What will happen to the NW4A

ac reynolds did not want to be split from tcr and asheville either but they did. ac reynolds now has a huge non-conference rivalry with both. i don't thingk the nchsaa takes stuff like that into consideration

 

AC Reynolds is the odd man out in the NW4A.
With fuel prices being what they are, Reynolds needs to play in Asheville.
That leaves Burke, McDowell,Watauga,Caldwell & Alexander.
Slice it or dice it anyway you like, but those 5 counties should equal 1 conference.
The bigger question is what the NW4A conference will look like in 2039, when second generation skill players from the SE coastal plain migrate to the mountains to escape the effects of global warming.

 

Plan for restructuring

Needless to say the additions of the Wildcats (Draughn) and the Panthers (Patton), northwestern football is going to take on a new identity in '09. Both schools will be 2A with a starting population of 800 kids. The buildings will be built for 1000 max. Patton in '07 and Draughn in '08 will not have a senior class allowing for seniors to stay at either EB or Freedom. Freedom stays 4A but East Burke will drop to 3A. Here is a senario that will keep traditional rivalries intact and will keep travel time at a minimum.

Northwestern 4A/3A- 9 schools (five 4A & four 3A)
Alexander Central, East Burke, Fred T. Foard, Freedom, Hickory, McDowell, South Caldwell, St. Stephens, and Watauga


Catawba Valley 2A- 8 schools
Bandys, Bunker Hill, Draughn, Hibriten, Maiden, Newton Conover, Patton, and West Caldwell

NW4A football plays 8 conference games on a rotational basis to include the 9th team and 3 non-conference games, one being the endowment game. Longest drive is up 321 to Boone. Fat Friday is protected. Hickory is back. Great looking matchups in multiple sports. Could leave Watauga out but where would they go? Could join AC Reynolds in the Mountain Athletic but that would give them 9 schools as well. The conference would seem odd without a trip up the mountain.

CVAC couldn't be set up any better than that. Longest drive is between the Caldwells/Burkes to Bandys. New Burke Co. rivals. Should begin rivalries with the Caldwell schools as well. Will have a true 2A conference for once. Seems to be pretty balanced as well. Burkes won't compete for a while but within a few years should be competitive.

 

The idea you have in mind was proposed before the last re-alingement. The NCHSAA will not break up the CVAC. The CVAC got to play in a combo league so nobody had to travel more than 20 miles. But the NWC was told NO when they wanted to create a combo league very much like what you have mentioned. The thinking by the state, who gives a damned if Alexander Central travels 96 miles to AC Reynolds? Who cares that the kids get in bed at 1am following a Tuesday night basketball game? The only important thing is that the CVAC becomes a cash cow for Catawba County plus Hibriten and West Caldwell. Some in the league complain about having to travel to Caldwell County. I like what have proposed, but you can bet your ass the HOLY CVAC will remain intact.


The NCHSAA is a bunch of TURDS!!! :fu4:

 

Where would this end up putting patton and draugh high school at if the cvac didnt split.it would be crazy to put those 2 schools in a cleveland and rutherford county conference next relalignment.a burke catawba caldwell 2a conference would make more since c ause of travel and possibly a better gate.

 

I was talking to some coaches and they feel the state will do away with split con.'s in the next realignment.

They were talking about a possible move of Crest, Ashbrook, and East Gaston to the NW4A. They wouldn't move them to Charlotte because Meck. county will have enough schools for their own leagues.

 

That makes absolutely no sense.... 30 years ago in the old Western 4A, driving from Asheville to Gastonia was ok with the low gas prices but with gas over $2 a gallon, this won't fly. Crest might be an option, but I cant see how the NW4A would bring in Ashbrook and East Gaston and cause a travel nightmare with long drives to Boone, Taylorsville, and Asheville.

 

Anyone, anyone??

Another option that I have heard on the rumor wire is the possibility of creating a 5A classification. As it stands now there are somewhere around 90 schools give or take in each classification. Add a 5th classification and it cuts it down to around 75. Then the playoff system can go back to 32 teams instead of the cash cow that is NCHS football. I seem to remember the days that teams had to have great seasons or to be over .500 for that matter to go to the big dance. If this should happen it will shake up the whole state not just the NW, CVAC, etc. Has anyone else heard about this one?????

 

just a few thoughts as I head out the door this morning...

Patton and Draughn are in a sticky situation because of location. First off I don't see the CVAC being broken up because that's what they wanted and the NCHSAA is likely going to keep it that way through the next realignment. As a result, Patton and Draughn has only two viable options...

1. They could help create the conference with the Rutherford and Cleveland Schools.

OR

2. They can join with part of the Western Highlands 2A (Mitchell, Avery, Mountain Heritage, Owen)

I would tend to guess the Burke county people would rather drive down NC 18 South instead of NC 226 North into the mountains.



Also the scenario that smashmouth drawed out is interesting. Thanks to the 321 bypass, Gastonia is driveable by folks like Warden and me in about 90 minutes. I'm sure the NCHSAA has that in mind when it came to traveling distance. More later...

 

Global warming??

Guess we better get Gore to tell us what do as I am looking forward to being in the coastal league! Global warming comes from all the hot air coming from people like him!:newsmile54: I do agree that we should try to make a conference from these counties.