AUGUSTA — The Maine Principals’ Association football committee made some changes to the blueprint for four classes of high school football when it met Tuesday, but considering the scope of what the committee is trying to do, the changes are considered minor.
“It’s a work in progress,” said Paul Bickford, committee member and assistant principal at Oxford Hills High in South Paris, “but I like where we’re at right now.”
In May, the committee created a first draft for a four-class football structure to begin play in 2013. The plan was sent to each football playing school to gauge reaction and learn which schools would want to petition for a higher class.
Only three schools – Biddeford, Mountain Valley and Wells – expressed interest in playing in a higher class.
Biddeford, slotted in Class B with an enrollment of 830 students, said it would like to stay in Class A.
Mountain Valley and Wells, winners of the last two Class B state championships, would be in Class D in a four-class system. Each decided it will play in Class C should the four-division proposal take effect.
To accommodate those requests, the committee adjusted the enrollment numbers for Class D and Class A. Class D will consist of schools with 459 and fewer students. That change dropped Yarmouth to Western Class D and John Bapst to Eastern Class D. Winthrop was moved from the East to the West, giving each Class D division 10 teams.
With Wells and Mountain Valley now in Western Class C, Morse was put in the East, giving each Class C division 10 teams.
The cutoff for Class A was raised from 850 students to 854, moving Gorham to Class B. Both Class A and B leagues have nine members.
The four-class proposal is to set up divisions for the playoffs; leagues will still be expected to create their schedules. Flexibility and creativity in schedule- making will be key, especially in Class A, where the three Portland schools – Deering, Portland and Cheverus – would move from West to East.
Massabesic Coach John Morin said the Portland schools are fine with the move but if they’re expected to compete with traditional Eastern schools in the playoffs, they want to play those teams in the regular season.
This means the Eastern and Western teams will have to work together to create a schedule that will include crossover games.
“It means the leagues getting creative and taking care of it,” said Morin.
The revised plan will go out to schools next week, said the MPA assistant director, Mike Burnham.
The four-class proposal will be discussed again at the committee’s Nov. 28 meeting.
“We’ll give schools one more opportunity to apply up or down before the committee’s final recommendation,” Burnham said.
More movement is expected as schools look at how their teams do this season. One possible move is Ellsworth/Sumner, which will make its debut this fall. Ellsworth will play in the Class C Little Ten Conference, replacing Calais, which suspended its program due to a lack of interest.
In 2013, Ellsworth’s enrollment would put the team in Class B, but the school could elect to play down in Class C as it builds itself up. That could mean Gardiner, which would be the biggest school in Eastern Class C, could move to Class B.
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