Big shakeups in announcement of softball district assignments

Since I’ve been in Fayette, until this new playoff format, there had not been any changes in Fayette’s football district. There hadn’t been any changes in basketball districts either. A team or two may be new in Fayette’s track district. But the biggest realignments have always been in softball.

After all, I can remember in my first year when Fayette and Harrisburg were in the same district. Now they’re in different classes.

MSHSAA recently released its district assignments for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Normally I’d start with Fayette, but I think I’ll jump to the district that had the biggest shakeup of all the local districts.

Class 1 District 7

I thought maybe I was jinxing New Franklin when I arrived. The Lady Bulldogs lost back-to-back district championship games in my first two years, then finally won the title last season. Being back-to-back district champs is going to be pretty difficult this fall. Here’s a look at the teams in that district:

• Bunceton
• Harrisburg
• Jamestown
• New Franklin
• Otterville
• Pilot Grove
• Prairie Home

This district has always come down to New Franklin and Pilot Grove, but with Harrisburg entering the mix, now it’s turned into a three-team race for the district title. New Franklin and Harrisburg each won district titles last year and I look for their matchup on Sept. 10 in New Franklin to determine the No. 1 seed in the district, with Pilot Grove taking the No. 3 seed. All three teams will play each other during the regular season as well, so unless they go 1-1 against each other, it should easily determine the No. 1-3 seeds.

Class 2 District 14

It’s going to be the same story for Fayette again this season: different teams, same difficult district.

Salisbury dropped down to Class 1 — never thought I would ever type that — and Marceline and Brookfield are heading north for districts, leaving behind three MRVC schools with Fayette: Carrollton, Higginsville and Lexington.

Here’s the district teams:

• Carrollton
• Fayette
• Higginsville
• Knob Noster
• Lexington
• Summit Christian Academy

It’s now six teams instead of seven, but it will still be a brutal district.

Class 1 District 11

So Harrisburg left behind a difficult district that consisted of four teams that could have won several other Class 1 districts. Well, this is the district where those other teams landed, with the exception of Sturgeon.

• Cairo
• Glasgow
• Higbee
• Keytesville
• Salisbury
• Slater
• Westran

Both Cairo and Westran bring back several players, but Westran stomped Cairo in districts last year. Salisbury will make a push in this district as well. And I think there’s a good chance Glasgow can win at least one game in this district as well.

Games don’t begin until later this week, but this gives you something to mull over for the next 48 hours until that happens.