SOUTH WAYNE - Three days before the Black Hawk football team played in the WIAA Division 7 state championship game, the school board gave its approval to explore a potential football co-op with Warren High School in Warren, Illinois.
Warren has had tough sledding in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference the last several years. With an enrollment of 112 students, Warren went 2-7 this year and is 18-29 the past five years in Class 1A. Warren had just 17 players this year after Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, a Rockford school they had a co-op with in 2015, and 2016, split from the team.
The Black Hawk school district plans to hold two upcoming community meetings to get community input as they investigate.
In order for a co-op to move forward, Warren, the Upstate Illini Conference, Black Hawk and the Six Rivers Conference would have to approve of the co-op and it would then need final approval by the WIAA. Warren has also looked at potential football co-op options with Orangeville and Freeport Aquin.
"It's by no means a done deal," Black Hawk School Superintendent Willy Chambers said. "We want to get community input. It's definitely something we are looking at. We are looking at it before we get into a situation like that (with dwindling numbers)."
Black Hawk principal and football coach Cory Milz understands that co-op teams are inevitable for many small districts.
Milz said Black Hawk has four options - pursue a co-op with Warren, stand alone as a WIAA football team, co-op with a different school for football or switch to eight-man football.
"The soonest a co-op could be finalized would be 2019 because their conference (the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference) will not let them out until then," Milz said.
Black Hawk had 30 players on its Division 7 state runner-up football team along with six freshman who were brought up. However, in two years, Milz said the projection shows the number of players declining into around 20 players.
"I think after the 2019 season, there will probably have to be some steps taken in order for Black Hawk football to continue with safety and the experience of the kids being taken into account," Milz said. "It's hard to field a competitive team when your numbers are in the 20s."
He said most small school teams will likely face the same problem at some point. Black Hawk was the smallest school to play for a state championship this year at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison with an enrollment of 107 students.
Chambers said if a co-op is approved, the team would play in Wisconsin, be a member of the WIAA and would play in the Six Rivers Conference, if it's still in existence and not part of a realignment.
"The IHSA doesn't allow co-op teams to compete in the playoffs and the WIAA will allow it as long as the Illinois school is in good standing with their high school association," Milz said.
Warren High School Athletic Director and football coach Jared McNutt said Warren tried to get a co-op approved with Orangeville or Aquin before the school went 7-4 in 2015. Warren instead reached an agreement with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
"Orangeville and Aquin didn't want to co-op," he said. "They were coming off the playoffs. Aquin made it to the third-round of the playoffs this year."
"We knew this was going to be a down year," McNutt said. "Our numbers are declining just like everyone else in the area. South Wayne has something special going with 75 percent of their boys out for football. My goal is to make football a priority at Warren."
McNutt doesn't see eight-man football as the best fit for Warren.
"We have some schools like Polo who are going to eight-man football in two years," he said. "I don't think that is the best route for us to go. We would rather run a co-op with someone else. I just think 11-man football is the way ton go. In our conference, 11-man football is the consensus."
McNutt said Warren's football numbers will rise the next few years and return to the low to mid 20s.
"We want to be proactive and look at this," he said.
Other details that would need to be worked out are which schools host home games, whether each school would host games during the year, transportation and meeting the deadline to get a co-op team approved by the WIAA.
Warren has had tough sledding in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference the last several years. With an enrollment of 112 students, Warren went 2-7 this year and is 18-29 the past five years in Class 1A. Warren had just 17 players this year after Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, a Rockford school they had a co-op with in 2015, and 2016, split from the team.
The Black Hawk school district plans to hold two upcoming community meetings to get community input as they investigate.
In order for a co-op to move forward, Warren, the Upstate Illini Conference, Black Hawk and the Six Rivers Conference would have to approve of the co-op and it would then need final approval by the WIAA. Warren has also looked at potential football co-op options with Orangeville and Freeport Aquin.
"It's by no means a done deal," Black Hawk School Superintendent Willy Chambers said. "We want to get community input. It's definitely something we are looking at. We are looking at it before we get into a situation like that (with dwindling numbers)."
Black Hawk principal and football coach Cory Milz understands that co-op teams are inevitable for many small districts.
Milz said Black Hawk has four options - pursue a co-op with Warren, stand alone as a WIAA football team, co-op with a different school for football or switch to eight-man football.
"The soonest a co-op could be finalized would be 2019 because their conference (the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference) will not let them out until then," Milz said.
Black Hawk had 30 players on its Division 7 state runner-up football team along with six freshman who were brought up. However, in two years, Milz said the projection shows the number of players declining into around 20 players.
"I think after the 2019 season, there will probably have to be some steps taken in order for Black Hawk football to continue with safety and the experience of the kids being taken into account," Milz said. "It's hard to field a competitive team when your numbers are in the 20s."
He said most small school teams will likely face the same problem at some point. Black Hawk was the smallest school to play for a state championship this year at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison with an enrollment of 107 students.
Chambers said if a co-op is approved, the team would play in Wisconsin, be a member of the WIAA and would play in the Six Rivers Conference, if it's still in existence and not part of a realignment.
"The IHSA doesn't allow co-op teams to compete in the playoffs and the WIAA will allow it as long as the Illinois school is in good standing with their high school association," Milz said.
Warren High School Athletic Director and football coach Jared McNutt said Warren tried to get a co-op approved with Orangeville or Aquin before the school went 7-4 in 2015. Warren instead reached an agreement with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
"Orangeville and Aquin didn't want to co-op," he said. "They were coming off the playoffs. Aquin made it to the third-round of the playoffs this year."
"We knew this was going to be a down year," McNutt said. "Our numbers are declining just like everyone else in the area. South Wayne has something special going with 75 percent of their boys out for football. My goal is to make football a priority at Warren."
McNutt doesn't see eight-man football as the best fit for Warren.
"We have some schools like Polo who are going to eight-man football in two years," he said. "I don't think that is the best route for us to go. We would rather run a co-op with someone else. I just think 11-man football is the way ton go. In our conference, 11-man football is the consensus."
McNutt said Warren's football numbers will rise the next few years and return to the low to mid 20s.
"We want to be proactive and look at this," he said.
Other details that would need to be worked out are which schools host home games, whether each school would host games during the year, transportation and meeting the deadline to get a co-op team approved by the WIAA.
