Time to bash another set of all-district football selections.

This time it has nothing to do with which players were selected, rather how many picks were made.

The district in question is District 9-4A Division II.

Remember during this entire rant, there are only five teams in this district: West Orange-Stark, Liberty, Hamshire-Fannett, Hardin-Jefferson and Orangefield.

District coaches made 87 picks for the all-district team. This includes the superlatives and both first and second teams for offense and defense.

Quit laughing if you are like me and think this is a joke. We are going to dive a littler deeper into these picks.

Now, let me say there are quite a number of these selections that are well deserved after fantastic seasons by the players.

Here is the first piece of evidence the all-district team is beyond watered down:

• Liberty and Hardin-Jefferson went a combined 1-7 in district play. The Panthers and Hawks had a combined 29 all-district selections.

(Take a pause and laugh again for a few. Now, stop and read some more mockery.)

• The Mustangs, who were the obvious class of this district, had seven wide receivers named to the team. WO-S had four first-team receivers and three second-team receivers.

One of those receivers had seven receptions the entire season. Even if all seven catches came in district games, it still does not really warrant an all-district honor.

(Laughter is again allowed for a minute or two.)

• The Mustangs even picked up a second-team punter! WO-S punted maybe five to six times in district and outscored district opponents 169-3.

This is why the number of Mustangs on defense and offense is valid. They dominated district this season, but the one area they did not dominate is the punting game since it was never really needed.

I have written this type of column before and the coaches who picked the teams of course had a problem with my words.

Please understand, 9-4A Division II coaches, I am not trying to take away the honor of an all-district team. These words are actually trying to make the all-district selections of the future matter a little more. A five-team district should never have over 80 picks.

Make these all-district teams something kids feel they accomplished. It will mean more to them and their parents. That is the goal of this column.

Gabriel Pruett can be reached at 721-2436 or gabe.pruett@panews.com. On Twitter: @PANewsGabe.