There was quite a bit of drama with last Saturday’s 2 p.m. Region 1-7A boys basketball final between Crestview High School and Oviedo.
If you missed the goings on, here’s a recap.
FHSAA RULES
With a win at Tallahassee Lincoln in the region semifinals, Crestview earned the right to host the game. Oviedo advanced to the finals with a second-round win at home over Wekiva. Both teams hosted their respective first-round games.
The Florida High School Athletic Association's basketball manual states, “Third Round Play-in Games. The champion on the bottom line of the bracket shall serve as host to the champion on the top line of the bracket in the third-round play-in game in each region.
"If, however, the school on the bottom line of the bracket served as a host school in the second-round play-in game and the school on the top line of the bracket was the visitor in the second-round play-in game, the school on the top line of the bracket will be designated the host school for the third-round play-in game.”
The manual also states, “Times for all regional tournament games must be 7 p.m. local time. Exceptions must be approved by the FHSAA.”
OVIEDO'S OPPOSITION
Apparently, Oviedo officials and Lion head Coach Ed Kershner were unhappy with having to play at 7 p.m. in Crestview; they petitioned the FHSAA for the time change to 2 p.m.
So, why was the game time changed?
Concerns about the Oviedo charter bus driver falling asleep on the return trip home after a 7 p.m. game. Crestview officials' offer to pay for the team to stay over Saturday night was rejected.
But Crestview’s girls basketball team was forced to travel to Apopka last year for a 7 p.m. region final game with Wekiva. Niceville girls had to make the same trip Feb. 14 this year for a 7 p.m. game. I didn’t hear Crestview Coach Kathy Combest complain about the 7 p.m. game last year or Niceville Coach David Day complain about the late drive home this year.
THE BACKUP PLAN
Oviedo could have done what most schools do when playing a late game: have the company provide a backup driver. Yes, it might add a few dollars to the trip's cost, but it assures the safety of those riding the bus.
Is Oviedo students and fans' safety more important than that of Okaloosa County's students and fans?
Would the FHSAA have moved the game to 2 p.m. for Crestview or Niceville?
The Crestview people and administrators I talked to were unhappy about the switch, and I have to wonder how much Kershner influenced the decision to move the game.
Say what you will about everything being equal, but it’s not, or the game would have been played at 7 p.m.
Kershner, 74, has been coaching high school basketball since 1971. He’s the state's winningest coach, with more than 850 wins. He’s also in the FHSAA Hall of Fame.
In other words, Kershner might be considered the state's "Godfather" of high school basketball. He’s definitely the dean of coaches in the state, with all the pull that goes with almost 45 years of coaching.
GYM CONCERN
Last year, Oviedo pushed for, and had, the region final moved to the Arena at Northwest Florida State College. Crestview’s gym was too small to host the region finals, per FHSAA requirements, according to the complaint.
FHSAA requirements say a 7A school must have a gym with at least 1,100 seating capacity. After measuring and recalculating the CHS gym last week, it was determined that it seats 1,057.
Maybe the fear of not being able to get a seat scared some fans away Saturday, but nobody was turned away. And while the gym was at or near capacity, fans weren’t crammed into the venue.
I did hear talk that some Crestview fans, who would have been at a 7 p.m. game, couldn't attend the afternoon game because of work obligations. As best I could tell, there were no more than 50-75 Oviedo fans in attendance.
The Bulldogs lost to Oviedo 62-58, and we will never know if playing the game at 7 p.m. would have changed the game's outcome. The Lions — defending state champions with a great team — might have won anyway.
But one has to wonder if moving the game to 2 p.m. was just another way for Kershner to get a mental edge over the Bulldogs.
Crestview and Oviedo will be in different classifications the next four years, so it’s unlikely the Bulldogs will ever again face a team coached by Kershner in the playoffs.
Now that the FHSAA has set a precedent by moving the game time for Oviedo, in the future, will it do the same for teams from Crestview, Fort Walton Beach or Pensacola?
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Did Kershner’s pull influence FHSAA?