Does playing a local non-league schedule hurt southeastern Ohio teams?

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

What I mean by hurt is preparing them for long road trips during the playoffs, if they make it, seeing different styles of offenses and defenses.
Thoughts.

[Rolltanks]

I don’t think it makes any difference on where teams are from just if they challenge you all game. To get better you need to play teams that challenge you, doesn’t matter what division or where they come from.

[greygoose]

What I mean by hurt is preparing them for long road trips during the playoffs, if they make it, seeing different styles of offenses and defenses.
Thoughts.

I'm assuming you're meaning should teams schedule say a couple ground and pound schools if they're going to face that in the playoffs and the opposite in terms of teams that could air it out. Depends on your school really, if you're a school that is on the fringe of say a DIV and DV that could lead to totally different styles of teams in that region by dropping down or moving up. So I guess your best route would be to play both in scheduling, does that mean you take on a Clinton Massie or Kirtland and then turn around and pickup a Western Brown to get both worlds?? Tough call really and just depends on the schools teams like Unioto only have 3 non-conference games so does seeing a Clinton Massie really prepare you for that style when you go 7 weeks of playing SVC schools?? I think for a team like Burg you see where it can benefit where they need to fill like half the season with non-conference depending where it lands need one of those open spots late in the season and could benefit them. Ultimately I still feel for the most part you're better off finishing top 4 in your region, land those 2 home games and whatever happens happens simply for the fact that some regions some of these local teams are in are just juggernauts. There wasn't anyone Jackson was going to schedule that would've prepared them for Bishop Watterson in round 2, like wise when you look at region 19 there's a lot of local teams in there but at the top half you're looking at powerhouse schools.

[huanmarie]

I assume you mean that if teams are going to play a few ground and pound schools in the playoffs, they should schedule them, and if not, they should schedule teams that could air it out. It truly depends on your school; if you're a school on the edge between, say, a DIV and DV, you may see completely different team styles in that area as a result of moving up or down. The ideal course of action, I suppose, would be to play both in scheduling. Does that entail facing a Kirtland or Clinton Massie and then picking up a Western Brown to enjoy the best of all worlds?

[FIDO]

I don't think it matters much, as most teams will never compete for championships year in and out.

Getting the crap beat out of you doesn't really bring much to the table. IMO

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

it has been a huge staple for ironton it's entire existance. nothing prepares you like playing huge upgrades in talent. esp. if you have the athletes to do so. ironton's scedule this year was as hard as i'd seen in many moons. the canadian national team we played was canada's number 1 team. at lest that's what i've been told. they were huge. i seen our lineman standing next to theirs. and they were a helmet taller. they were sasquatches. the entire team was huge. i don't know what logging camp or goldmine they found these players at. but the were graders. ironton was exhausted at the end of the game. and i totally agree with going for 2. and try to win and end it. in the end they lost by a single point. i thought it would be a daunting task to get through that schedule. and they destroyed it. with only a few games not being a running clock. and frankly all the games except the championship game had running clocks. and that was with the starters usually out the entire 2nd half. which just amazes me. but not being leagued up. you are going to struggle to fill schedules every year. esp. when you've won a championship. and been there like 4 times in the last 6 years. but it's great to see.