Wesco resurrects 3A division for football

Published 11:42 pm Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Big changes are on the way for Wesco football.

As the result of a vote Tuesday by Western Conference athletic directors, for the next two seasons Wesco will have three high school football divisions instead of two, said Greg Erickson, Marysville School District athletic director and Wesco president.

A new five-team Class 3A division will be created. It will include Everett, Lynnwood, Meadowdale and Shorecrest, as well as Glacier Peak, the new school in Snohomish.

The other major change involves Cascade, which will leave the Wesco North for the Wesco South. The 4A North and 4A South divisions will have seven teams apiece.

The change to a three-division format — which was approved 10-7, with two athletic directors choosing not to vote — won’t affect other sports, Erickson said.

Providing a more equitable postseason opportunity for 3A football teams, particularly Everett, was the main reason for the change, Erickson said.

Previously, Wesco had two mixed-classification divisions. But when the latest enrollment count bumped up Arlington from 3A to 4A for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, Everett became the only 3A school in the North.

That meant all of Everett’s division games would have been against larger 4A opponents. It also presented a scheduling challenge unique to football: Since gridiron teams are limited to fewer games than teams in sports like basketball and soccer, it’s more difficult to fairly award playoff berths to squads from different divisions.

Creating a 3A division will allow all five teams to go head to head.

It’s not a perfect solution but it will work better than the previous system, Erickson said: “As usual, our league takes a look at what’s best for (Wesco) and sets personal interest aside.”

Another option was to work within the existing two-division format and move several more schools back and forth.

This past season Meadowdale and Arlington earned 3A football playoff berths based on their winning percentages in division games. Wesco’s other 3A teams (Everett, Lynnwood and Shorecrest) did not advance.

After two years, Wesco might go back to two mixed-classification football divisions depending on the effect of enrollment numbers and the addition of new high schools, Erickson said.