The narrative here is, well, interesting to say the least. There is one aspect of missing in the discussion. All points mentioned are valid. There are some points not mentioned. Reality check- St. Josephs beat a team that was clearly lacking in fundamental knowledge, skills, technical ability and physical ability. The lower state was filled with co-ed teams that were not much worse. The argument about St Josephs or other private schools having unfair advantage just does not pass muster when the score of a state final is 12-0. There is a greater problem here. Schools should not field teams that can not compete. It is a subtle cruelty to do so. Christ Church was in 10 straight state championships and the worst blowout was a 9-1 win against Williston Elko in the first 1A state championship in 2001. Coincidentally Blackville-Hilda played Christchurch in 2002 for the state championship and lost 4-1. The BH team from that year had a record of 12-9 with a schedule made by playing some pretty good teams from various classifications. The Christchurch team from 2002 had an All-American Duke signee and had beaten a number of very good teams from bigger schools, including two state finalists that year. The following two years Buford played Christchurch and competed. Academic Magnet and Lincoln were in the state finals in the years following and were involved in very competitive finals.
So here we are speaking of the injustice towards schools having to play against private schools in state finals? How about the reality of what really happened recently? If a school and community can not or will not make the commitment necessary to develop and maintain a competitive program, in any sport, than it should not field one. It is cruel to the kids. To tell kids to be proud of getting humiliated in the state finals and convincing them that it was a great accomplishment to get there is just wrong, especially in light of the level of play involved getting there.
