Northern Region Is in for a Long Season

High school football teams in the Virginia AAA Northern Region begin their seasons tonight and tomorrow, and those with intentions of reaching the playoffs might want to pace themselves.

The region has added an extra round to the postseason, with double the number of qualifiers. Eight teams will reach the postseason in both Division 5 and Division 6, meaning 16 of the region's 30 teams will play at least 11 games. An eventual state champion would play 15 games, not to mention two preseason scrimmages.

"That's an NFL season," said Robinson Coach Mark Bendorf, whose teams have reached the state finals three times in the past 10 years.

The extra playoff round will not lengthen the season. Northern Region teams will play their first games this week and not have any off weeks.

Several private school programs also open play this week, none more high profile than No. 1 DeMatha's game against St. Xavier of Cincinnati at the University of Cincinnati at noon on Sunday.

St. Xavier is ranked fourth by USA Today; DeMatha is fifth. Maryland public schools open next week; some District public schools played last week and more get into the act in the coming days.

Most teams feel excitement before the season opener, and many in the Northern Region believe the new playoff format will help sustain that interest, with more teams staying in playoff contention deep into the fall.

"If you get off to a tough start, your season's not over in Week 5," first-year Fairfax coach Chris Haddock said. "You still have that carrot out in front of the kids."

The main reason for the extra playoff round was to ensure that all worthy teams get to play in the postseason. It's been dubbed "the Centreville rule" by some, because the Wildcats were left out with an 8-2 record in 2005. The Wildcats lost a pair of three-point games to eventual region finalists Oakton and Westfield and dominated most other opponents. Centreville also missed the playoffs in 1996 and 2003 with 7-3 records, as have many region schools. Lee has sat home with 9-1 and 8-2 records.

Proponents point out that 16 teams already reach the region tournament for basketball, baseball and other sports. The extra round of playoffs could net about $22,000 for the region, Fairfax Athletic Director Tim Gordon said, depending on matchups and weather conditions. This money would help fund other high school sports in the region.

The complaints against the new system are that the playoff field will be too diluted -- Mount Vernon would have qualified in Division 5 last year with a 5-5 record -- key regular season games between two playoff-bound teams could lose meaning, playoff pairings will repeat regular season games and players will be subject to a greater risk of injury.

"Ten games is probably the fewest games of any sport in high school, so it's great if you get another game," said Marshall Coach J.T. Biddison, whose team opens tonight at Hayfield. "Making the playoffs doesn't mean quite as much, but you still have to earn it."