All of you have left out 1 glaring error from the AAAA soccer playoff pairings. The 5th seed from Region I is paired with the 2nd seed from Region III.
So whereas Jonathan and 4th seed Easley may get a nice helping of Riverside in the first round, 5th place Westside will get a Spartanburg/Clover team that is not nearly as strong.
If I were a region I team, and I wanted to make it further in the playoffs, my smartest path would be to throw nearly every game, beat Laurens and Woodmont, and finish 5th. Anyone I face as the 5th seed is going to be better than being region champion.
Another point of interest is the phrase being thrown around, "to be the best, you have to beat the best". I don't think teams like Westside and Easley are sitting around pontificating whether or not they are the best team in the state.
In the near decade that I coached at Westside, I constantly struggled against Jonathan to make the playoffs. For about the last 5 years, the SCHSL has been to lazy to change the pairings for AAAA girls soccer. Needless to say, there were years where I would have loved for my girls to have the opportunity to face Spring Valley or Fort Mill in the first round, instead of Mauldin.
Did I hope to win state? No. Did the repetitiveness of facing a team as strong as Mauldin demoralize my girls before the game was even played? Yes. Would playing a team they knew nothing about have presented a more level playing field, given the propensity of girls to "know where they stand" in terms of being able to determine whether or not they really have a chance to upset a stronger team? Yes.
Some teams are only happy to win it all, while other teams are just happy to be invited to the dance.
