Cutter: Success Multiplier Will Break The Levee

What if you had the power to determine which level of the playoffs your team will compete in?

Just like East St. Louis football, Illinois's winningest prep gridiron program.

When it comes to the Flyers, forget about ineligible transfers and things like that which have put a black eye on the program. What is impressive about the success that they have recently put up is that they are being successful in a different area than what they "should" be in.

They "should" have been in Class 6A in the past few years. With an enrollment this year of 1,438 students, that "should" mean the Flyers are solidly in the middle of 6A.

East St. Louis has participated in Class 7A all of this time - a class that is made up largely of competition from far more resourceful Chicagoland schools.

At one time, East St. Louis's enrollment put them on the bottom end of the 7A ranks. However, an enrollment decline (a problem for the city for the past 50 years) bumped them down into the next-lowest class in 2009.

By that time, the Illinois High School Association's class-expansion wave, which started in 2007, was in full swing. With many more classifications of play in the picture, the IHSA created a provision which offered any Illinois high school athletic team to play up one level in classification.

East St. Louis's football team isn't the only sports program to take advantage of this opportunity.

When the provision started, the boys golf teams from Chicago Christian in Palos Heights (1A to 2A) and St. Viator in Arlington Heights (2A to 3A) chose to play up one level of classification. However, after the 2010-11 school year, both teams chose to go back to its normal class.

Since then, a new sport-specific classification rule was established by the IHSA Board of Directors in the summer of 2011. Also new to the fold was the sport-specific private school waiver opportunity, passed in 2011 by the IHSA member schools after years of unsuccessful tries.

The boys basketball team of Chicago's St. Rita of Cascia fell into the 3A field after having been granted a multiplier waiver, based on the fact that they haven't won a regional championship in the past five years. In fact, the Mustang program has only won three regionals in its history: in 1982, 2000 and 2003, and all done falling short of a sectional title.

The Mustangs finished 16-11 in 2012 and 19-8 this past season without regional titles. St. Rita chose to stay in 4A. They fell to DuSable 54-52 in its own regional final on March 1, and fell 64-56 to Whitney Young in the 2012 regional final at Young.

If you don't include the competitive cheerleading programs from downstate Mt. Carmel and East Alton-Wood River, the "play up" tally includes one public school and three private schools. Also remember that the three private schools have already seen its enrollment figure inflated by the IHSA's 1.65 Multiplier.

East St. Louis's football team and St. Rita's boys basketball team have set an example for wanting to challenge themselves. Worth noting, the IHSA's motto reflects what these two programs have done: "Challenge yourself."

Several prep sports teams exist in Illinois that have proven to be successful in recent years, and provoke this thought: "Why don't they choose play up a class?"

When the girls basketball team from Quincy Notre Dame won two straight Class 2A titles in 2011 and 2012, that thought ran rampant among critics statewide given its athletic talent and its schedule strength. Then the Lady Raiders were bumped up to 3A due to enrollment, not by choice, and proceeded to win the 3A championship in February.

In 2010, Boylan's football team won it all in Class 6A. Despite a small enrollment dropoff, the Titans competed in Class 7A the following year due to classification, and not by choice, and proceeded to win it all once more.

Even public schools have proven that playing up a class doesn't make the path tougher. Dakota's volleyball team, after winning Class 1A in 2011, had a small enrollment bump that pushed them across the cutoff line into 2A. The Indians went on to take second place in 2012.

Morris's football team went from being the Class 5A runner-up in 2004 to becoming the Class 6A champion the following year.

Four teams, including two area teams, have proven that the next class up isn't all that scary. That's proof that having a forced success multiplier rule doesn't make things any tougher on schools that have achieved success.

So what is the point for bringing it up?

Washington superintendent and principal Jim Dunnan brought the idea up during the IHSA Football Advisory Committee meeting in November. Then again on June 10 during the IHSA Board of Directors' monthly meeting. At the latter meeting, the Board approved a recommendation to form a committee to review the implementation of a "success factor" formula.

According to the minutes of the Football Advisory Committee in December, "Dunnan delivered a report regarding the Class 5A disparity in non-public school title game dominance of that class over the past 13 years."

"We are beginning to see ‘success factors’ or ‘tradition factors’ being considered or implemented as a part of the formula to determine school classifications at several state associations around the country," stated IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman in a press release. "Dr. Dunnan presented the Board with some well thought-out ideas, and ultimately, the Board felt like forming a committee to further explore this subject was worthwhile."

In the past 12 years (since football's expansion from six to eight classes), private schools have won 11 state championships in Class 5A. The exception was Metamora's win in 2007. Joliet Catholic, New Lenox Providence, Sacred Heart-Griffin, Wheaton St. Francis and Montini have won the other 11 championships. Montini has won the past four titles.

Only one Class 5A title game win has been a shutout: Providence's 42-0 win over Pontiac in 2002. The only other 5A title game decided by more than two touchdowns was Montini's 70-45 win over Joliet Catholic in 2011.

Dominance?

Dominance would be Montini blowing out every opponent in the playoffs in winning its state titles. This past year, only one of Montini's playoff games was decided by more than two touchdowns: its 54-13 opening-round win against Midlothian Bremen. Sycamore came within two points from stopping the streak, but fell 24-22 in the second round.

Notice we're still talking about football here, because that was Dunnan's focus. Whether or not examples were made in other sports, such as girls basketball or wrestling (two of Montini's other successful sports), are not known.

The only "dominance" that exists is that of the accumulation of state championship trophies each year.

If the state championship trophy has become the point of the need to change everything, then we have a serious problem in Illinois high school sports.

If the state championship trophy has become the point of the need to change everything, then we have forgotten about the primary purpose of these particular extra-curricular offerings: and that is an educational experience. When the statements on the public address system mention something about an "extension of the classroom," it's not just filler statements or a warm-up paragraph for the announcer's voice.

In recent years, especially after 2007's class expansion wave, we have seen an increase in student transfers from one high school to another. With that general increase is the increase of sports-related transfers.

Having a success multiplier will eventually pave the way for other, less fortunate schools to add to its trophy cases. This also creates the opportunity for more athletic transfers, judging on the strength of a certain team with potential. It has also increased the desire for winning against the educational setting.

While the proposal does absolutely nothing to stop the bleeding that is the increase of athletic-related transfers, an even bigger problem would come up if this were to take place.

That is a public-private split within the IHSA.

I would sure hope that Dunnan isn't paving the way for a football team or two to be in a situation that Brentwood Academy of Tennessee was in nearly 20 years ago. In a five-class football playoff system, Brentwood - whose enrollment figure would have meant playing in Class 2A - played up to 5A and kept on winning, taking home the 5A title in 1995. This was one of the prime factors in Tennesee's public-private split.

By forcibly bumping up successful teams that have a tenancy to reload instead of rebuild, you give them a reason to find a way to come back and compete. As mentioned before, Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball, Boylan football, Dakota volleyball and Morris football are four teams that have proven that the step up is not a fatal blow to a program's goals and determinations.

East St. Louis football has proven to be competitive in Class 7A as well.

Going back to a splitting scenario in Illinois: If this is done, the classifications and tournament structures would be unique enough to where all of the less-fortunate private school teams would have to find a way to compete with the more successful ones. In turn, this would exponentially push the gap between publics and privates to a whole new level. And if you do split publics and privates in just postseason competition, privates in public conferences would create more of a dominance gap.

Such a split would decimate Chicagoland public sports programs that have the potential of losing athletes to more stronger means of athletic competition in the private school setting. While this could increase the enrollments of private schools, it also increase the potential for undesirables in the religious sense in their hallways.

So the rosters would grow to epic proportions, but issues such as negotiations for playing time and the like would redistribute the bodies to the other, closer private schools.

Also, areas not effected by private school influence would feast on the shells of the rest come postseason.

Privates would crush publics if a split were to occur. The quality of public sports competition would be at an all-time low. Then comes, between that large gap between public and private, the rise of club volleyball, ASA softball and other non-school-associated sports competition for those who don't feel challenged and attend public schools (because of many reasons, including finances).

This would bring about something that has been feared for many years in the IHSA: The demise of school sports and the rise of club sports.

If state champions - dynasties, that is - were dominating every game en route to their trophies, then it would be a problem. But that's not happening in Illinois. The "domination" only exists in the form of the accumulation of trophies, in particular those that read "state champions". Hence obsession with winning increases and the will to learn decreases.

High school sports is an educational experience outside of the traditional classroom setting. Let's keep it that way. Schools can say all they want about stuffed trophy cases increasing student morale, but stuffed trophy cases do not bring schools an increase in state aid from Springfield. Whether you're 14-0 or 0-9, no season is a failure. Those are just numbers.

We don't need a "success multiplier" in the IHSA. It distorts more than it helps.

Magnificent Milledgeville

For the past 37 years, the image of an Illinois high school softball state championship being won depicts a mob gathering somewhere within the infield dirt. Yells, screams and other loud cheers compliment that typical setting.

Such scenes are what high school softball players, such as those on the Milledgeville Lady Missiles softball team, dream of as soon as the postseason draws near.

However, Milledgeville didn't experience that particular picture at this year's IHSA Class 1A State Finals at East Peoria's EastSide Centre.

They dreamed about it, alright. That was supposed to be the "finish" in their season motto of "Finish The Dream."

Last year the Lady Missiles won its last game of the season, within the confines of EastSide Centre, but it was in the consolation game in a 4-1 victory over Tuscola in which they pounded out 14 hits.

With six of nine spots of last year's starting lineup returning this year, that third place trophy - the first IHSA trophy of any kind in school history - didn't quite mean the end. The dream wasn't finished yet.

Not even the departure of Sarah Spears, the team's head coach during the third-place run, would hinder the chances of accomplishing even more.

Brad Grenoble would step up and take over the reins.

"It started at the end of last year," Grenoble said. "These girls came and hit the cages 3-4 times a week all winter, even the girls that play volleyball and basketball; they're still in the cages three times a week. They knew they were close and had to get some better stuff."

Twenty-six wins and three losses later, the Lady Missiles made their way back to East Peoria for the final act.

The scene wasn't all that bright, as dark clouds hung over EastSide Centre throughout the weekend. With the way they were taking shape during Friday's semifinals, a decision was made to begin Milledgeville's game with Illini Bluffs of Glasford 45 minutes earlier than expected.

The throng of Milledgeville fans that gathered to watch the first semifinal game between Toledo Cumberland and Goreville all flocked to the next diamond over when the announcement was made that the game would be played there.

After warmups, a light drizzle made its way onto the diamond with the scene of more to come on the other side of the right field fence. Not quite the picturesque setting. They were about to play in the rain.

Four went up and three went down for the Lady Missiles in the first at-bat. Then EastSide's lightning detection siren went off to halt everything. At least 30 minutes were needed after the sight of the first bolt, and the delay wound up being 40 minutes long.

Still, the sprinkles continued.

The Tigers struck first after Nicole Russell reached third base on a hit to right field that went to the fence. Two outs later, she was plated by Katie Young's laser single to left field.

But the Missiles would come back in the next at-bat. Consecutive singles by Morgan Adolph and Kayleigh Leddy paved the way for Kelsey Hayen's shot to center field. Adolph scored on the play, but Leddy was gunned down at the plate. The Missiles would still get that go-ahead run though when Liz Bryant's groundout created the scene for Hayen to dart home successfully.

Adolph helped put the Lady Missiles ahead by two with a hard double to center to score Jenna Bibler, who ran after Emily Bush's double earlier in the inning, and Courtney Swalve, who reached on a fielder's choice.

"We got aggressive on the bases," coach Grenoble said. "You have to make things happen in games like this. You don't want to lose by one or two runs, so we just got aggressive, put the ball in play and just kept running the bases. We had a good day."

Illini Bluffs was only able to get back one of the runs in the third inning before the floodgates broke open. Milledgeville's, that is. Not from the rain.

The Lady Missiles tacked on five runs to get into double digits for a 10-2 lead. Breyana Henson and Ally Bush each had RBI doubles, and Emily Bush, Swalve and Adolph each had RBI singles. Just like that, the Lady Missiles were in firm control of the game and allowed just one run for the duration.

Adolph's RBI was her third of the game, and was on her third straight hit of the game.

"We're pretty confident in our lineup one through nine," Adolph said. "We know we can produce runs, and we expect everyone to have hits and contribute to the team. Once we do that, we know we have control of the game and we can do whatever we want. We can pretty much win any game that we want to."

Emily Bush was able to shrug off early issues in the pitcher's circle after the offensive barrage. Five of her eight strikeouts came in the last four innings.

"This team we definately don't know a whole lot about," Bush said. "They're good hitters, probably one of the best hitting teams that I've faced all year. It kind of took me a little bit to get used to that and where to throw. But luckilly I have teammates behind me that can really hit the ball, and that's nice to have as a pitcher."

The game was not without a strange moment, however.

In the fourth inning, Henson would score on Ally Bush's double. After getting settled in within the dugout, Henson noticed that an old wound had come back from all her work - which would wind up being the first domino in the pivotal offensive onslaught.

Henson doesn't like blood.

Assistant coach Joe Leddy noticed his fainting player and called from the dugout to the first base umpire for a time out. While coaches, teammates and medical personnel rushed over to see what was happening, confusion didn't seem to reign during it all.

"She saw her own blood."

It made sense to everyone that knew her. But still, procedures had to trump trust in these cases. She had to be taken from the dugout and evaluated, afterwhich she returned to the dugout all smiles.

"I'm not very good with blood and needles. I cut open my knee and looked at it, and then, yeah, I was gone," Henson said.

But she made it.

"It's amazing being able to come here for the second time back-to-back," Henson said. "It's a great experience to be able to go for first or second."

One more win.

While the semifinal game was played in not-so-pleasant conditions, the Class 1A championship game appeared to be delay-free. The sun was shining during Goreville's consolation win over Illini Bluffs, but when the National Anthem was about to be sung, the small drops made a return.

Not a problem for the Lady Missiles. After all, they were used to playing with a few pelts on them.

Emily Bush allowed one hit in the first inning before the offense came to work.

With one out, Taylor Grenoble reached base when her chopper to third base was misthrown. Then Emily Bush came aboard when her liner to left field was almost caught but not.

After Swalve struck out, Adolph continued her offensive power trip by taking the first pitch she saw from Kaylee Carlen and crushed it deep to the left-center field berm. She equalled the RBI total of her last game on one swing to take an early 3-0 lead.

"We know that when we come out and we have hits in the first inning, we set the tone for the game," Adolph said. "That's how we want to play: we want to come out first and we want to score first. We give oursleves a lot more confidence knowing that we have control of the game when we come out and score first."

However, Cumberland would come back and send five players to the plate before the first out. Olivia Titus's double plated Micah Siebert, who led off with a walk, and Taylor Layton, who singled. Jasie McMechan walked and Carlen was hit by a pitch to load the bases with none out.

Bush got Ashley Greger to strike out swinging before Kyla Thornton hit an offering to left field. Titus and McMechan scored, but the Lady Missiles got an out from it by gunning down Mariah Huddleston - running for Carlen - at third base.

Down 4-3, Hayen was first up in the top of the second. She would single-handedly tie the game up by taking a 3-2 pitch from Carlen over the left field fence. It was Hayen's first home run of the season.

Cumberland threatened once more in their half of the second. With one out, Siebert and Layton singled and Titus walked to load the bases again. However, this would be an much easier jam for Bush to get out of, getting McMechan to ground into a force out at home and getting Carlen to ground out to Adolph at third. Another nailbiter had come and gone.

Milledgeville would get the go-ahead run in the fourth inning. Leddy and Hayen led off with singles before Bryant and Henson struck out. With a 1-2 count, Ally Bush laced a single into the outfied to send Leddy and Hayen around third. Only Leddy would score as Hayen was gunned down at the plate for the final out.

Both teams would threaten to get another run in the fifth inning. Cumberland put two on before Emily Bush got Carlen out swinging for her third punchout of the inning. Her and Grenoble led off their half of the inning with singles. However, Bush's runner, Bibler, was caught stealing second and Grenoble was caught napping on a double play.

By this time, the rain had started to get a little heavier.

To lead off the sixth inning, Paige Oakley was called upon to pinch hit for Greger. She took the opportunity and seized it with a leadoff single to left field.

Then came the high handwave from tournament director Dave Gannaway from behind the backstop. That meant the game was to be halted because of the weather.

It was 2:34 p.m.

Two and a half hours of heavy rain fell on the diamond before the first evaluation could properly take place. The tarp only covered the infield, and the outfield grass and dirt became a concern.

The tarp finally came off of the infield at 6:10 p.m. After that, it was decided that another two hours was needed to get the field back into playing shape. The scheduled restart time was 8:15 p.m.

Not even that would be a reality.

All the Milledgeville players, coaches and fans could do was wait. The Cheeseman Coach charter bus was the Lady Missile headquarters. Five hours were spent on the bus, except for a brief period when the all-clear was thought to hold. From about 3:30 to 4:00, the players made their way back to the dugout, only to be called back after another storm cell came about.

Ultimately, it was decided that whatever the groundscrew was able to do was not going to be done by a 10:00 p.m. recommended deadline, per the IHSA State Softball Terms and Conditions.

At around 7:30, Milledgeville was crowned the Class 1A State Champion.

The celebration took place in a parking lot.

The dream was finished in a parking lot.

Not exactly the visual ending that was dreamt of.

"We never thought it would end like this," coach Grenoble said. "The IHSA tried doing everything they could, but the fields weren't just good enough to play on or were safe. And they couldn't (Sunday), I guess because the rule says that you have to finish it the same day.

"We hit better this year after putting the time in. Things just don't happen sitting at home. They put a lot of time in on their own, and they deserve it."

Nonetheless, the awards ceremony was moved onto the alternate diamond - where about 30 hours ago the Lady Missiles beat Illini Bluffs to make it to the title game. The players came out onto the diamond from the opening next to the visiting dugout, hand holding hand onto the field and stopping along the line between second and third base.

"It means everything. We did it as a family. It's the first one in our community and in our school," Adolph said. "We brought a lot of pride in our community by doing this, and we've kind of given Milledgeville a different look by saying that we can succeed and we can do whatever we want when we really put our minds to it and we have the determination to do it."
After recieving the individual medals, the Lady Missiles hoisted the championship trophy with a dark sky behind them in the background.

But there was a shine alright.

Just beyond the left field fence, a rainbow tried to take shape. At one end of it were the Lady Missiles. Can you spot the rainbow below?