Football powerhouse Rockhurst will face winless team, for some reason. Let’s play fair
On Friday, high school football perennial power Rockhurst High School is scheduled to play a home game against J.C. Harmon High School of Kansas City, Kansas. Looking at the lopsided records and background of the two teams, we have to wonder why this non-conference game was scheduled. Last season, Harmon didn’t win a game. Through six games this season, Harmon remains winless and has been outscored 392-6, an average of 1 points per game.
Administrators at both schools really need to ask themselves if scheduling this game was worth putting players’ safety at risk. What’s to be gained? Aside from gaudy stats and individual athletes’ highlights to post to the Hudl online video service, nothing productive comes from playing this game.
Harmon has lost by scores of 55-0, 80-0, 72-0, 74-0, 54-0 and 57-6. None of the games has been competitive. Until last Friday, Harmon hadn’t scored a single point this year.
To be clear, we’re not saying that Harmon should pack it in and stop playing. In fact, there’s something to be said for the character of these players that they’re showing up and giving it their all every game — despite overwhelming odds against them.
Harmon first-year coach Keith O’Neal and his team will have their mettle tested against a program that has won nine football state titles and played for the Missouri state championship 16 times in school history. The Hawklets are one of the best teams in the metropolitan area and last week ranked No. 10 in Missouri Class 6, the largest classification in the state.
While Rockhurst has won only four of eight games this season, the team has played arguably one of the toughest schedules in the Kansas City area. The tradition-rich Hawklets have hundreds of players in their program and rarely play the same players on offense and defense. Harmon barely has enough bodies to conduct 11-on-11 varsity practice drills.
Rockhurst head coach Kelly Donohoe is a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee and a class act. We’re almost certain he would never intentionally try to run up a score on an inferior opponent or jeopardize anyone’s safety. We encourage Coach Donohoe and his staff to display great sportsmanship and give as much playing time to his team’s backups as the score warrants. We would hate to see anything resembling the 106-0 rout a high school team in California put to a hapless opponent last season. Days later, officials at Centennial High School in Inglewood apologized for a terrible display of sportsmanship. But we don’t have to go very far to see scholastic football disparity in full view. Recently, Kansas powerhouse Andale High School crushed Nickerson 108-0, though both the winning and losing coaches said there was no disrespect involved in the game.
Still, we were heartened to hear Monday that there have been some official discussions in advance of the Rockhurst-Harmon game to address the situation.
“Last summer, both (schools’) athletic directors had multiple conversations in advance regarding the competitive level of play since Harmon is in a rebuilding state since coming out of the pandemic,” said Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools Athletic Director Tammie Romstad. “Those conversations included Rockhurst limiting their roster to varsity players that were not getting game time or minimal varsity minutes. We are currently evaluating Rockhurst stats and in conversations about the roster of athletes that will be competing. It is our intent to manage the level of play by being proactive with our conversations with the Rockhurst athletic administration”
We’re glad the imbalance is on the schools’ radar. Football is a tough, physical and demanding sport. Injuries are widely considered part of the game. But what about fair competition? That — and players’ safety — must be the schools’ priority.
Rockhurst is clearly more physically talented than its upcoming opponent. The game will effectively be a no-contest. Is that fair to the kids on either side?