Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Prep coaches want new playoff format

State football coaches have proposed a new playoff format for the 2006-07 school year that would eliminate losing teams advancing to the state semifinals.

The proposal, on the agenda for the June 22 meeting of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's Board of Control, would instead stagger the start of the season between the three 4A regions.

In 2006, for example, the Northern and Sunrise Region would start play on Aug. 26. A week later, the Sunset Region would start play.

Northern and Sunrise Region quarterfinals would begin Nov. 4, and on Nov. 11, the North and Sunrise would play semifinals while the Sunset Region would start its quarterfinals.

On Nov. 25, the Sunrise and Northern Region champions would meet in Reno for the lone state semifinal. The winner of that game would then play the Sunset champion in the state championship the next week.

In 2007, the Sunrise Region would have the automatic bid to the state championship. And in 2008, the Sunrise and Sunset Region would play in the state semifinal game and meet the Northern champion in Reno the next week for the state title.

The proposal would also move the state football championship to the south for two of every three years.

Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost, who is the president of the Southern Nevada Football Coaches Association, said the proposal was crafted by Hug coach Rollins Stallworth and has gotten support from 4A coaches statewide.

"I like it," Rost said. "The loser doesn't advance. That's the way it should be."

CCSD athletic director Bill Garis said he expects the proposal to pass at this month's board meeting. The format would not impact the 2005-06 season playoffs, in which the Sunset Region champion will play the Northern champion and the Sunset runner-up will play the Sunrise champion. The 2005 4A title game is scheduled to take place in Reno.

The board will also review a proposal to eliminate the state semifinals for 4A girls' soccer. Currently, the girls' soccer title is split because the Northern Region plays in the fall and the south regions play in the winter. The southern regional champions play the regional runners-up in the state semifinals. That game would be eliminated, with the regional champions playing shortly after the regional title games.

Also proposed is an amendment to the NIAA drug policy. Currently in Clark County, students caught abusing alcohol are given a 90 day suspension from activities, 180 days for substance abuse.

"Basically the current policy... has become a don't ask, don't tell policy," Garis said.

The new policy would mandate a six-week suspension for abuse, lessened to two weeks if the student agrees to an education program. A 90-day suspension would be given on the second offense and a third offense would result in disqualification.

Garis said the proposal is currently being reviewed by the 17 district superintendents in Nevada. The board would then consider the policy.

Other issues include a proposal to start a new girls' sport, likely flag football, in Clark County for the 2006-07 school year and discussion on the impact of the new Clark County dress code policy on athletic transfers.

Under the new CCSD dress code policies, if a student or his or her parents don't agree with the uniforms at their high school, they can transfer their student to another school.

There has been concern among athletic officials that that would give a green light to wholesale athletic transfers under the guise of a disagreement over uniforms. Currently students must sit out a year if they transfer schools.

"It creates a potential for abuses for us -- the problem is how do we distinguish between a zone variance for that and any other kind?" Garis said. "It's going to be an interesting topic -- my guess is we'll treat it like any other zone variance."

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