Leveling the playing field

Published 4:25 pm Thursday, August 4, 2011

When the Northview Chiefs take the field next month, it will be a whole new ballgame as the new rural league begins with the 2011-12 school year.

The Chiefs will be one of 32 schools in the new classification that aims to level the playing field for schools that are unable to draw larger enrollments as compared to schools in larger cities such as Jacksonville and Orlando.

The change in classification is a welcome one for the Chiefs and head coach Sid Wheatley.

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No matter how the classification would be the Chiefs would compete, but there is a better chance to advance in the postseason, Wheatley said.

“I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “I think that our kids are fine with it, and we will be fine. I felt pretty good about our team before the change. We try and compete with everybody and we’ll line up with anybody on a Friday night. I do feel that for other schools with smaller numbers, it gives them the opportunity to advance in the playoffs. It’s tough for a school that size to compete with a team that draws from a metropolitan population of one to two million people.”