JJ SAYS: Tough pre-league schedule counts

The debate continues. Is it better to schedule a tough pre-league schedule and take your lumps or schedule a less-competitive schedule and pad your record?

We’re seeing the argument continued on a national level as teams jockey for bowl games and even for the national playoffs. The University of Washington finished its regular season with a 12-1 record, but played Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State prior to its Pac-12 Conference campaign. That schedule very nearly cost the Huskies a spot in the National playoffs. Meanwhile, on the Penn State schedule was a very good 8-4 Pitt Panther team. Penn State lost, 42-39, and it did cost it a spot in the playoffs.

Local football teams generally like to schedule “up,” on the theory that it might hurt their won-lost record, but it will prepare them for the post-season playoffs. The truth is that it is not all that difficult to be invited to the North Coast Section playoffs. All it takes is a break-even or better record in any one of three categories: overall record, league record or division record. Pretty much every team that qualifies makes the playoffs.

Both Casa Grande and Petaluma scheduled up, and it cost them on their records this year. Neither team won a pre-league game, although Petaluma won two non-league games, accepting a forfeit win over Rodriguez from Fairfield when that team used an ineligible player, and beating Terra Linda in the final regular-season game after already finishing second in the Sonoma County League with a 5-1 mark.

Casa Grande had a particularly difficult road to travel even before it began play in a North Bay League that included the likes of Cardinal Newman (NCS Division 4 champion and still playing for the Northern California championship and possible spot in the state championship game), Rancho Cotate (Division 3 semifinalist), Ukiah (Division 2 semifinalist) and Windsor (Division 2 finalist).

The Casa pre-league matchups included Division 1 Napa, the Monticello Empire League campion; St. Bernard’s, the team that lost to Cardinal Newman in the NCS Divsion 4 championship game; and San Marin, a very good 8-4 team that was second in the Marin County Athletic League and a winner over Hercules in the NCS playoffs before it ran into Cardinal Newman in the quarterfinals.

The result was a second consecutive losing season for Casa Grande and a Petaluma season that could have been extraordinary had it faced teams more its size in pre-league play.

But neither team would have been as good at season’s end had it picked on more beatable teams before entering their own league.

Then there is the pride factor. It is just true that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. It might help your record to beat up on a series of inferior opponents, but it does nothing to improve your team image either with other teams or, more importantly, with yourself.

You play to win, but you also play to prove yourself to others as well as yourself.

For Casa Grande, one win over Napa would count more for its reputation than 10 consecutive wins over a Healdsburg. For Petaluma, a victory over Windsor would mean much more than a blow out of Elsie Allen.

Strength of schedule does matter. The good teams schedule tough, take their chances and reap the rewards regardless of what the record shows.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)