East St. Louis is planning to move up

[JCHillmen10]

How often does Batavia play in the 6A playoffs?

Last time was 2013 and they won it that year as well. Before 2013 they were in 6A most years.

I don’t think fall of 2025 was about 6A being beneath them.

 

[Colin2299]

Any projected 6A school in 2025 that petitioned up to 7A was 100 percent taking the opportunistic chance to jump into a class that seemed light at the top and was devoid of any traditional powers. With Naz being bumped into 6A along with ESL already there and MC bumping from 7A to 8A, 7A absolutely appeared more forgiving than 6A this past fall.

I am 100 percent convinced Batavia saw a better opportunity to win a state championship in 7A as opposed to 6A last fall and that is why the petitioned up. I can't fault them for that, that is the ridiculousness that is allowed when schools are allowed to choose a classification.

But to say that Batavia would never do that seems more laughable than the suggestion that they did in fact seek out a more likely route to a title. . They did it. The reason was what any normal person would think it was. It didn't work out in their favor in 2025, but was probably still the right call for them. Now they will likely be 7A again in 2026 and may get a chance to run into ESL.

So you’re saying a team that’s been in 7A for the past 12 seasons with a playoff record of 28-10 (7 of those losses are to Mt Carmel and JJ McCarthy) and who always plays a top notch NC schedule is ducking ESL?

We used to applaud teams for playing up. Now we’re saying they are doing it to duck one team.

 

[AlabamaTimberwolf]

So you’re saying a team that’s been in 7A for the past 12 seasons with a playoff record of 28-10 (7 of those losses are to Mt Carmel and JJ McCarthy) and who always plays a top notch NC schedule is ducking ESL?

We used to applaud teams for playing up. Now we’re saying they are doing it to duck one team.

BINGO!

 

[Colin2299]

I will say that most certainly there are teams moving up to avoid lower class and I think it is misguided. Antioch being the poster boy for this. But Batavia should not be looped in with them.

 

[JCHillmen10]

So you’re saying a team that’s been in 7A for the past 12 seasons with a playoff record of 28-10 (7 of those losses are to Mt Carmel and JJ McCarthy) and who always plays a top notch NC schedule is ducking ESL?

We used to applaud teams for playing up. Now we’re saying they are doing it to duck one team.

You buried the headline there.

7 of their last 10 eliminations were to MC or JJ McCarthy?

I think you just answered your own questions.

But it's laughable to suggest said team is petitioning up to 7A simply because this is the one year that Naz will be 6A (and ESL too as an added bonus) and the evil MC will finally be bumped to 8A? The one year where they can avoid the regular thorns in their side is the year they request to slot into the class comfortably between those two thorns and it's just purely serendipitous that it worked out that way?


It is great to always assume the best intent, but I am far more skeptical than you. Especially when all the coincidental facts line up perfectly with Batavia opportunistically trying to capitalize on "finally" finding a classification that will be free of Naz and MC (and avoiding ESL is just a nice bonus too). So no, they were not ducking ESL. They were finding a class that they felt gave them the best chance to win the title that has eluded them over the past 7 plus years. Nothing wrong with that given that the rules allow it. But objective people have to see it for what it is.