If Coupeville makes it to the state football playoffs, their first-round foe will be decided by experts and not blind luck. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Oak Harbor High School head football coach Jay Turner. (Photo property of Oak Harbor School District)
The world is in shock right now. Shock, I say.
For maybe the first time in its checkered history, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has listened to the complaints and is changing something for the better.
The change in question revolves around the state football playoffs, and the answer comes in the form of seeding committees announced Wednesday afternoon.
In previous years, the 16 teams in each classification involved in the playoffs were paired off by blind draw.
Which meant the process often ended up pairing up two of the top teams, sometimes even #1 and #2, in the first round.
What should have been a likely state title match-up went down way too early, while, by the luck of the draw, #15 and #16 sometimes matched up for a spot in the quarterfinals.
But, after much venting, that changes this fall.
Qualifying for the state playoffs remains the same as before, with each district allocated a certain number of slots.
But, once the 16 teams in each division are set, a committee of 12 experts, comprised of current and former coaches, AD’s, journalists and computer rankings whiz kids, will sit down and rank the gridiron squads.
One of those who made it through the application process was Oak Harbor High School head football coach Jay Turner, who landed on the 3A/4A committee.
Other notable names include Pat Alexander, who had a 41-year run as Defensive Coordinator at Tumwater (including my time as a T-Bird).
Sultan head coach Jim Wright gives Coupeville’s new league, the North Sound Conference, a voice, while the inclusion of outside experts Ryland Spencer of Cascadia Preps and Scott Odiorne, AKA The Score Czar, prove that, for once, the WIAA actually thought something out.
The 2018 football seeding committees:
1B and 2B:
Brian Bailey – Head Coach at Entiat
Jon Davidson – Retired Head Coach who currently assists at Toutle Lake
Jay Hawkins – Head Coach at Tonasket
Jim Holman – Head Coach at Asotin
Kyle Kimble – Head Coach at Pomeroy
Buck Marsh – Superintendent/AD/Head Coach at Darrington
Tom Sanchez – AD/Former Head Coach at South Bend
Aaron Van Tuyl – Sports Reporter at The Daily Chronicle
Matthew Evans – Publisher of Evans Rankings
Doug Ashmore – Former Coach at Napavine, Onalaska, Centralia
Ryland Spencer – Cascadia Preps
Scott Odiorne – ScoreCzar Rankings
1A and 2A:
Elia Ala’ilima-Daley – Former Head Coach; AD at Cascade (Leavenworth)
Pat Alexander – Retired – 41-year Assistant Coach at Tumwater
Brycen Bye – Head Coach at Clarkston
Jay Dodd – Head Coach at Blaine
John Hallead – Head Coach at Columbia (White Salmon)
Cody Lamb – Head Coach at LaSalle
Shawn Perkins – Head Coach at Mark Morris
Dan Teeter – Head Coach at Lakewood
Jeff Weible – Head Coach at North Kitsap
Jim Wright – Head Coach at Sultan
Ryland Spencer – Cascadia Preps
Scott Odiorne – ScoreCzar Rankings
3A and 4A:
John Barrington – AD at Mead
Ross Filkins – Head Coach/AD at Peninsula
Matthew Gracey – Head Coach at Heritage
Monte Kohler – Head Coach/AD at O’Dea
William Marsh – Retired AD/Head Coach at Eastside Cathholic
Adam Mathieson – Head Coach at Mountain View
Scott Nordi – AD at Lakes; Gridiron Classic Co-Coordinator
Mark Perry – AD at Snohomish
Jay Turner – Head Coach at Oak Harbor
Lauren Smith – Sports Reporter for Tacoma News Tribune, The Olympian
Ryland Spencer – Cascadia Preps
Scott Odiorne – ScoreCzar Rankings
Coupeville Sports 