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Orlando Sentinel Buddy Collings column [Orlando Sentinel :: ](Orlando Sentinel (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 23--The prep football national bowl game proposal that will be discussed by the Florida High School Athletic Association's board of directors next week is not a plan to orchestrate a tournament. At least not for now. FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing said the concept he will show the board Monday copies college football's traditional bowl formula, not the new NCAA playoff plan that will kick off next season. The proposed High School Football Bowl Series, for instance, might match a Florida state champion against a title team from Alabama in a nationally televised game over the December holiday break. Maybe a doubleheader in Birmingham (or Orlando?), with champs from Louisiana and Mississippi colliding in the early game. That could fly. Anything more, like a playoff that adds several weeks to a season already spanning 16 weeks in Florida, would meet much resistance. "We understand it's not a national championship," Dearing said of a plan pitched by Paragon Marketing, which packages high-school sports events for ESPN. "It's a bowl game of champions." Paragon would pay associations $10,000 to participate and a bonus of $40,000 if a member school is invited and accepts. The schools would have all expenses paid and receive either a $5,000 cash fee or $10,000 in products from a sponsoring athletic shoe, apparel or sporting-goods company. If the FHSAA board warms to the concept, it could be taken to a vote in June. "My philosophy is to give high-school athletes the greatest exposure in a positive light that we can," Dearing said. "This is another opportunity to promote our programs and the work our coaches and schools do." The FHSAA was the first and only major state association to jump on board when ESPN and Paragon launched what is now the Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament for boys and girls basketball four years ago. Washington allowed Rainier Beach of Seattle to participate after a lawsuit by parents was filed this year, but for the most part, associations have refused to allow teams to extend seasons beyond state tournaments. Dearing said Paragon is focusing its football push on Southern states whose governing bodies cross paths at regional meetings of the National Federation of State High School Associations. "I think they're interested in pursuing other states," Dearing said. "They mentioned Texas. They mentioned California. But they've got to get it off the ground." Strong county Port Orange Spruce Creek, winner of a record 25 state weightlifting championships, has two heavy favorites for Saturday's Class 2A championship meet in heavyweight Zack Johnson and Matt Roos in the 238-pound weight class. But that top-heavy lineup may not be enough to beat Volusia County rival New Smyrna Beach, which could hoist the team title without having an individual champion at the Kissimmee Civic Center. New Smyrna Beach coach Tim McRae is one of the Creek's former all-time greats. He won his weight class for the Hawks' title teams in 1988 and '89 and went on to make U.S. Olympic teams in '92 and '96. Long layoff The new track and field state-meet format, with all four classifications contested in one weekend, means 1A boys title contender First Academy will go 14 days without competition between its region meet and next week's Friday state meet at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. "We've got to find ways to stay meet-ready and meet-sharp," Royals coach Ricky Argro said. Extra points First-year Orlando Predators QB Jason Boltus, the leading passer in the Arena Football League six games into the season, has a second gig as the quarterbacks coach for Mount Dora. . . . Kissimmee Osceola's four-time state champion junior, Fox Baldwin, defeated five college wrestlers en route to a fifth-place finish in last weekend's FILA Junior National freestyle championships in Las Vegas. He went 6-2 and earned a berth in USA Wrestling's world championships team trials. [email protected]. Read Buddy at SentinelVarsity.com and on Twitter at @VarsityBuddy. ___ (c)2014 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |