BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association inched closer to a landmark football realignment Friday, and not without dissenters. In abandoning earlier drafts in favor of strict, enrollment-driven reclassification, it also set the stage for mass movement.
The surprising twist is in the decision to realign every two years -- rather than the current four -- which could send teams yo-yoing between classifications.
"The way they keep jerking these things around, they're not allowing rivalries to take shape," Grant County coach Mike Croley said. "You can't prepare from year to year when you don't know who's in your district. It's going to be a scheduling nightmare."
The KHSAA's new format is being called the "54 split." The 216 schools which compete for district titles are lined up by enrollment figures, with the 54 largest schools placed in Class AAAA, the next 54 biggest in AAA, etc.
The big news for local schools starts with Highlands, which is staying in Class AAA -- barely.
It and Franklin-Simpson both had 813 students last year, tying for the smallest in AAA. Six less students, and Highlands would have fallen behind Louisville DeSales (808) into AA.
The system in place now allows schools to play up a class if they desire. Highlands is a AA-sized school under current guidelines, but the school has played up in AAA since the state expanded to four classes in 1973. Dropping to AA would have meant more travel, fewer local rivalries and less prestige.
A grandfather clause in an earlier draft allowing those schools who have played up to continue doing so was scrapped.
"We're relieved for now to be in AAA," said Dale Mueller, Highlands coach - athletic director. "But for a team like us, we'll be in AAA two years, then AA two years, then AAA two years. We'll always be on the bubble."
Bad news for Highlands: Ryle and Simon Kenton move up to AAAA. Ryle, currently No. 5 in the AAA state poll, has become a strong rival for Highlands and Covington Catholic.
While losing Ryle and Simon Kenton, the local AAA district gets Grant County.
"We're here in no-man's land (Dry Ridge), between Northern Kentucky and Lexington," Croley said. "I was happy with our current district, which has great parity. With us being a young program (its sixth season) with not a lot of tradition, it suits us better.
"Any coach in their right mind wouldn't want to be in with Highlands and CovCath. But the positive is, if you ever build to where you're competitive in that district, you've got a chance to win state.
"I don't mind. I don't think everybody ought to hide under a rock from Highlands and CovCath."
The draft proposed Friday -- which will be sent to member schools for further feedback -- will be put to a vote at the KHSAA's next Board of Control meeting Nov. 18-19.
Where schools rank
