BLUEFIELD — Sometimes the other team is just better. That was definitely the case on Saturday as Chelsea Hill and Kelly Rasnick combined for 45 points to lead Ervinton past Bland County 66-46 in the Group A, Division 1 state quarterfinals in Salem.
It wasn’t much better for local teams in other locations. Graham returned from Harrisonburg having lost 65-43 to Robert E. Lee, while Narrows traveled back from Bristol, dropping a 49-33 decision to J.I. Burton.
Even though spring was finally in the air, with the sun shining and temperatures in the 50s — at least in Salem — it was a black Saturday for local high school basketball teams.
All three schools were one game from a trip to Richmond and the Final Four. All three were stopped short.
At least they had a chance. That’s what divisional play in Virginia is all about.
The six-division system has been in place for Virginia football since 1986. Basketball was added three years ago. It has taken its share of criticism — as any new venture does — but it works.
True, there are some bad teams that continue to play once regionals begin, Bland County defeated Rural Retreat in the Region C quarterfinals, a team that finished 4-19, with those four wins coming against a pair of winless teams.
Honaker’s boys team, which was seeded eighth (or last) in the Region D Division 2 tournament, wound up playing in the state tournament, but they were stopped short of Richmond.
Much like in football, usually the best teams claw their way to the top.
Until the current system was introduced, what chance did Bland County, Narrows or Graham have of getting to a state tournament in girls basketball? It’s the same in other sports, which is a big reason why Graham and Grundy — the smallest Group AA schools in Virginia — are dropping down in classification in 2011.
The Lady Bears and Lady Wave had never been to state competition in basketball until the last three years, and the G-Girls — or whatever they were called then — had last tasted state competition in 1921.
It has happened, but it’s rare when a small school could win it all in a three-division system. A talented Council team did it in 2001, winning the Group A state basketball championship with an enrollment of barely 120.
That was met with almost incredulous reaction from across the state, and I even fielded a call from a reporter in Washington wanting verification that the school really was that small.
It was, and still is.
Call it watered down if you will, but it’s much like the system in West Virginia, where sectional and regional set-ups allow teams with less than stellar records to qualify for state competition.
Why should state championships always belong to the biggest schools? Give the little guys — and girls — a chance. Divisional play is reportedly coming to Virginia in other sports too, giving more schools and student-athletes a chance to play for a title.
No school(s) or community has enjoyed its success from divisional play as much over the last three years than Bland County. The Lady Bears advanced to the Division 1 state tournament three straight years, reached Richmond twice, and even played for the state title last season.
Is that run over, with five senior starters ready to depart? Who knows, but at least they had a chance to win it all, and nearly did. The same goes for Graham, which finally reached state competition after an 88-year absence. They didn’t come close to getting to Richmond either time, but at least they had a chance to play on the big stage.
It’s time for some other small schools to have a chance. Ervinton — a school located in Nora, a rural community in Dickenson County — beat Bland County in its first first-ever state tournament game.
Believe it or not, Ervinton is smaller than Bland...by far. The same goes for J.I. Burton. Both will represent the little guys, or in this case — girls — in Richmond.
There is room for the little schools when it comes to state championships. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better. In this case, the size of the school no longer matters.
—Brian Woodson is the sports editor for the Daily Telegraph. He can be contacted at bwoodson@bdtonline.com
Columns
March 7, 2010
Commentary: Everyone deserves a chance, and they get it with divisional play
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