May 15—TRAVERSE CITY — The Bay Reps may get new playoff opponents soon under changes enacted by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
A bevy of rules changes came about recently from the MHSAA, most notably impacting hockey playoff classification, challenges in football finals, the start of the basketball season and wrestling weight classes.
The MHSAA Representative Council voted at its May meeting in Gaylord to reshape the hockey playoff field by restructuring the way teams are split into the three divisions.
Previously, teams were simply split into three divisions by enrollment, with cooperative teams adding the combined enrollment of all the team's schools together.
The new method involves splitting standalone and cooperative programs by enrollment, but on separate lists. The two lists of three divisions then get combined for one playoff field.
The biggest local impact seems to be the Bay Reps, a seven-school co-op headed by Traverse City St. Francis that also includes Elk Rapids, Suttons Bay, Kalkaska, Kingsley, Mancelona and Lake Leelanau St. Mary. The Reps appear poised to move down from Division 1 all the way to Division 3. Despite having seven schools, the Reps are actually one of the smaller co-op programs in the state.
The MHSAA said it expects to release the 2022-23 hockey division assignments Monday.
"I don't know how it would play out in the playoffs," Reps head coach Mike Matteucci said.
Playing in Division 3 could put the Reps in a regional with teams such as Gaylord and Cadillac, instead of Division 1, where they often run into Traverse City West. It also would put the three Traverse City teams in different divisions, so they don't knock each other off in regionals.
It should be noted that the level of play in hockey traditionally isn't as large of a gap between the top and bottom divisions as in sports like football and basketball. A team can also voluntarily opt to go up a division.
Traverse City Central hockey coach Chris Givens and TC West coach Jeremy Rintala both said they don't think the change will impact the status of either of their standalone teams, with the Trojans in Division 2 and the Titans in Division 1.
Petoskey hockey coach Rob Higgins said he didn't think the change would impact his team and that it'd stay in Division 2. Based on 2021 enrollment data, Petoskey — which also has players from Boyne City, Harbor Springs and Petoskey St. Michael — is the 27th-largest co-op team out of 62.
Manistee — a school that co-ops with Mason County Central, Shelby, Ludington, Hart, Mason County Eastern, Manistee Catholic Central and Bear Lake to form the Lakeshore Badgers — could also be impacted.
The Badgers played in Division 2 last season and used to be in Division 1 several years ago.
The MHSAA also approved using Michigan Power Ratings to seed the entire regional round, and the tournament will be re-seeded by a seeding committee for the Final Four.
"It's a good thing," Matteucci said. "You have to be rewarded for a tough schedule and beating good opponents."
Replay review, schedule changes, weight classes
Football coaches in the 11-player state championship games get one replay challenge per game starting next season under new guidelines.
The challenge costs that team a timeout if the original outcome is confirmed.
Coaches can challenge the following: complete/incomplete passes, if a runner/receiver was in/out of bounds, a runner who is ruled not down, the forward progress spot as it relates to the yard to gain, which player first touched a kick, the recovery of a ball in/out of bounds, if a pass was forward or backward, and penalties for an illegal forward pass, targeting or illegal helmet contact, and pass interference only as it relates to the pass being previously tipped. All potential scores and turnovers are automatically reviewed by replay booth officials.
Such a rule in Glen Lake's last two state finals appearances could have changed outcomes.
"I definitely think replay will help," Jerry Angers said. "It's not the reason you lose games, but it could turn the tide."
The Lakers lost 7-0 to Monroe St. Mary in 2019, the Falcons were awarded a first down on a 4th-and-2 play where Jacob Pleva appeared to stop the runner before the first-down marker. That first down let St. Mary run 11 more fourth-quarter plays in a one-score game.
"I would have been fun to challenge that and see how it goes," Angers said. "That's all I'm going to say about that."
The Lakers also had a borderline call in the 2016 finals when officials ruled Duke Angers didn't get a first down on 4th-and-1 on a drive inside Jackson Lumen Christi territory in a 26-14 setback.
The council's seven-year calendar of MHSAA tournament events, notably has the 2023-24 and 2024-25 boys basketball tournament completed first, followed by girls basketball.
That's a change-up from the traditional order of the girls finals followed by the boys finals.
The change allows for the possibility of Michigan State University being selected to host NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament first and second-round games at the Breslin Center.
In those two seasons, boys basketball will also start a week earlier than girls.
The council also opted to switch from current boys wrestling weight classes to ones the National Federation of State High School Associations will adopt in 2023-24. The MHSAA will start using the new classes in 2022-23, however.
That makes the new weight classes 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190, 215 and 285 pounds. One girls class will be altered, going from 255 pounds to 235, to align all MHSAA girls classes with those used by the NFHS.
The MHSAA's $12.8 million budget for 2022-23 was also approved.
Among other changes approved by the council (for the 2022-23 school year):
* Referees can now use video replay to make sure an ejection call is correct. MHSAA staff gain the ability to review video of an ejection and modify subsequent penalties in three instances: When there's clear misidentification of an athlete ejected, when a participant is ejected as the result of a rules misapplication, or when incontrovertible video evidence shows an ejection or suspension for flagrant contact with an opponent or official was in error. This applies to all sports where quality video is available.
* An addendum to the "fifth quarter" rules that allow subvarsity players to play in five quarters of athletic play on the same day (or week for football), soccer players can now play in three halves. It also adds enhanced penalties for violations of the rule, with teams in question forfeiting the contest during which the violation took place and the head coach ineligible for the next day of competition.
* In football, players can wear shoulder pads at college camps sponsored and conducted directly by NCAA or NAIA institutions.
* In soccer, the two top-seeded district teams can host their games if there isn't a prearranged host site. For these districts, the No. 1 seed gets hosting priority, followed by the No. 2 seed, followed by the team on the top line of the bracket. This would largely impact geographic districts such as the one Traverse City Central and Traverse City West usually play in.
* Minnesota added as a "border state" for out-of-state competition purposes. Schools can play opponents from Minnesota regardless of the 300-mile travel limit rule, as is also allowed for opponents in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Ontario and Wisconsin.
* For baseball and softball, separate site selection committees will determine locations of district and regional rounds.
* In golf, beginning in 2022-23, teams will be allowed two school-approved coaches present and actively coaching during postseason competition. The maximum number of strokes allowed per hole during MHSAA tournament play was also reduced from 12 to 10.
* In bowling, the team regional qualifying block format will mirror the team final format. Teams play eight Baker games and two regular games at both levels of the tournament beginning with the 2022-23 season. Previously, teams bowled six Baker games and three regular games at regionals.
* In competitive cheer, a new choreography chart awards points based on tumbling, one-leg extensions, vertical twists/360s and release skills which cannot supersede a 10-point maximum of points earned. The council also adjusted the penalty for going over the time limit in each round to one penalty point for every second over the time limit, not to exceed 15 points.
* For diving, each regional will be guaranteed 10 qualifiers for the finals. The remaining six spots per division will go to the regionals that have one of the previous year's top six returning finals divers in their fields.
* In tennis, will allow for state finals seeding at No. 1 singles of up to seven players if there are between 21-23 in the field, and seeding of up to eight players if the field includes 24 or more. No. 1 singles is the only flight where participants may qualify for the Finals separately from their full team.
* In track & field, middle school regionals start with the 2022-23 school year.
* In wrestling, middle school competitions add weights of 215 pounds, 245 pounds and heavyweight, with the heavyweight class not to exceed 285.
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