Fruitvale High Going To Six-Man Football Team

FRUITVALE—Safety had become an issue, as well as fairness, participation and competitiveness.

For a myriad of reasons, Fruitvale ISD officials have decided to close the book on its high school’s five-year period fielding an 11-man football program.

The school board Monday unanimously approved a plan to return to six-man football beginning with the 2010 season. The move was recommended by FISD Superintendent Bill Boyd and heartily supported by athletic director and head football coach Brent Hutto.

"The guys are very excited about this. It is a good decision for the school and the football program," Hutto said Tuesday after making the announcement to ninth, 10th and 11th grade student-athletes at the school.

However, the move will be made without the blessing of the University Interscholastic League.

Fruitvale High School turned in an enrollment number of 104 in October, Boyd said. That number is what the UIL will use in its upcoming biennial realignment of Texas schools in February.

Referring to a conversation with UIL Director of Athletics Cliff Odenwald, Boyd told the school board that when he asked if Fruitvale stood a chance of being officially realigned as a six-man football school, the answer surprised him.

"I did not know that the cutoff number for six-man football never changes. It always stays at 99.9 students," he said.

"We turned in 104 (enrollment) so when the realignment comes out in February, we will still be an 11-man football school…We are already below 100 students at the high school right now," Boyd added.

The school basically had two alternatives to accepting its place in the upcoming realignment — dropping football altogether or competing as a six-man program under "outlaw" status.

Boyd recommended the latter step. "I don’t want to see football dropped in Fruitvale and I don’t think the community wants that," he said.

Boyd also said Hutto had already been in contact with other six-man football programs trying to line up potential opponents for the next two seasons.

"I have three solid dates so far…two of those are in the pre-junior high (competition) weeks," Hutto said. "We want to be able to play a junior varsity game, but we will play varsity if nothing else."

The change will not come without one consequence. Because Fruitvale will be playing six-man football against the realignment decision by the UIL, the Bobcats will not be eligible for playoffs for the next two years.

Boyd said it was possible a district executive committee, usually made up of a district’s member superintendents or other designated officials, could bring the school before the UIL State Executive Committee for possible sanctions across all programs, but added such action had never occurred with any UIL member school before.

In addition, Boyd explained, Fruitvale is in a different district alignment for nearly every sport it fields, making such action very difficult to consider.

Even without a chance at postseason play for the next two years, Hutto said the move would be "a definite, positive shot in the arm" for a program that dwindled from 25 players at the start of this season to just 16, including freshmen, by the final game.

— Approved a three-person Student Health Advisory Council.

— Denied a request by the Fruitvale Youth Foundation to use both school gymnasiums for a planned basketball tournament. Board members expressed reservations about maintenance and cleanup issues at the high school gymnasium if the request was approved. The vote was 5-1 with Bobby Taylor opposing and Jan Jones abstaining.

— Authorized Boyd to sell two school buses, a 1994 Bluebird and a 1999 Bluebird.

— Approved the "Worth the Wait" sex education program for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The four-to-six week course will cost the district less than $1,000, according to Boyd, and parents can sign an "opt out" form if they do not wish their child to participate. The vote was 6-0 with Bonnie McGee abstaining.

— Approved a class size wavier for the kindergarten program.

— Approved changes to the district travel policy for reimbursement of mileage, hotel expense and meals.

— Approved the resignation of Buddy Winstead from the discipline and attendance administrator role at Fruitvale High School. Winstead will remain with the school as its vocation/ag teacher.