By Joseph Staszewski
The CHSFL postponed its football quarterfinal round in the Class AAA and AA playoffs a week for a second time because of teams having little to no practice time following Hurricane Sandy and the recent snow.
“[Wednesday] was pretty much a drop-dead date,” league President Chris Hardardt said.
The CHSFL’s Long Island schools did not practice for 10 days since the hurricane hit and the league and its principals felt it would not be prudent to have them play with just two days of practice. The city schools also had limited practice time.
The delay will not affect any games involving CHSFL teams on Thanksgiving. That includes Mount St. Michael vs. Cardinal Hayes, Xavier against Fordham Prep, St. Francis Prep taking on Holy Cross and Xaverian facing Bishop Ford. There was a thought of doing away with the games because of the circumstances, but the game’s importance could not be ignored.
“We want to preserve the tradition of Thanksgiving,” Hardardt said. “We know how much it means to the schools and the league.”
To makes things easier the Class AA brackets will be arranged so that if Mount and Hayes or Fordham Prep and Xavier win their first round contest, then their traditional Thanksgiving game would also be the semifinals. If not, the teams will play Thanksgiving and then play its semifinal game on a Tuesday at the best available site with lights, if need be.
That could affect Holy Cross and St. Francis Prep, which are playing for the first time on Thanksgiving, as they are playing in the AAA and AA playoff. The five days in-between games is the same teams face when playing in the championship and then playing on Thanksgiving.
By state rule, the football season needs to end by Dec. 1. Bishop Ford beat Cardinal Spellman 38-0 and Christ the King topped St. Peter’s 28-20 in Class A semifinals in lone games played this week.
“We were trying to find a way to make it viable for everybody,” Hardardt said.
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.
