New football playoff system proposed

The first step to another round of high school football playoffs has been taken.
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s football committee passed forward a proposal to the CIAC’s Board of Control calling for an expansion in the playoff system with a quarterfinal round to be added to the existing semifinal and championship games in all six CIAC divisions. The proposal raises the number of playoff qualifiers from 24 to 48.
“It’s good for high school football and good for the athletes,” Ledyard High School football and CIAC football committee member Jim Buonocore said.
“I’m a strong supporter because it’s a positive for the kids,” he added, “I’ve been fortunate to have participated in the playoffs four times, including a state championship this year, and it’s exciting. It’s exciting to experience the playoff talk and the fever and this affords more opportunity without diminishing or tarnishing anything. There will be some very, very good teams and some very, very good games.”
The proposal now goes to the superintendents, athletic directors and coaches of the 142 CIAC member schools to give them a chance to comment on it before the Board of Control votes. The Board of Control will be briefed on the proposal on February 26, but the CIAC said in a press release that final action will not be taken until all constituent groups have had the ability to respond.
The plan calls for teams to play nine regular season games (10 in an 11-game year) with the quarterfinal round played on the Thursday night prior to the week of Thanksgiving, no regular season games will be played that week.
The playoffs then take a break to allow for the traditional Thanksgiving Day games prior to the semifinals. Those games will continue to be held the follwing Tuesday, and the championships will remain on the following Saturday.
“It’s a good thing, but it’s a tough time frame; that’s a lot of games in a short amount of time,” Windham coach Brian Crudden said.
Montville coach Tanner Grove shuddered, however, at the thought of what could have happened this past season. His Indians could have played either Wolcott Tech or Plainfield in a quarterfinal, followed by St. Bernard on Thanksgiving Eve, then New London the following Tuesday. That’s part of the reason why he didn’t support the proposal.
“I like where we are because when you make the football playoffs, it’s a big deal, an accomplishment in itself,” Grove said.
Windham principal Gene Blain, who sits on both the Board of Control and the football coaches committee, agreed that the prestige of current system may be a stumbling block. When the coaches proposed the plan and a mock-up of the past several years was done, several teams with 6-4 and 7-4 records would have made the quarterfinals.
“Football has always been different,” Blain said. “It changes philosophy and, something that we have to be aware of at the Board level, it sets a precedent.”
That precedent is having teams play a state tournament game, followed by a regular season game, followed by another state tournament game. In all other CIAC sports, regular season games must be completed prior to the start of the state tournament.
There is also the question of Thanksgiving and the big rivalries that exist on the national holiday. Could this playoff plan diminish the meaning of those games, some with traditions older than all of us who watch them?
“Every team, every coach is a competitor and Thanksgiving will continue to shine as a great day for high school football,” Buonocore said.
The Ledyard coach added that he had to play a semifinal game this year, four days after a Thanksgiving Day game, and it didn’t change his prep or his starting lineup.
Grove agrees that coaches will continue to want to win on Thanksgiving, but those who have already won a quarterfinal game and are prepping for a semifinal may think a bit about how long certain players will be on the field.
“Knowing that you have to play the following Tuesday, you may start doing things that you wouldn’t normally do in a game,” Grove said.
No matter what, this is a decision that won’t be take lightly.
“The football committee passing it forward gives it integrity,” Blain said, “but I’m going to need some time to look at it and think about it.”