Forget complaints about a soft schedule this year – the PSAL has taken care of that with a brand new rating system that will pit the best teams against one another.
The league has kept its three-tier of the City Championship division (5), Bowl (3) and Cup (1), but now all 52 teams are ranked based on wins the last four years, power points and postseason success. The City championship division is broken into four six-team quadrants in order or rankings: Group A, B, C and D. Teams face each team in its group and also all their borough rivals.
“It should answer all the critics,” said Lincoln coach Shawn O’Connor, whose undefeated championship team faced the bottom three teams standings-wise during the regular season last year and just three teams with winning records. “Now everybody understands why you’re playing the schedule you are.”
PSAL football commissioner Jerry Epstein didn’t return messages seeking comment.
In past years, many wondered why perennial powers such as Lincoln, Fort Hamilton and Tottenville never faced one another during the regular season and were able to beat up on the league’s weaker teams. That’s won’t be the case this fall as Group A is made up, in ranked order, of Fort Hamilton, Tottenville, Curtis, Erasmus Hall, Clinton and Lincoln. Group B is Campus Magnet, Port Richmond, Boys & Girls, Sheepshead Bay, Wagner and Flushing.
“You’re playing who you are supposed to play,” O’Connor said. “It’s a good system, it’s a very competitive system. … We’ll bang each other around, but it will get us ready for the playoffs.”
Group C is Brooklyn Tech, Thomas Jefferson, Canarsie, John F. Kennedy, Lehman and New Dorp. Group D rounds out the City Championship division with Grand Street Campus, Midwood, Beach Channel, New Utrecht, Truman and John Adams.
“I’ll tell you one thing: There won’t be blowouts week after week,” Campus Magnet coach Eric Barnett said. “The top tier will really have to fight for the playoffs. It will make games more interesting, more competitive, more compelling.”
The Bowl and the Cup are also broken up into two groups apiece as well. Teams will also receive additional points for defeating teams in the top groups and bonus points at the end of the year for victories over teams based on where they finish.
“I was hoping they would do something like this,” Barnett said.