Rockets Return to D6

The Fayetteville-Perry Rockets football team’s chances of making the playoffs this season became a little bit harder.

On Aug. 13, the Ohio High School Athletic Association released new enrollment figures, ones that place the Rockets back into Division 6 for football. The Western Brown Broncos remained in Division 3.

The new figures don’t take into account community school and STEM school students, many who don’t play athletics. This was the first year that the OHSAA had taken those students into consideration after being provided with enrollment numbers from 2015-2017, taking into account only ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders.

Under the reorganized figures announced last May, the Rockets had dropped to Division 7, but a number of coaches and schools across the state complained at the way the OHSAA had reorganized the divisions. The schools and coaches argued that many of the STEM and community school students didn’t participate in school sports, meaning that their school’s student number was artificially raised.

There were even reports of an impending lawsuit from Columbus city schools.

As such, the OHSAA reconfigured the enrollment figures, taking out the STEM and community school students, as well as reorganizing divisions for football. The new figures were approved by the OHSAA Board of Directors.

Division 1 is 581 enrolled male students or more. Division 2 is 361-580 students, Division 3 is 257-360, Division 4 is 186-256, Division 5 is 144-185, Division 6 is 100-143, and Division 7 is 99 male students or below.

Fayetteville’s enrollment stands at 106 male students in grades nine, 10, and 11. Under the old figures, that was the top amount allowed in Division 7, but under the new figures, they’re pushed back to Division 6.

Western Brown remains at 328 male students.

For other sports, both male and female, Fayetteville, Georgetown, and Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington all are in class A, Eastern Brown is in Class AA, and Western Brown is in Class AAA.

Fayetteville-Perry football coach Kevin Finch did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Fayetteville-Perry High School’s football team was placed back in Division 6 by the OHSAA after originally being dropped down to Division 7 earlier this summer.

https://www.ripleybee.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_FayettevilleTimmyCroneCalebDowersFootball2014-DanielKarell-.jpgFayetteville-Perry High School’s football team was placed back in Division 6 by the OHSAA after originally being dropped down to Division 7 earlier this summer.