On the heels of forfeits to larger schools, most notably Archbishop Thomas Murphy’s football schedule slipping away due to forfeits from within its own league, the debate over private vs. public schools has ignited again.
In the past, these debates show up during boys and girls soccer postseason brackets are announced and when larger private schools (like ATM) are rolling through the football state playoffs.
But now the debate has kicked off again when Cascade Conference football teams are giving ATM regular-season forfeit wins because of the size and strength of the Wildcats’ roster. Winning its two pre-league season games and one league game by a combined 170-0 had the rest of the league pondering its immediate futures. Three of them — South Whidbey, Sultan and Granite Falls — have issued forfeit losses to themselves.
The issue of private schools like ATM, which has a 50-mile radius in Everett to draw in students and student-athletes, has been brought up many times. Do you force private schools to play up a classification or two? Do you count their enrollments differently within the current classification system? Do you create private school-only leagues for them to play in?
Also, what do you do with the smaller private schools, like Northwest Christian-Lacey, Seton Catholic and King’s Way Christian in Vancouver? The latter two schools have combined for the 1A classification, while NWC is a small 2B school that hasn’t fielded football in several years.
The real debate that would solve this private-public issue in football, at least, would be football-only classifications. And, as it has been noted in the past, no one is willing to talk about that either.
Right now, doing nothing about ATM’s issues and forfeits within its own league won’t happen. A move up to the Class 3A ranks appears to be the end game for the Wildcats, at least from where I sit. And, that will just kick the private-public and football-only classificiations issues down the road.
If it took bigger schools’ unfavorable matchups — top-seeded teams facing each other in regionals last winter — in the basketball regional-to-state games to make everyone move on the new RPI format, why won’t this ATM problem be the catalyst for change in state football.
It should. It is time. A new system — a private multiplier, an automatic opt-up or new football-only classifications — is needed in football.
Allocations
Last week, we took a quick look at the possible district-to-state allocations in football. This week, the WIAA has officially locked in the fall allocations and there are just a few changes. Last week, I covered the 2A and 2B district-to-state rounds, which didn’t change.
For the district 1A teams, there will be three spots into the state tournament. For the Evergreen 1A and Trico leagues, it will be a No. 1 vs. No. 3 and No. 2 vs. No. 2 crossover format.
For the district eight-man teams, it is a quad-district arrangement with District 1, 2 and 3 to merge all of the berths into a Western Washington bracket.
The top-four teams in District IV will play in the postseason: the Coastal 1B League champion will get an automatic berth into the state opening round, while the other three teams will be in quad-district crossover games.
There are four quad-district crossover games, with the winners taking on the state auotmatic berths in the opening round: the Coastal 1B League champion, the Northwest 1B League champion and the top-two teams from the Sea-Tac 1B league.
State sites
In a decision that should surprise no one, the WIAA has determined potential sites for the state semifinal football games to replace the Tacoma Dome this season and there is a familiar one for Twin Harbors teams.
Depending upon the home team, most of the Harbors’ teams will head to Tumwater for the state semifinals this season. Tumwater Stadium, Vancouver’s McKenzie Stadium and Camas’ Doc Harris Stadium are the three District IV semifinal sites.
So, we go from the confines of the Tacoma Dome to Tumwater for the football semifinals. That is a big step down, any way you look at it. If you want to see a bit of positive from this, maybe moving all but the finals out of the Dome could help facilitate a football-only classification system, which would create 1-2 more levels of competition and maybe just 1-2 added state games at the Dome, at most.
The WIAA is moving away from the Dome for the semifinals due to an increase in event rental costs from the Tacoma Dome operators. The state finals will still be at the Dome after the WIAA and the facility operators signed a deal in January through 2018.
Blowouts
Rick Anderson was doing a bit of research over the weekend while helping to update our football season listings and came upon an interesting trend — the vast majority of Twin Harbors football games this season have ended in blowouts.
Only three games this season have been decided by less than a touchdown: North Beach def. Life Christian 14-13, White Salmon def. Elma 54-49, and Ocosta def. Winlock 32-28.
The rest of the Twin Harbors games were decided by an average margin of 27.6 points. That’s a lot of garbage time for reserves and junior varsity players to get time to play in.
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Editor’s Note: Remember, these picks are for entertainment purposes only. They are not meant to be taken seriously, just as a conduit for one’s opinion on the games at hand. Have fun.
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Friday
Evergreen 2A Conference
Aberdeen Bobcats (0-1, 2-3) at Black Hills Wolves (1-0, 3-2), Tumwater Stadium — It is simple. If Aberdeen entertains any thought of a district crossover game in November, it needs a win over Black Hills. The Wolves thumped Centralia, 49-14, on the road. … Wolves 35, Bobcats 21.
Evergreen 1A League
Hoquiam Grizzlies (1-0, 3-2) at Elma Eagles (0-0, 1-4), Davis Field — Hoquiam got its offensive groove back against Tenino. Elma picked up its first win of the season by beating up Rochester. Both feel good about themselves. One will feel better after Friday night. … Grizzlies 35, Eagles 14.
Southwest Washington 2B Coastal Division
Raymond Seagulls (1-0, 3-2) at Ilwaco Fishermen (1-0, 3-2) — The dominant Raymond team we all know has returned over the last few weeks. Ilwaco is considered a dark horse favorite to shuffle the Pacific County-dominant top of the league. Let’s see what happens. … Gulls 34, Fishermen 27.
Ocosta Wildcats (0-1, 2-2) at North Beach Hyaks (0-1, 2-3) — The Battle of the Beaches will see an improved Ocosta team take on a still potent, but shorthanded North Beach squad. By past experience, the Hyaks would be the favorite. This may be the upset of the night. … Wildcats 28, Hyaks 20.
South Bend Indians (0-1, 2-3) at Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans (1-0, 3-2), Pe Ell — An old Pacific County rivalry is renewed on Friday night. The Titans have found their running lane, while the Indians can keep up on offense. Defense will determine which rival prevails. … Titans 34, Indians 21.
Non-League
(No. 4 1A) Montesano Bulldogs (5-0) at R.A. Long Lumberjacks (1-4), Longview Memorial Stadium — Montesano will finish out its non-league schedule against another Class 2A opponent. The Jacks are in a down year, but should provide a bit of a challenge for the Bulldogs. … Bulldogs 42, Lumberjacks 21.
Bye: Taholah (2-2).
Rob Burns: (360) 537-3926; rburns@thedailyworld.com; Twitter: @RobRVR.
