By Stephen Smoot
The show must go on, but without Lincoln High School and three other teams given hope by a Circuit Court ruling in Wood County earlier this month.
The Wood County Board of Education, almost literally at the last minute, filed a lawsuit against the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission regarding how high schools had been categorized in Class A, AA, AAA, and AAAA. The ruling caused the sports governing body to change the playoff slate.
For many schools, the reclassification changed their seedings. The change also put four schools, Hampshire, Point Pleasant, Westside, and Tolsia out of the playoffs in favor of Capital, Lincoln, St. Albans, and St. Marys.
The West Virginia State Supreme Court of Appeals ruled instead that the WVSSAC revert to the original plan, which resulted in Lincoln, Capital, St. Marys, and St. Albans being once again out of the football postseason.
Winter sports coaches have expressed concerns about the reduced number of practices available for football players whose teams advance deep into the playoffs. Some may not be eligible to compete in early games or matches. Most will not get the proper conditioning to get into “basketball” or “wrestling” shape, at least initially.
Those in the Class A volleyball playoffs may also face disadvantages when trying to move to winter sports such as basketball or swimming.
The first round of the playoffs took place on Nov 22nd and 23rd with the championships set at Charleston’s Laidley Field on Dec 13 and 14, the same weekend and city as the cheerleading championships which will be held at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum.