replies to VHSF



NND man : Here's the Bassett info you wanted : 

1991 : 3-6, 3-7  beat F-C week 2, Pat. Co. week 3, and Gretna week 6. 
1992 : 3-6, 3-7  beat F-C 28-20 in 3 ot in week 4, Gretna week 5, and Chatham 15-14 in week 9.


Cora : For a minute there, I thought you were from Salem. First, let me talk about the weather. It would basically take a monsoon for the VHSL to postpone a state playoff game. The main concern is the safety of the fans. Football is played OUTSIDE, in any/all kinds of weather (just ask any Bills or Broncos fan)... rain and wind would NEVER stop a football game... although lightning will (and has). Now, the neutral field thing. The VHSL stated a few years ago that state title games would be played on neutral fields. However, those neutral fields would be 'near' one of the schools, since the finals are rotated between the east and west every year. A neutral field should mean : (A) a better location, since most schools have facilities that aren't designed for 5,000+ people (B) a more balanced game, since the 'home' team has probably played on that field just once over the previous 2 seasons (discounting those pre-season jamborees). The state semi-final games are only played on neutral fields if the host teams' field doesn't meet the VHSL standards (this usually has to do with capacity and field conditions). 1996 is a good year for an example. Grundy went 10-0 and knew they would host the state semis if they made it that far. They practiced elsewhere (which is unusual for the Wave, which doesn't have a true practice field) and worked on the field following the Regional final vs. Abingdon. But Salem didn't want to play at Grundy (Coach White had even said the previous week that the game would be played at Bluefield), and a VHSL rep said that the game had to be moved because Grundy had bleachers on only one side of the field, causing a concern for fan safety. To make a long story short, we played a 'home' game 75 minutes away at Tazewell and lost 7-0 in OT. By halftime, we couldn't see the jersey numbers from the press box (which is only about 20 rows from the field), and water was ankle-deep on the sidelines during the 4th quarter. Then, Salem made a pitch to play the finals at Salem Stadium (despite the fact that the Stagg Bowl was scheduled for there the following week). The VHSL stood firm this time, however, and the Spartans were 'forced' to play at Roanoke's Victory Stadium, which is easily the worse of the two. Now, for the changes. As far as I know, no changes have been made concerning the semis (however, that may change by November, since the VHSL is notorious for not being clear on their rules). The finals have been changed after a 2 year long process. The '97 finals were supposed to be played at Liberty (Falwell) U., but they failed to work out a deal in time with a Big Name Shoe Co. to provide all member schools with shoes/cleats which could be used on artificial turf (which Liberty had). So, in late Oct., they announced that the finals would be played using the old rotation formula. It did change last year, going to neutral high school fields in Harrisonburg & Charlottesville (apparently, they again couldn't make a deal, and had to scrap plans to play on college fields). This announcement wasn't made mid-Noverber, AFTER the playoffs had started. For the next 2 years, the games (AA/A) will be at JMU & Liberty U. (although no info has been released about the shoe/cleat situation).
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