High school football will double its playoff teams

~ A proposal to create separate public and private state tournaments failed.

Missouri high school football teams saw their chances of qualifying for the 2008 playoffs double Thursday with the passage of a Missouri State High School Activities Association football playoff proposal, one of 30 proposals to pass on the MSHSAA annual ballot.

The proposal, which will go into affect July 1, 2008, on a four-year trial basis, gives the second-place team from each district a berth in the state playoffs. The district winner will play the district runner-up from the adjoining district in the newly created playoff round, and the winners will play in what is now the sectional round.

While the proposal needed just a simple majority to pass, it ended up getting just under 62 percent of the vote.

"I don't think it will affect anyone on how they play, it just gives a team that second chance," Scott City coach Terry Flannigan said. "I think sometimes you go into a district and have an off night in the district championship game and there you sit. You have a good team and you don't go anywhere. ... I think it's good. It will allow a little more exposure."

The Rams have had several strong seasons end in the district championship game in recent years. Last season the Rams were blitzed by Crystal City on a rain-soaked night at Scott City. In 2004, the Rams were 8-1 heading into the final week of the season, but fell to Charleston in the district title game.

If the second-place team would have made the playoffs this past season, Scott City would have qualified and possibly could have met up with Crystal City again.

"It rewards you a little bit," Flannigan said. "At least you get a chance to show [for yourself] that second time around."

Every year there is at least a few districts that feature several state-ranked schools that battle it out for one playoff spot. This past season saw a strong Malden squad drop its district opener to Caruthersville, effectively ending its chances of winning the district.

"I kind of relate it to basketball," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "Around here, our area's so good in basketball that there's a lot of times where a team loses a district championship who could have advanced far if [they had made the playoffs]."

The proposal simply gives a school an extra opportunity to make the postseason for many schools around the state. For every school that routinely wins district titles, there are twice as many that sit home every postseason.

Over the last five years the six schools in the Southeast Missourian coverage area -- Jackson, Central, Scott City, Chaffee, St. Vincent and Perryville -- have won a combined seven districts. St. Vincent and Central have won three apiece, and Perryville has the other title.

"You get that opportunity and that gets the kids excited," Flannigan said. "For some teams whose programs have struggled, you get into the playoffs a few years -- you may get beat -- but at least you get into the playoffs. Kids look at that."

The season will be pushed up a week and the number of practices prior to the annual Jamboree games will also be decreased with the addition of an extra playoff round. This is the second straight year a playoff proposal has been discussed, although last year's eight-team, seeded district proposal did not make the annual ballot.

"I think it's OK," Vickery said. "I would have preferred to [keep it the same], but I don't think this is all bad."

Separate state tourneys

The most talked about proposal among the 31 was a proposal to split the district and state tournaments between public and nonpublic schools. The proposal did not pass, as was the case 10 years ago.

"I think everyone realized this probably was the best thing for everyone to keep the competition the way it is," Notre Dame boys basketball coach and athletic director Paul Hale said. "Everyone wants to play the best.

"I think the vote showed there's a lot of work to be done yet, but it proved both sides are willing to work together and I think that's the most important thing to come out of it."

There was some thought after the proposal went on the ballot it could pass, with the proposal needing a simple majority to pass and just more than 70 private schools out of the 578 schools under MSHSAA. Those early rumblings proved unfounded, with the proposal receiving just over 22 percent of the vote.

"I was pleased to see it was defeated by a wide margin," Hale said.

MSHSAA Executive Director Kerwin Urhahn was pleased with the result, but noted the need to continue to work on relations between public and nonpublic schools.

"We are encouraged by the results of this vote and the desire of our membership to work together," Urhahn said in a statement on the MSHSAA Web site. "However, there is still a lot of work to be done in this area. In the near future, we will be establishing a standing committee on public and nonpublic school relations to make sure that our membership has a formal channel to communicate concerns as they arise and recommend changes when they are needed. Keeping an open dialogue on these issues is critical to making progress and moving forward."

Another proposal that could affect several area schools is a constitutional amendment that establishes Affiliate Registered Schools. This would allow schools with grades nine through 12 that do not meet the requirements to join MSHSAA, or choose not to, to play MSHSAA affiliated schools during the regular season if specific requirements are met. Schools such as Eagle Ridge in Cape Girardeau or New Salem Baptist in Marble Hill could fall into this category.