MSHSAA Football History Question

[Craig Hull]

For some reason, I should know the answer to this but I guess my memory is starting to lose items I should know so I need a refresher of sorts.

I'm continuing to work on several football history projects and for some reason the 1981 was caused me to stop and look over a few things.

We know MSHSAA began the football playoff system in 1968. In one of my record books, from 1982-2011 the final three games of the regular season were district games and determined who made the postseason before the change to the current system in place since 2012.

In 1981, I found a note that said MSHSAA limited teams to nine games in the fall of 1981, but a vote in the spring of 1981 reinstated the 10-game schedule for the fall of 1982.

So the question is this ... from 1968-1981, what was the system in place for teams to qualify for the postseason? Was it the same district playoff format of the final three games of the season? Or was there another system in place? I know my former co-workers at the Joplin Globe sports staff explained it to me before, but I have since forgot.

Any help refreshing my memory would be appreciated.

 

[revno]

There was a point system that was calculated using the margin of victory, opponent's class size and their record. There were originally 4 teams in each of the four classes from four different sections of the state that qualified (BFE was gerrymandered in). That went to 8 teams in each of the four classes in 76. I thought the district scenario was later than 82?

 

[Craig Hull]

I was able to find four-team districts in 1982.

I’ll try doing some digging through old newspapers Sunday to see if I can find more history.

Thank you for the information.

 

[KHSDOGS]

There was a point system that is very similar to the system they use now to seed the district. The major difference was that you were penalized for playing schools in a smaller class. So if your conference had schools that were in a class smaller than yours, it was extremely hard to win you district. It was common for a team that had an undefeated record to not win their district. Districts could have as many as 15 or more teams.

 

[kaching]

I’m thinking the four-team districts didn’t happen until the late 1980’s.

 

[BlackHawkPride]

I’m thinking the four-team districts didn’t happen until the late 1980’s.

I agree. Pretty sure up until 1988 there were 4 total districts in MO (class 1a).

 

[Baldguy]

i really thought the first year of 4-team districts was 1988. Didn’t Adrian and Liberal qualify for post-season in ‘87 on that old points system?

 

[panther72]

4 districts in 1A through 1987. Beginning in 1988 that class went to 16 districts.
4 districts in upper classes though 1979, then went to 8 classes through 1987, then beginning in 1988 went to 16 districts.
Beginning in 1988, went to determining classes on a two year period with last 3 games district play.

 

[BlackHawkPride]

i really thought the first year of 4-team districts was 1988. Didn’t Adrian and Liberal qualify for post-season in ‘87 on that old points system?

That is correct. We went down there and squeaked it out 8-0.

Windiest game I have ever been at/in. The entire game was played on the north end of the field. Very good Liberal team.

 

[revno]

There was a point system that is very similar to the system they use now to seed the district. The major difference was that you were penalized for playing schools in a smaller class. So if your conference had schools that were in a class smaller than yours, it was extremely hard to win you district. It was common for a team that had an undefeated record to not win their district. Districts could have as many as 15 or more teams.

In 77, Pierce City was 7-2 and had a six-game winning streak. After beating Fair Grove 21-0 we were waiting at a Springfield Ponderosa steak house to see if we qualified in 2A. The coaches were all sitting at a table with a radio listening to see if Knob Knoster won or lost. Luckily for Monett, Knob Knoster won and got in the quarterfinals with a worse record than PC. Because KK played more Class 2A teams and didn't have a bye week they beat us out by less than a point.

 

[MoSooner69]

The old computer system... those were the days... You could go undefeated and miss the playoffs...... They were not undefeated, but In 1980 Reeds Spring had checked their gear in, thinking the season was over, but when numbers were redone because of Willard forfeits, it was enough to put the Wolves in, they would make it to the semis.

 

[thetophat2021]

4 districts in 1A through 1987. Beginning in 1988 that class went to 16 districts.
4 districts in upper classes though 1979, then went to 8 classes through 1987, then beginning in 1988 went to 16 districts.
Beginning in 1988, went to determining classes on a two year period with last 3 games district play.

One of my favorite all time local games was at the old Elementary school field Kearney hosting O'Hara in that first year of four team district play. Shootout between two outstanding teams and a rematch of the Alma Mater's first ever playoff game that was about 120 degrees colder than today will be LOL.

The old time computer stuff drove me (like everyone else it appears) NUTS. Back in the day when you had to do old fashioned library newspapers etc. research to learn what was happening state wide. As Queasy/Archie says "those were the days"..............

 

[JNsDaddyzDaddyIownU]

One of my favorite all time local games was at the old Elementary school field Kearney hosting O'Hara in that first year of four team district play. Shootout between two outstanding teams and a rematch of the Alma Mater's first ever playoff game that was about 120 degrees colder than today will be LOL.

The old time computer stuff drove me (like everyone else it appears) NUTS. Back in the day when you had to do old fashioned library newspapers etc. research to learn what was happening state wide. As Queasy/Archie says "those were the days"..............

 

[thetophat2021]

You mean one for the ZIPPER...............

 

[thetophat2021]

1986-88-89 were fun, fun years.

 

[BlackHawkPride]

The old computer system... those were the days... You could go undefeated and miss the playoffs...... They were not undefeated, but In 1980 Reeds Spring had checked their gear in, thinking the season was over, but when numbers were redone because of Willard forfeits, it was enough to put the Wolves in, they would make it to the semis.

Yep that system had some issues for sure. We 'ran it up' on Sherwood and Holden (class 2a) because they were class 2 and there was no limit on points applied to playoff formula. 33-0 and 50-0 iirc.

We lost one game in 2 OT at Midway during regular season and BARELY made the playoffs. Fortunately we got to see them again in the semifinals and fixed that.

I can't imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth we'd have seen if the internets was around back then.

 

[thetophat2021]

Yep that system had some issues for sure. We 'ran it up' on Sherwood and Holden (class 2a) because they were class 2 and there was no limit on points applied to playoff formula. 33-0 and 50-0 iirc.

We lost one game in 2 OT at Midway during regular season and BARELY made the playoffs. Fortunately we got to see them again in the semifinals and fixed that.

I can't imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth we'd have seen if the internets was around back then.

Camdenton fans especially. I have zero doubt they would have been that era's "webbies" LOL.................

 

[panther72]

Do I remember correctly that West Platte lost out in the 80s on a coin flip?

 

[carthagefan2006]

Pre-1968 was the poll era. MSHSAA began the playoff system in 1968 with 4 districts per class in classes 4A through 1A with a points system in place similar to the one in place today. There were as many as 29 teams in a single district at one time (1979 Class 3 District 3) under the original points system and teams were not necessarily distributed evenly. I believe the Class splits at the time were based on specific enrollment cutoff numbers (e.g. Class 4A>1250), but I'm not sure. In 1980, classes 2A-4A added the sectional round and split into 8 districts. Class 1A, having about 40 teams at the time, retained just 4 districts. Class 5A was added two years later in 1982. Beginning in the fall of 1988, 8-man football was added and the round robin system was introduced. Classes were capped at about 64 teams apiece with 16 districts of 3-4 teams each. District would play a 3 game round robin tournament to conclude the season beginning week 8 and culminating early week 10. The team with the best record in the tournament would advance to the state playoffs. In the instance that 3 teams tied with a 2-1 or a 1-1 record, margin of victory (capped at 13 points per game) would determine the district champion. A four week state playoff took place over the next three weeks with the sectional round taking place Wednesday of Week 11, state quarterfinals Monday of week 12 and state semifinals Saturday of week 12 with state championship games week 13 (Thanksgiving weekend). Districts were formed in 2-year cycles and a home game would become a road game the second year of the cycle and vice versa. In 2002, the amount of 11-man football teams had reached 320 with 64 teams in Classes 1A through 5A. Furthermore, the enrollment discrepancy between the largest and smallest schools in would-be Class 5A was nearing a 3-to-1 ratio. With no room for expansion and a growing enrollment disparity, MSHSAA added a sixth classification. They also dropped the "A" designation at this team as it had become outdated and redundant. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, Class 6 and Class 5 had just 32 teams grouped into 8 districts of 4 and those classes would play their state Championship games one week earlier. Looking forward, the plan was to make Class 5 the new catch all class and to expand the number of teams in this Class while keeping Classes 1-4 static at 64 teams along with Class 6 at 32 teams. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, a second qualifier from each district was added to the sectional round following the district tournament and the number of playoff teams doubled. The district champion would now host the district runner up from the adjacent district within its own sectional in the sectional semifinal round. The winners of these two games would then faceoff in the sectional championship round to see who advanced to the state quarterfinals. This format only lasted two cycles (four years). It also led to some very odd brackets as the number of teams in Class 5 had expanded to around 45 teams or so, but the number of teams per district was still ideally capped at 4 (and sometimes as few as just 2 teams per district throughout the years). This resulted in 11 districts, 22 playoff qualifiers, and playoff brackets where 6 preselected district champions earned first round byes while the other 5 did not regardless of district win/loss record. In 2012, the modern points system was implemented with a 9 week season, a 3 game district tournament in 2 weeks (Wednesday, Monday, Saturday) and a 3 game state tournament in 3 weeks that culminated Thanksgiving weekend. The beginning of the season was pushed back to mid-August due to recommendations from the NFHS against compressed-week playoffs. It was later moved back to a late-August start around 2019 and the state Championships now take place the first week of December. Single year cycles for district were implemented around 2018. Three grade enrollment classification (9-11) was also introduced around this time.

This website should help with historical district classifications:

Historical Districts

 

[stocktiger82]

In 77, Pierce City was 7-2 and had a six-game winning streak. After beating Fair Grove 21-0 we were waiting at a Springfield Ponderosa steak house to see if we qualified in 2A. The coaches were all sitting at a table with a radio listening to see if Knob Knoster won or lost. Luckily for Monett, Knob Knoster won and got in the quarterfinals with a worse record than PC. Because KK played more Class 2A teams and didn't have a bye week they beat us out by less than a point.

In 1974 Stockton went 9-1, missed playoffs by .01 points. MSHSAA sent out a paper each week that showed each district and point standings, our coach posted that paper each week for us to see. PC was always a tough out back then.

 

[panther72]

I don't think it was MSHSAA that sent that out but Bob Bryant. 4 pages? and had a name that I can't remember.

 

[Craig Hull]

Pre-1968 was the poll era. MSHSAA began the playoff system in 1968 with 4 districts per class in classes 4A through 1A with a points system in place similar to the one in place today. There were as many as 29 teams in a single district at one time (1979 Class 3 District 3) under the original points system and teams were not necessarily distributed evenly. I believe the Class splits at the time were based on specific enrollment cutoff numbers (e.g. Class 4A>1250), but I'm not sure. In 1980, classes 2A-4A added the sectional round and split into 8 districts. Class 1A, having about 40 teams at the time, retained just 4 districts. Class 5A was added two years later in 1982. Beginning in the fall of 1988, 8-man football was added and the round robin system was introduced. Classes were capped at about 64 teams apiece with 16 districts of 3-4 teams each. District would play a 3 game round robin tournament to conclude the season beginning week 8 and culminating early week 10. The team with the best record in the tournament would advance to the state playoffs. In the instance that 3 teams tied with a 2-1 or a 1-1 record, margin of victory (capped at 13 points per game) would determine the district champion. A four week state playoff took place over the next three weeks with the sectional round taking place Wednesday of Week 11, state quarterfinals Monday of week 12 and state semifinals Saturday of week 12 with state championship games week 13 (Thanksgiving weekend). Districts were formed in 2-year cycles and a home game would become a road game the second year of the cycle and vice versa. In 2002, the amount of 11-man football teams had reached 320 with 64 teams in Classes 1A through 5A. Furthermore, the enrollment discrepancy between the largest and smallest schools in would-be Class 5A was nearing a 3-to-1 ratio. With no room for expansion and a growing enrollment disparity, MSHSAA added a sixth classification. They also dropped the "A" designation at this team as it had become outdated and redundant. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, Class 6 and Class 5 had just 32 teams grouped into 8 districts of 4 and those classes would play their state Championship games one week earlier. Looking forward, the plan was to make Class 5 the new catch all class and to expand the number of teams in this Class while keeping Classes 1-4 static at 64 teams along with Class 6 at 32 teams. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, a second qualifier from each district was added to the sectional round following the district tournament and the number of playoff teams doubled. The district champion would now host the district runner up from the adjacent district within its own sectional in the sectional semifinal round. The winners of these two games would then faceoff in the sectional championship round to see who advanced to the state quarterfinals. This format only lasted two cycles (four years). It also led to some very odd brackets as the number of teams in Class 5 had expanded to around 45 teams or so, but the number of teams per district was still ideally capped at 4 (and sometimes as few as just 2 teams per district throughout the years). This resulted in 11 districts, 22 playoff qualifiers, and playoff brackets where 6 preselected district champions earned first round byes while the other 5 did not regardless of district win/loss record. In 2012, the modern points system was implemented with a 9 week season, a 3 game district tournament in 2 weeks (Wednesday, Monday, Saturday) and a 3 game state tournament in 3 weeks that culminated Thanksgiving weekend. The beginning of the season was pushed back to mid-August due to recommendations from the NFHS against compressed-week playoffs. It was later moved back to a late-August start around 2019 and the state Championships now take place the first week of December. Single year cycles for district were implemented around 2018. Three grade enrollment classification (9-11) was also introduced around this time.

This website should help with historical district classifications:

Historical Districts

Thanks for sharing the link … was continuing to work on the Carl Junction Football Research Project and for some reason I had District numbers for CJ for 1982-present but couldn’t find a number for 1968-1981. This answers the question although I think some of the numbers I have for CJ in the 90’s don’t match the list in the link.

 

[STL Crusader]

I've noticed at various schools that they claim simply qualifying for the playoffs (1980-1987) as district championships. Were district championships not decided in the first round of the playoffs between the top two teams who came out of their districts?

 

[Cards1968]

I've noticed at various schools that they claim simply qualifying for the playoffs (1980-1987) as district championships. Were district championships not decided in the first round of the playoffs between the top two teams who came out of their districts?

Depends on the class I believe, but yes they can claim district champs based on that crappy system.

 

[KHSDOGS]

Depends on the class I believe, but yes they can claim district champs based on that crappy system.

You could be a District Champion and not even play any team in your District. Explain that one to me.

 

[STL Crusader]

You could be a District Champion and not even play any team in your District. Explain that one to me.

For instance in Class 5 in 1987, Ladue beat Parkway North in the regular season and also the first round of the playoffs with a better record. Both schools claim to be District 2 champions per the banners at their schools. I haven't found a clear answer to this topic. It makes no sense to me that two teams can win a district when it wasn't that way from 1968-1979 and 1988-current.

 

[stocktiger82]

I don't think it was MSHSAA that sent that out but Bob Bryant. 4 pages? and had a name that I can't remember.

Well, whoever sent it out, it was what a e had, amazing how things change.

 

[Anti-BS]

Yep that system had some issues for sure. We 'ran it up' on Sherwood and Holden (class 2a) because they were class 2 and there was no limit on points applied to playoff formula. 33-0 and 50-0 iirc.

We lost one game in 2 OT at Midway during regular season and BARELY made the playoffs. Fortunately we got to see them again in the semifinals and fixed that.

I can't imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth we'd have seen if the internets was around back then.

Which seasons were the "run it up" ones?