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Who is better? Man or the “Formula”?
 By Kent Mueller Special to PrepsKC When MSHSAA went to a quantative approach to seeding Missouri high school football teams, the results, when looked at statewide, become a ranking system from the top to the bottom of each class.
Computers with quantitative formulas can crunch more numbers than humans, but humans see the whole game as it really is played. Numbers can be deceiving, but similarly, humans can be deceived.
Let’s compare the best efforts of man and machine.
Class 1
Sportswriter’s Poll
MSHSAA Seeding Score
Man and the computer track very closely in Class 1. The two lists have eight schools in common. Portageville ended the year with the third highest seeding score but, while getting votes, didn’t crack the top ten of the sportswriters. Skyline had the eighth highest seeding score. They, like Portageville, got votes but not enough to be in the top 10. The sportswriters included South Harrison and Salisbury, which the computer has at thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively. Man and computer ended very close to each other. Now we will see what happens as the playoffs continue.
Class 2
Sportswriter’s Poll
MSHSAA Seeding Score
Like Class 1, there is an overlap of eight schools in the two top ten’s in Class 2. The difference is how high the seeding scores of two schools which were not in the sportswriter’s top ten. The computer has Lamar as the second place team in the state, but they didn’t get enough votes to crack the sportswriter’s top 10.
The computer has Brentwood at No. 10, but they didn’t get a vote from the sportswriters. The Sportswriters prefered Caruthersville at No. 8 and South Callaway at No. 10. The computer had them at 11 and 12, respectively. While close in numbers of schools in their top 10s, the divergence to watch will be Lamar’s performance in post season. Does the computer know somehthing the sportswriters overlooked?
Class 3
Sportswriter’s Poll
MSHSAA Seeding Score
Not only do man and computer agree on eight of the top ten Class 3 schools, they also agree that John Burroughs is No. 1. The Sportswriters prefered Centralia and Park Hills Central, who came in 11th and 12th, respectively, with their seeding scores. The computer included Soldan International Studies and Christian High in its top 10. Both of those schools got votes from the sportswriters. Again, this class is very close between man and computer.
Class 4
Sportswriter’s Poll
MSHSAA Seeding Score
Both man and computer agree that Webb City is the best team in Class 4. The playoffs will tell us if they are correct. However, after the top spot, there is a bit more divurgance between the two systems. The sportswriters must see something in Savannah that the computer missed, as they rank it eighth while the computer has them at 12th. The same goes for Harrisonville, number six with the sportswriters but having the 21st highest seeding score. The sportswriters had St. Joseph Lafayette at 10 while the computer had them at 17th. The computer preferred Carthage at fifth, Platte County at eighth and St. Clair at ninth. Carthage and St. Clair attracted votes from the sportswriters while Platte County did not.
Class 5
Sportswriter’s Poll
MSHSAA Seeding Score
The two methods agree that Lee’s Summit West is the team to beat in Class 5. Again, as in Class 4, there are three spots where man and computer disagree. The sportswriters like Staley at number three, but the computer says Staley is 12th. Likewise, the writers like Webster Groves at sixth, but they come in 11th in with the computer. Rockwood Summit is eighth with the sportswriters and sisteenth with the seeding score. The seeding scoring system has McCluer, Jackson and Fort Zumwalt East at seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. Jackson was the only one of those three to get a vote from the sportswriters.
Class 6
Sportswriter’s Poll
MSHSAA Seeding Score
The differences between man and computer in Class 6 are largely differences of order. Both see Christian Brothers as the best team in the Class. The differences are the sportswriters have Raymore-Peculiar at eight and Jefferson City at nine. The computer has them at 13th and 11th, respectively. The computer likes Hazelwood Central at eigth and Parkway South at ninth. Hazelwood Central got votes from the sportswriters, while Parkway South did not.
All in all, the sportswriters and the seeding system largely agree. However, there are enough variances to make it interesting. And besides, maybe they are both wrong. That is why we play the games.
  
Chanute
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