10-09-2002, 07:23 AM
The ACC may scrounge a few good players, but this is why there is no depth and no heart in ACC teams like UMd, UVa and UNC. Penn St also recruits this area heavily, and this probably explains why they've hit the skids over the past few years.
From the Washington Post
By This Week's Issue: Strength of Schedule
Wednesday, October 9, 2002; Page D05
You would not think that putting together a high school football schedule could be so complicated. But the chance of getting some of the region's top teams to agree to play each other is about as hard as obtaining season tickets for the Washington Redskins.
Meantime, fans are left starving for marquee contests such as No. 3 Georgetown Prep taking on two-time Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion DeMatha. Or better yet, No. 4 Hylton against No. 6 Gonzaga.
That will never transpire. You will, however, continue to hear excuses about complex playoff point systems, preserving winning streaks and conflicting open dates.
Last week, the situation looked as if it might change at least in Northern Virginia. The Northern Region athletic directors gathered for their monthly meeting, and the agenda contained a proposal that would allow its schools to once again seek exemptions to play out-of-region public school opponents if they wanted. The athletic directors stopped allowing schools that option three years ago, when Westfield opened and gave the region an even number of teams (28).
The Virginia High Schools League even provided another incentive, a new rule effective next year that allows schools to receive playoff points even if they lose to an out-of-state public school. However, the region's athletic directors vetoed the proposal, with most claiming it would create a scheduling nightmare for some schools.
"You can't imagine how tough it is to schedule games," said Jeff Dietze, the athletic director at West Potomac High School and chairman of the Northern Region scheduling committee. "We have to look at the overall region program. Some schools have more difficulty getting games than others."
But the point system isn't the only problem. Maryland's system does give points to non-public and out-of-state schools based on their enrollment, just as with in-state schools. But even that does not encourage teams to strengthen its schedule.
Isn't competing in high school athletics in part about taking risks, and in the process learning something from the encounter whether your team wins or loses? Of course, you don't want to see unevenly matched teams playing each other. But by the looks of some schedules, this happens far more on Friday nights than high-caliber teams clashing against one another.
But ever since a 21-20 double-overtime victory against Georgetown Prep in 1998, Seneca Valley Coach Terry Changuris won't schedule another private school because he said the level of competition is unfair.
"We're playing a private school that can recruit all over the state and we're restricted to the kids that walk through our doors. It's a huge disadvantage," he said.
Disadvantaged? A one-point victory doesn't sound like Seneca Valley's players couldn't compete, or that Georgetown Prep was far superior. At the time, the Screaming Eagles were the area's top-ranked team, and Georgetown Prep was 1-1 entering the game. It is a shame that other student-athletes like those at Seneca Valley aren't getting a shot to play some of the toughest teams in the area.
Georgetown Prep Coach Dan Paro insists that his schedule is competitive even though five of its non-conference opponents have a combined 11-10 record so far this season. He has heard rumblings that his team's schedule is weak, tarnishing the Little Hoyas' area-best 25-game winning streak.
"I don't think people know about the teams that are on our schedule, and it's not just Georgetown Prep," Paro said. "They see a little private school and say they're not tough."
There are several schools that managed to put together a tough schedule in spite of the limited availability of dates, the petty squabbles about where the games should be played and the risk of not making the state playoffs.
Urbana opened the season 0-2 after dropping games to Baltimore powerhouse Gilman and perennial contender Park View of Loudoun County. Good Counsel suffered two tough non-conference losses to Georgetown Prep and four-time D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Conference champion Dunbar.
Coaches have to be willing to find a way to make the dates work, including the possibility of dropping lesser opponents from their schedules. Maybe, the VHSL can go a step further by voting to award points to those teams that play against private schools.
Until then, fans will just have to continue to fantasize about those marquee matchups.
-- Judith Evans
<small>[ October 09, 2002, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: DrTorch ]</small>
From the Washington Post
By This Week's Issue: Strength of Schedule
Wednesday, October 9, 2002; Page D05
You would not think that putting together a high school football schedule could be so complicated. But the chance of getting some of the region's top teams to agree to play each other is about as hard as obtaining season tickets for the Washington Redskins.
Meantime, fans are left starving for marquee contests such as No. 3 Georgetown Prep taking on two-time Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion DeMatha. Or better yet, No. 4 Hylton against No. 6 Gonzaga.
That will never transpire. You will, however, continue to hear excuses about complex playoff point systems, preserving winning streaks and conflicting open dates.
Last week, the situation looked as if it might change at least in Northern Virginia. The Northern Region athletic directors gathered for their monthly meeting, and the agenda contained a proposal that would allow its schools to once again seek exemptions to play out-of-region public school opponents if they wanted. The athletic directors stopped allowing schools that option three years ago, when Westfield opened and gave the region an even number of teams (28).
The Virginia High Schools League even provided another incentive, a new rule effective next year that allows schools to receive playoff points even if they lose to an out-of-state public school. However, the region's athletic directors vetoed the proposal, with most claiming it would create a scheduling nightmare for some schools.
"You can't imagine how tough it is to schedule games," said Jeff Dietze, the athletic director at West Potomac High School and chairman of the Northern Region scheduling committee. "We have to look at the overall region program. Some schools have more difficulty getting games than others."
But the point system isn't the only problem. Maryland's system does give points to non-public and out-of-state schools based on their enrollment, just as with in-state schools. But even that does not encourage teams to strengthen its schedule.
Isn't competing in high school athletics in part about taking risks, and in the process learning something from the encounter whether your team wins or loses? Of course, you don't want to see unevenly matched teams playing each other. But by the looks of some schedules, this happens far more on Friday nights than high-caliber teams clashing against one another.
But ever since a 21-20 double-overtime victory against Georgetown Prep in 1998, Seneca Valley Coach Terry Changuris won't schedule another private school because he said the level of competition is unfair.
"We're playing a private school that can recruit all over the state and we're restricted to the kids that walk through our doors. It's a huge disadvantage," he said.
Disadvantaged? A one-point victory doesn't sound like Seneca Valley's players couldn't compete, or that Georgetown Prep was far superior. At the time, the Screaming Eagles were the area's top-ranked team, and Georgetown Prep was 1-1 entering the game. It is a shame that other student-athletes like those at Seneca Valley aren't getting a shot to play some of the toughest teams in the area.
Georgetown Prep Coach Dan Paro insists that his schedule is competitive even though five of its non-conference opponents have a combined 11-10 record so far this season. He has heard rumblings that his team's schedule is weak, tarnishing the Little Hoyas' area-best 25-game winning streak.
"I don't think people know about the teams that are on our schedule, and it's not just Georgetown Prep," Paro said. "They see a little private school and say they're not tough."
There are several schools that managed to put together a tough schedule in spite of the limited availability of dates, the petty squabbles about where the games should be played and the risk of not making the state playoffs.
Urbana opened the season 0-2 after dropping games to Baltimore powerhouse Gilman and perennial contender Park View of Loudoun County. Good Counsel suffered two tough non-conference losses to Georgetown Prep and four-time D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Conference champion Dunbar.
Coaches have to be willing to find a way to make the dates work, including the possibility of dropping lesser opponents from their schedules. Maybe, the VHSL can go a step further by voting to award points to those teams that play against private schools.
Until then, fans will just have to continue to fantasize about those marquee matchups.
-- Judith Evans
<small>[ October 09, 2002, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: DrTorch ]</small>