History Repeats.
The article opens up with, "For the second straight year, a Burke County high school that indicated it would open with a varsity football team has dropped out of the games it lined up with other schools."
I personally don't feel that this is a surprise and don't appreciate the Chicken Little/the sky is falling article.
Anyway, you football fans can discuss it here.
29 comments:
HONESTLY, DOES THIS SURPRISE ANYBODY!!??!!??!!??
History repeats; No varsity football at Draughn
Lack of interest from potential players cited as reason
This is such bad news. This cheats the community from the opportunity to enjoy Friday nights at the local high school football game. This has always been a special time to many families in Burke County. The real tragedy is that there will be another high school whose students will feel second best. I think most kids think that when adults say things like, "we are going to have varsity football" that those adults will do everything they can to make good on that promise. Instead, there have been many adults trying to derail the Draughn team so that another school in the county can enjoy another winning season. That is shameful. A coach was hired. He was quoted in the newspaper saying he had spoken to plenty of players who were committed to coming out. And then, just a few weeks later the plug is pulled. Amazing. Either the leadership was plain dumb for announcing there was going to be team, or something else changed. Either way, good kids get no team to cheer for. If you are even thinking on blaming the school board. ...please don't. They all voiced support for the team. Sam W worked very hard to keep it. Only B Armour was opposed. Why the rush for a decision? I can understand not waiting as long as Patton, but couldn't they given the coach another few weeks? Next will be the transfer requests. I have been reading that there are professional educators who are fine with robbing one school so that the other school can win football games. That is just plain wrong. Please do not make this a discussion about who got what job....who can spell...or who has been seen with who. Please take your differences and put them aside and see that children in Burke County need to be treated better than this.
Right, becuase the school was built just to have a football team. Calm down, go to EBHS games this year if you need something to do on a Friday night. You will get your team.
It's not about me. It is about treating some kids as second rate because they will go to the school in their district. Let's apply your remark to the families who will send their kids out of district to play for a better team. Was EBHS built for football?
To the 4:59 am post:
No EBHS was not built for football. But in reading your earlier post it seems you think Draughn is being built for football. I think the decision to not have a football team at Draughn is a good one. The parents and students of many rising seniors that have chosen to stay at EBHS have thought long and hard about their decision. It is their choice.
However, you state earlier that this cheats the community...what about the students (not necessarily rising seniors)that attended Ray Childers and who live on Rhodhiss Road. They are bused to a school some twenty minutes away. There is no sense of community for those students at HMS. Their communities could care less for HMS and my guess will be very little for Draughn. Their busing was not their choice, it was a decision made by the previous board. Has HMS ever had an event in the Rhodhiss Road area. Sorry to get off topic, however, I felt it was necessary.
You misunderstood my comment. Draughn should be built for a positive all around educational experience for children. This includes sports, clubs etc. just like they have at EB and Freedom. Communities in Burke County are passionate about cultivating a sense of pride and support for our schools. To accomplish this the Draughn district will now have to work very hard to overcome this hand that has been dealt and have these students feel our pride. I don't see how anyone who cares about our community and our children could see this as a positive thing. As far as your other comments...I couldn't agree more. However...two wrongs don't make a right.
An article appeared in today's News Herrald with a one inch headline.
ONE INCH IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE...?
Wait a minute. When did Armour say he was opposed to varsity at Draughn? All I have ever heard him say from the get-go is that these new high schools were built to reduce over-crowding and he wanted to see them used for that purpose. I have even heard him say that he is opposed to giving seniors a choice in staying at Freedom and East Burke. His reasoning? (And you can find it in the archives somewhere.) When they closed the 8 high schools to create two big ones, NO KID was given the opportunity to stay at an old high school. And there was no student trauma suffered.
If a Tyler Shatley was REQUIRED to go to Draughn, there would be varsity football at Draughn. The senior attendance option is the culprit, not the coaches, not the board of education. The parents of rising seniors lobbied for that option, not any board member. And since it was offered at Freedom, it was offered at East Burke.
Patton had a great JV season. It was just as exciting as a Friday game. The band marched and played. Boosters sold the half-and-half tickets. The concession stands had long lines of customers. The stands were full. They finished at 7-3 and beat two varsity clubs. They were nobody's doormat, and this year they will be competitive in varsity.
Again, varsity football has always been a viable choice at Draughn. Parents wanting to see their boys participate in and win a small 4-A state championship took that choice away. Not any board member.
I hate to bust anybody's bubble I doubt seriously East Burke is going to win the small 4a state championship in football.I think they will be very good and will maybe lose 1 or 2 games this coming season, but I dont winning a state championship is tough to do.
1:17 NOT !!! You must be from Valdese or Morganton. I bet you voted for Tracey Norman too.
Excusse me for making spelling mistakes.I am sorry that I AM NOT AS PERFECT AS YOU! There answer to your question: NO, I did not vote for Tracy Norman and its none of your business who I voted for or where I live.
opps, I meant excuse,I dont have to amswer to poster 2:09 anyway.
Will Patton have a varsity football team this year?
To the comment that parents took football away from the Valdese community is almost funny. So who was to blame for Patton not having Varsity football? Did Freedom come off a conference championship? By the way, who announced there would be "Varsity Football" in both schools before the transfers were complete? Who said they would learn from Patton? Both high schools should have been freshmen/sophomores only. If I had to choose between an established program with the nicest stadium in Burke County verses a first year team beside the sewer plant it would have been an easy choice. To play in a conference verses a non-conference would have been even easier. For those that wanted varsity football with kids from sophomores, juniors and about 2 seniors you obviously don't care how tough it would be this season or if our kids got run over by larger seasoned senior players. I don't think our kids deserve to be run over so a select few can spend it during a foggy night beside the river swating bugs and smelling sewer at Draughn.
It really shouldn't matter who was voted for on the school board as it relates to varsity football because both boards screwed up. The only sad part is nobody seemed to learn from Patton unless it was to be 2 for 2.
So who mamed the school? Jimmy C. Draughn
Who said Patton would have Varsity Football?
Who said they would learn from Patton?
Who said Draughn would have Varsity Football?
It is very narrow to think it was the parents that prevented football at Draughn. It is also going to take time to develop pride for a school that was named by the board instead of the students even if it would have been Sponge Bob High.....remember...... The Valdese community will have a school to be proud of but the problem is Valdese is not standing as 1 community.
Patton High will sit out varsity football season
Move could hurt JV schedule as well
By CHRIS HOBBS
Record Sports Editor
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Patton High will not field a varsity football team this season, and how many junior varsity opponents the Panthers could have is - at best - up in the air.
Eleven area schools will need to fill a date set aside for a varsity game with Patton. And of the 10 junior varsity games the Panthers had already scheduled, two have been dropped, two are expected to be played and the other six are in limbo.
If all six schools seeking new varsity games need to include a JV date in order to get a varsity game, the only games the Patton JV could end up with would be against Bunker Hill and Fred T. Foard.
After a Friday morning meeting by Burke County Schools officials, Catawba Valley Athletic 2A-3A Conference Executive Secretary Tom Watson said he received a call that said Patton would not field a varsity football team this season.
Burke County Schools Superintendent David Burleson said details about Patton football would be discussed on Monday morning at a press conference called by the school system.
But the Catawba County School System acknowledged on Friday it had been informed by Burke County that Patton does not intend to field a varsity football team, the system's public information officer said.
"Our current plans are to immediately seek replacement games for each of our high schools affected by Patton's decision not to participate this season," Michael Wyant, athletic director of the Catawba County Schools said in a statement. "We understand this new high school is building an athletic program from the ground up and we want to do what's best for all students involved.
"Those plans include replacing these games on the schedules as quickly as possible and not penalizing Patton for its inability to develop a team for this year.
"We believe the long term benefits of building a relationship with this future competitor will far outweigh any other actions that we might take."
Patton, a new 2A high school that opens in August, expected to field a varsity football team. That was the game plan when the school approached the CVAC (Bandys, Bunker Hill, Fred T. Foard, Hickory, Maiden, Newton-Conover, St. Stephens from Catawba County, and Hibriten and West Caldwell from Caldwell County) about joining the league as its 10th team.
The league voted to accept Patton as a member for the two years remaining in the current statewide conference setups, and the Panthers were moved into each team's varsity football open date for the 2007 season. That move meant each school had to drop one traditional nonconference opponent from the 2006 schedule.
Plans and scheduling for the CVAC's third year were thought to be going smoothly until - about two weeks ago. Patton officials then began to express concerns about how many upperclassmen the Panthers, whose school district used to be part of Freedom High's, would have out for varsity football.
Burleson said he wanted to discuss details of Patton's decision with every Burke County School Board member before going into details about the decision. He said Patton would not prevent any athlete on a current roster from playing varsity football.
"They will have the option of returning to their previous school," Burleson said.
Earlier this week, the board said the decision to play varsity or junior varsity should be made by Patton administrators and football coaches.
On Thursday night, at an all-call to gauge the level of interest in varsity football, an additional seven potential student-athletes came to a meeting at Liberty Middle School.
School officials said an additional seven players would still leave Patton with perhaps 11 or 12 juniors or seniors for football. They said a decision would be announced on Friday morning.
"We aren't looking for any specific numbers," Patton head football coach J.K. Adkins said Thursday night. "It depends on the quality of what we get and if it is good enough to get the younger kids off the field."
Burleson said having a varsity team at Patton would probably appease the most people, but is not the appropriate call to make.
"We are not going to do that he said," citing school officials don't want to place young players at an extreme risk of injury.
"We understood from the beginning that fielding a varsity football team would be the most difficult task," Burleson said. "That's why the second school employee we hired was the head football coach.
"We just hit a time with this year's juniors and seniors where there were not the number of football players we had anticipated."
The final decision may keep all of Patton's kids off the football field this season.
Of the 11 schools that need to replace Patton, four have secured new opponents and three others have begun active discussions with a potential opponent.
Maiden and Fred T. Foard added varsity games at East Burke on Aug. 17 and Aug. 24, respectively, and Bunker Hill will play McMichael at Bunker Hill on Sept. 21.
Newton-Conover hopes to finalize an Aug. 24 game at Providence Day, Hibriten has talked with Hope Christian about playing at Hibriten on Oct. 26 and St. Stephens is talking with potential opponents for an Aug. 31 game.
As of Friday, Bandys, Freedom, Hickory and West Caldwell had not found opponents.
Bandys appears least likely to secure a home game for one of its open dates (Sept. 14 or Oct. 5), Freedom and Hickory may talk about an Aug. 17 game (although Hickory is scheduled to play in the Cleveland County Jamboree that night) and West Caldwell athletic director Danny Anderson said the Warriors are exploring options that may include playing just a 10-game schedule.
According to the CVAC's constitution, a $2,000 forfeiture fee is due each of Patton's nine league opponents. But the Panthers may not be asked to pay the fees.
If a Catawba County school is unable to find a fill-in game, the school system said that school might be allowed to consider imposing the cancellation fee.
That decision for all other CVAC schools will have to be made by the schools involved.
Burke County will face starting another 2A-sized high school next August when Draughn opens. The school will also need to petition a conference for affiliation, and Burleson said Draughn will not face Patton's situation.
"We are always learning," Burleson said. "We will offer a varsity football team for Draughn, but we will start the process much earlier."
Morganton News Herald staff writer Apryl Blakeney contributed to this article.
"We are always learning," Burleson said. "We will offer a varsity football team for Draughn, but we will start the process much earlier."
What is the word on boy's and girl's basketball coaches, softball and the other sports? I know summer camps, team camps and other things should be being scheduled.
Draughn is back in the hunt for an athletic director. Jim Childers is going to East Burke. The new school board can't seem to keep good help.
I heard the girls' job is Jay Murray's if he wants it.
Really? Does that mean that Childers won't be working for the same board?
Who is Rob Priode.I've heard he is going to be the baseball coach at Draughn
Priode is one half tobacco spitting poet and one half vulgar atheist.
Heard it was Priode over Cozort and his assistant Huffman.
Get a grip guys....cuts are coming...beyond the soap opera junk you spew. Many decisions are being made that have little to do with the sports mumbo jumbo.
Enrollment has dropped, tax dollars are down. AP positions will be cut...The county is in bad shape...New school board will have lots of excuses for the decisions that will be made...Who is going to coach what is such a small part of the crisis hitting this county. Get a grip.
Regarding The Kite Runner:
X Done
3. If the complainant is not satisfied with the school-based decision, he/she may appeal the decision to the System-Wide Media/Technology Advisory Committee by filing a Request for Reconsideration of School-Level Recommendation with the district Media Coordinator within ten working days after formal notification of the decision.
X Done
4. Upon receipt of the completed form, the System-Level MTAC will be convened to:
a. review the challenged material
b. survey appraisals of the material using professional reviewing resources
c. weigh the value of the material as a whole, not just on isolated passages
d. prepare a written recommendation to the superintendent.
Did they skip this step?
5. The superintendent will review the recommendations of the System-Wide MTAC and render a written decision to the committee and to the complainant.
6. Either party may appeal the superintendent’s decision to the Board of Education within five business days of receiving the superintendent’s decision. The local School Board has final authority and discretion to determine whether a challenge has merit and whether challenged material should be retained or removed.
Do you mind? We are trying to talk about football in this blog.
"Draughn is back in the hunt for an athletic director. Jim Childers is going to East Burke. The new school board can't seem to keep good help."
I think this maybe a blessing for DHS
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