Pre-District Schedule does it really Matter who u play??

[Guest maverick24]

This was a big battle cry for weeks that the Weak Pre district schedule would not prepare Raidernation for 22-4A That some teams such as Ned played a tough pre-district schedule and it would prepare them better! My opinion was that a Good team is a Good team, I was told I was crazy, so here it is playoff week Raidernation sits at 9-1 and some teams that played the tough games in week 0 and week 1  are at home! So I ask you again how much does it really matter who you play in Pre-District!!!

[Guest Indian Chief]

That doesn't happen often though, it's always better to play a tough Non District schedule.  If You play cupcakes in non district then go against tough district teams 90% of the time your not going to do well. It happens but not often.

[PURPLE 4EVER]

You will find out in the playoffs.

Although this district was competitive, as you advance in each round the overall speed of the game increases.

Dayton's offense was out of sync last year against Texas City because the Bronocs couldn't adapt to the speed of the game.

The better and faster teams that you can play before district it will help your team.

YOU CAN NOT DUPLICATE A QUICKER TEAMS SPEED IN PRACTICE.

This, to me is one of the biggest factors in the playoffs.

Although not a "golden rule", the team that has the two to three or even four quickest guys on the field has a HUGE advantage in the game.

Speed can be contained to a certain level, but it is one of the biggest advantages in high school football.

[Guest TravelingBandsman]

In reality, I want next year's pre-district schedule for Dayton to be.

West Orange-Stark

Texas City

Friendswood

I think this would give us good practice for district.

[adminbaberuth]

In reality, I want next year's pre-district schedule for Dayton to be.

West Orange-Stark

Texas City

Friendswood

I think this would give us good practice for district.

Who cares about rankings, it's playoffs that count.

[WOS92]

No doubt it matters. A tough pre-district helps get you ready for competition. If you play nothing but patsies, you won't know what to do when a powerhouse lines up against you - at least, not as well as you would have. WO-S always plays a tough non-district.

[New Indian]

I like our pre-season schedule with the exception of Silsbee i would like to play PAM and bring back the rivalry and its a shorter drive also, i really enjoy playing WOS every opportunity we get

[akifan94]

This was a big battle cry for weeks that the Weak Pre district schedule would not prepare Raidernation for 22-4A That some teams such as Ned played a tough pre-district schedule and it would prepare them better! My opinion was that a Good team is a Good team, I was told I was crazy, so here it is playoff week Raidernation sits at 9-1 and some teams that played the tough games in week 0 and week 1  are at home! So I ask you again how much does it really matter who you play in Pre-District!!!

Mav....I think it goes both ways. I think you should start tough and ease up before you hit district. My only problem with Lumberton's pre-district schedule was the fans running around touting the 8th best defense in the state when at the time they had only played one good offense in 5 games. But, I will back off about that. Fans are excited and it was understandable, just annoying at the time.

[GoBigBlue1997]

I do not see where it really matters that much.  Playing a tough non-district schedule does not make you a better football team.  If that were the case then Ozen would win district every year.  They probably play the toughest non-district schedule in the area.  Some ozen fans have told me that playing such a tough schedule has them feeling "Beat Up" going into district play.  I feel playing one tough non-district opponent is enough. 

[akifan94]

I do not see where it really matters that much.  Playing a tough non-district schedule does not make you a better football team.  If that were the case then Ozen would win district every year.  They probably play the toughest non-district schedule in the area.  Some ozen fans have told me that playing such a tough schedule has them feeling "Beat Up" going into district play.  I feel playing one tough non-district opponent is enough. 

I can see your point. We started with a tough LaMarque team, played a playoff caliber Crosby team we should have beat, and finished with a 3A team that we beat up on. I feel like if we had gone into district 0-3 it might have had a negative impact on the team. Play some good tough games, but have a winnable game before you start your district run to build some confidence.

[GoBigBlue1997]

I can see your point. We started with a tough LaMarque team, played a playoff caliber Crosby team we should have beat, and finished with a 3A team that we beat up on.

You guys played a very respectable non-district schedule as well.  Much tougher than ours, but that does support the idea that tough non-district opponents does not matter that much.  You did beat us in a very hard fought game, but we all finished district the same.

[Hotrodg]

Playing a tough non-district schedule does not make you a better football team.

Most coaches will disagree.

Playing tougher opponents does in fact make you better.  While it will not likely make a good team bad, it will make a good team better.

For example:  Early in the season you typically are doing lots of fine tuning with blocking schemes, defensive reads etc.  If you play only teams that you severely outclass on the field you wont know if something you are doing is not working until too late.

Take a blocking scheme to illustrate.  If you have a flawed scheme/rule or poor execution you might be getting away with it because an inferior opponent can't stop it even flawed or poorly executed.  Because you are blowing holes open you think you have things going the right way.  Later in the season (district and/or playoffs) you meet an opponent that you don't outclass.  Now you have to make a change and implement it, without practice, while your season is at stake.

Also if you want to go deep in the playoffs you have to be able to beat teams that are better than you.

No, you don't HAVE to play good teams in non-district to be a good team but doing so will likely make you a better team.  As a rule, I'd always pick the 8-2 or 7-3 team that played 4 non-district opponents that are playoff teams from a class above them over the 10-0 team that played 4 against mediocre teams from a class below them.

[BigB BigD]

Most coaches will disagree.

Playing tougher opponents does in fact make you better.  While it will not likely make a good team bad, it will make a good team better.

For example:  Early in the season you typically are doing lots of fine tuning with blocking schemes, defensive reads etc.  If you play only teams that you severely outclass on the field you wont know if something you are doing is not working until too late.

Take a blocking scheme to illustrate.  If you have a flawed scheme/rule or poor execution you might be getting away with it because an inferior opponent can't stop it even flawed or poorly executed.  Because you are blowing holes open you think you have things going the right way.  Later in the season (district and/or playoffs) you meet an opponent that you don't outclass.  Now you have to make a change and implement it, without practice, while your season is at stake.

Also if you want to go deep in the playoffs you have to be able to beat teams that are better than you.

No, you don't HAVE to play good teams in non-district to be a good team but doing so will likely make you a better team.  As a rule, I'd always pick the 8-2 or 7-3 team that played 4 non-district opponents that are playoff teams from a class above them over the 10-0 team that played 4 against mediocre teams from a class below them.

You speak the truth...well said.

[GoBigBlue1997]

Teams will always have to make adjustments on the fly regardless of who you play or when you play them. Case in point Nederland,  coaches refused to make any adjustments and that is why they missed the play-offs this year.  They beat Brenham and Waller (two play-off teams) in non-district.  Lumberton beat nobody in non-district, but because Nederland did not change anything at all Lumberton was able to beat them.

[KFDM COOP]

Most coaches will disagree.

Playing tougher opponents does in fact make you better.  While it will not likely make a good team bad, it will make a good team better.

For example:  Early in the season you typically are doing lots of fine tuning with blocking schemes, defensive reads etc.  If you play only teams that you severely outclass on the field you wont know if something you are doing is not working until too late.

Take a blocking scheme to illustrate.  If you have a flawed scheme/rule or poor execution you might be getting away with it because an inferior opponent can't stop it even flawed or poorly executed.  Because you are blowing holes open you think you have things going the right way.  Later in the season (district and/or playoffs) you meet an opponent that you don't outclass.  Now you have to make a change and implement it, without practice, while your season is at stake.

Also if you want to go deep in the playoffs you have to be able to beat teams that are better than you.

No, you don't HAVE to play good teams in non-district to be a good team but doing so will likely make you a better team.  As a rule, I'd always pick the 8-2 or 7-3 team that played 4 non-district opponents that are playoff teams from a class above them over the 10-0 team that played 4 against mediocre teams from a class below them.

I strongly agree!

[the wise one]

i think that if you play cupcake teams they never show your weaknesses so you dont know what you need to work on but if you play a good team even if you win they will show you things that you need to work on to become a better team

[Guest maverick24]

i think that if you play cupcake teams they never show your weaknesses so you dont know what you need to work on but if you play a good team even if you win they will show you things that you need to work on to become a better team

Raidernation 9-1 and in the playoffs  ENOUGH SAID!!!!!

[WOS92]

Uh huh. And how has that worked out for ya in the past? So 40 years of bad results are disproven by one of good results? Interesting math.

WO-S always plays up in the pre-district, and our average season record over the last 21 years is 10-2. Lumberton is just now shooting for its first 10-win season. I think a tough schedule is definitely beneficial. In most cases, you are better off having challenged your players early.

Nuff said.

[Guest maverick24]

Ok now lets look at the Season again! I said before a good team is a good team no matter who they play Pre-District. I was told I was wrong that only teams that played tough PRE-DISTRICT teams would make it to the playoffs (WRONG)  and that only teams that had a tough PRE-District would win in the playoffs(WRONG) I said it before and I will say it again If you are good you are good!!

[LHSALLZONE]

most of the time it does, but when its all said & done ,playoffs is what

matters. tougher sch. will usually make a team better,r it could hurt some

of your best athletes, but most of the time it does make a team realize its

weaknesses. .when choosing your schedule most coaches r coaches,not

future seerers,but yes usually tradition will tell u if that team is quaility r

not. with that said, playoffs have been a thrill for us ,so however coach c

wants to cook his coogaaaah & get his raiders in the playoffs,if it works,

whatever my thinking might be ,so what, if u r their still into nov. & maybe

dec. who cares,another senseless topic to debate, but it is fun smacking. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[bullets13]

Playing good teams in pre-district is beneficial.  Unlike college ball, your ranking doesn't matter, so why not play teams that are going to challenge you and make you better.  Lumberton has had a great season, but i think if they'd played a difficult pre-district schedule they'd be even better than they are right now.  Look at it like this... lumberton probably gained more expererience and confidence from playing and beating LaMarque than they did in all of their pre-district games.  Why not play teams of this caliber at the beginning of the year so that you are already geared to playing against a high level of talent when district starts.  Lumberton had a flukey win over Dayton at the beginning of the year, and was fortunate that they didn't have any more tough games until the last few weeks of district.  They had time to play some decent teams to gear up for PNG, Nederland, and their playoff opponents.  I honestly think that if Dayton and Lumberton had played again the week after their first game, Dayton would've easily beaten them.  Now, because of the experience that Lumberton has gained from it's last 5 games or so, i think it could be an even match.  Why not get to that level earlier in the season instead of hoping that you can get there late in the year?  There's really nothing to lose from playing good teams in pre-district, with the possible exception of a flashy record. 

[raideroldtimer]

Playing good teams in pre-district is beneficial.  Unlike college ball, your ranking doesn't matter, so why not play teams that are going to challenge you and make you better.  Lumberton has had a great season, but i think if they'd played a difficult pre-district schedule they'd be even better than they are right now.  Look at it like this... lumberton probably gained more expererience and confidence from playing and beating LaMarque than they did in all of their pre-district games.   Why not play teams of this caliber at the beginning of the year so that you are already geared to playing against a high level of talent when district starts.  Lumberton had a flukey win over Dayton at the beginning of the year, and was fortunate that they didn't have any more tough games until the last few weeks of district.  They had time to play some decent teams to gear up for PNG, Nederland, and their playoff opponents.  I honestly think that if Dayton and Lumberton had played again the week after their first game, Dayton would've easily beaten them.  Now, because of the experience that Lumberton has gained from it's last 5 games or so, i think it could be an even match.  Why not get to that level earlier in the season instead of hoping that you can get there late in the year?  There's really nothing to lose from playing good teams in pre-district, with the possible exception of a flashy record. 

You know bullets, it's comments like yours that burn my butt. How can you honestly say Lumberton had a "flukey win over Dayton". Get over yourself dude. First of all Lumberton held Dayton to 7 points........got it buddy I said 7 points. Yeah Dayton is powerful for sure but let me remind you one more time, [glow=red,2,300]7[/glow] points, that's why our team won. The coach took a chance on the 2 pointer and got it, that's why we beat Dayton, it was a win or lose move. There was absolutely nothing FLUKEY about that. Now, can Lumberton take Dayton down again? Good question and from the looks of it we are about to get that chance, can Dayton take Lumberton  ???

[iwonsee]

Playing good teams in pre-district is beneficial.  Unlike college ball, your ranking doesn't matter, so why not play teams that are going to challenge you and make you better.  Lumberton has had a great season, but i think if they'd played a difficult pre-district schedule they'd be even better than they are right now.  Look at it like this... lumberton probably gained more expererience and confidence from playing and beating LaMarque than they did in all of their pre-district games.   Why not play teams of this caliber at the beginning of the year so that you are already geared to playing against a high level of talent when district starts.  Lumberton had a flukey win over Dayton at the beginning of the year, and was fortunate that they didn't have any more tough games until the last few weeks of district.  They had time to play some decent teams to gear up for PNG, Nederland, and their playoff opponents.  I honestly think that if Dayton and Lumberton had played again the week after their first game, Dayton would've easily beaten them.  Now, because of the experience that Lumberton has gained from it's last 5 games or so, i think it could be an even match.  Why not get to that level earlier in the season instead of hoping that you can get there late in the year?  There's really nothing to lose from playing good teams in pre-district, with the possible exception of a flashy record. 

Or a great QB with lots of leadership!!!!  Ask Dayton or Ned.

[Bucof2010]

You know bullets, it's comments like yours that burn my butt. How can you honestly say Lumberton had a "flukey win over Dayton". Get over yourself dude. First of all Lumberton held Dayton to 7 points........got it buddy I said 7 points. Yeah Dayton is powerful for sure but let me remind you one more time, [glow=red,2,300]7[/glow] points, that's why our team won. The coach took a chance on the 2 pointer and got it, that's why we beat Dayton, it was a win or lose move. There was absolutely nothing FLUKEY about that. Now, can Lumberton take Dayton down again? Good question and from the looks of it we are about to get that chance, can Dayton take Lumberton  ???

the 7 point thing is why its flukey. no 4a team at this point (or a normal day at that point) could hold dayton to 7 points.

[MikeEast]

Raidernation 9-1 and in the playoffs  ENOUGH SAID!!!!!

Raidernation first time in the playoffs in,,,,, EVER.. ENOUGH SAID.  :

;)Lol, but seriously.. Sure it matters. It matters a LOT.. If you play weaker slower teams then you have not seen the faster pace of the game that you will see against better teams. All things being equal, Lumberton would have been even better off had they faced tough teams in pre district.. I think that seeing Dayton in week 1 made a HUGE difference in the Raiders season outcome.. Had they lost that games things would have likely turned out different. BTW, using Nederlands team this year is a HORRIBLE comparison. You have to compare apples to apples.

Look at it like batting practice... What better prepares you for the speed of the game?,,, taking batting practice from a meatball pitcher throwing 70 mph softballs,,,,,, OR practicing by hitting 105mph golf balls and then facing a 90mph real game speed pitch??? How many times do you hear great hitters talk about seeing the ball? About how the ball appears LARGER and SLOOOWER when they are prepared and like a BB when they are not. Its the same principal. You takes your chances when you have to prepare for what you expect to be a long run. It paid off for Nederland 11 years in a row babe,, every once in a while the dice just dont roll your way.