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Saturday, August 15, 1998
More championships, longer season in 1998
By MARK BABINECK
Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON (AP) -- If you believe bigger is indeed better, then
you'll love Texas high school football in 1998.
More regular-season weekends, more playoff games and more champions
than ever await when the season kicks off Aug. 27.
The biggest changes are coming for some of the smaller schools
as Classes 2A and 3A join 4A and 5A by having a two-tiered playoff
structure. That means three teams from each district will fill
two divisions, hence two crowns in each class.
It also means Texas will have 10 public school champions.
The coaches of the last unified champions in 2A and 3A have
alternate viewpoints on the subject.
"I'm still against it," said Mark Cotton, coach of
2A champ Stanton. "I just don't believe a majority of 2A
districts have three good football teams."
Sealy coach T.J. Mills, owner of a state-record four consecutive
3A championships, supports the idea of 32 more teams in each classification
getting a shot at the playoffs.
But, he warns, increased participation comes at a price.
"You're going to see some great teams playing some teams
that have no business being there, and getting beat pretty bad,"
Mills said. "Nobody's going to die over it; it's just going
to be some ugly games."
La Grange coach Tony Valastro summed up the feelings of many
coaches uneasy with the expanded system: "If we make the
playoffs as a third-place team I'll be extremely happy. Other
than that, I don't really care for it."
Few coaches love the dual divisional setup as it stands: The
largest playoff team in each 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A district goes to
a 32-team bracket for the Division I title; the other two teams
play in a 64-team bracket, meaning they must survive an extra
playoff game for the Division II crown.
Six-man and 1A leagues continue to have one champion.
University Interscholastic League officials say they're trying
to come up with a better system. Possibilities include the creation
of a Class 6A or creating a single 128-team bracket per class
that takes four teams from each district.
"No matter how you do it, it doesn't matter if you put
forward a perfect plan, there are going to be critics," said
UIL athletic director Charles Breithaupt.
Another rule change allows all teams to play their 10 games
over 11 weeks, beginning the last weekend of August. Eventually,
that could open the door the seven-week playoff run a 128-team
bracket would require.
Supporters of expanded playoffs need look no further than La
Marque. Last year, the Cougars lost two district games. They finished
third in 23-4A, good for a spot in the Division II playoffs. They
went on to win a third straight state title.
A week earlier, 23-4A champ Texas City won the Division I crown.
It was the first time one 4A district provided both champions
and the second time it has happened since multiple titles began
in 1990.
So, because Texas City beat La Marque in the regular season,
would that make them it the "real" 4A champion?
"It's much like the mythical national championship in
college football," Breithaupt said. "I think it's good
that you have a little bit of that. You can't take anything away
from Texas City or La Marque. Each team going to say, 'We've got
the best team.' "
By the way, that Galveston County mainland rivalry heats up
again Oct. 23, the same night 3A favorites Sealy and Sweeny battle.
Sweeny dropped from 4A in the February realignment and immediately
becomes a force in the smaller conference.
Other dates to watch include:
--Sept. 4: Tyler John Tyler visits Fort Worth Wyatt in a great
5A-4A matchup. Also, Waxahachie meets fellow 4A power Keller,
two weeks before taking on Division I finalist Corsicana.
--Oct. 16: The annual clash between perennial 2A powers and
district rivals Celina and Pilot Point.
--Nov. 6: Odessa, which broke a 32-year losing streak against
Odessa Permian last year, will try making it two straight wins.
Also, Duncanville, which faces Division I finalist Longview on
Sept. 18 at Texas Stadium, gets another stiff test against Arlington
Lamar.
--Dec. 12, 19: Championship Saturdays. The four Division I
champions and the six-man champ will be determined first, followed
a week later by the four Division II and 1A winners.
The biennial realignment in February added its usual wrinkles
to traditional rivalries and scheduling across the state.
Most notably, San Angelo Central left the Abilene-Midland-Odessa
District 4-5A and moved to the traditionally weaker -- and farther
-- Amarillo-Lubbock District 3-5A.
Also, a logjam in the Rio Grande Valley was relieved with the
addition of a third district.
"This was a daunting task to try to align five conferences
into 32 districts in a state the size of Texas," Breithaupt
said.
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