What really matters when determining HS football playoff teams

 The New Jersey High School Football playoff system is a mess. We’ve got teams playing in the playoffs with one or two wins and teams sitting home with 6 wins. We’ve got teams with one loss traveling to teams with 3 losses. And we’ve got teams that have beaten top seeds in higher divisions that don’t get a home game in the playoffs.

The system doesn’t need to be fixed. It needs to be rewinded. What was happening in the mid 2000’s was about as perfect at a playoff system can be without head-to-head results to determine who's in and who's out.

In all of the talk that’s happening about playoff seeding, I’ve heard a few things to don’t matter at all when it comes to playoffs. Plus, I’ve got a few things that definitely matter when judging a team’s potential to win a championship.

These four focal points are good indicators of a team’s quality.

1.       Record for the last 4 games: It can take a while for a good team to come together. Not every team hits the ground running in August. In some communities, that’s easier than it is in others. Financial issues, transportation issues and distance from home to school are all factors in whether a team gets good attendance at summer workouts. Don’t punish the kids for where they live. Give them time to gel as a team during the fall. That’s why I believe the games leading up to the playoffs should carry more weight than the first month of the season.

2.       Dominant victories. Any team that wins a game by 24 points, or the equivelant of the most points a team can score in three possessions, has earned a dominant victory. Winning 28-3 and 77-7 is the same in my book. If you’ve beaten a game by 24 or more, you’ve shown dominance. And if you’ve done that to a winning team, now you’ve really accomplished something.  

3.       Prime time wins. This one might be tough to define, but rivalry wins, beating an undefeated team, and beating defending state or conference champs are statements of proof for high school teams. I’m sure this one would be easy for decision-makers to screw up, but if you’re a team that’s done all of these things, you’re definitely a playoff team in my book.

4. Defending your home turf. If a team goes undefeated at home, they're a playoff team. Period. Nobody walked into their house and stole a game. If your home fans never saw you lose, they should get another chance to see you play, even if that means going on the road. 

These three popular talking points are of no consequence and should never play a factor

1.       History. The only thing that matters is this season. Kids get, at most, a 4-year window to play high school sports. In many districts and larger schools, that window is cut down to two years because of the talent that's already there when kids are freshman and sophomores. What happened over the years is a non-factor. Unless most of those successful players are still on the team and the coaching staff remains the same, this year is this year and the past is over.

2.       Star recruits. There’s no doubt that New Jersey has cranked out some outstanding college and professional football talent over the years. Some programs seem to have a Division I recruit every year. But for every big time recruit, there are a dozen kids who have no plans to play college football that can flat-out win at the high school level. This is a team game.

3.       Total point differential: The great teams are the ones that can win blowouts, close games, defensive battles and shootouts. Winning a game against a quality opponent 7-3 has a greater value than just +4 in this silly stat line. And, in congruence with the "quality win" idea  77-7 is no better than 28-3. Total point differential screams for a high-powered offensive team to schedule a few small schools and run up the score.