NEW IMPACT POLLS ARE OUT!

Thanks P.A.C.E. for your update. We need continued feedback from the mountain folks....it would be nice to see W Henderson vs ACR!!!!

 

That is awe inspiring.

 

...and Mudcat gives a special discount to the TBR members

 

I believe West considers the other county schools our biggest rivals year in and out. Last time I looked we are something like 12-4 against Reynolds since 1992. Roberson is considered a good competitor year in and out but I don't think they or Reynolds contacted West for a game this year. Maybe you would know different. Didn't Erwin finish at the top of the MAC the last couple of years? And we are playing Tuscola twice and it seems they are also near the top of the MAC every year. Before you start "dogging" maybe you ought to dig a little deeper. Starting to sound like the "ex" sports editor at our local paper. I know for a fact the Coach Hyatt scheduled everybody that called him until his schedule was full. Maybe prepalert can get with him early next fall and help him with his schedule.

 

West Henderson Ranking

You know the coach at West HS may have been thinking about his young kids when he was making out the schedule. From what I have heard he starts 4 sophmores,1 freshman, 3 juniors and only 2 seniors....basically half his team should be playing JV ball. Give the young ones an opportunity to be successful prior to conference play but I would be careful dogging out the schedule because Erwin,Tuscola,McDowell,Sullivan South are quality teams and Hendersonville with Ricker on the mound is no slouch either.......Of course all the schedule makers would put the best teams against each other all the time but it does not always work out that way. Besides playing a tough regular season schedule is not a good indicator of post season success....if that were true UNC and Duke would be in the Final Four and George Mason would be at home. And why do colleges play those big nonconference games ...right you guessed it $$$$$$$$$$$ ...I bet you give the coach at West a couple hundred grand he would play anybody "Prep Alert" wanted to see West play........I know for a fact that the Coach at West does not give one big pile about the state rankings anyway.....I' m sure the 4 state champions this year will be the 4 teams who played the toughest schedules huh? Want to bet on that?

 

Okay, okay, I surrender! Didn't know I was going to stir up a hornet's nest. Nor do I want to make schools' schedules for them or tell them what to do. The fact stands that A. C. Reynolds and Roberson are very notable omissions from West Henderson's schedule. I didn't say it was intentional or that the Falcons are trying to pad their schedules. I didn't say that West Henderson didn't deserve the #2 spot in the state. I didn't say that Coach Hyatt isn't one of the best baseball coaches ever to helm a WNC team - his record speaks for itself. The Falcons' record speaks for itself. Under Hyatt, they are always good. And there are two other teams in the area that play at that level - Reynolds and Roberson. To not play either of them is something that is worth noting. If it was college level or pro, every pundit around would talk endlessly about their strength of schedule. I know that high school is a different game and that you need to be more sensitive because these are kids, most of them just doing it for fun and not scholarships or paychecks. But part of the fun is dissecting the game and talking about all aspects of it. Scheduling is a big part of that.

Sure, who you play and beat in the regular season isn't a sure-fire indicator of how you'll do in the post-season. But it helps to give the fans an idea of what a team is made of to see them play an opponent that is either equally strong or stronger. Take the PIsgah basketball team for example - they demolished every other local opponent they met by an average of 30 points during the regular season. There was not a team in the area that even approached their level of playing. If there was, I bet they would have met them a time or two during the season. They lost in the Sectional finals by 20 points, shocking a lot of people who thought they were unstoppable and that their only loss in two years' time, a week earlier, was a fluke.

West Henderson is extremely dominant in the same way. That's a compliment, not a put-down. I'm not criticizing them or their coach or saying that anyone should do anything differently. I would just like to see what happened if they played Reynolds or Roberson. It would be a fun game to watch, and I think I'm not the only person who would want to see it. Most of the teams that West plays this year are pretty good, with North Henderson being the best of the bunch. Roberson beat North. ACR beat Roberson.

Any comment I make is in the spirit of fun and the enjoyment of the game. Pretty much everything we do at PrepAlert is done to support student athletes and give them credit. We often pick out players on losing teams to profile. No one out there can say that we are guilty of picking on schools or students. When a team goes on a long winning streak, though, they can expect a little scrutiny. People are going to wonder what makes them so good. The media's role is to look into that, discuss it, and be fair and sensitive. Which I did. I didn't 'dog' anybody. If you disagreed, fine. That's what it's all about. But I wasn't putting anybody down. Mostly it was just for the sake of discussion, but apparently it started the wrong kind of discussion. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

 

Roberson finished at the top of the MAC the last few years. Erwin is good but not on the same level. West has historically beaten A. C., but the Reynolds of this year is a very different team than in the past. They are every bit as good as they are supposed to be. Tuscola, you are correct, is very good as well. They have only lost to Owen and A. C. Reynolds. Owen barely beat them. Reynolds beat them 17-0.

As far as Roberson or Reynolds contacting West about a game, it is very possible they didn't. I don't know anything about it. Again, I'm not saying it was Coach Hyatt's or anyone else's decision to have a weak schedule. I'm just saying there are some notable omissions.

 

Thanks PrepAlert

This is my first post, here. Great Website! Would like to thank prepalert for all of the kind comments concerning the AC Reynolds team. Yes, we have a strong team at ACR, it has taken us a long time to get here. I guess Friday against South Caldwell will tell what kind of team we have. One thing that has impressed me with this group are the caliber of athletes. The pitching staff is very deep and the batting line up has a solid combination of power hitters and guys that can get on base. What is really encouraging is we have around 10 juniors on the bench that may be as good as our senior starters. Next year should see little drop off in talent level. Anyway, the season should make for some interesting baseball. I love it!

 

Schedule

No problem Prep Alert......it is ok to question but remember things are not always as they seem. Scheduling is one of the more difficult aspects of a coaches job and the marquee matchups are not always easy to arrange and I do know that some coaches play the same people year to year and do not adjust the schedule to set up big games. Personally I would give the edge to ACR over West and possibly TCR as well if Thrailkill pitched....but again keep in mind West is only a 2A School with about 500-600 less kids to pick from and this is a factor.......how many teams play 8-10 games a year against teams in higher classifications each year...West does,TCR does not and ACR can't because they are at the top classification....maybe ACR would like to take a swing through Charlotte and play South Meck,Providence ,etc but you know that is not easy to do.....anyway I think Reynolds has a great team this year and could beat anybody in the state on a given day...their toughest game will come out of their league until playoffs......anyway I love the Prep Alert website...you guys do a great job and I wish you great success in the future.

 

Thanks a lot! Again, didn't mean to insinuate that WEst is intentionally padding their record or anything like that. It was just an insight.

Thanks for the encouragement and support! 'Preciate it.