It has been a frequent retort among coaches at West Sound high schools.

After losing against South Kitsap, the opposing school’s coach would quietly grumble that they cannot compete with the “University of Port Orchard.”

Never mind that the Wolves struggled for 15 years before Ed Fisher arrived in 1974. Blowout wins were frequent as he amassed a 196-49 record before leaving the school in ’96.

Even after Fisher left, South still enjoyed the advantage of being one of the state’s largest high schools under D.J. Sigurdson. They even dominated like the old Wolves with one of their smallest senior classes in Sigurdson’s tenure as they went undefeated in Narrows League play this year.

Then came Saturday’s 63-14 state-playoff loss against Skyline. It was a game where the Wolves lacked the top-flight collegiate prospects — Skyline senior quarterback Jake Heaps, who has committed to Brigham Young University, and junior wide receiver Kasen Williams both have received national recruiting attention — and overall depth and talent to compete.

That much was obvious as Heaps threw seven touchdown passes in the first half alone — four to Williams. But there are other underlying issues that South must overcome if it wants to compete for state championships again.

Quite simply, the Wolves are blessed with depth, not prosperity.

When it comes to gridiron success on the east side of Lake Washington, follow the money. From the time their children are in elementary school — and even younger in some cases — Eastside parents pay premiums for them to join select football clubs.

Bellevue, which has won six Class 3A championships since 2001 under coach Butch Goncharoff, has its children learning the school’s patent Wing-T offense from the time they start playing. By the time they enter the high school, some freshman have played the offense for nearly a decade.

Booster clubs are powerful on the Eastside. When current Lincoln coach Mike Merrill arrived at Lake Washington in 2006, he was amazed that nearly any reasonable request he made was greeted by a check. The Kangaroos had their football version of a pitching machine — it rifled balls to receivers.

Facilities never were an issue. The best stadium in the Narrows League is Mount Tahoma, which hosts district and state events in several sports. On the Eastside, those facilities are common. Within a one-mile span in Sammamish, three high schools — Eastlake, Eastside Catholic and Skyline — feature their own stadiums with turf. There also are practice fields with the same artificial surfaces.

Coaches in those areas never face the prospect of busing their teams more than 15 miles — as South did in its playoff preparation — to find a suitable field for practice.

Another challenge for West Sound teams, including South, comes down to geography. Professional athletes often settle in affluent Eastside neighborhoods, which offer close proximity to Seattle’s stadiums. That includes the University of Washington and professional coaches, who were often standout athletes in their playing days.

An example would be Bellevue’s boys basketball team, which a few years ago featured the sons of former Seattle Sonics Detlef Schrempf and Jack Sikma. While neither player was as gifted as his father, both now are playing collegiately.

Skyline’s football program has benefited from good bloodlines several times in recent years. Williams’ dad played for UW, while defensive end Cooper Pelluer’s father starred at Washington State before playing in the NFL.

The only known former professional athlete to settle in this area is Tony Boddie, who was a reserve running back for the 1987 Denver Broncos team that reached the Super Bowl. But Boddie grew up in Bremerton.

The result of these factors — in addition to some of the state’s most respected coaches — is an Eastside team reaching the 4A title game every year since 2004. Skyline has won two championships during that span, with non-KingCo schools such as Evergreen of Vancouver, Oak Harbor and Lewis & Clark capturing the others.

That leaves at least some hope for non-privileged schools, but South had arguably its best talent — at least on the offensive side — of Sigurdson’s era and still were not close to a title.

That was not because of poor preparation or play calling. The Wolves worked hard and were mature enough to win every close game this season. Sigurdson was wise to open up his playbook to feature senior quarterback Gordy Anderson and talented wide receivers Isaiah Davis and Leon La Deaux. He did that with balance in the running game led by senior Robert Issa.

But ultimately success in sports has become about following the money.

And even with an enrollment that makes others envious, that will be difficult for South to overcome.