Class 4 Northwestern unveils sports schedule, including 'unique' football slate
The upcoming high school sports calendar, should it indeed happen as the state continues to battle COVID-19, will feature plenty of oddities this school year as schools work to fit their schedules to the Virginia High School League’s condensed-season format. Few schedules may stray further from the norm than that for the spring football season formulated by the Class 4 Northwestern District.
How about a not-quite double round-robin format in which Sherando plays Frederick County/Winchester rivals Millbrook and Handley twice and James Wood just once for the chance to play in a makeshift district championship game and a spot in the four-team Region 4C playoff field at the conclusion of the six-game regular season? Better yet, how about you take those first five games, trade Friday night lights for a brisk Saturday morning or afternoon in February and March, and play them all at Handley High School?
“While we’ve been pretty unique in the Northwestern District for quite a while, we’re taking it to all new levels right now,” Sherando Coordinator of Student Activities Jason Barbe said at the start of a video call with fellow athletic directors from Handley, James Wood and Millbrook on Thursday morning.
The above scenario, should high school football be allowed to happen (and that remains a big if at this point), is the one Class 4 Northwestern District athletic directors have penciled in as the plan for what should be a rather intriguing spring football season.
Because of the VHSL’s cap on the football regular season at six games, the Class 4 Northwestern District, with its eight teams, could not fit a proper district schedule into that format like its Class 3 counterpart and the nearby Bull Run District have done. And because of concerns about potential tie-breaking scenarios, once the district opted to break off into “pods” – think of it like an east and west division within the district, with Culpeper County, Fauquier, Kettle Run and Liberty making up the other pod – a true double round-robin in which all four Frederick County/Winchester schools played each other was also tossed out.
Under the plan that was unveiled Thursday, district teams will play five games against teams from the same pod beginning on Feb. 27 and end the regular season with a sixth, cross-pod game on April 2 or 3. The matchups will be determined by teams’ performances in the previous weeks. The top two teams in each pod automatically advance to the regional playoffs and will vie for the district title in that final week of the regular season.
To determine which teams would play each other twice during the first five weeks, Barbe said teams were assigned the letter A, B, C or D and from there were simply “drawn out of a hat.” Since teams won’t have the benefit of preseason scrimmages, the first two games of the season for each team will serve as tie-breakers, if needed, while the final three contests – one vs. each opponent – will count toward the pod’s standings.
The decision was also made to hold all of the games in the Frederick County/Winchester pod at Handley, which has a turf field, because of concerns about the status of playing fields at the other three schools in the cold weather of February and March.
“The decision to move all the games to Handley … that wasn’t something that we didn’t think a long time and a lot about, and the reality of it is, from a safety standpoint, if a field is frozen, that’s not a good place to play. If a field is ankle-deep mud, it’s not a good place to play. And at the time of the year we’re talking about, those are the only two possibilities we would have,” Barbe said, adding that athletic trainers and field specialists were consulted as part of the decision-making process.
“(The Frederick County Parks and Recreation Department has) been partners with us. We talk to them. If I tell them I want to play a game on Feb. 22, they’re gonna paint me a field. But they also have been very clear about the damages that we would cause to our fields playing that time of the year would roll right through soccer season and still be very, very noticeable next fall when we hope to play regular football. There’s just these multiple things that made this a wise decision.”
Since the Handley Bowl doesn’t have lights, all games scheduled for the first five weeks take place on Saturdays, one in the morning and one in the early afternoon. In Sherando’s case, it will play three of its first five games at 9:30 a.m.
“Our communities are all looking forward to seeing kids participate again. While it might be a little different and unique … I think after the shock of ‘what in the world is this?,’ I think they’re gonna be excited to see high school sports,” Barbe said. “If we’re fortunate to turn these things loose here in December, I think our folks are gonna be excited that our kids are gonna be back out there.”
Barbe added that while in a typical year, athletic schedules are designed to meet the best interest of everyone involved, including the local community, the circumstances surrounding this year have required a different approach.
“Right now the only one we’re working on is what’s best for the athlete because the other pieces, we don’t know what they’re gonna be,” Barbe said.
Scheduling for the other team sports was a little less tricky, as basketball is allowed 14 games, baseball, softball and volleyball 12 and soccer 10 under the VHSL’s adopted format. In a 10-game scenario, the Northwestern District plans to play a double round-robin against teams within their own pods and one game each against the other four teams in the district. In sports allowed more than 10 games, that same approach will be used and schools, if they choose, can fill the remaining games with non-district competition.
For wrestling, Barbe said teams are trying to maximize the eight allowed weigh-in dates by compiling as many three- and four-team events as possible. Schedules for competition cheer, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field and swimming are still being finalized.
Athletic directors reiterated on Thursday’s video call that things are not set in stone, and the implication from the VHSL remains that unless the state progresses beyond the current Phase 3 guidelines, high-risk sports like basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and wrestling, won’t be allowed to take place in the state.
“We’ve got schedules on paper,” Millbrook Coordinator of Student Activities Scott Mankins said, “and now it’s gonna be a lot of hoping and praying.”
– Contact Brad Fauber at bfauber@nvdaily.com
The upcoming high school sports calendar, should it indeed happen as the state continues to battle COVID-19, will feature plenty of oddities this school year as schools work to fit their schedules to the Virginia High School League’s condensed-season format. Few schedules may stray further from the norm than that for the spring football season formulated by the Class 4 Northwestern District.
How about a not-quite double round-robin format in which Sherando plays Frederick County/Winchester rivals Millbrook and Handley twice and James Wood just once for the chance to play in a makeshift district championship game and a spot in the four-team Region 4C playoff field at the conclusion of the six-game regular season? Better yet, how about you take those first five games, trade Friday night lights for a brisk Saturday morning or afternoon in February and March, and play them all at Handley High School?
“While we’ve been pretty unique in the Northwestern District for quite a while, we’re taking it to all new levels right now,” Sherando Coordinator of Student Activities Jason Barbe said at the start of a video call with fellow athletic directors from Handley, James Wood and Millbrook on Thursday morning.
The above scenario, should high school football be allowed to happen (and that remains a big if at this point), is the one Class 4 Northwestern District athletic directors have penciled in as the plan for what should be a rather intriguing spring football season.
Because of the VHSL’s cap on the football regular season at six games, the Class 4 Northwestern District, with its eight teams, could not fit a proper district schedule into that format like its Class 3 counterpart and the nearby Bull Run District have done. And because of concerns about potential tie-breaking scenarios, once the district opted to break off into “pods” – think of it like an east and west division within the district, with Culpeper County, Fauquier, Kettle Run and Liberty making up the other pod – a true double round-robin in which all four Frederick County/Winchester schools played each other was also tossed out.
Under the plan that was unveiled Thursday, district teams will play five games against teams from the same pod beginning on Feb. 27 and end the regular season with a sixth, cross-pod game on April 2 or 3. The matchups will be determined by teams’ performances in the previous weeks. The top two teams in each pod automatically advance to the regional playoffs and will vie for the district title in that final week of the regular season.
To determine which teams would play each other twice during the first five weeks, Barbe said teams were assigned the letter A, B, C or D and from there were simply “drawn out of a hat.” Since teams won’t have the benefit of preseason scrimmages, the first two games of the season for each team will serve as tie-breakers, if needed, while the final three contests – one vs. each opponent – will count toward the pod’s standings.
The decision was also made to hold all of the games in the Frederick County/Winchester pod at Handley, which has a turf field, because of concerns about the status of playing fields at the other three schools in the cold weather of February and March.
“The decision to move all the games to Handley … that wasn’t something that we didn’t think a long time and a lot about, and the reality of it is, from a safety standpoint, if a field is frozen, that’s not a good place to play. If a field is ankle-deep mud, it’s not a good place to play. And at the time of the year we’re talking about, those are the only two possibilities we would have,” Barbe said, adding that athletic trainers and field specialists were consulted as part of the decision-making process.
“(The Frederick County Parks and Recreation Department has) been partners with us. We talk to them. If I tell them I want to play a game on Feb. 22, they’re gonna paint me a field. But they also have been very clear about the damages that we would cause to our fields playing that time of the year would roll right through soccer season and still be very, very noticeable next fall when we hope to play regular football. There’s just these multiple things that made this a wise decision.”
Since the Handley Bowl doesn’t have lights, all games scheduled for the first five weeks take place on Saturdays, one in the morning and one in the early afternoon. In Sherando’s case, it will play three of its first five games at 9:30 a.m.
“Our communities are all looking forward to seeing kids participate again. While it might be a little different and unique … I think after the shock of ‘what in the world is this?,’ I think they’re gonna be excited to see high school sports,” Barbe said. “If we’re fortunate to turn these things loose here in December, I think our folks are gonna be excited that our kids are gonna be back out there.”
Barbe added that while in a typical year, athletic schedules are designed to meet the best interest of everyone involved, including the local community, the circumstances surrounding this year have required a different approach.
“Right now the only one we’re working on is what’s best for the athlete because the other pieces, we don’t know what they’re gonna be,” Barbe said.
Scheduling for the other team sports was a little less tricky, as basketball is allowed 14 games, baseball, softball and volleyball 12 and soccer 10 under the VHSL’s adopted format. In a 10-game scenario, the Northwestern District plans to play a double round-robin against teams within their own pods and one game each against the other four teams in the district. In sports allowed more than 10 games, that same approach will be used and schools, if they choose, can fill the remaining games with non-district competition.
For wrestling, Barbe said teams are trying to maximize the eight allowed weigh-in dates by compiling as many three- and four-team events as possible. Schedules for competition cheer, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field and swimming are still being finalized.
Athletic directors reiterated on Thursday’s video call that things are not set in stone, and the implication from the VHSL remains that unless the state progresses beyond the current Phase 3 guidelines, high-risk sports like basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and wrestling, won’t be allowed to take place in the state.
“We’ve got schedules on paper,” Millbrook Coordinator of Student Activities Scott Mankins said, “and now it’s gonna be a lot of hoping and praying.”
– Contact Brad Fauber at bfauber@nvdaily.com
