It's May. Lets start talking about what really matters. Who's going to win state?
My personal predictions are that Irmo and Wando will again meet in the finals. Although, it's a far more difficult road to the championship this year. Teams like JL Mann and Mauldin in the Upper State, and Lexington and Fort Dorchester in Lower State all have a likely chance of pulling an upset. With that said, I think we can all agree that it'll be a far more interesting and competitive post season than past years.
In part because of a larger number of competitive programs, and in part because your Big Two aren't exactly on the boil right now.
Time to turn up the heat.
I don't think Lexington has a chance on pulling an upset, saw them play earlier in the year and didn't impress me one bit.
Barcelona...is it possible for you to ever say anything positive about a program? I just randomly checked about 5 of your posts, and the only program you gave props to was NW.....this is my shocked face(yes, sarcasm...I know it is hard to tell on this board sometimes)
I think everyone can say that this year could really get interesting in the playoffs. The two teams that should be playing each other on paper would be Irmo and Wando, but I don't know if either are going to make it to the finals if they don't both step it up. It is hard for me to figure on how BE beat Wando with the sheer talent that Wando has this year. Irmo getting beat by Lexington was interesting too...but the last time they met before that, Irmo only beat them 1-0.
I think there are 4 or 5 teams right now that have the ability to win state, it all depends on their desire to win. If you have a player or two with an off game, you better have someone step up to fill the gap...if not, you may be going home, no matter which team you are this year.
Mr. Gray I am not sure why you say the two teams that should be playing on paper are Irmo and Wando when JL Mann is ranked ahead of Irmo and also has lost one less game. Mann has scored 73 goals and given up 17 while Irmo has scored 72 and given up 18. So I don't really think this has anything to do with who is better on paper because they are pretty even if anything maybe even Mann has the slight advantage.I do though agree with you in saying that this year is truly up for grabs whoever is more hungry and makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win it.
Why are you only discussing 4A teams when teams from other divisions have consistently competed with and beaten even the best of 4A. Someone mentioned BE over Wando and Eastside beat Mann so the top two 4A teams lost to a 2A and 3A team-how about some respect for the other divisions
@Lvrpul, not to sound like a as*hole, but if you look above, 4A STATE PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS, I sure hope people talk only about that subject since it's the thread title.
But I think DF is flying under the radar, if you look, they are 5th in 4A and the goal thing is 69 Scored, 19 Against so the JL Mann vs DF will be good but lower state will be Wando. Upper state......?????
James, Barcelona10 by looking through his post history is either a Northwestern player, recent graduated player, or an adult from there with poor grammatical and sentence structure skills.
It would be very sad to be that negative towards everyone like that all the time. Best of luck to Barcelona10 in the future. By the way who won Region III AAAA this year?
Here is what I see as of now:
Greenwood vs.Brynes or Dorman
Northwestern vs. Laurens
JL Mann vs. TL Hanna
Dutch Fork vs. Rock Hill
Clover vs. Brynes or Dorman
Wren vs. Riverside
Irmo vs. Spartanburg
Mauldin vs. Easley
S. Aiken vs. Spring Valley
James Island vs. S. Florence
Fort Dorchester vs. N. Augusta
Carolina Forest vs. W. Ashley
Wando vs. Lugoff-Elgin
Lexington vs. Summerville
W. Florence vs. Blythewood
Ashley Ridge vs. Aiken
Some good possible matchups:
Mann vs Dutch Fork and Greenwood vs. winner
Irmo vs. Mauldin
S. Aiken Wando in possible 3rd clash
Irmo has tougher road than Wando and will be hard pressed I feel to reach finals.
Not sure I agree, in one sense.
If I recall the bracket correctly, Wando plays L-E first. Then, the winner of Lexington (loss) and Summerville (OT win). There would then be the possibility of a third-round match with AR (OT loss). In other words, 2 of the 3 teams they've lost to are in their 8-team pod.
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I don't think Lexington has a chance on pulling an upset, saw them play earlier in the year and didn't impress me one bit.
How many teams can say they beat Irmo and Wando this year? Or any year? Lexington can and did this year. Sure Wando was down their Academy players, but a win is a win. But will agree they often look bad.
Speaking of Lex v. Summerville, rumor is that Joe Amon will be back to play in playoffs. Is this true? How can this be with the transfer rules?
Joe Amon has been playing all season, far as I know.
Anyone who has seen wando play knows they will mkae it to state , what happens there is a mystery, last year wando pulled of an amazing upset , this year who knows what could happen. JL Mann is also a very dangerous team (calloway Jones, Rider,Watson) , as well as Fort D witht the likes of Lameroux Eads and Bauknight. yet its safe to say all of wando and irmos losses (apart from palmetto cup final where wando was clearly the better team) they controlled the game and simply didnt put away numerous chances.
Wouldn't surprise me if NEITHER Irmo nor Wando made it. Not to say they won't, or shouldn't. I just know how hard it is to get there, and how many ways there are to fall short. The best team doesn't necessarily win. The team that dodges 5 straight bullets wins. In other words, the best team for the next 2 weeks.
Period.
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Anyone who has seen wando play knows they will mkae it to state , what happens there is a mystery, last year wando pulled of an amazing upset , this year who knows what could happen. JL Mann is also a very dangerous team (calloway Jones, Rider,Watson) , as well as Fort D witht the likes of Lameroux Eads and Bauknight. yet its safe to say all of wando and irmos losses (apart from palmetto cup final where wando was clearly the better team) they controlled the game and simply didnt put away numerous chances.
You're assuming a bit too much. Your last sentence does describe the Wando-Lexington game. However, I watched two of Irmo's losses. Understandably exhausted with the quick turnaround in the Palmetto Cup, they didn't control their game with Norman North. And IMO they didn't control their second game with Lexington. In that one, both teams had some good chances, and only Lexington put one away.
All that said, an inspired, fresh Irmo team could go a long way in the playoffs.
Irmo is dangerous. They have a handful of playmakers, an excellent long-throw specialist, and enough big bodies to create havoc. I don't attach any particular significance to the Palmetto Cup, given some unique circumstances that won't be duplicated in the state playoffs. Same can be said for Wando, by the way. They parlayed a huge roster into a comparatively fresh side for Game 5 (in 4 days) in the Cup. The schedule is much more measured, and forgiving, in the playoffs.
Well here we go boys! Best of luck to every team, be safe, play fair, and most of all just have fun. This is something you will remember for the rest of your lives.