Evening star., 1939-02-01
Principals 0kay
Now Upto
DR.. Ba||ou
Also Would Allow
D. c. Teams More
Outside Games
By GEORGE HUBER.

Sul Sl0S 0NsSsSS
By GEORGE HUBER.
Lacking only formal approval by
DR.. Frank Ballou, superintendent of
schools, the high school football pro-
gram this fall will be operated under
a radically changed system designed
to keep interest alive during the
entire series and to permit greater
number of outside games to be
scheduled.
The new plan, adopted by the
Board of High School Principals and
now being considered by the super
divides the city into a
western and eastern division, with
the football champion of each meet
ing in a play-of for the city title.
The change, if finally approved,
will put four schools-Western,
Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt and
Central-in the western section, and
the other three-Eastern, Tech and
Anacostia-in the eastern group.
Like Pro League Plan.
Teams will play four interhigh
games, with sectional winners to be
decided on percentage basis as in
the present National Professional
Football League. The western
teams will play the three other
schools in its loop and one outside
eleven, while the eastern teams will
have to play two outside games.
Teams to be met outside particular
schools division will be changed
from year to year, thus achieving a
balance. When Calvin Coolidge
High School is completed and joins
the eastern loop the plan is to play
five interhigh games, as generally is
done by colleges in the Big Ten.
Under the system operated in the
past, when every school met all the
others, interest in the schoolboy
football series often died down after
a few games have been played and
one or two teams became almost
certainties to take the title. The
new system probably would keep in
terest alive right to the play-off, as
the final game will be the deciding
one In the past, as often as not. a
game early in the series has decided
the title.
Would Allow Eight Games.
Another advantage under the
change, and this is considered in
some quarters as the most important,
Is the increased number of outside
games permitted. High schools are
allowed eight season. Six of these,
under the system now in vogue, are
interhigh championship contests,
leaving but two outside games to be
arranged. That is total of only IA
among Z schools, and of necessity
most of these are in the nature of
practice and warm-up games.
With teams playing only four
interhigh contests, or five if they
get in the play-off, many more
outside tilts may be booked. 1t
probably will make a total of %,
as the plan finally approved may
permit the play-of game as the
ninth contest.
Some of these outside games still
might be warmup contests, but
greater number will be with good
out-of-town schools. One of the big
incentives for boys to come out for
the various high school sports is
the possibility of making one or
more trips, and this incentive will
be greatly increased If the new plan
is approved.
Little Known Elsewhere.
Right now Washington schools
are little known outside the imme-
diate vicinity. They have a tight
little league all their own, with
practically no opportunity to meet
good teams from other sections. 1t
would put Washington scholastic
sports in its rightful place on the
map If the caliber of its elevens
could be displayed against leading
schoolboy teams in the East.
Whether the proposed change is
approved or disapproved by DR..
Ballou, it should be done soon. The
football coaches, most of whom are
chatting under the inforced inactivi-
ty, do not know what their schedule
will be this fall or what open dates
they will have to fill with outside
engagements. The plan was drawn
and submitted to the Board of High
School Principals sometime ago and
only recently approved, and as yet
DR.. Ballou has not studied it.
Practically all coaches have
queries from outside schools about
arranging games. and these cannot
be answered until they know what
dates they will have this fall.
Unless coaches soon can begin to
make arrangements their worry will
not be how to fit their outside games
into the few dates allowed, but how
to get reasonably good teams to fill
their vacant spots.