[Orange Blaze]

I would also argue that Raceland and Pikeville earned their hype earlier in the season. Since 2021 one or both of these teams have made it to state finals. The other teams had to prove that they deserved to be in the conversation. Sayre earned their spot at the table when they beat Pikeville. Unfortunately for teams like Cville and KCD they are still going to be labeled as pretenders until they are able to knock off one of the higher level teams in Class A.