Hurricane Irma brought plenty of uncertainty to the state of Florida earlier this week, from its projected track to its landfall impact. Four days after it passed through the peninsula, the storm is still creating complications — including for high school sports.
Though Hillsborough County Public Schools announced Tuesday afternoon schools would re-open Sept. 18, athletics governing body Florida High School Athletic Association allowed teams to practice as early as Tuesday and even on Sept. 17 if they wish to do so. Local athletic directors began meeting with the HCPS athletic department Wednesday to discuss makeup dates and cancellations on a school-by-school basis. But the biggest question mark lies with football.
With the overhauled playoff system in effect this season, Irma’s effects could shake up the playoff picture.
Teams’ Sept. 8 games were cancelled due to the weather, leaving tonight’s slate in question for some time. It was later announced all athletics would be suspended until Sept. 18, meaning teams will miss the first week of district play. The FHSAA mandates any suspended district games in classes 5A through 8A must be finished from the point they left off at, therefore schools needed to negotiate rescheduling for at least this week’s slate of games. All three Plant City-area schools fall in class 7A for football. Information from the meetings was not available at press time, though the rules state any “postponed or suspended contests must be completed by Tuesday of the school’s last permitted regular-season game.”
Teams enter into contracts for games that contain makeup agreements, though there are rules in place to cover situations where things don’t go to plan. For example, should a team not fulfill its agreement, the FHSAA could give it a forfeit loss. But if there is no explicitly stated makeup agreement, the FHSAA could step in to work with both teams on a compromise.
The FHSAA’s playoff points system comes with an eight-game minimum, meaning a school must finish at least eight contests to become eligible for playoff contention. Rescheduling of district games means teams will get to play nine games this season, at least on paper — there is always the threat of another hurricane, such as Jose, forcing more suspensions and pressing schools for time. Should another storm or two cause further suspensions for football, the FHSAA will decide whether to scrap the eight-game minimum.
Per the FHSAA, makeup games could be played as early as Sept. 18 or 19. Schools will be able to add games to their schedules to make up for any lost action, but that comes with a caveat: because such games were not included on the teams’ original schedules, they would not count toward the playoff points system. While there is value in getting live snaps, such games would essentially be meaningless for playoff contenders.
Information about rescheduled game dates and times will be posted to PlantCityObserver.com when it becomes available.