PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — The Wood County Board of Education filed a petition for an emergency injunction relief on Friday against the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission after their reclassification of many high school football teams across the state this year.
The petition said Williamstown High School, Parkersburg High School and Parkersburg South High School all made their football schedules for the 2024-25 football season before this reclassification occurred on Aug. 7 of this year.
The petition said these reclassifications “not only serves to the economic detriment of Williamstown High School, Parkersburg High School and Parkersburg South High School,” but also reduces the chance for each school to host a home playoff football game.
“Which serves as a detriment to the students, faculty and staff of Williamstown High School, Parkersburg High School and Parkersburg South High School,” the petition said.
On Saturday, the injuction was upheld and the WVSSAC had to reissue new playoff brackets with a tweaked ratings formula. Those new brackets were released on Sunday. Hampshire, Westside, Point Pleasant and Tolsia were booted from their playoff positions and were replaced by Capital, St. Albans Lincoln and St. Marys.
The WVSSAC is expecting further legal action from those schools left out and as a result playoffs could be postponed indefinitely.
Friday’s injuction said as a result of the reclassification, five of Williamstown High School’s scheduled opponents were moved down a classification. It said this has impacted Williamstown’s state ranking, costing the team at least 12 points in the WVSSAC football ratings due to victories over four of the reclassified schools. It said these rankings also had an impact on Parkersburg and Parkersburg South high schools.
The petition said while the points system being applied is valid on its face, the manner in which the WVSSAC plans to implement that points system, given the circumstances, is both “arbitrary and capricious.”
It said granting this petition will cause minimal disruption to the state football playoffs and all parties involved will benefit.
The petition said the three Wood County Schools, “must be allowed to compete against a rightful opponent, as opposed to an opponent that was placed before them in an arbitrary and capricious manner.”
The petition also states there would be monetary losses for the three schools for their football, band and booster programs.
