I was wrong. No doubt about it. A year ago, I wrote that the Class 5A Centennial League should be disbanded for football.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Clearly, the Cherry Creek District schools and whichever parochial school — Mullen or Valor Christian — that have comprised the suburban group in this era have been dominant, accounting for 16 of a possible 26 finalists since 2003, including eight titles (and possibly a ninth) and four all-league finals.
I was among those intrigued with balancing the 5A layout that would have sparked other 11-man classes to get in line.
What the heck was I thinking?
The so-called waterfall proposal being forwarded by the football committee to the Colorado High School Activities Association for approval in January is running into reality. There is growing restlessness among big-school masses from coaches, players, parents and fans, and questions abound concerning its logic.
Basically, the new 5A for the next two seasons would have only 42 teams and seven leagues set from an average of the past two seasons’ results. It would be reloaded again in another two-year cycle.
State officials have tried nearly everything else, so why not this?
Count the ways. First, waterfall’s basis is reversed. Seeding should be saved for playoffs, not the regular season.
Next, if the waterfall washes into the big-school landscape, elite teams will have tougher goes in nonleague games than in league. No wonder so many Centennial teams have already agreed to face each other in nonleague, ditto for Jefferson County.
Have you seen some of those proposed leagues? Consider Cherry Creek, Colorado’s largest school and winner of nine state titles. The Bruins would be scheduled to play Fossil Ridge, Horizon, Denver East, Prairie View and the FNE Warriors. How about Valor Christian, which is in its seventh consecutive state final? Fountain-Fort Carson, Lakewood, Poudre, Legend and Highlands Ranch. No wonder Valor plays out-of-state games.
State and local officials have been fickle about travel. First, it’s a problem with money and transportation issues. Next, it’s not.
And here’s one that baffles me — our crowds stink now, so do we really think folks in, say, Fort Collins will travel to Greenwood Village for a league game, or the other way around? Diminishing rivalries scares the heck out of me.
Plus, while hiding behind the guise of splitting the classes equally, officials have also increased the minimum enrollment for Class 5A to about 1,800. It’s the wrong direction. It should be dropped to at least 1,400.
Attempting to legislate parity won’t work, notably because pools of area talent are unequal. And look around — we’ve lost the big-school element in Pueblo and Grand Junction and are getting close in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins. Avoiding 5A for a lesser trophy is hollow.
Cutting the number of classes and dividing them into upper and lower divisions in each would make more sense. So would annually moving up the top 10 teams in the lower class to the higher, and vice-versa, in order to reflect progression. Texas does something similar.
The waterfall nearly had me going. I just hope it doesn’t wash 5A down the river.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or @neildevlin
Waterfall
Here are the proposed leagues in Class 5A for the next two football seasons under the so-called waterfall proposal, pending approval:
LEAGUE A
1. Cherry Creek
14. Fossil Ridge
15. Horizon
28. Denver East
29. Prairie View
42. FNE Warriors
LEAGUE B
2. Grandview
13. Overland
16. Arapahoe
27. Doherty
30. Boulder
41. Smoky Hill
LEAGUE C
3. Valor Christian
12. Ftn.-Fort Carson 17. Lakewood
26. Poudre
31. Legend
40. Highlands Ranch
LEAGUE D
4. Ralston Valley
11. Rocky Mountain
18. Eaglecrest
25. Rangeview
32. Castle View
39. Arvada West
LEAGUE E
5. Pomona
10. Cherokee Trail
19. Chaparral
24. Mountain Vista
33. Rock Canyon
38. Hinkley
LEAGUE F
6. Regis Jesuit
9. Legacy
20. Bear Creek
23. Westminster
34. Aurora Central
37. Douglas County
LEAGUE G
7. Columbine
8. Fairview
21. Mullen
22. ThunderRidge
35. Mountain Range
36. Northglenn
