It sure looks like the public-private debate about to get another airing
The chirping is about to get louder.
Periodical cicadas are insects that live 13-17 years underground before emerging as adults. When they get to the surface, they make a noise that will definitely get your attention.
The public/private issue for high school sports in Missouri is the same thing. It pops up every few years and the chirping about the multiplier and possible divisions of postseason sports becomes nearly impossible to ignore.
The lead cicada this go-round is Trinity Catholic football.
The St. Louis-area Class 2 school surprised many last year by making a run to the Class 2 state championship game before falling to Lamar.
This season, Trinity is 8-0 heading into this week's district semifinal game against Cardinal Ritter. Yes, as the high school football season heads into Week 11, Trinity is 8-0. Actually, 6-0 in games actually played on the field.
Before the season, one school got out of its contract with Trinity. Then during the season, two teams forfeited rather than play Trinity, citing injury concerns.
Injury concerns is an acceptable excuse. And a bit head scratching since the two schools that did it are in Class 4, two classes higher than Trinity, and therefore should have more depth on their rosters.
Maybe this had at least one of those teams a little hesitant to play Trinity - the fact there are 10 or so Division I prospects on the team. And whispers of recruiting. That has left some of the smaller public schools wondering if it's fair to have to compete against Trinity in the football postseason.
The biggest difference about the issue coming to the forefront this time is it's football. In the past, it's been basketball that has brought the complaints. In basketball, you get the right one or two guys and you can win a state championship, especially at the lower levels. And that's what brought this about before, going back to the days with the Rush brothers attending Pembroke Hill in the Kansas City area.
That brought about the multiplier. For the purposes of classification in activities, the Missouri State High School Activities Association uses a 1.35 multiplier for private schools. That means 100 students count as 135 when it comes to classification for postseason play.
The smaller schools may want to bump up the multiplier, say to 1.5. Or some may say enough is enough and want separate playoffs for public and private schools. Any decision will have to go to a vote of MSHSAA member schools.
Trinity is a member of the Archdiocesan Athletic Association, which Helias will be joining in all sports next school year.
The chirping has just started and I'm not sure it's going to end anytime soon.