BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The start of the 2024 WVSSAC High School Football playoffs will be delayed at least one week.
As first reported by Greg Carey of MetroNews, pending litigation caused by injunctions filed in multiple parts of the state have forced the WVSSAC to postpone the opening week of games.
It is expected that everything will be postponed by at least one week. Conflicting litigation is expected to result in the case heading before the State Supreme Court later this week.
The original schedule featured the better seeded teams hosting worse seeded teams in the first round (Nov. 15-16), the quarterfinals (Nov. 22-23), and semifinals (Nov. 29-30. The state championship games were scheduled to be played in Charleston next month (Dec. 6-7).
In Harrison County: Bridgeport (10-0) and Robert C. Byrd (4-6) clinched Class AAA playoff spots under both ratings systems that are under litigation. South Harrison (8-2) also clinched a playoff spot in Class AA under both ratings systems. Lincoln (3-7) was originally not in the playoffs, but an injunction filed over the weekend required the WVSSAC to change their ratings formula to reflect classifications of teams based on their classification in August. Under the new formula, Lincoln became the new No. 16 rated team in the state, knocking out Wyoming County’s Westside High School.
Fewer than two weeks ahead of the opening game in August, the Board of Review chose to reclassify 23 teams as a result of complaints about the ratings formula used to classify teams in the new four-classification system. The new four-classification system replaced the old three-classificiation system.
During the season, the WVSSAC proceeded to calculate the playoff ratings formula based on the new classification for teams, rather than their classification before the Board of Review’s decision.
The playoff ratings formula uses a combination of wins, strength of victory, and strength of schedule to determine the top 16 teams in each classification.
North Central West Virginia is heavily represented in this year’s playoffs. In addition to the schools in Harrison County, all three Marion County high schools, plus the lone schools in Doddridge, Lewis, and Barbour counties all qualified for a playoff spot. In Wetzel County, Valley qualified in Class A. Elkins High School and Tucker County High School also qualified in Class A.
Last month, the WVSSAC adopted minor changes as a result of the pre-season crisis. At a meeting at Stonewall Resort, they agreed to tweak the heavily criticized formula used to classify teams and reduce the length of time of the reclassification — cutting it in half from four years to two years.
Story by Alex Wiederspiel