Gallatin keeps current classifications in football and basketball

Gallatin High School will remain in Class 1 for football and Class 2 for basketball, according to new classification breakdowns announced recently by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

MSHSAA also released district football assignments for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. Gallatin has been placed in Class 1, District 8 along with Albany, East Buchanan, Hamilton, King City, Maysville, Polo and South Harrison.

Under a new format, teams will play a nine-game regular season schedule, which by way of a point system will help determine seeding for district playoffs that begin in week 10. The team that wins three games in the district championship series will be the district champion. District champs will advance to the quarterfinals of the state series.

Also unique to the new format is the financial split of the week 10 game. Because each school will have only nine regular season games, its schedule may be five home and five away or five away or four home. In week 10 the higher seeded team will host but to make it financially equitable to all schools, the gate receipts (minus expenses) will be split 60/40, with the host team receiving 60% of the gate.

As stated, Gallatin will remain in Class 2 in basketball. District basketball assignments are due to be released on Sept. 21.

Hamilton was originally placed in Class 2, District 8 in football, but a clerical error was discovered that now puts the Hornets in Class 1. Initially, Hamilton was to be the smallest Class 2 football school, until it was discovered that Van-Far and Community high schools (co-op) did not combine enrollments, which would make them a Class 2 football program.

That led to a four-way tie for the bottom school in Class 2, among Lathrop, Mark Twain, Monroe City and Hamilton, all with the enrollment of 241 students. Since all four were in Class 2 last cycle, Hamilton breaks the tie determined by the official enrollment from the previous cycle.

Hamilton will remain in Class 3 for basketball.

Braymer, originally tabbed for Class 1, District 8, has been moved to District 6.

With Hamilton having moved to the KCI Conference, South Harrison becomes the largest school in the Grand River Conference. New enrollment figures for GRC schools are: South Harrison, 211; Gallatin, 187; Maysville, 177; Albany, 145; Princeton, 122; Polo, 118; Worth County, 103 (8-man FB); Stanberry, 102 (8-man FB); King City, 87; and Braymer, 80.

East Buchanan, the lone KCI Conference member of Class 1, District 8, submitted an enrollment figure of 218.

Since Hamilton and Gallatin are slated to face each other in a regular season, non-conference game in 2012, it is possible for the first time since 1932 that the two teams could meet twice in one season. The two teams will meet in the second week of the regular season in 2012, and could face each other again under the new district format.