AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2008 > November > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTake Ten: Thank goodness, there’s no high school BCS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the first round of the playoffs taught us anything, it’s that we should be thankful for a system that actually decides a champion. You’d miss great games like Etowah-Lassiter and Walton-Woodstock.
But between all of this week’s talk of ESPN buying the rights to the BCS from 2011-2014 and president-elect Barack Obama wanting to throw his weight around for a college playoff system, it got us to thinking: What would a bowl system be like at the high school level?
Sure, there are too many regions and too many good teams to properly pick, but we’re going to try anyway. We at Take Ten have thrown together a crackpot system of human polling, guessing, coin-flipping and a computer system edited by picks guru Chris Whitfield. He might not actually know that he’s doing this, but we’re throwing his seal of approval on there anyway.
Here’s your look at the first-ever GHSA Bowl Championship Series, sponsored by Chick-fil-A:
10: Mohawk Carpets Bowl (Peachtree Ridge vs. ECI) at Phil Reeve Stadium in Calhoun: This annual bowl celebrates one of the state’s greatest industries with one of its most interesting matchups. The undefeated Bulldogs get a selection from Class A after finishing in the top-12 of the BCS standings. Peachtree Ridge played the schedule necessary to warrant an at-large bid.
9: Viking Bowl (Walton vs. Houston Co.) at Historic Martin Stadium in Valdosta: This bowl matchup comes as a direct result of Region 1-AAAAA pride. The area purposely selects one of the top Class AAAAA metro-Atlanta teams and pits them against the last place team in Region 1 to prove just how awesome South Georgia football really is.
8: FOX 5 News/Ryan Seacrest Bowl (Dunwoody vs. Carver-Columbus) at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody: This isn’t actually a sanctioned GHSA event, but that just allows Dunwoody to pull out all the stops. Meals provided by Maggiano’s, gift bags sponsored by Foot Locker and a special appearance by Seacrest.
7: AirTran/Private School Invitational (Marist vs. St. Pius X) at Hughes-Spalding Stadium: As we’ve seen from Miami and Florida State over the years, playing two or three times in a calender year doesn’t diminish a good rivalry. These two schools have one of the best feuds in the state. Since a bowl postseason is really just about money anyway, we’re betting this game would fill the stands.
6: “Success Lives Here” Gwinnett County Bowl (North Gwinnett vs. Northside-Warner Robins) at Robinson Memorial Stadium in Suwanee: This could be the best bowl matchup outside of the title game. You’ve got two powers in Class AAAAA and both teams looking to set up a run in 2009. Besides, we’ll finally get to see if success does in fact live in Gwinnett County.
5: Coca-Cola/DeKalb County Public Schools Bowl (Tucker vs. Stephenson) at Hallford Stadium: The key here is a pairing of two area schools who have never played. You get key matchup for classification bragging rights. Plus, we’d just really like to see them play.
4: Pancake Bowl (Cairo vs. Newnan) at West Thomas Stadium in Cairo: The task isn’t easy. Newnan brings firepower and a grudge against being blackballed out of a title shot. Word on the street is that Todd Holcomb once had some bad BBQ at Sprayberry’s thus the bias in the polls.
3: Dorsey Bowl (Etowah vs. Grayson) at Cantrell Stadium in Powder Springs: This game appears to be one of the more unique matchups, on the surface. In reality, both Region 5-AAAAA Etowah and the Rams defeated McEachern during the regular season. The bowl serves as reason for Indians faithful to boo both squads mercilessly.
2: Wright Bazemore Classic (Camden County vs. Westside-Macon) at the Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta: This would have chance to be the best bowl game, but neither team would be happy to be here. Elite media bias (yes, us) knocks both teams out of the title matchup and in a fight for second best.
1: GHSA BCS Title Game (Lowndes vs. Buford) at the Georgia Dome: This is the big daddy of them all. The voters decided to give the undefeated Wolves a chance at the big stage, but no one expects them to top the state’s best team. Teams like Camden County and Westside-Macon enter the offseason complaining about not having a playoff system.
Go on. Take Ten. What are the postseason bowl games you’d like to see? Who would be the teams selected if there wasn’t a playoff? Could Houston County really knock off Walton? Here’s your chance to voice your opinion.
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