Orrick Staying 11-man

[DHS_Strong]

By David Knopf /Richmond News Editor

The numbers haven’t been kind to 11-man football in Orrick the past few years, but Monday night was an exception.

After a presentation by the athletic director and high school principal on projected enrollment and roster sizes – and a lengthy discussion – the school board voted 5-2 Monday to defeat a proposal that would’ve moved the Bearcats to the eight-man format.

The proposal came with a deadline approaching for R-11 to declare its intentions and be placed in a state playoff district. Missouri State High School Activities Association organization of districts occurs every two years.

Orrick has struggled to field 11 players at times this season, once finishing a game against Wellington with just 10 players on the field.

Separate offensive and defensive units, and sometimes as few as one or two substitutes, are luxuries the team has had to do without. With enrollment at the high school expected to continue declining through 2021-22, Principal Scott Archibald said.

Figures compiled by Archibald and Athletic Director Mitch Comstock project total high school enrollment dipping from 112 at present to 110 next year, and then 102, 101, 92, 85 and 95 the following five years.

The total number of boys available would be around 50 next year and then continuing to decline to an estimated 39 by 2021-22.

Archibald and Comstock said the program’s recent lack of success has had a negative effect on both turnout and players sticking with commitments.

The Bearcats won a pair of Class 1A State Championships as recently as 2007 and 2008, going 29-0 those two years. Currently, though, Orrick has lost 38 straight conference games and 19 overall.

 

[JoeyNorthlandoKCMO]

By David Knopf /Richmond News Editor

The numbers haven’t been kind to 11-man football in Orrick the past few years, but Monday night was an exception.

After a presentation by the athletic director and high school principal on projected enrollment and roster sizes – and a lengthy discussion – the school board voted 5-2 Monday to defeat a proposal that would’ve moved the Bearcats to the eight-man format.

The proposal came with a deadline approaching for R-11 to declare its intentions and be placed in a state playoff district. Missouri State High School Activities Association organization of districts occurs every two years.

Orrick has struggled to field 11 players at times this season, once finishing a game against Wellington with just 10 players on the field.

Separate offensive and defensive units, and sometimes as few as one or two substitutes, are luxuries the team has had to do without. With enrollment at the high school expected to continue declining through 2021-22, Principal Scott Archibald said.

Figures compiled by Archibald and Athletic Director Mitch Comstock project total high school enrollment dipping from 112 at present to 110 next year, and then 102, 101, 92, 85 and 95 the following five years.

The total number of boys available would be around 50 next year and then continuing to decline to an estimated 39 by 2021-22.

Archibald and Comstock said the program’s recent lack of success has had a negative effect on both turnout and players sticking with commitments.

The Bearcats won a pair of Class 1A State Championships as recently as 2007 and 2008, going 29-0 those two years. Currently, though, Orrick has lost 38 straight conference games and 19 overall.

That's too bad. I noticed some of the scores were pretty lopsided in 11-man for Orrick. Staying in 11-man seems pointless and negative. What is in the vacuous spaces inside the skulls of the five that voted to not go back to eight man?

 

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

Well as of this moment looking at the playoff brackets there are 5 teams total out off 11 man football. Much more than that and then Class 5 would be shrinking very quickly.

 

[JoeyNorthlandoKCMO]

Well as of this moment looking at the playoff brackets there are 5 teams total out off 11 man football. Much more than that and then Class 5 would be shrinking very quickly.

Any chance they change the catch-all classifcation?

 

[MOpossum]

Sometimes board members and parents live in the past when trying to decide on the 8 man or 11 man schedule. Orrick got out of the CRC because there wasn't enough completion there for them. Now they are in the I-70 and getting pounded the last several years. It would make more sense to go to 8-man with their numbers. The kids would still get to play and after all isn't that what it's about?

 

[O line wins games]

The biggest problem for them is the schools eligibility rules. They do grade checks every other week and if you have an F, you're ineligible until the next grade check. I understand that grades are important, but this includes class where if you fail one test, and there isn't enough homework points to make up for it, you're ineligible until the next test.

It also leaves a kids eligibility up to teachers putting grades in, who aren't on a specific timeline because they have so many students to worry about.

It is a rule that, while done for good reasons, does not work as effectively as some may think.

From talking to people in town, sounds like it cost them around 8-9 players at different times this year, including 4 that didn't even play because of it. I mean, you're talking almost doubling the teams numbers.

 

[sbdude]

Our school has the exact same eligibility rule.

 

[shoot90draw]

I am curious about this program. Here are some numbers:
2004 8-3
2005 8-2
2006 11-1
2007 14-0 State Champs
2008 15-0 State Champs
2009 11-1
2010 6-5
Now it gets ugly
2011 1-9
2012 1-9
2013 1-9
2014 0-10
2015 1-8 so far
Now my question, and this can be applied to almost any school, what makes a program suddenly drop off like that? Normally, winning seasons like that gets kids to play, which someone mentioned earlier. Was it the conference switch? Did a major factory shut down and people moved? Coach leave? It just boggles my mind that a program, rich with tradition and was winning can suddenly go to every ones homecoming opponent.

 

[O line wins games]

They implemented the eligibility rules I mentioned above the summer after either '09 or '10 and subsequently, the head coach left (now the head coach at Oak Grove). The head coach isn't the problem. Dave Rash is well respected around the coaching community and was a major cog in the Kearney staff (DL coach and maybe DC?) during their state championships. But the coaching change and eligibility rules directly correlate with when the program dropped off.

 

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

The biggest problem for them is the schools eligibility rules. They do grade checks every other week and if you have an F, you're ineligible until the next grade check. I understand that grades are important, but this includes class where if you fail one test, and there isn't enough homework points to make up for it, you're ineligible until the next test.

It also leaves a kids eligibility up to teachers putting grades in, who aren't on a specific timeline because they have so many students to worry about.

It is a rule that, while done for good reasons, does not work as effectively as some may think.

From talking to people in town, sounds like it cost them around 8-9 players at different times this year, including 4 that didn't even play because of it. I mean, you're talking almost doubling the teams numbers.

That is a huge potential problem. A good student should never be ineligible because a teacher is so bogged down with grading assignments (and some of those take quite a bit of time) and haven't been able to put the grades in.

 

[HannibalLector]

The biggest problem for them is the schools eligibility rules. They do grade checks every other week and if you have an F, you're ineligible until the next grade check. I understand that grades are important, but this includes class where if you fail one test, and there isn't enough homework points to make up for it, you're ineligible until the next test.

It also leaves a kids eligibility up to teachers putting grades in, who aren't on a specific timeline because they have so many students to worry about.

It is a rule that, while done for good reasons, does not work as effectively as some may think.

From talking to people in town, sounds like it cost them around 8-9 players at different times this year, including 4 that didn't even play because of it. I mean, you're talking almost doubling the teams numbers.

It's a stupid rule.

A lot of kids are in, and finish school because of athletics. (Grades are important before some idiot jumps in here.)

 

[Eagles_Ball]

It's a stupid rule.

A lot of kids are in, and finish school because of athletics. (Grades are important before some idiot jumps in here.)

Yup. Especially in the age of intervention/reassessing. I can see quarterly checks or something, but grades fluctuate now more than ever. Every other week seems like overkill. And definitely places a ton of pressure on teachers to get grades in as well, I would assume...With all of the tech/communication now, some of the things we still do in ed are confusing. Take PT conferences. I get it back in the day of handwritten progress reports every four weeks and landlines. But with parent portals, online grade systems, email, skype...you get the point. One quarter into the year, if a parent hasn't communicated with a teacher and wants to do so...I'd say they really don't want to.

 

[JoeyNorthlandoKCMO]

The biggest problem for them is the schools eligibility rules. They do grade checks every other week and if you have an F, you're ineligible until the next grade check. I understand that grades are important, but this includes class where if you fail one test, and there isn't enough homework points to make up for it, you're ineligible until the next test.

It also leaves a kids eligibility up to teachers putting grades in, who aren't on a specific timeline because they have so many students to worry about.

It is a rule that, while done for good reasons, does not work as effectively as some may think.

From talking to people in town, sounds like it cost them around 8-9 players at different times this year, including 4 that didn't even play because of it. I mean, you're talking almost doubling the teams numbers.

Yup. Especially in the age of intervention/reassessing. I can see quarterly checks or something, but grades fluctuate now more than ever. Every other week seems like overkill. And definitely places a ton of pressure on teachers to get grades in as well, I would assume...With all of the tech/communication now, some of the things we still do in ed are confusing. Take PT conferences. I get it back in the day of handwritten progress reports every four weeks and landlines. But with parent portals, online grade systems, email, skype...you get the point. One quarter into the year, if a parent hasn't communicated with a teacher and wants to do so...I'd say they really don't want to.

"Every other week" is too short of a window for a grade to be assessed. Just preposterous. There are a lot of stupid people involved in education--especially at the administration level. There are so many factors involved in assessment. A student could bomb an initial paper in the 1st quarter, then get an A+ final exam at the semester end. I can understand an assessment for eligibility based on attendance, effort, performance--but not "grade based" in small segments.

 

[Mowestdad]

There is no way that Orrick should stay 11-man. Actually most of the teams in I-70 conference their numbers are down. I have heard that Lone Jack and Concordia both have played games with under 20 players. Don't think that Sweet Springs and Santa Fe have too many more than 20. And I think that Santa Fe had to play 8 man in Jr. High. Someone please correct me if I have misstated something.