Opponents refuse to play HS football powerhouse

[LongTimeListener]

Archbishop Murphy now 3-0 in forfeits after Granite Falls opts not to play

Archbishop Murphy coach, players respond to forfeitures - HeraldNet.com - Everett and Snohomish County news

Archbishop Murphy, a private school near Seattle, won its first three games by a combined score of 170-0. The next three opponents forfeited out of safety concerns -- what they said, although it was also influenced by allegations of improper recruiting and enticement.

I know this will lead to discussion about the pussification of America and quitters and all that, but you know what? Good for those schools that aren't going along with this charade. Schools like Archbishop Murphy make football a full-time professional endeavor -- and if even one player from those other schools shows the ability to play at that level, they recruit him over to their side. From the Seattle Times story: The Wildcats have a smaller student enrollment, but under Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules, private schools can expand their athlete pool 50 miles in attracting the best to their schools.

They have seven players who weigh 245 or more pounds. Their scheduled opponent for Friday, Granite Falls, is an annual opponent. The combined score since 2010 is 290-30.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

The coach/AD of the conservative Catholic school wants lots of regulations in place to make the free market response of forfeits go away.

 

[Ace]

Good for those schools. I can't stand these places that have to grab every good player in the area and beyond.

 

[Starman]

If you want to field a high school sports team, do that.

If you want to field a junior age-level semiprofessional traveling team, do that too, but don't whine if legitimate high schools don't want to play you anymore.

 

[Earthman]

The beginning of the end of football as we know it is upon us. Thanks Obama

 

[TyWebb]

[coach]
What if Rudy had just given up?
What if The Mighty Ducks had just forfeited to the Hawks?
What if the Miracle Team USA had simply bowed to the Russians?

What if ... [sees opposing team's players]

Yeah, let's get froyo this Friday instead.

 

[Starman]

[coach]
What if Rudy had just given up?
What if The Mighty Ducks had just forfeited to the Hawks?
What if the Miracle Team USA had simply bowed to the Russians?

What if ... [sees opposing team's players]

Yeah, let's get froyo this Friday instead.

What if Rudy ran out on the field and the entire starting lineup of the Pittsburgh Steelers lined up to kick his ass?

 

[TyWebb]

And honestly, I wish more teams would use this option. Having seen my share of one-sided high school ass whippings from the press box, there's nothing that can be gained from a game against a team like that except injuries if you are the team barely cobbling together 22 undersized kids who would rather be playing Xbox.

 

[Ace]

And honestly, I wish more teams would use this option. Having seen my share of one-sided high school ass whippings from the press box, there's nothing that can be gained from a game against a team like that except injuries if you are the team barely cobbling together 22 undersized kids who would rather be playing Xbox.

Especially if you can't cobble them because Mighty Private School somehow found academic scholarships for your four best football players. Oh, and their dads coincidentally got new jobs.

 

[Earthman]

It's not just an issue for private schools. Becoming a big problem for public schools also where
scholarships are not even a factor. A lot has to do with feeder systems. The more prosperous towns
have strong youth programs and the good high schools just reload. In poorer towns kids moving away from football.

 

[Gator]

Not unprecedented.

St. George’s calls an audible

 

[Starman]

It's the schools-of-choice concept run amuck.

Instead of paying taxes to make your local high school better in math, science, etc etc., or football or basketball, you want to send little Jimmy off to Billy Bob's Charter School (or NIKE all-star AAU traveling sports academy).

 

[I Should Coco]

Some states like Illinois had a "multiplier" in place, so powerhouse Catholic schools who recruit from all over get bumped up to larger enrollment classes. That helps for the playoffs at least.

 

[Ace]

It's not just an issue for private schools. Becoming a big problem for public schools also where
scholarships are not even a factor. A lot has to do with feeder systems. The more prosperous towns
have strong youth programs and the good high schools just reload. In poorer towns kids moving away from football.

That's just normal. There are always going to be strong teams and weak teams. But some of these private schools grow from nothing to dominant in a couple years.

That's not feeder programs and bootstraps doing that.

 

[TyWebb]

Some states like Illinois had a "multiplier" in place, so powerhouse Catholic schools who recruit from all over get bumped up to larger enrollment classes. That helps for the playoffs at least.

They used to do that in Georgia, probably about 10 years ago or so. Now private and public schools play in different regions and for different titles in the smaller classifications. Like there is a Region 8-A and a Region 8-A Private, I believe. I stopped covering preps before that switch. I do remember some stat that private schools were winning 80 percent of state titles in the lower classifications before that.

 

[dixiehack]

I'm not crazy about a school waiting until the week of the game to forfeit just because they don't think they'll be competitive. (The other school mentioned that was down to 14 players because of injuries is totally different.) And Archbishop Murphy only made it to the state semis last year and had a losing record three seasons ago. That doesn't sound like an impossible juggernaut to compete against.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I'm not crazy about a school waiting until the week of the game to forfeit just because they don't think they'll be competitive. (The other school mentioned that was down to 14 players because of injuries is totally different.) And Archbishop Murphy only made it to the state semis last year and had a losing record three seasons ago. That doesn't sound like an impossible juggernaut to compete against.

But it is.

They started spending money and upped the recruiting game a few years ago. They don't want to play by the same rules and customs as their league. That's how a series that was formerly competitive turns into 290-30 over a six-year span.

 

[Starman]

If you're playing 11-man tackle football, you should be required to have 22 players in uniform, or no game.

 

[HanSenSE]

"Adversity" of not playing = white privlige? Give me a break.

 

[Big Circus]

They used to do that in Georgia, probably about 10 years ago or so. Now private and public schools play in different regions and for different titles in the smaller classifications. Like there is a Region 8-A and a Region 8-A Private, I believe. I stopped covering preps before that switch. I do remember some stat that private schools were winning 80 percent of state titles in the lower classifications before that.

It's been that way in Virginia (separate organizations) as long as I can remember.