5 too many for Region 1?

With another round of state tournaments drawing near, the fact that Region 1 gets five teams into the Class 5A postseason is again becoming a hot topic.

When 5A (as well as the other four classifications) was realigned prior to the 2005-06 school year, Region 1 was left intact with seven teams for two years. Brand new Syracuse High was added to the league prior to this school year.

The classification’s leagues are unbalanced, as 5A’s other three regions are comprised of six teams. The first year of the realignment, all four leagues got four teams into the state tournaments. Since then, Region 1 has had five teams qualify for state tournaments while Regions 2, 3 and 4 have had to take their turns of having just three of their six teams qualify for the postseason. It is Region 2′s turn this school year and Region 4′s next school year.

Fair or unfair?

The answers are fairly predictable, depending on where you’re from. If you are from the north, yes, it’s great. If it’s your turn to have three teams in the state tournament, it’s not so fair.

‘Tell them to get a bigger league,’ Weber boys basketball coach Chad Sims jokingly told me earlier this week.

It is what it is, and nothing is going to change. But that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it.

What I thought should have been done in the first place was have Region 1′s fifth-place team play a play-in game against a rotating fourth-place team from other leagues in all team sports. The idea was echoed by one of the state’s most respected coaches when I talked to him about it a couple of weeks ago.

I thought it was a brilliant plan until I looked a little closer at it. The plan would come with some issues.

Take the 2007 football season, for instance. In Region 2, Brighton, Taylorsville and Hillcrest tied for fourth place. In Region 1, Fremont and Clearfield tied for fifth place, and did have a play-in game. Under my plan, Brighton, Taylorsville and Hillcrest would have had to have a three-way play-in game for the right to play Fremont, which defeated the Falcons in a play-in game.

So you figure the two leagues would have their own play-in games on a Monday, the Region 1 winner would have played the Region 2 winner on a Tuesday and the team that came out of that would play one of the state’s most physical teams in Bingham on a Saturday.

That’s dangerous.

My plan would be more feasible for sports that aren’t as physically taxing as football, but it’s not like you can pick and choose which sports to use it for.

In girls basketball, Syracuse and Northridge are tied for fifth in Region 1 with 3-5 league records. Syracuse is 4-10 overall and Northridge is 3-12 overall. In Region 2, Brighton is 3-2 in league play and Taylorsville is 2-2. The Warriors, with an 8-7 overall record, would have a legitimate beef if they were left out of the postseason. Brighton is 4-11 overall.

In boys basketball, there would be issues similar to the ones in football if the season ended today and if my plan was in place. Syracuse, Fremont and Layton are tied for fifth place in Region 1. In Region 2, if the season ended today, Alta would stunningly be out of the state tournament.

So my question for readers is this ‘ and remember this is only for discussion because it’s not like Region 1 is going to give up state tournament berths ‘ how do you think this should have been handled in the first place? Should Region 1 have been given four tournament spots like everyone else? Should there have been a play-in game with Region 1′s fifth-place team and a designated fourth-place team from the other three leagues? Or is it fair how it is?

Feel free to weigh in.