The number of 3 team districts disgusts me. I don't understand how some teams will start the season with a 67% chance of making the playoffs. If they win a district game, a single one, they guarantee themselves at least at least a tiebreaker. A team from a 3-team district could possibly be 1-9 and make the playoffs. In the mean time, 8-2 Orange City University had to sit out of the playoffs last year. How does this make sense?
A simple solution is this: 3-team districts only get 1 guaranteed playoff spot. The extra spot becomes a wild card for the region. Best win-loss record goes, 1st tiebreaker is head to head, 2nd tiebreaker is strength of schedule.
In 8A Region 1, they moved Orange City to District 2 due to a travel appeal. Overall, it probably does help travel but it kills competitive balance. 8A-1 had 6 teams and so do did 8A-2, now it is 5 and 7. 8A-4 has 4 teams. That makes a difference of 3 in the region when it easily could have been 2. Also, even though Orange City's travel slightly improves, it moves them away from 2 opponents in their own county to 6 opponents all in a different county.
I will never understand why we have so many classifications and why our districts are so small. Make bigger classifications, make super districts and make better playoffs.