New Teams

[s1nglewing]

Heritage Christian in Picayune and Christ Covenant in Ridgeland are playing their first varsity football seasons as MAIS Independents (8-man). Regents in Oxford is playing a JV schedule this year, building toward fielding a varsity squad.

[TheAnswer]

Heritage Christian has a chance to make it to 11 man and I think eventually be competitive. 

Christ Covenant will stay 8 Man. Already a feeder school for Prep.

Regents will be like Heritage Christian.

[s1nglewing]

Regents and HCA have roughly the same numbers enrolled. If Christ Covenant grows its HS like its MS, it'll have about 160 in HS - plenty for 11 man ball

[Sharper]

So when the MAIS realignment comes, judging from the numbers, Heritage Christian and Regents would be MAIS 1A 8-man and Christ Covenant would be MAIS 4A or 5A? 

[s1nglewing]

As a guess, if CC remains 8-man, they might be 2A, but if 11-man possibly 5A, depending on the growth of the HS.  Regents and HCA should have between 60-90 in HS... but again, since MAIS doesn't publish enrollment numbers of member schools, it's simply guesswork.

[TheAnswer]

On 7/5/2024 at 8:17 PM, s1nglewing said:

Regents and HCA have roughly the same numbers enrolled. If Christ Covenant grows its HS like its MS, it'll have about 160 in HS - plenty for 11 man ball

If they have 160 boys 8th - 11th, they’ll be 6A.

[s1nglewing]

Guess we'll find out eventually, but Parklane has about 240 and they're not 6A

[maroontide06]

HCA has been participating in MAIS 2A in their other sports, but I don’t know how that would correlate to football though.  They got to varsity football faster than I thought they would and that’s a testament to them.

[TheAnswer]

22 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

Guess we'll find out eventually, but Parklane has about 240 and they're not 6A

Last count, Parklane had 135 boys 8th to 11th, tied with Starkville for the largest 5A in football.

[s1nglewing]

MAIS doesn't count only boys for classification purposes unless something has just recently changed.

[TheAnswer]

They do for football, have been doing it for a while now.

[s1nglewing]

33 minutes ago, TheAnswer said:

They do for football, have been doing it for a while now.

I was looking at total enrollment. So divide 260 by half - 130.  I think CC will remain 8-man for a while regardless of what their boy/girl/total enrollment is.

[TheAnswer]

But we’re talking about football so total enrollment is irrelevant.

[Wareaglefan1us]

Someone explain the reason why if you have the players to play 11 man football how can you play 8 man? Not trying to be a smarta— I’ve just never known the rule 

[TheAnswer]

Technically, any school could play 8 Man. However, starting next realignment, the MAIS passed a rule stating if you have more than 50 boys 8th thru 11th that you are not eligible for the 8 Man championship.

[s1nglewing]

58 minutes ago, TheAnswer said:

Technically, any school could play 8 Man. However, starting next realignment, the MAIS passed a rule stating if you have more than 50 boys 8th thru 11th that you are not eligible for the 8 Man championship.

About time some kind of enrollment limit was set for 8-man

[Rebel Bert]

I don't understand why those small schools in NE Ms don't play football in MHSAA.

[s1nglewing]

1 hour ago, Rebel Bert said:

I don't understand why those small schools in NE Ms don't play football in MHSAA.

Because they have HS total enrollments of 60 -100? And if they, God forbid, win anything then their opponents would howl "recruiting advantage" 'til they're blue in the face.

[MSSportsGuy]

9 hours ago, Rebel Bert said:

I don't understand why those small schools in NE Ms don't play football in MHSAA.

I'm a native of NE MS and grew up near a few of those schools who don't play football. It's both a numbers game and also culture. Basketball has long been the most popular sport in many of those schools and while some of them would seemingly have the numbers for football they just don't have enough interest. 

 

As an adult I've seen East Union, Myrtle, Potts Camp, Ashland, and HW Byers add football. Hickory Flat, Jumpertown, New Site, Wheeler and Houlka had teams for brief periods but my guess is didn't have the interest or money to continue. Union and Benton Counties tried cooperative teams but they didn't last eithe due to the MHSAA saying they would have to play in a class where the total school enrollments would be added together rather which makes sense to an extent.

 

School and district consolidations are needed in that area of the state more than almost any other because you have small schools in aging facilities within short drives of one another. Last spring the North Tippah school board announced they were merging Walnut and Falkner together in a move that was likely overdue and it's more related to limited finances. South Tippah remains Ripley, Blue Mountain and Pine Grove for now and would face an uphill battle to change anything due to tradition and to some extent demographics. One district for the would be more than okay and the same for Union, Prentiss, Alcorn, Pontotoc yet all would be "city" vs "county" for control. (one of those is my home county and it's nothing but ego and politics that keep things separate but it won't change in my lifetime)l.