PREPNET / SPEAK OUT

Should high school football championship games use overtime to decide a winner?

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BEN HALEY

Santiago, Football Coach

In some cases a tie will do. My first year against Rancho Alamitos . . . we scored to make it 13-12. I was talked into going for two points because “we came here to win.” I should have gone with my gut. The two-point try failed and my program suffered by failing to make the playoffs.

TOM CAFFREY

Fairmont, Football Coach

Yes, we have a good tiebreaking system compared to the way it was six or seven years ago. It no longer features just goal line offense and goal line defense, it allows for all aspects of the game to be used. The better team in a 25-yard drive wins.

KEVIN SCHNEIDER

Fountain Valley, Fan

There should be overtime. These kids have worked hard to get to this game. It is understood in athletics that in the end that one team will win and the other will not. I think both Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly would have wanted to settle this, even knowing that one of them would walk off the field in defeat. They all wanted that shot at winning the big game. It is a shame that they weren’t given that chance.

CLEM BERBERET

Long Beach, Retired

Long Beach Poly vs. Mater Dei is a good example of how the overtime rule improves football. I watched the game on TV and was really let down when a competitive team was willing to settle for a tie. I felt I stayed up until midnight for nothing.

MICHAEL WERNER

Capistrano Valley, Student

Without overtime, a tie is never broken and thus a clear winner is never established. Championships should not be shared. A champion is, by definition, supposed to be the undisputed best. Ending a game in a tie leaves everyone involved with a feeling of emptiness. Shared championships will forever be marked with an asterisk noting that they were not won outright. I was appalled to find that Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly were not given a chance to settle things in last week’s title game. An overtime victory for Poly or Mater Dei would have given an excellent finish to the most important game of the year.

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