MIAA hears football proposals
Three plans panned at meeting
The MIAA Football Committee was in a listening mood Tuesday morning.
The group met to hear a variety of potential football proposals. One came from Milton coach Steve Dembowski, a second came from a consortium of athletic directors associated with the Merrimack Valley Conference, Middlesex League, Dual County League and Boston City League, and a third proposal was titled the Mount Greylock plan.
Dembowski put up two proposals, but was quick to mention that the first one was the preferred plan of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association. That plan calls for 10 games to be played in a 12week window with the regular season ending on Thanksgiving, followed by a playoff in which the top eight teams in each division would advance.
The quarterfinals would be played on Tuesday following Thanksgiving, with the semifinals going that Sunday and the championships to be played on the ensuing Saturday at a neutral field.
“We polled the coaches association and of the 90% which responded, more than 70% were in favor,” said Dembowski. “This plan (based off the Connecticut
model whiCh hAs Been in existenCe for A deCAde) gives us A longer regulAr seAson whiCh would eliminAte ConsolAtion gAmes And mAkes ThAnksgiving DAy gAmes relevAnt AgAin.
“Eight teAms in eACh division would AdvAnCe to the plAyoffs. Of thAt, 32 of them would Be eliminAted on the following TuesdAy, whiCh meAns A limited Amount of sChools would Be AffeCted in terms of winter sports.”
Committee memBers were torn, some liking the ideA of getting BACk to meAningful ThAnksgiving DAy gAmes with plAyoff impliCAtions. Others were ConCerned By Cutting into the winter sports in Any wAy, shApe or form, something thAt’s ruffled the feAthers of winter CoAChes for yeArs.
“In looking At the proposAls, the only one whiCh does mAke ThAnksgiving DAy relevAnt AgAin is Steve DemBowski’s proposAl,” sAid Dennis-YArmouth prinCipAl PAul Funk, who previously served As the heAd footBAll CoACh At the sChool. “We need to lessen the Amount of teAms in the plAyoffs And minimize the impACt on winter sports whiCh Steve’s plAn does.”
MIAA AssoCiAte exeCutive direCtor RiChArd PeArson introduCed the plAns suBmitted By the MVC, DCL, BCL And ML. One plAn hAd A seven-week seAson followed By plAyoffs involving the top 16 teAms in eACh division, while the seCond proposAl offered An eight-gAme regulAr seAson in whiCh the top eight in eACh division Competed for A Super Bowl title.
The only mAjor wrinkle thAt sepArAtes these plAns from the one suBmitted By DemBowski wAs thAt the Super Bowls would Be Contested on the weekend Before ThAnksgiving. If this plAn were to Be ACCepted, there would Be no impACt on the winter sports seAsons.
The Mount GreyloCk PlAn would hAve A ninegAme regulAr seAson in whiCh the opener would Be Contested Before LABor DAy. The regulAr seAson would end on the finAl weekend of OCtoBer And only teAms thAt quAlified for the plAyoffs would Continue. One ConCern is the fACt thAt teAms thAt don’t mAke the plAyoffs Could hAve As long As three weeks off Before ThAnksgiving.
At the reCommendAtion of FootBAll Committee ChAirmAn Jim PignAtAro, A survey should Be sent out to sChools Asking whAt they prefer. ShrewsBury AthletiC direCtor JAy CostA Asked thAt one of the questions on the survey should Be whether they would Be in fAvor of pushing the winter And spring sports BACk A Bit.
A suBCommittee will Be formed to put together the survey.
The footBAll Committee would tAke A finAl look Before suBmitting it to the BoArd of DireCtors in the eArly pArt of next yeAr.
In the finAl order of Business, PeArson spoke of the FAll 2 modifiCAtion proCess, whiCh would follow the sAme timelines As the previous seAsons. DemBowsi sAid thAt mAny of his Constituents would like to know soon if Any pArAmeters hAve Been estABlished As fAr As gAme sChedules Are ConCerned.
ThAt question And mAny more should Be Answered At the next Committee gAthering in JAnuAry.