Fewer State Championships (Robert Anderson)

[pdfootballguy 10]

Fewer football state titles would mean more

 

 

By Robert Anderson

 

robert.anderson@roanoke.com

981-3123

 

 

 

Waiting for the completion of six races in the Virginia High School League cross country championships provides the opportunity for some down time.

 

To fill a few minutes during the 2003 meet two weeks ago, a conversation with VHSL Executive Director Ken Tilley turned to the subject of the upcoming state football playoffs.

 

More specifically, the talk centered on the possibility of a 9-1 team from the Seminole District not qualifying for the Region III playoffs while a team with a 5-5 record was included.

 

"I've already received several e-mails about that," Tilley said.

 

My response: I have a few ideas on how to fix it.

 

"Hey, we'd love to hear them," Tilley said.

 

OK, here goes:

 

Absolutely, positively get rid of the six-division format.

 

In 1986 for football only, the VHSL decided to split its three classifications (Groups AAA, AA and A) into two divisions each based on enrollment.

 

Supposedly, this was done to give more schools a chance to compete for a state championship. By doubling the number of state playoffs, it was also designed to produce more revenue for the VHSL.

 

Try this instead.

 

Why not go back to three state championship games but still allow eight teams into each regional playoff?

 

All district champions in each region would qualify, but the at-large berths would be taken by the schools with the highest VHSL points rating in the entire region.

 

That system might seem unfair to the smaller schools that get 50 percent of the playoff action now, but only to a handful that don't have a prayer of winning a state title anyway.

 

Half of the state's 12 regional playoff fields would include the same eight schools that made it this year.

 

Moreover, only 12 of 96 schools that made the playoffs this year would fail to qualify if all the schools in a region are pooled together.

 

That list includes Matoaca (5-5), Meadowbrook (7-3), Petersburg (6-4), W.T. Woodson (7-3) and Mount Vernon (7-3) in Division5; Prince Edward County (7-3), Rustburg (6-4), Christiansburg (5-5) and Martinsville (5-5) in Division3; and Eastern Montgomery (6-4), Castlewood (5-5) and St.Paul (4-6) in Division1.

 

Four of those 12 schools - Martinsville, EastMont, Castlewood and St.Paul - already have lost first-round games. Here's a bet: The other eight will be gone after next week.

 

Are these teams really competing for a state title?

 

What effect would this proposed system produce among Timesland teams this year?

 

For starters, Christiansburg, Rustburg and Prince Edward County would have been replaced in the RegionIII playoffs by Amherst County (8-2), Salem (8-2) and Jefferson Forest (7-3).

 

In Region IV, Martinsville would have been replaced by Tunstall. In RegionC, Eastern Montgomery would have been out, and Floyd County would have been in.

 

EastMont deserved a playoff trip for its fine season, but the Mustangs wound up with a 51-8 loss at Bath County. Martinsville was hammered 49-10 by Graham in its long haul to Bluefield.

 

The strong teams in the VHSL's smaller divisions don't need a watered-down playoff system to contend.

 

Thirteen district champions statewide came from a smaller division this fall. The 2002 state champions from Division5, Division3 or Division1 such as Phoebus, Liberty or William Campbell would have had no trouble contending for an overall Group AAA, AA or A title, respectively.

 

The flimsy six-division setup - where each state champion comes from a pool of roughly 45 schools - is producing too many bad state semifinal or championship games.

 

Look at three of last year's scores: Phoebus 55, South Lakes 0 (Division5 semifinal), Liberty 41, New Kent 6 (Division3 final); William Campbell 70, Appalachia 0 (Division1 final).

 

The playoff system now in use also prevents fans from seeing the matchups they crave.

 

Fans leaving last year's GroupA finals could only wonder what a showdown between George Wythe's Robert Barcliff and William Campbell's Cedric Peerman might have produced.

 

Under the proposed system, the first round of the RegionIII playoffs would have set up the game fans have imagined all year - Liberty at Gretna.

 

Too bad ... the only place that game will be fought is on the Internet.

 

The VHSL also needs to balance the number of schools in each region, even if it's just for football. Move the River Ridge District to RegionIV and bring the Valley District to RegionIII.

 

That way, there won't be 32 schools in RegionII next year and 15 in RegionIV.

 

Of course, my proposed playoff system would require that the postseason be extended to five weeks. The 2002 season that was stretched an extra week proved it can work.

 

The VHSL could make up for the revenue shortfall from having only nine semifinal and championship games instead of 18 by working a deal to divide the gate receipts from the regional finals.

 

Each region would still have two weeks worth of revenue.

 

So that's my proposal. Will it be adopted?

 

Sometimes change in the VHSL is like a cross country race. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

[pdfootballguy 10]

This looks like a very good proposal and it is proof that there is talk among the powers that be about the flaws of the system. What does everybody think about it??? I would be willing to put all I have into pressuring for this proposal. Imagine the games you would get out of this deal!!!

[Guest Woolybugger]

The best solution I have seen yet.

 

I can understand the thinking in going to the six-division format, which was in part to ensure teams wouldn't miss the playoffs after exemplary regular seasons.

(Galax went 9-1, had seven shutouts, allowed 28 pts in 10 games and stayed home in 1984, a year after dropping to Group A and couple of years before the 6-division format went into effect. I'm sure there are other examples.)

 

But this season has proven that it can still happen (see Honaker, Seminole District, et al).

 

District champions should be given a playoff spot, but that's as far as it should go. This new rating system was supposed to reward a strong schedule. Ask Carroll County (No. 1 rating in Region IV, D4, but a No. 3 seed), Honaker and others how well that played out.