REALIGNMENT: Initial proposal puts Spring Creek in physical 2-A league

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 18, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Heath Whitfield's phone rang.

"Are you sitting down?" asked Steve Clingan, principal at Spring Creek High School.

"Give me just a second," Whitfield said.

Then Clingan delivered the news.

The initial realignment proposal released by the N.C. High School Athletic Association on Thursday morning has placed the Gators in a 2-A league with some traditional heavyweight athletic programs.

Spring Creek and fellow Carolina 1-A Conference member James Kenan are projected to join Clinton, East Bladen, East Duplin, Goldsboro, Midway, Wallace-Rose Hill and West Bladen.

"I'm not in favor of it for a lot of reasons and the number one reason is it will be a death sentence to our football program because the physicality of the conference is going to be brutal," Whitfield said. "That's some of the best teams in the state in that one conference. We've struggled as it is with the conference we've been in. We go down with that crowd ..."

SC is the third-smallest school in the conference with 666 students. The Association devised the realignment based on average daily membership (ADM) numbers using guidance from an SAS algorithm.

East Bladen is the second-smallest with 656 students. East Duplin has the most students, 996, which ranks it among the top-10 schools in the 2-A classification.

Whitfield spoke with athletic officials from Midway and was told that a trip from Spivey's Corner to West Bladen is at least a 90-minute drive one way. Additional travel time the schools face would lead to earlier dismissals and loss of classroom instruction.

South Lenoir has also expressed interest in tweaking the proposal. Whitfield said he plans to meet with athletic directors from both schools to see if they can devise a plan that would satisfy the Association.

School administrators can submit suggestions and appeals to the NCHSAA in writing before the next realignment committee meeting. They will have their chance to voice their final concerns Feb. 8, 2016 at the Murphy Center on the East Carolina University campus.

"We're going to fight it, see if there is anywhere else we can go," Whitfield said. "In the end, they're going to put us where they want to, but at least we tell them what we think and see what happens. That's all we can do."

The Carolina 1-A Conference experienced little change.

Union joins the mix along with current members Rosewood, Princeton, Hobbton, Lakewood, North Duplin and non-football participant Neuse Charter. The only change is the schools will have to fill an open date with a non-conference opponent in every sport.

"We are excited that most of our conference is staying together," said Robert Britt, head football coach and AD at Rosewood. "However, we regret that our long-time conference running mate Spring Creek will be moving to 2-A and out of our conference.

"We wish them well."

Eastern Wayne, Southern Wayne and Charles B. Aycock had hoped to move into a 3-A-only league after spending four years in the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference. The proposal left the conference intact with just one minor adjustment -- Rose and D.H. Conley are now 3-A.

New Bern and South Central each remain a 4-A school.

The major downside is that the chances of advancing to the postseason for the 3-A schools will decrease dramatically since seeding by overall record is done in most of the sports.

Jabo Fulghum, athletics director at Eastern Wayne, is concerned that coaches will schedule weaker opponents to improve their status when the playoff seeding takes place.

"Ain't that something?" said Fulghum. "We thought we were going back with Johnston County ... maybe. It may change. We're going to be a small 3-A school, regardless. It is what it is and we will have to see what pans out from there.

"We're going to have to play wherever they put us."

Dean Sauls warned athletics directors and coaches 'you better get your voices heard now before the (initial) realignment comes out in a couple of weeks.' The assistant superintendent of Wayne County Public Schools, Sauls was surprised by two things -- Goldsboro did not remain part of its current conference and Washington departed from the Eastern Plains 2-A.

Geographically, neither decision made sense.

"I'm pleased with the 1-As keeping Rosewood, Princeton and North Duplin together, but I feel real bad that Spring Creek is 2-A and is going to be in a powerhouse conference," Sauls said. "My thinking is the Association wanted to keep Goldsboro and Spring Creek together even though they have no rivalry in common. Keeping Goldsboro in the conference with Kinston is a very good fit travel-wise."

An updated proposal will be released to the public next spring to give schools have a second chance to make appeals. Then the NCHSAA Board of Directors will vote on the realignment plan during its early meeting in May.

Once approved, the alignment goes into effect July 1, 2017.