Schools hope new FHSAA division gathers steam
Asking Greg Jordan whether he approved of the new Rural Division in high school sports proposed by the Florida High School Athletic Association was like asking a Brazilian if he preferred soccer over Arena Football.
“Blountstown will stand a better chance of beating a whoever with 580 kids just from that area than beating Ocala Trinity Catholic teams that had kids from all over the area,” said Jordan, the Tigers head football coach and athletic director.
The imprint of that memory is vivid and deep for Jordan, almost like a scar.
“You’re comparing apples to apples now,” Jordan said. “When you look back at what happened to Blountstown in 2005 and 2006 … we had as good a public school as they had in the state, but we’ve got 12,000 total in our county.
“Occasionally like in 2004 you can beat a Jacksonville Trinity Christian, but that’s once in maybe 10 years. Last year, you talk with Jim Anderson at Freeport and he had as good a team as he’s had, and that game was over as soon as the Jacksonville team got off the bus.”
To illustrate Jordan’s point, Blountstown lost 43-0 on Trinity Catholic in 2005 and 50-7 in 2006, both in the Class 2B semifinals, and Freeport lost 36-14 to Trinity Christian in last year’s 1A semifinals.
The proposed Rural Division, which will be formed in the 2011-2012 school year if enough rural schools with an enrollment of 500 or less comply, will discontinue them meeting similar-enrollment schools from metropolitan areas in the state playoffs.
“It’s more equitable and fair to the kids,” Jordan said. “I think our school is onboard with it. The only drawback we had with it early on is that we wanted to be recognized as a true state champion, and not like in 2003 when they crowned us rural school champions which was a mythical thing.
“That rural school thing meant nothing. This would be a true state championship. We wanted the FHSAA to recognize that and they’ll do that. I can’t see any reason for any school” that is eligible not to join the new classification.
Jordan didn’t think that the community is fully aware of the Rural Division and what it could mean to smaller school athletics. Todd Lanter and Vern Barth, head football coach and athletic director at Wewahitchka and Port St. Joe, respectively, said that also was true in their communities.
But each enthusiastically supported the initiative and felt it would be widely accepted when more people became fully aware of its potential.
“I can’t be any more excited. I think it’s a great opportunity for small rural schools,” Lanter said. “I don’t know how effective the word has gotten out yet. I don’t know if enough people really understand what this is about.
“I think if enough schools become involved to make this viable, when pen and paper meet each other and districts are aligned there’s no reason why our school would not want to be involved. It’s definitely the best route for our school.”
Barth said that implementation could depend on the number of smaller schools located in Central Florida that agree to join the new classification.
“Overall if they see the big picture I think they’ll see this will benefit them in the long run,” Barth said. “This is a step in the right direction.
“I know there are some schools that are very small, maybe 150 students, that maybe are against playing a school that has 500. But in my opinion they’ll be playing schools that draw from the same kind of kids they have. This gives them a chance to win their district and go to the postseason.”
