Yerington football stuck in 3A

I really feel for Yerington football coach Cody Neville. I really do. My heart bleeds for him.

He's got to feel like the Don Quixote of Northern Nevada football. He must feel like he's fighting against windmills.

Neville and Yerington had made the difficult decision to drop out of the Northern Nevada 3A division in 2002 and compete as an independent against mostly 2A competition.

But Yerington was thrown a curve when it was determined that Carlin would drop from 2A to IA next season. That leaves the Northern 2A division with seven teams, causing those schools to adjust their schedules in which they take their byes on the same week.

So Yerington was left scrambling again. As a result, the Northern 3A athletic directors decided on Monday to re-include Yerington into their division.

"We had a schedule set up to go independent," Neville said. "That looks like it has fallen through."

"There's no open dates throughout the season," Neville also said about the 2A schools. "That's where we picked up most of our games.

"We're just going to have to go back into 3A. That's where were sitting."

Neville's team finished this past season with 15 players and was down to 14 players at one point in the year. "It really increases the possibility of injuries," Neville said.

"There was one situation where I wasn't sure we were going to field a group of kids," said Neville about this past season.

The reason why I feel for Neville is I know first hand how he feels. During my sophomore year at Strathmore High in California, I played for a varsity team that finished the season with 16 players.

I distinctly remember Rick Anderson, an assistant coach, coming onto the bus and asking the head coach where are the rest of the players as we prepared to travel for our season finale. Marty Sipe, the head coach, just shook his head and said this is it.

Six years later, Strathmore couldn't even field a team and had to suspend the season.

But don't look for Yerington to do anything that drastic. "It's not like we're going to throw away the football season," Neville said. "The coaches and the players have a lot of pride."

But Neville also knows his players are putting in the time and are not being rewarded. They are hitting the weight room, going to camps and working out in the off season with virtually no chance to be successful.

"The kids are working extremely hard for me," Neville said. "It's hard to convince them to continue to work for nothing."

One of the biggest problems as Neville sees it is how the divisions are divided. The 3A division includes schools with enrollments from 461 to 1,200 students.

Yerington is right at the bottom end and having to compete against schools twice its size.

"It's crazy," said Neville about how the divisions are divided. "It's ridiculous. I don't know where they come up with the numbers."

I have to admit, I agree with Neville. When I first saw the numbers, it didn't make sense to me to have a school with 461 students potentially going up against a school with 1,200 students.

I know how difficult it is to determine the divisions, particularly in a state like Nevada where teams have such a long way to travel. I know that travel and financial considerations have to be factored in when determining the divisions.

But those factors should never be placed ahead of the players' safety. And a team that has 14 tired players going up against 40 to 50 fresh players in the fourth quarter like Yerington has had to do is not a safe situation.

I know it's easier said than done, but a 3A division in which the minimum would be 500 students makes more sense to me. There's also no reason why a private school like Manogue, who may not have 500 students, but clearly has shown the ability to compete at that level, could stay in the 3A division.

Yerington should take heart. Strathmore went on to have nine straight winning seasons and won two section titles in the 1990s.

But for now, Neville will have to keep fighting windmills.

Charles Whisnand is the Nevada Appeal Sports Editor.