A couple random thoughts on Master Schedule release

[NNDman]

1. King William dropped Essex (a big money game for years) and replaced them with Hanover. These two played in the regular season for every year since 1994 (with exception of the spring 2021 and fall 2021 seasons). They will meet in a pre-season scrimmage.
2. Eight schools are in Region 1B and there's only two non-district games between Region 1B teams. Cumberland vs. Altavista and Cumberland vs. William Campbell; I guess this is because it's such a far-flung region????
3. The Northern Neck District has flipped its district scheduling. End-of-regular-season games between traditional rivals (Essex-Rappahannock, Lancaster-Northumberland, Colonial Beach-Westmoreland) are now district openers.
4. Nandua and Arcadia (I know they are 2A!) are playing home games at 6 pm. I wonder if that will start a new trend among other small schools?
5. Are Middlesex, Charles City and Mathews (if they have a team) now eligible for postseason play? None of the 3 play 2A King William which has produced a schedule with just 2 Class 1 foes: traditional rivals West Point and King & Queen.

 

[WP02alum]

I was just checking that the other day myself. WP ain’t never gonna beat KW if we stop scheduling the game!

 

[NNDman]

King William last lost a Tidewater District game in 2008! And yes, they are much larger school than the other Tidewater teams, but they don't seem to be as dominant in other Tidewater sports at least not to the level that football is.

 

[NNDman]

And that new football schedule makes one wonder if its a precursor to KW seeking membership in the Bay Rivers District (more logical) or the Battlefield District. Would mean a bit more travel for all sports. Probably not likely to happen, though.

 

[Virginia HS Football Fan]

And that new football schedule makes one wonder if its a precursor to KW seeking membership in the Bay Rivers District (more logical) or the Battlefield District. Would mean a bit more travel for all sports. Probably not likely to happen, though.

I just read what you were alluding to. I totally agree with you. I could see King William making a move in 2025.

You're right about the Bay Rivers making sense to them. I'm not sure if the Battlefield would take them though.

I think the three Class 4 Spotsylvania schools would rather have more freedom in their out-of-district scheduling to be honest. If you add King William, that's eight district games let-alone King William being a Class 2 school. I just don't think that will mesh well with the district.

 

[bpsdrefromva]

1. King William dropped Essex (a big money game for years) and replaced them with Hanover. These two played in the regular season for every year since 1994 (with exception of the spring 2021 and fall 2021 seasons). They will meet in a pre-season scrimmage.
2. Eight schools are in Region 1B and there's only two non-district games between Region 1B teams. Cumberland vs. Altavista and Cumberland vs. William Campbell; I guess this is because it's such a far-flung region????
3. The Northern Neck District has flipped its district scheduling. End-of-regular-season games between traditional rivals (Essex-Rappahannock, Lancaster-Northumberland, Colonial Beach-Westmoreland) are now district openers.
4. Nandua and Arcadia (I know they are 2A!) are playing home games at 6 pm. I wonder if that will start a new trend among other small schools?
5. Are Middlesex, Charles City and Mathews (if they have a team) now eligible for postseason play? None of the 3 play 2A King William which has produced a schedule with just 2 Class 1 foes: traditional rivals West Point and King & Queen.

The answer to number 5 is yes. It was approved by the region and district that they are postseason eligible without playing a complete district schedule. Had to be agreed by both the Tidewater District and Region A.

 

[WP02alum]

For football at least, it seems to be in everyone’s best interest. I’m glad to see KW/WP & KW/KQ continue. Sad to see Essex/KW end. Surprising, but that was non-district anyways, so not a big deal if they’re just taking a 2-year break from that game.

 

[17Bluebird]

Why not send an invite to Bruton, Poquoson, and John Marshall to join the Tidewater district.

 

[bpsdrefromva]

Why not send an invite to Bruton, Poquoson, and John Marshall to join the Tidewater district.

York County Public Schools want to keep all their schools in the same district.

Poquoson is too far.

Richmond City Public Schools want their schools to stay in the same district for the most part.

 

[kwhs95fan]

For football at least, it seems to be in everyone’s best interest. I’m glad to see KW/WP & KW/KQ continue. Sad to see Essex/KW end. Surprising, but that was non-district anyways, so not a big deal if they’re just taking a 2-year break from that game.

Hopefully KW and Essex is just a 2 year break. That game has been the premier game in the area for quite awhile and is always a huge gate for both schools when they host.

 

[jdjack]

King William last lost a Tidewater District game in 2008! And yes, they are much larger school than the other Tidewater teams, but they don't seem to be as dominant in other Tidewater sports at least not to the level that football is.

Wow, you mean to say that their last Tidewater District loss was to Colonial Beach...who they voted to kick out of the Tidewater and send to the NND...incredible 14-year run (2009-2022) and counting. That game was at KW as well.

 

[offmylawn]

You could combine any 3 Tidewater schools and they are still not be as big as King William.
King William probably would have left years ago, I just think they don't have anywhere to go. Several districts would probably need to be changed for any district to make sense in the area. It is sad the Tidewater has struggled to field teams over the last 5-10 years. I don't think it will get any better and I would not be surprised if districts disappear in the state.

 

[NND Sports Fan]

Actually, Mathews, Middlesex and West Point combined would be larger than King William . KW is 51O; the other 3 are a combined 686

 

[TS69]

Sad to see numbers down all across the state, as well as across the country. Some schools will keep numbers up while others will decline. Economics plays a major role. Schools in the southwest part of the state see a decline in school populations. Especially in the counties where coal was dominant. Other counties depending on industrial sites which have now declined have lost enrollment. Now throw in social media we have declines in numbers also. Kids wanting to specialize in one sport has led to decline in participating in football. My question to all - Are districts really important any longer. At one time when district champion was automatically in the playoffs was very important. Now look at how many teams participate in playoffs from different classes. We have districts made up of D1, D2, D3, and sometimes even larger numbers. Ok you become a district champion what does it really amount to. A trophy for the trophy case. Power points do help. Hard to get kids enthusiasm up when they are a D1 program getting hammered by a D3 or D4. Now everyone isn’t like Riverheads who have the numbers to compete. Just one old persons thoughts.

 

[knightfan64]

Sad to see numbers down all across the state, as well as across the country. Some schools will keep numbers up while others will decline. Economics plays a major role. Schools in the southwest part of the state see a decline in school populations. Especially in the counties where coal was dominant. Other counties depending on industrial sites which have now declined have lost enrollment. Now throw in social media we have declines in numbers also. Kids wanting to specialize in one sport has led to decline in participating in football. My question to all - Are districts really important any longer. At one time when district champion was automatically in the playoffs was very important. Now look at how many teams participate in playoffs from different classes. We have districts made up of D1, D2, D3, and sometimes even larger numbers. Ok you become a district champion what does it really amount to. A trophy for the trophy case. Power points do help. Hard to get kids enthusiasm up when they are a D1 program getting hammered by a D3 or D4. Now everyone isn’t like Riverheads who have the numbers to compete. Just one old persons thoughts.

Really the only thing they provide any longer is an ease in scheduling. That’s it. Instead of an AD having to work and push to schedule 10 football games a year, now you have someone in the district just draft some random round robin format you can get off line and then the teams draw a number and fill in. Works for all sports really. Football it might cut an AD down to having to scramble for 3-4 games instead of 10. All other sports where you have home and homes now all of a sudden instead of looking for 20 games you got 12-14 covered. Doesn’t matter if the scheduling of such games ultimately will hurt your program more than help. Take some of your counties with multiple schools and see how little scheduling there actually is. Tunstall is a great example in the Piedmont. They are the only Pittsylvania school not in the Dogwood, and the county wants them to play Chatham, Dan River, and Gretna in each sport every year. Combine the Piedmont teams and 9 of their 10 football games are scheduled for them each year. Never changing opponents. 18 out of your 20-22 basketball games as well. I think you would have much better participation and much more interesting schedules if everyone went to independent schedules but then AD’s, when left to their own devices, would start brokering deals to stick together and eventually you’d have districts again.

 

[TS69]

Really the only thing they provide any longer is an ease in scheduling. That’s it. Instead of an AD having to work and push to schedule 10 football games a year, now you have someone in the district just draft some random round robin format you can get off line and then the teams draw a number and fill in. Works for all sports really. Football it might cut an AD down to having to scramble for 3-4 games instead of 10. All other sports where you have home and homes now all of a sudden instead of looking for 20 games you got 12-14 covered. Doesn’t matter if the scheduling of such games ultimately will hurt your program more than help. Take some of your counties with multiple schools and see how little scheduling there actually is. Tunstall is a great example in the Piedmont. They are the only Pittsylvania school not in the Dogwood, and the county wants them to play Chatham, Dan River, and Gretna in each sport every year. Combine the Piedmont teams and 9 of their 10 football games are scheduled for them each year. Never changing opponents. 18 out of your 20-22 basketball games as well. I think you would have much better participation and much more interesting schedules if everyone went to independent schedules but then AD’s, when left to their own devices, would start brokering deals to stick together and eventually you’d have districts again.

I live in East Tennessee but spent most of my career in Va. AD’s out here’s actually work in scheduling because most of our schools play within their classification. It might mean some travel but that doesn’t appear to be a problem. Now over in Va most schools have the ability to play within in their classification.(Football). Oh yes there might be a game or so out of classification. Student population has made it just a little better. I don’t think there are any 1A with small enrollment playing many D1/2 games. However you right because today’s AD’s want to take the easy route. Superintendents look to pressure AD’s to limit travel in the regular seasons.

 

[kwhs95fan]

Actually, Mathews, Middlesex and West Point combined would be larger than King William . KW is 51O; the other 3 are a combined 686

KW is over 700, the last I checked. That wasn't recent, but I don't think they've dropped 200 students

 

[NNDman]

Yes, but the present classification is based on enrollment in grades 9-11. And the 510 number for King William is the ADM figure for those grades in March 2022. The Class 1 cutoff is now 350 with just 3 school grades counting towards classification.

 

[kwhs95fan]

Yes, but the present classification is based on enrollment in grades 9-11. And the 510 number for King William is the ADM figure for those grades in March 2022. The Class 1 cutoff is now 350 with just 3 school grades counting towards classification.

Gotcha. I forgot that they were doing it that way now. Thanks for the clarification bud

 

[Essex Trojan1]

Wow, you mean to say that their last Tidewater District loss was to Colonial Beach...who they voted to kick out of the Tidewater and send to the NND...incredible 14-year run (2009-2022) and counting. That game was at KW as well.

I could be wrong but I thought it was being that CB was moving up to the VHSL, they put CB in the Tidewater District because they had smaller populated schools like K&Q, Middlesex, Mathews and West Point to match them in school population. Once CB showed that they could compete, after the 2 year cycle, they moved the to the NND where they could play against schools close to them instead of driving over an hour or more to play TD district games.

 

[m-squared]

Is Westmoreland playing Eastern View something new? I don't think they have any chance of winning (assuming Eastern View is at the level they have been recently) but it will be a good experience for them. it's quite a trip from Montross to Culpeper. What does everyone thing of this match-up? Have a good one!

 

[OCBoy]

Is Westmoreland playing Eastern View something new? I don't think they have any chance of winning (assuming Eastern View is at the level they have been recently) but it will be a good experience for them. it's quite a trip from Montross to Culpeper. What does everyone thing of this match-up? Have a good one!

EV should compete for the battlefield title this year. They return some studs in key positions that can definitely upset King George if the coach can get that defense figured out.
EV and Westmoreland have scrimmaged before. They scrimmaged before the name change when it was W&L.

 

[Virginia HS Football Fan]

Will the lack of discipline doom King George again? You only get so many bites at the apple when your team has a stretch of regular season success.