Ch-ch-ch-changes : 2007


Well, this is going to take a while, so grab a drink and settle in.

First, the new coaches and new schools / stadium info have their own pages.

Next, we have some rule changes.

  Here's the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) rule changes for 2007, along with their press release and a more user-friendly version from British Columbia.

  Basically, a majority of the changes are tweaks in the wording in order to provide clarification of terms like flagrant foul, passer and head coach (and, yes, I'm serious). Also, the new game jersey specs were clarified and the beginning date was moved to 2012. A big change is Rule 8-2-2 : When a penalty is called against the defense during a TD, enforcement can now be delayed until the ensuing kickoff. But the biggest item is tweaks in Rules 2-20 & 9-4-3, which aim to reduce both illegal helmet contact and head/neck injuries.


Here are the major VHSL changes :
68-6-1 : New ratings scale.  Changes points earned for playing an opponent to :
         4 for A, 8 for AA & 12 for AAA.   Each win is now worth 12 points.
         "Rider" points will remain the same : 
              2 points for every win by a team you beat
              1 point  for every win by a team you lost to

(This was designed to put an emphasis on winning.  Each win is now worth 4 or
 5 points more than before, while each loss is now worth 2 or 3 points more.)


Here's a run down of the points you would get under both systems :

  opponent is     old     new                          old     new
                 W / L   W / L                        W / L   W / L

Div. 4, 9 wins - 34/15 , 38/17       Div. 2, 9 wins - 30/11 , 34/13
Div. 3, 9 wins - 33/14 , 38/17       Div. 1, 9 wins - 29/10 , 34/13

Div. 4, 5 wins - 26/11 , 30/13       Div. 2, 5 wins - 22/ 7 , 26/ 9
Div. 3, 5 wins - 25/10 , 30/13       Div. 1, 5 wins - 21/ 6 , 26/ 9

Div. 4, 1 win  - 18/ 7 , 22/ 9       Div. 2, 1 win -  14/ 3 , 18/ 5
Div. 3, 1 win  - 17/ 6 , 22/ 9       Div. 1, 1 win -  13/ 2 , 18/ 5




68-4-1, 68-4-2, 68-8-4 & 68-8-5 (3) :  Combined, these give each Region the 
   option of replacing regular season Week 12 of the football calendar with 
   a "preliminary" playoff round.  If done, the highest remaining seed will 
   play the lowest remaining seed in the Regional semis.

    (NOTE : If your Region has added the "prelim" round, your team will NOT 
     get to count bonus points from week 12 games.            FOR EXAMPLE :
     Northside hosts both Pulaski Co. & Salem.  If the Vikings were to beat 
     both of those teams, they WON'T earn the 2 bonus points that would have 
     been guaranteed when those 2 teams meet on week 12, since that game will
     not have been played when the Region III seeding takes place.  The same 
     thing applies to the William Fleming-PH & Hidden Valley-Cave Spring games.
     Northside will lose AT LEAST 3 & up to 8 points because of those games.

        In Group AAA, the Northern & Eastern Regions have increased the number 
           of teams that qualify for post-season play to 8 in each Division.
        In Group AA, Region III is going to a 6-team field.  
        The other 13 Regions will stay with the 4-team format.

   And when the finalists are decided, most of them will be headed someplace new. 
The VHSL Executive Committee voted in May to move the Group A football championship 
games from JMU to Salem Stadium (now that it has FieldTurf) for at least 2 years, 
while the AAA games move from out East to Scott Stadium at UVA for at least 1 year 
(with an option for 2 more).  The AA finals will remain at Liberty U. 

        And here's a review of the college rules changes from ESPN.


Due to the new alignment plan that was approved in the Spring of 2006, we have a lot of schools changing Districts, mainly :

  The Lonesome Pine District loses 2 schools : 1 to the Cumberland and 1 to the new Clinch Mtn. Dist., which also has 2 former Hogo members and 2 former Highlands members. The other 2 Highlands members re-join the Southwest District. The Clinch Mtn. has 2 teams that won District titles last year : Lebanon & Va. High.

  The AA Valley District has split into the Massanutten and Southern Valley Districts, with both joining Region III, replacing the River Ridge District, which moves to Region IV, which saw 4 schools drop to Group A.


                            WAS                       NOW

    school         Group  Reg.  District      Group  Reg.  District

William Fleming     AA   III   Blue Ridge     AAA    NW   Western Valley
       (Fleming returns to AAA after a 6 year absence)

Abingdon            AA    IV   Highlands       AA    IV   Southwest   
Marion                            "                          "
       (Marion was in the SWD from 1956-1988, Abingdon from 1970-1988)

Lee                 AA    IV   Highlands        A     D   Clinch Mtn.
Va. High            AA    IV      "             "     "       "
John S. Battle       A     C   Hogoheegee       "     "       "
Lebanon              A     C      "             "     "       "
Gate City            A     D   Lonesome Pine    "     "       "

Coeburn              A     D   Lonesome Pine    A     D   Cumberland           


Dan River           AA    IV   Piedmont         A     B   Dogwood
Appomattox          AA    IV   Seminole         A     B      "

Galileo Magnet (Danville)    new                A     B   Dogwood (soccer only)

Nandua              AA     I   Eastern Shore    A     A   Eastern Shore

Colonial Beach    Capitol Area Football Conf.   A     A   Tidewater

Chesterfield Community   no football team       A     A   Tri-Rivers

Riverbend           AA     I   Battlefield    AAA    NW   Comonwealth
Liberty (Bealeton)  AA    II   Northwestern   AAA    NW   Cedar Run
Loudoun Valley     AAA         National       AAA    NW   Cedar Run
   (for the past 2 years, LV's non-football teams were in the AA Dulles Dist.)

Skyline (Front Royal)        new               AA    II   Northwestern   
Warhill (Williamsburg)        "                AA     I   Bay Rivers
Grassfield (Chesapeake)       "               AAA     E   Southeastern

Highlands Dist.     AA    IV                   scattered (see above)
River Ridge Dist.   AA   III                   AA    IV
Valley District     AA    II                   AA    III, split into :
    Massanutten District - Broadway, Harrisonburg, Spotswood, Turner Ashby 
    Southern Valley District - Fort Defiance, Robert E. Lee, Rockbridge Co.,
                             Stuarts Draft, Waynesboro

    And 2 private schools have started football programs - 
Carlisle, of Martinsville, and Portsmouth Christian (Metro Conference)



   And, of course, a few area teams will be in a different Div. than last year : 

Region IV : new-comers Christiansburg & Hidden Valley move up to Div. 4, 
               dropping Martinsville & Tunstall to Div. 3

Region D : Castlewood moves up to Div. 2 (but may appeal, along with 
              Clintwood & Coeburn, via rule 68.8.3 to "play down"'); 
              Haysi drops to Div. 1 while Lee & Va. High have dropped
              from AA to Div. 2 (Lee was granted a special 
              "geographic hardship" exemption from the VHSL.)

Region C : Auburn moves up to Div. 2

Here's the state-wide breakdown from the VHSL : Districts / Divisions


Next, I have a site change to note. Due to this realignment, Roanoke's Northside is now the western-most school in Region III, so I'm no longer doing the ratings for Region III, but I will keep posting their weekly games, since they play a lot of Region IV & Region C teams.

ATTENTION : Hurley, Piedmont District Mtn. Empire District fans - for some reason, most of these schools have a lot of 7:00 kickoffs this year.


Across the state lines :

  Kentucky makes their first major change since adding a 4th class back in 1975, as the Bluegrass boys have now jumped to a 6-Class system for their 220 schools (that's about 35 per Class, each with 8 Districts of 4-6 schools apiece). They've also starting using a new "scheduling calendar" that requires District games be played on weeks 9, 7 & 5, followed by weeks 3 & 4 (for Districts with 5 or 6 teams). Schools in a 5-team District CAN play a non-District game during their "open" week on the District calendar.

  Tennessee has adopted the same "35 point running clock rule" that Va. implemented last year. And the TSSAA also decided that 9 schools in a Region is too many, so they created a Region 9 in AA, which TOTALLY messes up the brackets. Also, Tri-Cities Christian is starting a football team this Fall.


        One final note : The next realignment process begins immediately, with the R&R Committee's first meeting set for Sept. 17th. The first draft of the 2009/10 - 2010/2011 alignment should be out in early Dec.