If the lower Stokes schools willingly give up a chance to be genuinely competitive in a conference to be the whipping boys for the other teams around here who beat them by 50+ every year then they are stupider than I imagined them being. I get the travel times and all but the NCHSAA has given them a golden goose for the first real time ever in a conference and they are wanting to throw it away. So incredibly stupid. They can schedule the local schools in non conference in every sport and do just fine. South especially would be foolish to give it up, with that RB they have (if he stays there,) he would run all over that conference and have awards out the wazoo. North Stokes would do well vs their old non conference rivals. They'd have chances to get to .500 every year, in the NW they won't ever come close consistently. With their class size they really shouldn't be able to bully anyone around, and if the state caves to that then they are a bigger joke than I imagined them to be.
The only team who has a logical reason to complain is Ashe County.. they are in placed in a league where they'd have to drive to Burke county constantly for no reason at all and that's way too long of a drive for them when natural rivals are half the drive away. I'm glad they are contesting it and hopefully the NCHSAA realizes it and puts them with us and takes the non mountain teams out, but I'll believe it when I see it. If the state really wants parity they'll do it.
I have no idea what to expect Monday. It could be the same joke conferences we had the last time, it could be a hodgepodge of the first two, or in a nightmare situation something worse. It's honestly terrifying.. a lot of communities fates are up to a comittee. They haven't done this process right at all and it's a joke. We shouldn't be this late in the process waiting to see what happens. Schools should be finalizing their schedules and prepping for spring practice.
Just hoping for something good but expecting the worst.