Nothing At Stake, Or Is There?

Among the flaws in the state's football playoff system is the fact that, for playoff purposes, the last week of the regular season is meaningless. All district competition must be completed by Oct. 28, meaning this week's games are for little more than pride or parents' night.

So what do you do if you're 9-0 Plant? Rest standout quarterback Robert Marve for the playoffs, or try to keep him sharp Friday against Robinson, the school's biggest rival? Does Armwood give 1,000-yard rusher Marquise Branton a blow this week at East Bay, or unload its bench and save its marquee players for the postseason?

Our guess: The starters will start, and play as long as needed. Enter a game with a half-hearted approach and, to steal a line from Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid, "You get squashed just like grape."

"I don't think you can stop playing," Plant coach Bob Weiner said. "Football's not a game you can play tentatively, from a coaching standpoint or playing standpoint."

Comments

[MT]

It's fine if you aren't in the playoffs, not so fine if you are. It's a game of emotion, and sometimes circumstances make it hard for kids to get ready to play a game that doesn't have much in it for them. They're human.