Medfield Favors Proposal for State-Wide High School Football Playoff System

_The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that the MIAA Football Committee voted, 13-6, in favor_ sending the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association's proposal for a state-wide playoff system to the Tournament Management Committee.

The proposal aims to crown a high school football state champion in six divisions and double the sport's current postseason participation of 17 percent by adding wild card berths through a power rating system, similar to college football's BCS, according to former Medfield football coach Vin Joseph.

To the view the proposal in its entirety, _click here._

Joseph, along with _Stoughton_ High School football coach Greg Burke, are leading the charge to alter the _MIAA's_ current football playoff system and saw their proposal take another step forward Monday with the MIAA Football Committee's vote of approval to send it to the Tournament Management Committee (TMC).

"We feel it's a workable plan," Joseph said. "[The Tournament Management Committee] meets on March 19 and they [will] be more concerned with finances and finding fields for the games to play."

The result of Monday's MIAA Football Committee meeting is good news in Medfield as the athletic director, Jon Kirby and head football coach, are strong supporters of Joseph and Burke's latest proposal.

"I think it is a great step in the direction of a true state championship," said Ormberg. "I think a tremendous amount of time has gone into the design of this
format and I think the time has come to pilot this and then re-evaluate
and process the results."

Kirby favors the proposal because it allows more teams an opportunity to play in the postseason; something he has been a strong advocate of dating back to the process of splitting the Tri-Valley League into two divisions.

"I’m thrilled that the Tri-Valley League broke in half and at least two of our members could go to the postseason," Kirby said. "That’s a step forward ...the part [of the proposal] about involving more people is good."

In order to allow more teams to compete for playoff berths, some traditional, non-league games would likely be removed from a team's schedule. That's a risk worth taking, according to Kirby and Ormberg.

"We clearly have to play all of our teams in our division," Kirby said of the proposal. "That would be Medway, Westwood, Hopkinton and Holliston. Traditional games against the [TVL Small teams] are really what is at risk. ... I think the sacrifice against some of those traditional games against TVL Small division [teams] are probably worth it from my perspective so more people have a chance to be in a playoff hunt."

Said Ormberg: "Some people worry about seven or eight games being enough of a body of work to create a playoff pool," Ormberg said. "I think it is. Right now in the TVL Large you only play four league games. That is a small sample over 11 weeks of football. Those four games become mega-games in terms of playoff implications."

Joseph said the proposal, which is a result of 10 months of work, maintains the leagues currently established and the tradition of Thanksgiving Day games while expanding playoff opportunities for student athletes across the state.

"We think this is really a win-win situation," Joseph said. "It puts two teams from every single league into the playoffs. I think Medway’s only lost four or five games in the last three years [but has] never been to the playoffs. They certainly deserve to be there."

In addition to creating more playoff berths, Ormberg favors the competitive nature of playing more meaningful games later in the year under the new proposal.

"Under previous formats if you struggle early in the year or lose a key player your playoff chances could be over in early October," said Ormberg. "Under this design you can make the playoffs without necessarily winning your league. Being able to play meaningful games late into the season benefits all programs, small and large."

Joseph said some negatives he has heard regarding the MHSFCA's latest proposal centers around scheduling.

"The people from the extremely small leagues, they’re nervous that the people they ordinarily play will be playing the people in their league first and won’t be able to get games," said Joseph. "The fact is there should be plenty of opportunities for them to still play those teams.

"[Another] criticism was that you could play somebody twice or if you get into the playoffs you could play somebody three times. ... The scheduling committee is going to try to not let that happen because we think the teams don’t want that to happen."

Ormberg says those concerns should not prevent the proposal from moving forward and ultimately established for the 2013 season.

"I have heard some concerns that the chance of playing a team three times in a year might exist," said Ormberg. "I think this is a risk worth taking in the piloted year. If two teams meet three times in a year the committee might need to tweak the conferences or groupings to eliminate the prospect. 

"Thanksgiving games are a long-standing tradition and the committee has worked hard to create a format that embraces the Thanksgiving Day games and does not look at them as an impediment in creating a true state champion. Could teams like Westwood and Holliston meet in the season, again in the playoffs and then a third time on Thanksgiving? It could happen, but it depends on whether or not they are in the same 16-team grouping to start the year. These are the unknowns that would have to play out."

Joseph said the MIAA recognizes the need for change to its current proposal.

"Right now, we are the only sport in the state that doesn’t have a state champion," Joseph said. "Last year we had 19 football champions. ... If we want a state champion in football then we need to do something."

Ormberg agreed, saying the biggest catalyst for change in format centers around crowning six state champions, one in each division.

"Western and Central Mass. do not have the same opportunities to play at Gillette Stadium," said Ormberg. "They have their own playoffs and Super Bowls. I think it's time to unite the entire state in culminating games at Gillette Stadium. It seems only fair."

Ormberg said playing championship games at Gillette Stadium is a unique opportunity that needs to be given to more high schools around the state.

"Having coached a game at Gillette, it is a tremendous honor to walk through the tunnel where the Patriots play," Ormberg said. "For the kids to have that experience or opportunity is something that makes high school football very special. I think every kid in the state of Massachusetts that plays football should
have the opportunity to play on a team that might get to be a true state champion and have it play out at Gillette Stadium."

Joseph said while getting to the TMC is an important step, the proposal still has major hurdles to overcome.

"Once you get to the TMC the hurdles become a little bigger," Joseph said. ... "The finance committee may look at how much money they are losing or gaining as a result of this. They are going to lose games [under the new proposal] but typically, the games they are going to lose, as we saw from the last finance report, aren’t games they are making a lot of money on anyways. The games that are left are going to be big money games."

Perhaps the greatest hurdle, if approved by TMC, will be the MIAA board of directors, who told the Boston Globe in a March 1 article they won't hurry to make a decision on the proposal and would like to see the process slow down. The proposal, set to take effect in the fall of 2013 if approved at the MIAA's annual meeting on March 30, would be delayed until the fall of 2015.

Joseph said the state might be out of luck in terms of creating a new playoff system if some form of the current proposal does not pass the board of directors.

"If this doesn’t go, then I’m ready to wave the white flag and say, in spite of what everybody has told us, they don’t really want change," Joseph said.

Ormberg is hopeful it doesn't get to that point, believing the new proposal is in the best interest of high school football and student athletes throughout the state.

"There are too many great football teams that do not have a chance to prove themselves in the playoffs," Ormberg said of the current format. "I think the [proposal] is good for football and more importantly, it's good for kids."