Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) unveiled its state tournament allocations for fall sports. The allocations determine how many teams each district gets to send to the state playoffs in the sports football, soccer, and volleyball.
No changes were seen in soccer and volleyball. District 7, which includes Davenport and Reardan, was given one berth in girls soccer and three in volleyball for the 2B state playoffs. A fair allocation, as the number of 2B girls soccer teams statewide is slim, and three of 11 teams qualifying for state in volleyball is accurate to other leagues statewide.
It was in football that a disappointing decision was made. The 2B playoffs have been reduced to 12 teams from the previous 16. The reasoning given was that 45 2B teams are eligible participants instead of 49 as it was in 2019. It drops four teams from the playoffs.
This decision especially has an impact in District 7 and the NE2B, where a state playoff berth has been removed. The league now has two berths for the state playoffs instead of three, with the same situation facing our neighbors in District 6 (North Central Washington).
It means one team from the NE2B that is likely deserving of a playoff spot won't be headed to state. The 2021 fall football season has, through five weeks, showcased a relatively clear top-three pecking order of Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, Davenport, and Chewelah.
Because of the new playoff allocations, one of these teams won't be playing in the playoffs. This point doesn't even consider other teams that could still make a run and challenge for a top-three spot, like Liberty and Northwest Christian.
The Oct. 22 Senior Night for the Gorillas against Chewelah certainly looms large, but it shouldn't have the stakes of a state playoff berth due to an executive decision.
Let's revisit the logic of taking away four teams due to a reduction of that many teams eligible at the 2B level. As it stands, just over 26% of the state's 2B teams are making the playoffs. If the WIAA had kept the 2B playoffs at 16 teams, that would rise to just over 35%. When the 2B level had 49 teams and sent 16 to the playoffs, that meant just over 32% of teams qualified.
The number of spots reduced in the playoffs creates a bigger differential than the percentage of teams that used to make the playoffs when there were 16 berths.
Still, 26% is over a quarter of eligible 2B schools, but that still doesn't add up when you compare it to the professional sports leagues.
Fourteen of the NFL's 32 teams make the playoffs. That's more than 44%. Sixteen of the NBA's 30 teams make the playoffs, with four more getting spots in the league's new tournament, that's more than 50%. You can even consider baseball, where 10 of the league's 30 teams make the playoffs. That's just more than 33%, which is very close to 35%.
Looking at college, 68 of over 300 Division I programs make the NCAA men's basketball tournament, with 64 spots on the women's side. However, if you narrow that down to five or six of the largest conferences, those leagues make up well over half of the tournament's berths amidst a much larger scale than Washington 2B football schools.
If the professionals and Division I athletes are rewarded for simply being in the top half or 40% of their level, why are we punishing the high school athletes who lost an entire postseason last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic? That logic doesn't add up.
The WIAA should re-consider its allocation protocols for the 2B football playoffs and reward deserving players that haven't been able to compete in the postseason for two years by maintaining a 16-team state tournament.
Drew Lawson is a reporter and sports writer for Free Press Publishing, including the Cheney Free Press and Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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