Blind Brook football team may merge with Hastings
August 31, 2023 at 12:08 a.m.
Another opening, another show, but when it comes to the start of the high school fall football season locally, this will be a very different one.
The curtain is scheduled to go up on fall season football for the Port Chester Rams and Blind Brook Trojans within the next few days, but not without a hitch because of stalled merger plans involving Blind Brook and Hastings yet to be resolved within the Section 1 rules format.
As things stand now, the Port Chester Rams will open their season as scheduled Saturday (9/2) at home against Tuckahoe at 1:30 p.m.
But what's happening to Blind Brook is less clear.
Kicks on, off
Because the Blind Brook Board of Education (BOE) approved a merger of the Trojans football program with Hastings-on-Hudson at an 8 a.m. meeting Monday (8/28).
The trouble is that Blind Brook was originally scheduled to also kick off its season Saturday (9/2) away against Croton-Harmon at 11 a.m.
But that was before its merger plans with Hastings were approved by the Blind Brook BOE.
And now that opening Blind Brook football game is not going to happen.
Schedule canceled
"The entire schedule made for Blind Brook has been canceled," according to Blind Brook athletic director Kimberly Saxton.
Why?
Only eight to 12 players turned out for the football team's first official team pre-season practice Aug. 21, she wrote in an email. And that was not enough to play ball safely during the upcoming season once school starts.
So the Trojans started thinking about a merger with another school so all the Blind Brook players would have a chance to play in a safe environment and not forfeit their season due to numbers, according to Saxton.
The merger playbook
"As all mergers are set by this time of year, as location is always a factor, we went with the school community that was in favor to approve a merger, similar coaching styles/systems, and how quickly all merger paperwork/BOE meetings would occur as time is of the essence," she said. "Ultimately, it was a win-win situation for both Hastings and Blind Brook."
Until it wasn't. Here's why.
The merger discussion initially started during an informal talk between Saxton, the Blind Brook AD, and the veteran Hastings AD Drew Wendol Aug. 22 at a meeting of the Westchester ADs at Section 1 headquarters in Harrison.
"Kimberly mentioned that Blind Brook didn't have enough student-athletes trying out for football at the official opening of fall season practice Aug. 21, and I offered to help her out by merging our team with Blind Brook," said Wendol. "And we agreed to go ahead with the merger pending approval of our BOEs."
Section 1 involved
But the next step became increasingly muddled. Because when Westmore News reached out to Section 1 for merger clarification, Section 1 executive director Todd Santabarbara said:
"At this juncture, the Section is awaiting a completed combining of teams application, which would include a Letter of Intent as well as a copy of Board of Education resolutions from all participating schools. Upon receipt of a completed packet, the request to combine will be placed on the Section’s next Conference meeting agenda for consideration by the membership. Upon completion of review by the Conferences, the combined team request is brought forward to the Section 1 Athletic Council for consideration. Athletic Council approval must be obtained before schools are permitted to practice together or engage in competition against other schools."
In other words, nothing is set in stone yet regarding the merger because complete merger information is yet to be received by Section 1 and the next Section 1 Conference Meeting is Sept. 12. The Athletic Council meets Oct. 12. However, the Executive Committee, which meets Sept. 18, could at that meeting consider approval in place of the Athletic Council, but they would have had to have received the completed combining of teams application in time for the Sept. 12 Conference Meeting to do so.
NYSPHSAA explanation
When Westmore News contacted the New York State Public High School Athletic Association at their upstate headquarters in Latham, president Bob Zayas said:
"Before we get involved, the league (Conference C) and Section 1 must OK the merger decision based on the respective schools’ population. And that is based on the percentage of merged teams’ population, 100% for the larger school (in this case Hastings) and less for the smaller school (Blind Brook). But we have no problem with merged schools, that's been happening since 1975."
It should be noted that both Hastings and Blind Brook are Class C smaller schools based on their school population. That's reason enough to have ruled out Port Chester from any serious merger talk with Blind Brook because the Rams are a Class AA large school even though they are playing a lesser independent developmental league schedule for schools with struggling football programs this year.
So, where does that leave the Blind Brook football merger now?
Waiting for answers
Up in the air, according to Section 1, the NYSPHSAA and Hastings AD Drew Wendol.
"We'll just go ahead and play our regular schedule," said Wendol, whose Yellowjackets football team will proceed with its scheduled fall season-opening game against Putnam Valley away Saturday (9/2). "I just wanted to do Blind Brook a favor with the merger so their student-athletes who came out for the team would get a chance to play organized football. We'll go on playing our schedule and see how the merger plays out. We're OK with whatever happens."
So the ball is in Blind Brook's court. And where and when that football lands is anybody's guess.
It's like a punt hanging in the air and there's no estimating the hang time as of now.
Regarding the merger, Saxton said Blind Brook:
*Wanted to keep all of our student athletes together and to allow them to play the sport that they love.
a) Even though they will not be wearing the Blind Brook colors, they have an opportunity to play this season and that is the main objective.
*Last year, Hastings added "Varsity B."
a) This is another advantage so that all our players will have a chance to play in a safe environment and not forfeit their season due to numbers.
So the play's the thing, and the story may yet have a happy ending before the curtain comes down on the new season. Especially since the three Blind Brook coaches will be retained and coach alongside the Hastings coaches if and when the merger is approved.
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