The CIF State office wants to reduce the number of concussions in California high school football. But the CIF State office adds more games to the football schedule.
That’s like trying to reduce skin cancer by spending more time in the sun.
Today and Saturday, 26 teams will play for CIF State football championships. That will be the 16th game for half of the CIF State finalists, including San Clemente. The Tritons play their 16th game against Del Oro of Loomis in the Division 1-A final Saturday afternoon in Sacramento.
NFL teams play 16 regular-season games. Back in the 1970s, NFL teams played 14 regular-season games.
UCLA played 12 games this season.
Is 16 games too many for high school football players?
“Yes,” said Edison assistant coach Bruce Belcher, who has been involved in Edison football for four decades and made these comments before the Chargers’ 15th game, a loss to San Clemente in the regionals last week. “You’re concerned about safety, and we’re playing 15 or 16 games? It’s too much.”
Another Edison veteran assistant coach, defensive coordinator Rick Justice, has a plan.
“Play eight games in the regular season,” Justice said, “and then in the playoffs have divisional brackets so if you win the first round you go one way (a championship half of the bracket) and if you lose you go the other way (into the consolation half of the bracket). Fourteen games should be the cap, because high school players should not have more games than college players.”
You won’t find a more hardcore, football-loving person than Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson. His team played 16 games last year en route to winning a state championship. Johnson did not completely enjoy the process because he thought post-section playoffs are excessive.
When CIF State football championships were introduced in 2006, there were three divisions involving six teams. This year, there are 13 division championships with the 26 teams playing and there were 48 teams playing last week in the recently added regionals round.
Sometimes when asked if 16 games are too many, CIF State people and some coaches respond with “The kids want to play.”
Just because kids want to do something doesn’t mean we should support them doing it. Some kids want to drive 80 mph down Beach Blvd. while texting. Adults should try to discourage that.
The regionals and state championships games, and the extra practices that accompany those extra games, have created more opportunities for concussions. The CIF State office adults should reduce the number of concussion opportunities.
Taking a look around Orange County high school sports:
• Those look like smart moves by the schools: JSerra promoting assistant football coach Pat Harlow to head coach and Orange Lutheran moving Jason Presley from freshman coach to varsity coach. Continuity alleviates the players’ stress. But, from this view, JSerra, with Jim Hartigan, and Orange Lutheran, with Chuck Petersen, already had terrific coaches who had their teams playing competitive football in the toughest league in the nation.
• Scott Meyer, who just finished his second season coaching Servite, is third in seniority among Trinity League football coaches.
• Jaime Ortiz coached San Clemente football to a CIF-SS championship and to a state championship game this season, and coached the Tritons to CIF-SS finals in 2014 and ’15. Any interest in tackling one of those Trinity League jobs, Jaime? “I like public school,” Ortiz said, “where I’m a teacher first and a coach second, and I really enjoy the great community, administrative support and the great kids we have at San Clemente.”
• The idea of being a head coach at a large private school does intrigue Ortiz to some degree because being the head coach sometimes is the sole responsibility for that person. “That has its benefits,” Ortiz said, “like waking up, getting that cup of coffee and going right to work in your practice plan. At a public school, you’re responsible for students and their curriculum and then later in the day you’re working with the football players.”
• Edison coach Dave White said he never thought about leaving Edison where, as he described it, “I’m a lifer” to pursue a private school coaching position. “The Trinity League now is like Texas football,” White said. “They pay you a lot of money, the facilities are great and you get a ton of transfers, but if you don’t win, you’re going to get fired.”
• Go to myspectrumsports.com for information on how to watch CIF State championship football games.
• The National Football Foundation’s Orange County Chapter is accepting candidates for its Scholar-Athlete awards dinner, which is held in early March. Honorees must have a grade-point average of 3.5 or better and must be all-league first team (or all-conference first team for community college and Chapman University players). Information on the candidates can be sent to Steve McKay at Mckayz@msn.com.
• During the NFL offseason, Konrad Reuland could often be seen at local high school events. Along with his father Ralf and mother Mary, Konrad was a regular attendee of the Nike Extravaganza basketball showcase at Mater Dei, and this past October he was on the sidelines with them at the Mater Dei-St. John Bosco football game. Konrad Reuland, who died Monday at age 29, enjoyed the thrill of great competition, whether that happened in a game in which he was playing or in a game he was watching.
Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com
