OTS Sports Network Statewide Poll Week 14

[WRHIRadio]

OTS Sports Network High School Football Poll (Week 14)
1.Byrnes (6)
2.Dutch Fork (5)
3.Hartsville
4.Spartanburg
5.Fort Dorchester
6.York
7.South Florence
8.Hillcrest
9.Dillon
10.AC Flora
(First place votes in parentheses)
Others receiving votes: Goose Creek, Northwestern, Christ Church, South Pointe, Dorman, Myrtle Beach, Berkeley

The OTS Statewide Poll is voted on by the following: Chris Miller, Robert Earl Carter, Gene Knight, Scott Wells, Coach Jimmy Wallace, Chuck Roberts, Kevin Robbins, Moe Bell, Brown Simpson, and Mario Washington.

[bruindad79]

No upstate bias here...

[Rebel-Fan-74]

No upstate bias here...

I don't see any... of course I don't have any faith in polls.. so that may factor in to my opinion. I see 4 "Upstate" teams and all four are still playing, so I don't think that is biased... if they were, Greenwood would have to be ranked as well. Yeah, they have four losses, but look who they lost to: Dorman, Dutch Fork, Northwestern and Hillcrest. Nothing to hang your head over there is there?

My thoughts (no disrespect to anyone intended)
1.Byrnes (6)
2.Dutch Fork (5)
I'd have to agree with this, 6-5 split between these two teams for the #1 ranking. Both held up their ranking with wins against some very good competition. While the POLL may be 6-5 in favor of Byrnes, I'd say the money is more like 6-5 against them since the game is at Dutch Fork and the Rebels are missing two defensive starters.

After that, you could shuffle the next three in any order you prefer and you could make a defense of your ranking quite easily. All three are very likely to be in Columbia next weekend.
3. Hartsville
4. Spartanburg
5. Fort Dorchester

6. York - unexplained losses in Region may cause some to question this team, but they are solid when focused.

7. South Florence - Toughest team they played, beat them handily. The rest of the schedule is not awe inspiring to the average fan. A win Friday will likely gain them more respect from the average HS Football Fan. Again, polls are nothing but popularity contests or coaches, "you vote for me and I'll vote for you..." so who really cares what the ranking is today. It only matters next Sunday!
Fort Dorchester 16 L
New Hanover (NC) 4A W
Wilson 3A W
Crestwood 3A W
Ridge View 4A W
Blythewood 4A W
Sumter 16 W
Carolina Forest 16 W
Conway 4A W
Socastee 4A W
West Florence 4A W

8. Hillcrest - Well, I give about the same comments as above, schedule is lacking because of perceptions about Region One in many folks' mind. Knocking off Fort Dorchester on the road will get them some respect, beating Dutch Fork or Byrnes in Columbia would knock some folks for a loop...

9.Dillon - Very Good AA school. How would they measure up against Goose Creek, Northwestern or Dorman who are ranked lower? Who knows? I'd probably pick all three of those over Dillon... just my thoughts.

10. AC Flora - I'll bet that most voters thought "Well, they are still playing so we got to vote for them." Some may not even know where they are nor could than name two or three games they played...

[FootballFan4343]

No upstate bias here...

Is this just the standard response given?
The definition of "bias" is favoritism towards something/someone for a reason that is not warranted. I don't see any reason that those teams do not warrant their ranking. I am assuming you feel that way because South Florence is ranked 7th. The question I ask is who has South Florence beaten that is any good? Like Rebel-Fan said, the one team that was good they played ended up blowing them out. South Florence can prove all the doubters wrong with a victory over Spartanburg Friday. South Florence is at home, which should play in their favor. Plus Spartanburg had to travel to Stratford last week, so they have become road warriors. Everything is in the Bruins favor for Friday night. Now they have to prove they are an upper level team in this state. The opportunity is there.

[DeCav]

No upstate bias here...

Is this just the standard response given?
The definition of "bias" is favoritism towards something/someone for a reason that is not warranted. I don't see any reason that those teams do not warrant their ranking. I am assuming you feel that way because South Florence is ranked 7th. The question I ask is who has South Florence beaten that is any good? Like Rebel-Fan said, the one team that was good they played ended up blowing them out. South Florence can prove all the doubters wrong with a victory over Spartanburg Friday. South Florence is at home, which should play in their favor. Plus Spartanburg had to travel to Stratford last week, so they have become road warriors. Everything is in the Bruins favor for Friday night. Now they have to prove they are an upper level team in this state. The opportunity is there.

I have to agree. Trojangrad posted the numbers in another thread. Not only might be there upstate bias in rankings, there appears to be upstate bias in the actual scores and state champ trophies passed out going way back.

I will go on record as saying that as a high school football fan I'm glad to see Spartanburg back in form. As a Cavalier though I'm really hoping South Florence ends the Vike's season. Definitely no upstate bias with regards to who I'm pulling for. I like to see the Vike's competitive but my blood runs too Columbia blue to wanna see them win another championship plus it helps that this most excellent site was created by a Bruins fan so I wanna see his team do well.

[NAmAN]

Be aware of the officiating at SF. Even the PA guy will admit it. He calls it home cooking. And he does it loud and clear over the PA. Personally, I thought that one particular call was bad where NA was given a first down, chains were moved and then the call was reversed was pretty bad. Other than one hold on NA on a touchdown that got called back, they pretty much let them play. Our offensive play calling left a lot to be desired. By the way, the PA guy should have been removed from the press box after his comment, just my opinion.

[SF Band dad]

Be aware of the officiating at SF. Even the PA guy will admit it. He calls it home cooking. And he does it loud and clear over the PA. .... the PA guy should have been removed from the press box after his comment, just my opinion.

I don't remember hearing that comment, but I don't doubt he said it. A lot of us wish he would knock-off the commentary and jokes.

I thought that one particular call was bad where NA was given a first down, chains were moved and then the call was reversed was pretty bad.

I forgot about that. Yes, that was bad. I think the side judge ruled it a catch, the chain gang moved the chains, there was a short discussion and they decided the receiver was out of bounds. I'm assuming they just guessed where the chains and ball were before the play, and moved them back.

Other than one hold on NA on a touchdown that got called back, they pretty much let them play.

I think that was a good call. (I'm unbiased, right?) I had a perfect view of the play, it was a pass in the flats towards our sideline. The blocking receiver held our cornerback which allowed the receiver to get down the sideline untouched and into a foot race with our safeties.

I thought that the fumble by NA might have been a bad call. When I watched it live I didn't see the ball pop out until after the NA receiver had hit the ground. However, in the video highlights I see that the ball is free before he goes down.

[NAmAN]

SF band dad, I agree with the fumble call. The ball was out before he hit the ground. I didn't understand the call when the chains were moved then moved back. The officials made themselves look bad on that one. I think this is when the PA guy made the home cooking comment loud and clear . We just looked at each other because we couldn't believe he would say that and get away with it. I thought there was an extra official sitting in the pressbox. He( pa )should have been tossed, would have made the officials look better. Actually, you made a comment about this same thing earlier. But our worst enemy in the game was our own coaches and the play calling. Twice we were around your ten and we tried passing to the tight end. Normally, Rashad Byrd is in the game in these situations but for some reason he wasn't. He is a big playmaker in those situations. Bad coaching . Good luck tomorrow night. Hope for a good game with no injuries .

[bruindad79]

I don't remember hearing the "home cooking" comment by our *&%^&* announcer, but it would not surprise me if he said it in the least. ALOT of us are hoping he gets replaced next yr. And yes, I agree with the fumble call as well, I thought I saw it come out but the angle I had, I wasn't too sure either.

Now here's the story I'm getting with the officials this yr and is from a very reliable source in the Columbia area. The HSL had to hire a tremendous amount of new officials this yr, the only problem was a majority couldn't pass the test the way it was. So what do they do... dumb down the test so they could pass it. So hopefully the HSL has some summer classes and bring these guys back up to speed on officiating!