By: Mike Power
First off, to understand the new high school football playoff system you must have a grasp for the system that has been in place for years. Traditionally teams would partake in an eleven game schedule which would annually conclude on Thanksgiving. From there the top four teams from each district (North, West, Central, and South) and division (1, 2, and 3) would advance into a four team playoff. Ultimately there used to be 12 different super bowl champions. But not anymore, the MIAA has decided to turn into a system in which there are going to be six different state champions.
All high school football teams are to be reclassified into six divisions based off school size and program reputation. You may be wondering what division your Rangers are going to be participating in this year and to answer your question we will be in Division 3.
Another difference in this year’s schedule is that there are only eight games on the schedule, even though the team is still going to play 11 this season. After the first seven games of the season the team’s playoff fate will be decided. In the event that the squad makes the playoffs they will be assigned an opponent on week eight as their first playoff game. From there in the event of a win they will advance to the second round of the playoffs and receive a new opponent. And in the event of a loss, they will play other non-playoff opponents for the remainder of the season. If the team were to not make the playoffs in total, they will be matched up against opponents of equivalent skill level to battle against until Thanksgiving. All in all the Rangers will still certainly be playing an 11 game schedule this season.
Coach Reed shared his thoughts on the new playoff system. “Theoretically I like the idea of having a state champion, I think that’s good for football in Massachusetts. The format still needs tweaking because it favors certain parts of Massachusetts more than others. However, it is still a great opportunity for everyone to have statewide.”
This will be an interesting year of high school football to say the least.
