By Rob Patrick
For the first time, the Bryant Hornets football team will be competing against an opponent that’s in the same conference but not the same classification when they host the Van Buren Pointers on Friday night.
And the Pointers, just by playing Bryant, help their post-season chances.[more]
In an effort to be equitable to the second 16 largest schools in the state (Class 6A) while still holding down travel expenses, the Arkansas Activities Association concocted a rating system that enables 6A teams Van Buren and Russellville to play in a league with six Class 7A teams while Class 7A West Memphis and Little Rock Hall play in a league with six Class 6A teams.
The set-up will affect playoffs in football, basketball, baseball, soccer, softball and volleyball in 7A and all but soccer in 6A.
In the most recent reclassification cycle, Russellville (1,199) and Van Buren (1,305), formerly among the top 16 schools in attendance, dropped into the second 16 while West Memphis (1,334) and Hall (1,384) moved up.
Because that arrangement left Van Buren on the Oklahoma border facing the prospect of playing in either a league that included Marion and Jonesboro near the border with Tennessee or in the south traveling to El Dorado. Meanwhile, West Memphis would be traveling to Conway and Bryant.
Until a change in 2006, the top 32 schools all played in Class AAAAA. The change split the classification due in large part to the fact that No. 32 (this cycle, Searcy at 848) had been trying to compete on the same level as No. 1 (Bentonville at 2,416).
With the new arrangement for the 2010-2012 cycle, at the end of the season, if they qualify, Van Buren and Russellville will compete in the Class 6A State playoffs and West Memphis and Hall will be competing in the 7A playoffs.
Seeding will be determined by a convoluted formula in which teams will receive points based on victories, wins by a beaten foe, victories over Class 7A teams and conference championships. (In 6A, a bonus point is awarded for each 7A opponent, thus Van Buren apparently gets a point by just playing Bryant this week.)
In the 7A/6A-Central only conference games will be considered. In Class 6A, all games will be considered.
In illustration, Bryant received 10 points for its conference victory over Little Rock Catholic last Friday plus a point for winning against a Class 7A foe (a point the Hornets won’t get with a victory over Van Buren). Subsequently, they’ll get a point for every conference win Catholic records the rest of the way. And, if the Hornets win the conference championship, they’ll get 10 extra points.
At the end of the season, the conference standings will be set by won-loss record within the league but Van Buren and Russellville will be dropped to 6A and West Memphis and Hall will be inserted into the rankings, according to the power ratings.
The top six from the Central and the West will advance to the playoffs with the top two from each league continuing to earn first-round byes. Tiebreakers will initially be head-to-head competition. If the teams haven’t played, it’ll come down to a coin flip.
It has been noted that both a Central team and an East team could both wind up with points for winning a conference championship which could cause disputes about ranking. Also, would a West Memphis team, for example, that went undefeated in an East league full of 6A teams be ranked higher than a Central team that competed mostly against 7A teams but suffered one loss?
Stay tuned. Controversy may be inevitable.
Going into this week’s games, Bryant, Conway and West Memphis have 11 points (West Memphis whipped Hall, 46-6, to get the point for beating a 7A team) while North Little Rock (no point for beating 6A Russellville) has 10. Cabot, Catholic and Hall each have one point for playing (and losing) to 7A teams. Central, which lost to 6A Van Buren, has no points.
In 6A, Van Buren leads with 14 points getting 10 for its win over Central plus one for beating a 7A team and three more for the wins by future 7A opponents, Bryant, Conway and North Little Rock.
Jacksonville, Jonesboro and Marion have 13 points apiece, Russellville 5, Little Rock Parkview, Mountain Home and Searcy 4 each.
I think . . .
