Michael Kinney
In the past, the only way football teams from Moore or Norman could meet up with powerhouses like Jenks or Tulsa Union was in the playoffs or preseason scrimmages.
That will change next year.
Starting in 2010, Southmoore and Norman High will be classified in the Class 6A East region.
“What happened is that David Jackson called Carl Franks and told him you are sending one of your teams east,” Southmoore football coach Chris Jensen said. “The three schools sat down and had a random drawing on which school would go this time. Southmoore ended up on top of the list to go first.”
The SaberCats and Tigers will be joined by Putnam City West and Shawnee as the four schools on the west side who will have to play an east district schedule. The four teams of west squads could joined by teams such as Jenks, Tulsa Union, Owassa or Muskogee, who have all been juggernaughts in 6A over the past decade, with the Trojans and Redskins combining to win the last 13 state football championships.
Last week, the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association released its Average Daily Membership (ADM) report. Initially, the only surprise that came out of it was that Shawnee was bumped up from Class 5A to 6A. The Wolves and Bixby were the only schools to make the leap.
At the time, it seemed like the move was inconsequential to teams in Cleveland County. However, when the OSSAA announced its Class 6A and 5A east-west Split for 2010-2012, the full impact of Shawnee moving up hit.
“It ‘s hard to tell what that means for us right now,” Jensen said.
The new football districts will be established at the OSSAA board of directors meeting Wednesday.
The new ADM will be used for football for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. It is based on a school’s enrollment from the 2008-09 school year. Shawnee had an increaee in numbers, so it was moved up and will have the lowest enrollment of any school in 6A.
With the addition of Bixby and the Wolves, there are now 32 schools in 6A. However, only 12 reside on the east side of the state. That ‘s why four schools from the west must play in the east to even up the numbers.
This is not an uncommon practice. The OSSAA has had to do this for several years with schools from the Edmond, Yukon and Putnam City school districts.
But this will be the first time any schools from Moore or Norman have ever been part of the split.
“We will still play Westmoore and Moore,” Jensen said. “We then will have to find one game to open the season. The rest will be made up of our district games.”
Out of all the west schools that have had to play in the east region, Norman and Southmoore are the southern-most located. The extra money it will take to cover the travel arraignments will come from each team’s school district and not the OSSAA.
For fans, it becomes an even bigger ordeal. Driving to schools in and around Oklahoma City or Lawton is much easier than the long haul to Tulsa, Enid or Bartlesville.
“We will just make the best of the situation,” Jensen said. “It ‘s not something you choose to do. You just make the best of it.”
Michael Kinney
366-3537
mkinney@normantranscript.com
