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If the expansion of the high school football postseason system has proven anything in two seasons, it’s the significant gap in talent between the Mississippi Athletic Conference and Mississippi Valley Conference.

Since the Iowa High School Athletic Association decided to have 32 teams in each class make the substate round and seed the Class 4A teams one through 16 in the eastern half of the state, the MVC has been superior to the MAC.

Last year, the MAC didn’t win any of the five substate head-to-head matchups with the MVC. Bettendorf did handle Cedar Rapids Prairie in the first round, but the Bulldogs were blasted by Cedar Rapids Washington in the quarterfinals.

This season was more of the same.

With the exception of Clinton, the MAC was one-and-done. The only surprise of the group was Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s 17-14 road win at Bettendorf, but the Bulldogs weren’t as mighty this year as they’ve been in past seasons.

So, if you’re keeping score, the MAC is 3-13 against the MVC in the postseason the past two years after Clinton’s 28-6 loss to Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday night.

The mismatch isn’t just in football.

Seven of the top 10 teams in the final Class 4A volleyball ratings this fall hail from the MVC.

In fact, the MAC was 0-4 against them in the postseason this year, including straight-set losses for Davenport Central and Pleasant Valley in the regional final to Dubuque Hempstead and Iowa City West, respectively.

Muscatine, which compiled 29 victories this fall, dropped a regional opener to Cedar Rapids Jefferson – which didn’t win a league match in eight tries.

The trend is the same in boys and girls basketball, wrestling, track and field and baseball.

Iowa City High beat Davenport Central for the 2008 boys’ state basketball title. Linn-Mar did the same to Bettendorf in ’07.

Meanwhile, the MVC had three teams in the girls’ 4A state basketball tournament field last year. The MAC had none. Heck, the MAC hasn’t had a 4A representative at the girls’ state tournament in five years.

Iowa City West has been much better than any team from the MAC on the mat, while the MAC could probably put together an all-star team and have trouble defeating City High or City West in a girls’ track and field dual.

So, why is there such a gap?

The easy answer is population. The MVC, a 14-team league, is comprised of schools from four large metro areas in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. All four cities have populations of 58,000 or more.

As a result, there are more athletes to choose from and programs can specialize a bit more.

While the MAC has the Quad Cities, it has four schools in towns with populations less than 35,000 in Burlington, Muscatine, Clinton and Eldridge (North Scott).

But if it’s strictly population, then why has the MAC owned the upper hand in softball?

Why have Pleasant Valley and Burlington tasted success recently in boys’ cross country?

In 2000, Muscatine defeated North Scott for the state softball title, 5-4. The next season, North Scott was second and Muscatine was third. The Lancers won the crown in 2002 and finished second in ’03.

Jefferson and Linn-Mar have been title contenders, but from top to bottom, the MAC has more depth in softball.

So, why isn’t this carrying over to other sports?

It could be argued the MAC was almost on a level playing field with the MVC in the 1990s and earlier this decade.

Bettendorf claimed a state boys’ basketball title in 2005, thumping Linn-Mar by 21 points in the finale. The next season, Pleasant Valley made it to the championship game.

Bettendorf also captured the top prize in football in 2004 and ’07.

While it’s difficult to pinpoint one specific reason, I think the gap can also be attributed to kids’ interests, talent and offseason development.

For many of the athletic programs in the MAC, numbers are dwindling.

Davenport North had fewer than 30 players on its varsity football roster this fall. And rumor has it that Muscatine is expected to have less than a dozen sophomores out for boys’ basketball.

In addition, summer club teams are more prevalent in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids area — especially in volleyball and basketball.

Is it just a cycle? Will the MAC ever catch up? Time will tell.

But right now, the playing field is one-sided.

Mississippi Athletic Conference

Assumption, Bettendorf, Burlington, Clinton, Davenport Central, Davenport North, Davenport West, Muscatine, North Scott, Pleasant Valley.

Mississippi Valley Conference

Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Cedar Rapids Washington, Cedar Rapids Xavier, Dubuque Hempstead, Dubuque Senior, Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa City High, Iowa City West, Linn-Mar, Waterloo East, Waterloo West.