After looking at how the first round of the playoffs turned out, I am even more convinced that the Arkansas Activities Association is sending too many teams to the playoffs.
Let's forget about the debacle that is 6A/7A which should be combined into one classification, lets look at all of the classifications combined.
There were 27 teams from Class 2A to Class 7A which were 5th seeds or lower (6A & 7A had some 6th, 7th, and 8th seeds). Out of those 27 teams, only four teams advanced to the second round.
Now, while it is great for those four teams to advance, the percentage of the teams the advanced out of those 27 only comes out to 6.8%. That percentage is not enough, in my opinion, to justify sending so many teams to the playoffs.
Here is a look at the numbers by classification:
2A Five fifth seed teams: Zero advanced.
3A Six fifth seed teams: Zero advanced.
4A Four firth seed teams: Two advanced. Dollarway and Nashville advanced. Dollarway played an ineligible player and was a fifth seed due to forfeits. They played their way into the playoffs, and would have been a second seed had they not had the issue.
5A No fifth seeds.
6A The cluster begins. Obviously EVERYONE goes to the playoffs in 6A (talking about watering down your classification and brand of football overall in the state). 6A had eight teams which were 5th-8th seeds, and only one advanced. Sheridan was that team.
7A Four fifth seed teams: One advanced, Fort Smith Northside.
Two things need to happen in Arkansas:
1: 6A and 7A need to be combined into one classification.
2: Fifth seeds need to be cut out, more especially in the two lowest classifications.
What say you?
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This post was edited on 11/14 9:19 AM by Luke Matheson
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