By a vote of 9-0 last Thursday night, Grand River Conference school officials elected to oust Rock Port from the league’s lineup of football schools, beginning next season.
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By a vote of 9-0 last Thursday night, Grand River Conference school officials elected to oust Rock Port from the league’s lineup of football schools, beginning next season.
Originally, the main question to be decided at the meeting of conference officials was to be whether or not to admit Braymer and Polo as full conference members in all sports. However, Rock Port’s continued presence in the league became a hot issue after the Blue Jays failed to play their football game at South Harrison on Oct. 10.
The game’s officials failed to show up at the 7 p.m. starting time, having also booked another game. The two teams had options of pushing the starting time back to 9:30 p.m. when another set of officials could arrive, playing the game on Saturday, scheduling the game for Monday, or declaring a “no contest,” meaning the game would not be made up and neither team would be assessed a win or loss. South Harrison offered to travel to Rock Port to make up the game on the following Saturday or Monday, but Rock Port declined.
Rock Port officials indicated that the game could not be played on Saturday due to prior commitments by players. The Blue Jays also did not want to cancel a junior varsity game on Monday.
Rock Port’s ouster reduces the GRC football ranks to 7 schools–Hamilton, Gallatin, Princeton, South Harrison, Albany, Maysville and Tarkio, which remains in the league after getting a 7-2 vote of approval Thursday. Worth County, King City and Stanberry remain voting members of the GRC and will continue to participate in all league activities except football.
Worth County, King City and Stanberry will continue to play 8-man football for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. King City officials have indicated that the Wildkats will return to 11-man football in 2006. In preparing for that eventuality, King City junior high and junior varsity squads will begin playing 11-man football next season. King City went to 8-man football in 1992. Worth County and Stanberry dropped to 8-man during the 1990 season.
Due to the fact that Rock Port is surrounded by 8-man schools in the Highway 275 Conference, the Blue Jays will likely continue to play some GRC 11-man schools in the future. Rock Port officials indicated they will pursue a conference affiliation but gave no hint last Thursday which league they might approach. Rock Port and Tarkio became football-members only of the GRC in time for the 1992 season. Rock Port finished league co-champion with Albany in 1996. Tarkio won GRC football crowns in 1994 and 1995.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, Braymer and Polo were denied entry into the GRC by a 7-2 vote. Both had sought full membership in the league after announcing their desire to get out of the Central River Conference, whose membership also includes Lone Jack, Norborne, Hardin- Central, Wentworth Military Academy, Northwest of Hughesville, KC Lutheran (basketball) and Englewood Christian (basketball). Gallatin and Princeton school officials cast the lone votes in support of allowing both Polo and Braymer to enter the GRC.