No glory to schools or WIAA in football playoff issue

In the end, neither the WIAA nor the Messmer/Shorewood administrations covered themselves in glory when it came to resolving the complicated legal odyssey that finally granted the Greyhounds their hard-earned first-ever playoff berth in 30 years earlier this week.

But the determined team, long the butt of gridiron jokes and better known for its revolving door of coaches, only made everyone associated with it proud by playing its "best half of football of the year" according to coach Drake Zortman, in routing Beaver Dam Wayland, 48-21, last Friday.

With the win, the Greyhounds improved to 4-2 in Midwest Classic Conference play and 4-4 overall, and earned a right that maybe was, or wasn't, theirs to have. They will play Milwaukee Riverside at Pulaski Stadium Friday at 7 p.m. in a WIAA state playoff game.

Various interpretations of the WIAA rule, which bans teams from the state playoffs for four years should they withdraw voluntarily without the WIAA's blessings, were bandied about Judge Kevin Martens' courtroom Monday and Tuesday.

In the end, Martens said the WIAA's rule was not drawn clearly enough. He had to parse things thin and he was going to make a lot of people unhappy either way he decided.

In ruling for Messmer/Shorewood, Martens validated a long-held wish, a fulfilled dream for the team, which includes a surprisingly large 20-man senior class.

But they were, according to the rule, just in the fourth year of their ban following their withdrawal from Woodland Conference football play (it occurred in 2007) and therefore, theoretically not eligible for another year.

Interpretations of the rule made it look like the WIAA was dealing with all teams in one addendum, but then just with independent schools in another. The intent for the four-year ban was there, but in the schools and more importantly Martens' eyes, it seemed that the intent was a bit clouded.

Based on that interpretation, Martens' ruling and therefore the school districts' legal standing, appears at a glance, as thin as finely chopped parsely. Not very substantial in nature.

But, on the other hand, the WIAA didn't give Martens much to chew on either.

When Messmer/Shorewood officials got in touch with WIAA officials late in September to discuss the matter of eligibility, there seemed to be no awareness on the WIAA's part that Messmer/Shorewood was ineligible.

A press release from Messmer/Shorewood released last Friday when the two districts took the WIAA to court, even noted that WIAA Associate Director Deb Hauser wrote back to them stating no awareness of any eligibility issues. She had copied the rest of the executive staff about the issue but Messmer/Shorewood received no further correspondence on the matter and websites germane to the issue were later adjusted and indicated that at least for the first part of October, that Messmer/Shorewood was indeed eligible for the playoffs.

So, it was clumsy and downright disheartening at best and almost cruel at worst when the day before the regular season closer and the day the playoff draws were to be announced, the WIAA pulled the rug out from under the team's cleats and declared it ineligible.

That the WIAA took close to two weeks to figure out this thing is almost incomprehensible. The two school districts had red-flagged it to Hauser and she had sent it around to the rest of the executive board. It should have taken no more than a day for someone in Stevens Point to have figured out that the eligibility rule would come into play.

And when they did invoke the rule last Thursday, I hope they weren't ignorant enough to believe that legal action wouldn't follow, disrupting the selection and pairing process and leaving north of 220 qualified playoff coaches and teams wondering what the heck they were going to do this weekend.

Zortman said that despite the uncertainty his team's issue created, he had received nothing but positive reinforcement from his peers in the coaching community.

And to no one's surprise, the schools are understandably pleased with the decision.

The following statement was released Tuesday by Brother Bob Smith, president and CEO of Messmer Catholic Schools:

"Judge Martens confirmed that under the WIAA rule, our team earned the right to play in the playoffs this year. This decision reinforces the importance of applying the rules fairly and consistently across the board.

"This process and decision reinforces for the students that the rules matter. They can now focus on their challenge on the field. Win or lose, they've been given the chance to compete. That's all any team can ask."

For Zortman, he wants to put all the politics aside and just play some football. He was in court all through the proceedings, leaving the coaching to his assistants and hoping for the best ("They were going through their normal routines," he said).

Being away from the team almost killed him, he said, but he also hoped his young players learned something positive from all this.

"Kids know things; they know when they're being lied to," he said. "We just tell them to control the things that they can. Work hard, be good kids inside and outside of the classroom and be good sports on the field, win or lose. We really can't ask anything more from them."

"They're such a resilient group. If we play an additional ballgame (in the playoffs), great, but if we don't there would have still been a lot of positives to take from this season.

"….This group has stepped over all the hurdles and they truly believe it when we tell them 'We are change'."