[bucslover68]

I never said anything about making your regular-season record better. That means nothing come playoff time, everyone knows that.

And of course you don't get better playing cupcakes, I wouldn't want SV to schedule a bunch of them either. But neither does playing a team way above your level. It's one thing to play a team that's somewhat better than you, but that you might have a chance to beat if you give it your best shot. Even if you lose but keep it relatively close, not only do you learn but you gain confidence in your ability to hang with better teams.

But it's completely different to play a team that is so far above you that you have no chance of beating. Not only is your confidence shaken, but it's hard to learn anything when the other team pretty much has their way with you. I'm sorry, but I just don't see a benefit to getting throttled by 40+ points.

Incidentally, I wouldn't mind if SV scheduled Pikeville. Even though they got spanked by Ashland, the Panthers are still strong and would still be regarded as the more talented team. But they aren't as far above Valley as Belfry is, and I while I do believe Pikeville would win easily, the score would be a little closer than the annual humiliation dropped on SV by the Pirates.

I believe Pikeville would win also, but the last couple of years there has not been that big a difference in the two teams...Harmon and a little more all around athletic ability by Pikeville would give the Panthers the edge. As far as the "annual humiliation dropped on SV by the Pirates", well the Panthers can't talk alot there...Belfry has beaten Pikeville 7 straight years and only two of those games were real competitive...2002, and a really good game that
Belfry had to make a comeback in, in 2006...Belfry has beaten Pikeville by an average of 21 points in these games...Over that same time period, Belfry has beaten SV by an average of 38 points...However, in my opinion, SV played Belfry tougher last year than Pikeville did...SV at least managed to move the ball a couple of drives early in the game before turning the ball over...Pikeville could not muster any drive at all until late in the game, and there was a running clock in the second half.