SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer 10 schools that can win a state championship in 2010

Can any team outside of these ten schools win one of South Carolina's four state championships this spring?

Wando
Mauldin
Dorman
Riverside
South Aiken
Hilton Head
Waccamaw
Bishop England
Woodruff
Pinewood Prep

If I gave you the rest of the field at 100:1 odds, would you take the bet?

What school would you add, and if so, what school would you eliminate?

I think the girls at Cardinal Newman should be in the mix.

I'll put a dollar each on teams 3 through 8 in Division 3A
at 100 to 1 all day



Unless Riverside plays like they did in the playoffs last year then No Mas No Mas

What about Christ Church in the upperstate for 2A??

I know they lost twice to Woodruff but their strength of schedule could help them come playoff time!!!

I think the Lexington girls will give Wando a run for their money in Lower State.

I think a lot of people underestimated the Lexington girls this year!!! They have done very well so far and I agree they could give Wando a run for the championship.

Hurst,

At least they can't say your a homer!

Thought you would at least give Fort Mill and Clover a honorable mention!

LtP, Cardinal Newman is a decent choice because they should be in the final......but PP is probably too tough.

scdad, I mentioned Hilton Head....but I'll take your five bucks and give you Eastside, B-C, Greenville, Chapin and JL Mann. I still think Riverside and SA are the class of 3A (Thank the Lord they are both moving to 4A next year!)

QM, those two losses to Woodruff hurt and I think the BE - Waccamaw winner will take 2A.

Cat & Mom, I think Lex has had a terrific season.....but Wando is in a class by themselves in lowerstate 4A.

Import, I think FM and Clover are very good teams but with TLH, Dorman and Mauldin in the way.....that's a tough path to travel. The schools I listed all have better odds.

As we all learned from the men's NCAA tournament, the better, higher ranked teams don't always prevail.
I think the playoffs will be very interesting with several upsets!
And I think Clover could easily beat Dorman and TLH..

Cardinal Newman and Pinewood were close the first time this season...who knows. That's why the game is so great to watch,on any given day things can be interesting and one play can be the game changer.

Mom, I agree....Clover is very good. But could they (or Fort Mill, or TL Hanna) easily beat Wando AND Mauldin?

LtP, Pinewood's little trip to the Midwest over Spring Break may give them the competitive edge they need to take the final.

there are no easy wins in 4A playoffs especially Upperstate!
I do think FM and/or Clover could upset one or two of the "bigs" at the top of the rankings! This is why I love soccer, the best team doesn't always win giving everybody a shot at winning.
I also think someone in lowerstate could give Wando a run for their money whether is be Irmo, Dutch Fork, or Lexington
Anything can happen and I think its about time a new team made it to the finals
Wando is very good and Coach Champ has those girls playing very well so this is no dig at them just hoping for some change

I respect your opinion keepergirl. Soccer is a great game and if you can play solid defense, you can always stay in the match.

You don't have to be GREAT for 80 minutes to win the big game. You only need to be very good for 79 minutes and GREAT for that 1 minute. Get the goal.....steal the game!

Remember that FM girls got within about 8 min of taking Mauldin down last year. They are almost the same team this year with the big group of seniors now instead of 1 like last year. I would not look past them very quickly, of course they might want teams to read your post and forget about worrying about them.

Chief, How many minutes did you come within taking down TL Hanna this year?

There is another team out there thats not on your list ...lets see....yea Greenville...they could have something to say about winning the big one!!

Both Mauldin Girls and Boys have won their regional championships and play for the dual upper state championship/and State finals on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Has any SC high school prevuiosly acheived this double?

Great accomplishment and well deserved. However, in answer to your question, how about Riverside?

Bishop England has had both girls and boys in the lower state games for the last 5 years. They also have the same number of girls (8) and boys (5) consecutive state championships (5).

see the following for all the stats (scroll to the end for the compilations):

http://www.schsl.org/2008/pf%2008%20Soccer%20Boys.pdf

http://www.schsl.org/2008/pf%2008%20Soccer%20Girls.pdf

Bishop England is tied with Riverside for most overall boys and girls combined state championships (23) coming into this year.

I think it was about 70? Not good to have your worst half of the year in the playoffs but it happens. If we could have played another period (like hockey) we might have got it tied up. Sounds like the Hana girls came and played out of the chute and FM did not. Guess we start over again next spring.

Felt that pain at BE too Chief.... Unfortunately there is no next year to start over for the seniors although I'm sure the program will do the same as you suggest next spring.

Fort Mill pulled off 3/4 of it last year playing for both upstates last year but only the girls won region, boys were second behind NHS, but then again most of SC has been second to them for quite a few years.

Question Master,
Christ Church looking to crash the party!

scdad,
You owe me $5.

TugJobber are you familiar with the terms libel and slander?

Go ahead bring out your guns, I am ready. I'm in girl's soccer withdrawal right now so no telling what I'm capable of....

? No big guns needed. You're a private school that plays in the public league. Go to the private league like the fellow private schools in SC do, which is where you belong. End of story.

Why such exclusionary talk UnitedFan? You might want to review the underlying premise upon which you base your statement. That is, you refer to the “public league”. What is the "public league"? There is no such thing as far as I can tell from a review of the constitution of the South Carolina High School League. See their membership article below.

“ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Who May Join
A. Public high schools accredited by the State Department of Education whose principal or
superintendent, with the approval of the governing board, agrees to conform to the rules and
regulations of the League shall be eligible for membership.
B. Private high schools accredited by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools whose
principal or superintendent, with the approval of the governing board, agrees to conform to
the rules and regulations of the League shall be eligible for membership.
C. Junior high schools and middle schools accredited by the State Department of Education
and 7th and/or 8th grades housed in the same building with a senior high school shall be
eligible for associate membership, provided they fall under the governing board of a member
school. The principal, with the approval of the governing board, agrees to conform to the
rules and regulations of the League.
D. Any high school not accredited by one of the above-mentioned agencies, and presently a
member of the League, may retain membership as long as it is approved by the Executive
Committee of the League.
E. All sections of the Constitution not so noted will apply to members and associate member “

The link for the complete document is: http://www.schsl.org/2009/09-10%20Constitution.pdf

Further, the South Carolina High School League is a non-profit, private organization, not an agency of the State of South Carolina. You can check the records at the South Carolina Secretary of State to verify this information. The link is: http://www.scsos.com/index.asp?n=18&p=4&s=18&corporateid=7375

The public league is where the public schools do and should play. Private schools should play in the private league. Any public school attending player or parent agrees with this.

All public schools that I know of play in the South Carolina High School League. It's not a "public league". It's a league as defined by the constitution and by-laws for "interscholastic play", not "public school play". The members of the corporation vote and participate in the governance of the league. Since public schools in SC are members of the South Carolina High School League I guess they don't all share your views as private schools are allowed in the league.

All public schools have attendence zones..They are on a level playing field..This gives B.E. an advantage over public schools..For this reason..They should play with the other private schools..And when you look at 2A They would get about the same competition..If the desire is to stay in the public league..They should play 4A but not all the sports are up to a 4A level.

it boils down to whether you want Bishop England and Christ Church winning games 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 in 2A or if you want them thrashing teams they are much better then in the scisa. For all parties involve we could probably agree the first option is better and thus they should be and are allowed in the South Carolina High School League

Good point cold hard, very good point.
And leopold, there's only one result to go on, but they don't thrash all scisa teams. They thrash some, but they thrash some public schools also and are rarely challenged by ones in their classification. This year, Christ Church beat Pinewood Prep (SCISA) 1-0. Not a thrashing by any means. Play where they should.

B.E. girls in 2A
Gave up 6 goals to Christ Church and AM..No one else scored on them in 2A..
Overall goals for 130...goals against 16
I think the numbers say it all..If you have a strong enough program to hang in 4A..That's where you should be..Pinewood is another that would fair well in 4A but atleast they do play in SCISA..

This has been addressed in years past, and I have made my view clear. It is without question that by allowing private schools in, the HSL creates an uneven playing field for private schools that simply do not have to function under the same parameters as public schools in terms of the population from which they can draw players. If anyone believes the private schools' success in AA/A is simply because they are better programs is naive. Private schools have advantages that many other states recognize by requiring private schools to participate under a formula that generally forces them to "play up" in classification. This is a failure of the HSL, not any criticism of any private schools since they are complying fully with the rules as they exist. BE and CC have been strong in AA/A girls for years and have done so completely within the rules. The problem is that the rules fail to recognize the inherent inequities. . .If BE and CC were dominating other classifications (AAA/AAAA) I feel this would have been addressed already. . .Since doing the right thing would move strong programs up, I feel there has been little interest in doing the right thing. . .

I don't really care about the argument. I just don't feel the need to read crap from a private school from Daniel Island, SC playing in the 2A public school division mom gloating about accomplishments on a message board. "OHHH BUT I JUST LOVE MY GIRLS AND BOYS AND WISH WE WERE STILL PLAYINGGG" Booooohooooo...Here's the world's tiniest violin playing for you.



Just accept your token trophy at the end of the year and shut up already. Or in the case of this year, get beat by a public 2A school and shut up already.

Also, if you could get your girls team not to spit on other people that would be an added bonus. Thanks for your time.

When you stoop to a mean-spirited personal attack, your arguments have failed. TugJobber, you don’t have to read my posts, you don’t have to agree with me and you don’t have to like me. And that comment is not going to run me off.

I watched this message board for several years before making my first post. The concept is a great idea for sharing information, ideas and comments about soccer. However, I never imagined the venom and prejudice that would be spewed when I tried to support Bishop England. Perhaps I have done so from too zealous a viewpoint. In reviewing past postings I can’t find the same comprehensive attacks about any other school or frankly any other poster. Some told me not to “open a can of worms” by posting on this board. I mistakenly thought there would be reasonable debate, not low blows.

I am proud of my children and I chose to say so in a public forum. Others routinely discuss their favorite player and promote them on this board. The “girl’s high school” forum is about the girls. The Bishop England players have worked hard and diligently year in and year out. They are rarely discussed and even less so given credit for what they’ve done. Instead, they are labeled “cheaters” and “poor sports” in thinly veiled posts. I began my first post because I could no longer stand idly by and listen to the rhetoric without the sound of a defense. A few brave souls have stepped up to support me and I appreciate that. TugJobber you can say whatever you want about me, but don’t disparage the players because you’ve run out of ammunition.

So, in short, take cover TugJobber when you see my name, because there’s likely more a comin’.

I never give Tugjobber's posts any credit. Sometimes amusing, but usually just trying to stir the pot on the boy's side. Not much hating going on over on the boy's forum this year, so I guess he decided to jump ship over to the girl's forum.

TJ had several posts deleted by the adminstrator.

TJ, why don't you and your little "boat" move back on over to the boy's side? You are, of course, free to post wherever you want. We just don't care what you have to say.

tugjobber i love you!

what school does tadoddles pull for?

Marta,
First off I appreciate you posting.
I guess a good question would be do you feel that BE and other private schools should move up a classification? I am ok with private schools in the HSL, but agree with the previous post about there being unfair advantages. An obvious fix for this would be to count each student as 1.5. Thus the enrollment for BE would be 1200 instead of 800 and would put them in AAA.
Other questions I have is do the parents of BE athletes realize that they have unfair advantages as far as attendence zones are concerned? And do you feel badly that by having these advantages you are taking away championships, and all that goes along with that, from kids who play for public schools?

I am a parent of a school who went to Bishop England 2 years ago in a play-off game with a group of 20 girls who had been playing soccer for a total 3 months. The score I believe was 13-0 at the end of the game, but I have no doubt it could have been 40-0 if the coach had not shown class and reigned his team in. My daughter said the BE girls were the nicest girls she played all season. I do not think it is very mature for adults to insult children. I would love to see BE and CC play up a classification, but it is not their fault where they are assigned. I would not move up willingly if I was winning wither.

Marta,
As a West Florence supporter, I have heard critism for years about the lack of competition in Region VI and why WF doesn't deserve respect. BE is playing within the rules and your girls excell! We would love a home and home with you,(especially since we can no longer play Wacammaw because it gets too out of hand!) Keep fighting on Marta!

Marta,

Below is a list of programs who are not permitted to tout their own success on the message boards:

1. CESA
2. Irmo boys
3. Northwestern boys
4. Wando girls
5. Mauldin girls
6. Riverside girls
7. Bishop England girls

Draw your own conclusion as to "why".

Congrats on another very good season.

What? HA HA ha ha

hahaha I agree, we should all pull for the underdogs this weekend, hopefully the Mauldin boys can win too because then in the AAAA guys their would be no one to root for hehehe

Right! YOU are joking!

i don't think anyone is denigrating the b/e athletes & the b/e sports programs are certainly playing within the rules, but ya gotta ask yourself, why don't they move up???
if i was a boys/girls soccer coach i would def. be pushing the issue & i'm not saying thats not happening.
my uneducated guess would be the fball program dictates as in most programs.

I think you need to be more specific about your attendance zone comment TabVermes. What's the attendance zone of a public magnet school? Is that unfair too? What about No Child Left Behind? Is that included in your attendance zone definition? What about public charter schools that allow cross county attendance? How do you define the public school attendance zone? Is your definition the same as the district policy or federal law? I believe the concept of school choice is going to continue to expand and change the landscape of the public school system.

I understand that the issue of a multiplier has been raised at the high school league previously and voted down. You may not like that but it is not a reason to say that BE has won unfairly.

Do parents feel badly that we have beaten a competitive team like Waccamaw before? All of the semi-finals and finals in the last few years in 2A have been VERY competitive games that could have gone either way. Would you be asking this if Waccamaw or Woodruff had won? Of course we don't feel badly that we are playing in a league by consent with other teams who also consented and we won.

There are more variables than attendance zone that play into this discussion. They have all been raised and discussed repeatedly. These include "rich" schools v "poor" schools and schools with club feeders v schools with none. Are those variables unfair? Should you make provisions for those in the classifications? Of course the current league system includes all sports, not just soccer. I doubt that the original founders of the high school league could have imagined the change in youth sports over the last 15-20 years with the advent of off season clubs, paid training, etc. And by the way, BE was in AAA in the past (when I went to school in the olden days).

Given the disparity between sports at any given school maybe a state-wide league for each sport is a good idea. I generally agree with others that a ranking system similar to club might work although I'm certain there would be complaints about who ranks and how they rank. I also favor a tournament format for the championship. (Can you imagine what baseball would do if they couldn't play a 100 games before they decided who won!:D)

I think it's interesting that you suggest removing competitive games in 2A for the benefit of "public" schools because there are so few of them. I don't know if you're associated with a 2A school or not but if so would your players feel good about never having a competitive game and taking home the championship? It would have certainly been a boring road not to have Waccamaw to challenge us at the end of the year. Based on the Waccamaw coach's comments in the paper, they WANTED to play us. And before anyone starts screaming, yes, AM stepped up and challenged us this year.

I think it's funny that, outside of The Chief (and I am by no means endorsing his position), nobody pounds on Riverside for "playing down".

Yet everybody loves to tee off on Bishop England.

I think of BE like I do of insurance companies....most illegal, within the law

Another perspective from a local who has the highest regard for the students, athletes, and families of Bishop England (and Wando). Many are my neigbors and friends.

Bishop Englnd sits in about the best soccer environment you can get so not sure why it is a shock they are so succesful. Heavens you have the Charleston Battery next door, MPSC, DISA, Coastal, and us training within minutes of the campus. OK SCUMP now but you still had coach Champ and her U11 girls on the Battery practice ground, DISA training on SPA land, MPSC on the other side of the Wando at Trident and Patriots and us at Codners Ferry park or Cainhoy School. Clearly we don't affect BE today but I know many of our U10 and U12 girls who are destined to wear the Green in a few years (or are they - more to come). At least two of Coastal group live on Daniel Island and countless other players with MPSC or DISA live on Daniel Island. Now someone said earlier BE is in Charleston and while that is true (City annexed the whole Clements Ferry corridor and Daniel Island), we are actually in Berkeley County (and school district) and zoned for Hannahan High School. Today Bishop England certainly benefits from this with many DI/Cainhoy parents (including me) looking to private local alternative HS and avoid the drive. In the same way until Daniel Island built the public elementary/middle school over 80% of DI residents sent their kids to private K-8 like First Baptist, Christ our King and PCA.

What I find interesting is what will happen over time. I see in another post speculation that Wando will see the fruits of all this great East Cooper youth soccer over time but I'm not so sure. The landscape is changing.
Notwithstanding the economic downturn and slowdown in growth, the Cainhoy peninsula is still one of the areas destined for most growth in the lowcountry.“Hot spots” for residential development in the greater Charleston region that were mentioned by Charleston City planners included as number one The Cainhoy Peninsula—including Daniel Island.

This fall we will see the opening of Palmetto Scholars Academy (South Carolina’s first public charter school for gifted and talented students) at the old Navy base with over 200 students in grades 6-8 and later extending to High School grades and this has gained a lot of attention on Daniel Island and area as an alternative to private tuition. And of course, most of us in this area with young children are desperate for news of the new public High School planned for Clements Ferry Road and just around the corner from Cainhoy Athletic. I heard rumors paper has been signed and tracts of land on Guggenheim tract has been set aside. Recent articles suggest doors opening as early as 2013 and I quote from Daniel Island News from December.
The greatest "hot spots" in the region for growth, based on data collected, are ...and the Cainhoy Peninsula, where a number of developments are either on the ground or planned for the near future. In the Cainhoy and Daniel Island area alone, another 4,000 plus residential and multi-family units are possible. That number doesn’t include potential development of the 8500-acre Guggenheim Tract (an area the size of peninsular Charleston), where as many as 16,000 units could be constructed off Clements Ferry Road...The tract is still being considered for a possible new high school that would serve the Daniel Island and Cainhoy/Huger areas, said Cooper. Currently, the majority of students in these schools are zoned to go to Hanahan High School after completing eighth grade. Berkeley County is expected to issue a bond referendum for voters next year that would cover the construction of three to four new schools in the district, one of which would likely be placed along the Clements Ferry corridor. "We need a high school offload for Hanahan," said Cooper. "…(Assuming) we can be successful with a referendum in 2010, I would say 2013 is the earliest we could hope to see doors open on any new facility," said Cooper.
Sorry to interupt this thread Marta,et al but wanted to put this out there as I find it somewhat relevant and very interesting. HIgh School soccer in 5 years as our U10 and U12 girls (and boys) age up might look very different than today, but know BE will still have a very good program wherever they play.

Are any of these new high schools going to "pinch" Wando?

Two more Harris Teeters opening this month in Mount Pleasant. The place continues to grow.

Well to be fair I have been negitive in the past about them playing "down" but I have never attacked the players (or parents, although one did call me names in a post). I think you have to seperate the situation as is from the situation as it should be. Of course the "should be" is up for debate in everyones eyes. However the as is, is not the players fault and so they deserve what they win and I have not tried to say they did not earn it.

It is totally understandable for people who "see" teams winning at a level below what they percieve as approprite for that team and to feel like they are winning what they do not deserve. Note I said percvieve and perceptions are the "reality" of the perciever.
Put youself in the shoes of those who have been "denied" a chance at a championship becasue a school with an "unfiar" advantage keeps winning them, and then people from that school tout their successful program. Do you not think some would feel slighted or not want to hear the bragging from someone with that same "unfiar advantage"? I ask this question not to justify the behavior but rather to explain it.

As with all things there are cause and effect, understand one you can often explain the other. In any case attacking the players because of the situation is wrong and to taint a whole program becasue of the action of one player in the heat of a game is just as wrong. I would guess that most programs have low moments that they would rather not have brought up and do not reflect the overall character of the program or its players.

Just as a side note it is interesting how many of the final contenders at the AAA level are actually 4A size schools moving up next year.

Marta,
Thank you for answering my questions. I am not trying to belittle BE. They have great teams and great coaches and obviously work very hard. I was just wondering if parents associated with the school ever stepped back and looked at concerns that the public school supporters in AA have. I just wanted to point out that I did not say anything about removing competitive games. If a public school dominates then they dominate. But at least it's a school that has the same regulations as the other schools in the league. The fact is that Bishop England can draw from Charleston County.. There are about 300,000 people in Charleston County. Public schools draw from their towns, which in AA are mostly small towns. Obviously this is an unfair advantage. Just wanted to know if you realized that.

That's why I pointed out that public schools have extended attendance zones as well. For example, Academic Magnet draws from all of Charleston County. Your example of drawing from the small towns is not a complete picture regarding public schools. So do you give them (AM) a multiplier too? And what about the kids who come from across town because of No Child Left Behind? Does that school get a multiplier?

It's really not a public v private issue when you look closer.

Absolutely, the central concern that we should all agree on is about equity, level playing fields. ANY schools benefiting from inequities (such as attendance zone inequities) should be placed into the larger or largest classifications since the point of classifications is to have schools competing against each other with approximately the same opportunities to field teams from similar populations.

But we should also be more open and honest about the success that some teams have had historically. Some teams have succeeded from BOTH quality programs within a system that affords them inequitable advantages—again by no fault of the school but by the failures of the system to insure equity.

Ultimately, these inequities make a mockery of the classification system and allow only the appearance of fairness.

Again, why do we have classifications? To level the playing field.

I think it also perfectly fair to ask that those schools benefiting from advantages speak up for equity along with those schools who feel disadvantaged. It would be an act of honor suitable for educators to model for those children we claim to be teaching.

Things have changed..magnet schools..I don't think that No Child Left Behind is bringing in the soccer players..With any electric bill a child can go to most any school and we all know this is happening..We just choose to look the other way..
For me..It was never about it's unfair because B.E. has no lines but this is a reality and we can twist it anyway you want..It's still an advantage over everyone else but AM..And I guess it's unfair to Barnwell because B.E. will always be in their way..Never looked at it that way..
It's competition for me and as I posted before the girls scored 130 goals and gave up 16..In the 09 season they scored 127 goals and gave up 10..Folks, this is not competition..I have to believe that the parents and coaches would rather play somewhere else..SCISA has just as many strong teams or competitive teams as 2A..With no attendence lines..In fairness to others this is where they should be..
Wando does not get alot of competition in their region but they are on the same playing field when it comes to the rules..
This team is 4A material and should play against that type of competition every game..This would make them better than they already are..
Why do people hate B.E.? Most that posts on here are not from the lowcountry so I can only guess that it's the private school beating up on the 2A schools thing..
As far as the lowcountry..I don't think most care and our soccer coverage in our papers are nill to none.. Only Wando and B.E. get any love there..We need to classify schools on ability to compete and not school size when it comes to soccer..If this would happen..I think all this talk would go away..

Level playing field in 2A?

How about location, location, location?

If your school lies within 15 miles of the largest soccer complex in South Carolina (owned by the most successful youth soccer club in the state), should your high school soccer team should be bumped up in classification?

Woodruff vs. Andrew Jackson? A level playing field? I've been to both of these schools......night and day!

You have to believe that Woodruff has a competitive advantage over "rural schools" like AJ and Barnwell.

Exactly..So why not look at these schools records over the last five years and classify them in an order that most will have competitive games? And save me the travel issue..It can be done with the travel that most teams see now..

Hurst
My answer to that is if we lose than at least we lose to a AA public school who are playing by the same rules. We can deal with that. Just tip your hat to them for outplaying you.

Proximity is not the essence of classification, but the population size from which you draw a team is. Thus, asking for equity related to the nature of classification is DIFFERENT than the issue you raise, Hurst.

I do not mean that you are not raising an valuable question, but I do not see the issue of proximity to club as the same as attendance zone.

Asking for equity as some have here related to private schools is well within the power of the HSL to address as this is commonly addressed in states throughout the country.

Your concern about the aspects of equity, Hurst, I believe is nearly impossible to address unless we go to an entirely different system unlike the current classification system based on school size (thus not one based on potential populations for teams to draw from).

For the record, when I coached at Woodruff I was adamant that a year-long commitment to soccer through club was the way to success for the girls, who routinely lost by double-digit goal totals to CC and Emerald. And there is no question that Coach Gomez has created a top program in part benefiting from club play. This is exactly the same dynamic that you find at other outstanding programs such as Riverside, Dorman, Mauldin. . .

Has Woodruff benefited from club access? Yes. Is that an unfair advantage because of proximity? Maybe. Can the HSL do something about that? Seems impossible. . .

Cat,

You and Gooooaal have done a great job building the program at Woodruff. You had access.....and you used it. You got the girls to play high-level club year 'round and the formula worked. (We embarked on the same philosophy a few years back up here in York County as well.)

BE is using what they have as well.....access to good players and good club structure. Can't hate on them for their success. Why isn't the program at St. James at the same level as BE? Both are Catholic schools? Good soccer in Myrtle Beach and Whack 'Em All.

I had an appointment in uptown Charlotte this past Monday and I told the person I was visiting at 4 PM, "I have to get out of here. I have to beat the traffic".

She told me that traffic was no longer that bad. There are less people on I-77 coming home from work now due to:
1. Lay-offs
2. People now working out of their home office
3. Less people transporting their kids to/from private schools

Wow. I thought about #3. Is this why BE didn't win 2A this year? Is enrollment down? Did they lose potential players from the girls soccer pool because parents couldn't afford tuition?

Seems like schools where the tax payer picks up the total tab would have an advantage over schools where mom & dad have to fork it over in these tough times.

The Woodruff program is all Fernando. . .

Hurst, you are dead on about taking advantage of opportunities, and I have never expressed any hate/dislike/animosity for CC or BE. . .All of my concern is about the system that allows/ignores addressable inequities. . .

About your economic-impact idea. . .So far, I believe the economic downturn has impacted mid-range private schools. . .But high-end private schools with a powerful tradition momentum are showing less of an impact, but I feel any impact will be down the road and less so recently. . .But I am offering only an educated guess here. . .

And BE not making it as far as usual, I speculate, is the inevitable results of AM, Waccamaw, CC, and Woodruff knocking on their door for several years now. . .Dynasties do occasionally lose in sports. . .but they tend to be momentary lapses. . .That is the hallmark of a PROGRAM v. a good team. . .I suspect BE has nothing to worry about. . .

I agree with The Chief. The Public school players who have been denied a Championship opportunity is the issue. I don't have anything against the BE players winning anything, if it's fair and square. It's just a shame for the little Guys that no one has leveled the playing field and given them a chance.