Talking Preps 09.13.22: Previewing Week 5

3 thoughts on “Talking Preps 09.13.22: Previewing Week 5”

1. Incorrect – Charlotte Catholic does recruit players, constantly, at any grade level. I have too many friends whose kids were recruited in high school to let this argument stand. Incorrect – increasingly the Catholic kids are coming from different feeder programs. I can name two players on Catholic's varsity squad who are sophomores who came from outside the Catholic "system", one in 8th grade and one in 9th grade. Your argument that Catholic doesn't recruit is both uneducated and uninformed. The vast majority of Catholic players are zoned for Myers Park, Ardrey Kell, South Meck, Providence, and Butler; they're not coming from 25mi away, they're coming from South Charlotte neighborhoods. And while Catholic doesn't provide scholarships, they do allow sponsorships whereby another party pays the tuition. Again, I personally know multiple kids who have played at Catholic under this arrangement, in some cases arranged by coaches. None of this is cheating, I don't believe Catholic cheats in any way, but it is unfair.

   Correct – Holy Trinity is an invaluable pipeline for Charlotte Catholic, providing Catholic with an unfair advantage as CMS has no equivalent. In fact, CMS middle school teams are not allowed to start until after the school year starts, their team size is limited to one bus load, and their quarters are shorter than Pop Warner Mitey Mites. As a result the CMS "pipeline" is weak at best. In addition, CMS middle schools feed multiple high schools (JM Robinson feeds AK primarily but also Providence, South Charlotte feeds Providence primarily, but also South Meck, etc.) which is a big disincentive for CMS high school coaches to get involved in the programs (assuming they would even be welcomed or had the time).

   Charlotte Catholic being allowed to "compete" against CMS public high schools as an in-conference equal is nothing more than sanctioned systemic inequality. Since 2004, the earliest year available from Maxpreps, CCHS has played CMS schools 105 times through the end of the 2021 season. CCHS won 99 of those games, for a winning percentage of 94%. The only losses were 2008 vs South Meck, 2009 vs East Meck and Olympic, 2013 and 2014 vs Mallard Creek (the only team to defeat them twice), and 2021 vs Butler.

   To provide context, a team that plays 16 games a season (regular season + playoffs) has to win every game but one to hit 93.75%. Out of 17 seasons between 2008 and 2021, CCHS had 12 without a single loss to a CMS school. For years we've heard the argument that CCHS plays public schools because they needed "stiffer competition", an argument that the facts do not support. Between 2005 and 2021, while they lost only 6 games vs CMS schools, they lost 12 games to private schools. Playing against CMS schools isn't about competition, it's about winning state championships.

   Catholic should be allowed to play, but all their games should be non-conference and like Notre Dame they should be considered an "at large" school for playoff qualifications.

   Another issue rarely discussed is the impact Catholic's winning ways have on officials. Game after game, year after year, what disgruntled opposing fans call cheating isn't the fault of Catholic, it's the officials. The worst officiated games are the Catholic games. Why? Because the refs already know who's going to win, so they phone in their performance. On Fri Sep 16, 2022, on the opening kickoff against Providence, Catholic returned the kick for a TD. However, in doing so the refs failed to call a block in the back at the point of attack on the Catholic 30yd line, and a flagrant unnecessary roughness call on the Providence 20yd line (the Catholic player shoves the Providence player to the ground from behind while 15yds behind the ball carrier). Called, either penalty negates the TD. Uncalled, because Catholic is going to win anyway, the Providence team gets the wind taken out of their sails and the rest of the night is immaterial for them, because the outcome they feared appears to be inescapable.

   Football is dying in CMS. Just look at the roster vs student body trend: squad sizes are shrinking while the student body explodes. Is everyone ok with it, or should changes be made to preserve the game?

2. So the quarterback at East Forsyth is not on the Mr. Football Watchlist yet?

3. Westover High Wolverines out of Fayetteville is on the way. They have a pretty good quarterback who is still flying under the radar of some folks.

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