Published: Saturday, Oct. 04, 2008 / Updated: Monday, Oct. 06, 2008 10:09 AM

Which team is the best ever? It's now your turn to decide!

Say you think Rock Hill's 2002 team was the best? The 1993 Northwestern Trojans? Last year's Clover Blue Eagles team? How about York in 1986?

Your chance has come to speak out -- well, sorta.

The Herald and heraldonline.com are teaming up for the first-ever The Herald Bowl. The contest will ask readers to choose the best local high school football team over the last 40 years.

The contest will include coverage in both The Herald and heraldonline.com throughout the contest.

To start, 14 teams have been selected. You, the reader, can log on beginning Tuesday and vote for the other two teams that will complete the 16-team bracket.

The teams will then be seeded and matched in a series of playoff games over several weeks where you, the reader, will get the chance to vote on who advances to the next round. Once we're down to the final two, it'll be up to you to decide which team is the best. Oh yeah, there's a little something in it for you, the fans, as well.

From the list of voters who chose the winning team, a winner will be chosen in a random drawing on Nov. 21. The prize is a 22-inch HD flat screen TV from the contest's sponsor, Panther Heating and Cooling. The winning team's school gets The Herald Bowl trophy.

It's easy, so join us in our quest to decided which team would beat all comers. And after the voting is done, the arguing can stop. Well, maybe not.

• We picked 14 of area's best teams from the last 40 years. Votes are asked to go to heraldonline.com and nominate the other two from the list on this page.

• Once the other two are chosen, the teams will be seeded and matched in a series of playoff games over several weeks. For example, the first round of the playoffs will feature eight games. The top-seeded team will play the 16th-seeded team, the 2nd-seed with play the 15th seed, and so on.

• The voting won't commence until Tuesday when our new Web site design is launched. Voting for the final two teams will continue until midnight on Oct. 12. The winners will be announced online on Oct. 13.

• The winners will be chosen strictly through online voting.

• First-round winners will advance to the second round, and winners will again be chosen by online voting. The voting resets at zero after each round.

• First-round voting starts Oct. 15.

• Readers who correctly predict the ultimate winner will be entered in a drawing. The person drawn will receive a prize package paid for by the sponsor.

• Brackets will be updated after each round. The first round of voting lasts until Oct. 26, with subsequent rounds lasting Wednesday until the following Sunday.

• The sports section will include a box on its front each Wednesday reporting the previous week's results and summarizing the next round's matchups.

• Voting for the championship starts on Nov. 16, and ends at midnight on Nov. 20. The winner will be announced online on Nov. 21. A story about the winner will go on the Nov. 23 sports front.

Go to heraldonline.com Tuesday. Click on the contest promo on the front page (Herald Bowl). Follow the directions to nominate another team.

A 22-inch flat screen HD television provided by the contest sponsor, Panther Heating and Cooling of Rock Hill.

Chester 2007

The Cyclones made it to the state championship for the first time since 1963. They lost 14-12 to Wilson (Florence) in the Class AAA title game and finished 12-3. The team featured three Division I players: C.C. Whitlock (USC), Gene McCaskill (Kentucky) and Terrell Springs (UAB).

Clover 2007

The Blue Eagles had not been to the state championship game since 1945, but they made the most of it with a 23-14 win over Beaufort, capping the season with a 13-2 record and the Class AAAA Division II title. There were many Clover heroes that day, but none bigger than Ricky Moore, who ran for two TDs.

Great Falls 1991

"No guts, no glory, baby," former Great Falls coach Danny Sawyer said after his team beat Timmonsville 15-14 in a thriller and finished 15-0. Great Falls scored with 32 second left. Rather than go for the tie and overtime, Sawyer went for the win. Bernard Gaston ran the ball in to give the Red Devils their first state championship in 57 years.