After receiving ample output from high schools all over the Commonwealth, the KHSAA approved a new playoff format for football in order to let other schools compete against less familiar teams in the first round.
With the new format starting in 2022, teams will no longer play their respective district opponents in the first round. The decision was made after a KHSAA survey in which 64% voted in favor of the change.
“Almost two-thirds of our football school representatives were in favor of playing outside of the district in those early rounds,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “Clearly with such a limited schedule of 10 games, there is strong desire to play teams other than their in-district opponents in those early rounds regardless of travel logistics.”
Daviess County Head Coach Matt Brannon was impartial in regards to the change, noting that the Panther’s sister district is just as competitive.
“If you want to make a run deep in the playoffs, you have to beat good teams,” Brannon said. “Obviously getting the number one or two seed will give you an advantage, but you have to challenge yourself all year to ensure a good RPI rating.”
Daviess County has even prepared themselves for this exact situation, scheduling some possible playoff opponents for the 2022 regular season.
“We play Meade county in the regular season and scrimmage Central Hardin so we will have a good look at two potential opponents,” Brannon said. “Although it is a challenge to play the same team twice in a year it does allow for easier game planning because you have a good idea of how you match up with a certain team. No matter what the format, 6A playoff structure will always be a challenge. It’s something that we look forward to every year.”
Apollo Head Coach John Edge does see some positives to the change, but feels that ultimately the playoffs will always be adjusted to make RPI matter more.
“It benefits us some,” Edge said. “Our district is very good. In 6-A it doesn’t matter how they do in the playoffs. You got someone good from round one to state. Look, in three to four years they will probably change the format again. I think the KHSAA wants to utilize the RPI as much as possible.”
Owensboro Catholic Head Coach and Athletic Director Jason Morris feels a little differently on the subject, stating the season schedule should be shortened and that only a few teams from each district should get to compete in the postseason.
“I feel like we should put more emphasis on our district games in the regular season and only the top two teams from each district should make the playoffs,” Morris said. “They have an RPI system now that coaches have had in mind when scheduling, so I think the entire playoff bracket should be based off the RPI of the top two teams in each district. This would have to cut into the length of the playoffs, but I feel like we are playing too many games in all sports. There is no reason for high school seasons to overlap.”
Owensboro Head Coach Jay Fallin didn’t seem shocked by the change and for fair reason. Fallin noted that several years ago the KHSAA Board of Control (BOC) voted to move to intra-district play for the first two rounds of the postseason for the 2019-2022 seasons. Almost immediately a number of coaches and administrators around the state voiced their displeasure with the decision.
So an online campaign was spearheaded by a couple of prominent head coaches and the BOC held another vote and decided to return to inter-district (cross-bracketing) for the first two rounds beginning in 2023. However, Fallin said that didn’t fix things in the coach’s eyes.
“Still unsatisfied, a handful of prominent coaches around the state spearheaded another online campaign, which ultimately resulted in another vote by The BOC which ended with a decision to return to inter-district play beginning this fall,” Fallin said.
In regards to the Red Devils themselves, Fallin voiced that they aren’t truly concerned with the format of the playoffs and are just looking forward to the opportunity to compete against any number of teams in the postseason.
“Ultimately, it does not matter to those of us at Senior High who we play in the playoffs, or in what round we play certain teams,” Fallin said. “We look forward to the opportunity to play in any game, especially a playoff game, regardless of who the opponent is.”
