Alco and FH dodge playoff nightmare...new Class 1A football regions

[TDHelmick]

The MPSSAA has created a special regional Class 1A alignment for 2015 football. They had no choice as many of the teams in Class 1A don't have a football program but do for most other sports.

All Cumberland football followers (and especially coaches) will be happy to know that both Manchester Valley and North Carroll have been moved out of the Class 1A West region. Boonsboro moves in giving the West Region 9 teams instead of 11. Why this is such good news is due to the football scheduling dilemma both Allegany and Fort Hill share. No one in the region wishes to play the Cumberland schools, yet they can outpoint those two for the four playoff spots. Both North Carroll and Manchester Valley have been playoff contenders for the past two seasons. What could happen (or should I say is a nightmare for coaches) is that a 7-3 record can leave you out of the playoffs. For FH, their schedule is by far more difficult this season than any other in Class 1A West. Given the difficulty of the schedule, the thought of heading into Homecoming with three losses and having to sweat out making the playoffs was absurd. That scenario has just been made much more unlikely now.

This current regional playoff format has created a "scaredy cat" scheduling complex with many schools including both Alco and FH. They cannot afford to load up with top tier/bigger opponents when 7-3 can leave you out of a playoff. Where other teams in your region who won't play you head-to-head choose to play much weaker opponents to rack up wins for playoff points. It's gotten out of hand.

The realignment was needed. The Carroll County schools are 40 minutes from the Baltimore schools but 2-3 hours from Allegany and Garrett Counties. The MPSSAA did the right thing! Not because it helps the Cumberland schools, but because they had to even out the number of teams in each region.

Here are the new Class 1A Regional Football Alignments for this 2015 fall season:

CLASS 1A WEST
1. Allegany
2. Fort Hill
3. Brunswick
4. Northern Garrett
5. Southern Garrett
6. Boonsboro
7. Clear Spring
8. Hancock
9. Smithsburg

CLASS 1A NORTH
1. Pikesville
2. Manchester Valley
3. North Carroll
4. McDonough
5. Chesapeake Math & IT
6. Fairmont Heights
7. Forestville
8. Surrattsville

CLASS 1A SOUTH
1. Benjamin Franklin
2. Bluford Drew Jemison
3. Edmondson/Westside
4. FAET
5. Forest Park
6. Lake Clifton
7. Maritime Academy
8. National Academy (NAF)
9. New Era Academy
10. Northwestern
11. Reginald Lewis
12. Southwestern

CLASS 1A EAST
1. Bohemia Manor
2. Perryville
3. Havre de Grace
4. Joppatowne
5. Patterson Mill
6. Colonel Richardson
7. Cambridge-South Dorchester
8. Kent County
9. Washington
10. Snow Hill

 

[eaglesinsider]

Chesapeake Math & IT doesn't play football. So I guess 1A North is only a 7 team region.

 

[Lagmeister]

This certainly helps FH, and rightfully so given their schedule. But I don't see how it helps Alco much. Rather, it opens the door for salt being rubbed into the wound. Consider Alco going into homecoming 9-0 and losing to a 6 - 3 FH. So, FH makes the playoffs at 7 - 3 and gives Allegany its second punch in the nose.

 

[TDHelmick]

You can play a ton of "what if" scenarios here to make it fit an agenda. What if 3 losses leaves a team out of the playoffs and Alco is 7-2 going into Homecoming? The frustration comes from the teams in your region that have better records and make the playoffs but refuse to play you. I have no problem not making the playoffs with a 7-3 record, but not when no one in the region played against you. Very frustrating system.

 

[bleedred]

It is a huge help to Fort Hill, and for t

You can play a ton of "what if" scenarios here to make it fit an agenda. What if 3 losses leaves a team out of the playoffs and Alco is 7-2 going into Homecoming? The frustration comes from the teams in your region that have better records and make the playoffs but refuse to play you. I have no problem not making the playoffs with a 7-3 record, but not when no one in the region played against you. Very frustrating system.

 

[bleedred]

Moving North Carroll and Man Valley creates room at the top in the 1A West. I really don't have a problem with Fort Hill, Alco, and Boonsboro all getting in with the schedules that they are playing. I don;t believe for a second that Alco will be 5-5. I doubt that Brunswick or Smithsburg will have winning seasons. Of the four left, Northern plays the tougher schedule,and Clear Spring is next but neither team will win more than six games. Hancock and Southern are both playing a very easy schedule. Both teams are capable of winning seven or eight games. II know that some are saying that Southern won't win more that two games, but like I feel with Alco, they can win seven games easily. Whoever wins that fourth spot will get blown out by any of the top three in the West. With North Carroll and Man Valley in the picture, things, and the games would have been different.

Anyway, good luck to those two schools, I hope that one of them represents the 1A North this year.

 

[beall02]

Todd, are these confirmed regions for 2015? Seems kind of crazy to have just 7 schools in one region and 12 in another. I was looking on MPSSAA.org website for clarification but couldn't find anything on it at all.

 

[TDHelmick]

I was told these football 1A classifications were voted on and approved at the last MPSSAA board meeting. I spoke to the MPSSAA about it and they confirmed but said the info won't be posted on the MPSSAA.org site until the new FALL BULLETIN was updated, which would be sometime in early August. Right now the only bulletins on that site are from this past fall.

The MPSSAA also has not named a successor for director Ned Sparks who just retired. For the time being it seems like his assistant Andy Warner is taking over things for the time being. Andy seems like a real good guy too. I wouldn't mind seeing him get the job officially. I asked Mike Calhoun if he would be interested in that job and he just laughed. Not enough money for that headache. LOL

 

[beall02]

Do you see them dropping down Boonsboro from 2A to 1A this year or is that just an oversight?

 

[bleedred]

Unless something has changed, enrollment numbers, Boonsboro will be a 1A the next two years.

 

[beall02]

I see where I was making my mistake. Thanks for clearing that up. I was looking at old enrollment numbers.

 

[beall02]

I did see the new fall bulletin earlier today on the MPSSAA website and Todd was right on minus the one correction that eagleinsder pointed out. And that SEED is in the 1a South.

 

[BoyznBlue]

I apologize for asking a question that has been discussed here many times, but how did this situation arise? Why did the CVAL fold? Is the AMAL a football league? Why can't the MPSSAA make the regional schools play each other like they do everywhere else in the state?

 

[eaglesinsider]

I did see the new fall bulletin earlier today on the MPSSAA website and Todd was right on minus the one correction that eagleinsder pointed out. And that SEED is in the 1a South.

Interesting that they let SEED join the MPSSAA considering that SEED is not just a charter school, but a charter boarding school. What's the difference between them and the private schools other than SEED gets more state funding?

If you're going to let a boarding school in the MPSSAA that can pull from the whole state, it invalidates the biggest argument against a public-private merger, namely that privates can pull from anywhere.

 

[beall02]

I apologize for asking a question that has been discussed here many times, but how did this situation arise? Why did the CVAL fold? Is the AMAL a football league? Why can't the MPSSAA make the regional schools play each other like they do everywhere else in the state?

Hopefully this helps. As far as to why the CVAL is no longer around I would imagine it had something to do with certain schools not wanting to play certain other ones. It may also have something to do with Allegany and Fort Hill leaving to join the AMAC. If someone knows of any other reason please let us know.

The AMAC was never a football conference. It was originally formed under the idea of being in every sport. Certain member schools didn't want to play other member schools in football so that sport was never included in the formation of the league. Hampshire and Frankfort left the league already due to scheduling issues and playoff positioning within the WVSSAC in other sports. And Keyser informed the rest of the schools that they were leaving at the end of this past sports year unless certain conditions were met. I am not sure if they were meet so I am not sure if they left or not. If they did... the AMAC is basically dead with only Alco, Fort Hill, Mountain Ridge, Northern and Southern left.

As far as to why the MPSSAA not requiring schools to play teams within their own region it comes down to the fact that they don't do that anywhere in the state. The other conference in the State play each other in every sport becuase that is the agreement that the member schools have with the conference. The Mpssaa does not require MVAL schools to play other MVAL schools. The league does that itself. The only requirement that the Mpssaa has as far as scheduling goes is the fact they only include wins over other Mpssaa accredited schools. If I am getting that incorrect someone please correct me.

 

[TDHelmick]

Interesting that they let SEED join the MPSSAA considering that SEED is not just a charter school, but a charter boarding school. What's the difference between them and the private schools other than SEED gets more state funding?

If you're going to let a boarding school in the MPSSAA that can pull from the whole state, it invalidates the biggest argument against a public-private merger, namely that privates can pull from anywhere.

Very good queston...is there a tuition to take classes at SEED? Can they grant athletic scholarships/waivers?

Just because you are not a private school does not mean you are not recruiting. Baltimore City public schools are well know for pulling athletes from all over just for athletic reasons. My favorite quote of all-time:

"They "Dunbar" recruited me to play basketball, not football." - Tavon Austin

 

[eaglesinsider]

Very good queston...is there a tuition to take classes at SEED? Can they grant athletic scholarships/waivers?

Just because you are not a private school does not mean you are not recruiting. Baltimore City public schools are well know for pulling athletes from all over just for athletic reasons. My favorite quote of all-time:

"They "Dunbar" recruited me to play basketball, not football." - Tavon Austin

Anyone from the state of MD can apply. From their website:

"The SEED School of Maryland is a statewide, college-preparatory, public boarding school. Our mission is to present students from across the state with an extraordinary opportunity to receive a tuition-free education that prepares them for success in college and beyond.

We provide our students an exemplary education and living experience, which equips them with the academic, critical thinking and social skills necessary for success in college and beyond.

We believe that together we will do great things. We accomplish this through caring relationships, collaboration, consistency, accountability and high expectations for all who teach, learn, live and serve in our community."

There's also this however: "SEED is a single-grade entry school, meaning we only accept applications for rising 6th grade students."

Which would seem to limit opportunities for recruitment. I would be really mad if I was Silver Oak or Maryland School for the Deaf though. They've always been barred from the MPSSAA and they pull from a much, much smaller pool of potential students and athletes. It has never made any sense to me why certain state funded schools weren't allowed in the MPSSAA.