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Football stars Luke Foisset, Jackson Kearns and Connor Brice could very well wind up taking one for a collection of struggling teams next fall.
Time will tell.
A football scheduling proposal that blends all 22 Section 1 Class B, C and D teams into a single league was narrowly approved in February and is creating a stir among the smallest traditional Conference III powers.
They are highly skeptical the new setup was put in place to provide competitive balance.
“It really feels like a manipulation of the process,” Dobbs Ferry coach Joe Cox said. “I would never shy away from a tough football game. Playing a game or two against strong Class B teams is not a big deal, but this is over the top.”
Enrollment matters.
And this blended schedule has Class C and D teams like Dobbs Ferry, Valhalla, Tuckahoe and Haldane playing up multiple times when the 2025 season kicks off.
“This was done to serve a few teams and it’s not good for high school football,” Valhalla coach Dan DeMatteo said. “I’m shocked it’s gotten this far. It may be the worst decision I’ve seen in Section 1. It’s not fair.”
I have no doubt the intentions of the scheduling committee were good. There’s no value in a string of blowouts each week. But this feels too much like moving a student who struggles with algebra into everyday math instead of solving the foundational shortcomings.
There is no question a number of struggling programs could become more relevant next season due to a less stressful schedule.
“It was done to satisfy three or four football programs,” said Westlake coach John Castellano, who has no complaints about his team’s schedule but refuses to overlook the issues a blended schedule creates for the schools that are playing up. “It doesn’t help the Class C programs. It doesn’t help Tuckahoe or Haldane. We took 22 teams and threw them into a hopper to help three or four teams.”
There’s no sense calling out the schools who benefit from this approach, but there are Class B programs that have not been in the playoff hunt for years that are set to play multiple Class C and D opponents.
Whether that results in a playoff berth depends on how the math works out come the end of the regular season.
A reversal at this point is a longshot.
So, here’s the primary reason why the impact of this move has to be monitored closely. Remember when the risk of traumatic brain injury was spelled out weekly in headlines across the country?
New standards were quickly put in place to reduce the risk, and high school football only recently reversed the resulting decline in participation.
"We're throwing player safety out the window," Cox said.
Over time, that's an issue that could impact roster size and speed up the introduction of 8-man football in Section 1.
Are we just going to pretend Foisset isn’t likely to get hit a little harder while Valhalla plays five Class B teams, or ignore the black and blues Kearns will absorb when Dobbs Ferry opens against Pleasantville, Pelham and John Jay-Cross River, or look away when Brice limps back to the huddle while Tuckahoe deals with three class B teams and three Class C contenders?
“There is no way to blend the schedule without smaller schools dealing with safety issues,” Castellano said. “They may win those games against B schools, but it’s a different animal. Nobody knows it better than me. I’ve been up and down between Class B and Class C multiple times and it’s different.”
There is a documented history of injuries the small school powers suffer in games against programs from larger districts that needs to be digested before anyone celebrates the increased number of competitive games or the resurgence of a long-dormant team.
Having a junior varsity team is a huge advantage.
Valhalla, Tuckahoe and Dobbs Ferry don’t have that luxury and typically meet up several Mondays during the season to give the underclassmen who aren’t playing each week a chance to scrimmage.
Each program expects to carry 30-35 players, but maybe 20 are capable of impacting a varsity game.
“There are enough schools in Class C and D where you don’t have to do this,” Tuckahoe coach John D’Arco said. “You don’t want to say they’re penalizing teams for working hard, but in some cases they are.”
By the way, Somers is technically a Class B school in football next season.
And when the back-to-back-to-back state champions asked to play up in order to defend those Class A titles, the school was rejected. There is language in Section 1’s basic concepts of athletic alignment that prevents a team from playing up or down.
The roadblock necessitated a merger with North Salem to keep the Tuskers in Class A, which is a controversy for another day.
At the very least, forcing specific Class C and D schools to play up three, four or five times in a season when there are other sensible options violates the spirit of that language. That needs to be part of the conversation when concerns about the blended schedule are put on the record Monday during a meeting of Section 1’s executive committee.
HS football: Small school powers have safety concerns over blended Section 1 schedule
There are so many other issues with football that needed attention.
Anyone want to discuss ways to bring teams loitering in the Hudson Valley Independent League back into the fold? Do we have enough officiating crews this season to cover a busy Friday night or will teams again be playing additional Saturday afternoon contests, which totally kills the vibe?
There is a chance this ends well, but at this point we can only watch and wait and hope.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Dougherty: Blended Section 1 football schedule raises safety concerns
Continue reading...
Time will tell.
A football scheduling proposal that blends all 22 Section 1 Class B, C and D teams into a single league was narrowly approved in February and is creating a stir among the smallest traditional Conference III powers.
They are highly skeptical the new setup was put in place to provide competitive balance.
“It really feels like a manipulation of the process,” Dobbs Ferry coach Joe Cox said. “I would never shy away from a tough football game. Playing a game or two against strong Class B teams is not a big deal, but this is over the top.”
Enrollment matters.
And this blended schedule has Class C and D teams like Dobbs Ferry, Valhalla, Tuckahoe and Haldane playing up multiple times when the 2025 season kicks off.
“This was done to serve a few teams and it’s not good for high school football,” Valhalla coach Dan DeMatteo said. “I’m shocked it’s gotten this far. It may be the worst decision I’ve seen in Section 1. It’s not fair.”
I have no doubt the intentions of the scheduling committee were good. There’s no value in a string of blowouts each week. But this feels too much like moving a student who struggles with algebra into everyday math instead of solving the foundational shortcomings.
There is no question a number of struggling programs could become more relevant next season due to a less stressful schedule.
“It was done to satisfy three or four football programs,” said Westlake coach John Castellano, who has no complaints about his team’s schedule but refuses to overlook the issues a blended schedule creates for the schools that are playing up. “It doesn’t help the Class C programs. It doesn’t help Tuckahoe or Haldane. We took 22 teams and threw them into a hopper to help three or four teams.”
There’s no sense calling out the schools who benefit from this approach, but there are Class B programs that have not been in the playoff hunt for years that are set to play multiple Class C and D opponents.
Whether that results in a playoff berth depends on how the math works out come the end of the regular season.
A reversal at this point is a longshot.
You must be registered for see images attach
So, here’s the primary reason why the impact of this move has to be monitored closely. Remember when the risk of traumatic brain injury was spelled out weekly in headlines across the country?
New standards were quickly put in place to reduce the risk, and high school football only recently reversed the resulting decline in participation.
"We're throwing player safety out the window," Cox said.
Over time, that's an issue that could impact roster size and speed up the introduction of 8-man football in Section 1.
Are we just going to pretend Foisset isn’t likely to get hit a little harder while Valhalla plays five Class B teams, or ignore the black and blues Kearns will absorb when Dobbs Ferry opens against Pleasantville, Pelham and John Jay-Cross River, or look away when Brice limps back to the huddle while Tuckahoe deals with three class B teams and three Class C contenders?
“There is no way to blend the schedule without smaller schools dealing with safety issues,” Castellano said. “They may win those games against B schools, but it’s a different animal. Nobody knows it better than me. I’ve been up and down between Class B and Class C multiple times and it’s different.”
There is a documented history of injuries the small school powers suffer in games against programs from larger districts that needs to be digested before anyone celebrates the increased number of competitive games or the resurgence of a long-dormant team.
Having a junior varsity team is a huge advantage.
Valhalla, Tuckahoe and Dobbs Ferry don’t have that luxury and typically meet up several Mondays during the season to give the underclassmen who aren’t playing each week a chance to scrimmage.
Each program expects to carry 30-35 players, but maybe 20 are capable of impacting a varsity game.
“There are enough schools in Class C and D where you don’t have to do this,” Tuckahoe coach John D’Arco said. “You don’t want to say they’re penalizing teams for working hard, but in some cases they are.”
You must be registered for see images attach
By the way, Somers is technically a Class B school in football next season.
And when the back-to-back-to-back state champions asked to play up in order to defend those Class A titles, the school was rejected. There is language in Section 1’s basic concepts of athletic alignment that prevents a team from playing up or down.
The roadblock necessitated a merger with North Salem to keep the Tuskers in Class A, which is a controversy for another day.
At the very least, forcing specific Class C and D schools to play up three, four or five times in a season when there are other sensible options violates the spirit of that language. That needs to be part of the conversation when concerns about the blended schedule are put on the record Monday during a meeting of Section 1’s executive committee.
HS football: Small school powers have safety concerns over blended Section 1 schedule
There are so many other issues with football that needed attention.
Anyone want to discuss ways to bring teams loitering in the Hudson Valley Independent League back into the fold? Do we have enough officiating crews this season to cover a busy Friday night or will teams again be playing additional Saturday afternoon contests, which totally kills the vibe?
There is a chance this ends well, but at this point we can only watch and wait and hope.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Dougherty: Blended Section 1 football schedule raises safety concerns
Continue reading...
