MIAA hears new season-long plan
‘We need for Thanksgiving to be relevant again’
The current MIAA football playoff plan calls for an eightweek regular season, followed by a statewide tournament in which the top 16 teams in each division qualify.
Milton football coach Steve Dembowski feels there is a better alternative.
At Wednesday’s MIAA Football Committee meeting, Dembowski laid out a detailed plan based off the Connecticut high school plan, which has been in existence for the last decade.
Among the key points in his proposal are the following:
Schools can schedule 10 games in 12 weeks.
Two byes must be taken, one between Weeks 4- 6 and another on either Week 11 or 12.
Ending the regular season on Thanksgiving.
The top eight teams in each division qualify for the playoffs.
Quarterfinals would be played on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, followed by semifinals on Sunday and the Super Bowl the following Friday or Saturday.
“The (Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association) wants Thanksgiving to matter, we have a postseason tournament and no consolation games,” Dembowski said. “We also feel that selecting the top eight teams out of 35 (in the division) is very fair.”
Committee member Ryan Conway, the football coach at Boston English/new Mission, feels the proposal has merit and deserves more than just a casual look-see. Conway, along with fellow committee member Don Heres at Northeast, are not fans of the consolation games.
“People still show up for the Thanksgiving Day games,” said Conway. “People don’t show up for the consolation games, our kids aren’t showing up for