Butte Central 31, Ronan 0

Ronan lost tonight 31-0, but what you wont find in the box score is how hard these kids played. After the game, normally the post-game talk would be a harsh one on the losing end. It wasn't. Ronan head coach Jim Benn complimented his team on how hard they worked in practice this week and how everyone stepped up.

You see... there were a lot of kids on the sideline who didn't play. Three very powerful playmakers were out with injuries. Kids were in positions that they had never played. They didn't complain, they unselfishly changed their spots, they adapted.

And they hung with one of the best teams in the state for at least a half. The offense gained over 300 yards in a balanced attack. There was nothing for this team to be ashamed of. When they get all their guys back, they're going to be a very tough squad.

Here are some photos from tonight...

High School Football.. a good way to ruin your brain

These concussion studies on the effects of playing football are shocking, and as bad as the pros have it - a concussion by a young kid is much more damaging than a full mature male. Since their brains aren't developed fully, you're just asking for trouble. One thing I think that is overlooked is that there's been a lot of kids killed while playing the game of football and we just kind of sweep in under the rug. And there's this statistic...

It's just one sad data point in what truly is an epidemic of head injuries — an estimated 55,000 concussions in high school football in 2005-06 alone, according to the Journal of Athletic Training. Teenagers' heads, already chock-full of hormones, confusion and dancing images of Megan Fox, are being battered around on the football field, their brains sloshing inside their skull like the coffee in your mug when you take a turn too fast. If you watch Brian Westbrook or Jahvid Best being helped off the field by a team of trainers and doctors, you're seeing exactly what our high school and youth players lack: trained professionals who at least have a basic protocol for dealing with concussions.

Good point. Whereas NFL and college players have a full medical staff to see these things - a lot of high school players are at the mercy of their coach, who's sometimes just a guy reliving his glory days on the gridiron and couldn't give a damn about his players mental health. Seriously, I've seen this first hand - you can't immediately trust the judgment of every coach. Bad coach - terrible situation.

I understand there are a lot of coaches out there that are concerned about their high school players well-being, they still might not have to training or resources to determine if a kid has a concussion. So good coach - bad situation - the player still in the end loses.

And again, this issue is just ignored or under reported. I personally would like to see some sort of nationwide board that would enforce the utmost requirements for equipment (if you can't afford to protect your kids, your can't play football) and coaches (buttloads and buttloads of training, along with a representative constantly monitering how they treat their players).

I know this is a pipe dream, but there are just some terrible things going on with high school football players, probably more so than in the pros which has gotten the majority of the headlines.

Washington state high school reclassification

I had been hearing for awhile about how the WIAA wanted to reclassify the schools in each division.

They want 66 schools in 4A, 3A and 2A; 65 schools in 1A; and 62 schools in 2B and 1B. Currently, there are 78 in 4A, 68 in 3A, 55 in 2A, 63 in 1A, 66 in 2B and 59 in 1B.

Saw this over on the Tacoma News Tribune:

How Washington’s high schools will be classified for the 2010-11 school year is becoming more clear. WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese said Saturday that all 13 Metro League schools will compete in Class 3A. Eleven of the league’s schools will opt up to 3A.

That’s significant for a handful of South Sound schools and every school that’s near the cut-off for 3A and 2A. According to the preliminary enrollment numbers released by the WIAA on Nov. 30, current 3A schools Franklin Pierce, Sumner and Bonney Lake, plus 4A schools Decatur and Wilson stand a good chance of being reclassified into 2A. However, Franklin Pierce, Decatur and Wilson are among the 59 schools that have until Dec. 15 to decide if they want to compete in the classification their enrollment places them in, or opt up to a larger classification. Bonney Lake and Sumner have said they will compete where they are slotted, which looks like it will be 2A.

On Jan. 4, the WIAA will release the list of the new classifications, but schools will have one last opportunity to opt up. But if a school has already opted up, it can’t decide to go back down to the classification its enrollment originally placed it in.

The Bonney Lake and Sumner moves, along with possibly Franklin Pierce would be big news for the SPSL 3A that could lose three teams. My old high school White River is in that league. And it seems the division they are in changes all the time. When I was in school we bounced leagues all four years I was in school.

Area high school football player dies due to head injury

This sucks in the worst possible way...

A 17-year-old high school football player from Spokane died after suffering a head injury during a game Friday night.

Andrew “Drew” Fremont Swank, a junior at Valley Christian School, was pronounced dead at 9:42 p.m. Sunday, according to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Swank was a star player for the school’s football program, which began in fall 2007, according to news archives. The team was playing Washtucna High School at Washtucna, south of Ritzville.

Several kids die each year playing high school football, and i remember recently hearing about a high school coach being put on trial after one of his players died from heat exhaustion. While risk is inherit with the game of football, you hate to see this sort of thing and this should be a reminder to everyone how vigilant everyone has to be about the game of football.

From manufacturers of the football equipment, to the designers that are coming up with "concussion-proof" helmets, to the coaches being very careful about head injuries and teaching the players to tackle properly, to the emergency response and trainers at the actual games making to proper diagnosis.

One thing that really irks me about high school football is when coaches send players back into the game when they're a little hazy after a big hit. After seeing some high school coaches be very, very careful about their players and respecting their health over the results of the team, it only makes the other "coaches" that couldn't care less about a high school students condition seem worse than the scum at the bottom of the locker room showers.

I'm not saying this has anything to do with this death, but Swank's passing should be another wake up call for people around the country.

Six-man football

I saw a teaser for this story by Sikids.com in Sports Illustrated... and man, I thought Chewelah was a small town but boy was I wrong.

The town of Arthur, Nebraska has 145 citizens; 34 attend Arthur County High, of whom 19 are boys. Of those, 16 are on the roster of the Arthur County High Wolves' six-man football team. Six-man football is far removed from the world of the NFL. The dimmensions of the field are 40 yards by 80 yards, and the rules are different, too. Field goals are worth four points and a team must gain 15 yards for a first down. But that doesn't change the players' passion for the game. In Arthur County, putting on the pads is all about a love for the game and a love for the community.

If you're wondering how 6-man football is player, here's a link to the Wiki article. And of course, there's a video story by SI on the Arthur, Nebraska team.