Agatha Christie, the mystery writer par excellence, once penned a terrific “whodunit”, which was considered her masterpiece – And Then There Were None. In that book ten characters (all of whom were part of someone else’s death) are brought to an island and one by one they are killed. Over 100 million copies of this book were sold and it still remains the world’s best selling mystery.
No one was killed, injured, nor in any way harmed when the PIAA Board of Directors was brought to the “island” in Mechanicsburg on Wednesday, October 7, to ostensibly vote to increase the number of classifications for high school football from four to six. But that is where this mystery begins.
There was supposed to be some serious opposition to this proposal despite the fact that the rest of the country has been classifying their schools this way for many years. However, that opposition did not happen. The final vote was 26-4. Not surprisingly, the three voting members from District 7 (WPIAL) and the District 8 chairman voted against the proposal – that’s it, just those four. Primarily, their fear was the loss of their one-day football championships played at Heinz Field, the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the opposition by 66% of the district’s 123 schools. Obviously, they could not garner any support from the rest of the state. Even Philadelphia, which as late as September said they would oppose the proposal, voted unanimously in favor.
Now, the plot thickens. The Board proposed a second vote to the surprise of all who expected this topic to occur later in the year which would have followed the PIAA protocol. Girls and boys basketball, baseball, and softball would also move to six classifications and girls volleyball, boys soccer, and girls soccer went to four classes, field hockey to three, and boys and girls lacrosse to two. This whole process took fifteen minutes and was passed by a 23-7 vote.
So, football will lose a week (from 16 to 15) at the end of the season, but will probably make up for that week by scheduling one less scrimmage at the beginning and starting their season one week earlier. The leagues will make that decision. More high school athletes will have more opportunities to play in state playoff games and more communities and schools will be able to rally around their respective teams throughout the playoffs.
Where schools actually fall will be known by November 15, one month after the enrollment figures are due. Forty-six schools are a part of the District XI. It appears the 6A would have 12 and 3A 12 with smaller numbers for the other classes. So the final chapter is yet to be written.
Agatha Christie’s mystery was 272 pages. The document penned by the Strategic Planning and Football Steering Committee was around 230 pages. One diminished the participants one by one until they were all gone – the other dramatically increased the number of participants. That’s a happy ending to be sure.
Re-title it And Then There were Six. It, obviously, can be sold!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- I watched the entire last round of the President’s Cup from South Korea. It ended at 2:45 AM on Sunday and came down to the last putt. I lost a great deal of sleep, but no one bothered me.
- Chase Utley’s slide which broke Ruben Tejada’s leg in the Mets-Dodgers series was a dirty slide. The best revenge by the Mets would be to win the series.
- With all the technology used in the NFL these days, it was ludicrous that in the Monday night game, 18 seconds ran off the clock after a touchback in the fourth quarter with the Chargers leading 20-17. 2:56 was on the clock after the Chargers took the lead over Pittsburgh. When the Steelers snapped the ball after the touchback, there was 2:38 on the clock. The Steelers won the game with no time left. Otherwise, another official’s costly mistake could have changed the outcome.
- The Eagles looked good in the second half again after a dismal first half performance. Imagine if they would play good football for four quarters! Maybe it will happen soon.
- Important doubleheader high school football action this Friday night on RCN-TV. Easton hosts Parkland and Whitehall visits Freedom. There are really great match-ups the rest of the season. Should be fum!
NFL PICKS LAST WEEK – 12-2; OVERALL 52-25 (68%)
NFL PICKS (WEEK SIX)
NEW ORLEANS
DENVER
CINCINNATI
MINNESOTA
JACKSONVILLE
DETROIT
JETS
ARIZONA
TENNESSEE
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
BALTIMORE
NEW ENGLAND
PHILADELPHIA
