This time of year begins the run for the coveted state trophy in a handful of team high school athletics.
First and foremost is congratulations to the individuals and teams who competed for Churchill County this fall season and also to the young men and women who have advanced to regional competition.
The Greenwave football team, which began the season with a loss to a tough California team, has run the gauntlet by finishing with a perfect record in Division 1-A. For the past three years, Fallon has qualified as the No. 1 seed from the Northern Division and will begin its quest to win its first state title since the 1970s. The Wave came so close two years ago, defeating Moapa Valley in the semifinals but dropping the championship game to Faith Lutheran.
We find the bracketing to the “Final Two” interesting yet puzzling and not the best way to always have North versus South.
The quarterfinals this weekend in Divisions 1-A, III and IV each pit teams from Northern Nevada in one bracket and a second bracket for Southern Nevada teams. Then, the semifinals cross the bracketing by having the North’s No. 1 team face the South’s No. 2 squad, and the North’s No. 2 team faces the South’s No. 1 representative.
We saw the pitfall with it two years ago, but Fallon succeeded in advancing to the state finals and nothing more was said.
The Wave and the North’s No. 2 teams, though, weren’t so lucky last year, losing their games in the semifinals and not having a shot at the state trophy.
After this season, we strongly feel the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association should revisit the brackets for all four leagues as each wades through regional and state crossover games until the championship.
To truly have a state championship game, the North’s best should play the South’s best team. Fans missed that last year, and the grumblings did not disappear after the 2014 title game became an “All South” affair.
We had false hope last week when the brackets were posted on the NIAA and Max Prep websites, showing that the two brackets focused on regional semifinal games.
For example, Fallon and Fernley play on one side of the bracket with Spring Creek and Elko on the other side. The two winners would advance to play each other with the victor hosting the top team from Southern Nevada.
Short lived. The NIAA discounted the “new” bracket, so we are back to the same messed up schedule that could deny a true North-South match-up like 2013.
To ensure we don’t repeat last year’s all-South title game, the NIAA must re-do the bracketing and make it equal for both teams and players so that the state championship game is a true North-South battle.
LVN editorials appear on Wednesdays.