{"id":135263,"date":"2020-09-21T03:54:56","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T08:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=135263"},"modified":"2020-09-21T03:55:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T08:55:00","slug":"monday-mailbag-nwc-tourney-cougars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/09\/21\/monday-mailbag-nwc-tourney-cougars\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Mailbag: NWC tourney, Cougars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about Bluffton and the Northwest Conference football tournament, Crestview hosting a second round game, Van Wert\u2019s postseason chances and the 2020 Western Buckeye League champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the first person to ask these two questions, but how was it decided that Bluffton leaves the Northwest Conference tournament even though they haven\u2019t lost in the tournament and why does Crestview get the home field against Columbus Grove, even though Grove is the higher seed? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: These are both good questions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bluffton isn\u2019t exactly leaving the tournament, they\u2019ve just dropped to the consolation portion of the bracket to face Delphos Jefferson, the same as if the Pirates would have lost to Crestview. The Wildcats lost to Columbus Grove on Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NWC tournament is scheduled to last three weeks, so the conference simply had to move forward, especially with the OHSAA playoffs starting in Week No. 7.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to NWC Commissioner Jon Derryberry, last Friday\u2019s decision doesn\u2019t go down as a forfeit or a loss by Bluffton, but it gives the Pirates a chance to play again this week, if they\u2019re able.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as Crestview hosting, the Knights have had just one home game so far, so Columbus Grove agreed to play the game in Convoy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What is the point of playing a NWC tournament if only half the teams can actually play? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Out of the eight football playing schools in the NWC, six are playing in the conference tournament. Ada dropped out and ended the team\u2019s season because of low numbers, while Bluffton couldn\u2019t play last week due to a confirmed case of COVID-19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hope is the Pirates can play in the consolation bracket against Delphos Jefferson, although there seems to be some question if it\u2019ll happen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, when the NWC season and tournament was planned, everyone was hopeful that everything would be played out in its entirety, but I think we all knew there was at least a decent possibility games would be canceled because of COVID-19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s just hope last Friday\u2019s game was the only game canceled by the coronavirus.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How far can Van Wert go in the football playoffs and is it true they could have a bye in the opening round? If they do get a bye, does that mean they wouldn\u2019t host a playoff game at all? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A: I\u2019d like to think this team has the potential to make a nice postseason run, but as always, matchups are a big part of it. Some teams just don\u2019t match up well with others, but assuming the Cougars continue to do well the next couple of weeks, they should find themselves in a favorable spot on the bracket.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as the bye, I know people have mentioned it, but I\u2019m not so sure that\u2019s going to happen. Byes would be based on the number of teams playing in Division IV in the postseason. It\u2019s my understanding that just three Division IV schools have opted out of the playoffs \u2013 Cleveland JFK and Glenville and Toledo Woodward.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of hosting a playoff game, the higher seeded team will host the first four weeks of playoff games, up to and including the regional semifinals. So hypothetically, Van Wert or any other top seeded team could play up to four straight postseason games at home.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, Divison IV playoff games will be played on Saturday nights this year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This link has plenty of information:<\/em> https:\/\/ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net\/files\/Sports\/Football\/FBTourneyRegs.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: If Van Wert goes undefeated this year, they really won\u2019t be crowned as WBL champions? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I checked with Western Buckeye League Commissioner Kent Smelser on this one, just to be sure, but you\u2019re probably not going to like the answer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was agreed upon when the schedule was set by ADs and coaches that there would not be a league champion crowned this year since not every team is playing everybody else,\u201d Smelser said.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if it happens, it appears it\u2019ll be bragging rights only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a question for next week\u2019s Monday Mailbag, please email it to sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about Bluffton and the Northwest Conference football tournament, Crestview hosting a second round game, Van Wert\u2019s postseason chances and the 2020 Western Buckeye League champions. Q: I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the first person to ask these two questions, but how was it decided that Bluffton […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 12:08:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}