Football: A City Section mess is brewing

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Because the City Section football coaches advisory committee has been unable to get a new playoff format approved by the Interscholastic Athletic Committee, the status quo is in effect for 2010, which means schools get to decide on their own which divisions to play in.

And schools are running away from participating in Division I. Call it the Crenshaw effect.

There’s only 20 schools that have agreed to play in Division I this season. That means only four schools won’t make the 16-team Division I playoffs.

In Division II, 38 schools have signed up, including Hamilton, which won the title last season by scoring 67 points in the final. Dropping down to Division II from Division I are Los Angeles Jordan, Chatsworth and Palisades.

I can’t wait to go to the seeding meeting and watch the all-out battle to gain a Division II playoff berth, considering that more than half the teams won’t be allowed to play.

Remember, Division II is the division in which former Woodland Hills Taft Coach Troy Starr said in 1997 before their championship game, ‘What time does the JV game start?’

Division II has become stronger, but the retreat away from playing in Division I is not good. Yes, everyone wants to win a championship, but sometimes you have to challenge yourself at a higher level, and there are teams that don’t belong in Division II.

-- Eric Sondheimer