Metro Sports Report

MAC schools embrace football districts

The Mississippi Athletic Conference has abandoned all hope of playing football within its league next season, opting instead for Class 4A district football.

"It is the position of the Mississippi Athletic Conference to move forward with the district football concept," the MAC schools declared in a press release Thursday.

The decision came after Davenport Assumption, one of the 10 MAC schools, elected to play at the Class 3A level next season instead of continuing to participate in the league.

Lombardi got more than slap on wrist

At first blush, it may seem that Tony Lombardi escaped with a fairly light penalty for his transgressions at Cedar Rapids Washington.

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners charged Lombardi with four ethics violations, yet his only real penalty was sacrificing his coaching license for eight months when he wasn't planning to coach during that time frame anyway.

He also has to pass an ethics course and undergo anger-management counseling, but the penalties could have been more severe. The BoEE could have permanently revoked Lombardi's teaching and coaching license, or it could have suspended his licenses for multiple years.

Dolan playing for NAIA title with Grand View

Saxon Dolan, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate, will finish his college football career in style Saturday afternoon when No.2 Grand View University faces No.1 Cumberlands (Ky.) in the NAIA championship game in Rome, Ga.

Dolan, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound linebacker, has made 3 1/2 tackles this season and recovered a fumble for Grand View in seven games.

Here's plan to save MVC, MAC football

There's a way to save the Mississippi Valley Conference as a football league and forestall the move toward Class 4A districts.

There's also a way to save the Mississippi Athletic Conference, but the athletic directors at those Valley and MAC schools have to take charge and get it done.

Quickly.

It's really not that hard to solve the biggest problems facing both leagues, but the athletic directors have to band together and resolve the issues now that Xavier, Dubuque Wahlert and Davenport Assumption are moving from Class 4A to 3A next season.