing in a class that's one division higher than their talent level. I don't know if this year would've been any better, however. They would've just ended up in New Waverly's district. Newton, Corrigan, Hemphill would probably all beat Hardin. It would have been a more competitive district for them but also would take one preseason win off the schedule (New Waverly) and still possibly end up 4th. Maybe 3rd...who knows. You're also right about Evadale. Always competitive locally (football) but that's about it. Exception being when they have a really good group come through. You should also know that Evadale also never plays anybody any good in the preseason. Maybe that's the answer. Just win games no matter who you play and keep your job as long as you want. I've always said that building confidence in the preseason is more important than playing "difficult" games in order to prepare. Next year will really tell the tale of Haynes's influence during district after they graduate their RB. I also think that KV, OF, and Ana will likely be a little improved next year. We'll see.

Newton, Jasper, Northshore

You may want to check his coaching record prior to coming to Hardin. Pretty sure he also didn't have his QB the year they went 0-10. You can say what you want...but the kids you have and the schedule you have can/will make bad coaches look good or good coaches look bad. It literally happens every year. I've said it before and stand by it.. Haynes is a master schedule maker.

Would Hardin be sitting in the same situation if they had lost their RB? Think about that for a second..if you're implying that one kid doesn't make that much difference.

Then everyone would be griping that Westlake and Lake Travis have "home field advantage" when they make it to the title game.

What I mean is .. even if they had a meeting one of the two wouldn’t agree no matter what was decided. One would want AT&T and the other would want NRG. So...what...meet in the middle? It’s dumb to not have all SC games at same venue. In week one of every season a vast majority of the towns in Texas no they’d have to travel if their boys make it. Nobody cares. This is nothing more than an excuse that happens beforehand.

How is it going to be "their own terms"?

For many years Dallas area schools were winning state championships in Houston. It also happens the other way around. Anyone who ignores statistics is either crazy or willfully ignorant. [Hidden Content]

I know that... I was replying to someone who said: "Back when 10-0 9-1 or 8-2 teams only got in playoffs". And I misread what he said about the neutral sites.. I thought he was implying something about the team with the best record having something to do with location. My fault. You know.. in UIL sports other than football overall record does impact the state tourney seeding. So don't act like it was such an insane thought that I had..even though I know that's not what was meant. Of course.

It will answer more than part of the question.

Can't do that. Do that and high school football will turn into BCS college football. In the sense that there will no longer be competitive preseason games in fear of having a loss or more on the overall record. Don't get me started on THAT.. lol. The Texas state championship games need to continue to be played at the best venue in the state. Right now Cowboys Stadium is the best. Besides, there is no statistical evidence to show that it matters..other than maybe convenience.

I personally think that went they sent 4 teams to the state playoffs it completely watered it down. Even though sometimes 4 beats 1... It doesn't happen often enough to justify the more I think about it. I've said before that it does but I'm starting to think differently about that. 3 was close to watered down but much better even though the number 1 seeds had a bye. I'd be willing to bet that coaches/teams would rather have a light week of practice and heal or prevent injuries than to likely play a game that's going to end up being an embarrassment. Or maybe not..who knows. Perhaps that's the best chance to get the backups in the game in a "playoff" situation. There has been a team go 0-10 (Houston Scarborough) and make the playoffs...think about that. I know that overall records should have zero bearing on postseason but they didn't even win a district game. The UIL should be ashamed of that. I don't know the answer but playing more than one game in a week is not a good idea. I think you would see an increase in injuries...even high school kids need to rest their bodies after a game as physical as football. Even during a regular week of practice the players usually don't go full contact the last couple of practices before a game. I joke about it but I think it's safe to say that at least 4 will be (should be) the max. Won't be able to keep adding because in a high school football season you can only play a certain number of games.

Too much money involved now.

The problem with that is that you get 3 and 4 seeds winning their first-round games every year. As much as I hate to say it..that kind of justifies it a little bit. Even if it doesn't always happen. There are some districts in the state that are loaded compared to other districts and there are some districts that are garbage compared to other districts..just the nature of it.

SA takes this one.. no problem.

Unbelievable that this game came down to what it is. My gut is telling me PNG wins but every year this seems to be a game where nothing that happened during the season matters.

I've said several times that I'm very happy for the kids and community at Hardin that they have more Ws in the column than Ls. That's fun. But...that doesn't mean that they are a good team it just means that they've had a good year. There is a difference. Am I happy for them? Ecstatic. Will I agree that they are good/improved/better? No. It takes more than a 7-4 record for ONE SEASON to convince me of that. There are too many variables. There's a reason that Boise State never gets to play for a National Title even when they have an undefeated season.

Yes. If Kirbyville beats Buna then Hardin's 7-4 record will carry a little more substance. Not by much...but yes. It's hard for me to overlook all of these 0-9 and 1-8 wins (soon to be 0-10 and 1-9). I'm going on a limb, though, and am gonna say that Kirbyville has about as good a chance of beating Buna as Hardin did.

Who's being a critic? Look through Hardin's schedule and look for yourself how their opponents have done over the season. Several of the teams they've beat have won ZERO games this year. Several others have won 1, or 2, maybe 3... The only teams they've played with a winning record have beaten them 57-7 and 70-14. I'm sorry if facts are offensive to some people but they're still facts.

Oh, I'm sure. Playoff shirts seem to be the indicator of a good season these days..especially to the mob (fans). Don't get me wrong...Hardin surpassed my expectations as well as everyone else's I'm sure but that doesn't negate the fact that their only wins came against bad teams. I never dreamed Orangefield and Kirbyville would've been as bad as they were this year. Granted...OF lost their QB at a pretty bad time and from what I understand that completely changed the offense. I'm glad for the sake of the Hardin kids that they got to win some games and taste success but the last 3 games of the season aren't going to be fun for any of them. Other than getting to play at a neutral location late in the season. Make no mistake, Buna will be a worse team than the next two coming up by far. Hoping for an injury free experience for all.