High school football teams await word from the West Virginia Supreme Court

(Court Reports – Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

PARKERSBURG – With ongoing lawsuits and several court orders issued over the past week, the WVSSAC took a step Thursday that would lead to a resolution to the state football playoff tournament, which was postponed earlier this week due to ongoing litigation. As petitioner, WVSSAC has filed a petition before the Supreme Court for an injunction and an application for grant of expedited relief.
“We filed the writ in the Supreme Court, now we are at the mercy of their timeline,” WVSSAC Associate Director Wayne Ryan said. “We obviously hope for a ruling in the near future. There is no guarantee.”
In the past week, two injunctions against WVSSAC have been issued by County Circuit Court judges – one on Saturday by Judge J.D. Beane in Wood County and a second late Monday in Mason County by Judge Anita Ashley. An injunction filed by the Wood County Board of Education was issued on behalf of Parkersburg High School, Parkersburg South High School and Williamstown High School due to discrepancy with ratings and playoff points. The second order, which was pending as football coaches attended Sunday’s playoff meetings for each of the four classifications at the WVSSAC building, issued a ruling ordering a pair of play-in games tomorrow (Friday) involving Class AAA Point Pleasant and Hampshire schools were involved. who were excluded from the postseason when ratings were reconfigured following the order issued from Wood County. Referring again to the appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals: “The decision of the Circuit Court of Wood County, West Virginia exceeds its legitimate authority and is clearly legally incorrect. The Circuit Court’s action here is an oft-repeated error and demonstrates continued disregard for the WVSSAC’s discretion in administering its rules and regulations.
“In short, noting West Virginia case law ‘supports the … premise that courts are allowed to question the manner in which the (WV)SSAC applies its rules.’”
Due to ongoing litigation, the WVSSAC decided Tuesday to postpone the state football playoffs. Until the Supreme Court rules, the WVSSAC will recognize Class AAA play-in games as decided by the Mason County court. Saturday at 1 p.m. Capital plays Hampshire at Bridgeport High School and Point Pleasant plays St. Albans at Hurricane High School. According to Thursday’s appeal to the Supreme Court, “due to the practical inability of the WVSSAC to comply with both orders, it is necessary that the West Virginia football playoffs be postponed. “In order for the West Virginia State Football playoffs to begin, it is imperative that the conflicting orders are resolved so that the WVSSAC can comply with all legal mandates when the playoffs resume. “Every week that the playoffs are postponed represents irreparable harm to the WVSSAC member schools participating in the playoffs. Without an immediate ruling from this Court, the WVSSAC West Virginia State Football playoff cannot be played without violating some order of the Circuit Court. The appeal petition ends with: “For the foregoing reasons, as the West Virginia Secondary School Activity Commission respectfully requests that this court grant it this motion for expedited relief and grant such other and further relief as the court deems just and appropriate.”
In addition to the two-play in games, the West Virginia state football playoffs are still considered postponed.
‘We are in postponement mode until a Supreme Court decision’ Ryan said. We’re hoping within 72 hours, but that’s all we know. We are waiting to see which rating system we will use. The one we had all year or was governed by the Wood County order.”
Contact Kerry Patrick at [email protected]