Nobody needs to tell Fred Fernandes that seasons like the one he’s currently enjoying don’t happen very often.

The fourth-year Roy High football coach knows they aren’t just rare, they may only come around once in a generation.

“This year at Roy High we’ve got a special team, and it’s a one in a 20-year type team,” Fernandes said.

For Roy, it’s more like one in 35 years considering the Royals will be making their first appearance in the state championship since 1981 when they take on Timpview this Friday evening at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

But Fernandes isn’t just speaking with Roy’s history in mind. Rather, he’s speaking with the history of other Weber County schools in mind as well.

Although Fremont went to back-to-back state championship games in 2010 and 2011, the Silver Wolves previously hadn’t played in a state championship since 1995. Bonneville hasn’t been to the state championship since 1998 and Weber hasn’t been since 1999.

“That’s about 20 years apart, and about every 20 years or so I expect that one of us will have a team that competes at that level,” Fernandes said. “We happen to have that team this year, but look where Roy High’s been for the last 20 years.”

To understand Fernandes’ frustration one has to look not just at the inability of Weber County schools to consistently compete for state championships, but the ability of schools in other counties to do exactly that. Logan and Mountain Crest, two teams that compete in Region 5 with Roy and Bonneville, have played in nine state championships since 2000, winning six of them. Syracuse, Davis, Northridge and Layton have combined to play in seven state championships since 2000, winning four of them.

In Fernandes’ opinion, the reasons for the disparity are obvious – and they start with the limits that are put on Weber County schools with regard to freshmen participation.

THE POLICY

Weber School Board Policy 4511, which is titled, ‘Ninth Grade Participation in High School Athletics,’ reads: “The Weber School District Board of Education believes that ninth grade students should participate in athletics at the junior high school level. However, there may be occasions where a ninth grader may desire to participate in a sport at the high school level which is not offered at the junior high school. In such cases a ninth grader may try out for the high school team. For those sports offered at both the junior high school and senior high school levels, a maximum of two ninth graders from each junior high school per sport (three from each junior high from football) may participate at the high school level.”

Prior to this season, the only time a ninth-grade student would be allowed to participate on the high school level is if he/she made the varsity team. That rule has been amended this year so that students selected to play up have the opportunity to play at any level.

According to Fernandes, the change is insufficient.

“Last year Syracuse had 40 something freshmen playing,” Fernandes said. “This year Northridge has 22. I don’t know how many Syracuse has (this year), but I do know when I ran my summer camp they had 88 kids that wanted to play in the sophomore league and so they asked me to put two teams from Syracuse in. Sky View did the same thing. They had 84 kids so they wanted two sophomore teams in camp.

“Those numbers are with sophomores and freshmen combined, but 84 kids playing at that level – we had 23 sophomores at camp. So Sky View put two teams of 42 in and Syracuse put two teams of 44 in and I have one team of 23 (and) some of my 23 were actually getting pulled up to play varsity which hurt the sophomore team.”

Schools like Syracuse and Sky View are able to have teams filled with freshmen because of their respective school district’s policy. Neither Davis nor Cache Counties have junior high school football, thus eliminating a reason to limit the number of ninth graders playing up.

In addition to getting a full four years of high school eligibility, Sky View also has a weightlifting program which allows eighth graders to come to the high school and work out.

“So not only do they get four years of playing, but they get that extra year in the offseason as eighth graders to come up … lift weights and build their bodies up. So they get 4 1/2 years,” Fernandes said.

Ironically, two of Roy’s top players this season (quarterback Tyler Skidmore and wide receiver/cornerback Nate Jones) both played up on the varsity level as freshmen. But Fernandes is left wondering what could have been with other players who weren’t afforded that opportunity.

“I had Kayne Boyer last year as my center – I’m thinking, ‘Man, if he had one more year to play’ because what he did from his sophomore year to his senior year he went from a boy to a man,” Fernandes said, “and if he had one more year in the weight room he could have been Division-I playing at Utah or something. As it is he went on and walked on at UNLV and they said, ‘After another year in the weight room you’re going to be a stud.’ He’s earning his way down there right now, but he missed that one year.”

“Not only does it hurt him, but it hurts a lot of the chances of kids in Weber County to go on and fulfill their dream of playing college football because they’re just not ready yet. They haven’t had that four years of high school football.”

Roy athletic director Mike Puzey also sees the disadvantage and looks at the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) rules for support.

“The NFHS, which is our governing body, and the UHSAA allow four years for a kid to compete at the high school level, and not all kids are allowed that,” Puzey said. “They’ve made a move that we can have some kids that get all four years but the majority of kids in Weber County are given three years whereas the rest of the (players in the) state and country are given four years.”

In addition to presenting a competitive disadvantage, Puzey also sees the current system as a legitimate safety issue.

“We need the help from our district because with numbers it becomes a safety issue when kids are having to play both ways,” Puzey said. “We currently have six or seven kids that are playing both ways. One of those kids goes down, we just don’t have the depth these other teams have where they’re only playing on the defensive side of the ball or on the offensive.

“You’ll always have those athletes that play both ways but the problem is other schools get to rest those kids maybe three plays in a quarter and our kids are playing the whole game.”

CONTENTION WITH JUNIOR HIGHS

With the desire to pull more kids up from junior high schools to participate in high school athletics comes a seemingly almost natural rift with junior high school coaches and administrators that have different points of view. Puzey understands that while high schools want to be competitive, junior high schools also don’t want to be gutted of their best talent as they compete for district championships.

“Coaches are competitive and so high school coaches want to win and junior high coaches want to win, and they want to get the best athletes,” Puzey said. “High school coaches know that part of their way to be competitive is they’ve got to build a program … At the same time junior high coaches want to keep them there because they want to win the district championships.”

One junior high coach who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of district backlash simply doesn’t see a strong correlation between ninth graders playing up and those athletes actually turning into the best players, and cited a number of local basketball players to illustrate the point.

“Fremont last year had the two best (basketball) offers throughout the entire state – Amanda Wayment and Shelbee Molen,” the source said. “So you had two girls that stayed down their ninth grade years, got the two best offers throughout the entire state of Utah. If their argument is correct, those scholarships should never have gone to two girls that stayed down their ninth grade year.

“Their argument is that they’re benefited from playing up. If they’re good enough, they’ll be good enough as sophomores, juniors, seniors … The proof to me is in the pudding. You take Fremont girls basketball, for example, and you tell me why two girls that stayed down their ninth grade year have the two best scholarships in the entire state of Utah … Brekkott (Chapman) played down his ninth grade year. He’s playing where? The University of Utah.”

The source also spoke of the awkwardness that arises when a parent and child are asked to choose between playing down and playing up.

“I don’t want to put parents and kids in an awkward position where they feel like, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Because now what if I don’t go up to high school? Is the high school coach going to hold it against me because I choose not to go up?'” the source said. “It puts them in such an awkward position that I feel bad for the parents and kids. I don’t like that part at all because it’s becoming a recruiting war between high schools and junior highs of why they should stay in this program or why should they go up to this program and it’s because the high school coaches and junior high coaches aren’t on the same page.”

Bonneville athletic director and girls basketball coach Mike Russell understands the dilemma but thinks perspective is being lost when kids otherwise talented enough to play up are forced to stay down.

“I started at Ogden High as a freshman coach and a sophomore coach and at that level winning doesn’t matter,” Russell said. “It’s about building and teaching the program, instilling the fundamentals in the kids to prepare them ultimately for varsity basketball. … And I don’t say that to discredit what’s being done at the junior highs or to discredit the coaches because I know of some coaches that put in a lot of extra time and effort at the junior high level but its intermediate school or middle school … it’s called that for a reason. It’s not the culminating experience that the kids will have. That’s high school. I think if I was a junior high coach then my job would be to prepare the kids for high school. Until that’s driven home there’s going to be disagreements.”

The two sides met on Dec. 6, 2013 at a meeting with Reid Newey, the Weber School District secondary executive director, and William Grilz, the secondary supervisor and Newey’s assistant, and presented both arguments in a two-hour meeting.

“They all just discussed their concerns, the pros and cons, what their feelings were on the policy itself,” Grilz said. “Once we had all the concerns … we took all the information, shared it with the (board of education) and the board made the decision to adapt the policy, and Reid and I are gatekeepers of that policy.”

The board’s decision came in early April and resulted in a change to allow kids who play up to participate at any level.

According to Weber School District spokesperson Nate Taggart, the school district is satisfied with the current policy.

“We’re doing what we feel is best for the kids,” Taggart said, “and not just a few exceptional athletes, but for as many kids as possible to have a good experience playing athletics.”

Regarding the notion of an unequal playing field among teams in the same region, Taggart pointed to the success of Roy’s and Fremont’s football teams this year, as well as the success of Sand Ridge Junior High’s football team, which won its second straight district championship.

“We’ve got two teams in our district out of the four schools that were region champs this year… The fact that we’ve got two schools that were region champs this year shows it can be done while having a junior high football program that is successful,” Taggart said.

THE WILL OF THE PARENTS

While coaches and administrators in all parties involved debate what they feel is best for the students, one parent has seen the rule negatively affect his daughter and has gone so far as to proceed with litigation.

Rick Westmoreland, a local attorney, sent an e-mail to Russell on Nov. 11 expressing his contempt for the manner in which ninth graders are selected to play up.

“As I understand your position relating to my daughter, she is the third best 9th grader from South (Ogden Junior High) to try out,” the e-mail reads. “However, with all due respect, this “ranking” is purely arbitrary. There are no measures in place to be certain that she actually is the third best. This is your OPINION. It is not based on fact. There are no rational and unbiased measures that put each of the girls trying out on equal footing. As a result, your determination of my daughter’s ability to play for BHS rests solely on your discretion.”

The e-mail continues:

“I am willing to make a compromise with you before I engage an attorney to file a lawsuit against you, Bonneville High School and the Weber School District. If it is your position that only two girls from South can make your roster, then you need to make this a lottery. Put all the names of the SOJH girls in a hat and draw 2. At that point, the decision to make the team is taken out of your hands as a biased participant, and leaves the determination to chance, which puts everyone on equal footing. Otherwise, you are treating one 9th grader differently, which is a violation of law. If you choose not to do this, I have spoken with legal counsel and I will be prepared to file an action. I hope it does not come to that.”

Reached by phone, Westmoreland elaborated on his position.

“Think about it like this – What if you have 10 really smart ninth graders that want to take college algebra at the high school but the policy says you can only send two junior high students up to college algebra in high school,” Westmoreland said. “It’s the same thing.”

On Nov. 14, Westmoreland followed through by filing a complaint alleging an equal protection violation as well as a title nine violation and won a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement of Rule 4511. A hearing will be held at Weber District Court on Nov. 24 at 3:30 p.m..

“I tried for more than a year to get this taken care of in a fair way and they’ve dug their heels in,” Westmoreland said, “and that’s OK. If that’s what they want to do, that’s what they want to do. This should end it once and for all.”

According to Westmoreland, it all comes down to his daughter wanting the most playing time she can get.

“She just wants to play ball,” Westmoreland said. “Because she’s chosen to go and say, ‘You know what? I want to play more than eight games.’ A junior high season is eight games. It ends up being in essence a seven-week season and she’s saying, ‘I want to have the ability to play more games. I want to have those 20-23 games or double that or triple that if you add in the sophomore and the JV.’ That’s what she wants to do.”

Westmoreland called the school district’s decision to take such a decision out of the hands of parents and kids “ridiculous.”

“They’re eligible to play high school ball, but the school district is saying, ‘We think it’s better for the kids if they stayed down and played eight (district) games and we don’t care what you parents and you kids think (about) what’s best for you because they’re your child. We’re just going to say you can’t do it because we know what’s best for your child,'” Westmoreland said.

Russell declined comment, saying he was asked by district administration to not comment.

According to Taggart, the district feels good about its legal position.

“Our attorney, our legal counsel has looked at our policy and feels that it is legally sound and there will be a motion to dissolve,” Taggart said.

Before the policy was changed this past year, Westmoreland conducted a survey of 188 Weber County residents asking, “What policy would you like to see the Weber School District adopt regarding ninth grade athletic participation?” 57.45 percent responded, “Allow ninth graders that chose to “play up” the opportunity to participate at any level,” and 30.32 percent responded, “Take all freshman programs and move them to the high school, thus leaving the junior highs with seventh and eighth graders.” 12.23 percent responded, “Nothing new, the current policy is adequate.”

“What I got from it is No. 1 parents are smart enough to know what they want and what’s best for their kids,” Westmoreland said. “And that they want to have the option.”

According to Skidmore’s father, Steve Skidmore, nobody at the district asked for his input regarding the new policy – which he felt surprising considering his son has been at Roy since his freshman year.

“They had all these board meetings set aside to do these things but not one reached out and said, ‘What do you think? I know your son went through this,'” he said. “So you can’t tell me they are getting the input of what’s best for the kids if they didn’t ask the parents of the two kids that just did it.”

Tyler’s experiences at Roy have been positive since his freshman year, Steve Skidmore said.

“I know the kids at Sand Ridge were good,” he said. “They wished he would stay and play with them but the kids themselves would have done the exact same thing if they had the choice. Nate had the choice and he did it. You had a few of the seniors that year that befriended him and took him under their wing and realized he can help the team, then they made him feel part of the team so he never really felt out of place.”

Even though Molen stayed down, she has no regrets about her decision. She did, however, acknowledge her decision might have been different if she realized as a freshman just how fun playing high school basketball would be. She also voiced encouraging comments to any girl considering playing up.

“I would actually say there are a lot more pros than cons (of coming up),” Molen said. “It’s a really hard thing, but if you’re willing to put in the work and go through the struggles of it you’re going to have a big reward in the end. And so if you really think it’s worth it to you – you like basketball that much and you want to be that good – then I think it’s a good decision.”

THE UHSAA’S POSITION

According to Ryan Bishop, assistant director at the UHSAA, the aim of the UHSAA regarding district rules that govern freshmen participation is not to change policy or make policy but offer support.

“Really, our goal and our job at the activities association is not to step in and change policy, change rules, but really support our regions and our districts through the executive committee and board of trustees with the rules that they want to implement,” Bishop said. “We’re not the policy-making group. We’re the group that helps support the policy-making group… and so really what we’re compelled to do is support our schools and support our districts in the policies that they set forth.”

Contact reporter Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @RyanComerSe and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RyanComerSe