The following is the entire, unedited press release sent to us this morning from Mona Shores High School Athletic Director Ryan Portenga regarding recent news Mona Shores would not be renewing its season-opening rivalry football game with Muskegon Catholic:
The matchup between Muskegon Catholic Central and Mona Shores is one that many would love to see continue. It’s a great game, a solid rivalry, and something our two school communities look forward to every year.
However, as Sailor football continues to take steps forward (with 8 returning starters on defense and 6 on offense and an unbelievably talented crop of juniors entering the varsity fold), there simply aren’t enough playoff points on the board to warrant a contest against a Class D school if the end result is to make a strong Division 2 playoff push. Obviously, we know the Crusaders play the game of football much stronger than their classification, but – as Sailor Nation learned through this past year’s playoff run – there is little reward should Shores win.
Simply put, our jobs as administrators and coaches is to look out for the best interest of our programs and our student-athletes who participate in them. Although some people are disappointed in this announcement, our athletes fully understand that our annual priorities start with winning our league, earning home field advantage in the playoffs, and making a drive toward Ford Field. Beating the Crusaders each year simply does not trump these three goals.
When the Sailors and Crusaders first started playing each other, Catholic Central’s enrollment was substantially higher and an MHSAA postseason didn’t exist. Times have changed considerably on both ends…
Starting in 2015, Mona Shores will enter an agreement with Class A West Ottawa High School and our office is considering a number of Class A opponents to fill the void for 2014.
As a neighboring school in Muskegon County, Mona Shores wishes Muskegon Catholic Central the best of luck moving forward in this year’s Division 8 playoff run and in future campaigns. Most importantly, we would like to thank them for a tremendous run on the football field over the past half a century.
Click here for the original story – Mona Shores/Muskegon Catholic football rivalry put on hold
This is sooooo short-sighted and wrong.
Just win your six games and you are in. It seems very odd that after all these years of a great rivalry that the first year you make the playoffs that you are now concerned about playoff points. It was a game many looked forward to. You may not have accumulated many points for beating MCC but you sure did get many points for all the teams MCC beat
Lame
Wow…unbelievable……no wonder why he didn't make that comment public right away. Get in the playoffs for the first time in 37 years and they want to take on the big boys. All I can say is good luck Sailor Nation. Just to add…you can play Class A schools…that aren't very good and lose lots of their games….so how many points will that get you. And it won't prepare you for playoffs.
Actually, when it comes down to playoff points, it's not a horrible idea. And if they finish 8-1, 7-2 again, and one of their wins is against a class D school, the math will be against them. It is short sighted, though.
Well, at least our house won't be divided next year!
With 14 returning players and additional highly talented juniors competing for spots on varsity, they could make it a lot further in the playoffs than they did last year, and this one decision could affect home-field advantage and possibly who they play, which could make a huge difference for the team.
While it might not be the popular decision, it is most likely the right decision.
I truly don't know the answer to this question, but would someone who does to post the answer. How many times has Mona Shores beat Muskegon Catholic regardless of the Playoffs or class or division?
WHY
The inintended comedy of "beating Catholic every year", "playoff run" and "Ford Field" being uttered without irony by this Portenga guy is remarkable. A little perspective with a dash of self-awareness would probably be in order here.
35-14-1 is the Crusaders record against MS according to the original article.
The statement sure came across to me as quite arrogant on the part of Mona Shores. The statement addresses the returning starters for 2014 and the playoff points they won't get but the contract ends after the 2014 season. They still have to play them while these returning starters are on the team.
It also does not address the number of bonus points Shores would get for every win that Catholic gets if Shores wins the game.
Shores has made the playoffs one time. Maybe they should have waited to see if they were actually going to be a regular playoff contender.
I have no vested interest in either team. I am just a football fan and official. It's a great rivalry. In my opinion, it's too bad it is ending this way
Shores was lucky to get a touchdown when I played.
Name shore is best football recruit and where did you play in college oh wait there's probably nobody
Andy I think like three guys or four guys went big Ten or western pat Jackson dont forget if Ick didn't blow out his knee where he would be right now
regardless of how they do, they will always be in the same district as Muskegon and Lowell. This one game will have little bearing on "home field advantage" if they do not beat muskegon. If you really want to change your path, go back to the OK RED where you were put initially and compete with ALL the big boys.
beating a 5-4 west ottawa team this year would have given mona shores 120 points, vs the 88 they got from beating catholic, or 32 points. divided by nine games is 3.555 points. playing west ottawa (and beating them, not a sure thing) would've raised shores' playoff average by 3.555 points. it makes a difference, but it's not huge.
put another way, you get exactly the same number of playoff points for beating a 7-2 class d team, a 5-4 class c team, a 3-6 class b team, or a 1-8 class a team. playing higher-class only matters if they're better teams than the lower classes.
Home field is of minimal importance in high school. If MCC cared so much about it, they'd stop scheduling any decent school higher than class C (if they could find any takers) and then most likely still get home field through the first three rounds. This year Catholic will have to play at Mendon if they make it to the regionals. Bring it on and may the best team win! If the MCC/Shores game was played in week 9 then I could see an argument that it is a strange game to have right before the playoffs. But it's an ideal opener and a great local tradition. I guess that the Shores AD doesn't get it isn't surprising. Success is about what team you put on the field, not where you play the game.
One good year and now Shores is a powerhouse. Last time I drove by Kehren Stadium it was the one listing 7 or 8 state championships, not one playoff appearance in their existence.
The irony will be when Shores misses the playoffs by one win and they lose to West Ottawa.
I agree Josh, what a joke….
it still doesn't matter if they are in the same district as lowell and muskegon every year and these schools have an equal / better record. they(not MS) will almost always have more points unless MS beats Muskegon. The only way to be up there with them is to play an entirely "A" schedule and not have a single school below that (this year they also played SL. when muskegon and lowell are playing all "A" schools and typically the loser of that game has one loss, it doesn't matter what MS does.
Sad decision. Hopefully it's only for one year. :(
Gack. I obviously don't understand football at all. Here I thought it was about helping young people do their best. Ignoring your community doesn't seem like the best way to do that.
Strength of Schedule matters. I think the best example of this is Grand Rapids West Catholic. Falcons head coach, Dan Rohn front-loads his football schedule every year for one reason – to build playoff points. In 2010 and 2011, GR West Catholic opened the season against Orchard Lake Saint Marys – one of the premiere programs in the state regardless of division. Rohn knew his team had NO CHANCE of winning those games (WC lost 42-6 and 35-0, respectively), but he also knew that the playoff points his school would earn would be valuable later in each of those seasons. Last year, West Catholic opened 1-3, facing tough teams from higher divisions like Comstock Park and South Christian. This past season, WC opened with Oakridge, Comstock Park and South Christian. WC lost all three games. In fact, they started the 2013 season left for dead with a 1-4 record. Once they started playing OK Bronze schools, they won-out, and managed to earn an at-large bid with a mediocre 5-4 mark. They got in with 5 wins because their strength of schedule early earned them the necessary points. On one hand, it's sad to see tradition go, but on the other hand, Mona Shores is FINALLY a football playoff-school. Combine that with the reality that the OK Black Conference has become fierce with the Big Reds continuing to be a perennial power and now Reeths-Puffer emerging this past season. Shores is trying to find ways, within the MHSAA system, to remain a playoff-contender year-in-and-year-out. Facing a Division 1,2 or 3 team in week one each season will help insure that, while accruing the necessary playoff points to become playoff-eligible.
Playoff points have NOTHING to do with making the playoffs! All that matters is 6 wins
MCC sure gets the advantage out of that match up
They make the playoffs for what only a couple times and now they want to do this.. I do understand but they should have done a long time ago then
I was upset at first about the rivalry ending. After reading this I have changed my mind. Adios Shores, good luck. I'm just happy I don't have to listen to the whining any longer.
Leon Terpenning I think that's the reason for the decision. For MCC, winning or losing to a D2 school betters their strength of schedule. It's not the same way vice versa for Shores, which is now trying to create a legacy like MCC has enjoyed for 30+ years.
Good point Brent
"Beating the Crusaders each year"? Hmmm….I believe that the Crusaders have beat Shores more often than not. Maybe that's part of the decision. It's sad to see the rivalry end. It has always been a highly attended and fun game to watch.
Brent you are too young. That tradition goes back 50t years!
"our annual priorities start with winning our league, earning home field advantage in the playoffs, and making a drive toward Ford Field. Beating the Crusaders each year simply does not trump these three goals." Last time MS won their league? MS playoff appearances…1. Beating the Crusaders each year? Sounds like a sound, well educated decision…
Regardless of the one's opinion about this, and I am not going to share mine, facts need to be correct.
1. Let's look at this year first:
Shores had 83.222 playoff points compared to 119.111 for Lowell, 106.667 for Muskegon and 84.889 for Reeths-Puffer.
Change the MCC game to any Class A team you want, and Shores’ playoff points increase to 88.555, meaning Shores gets a first-round date with Muskegon rather than Lowell.
Would it have mattered this year? Pick your poison. Big Reds or Red Arrows?
2. Someone posted this: "You get exactly the same number of playoff points for beating a 7-2 class d team, a 5-4 class c team, a 3-6 class b team, or a 1-8 class a team."
WRONG! WRONGER! and WRONGEST!
For beating a Class A team, you get 80 points, B 64 points, C 48 points, D 32 points. There is then a playoff multiplier that is thrown into the equation. Therefore, the 7-2 D team is worth 38.222 points (exactly what MCC was to Shores this year), a 5-4 C team is worth 52.444, a 3-6 B team is worth 66.667 and a 1-8 A team is worth 80.888.
Playoff multiplier is figured like this: Take the number of your opponents' wins (if they beat you, you can't count that win). Multiply that number by 8 if your team beat them or by 1 if your team was beat by the opponent. Take that number and divide by 9 (actually, the number of games your opponent played since some do play fewer than 9). So for Shores beating MCC, you would take 7 (no. of MCC wins and multiply it by 8 because Shores beat them. This is 56. Now, divide by 9 to get a total of 6.222. Finally, add that number to 32 (the worth of a Class D team), and MCC was worth 38.222 points for Shores. In comparison, the loss to Muskegon was worth 80.778 points for Shores. (All this info is on the MHSAA website.)
3. Someone else said strength of schedule matters.
Maybe. This is not the BCS or whatever the NCAA is calling it these days.
For example, let's say your team goes 9-0 against all Class A teams, and for some reason, all of your opponents fail to win a game, all going 0-9 (yes, I know it can't happen because of leagues, but hear me out). Your school would receive 80 playoff points; no bonus points because your opponents have to win in order to garner bonus points. Your rival school, which you don't play, also goes 9-0 but beats all Class D school, which all go 8-1. Your rival school would get 95.999 playoff points.
The only way that Class D schools help a larger school is if those Class D schools are successful; however, a horrible Class A school is worth a lot more points. An 8-1 Class D school is worth 39.111 points; a 0-9 Class A school is worth 80.
Those, my friends (and I'm sure a few enemies) are facts. Now, let the mud-slinging continue.
Facts have no place in what has clearly become a mostly emotional debate. Was it a good rivalry? Yes. Is it the end of the world, it won't continue? No.
How many state titles does shores have?? You didn't go to either school.. This is disappointing to hear and a very said day.. I love Shores it's my alma mater but this is not moving forward
Yeah, but the tradition of the game. It will sting for awhile
Norman Cunningham why did muskegon stop playing mcc for? Thats right playoff points .