oldschool2

Not sure if you know how vast the slot-t playbook is.. but it's not. Franklin has won state championships running the same handful of offensive plays all year. So that argument won't fly if the team is good enough at what it does. Don't think that I'm saying Hardin is on that level.. because I'm not. I think Hardin has holes in defense compared to state title caliber teams especially. They let Tarkington score.. and gave up a handful to Buna. State champ Columbus/Franklin would never. But Hardin does what they do well enough to keep offenses off the field so far. I'm not naive.. it'll eventually run out. Because clock control offenses aren't designed to play catch up.. or deal with turnovers. So we'll see. I'm happy for the school, though. A good year's been a long time coming.

I've seen them a few times on NFHS. Yes, they only have done a few things on offense... but it hasn't been stopped. I wouldn't change anything either. If you can't stop one or two things.. I'd do those same one or two things until the game ended. I'm sure CT has been in the business long enough now to have another option if option A isn't working. Just because it's not shown often, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. But what does exist is a big physical line with a pretty good variety of size and speed in the backfield.

I'm sure that the coaching staffs along with several community members would be ok with traveling a little further to play similarly sized schools rather than playing against schools with potentially double their enrollment and potentially being non competitive in literally most UIL competitions. Just saying.

You're ok with schools playing another school with double their enrollment in district competition? Think about the top enrollment number of 5A D1 (2274) compared to the bottom number of 5A D2 (1315). Bottom of 4A D2 (545) vs. top of 4A D1 (1314). Bottom of 3A D2 (254) vs. top of 3A D1 (544). etc.. Whether it two schools with 6A numbers or 2 schools with 1A numbers.. in the average athletic/academic competition, the school with twice as many students to choose from will have somewhat of an advantage. Surely you're not saying that's not true.

OF by 2+ scores.

I've always thought this.

If it's strictly about budget and travel purposes, then just make the districts whatever 5-8 schools are closest to each other. Regardless of enrollment. See? That's ridiculous. Having schools in your UIL competition district that are closest to your enrollment size, even if you have to travel a little further, is not ridiculous. It's equitable. There are always exceptions, but if it's true that schools are potentially better/worse depending on their pool of students to draw from... then there needs to be split divisions. For every UIL extracurricular event. You can't pick and choose when it's fair.. or for what sport it's fair for. Or even when to ignore the fairness in the name of saving money. Playing against the same size schools is either fair or it isn't. If that's fair, then it needs to be that way for every sport.

I don't think OF will have an issue with EC or Buna. But I also think that Hardin won't have an issue with CS or KV. So..

Even if Hardin were to get a loss, they still have the tiebreaker on Orangefield (head to head). So it doesn't matter. Your only shot would be if Hardin loses out. Which is unlikely. As far as this game, I say Harding by 40ish. Pretty much a repeat of last week.

HJ won't opt up again I bet.

"All Time".. Just the mention of that gives all the HD vibes.

Hardin by several scores. Wac won't handle being leaned on like Hardin does.

Coach Taylor's Hornets will be a tough draw this year.. despite Region 3 being traditionally loaded. Hardin does what they do pretty well. A big, physical line and a good combination of guys in the backfield make them tough to stop. And the "keep away" strategy makes it increasingly frustrating for opponents I'm sure. Having some guys that you know can put points on the board but have to stand on the sideline and watch the clock tick away has to be humiliating for both the offense and defense. We all watched it play out against WW last year in the playoffs and it has definitely carried over into this year. Having said that.. nothing is impossible to stop. Even if Hardin is the one stopping themselves. It hasn't been seen yet but turnovers and/or penalties will ruin this offensive game plan. Especially if it's against a team they can't stop either. Which.. let's be honest. That offensive scheme isn't built for playing catch up or scoring quickly. Which is why it was so effective against OF. Keep it out of the other team's hands.. but Hardin has to score every drive. And stop the other team at least once.. preferably more than once. How far will they go? Who really knows. Strange things happen in must win situations. I'd put money they go 2 or more.. but matchups matter. And.. other schools have good coaching staffs too. It'll be interesting.

I read that EC was shorthanded against Buna. And EC didn't "hang with Hardin" for even a little bit. It was a one sided domination for basically the whole game. But it's understandable why one would think what you said.

Touche'