Sunday, March 17, 2002
A year ago, Warren Harding football coach Thom McDaniels and Canton McKinley athletic director Lynn Wafler traveled to Columbus to meet with some Ohio High School Athletic Association bigwigs to talk about the football playoff system.
The meeting didn't go well.
"It was a waste of a trip as far as I was concerned," McDaniels said.
The OHSAA committee was made up of officials from smaller schools and schools in large conferences. Canton McKinley was an independent, but may join the Federal League in 2003. Warren Harding will probably be an independent when the SVC disbands in 2003.
Both are Division I schools. Both were having scheduling problems. McDaniels and Wafler felt there was little incentive for teams to play Div. I schools in football because the teams don't get any points if they lose.
And they're right.
Larger problem: Div. I programs have a unique situation in Ohio because the teams can't play a higher division school to gain more points. Div. I schools that lose most of their games have no scheduling problems. Div. I schools that win a lot have a ton of scheduling problems.
"They know they have a problem but they don't know how to fix it," Wafler said. "It makes them money and they don't want to step on any toes."
So teams like Canton McKinley, Warren Harding and Cleveland St. Ignatius must play out-of-state schools to fill their schedule. Warren Harding played one out-of-state school last year. St. Ignatius, which won the state title in 2001, played four out-of-state teams and McKinley played three -- including one from Canada.
"That's an absolute disgrace," McDaniels said. "It's an embarrassment to Ohio high school football when the best teams must look out of state for competition."
There's no easy solution. And if you think schools around the state are crying over St. Ignatius' scheduling problems, guess again.
Possible solutions: McDaniels and Wafler don't necessarily have the solution, but they have some suggestions.
UGive schools a certain number of computer points for playing playoff teams from the year before. For instance, if you play a Div. I playoff team, you get six points. If you play a Div. II playoff team, you get five points. You get an additional point for every round your opponent advanced in the playoffs.
"So you start the season with more points because you had the courage to play good teams," McDaniels.
UAward points for playing Div. I schools, even if you lose. Because the playoffs expanded to eight teams in each region, schools no longer have to play extremely difficult teams to qualify for the playoffs.
"Right now, some schools just want to qualify and then get waxed in the playoffs," McDaniels said. "I think you've got to reward schools for playing quality competition."
UAddress the size difference in Division I. Austintown Fitch, which competes in Div. I, has 589 boys in grades 10-12. St. Ignatius has 1,032. Harding has 761. That's a big difference. And if a team like Fitch has a strong team, it still has to compete with St. Ignatius, which often has reserves who are better than most teams' starters.
The bigger the school, the easier it is to have a deep football team.
"Football is a numbers game," Wafler said. "If a starter goes down, you gotta have someone to replace him."
The suggestions aren't perfect, and it's hard for schools like Warren Harding and Canton McKinley to find sympathy among less successful programs.
But there is a problem. And the OHSAA will need a lot of wisdom and courage to find a solution.
(Insert your own punch line here.)
XJoe Scalzo is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.