[CatDawg]

Here's my take, from a longtime Shelby Valley supporter...

No, I don't think scoring 75 points is classless. The object of the game is for one team to score on offense, and try to stop the other team while on defense. That's it. LC was just doing what they're supposed to do.

I will say, though, that a score like this shows that maybe this game shouldn't have been played in the first place. Shelby Valley was obviously not ready to play a team as talented as Lawrence this year, so why was the game even on the schedule? Either the SV folks overestimated how good their team would be this year, or the LC people underestimated theirs, or both. Bottom line is I don't think either team gets better from a 60-point blowout. SV won't get better as a team from taking a beating like this, nor will they get better from giving a similar beating to a team like KCC. An effort should be made to schedule other teams that are around the same level talent-wise, at least for non-district foes. Games that are competitive between two evenly matched teams would be ideal for working on late-game pressure situations, something that just can't be replicated in a blowout.

Now, some are complaining about starters being left in too long, and whether it happened or not, I don't care. I still wouldn't say it is classless to leave starters in after the score has gotten out of hand. But it is kinda stupid. For one, by leaving a starter in long after the game is decided runs the risk of injury, which could completely torpedo a team's season. And two, leaving starters in deprives the backups and younger players a chance to see game action that they might not get otherwise. So, while leaving starters in too long doesn't show a lack of class, it does show a lack of sense. But that said, when backups are in the game, I would still run the same kind of plays as before. No reason to make the young ones run a dive play every time, let them see what they can do too.

So bottom line, for anyone complaining, give it a rest and move on.

Great post. However, these two teams could match up next year in the playoffs so it wasn't like a 6a playing a 2a or anything. Yes LC is 4a even though it was by mistake only due to LCs reporting they should actually have been a 3a which is where both will be next year.