After an unsuccessful 2016 season, the Bishop Blanchet football team looked for a fresh start this season. And with the newly formed Metro League divisions, that’s exactly what the Braves received.

On March 25th, the Seattle Times announced that the Metro League would be broken into 3 divisions. Those divisions would include a mix of private and public schools in the area. After every season, the Metro League plans to move the top 2 teams up a division and the bottom 2 down. Movement of teams will be based off of their league record.

The divisions were based on successes of the teams last year. The top tier, the Metro Mountain Division, includes the powerhouses of Seattle high school football. O’Dea, last year’s 3A state runner up, headlines the division. Along with the Irish, Eastside Catholic, Roosevelt, Seattle Prep, Garfield, and Rainier Beach are all members of the Mountain division. Because of the combined talent between all these teams, whoever comes out as the champion of the Mountain Division will make a case for themselves in the playoffs and will be a favorite to head to the Tacoma Dome this December.

The middle tier, the Metro Sound Division, includes a mixed bag of teams who suffered an early exit from the playoffs last year and teams who just missed the cut. Bishop Blanchet is a member of the Sound Division this year. The Braves are accompanied by Liberty, Cleveland, West Seattle, Nathan Hale, and Ballard. Bishop Blanchet and West Seattle are the only teams in the Sound Division who secured a trip to the 3A playoffs in 2016, but both suffered first round losses. Liberty, however, joins the Sound Division playing their first season at the 3A level. Last year, the Patriots lost to Archbishop Murphy in the 2A state title game.

Teams in the Metro Valley Division will look to open eyes around the league this year. Newcomer Sammamish is joined by Chief Sealth, Franklin, Ingraham, and Lakeside. Lakeside was the only playoff team in this group last year, losing to Meadowdale in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.

Unfortunately, with this realignment, Blanchet will not play rivals Seattle Prep and O’Dea this year in the regular season. Matchups with these teams are always memorable, such as the Braves upset of O’Dea in 2015.

Senior left guard and captain Jackson Stanfield took the realignment personally.

“We believe we are better than the teams we were matched with,” said Stanfield. “It gives us motivation to work harder and move to the top division.”

Stanfield also acknowledged the absence of Seattle Prep

“We wanted to match up with them (Seattle Prep) and repay them for the loss they gave us on our home field last year.”

Several players had the same reaction to the new divisions as Stanfield. But varsity offensive line coach and JV head coach Dominic Salle had more than just his players in mind.

“I like the idea behind it, of structuring it based off of skill level, and the model would work for professional athletics, but it may not be the best for high school football,”

Salle also took note of the lack of rivalry games.

“It’s unfortunate it takes away from traditional rivalries such as Blanchet and Prep.”

The Braves are motivated on the gridiron this year and want to continue to make a case for moving up to the Mountain Division. Currently 1-0 in the Sound Division, Blanchet is looking to stay focused on the goal of moving up a division they set for themselves at the beginning of this season.

Blanchet is looking to improve their Sound Division record to 3-0 this Friday, October 6th, as they take on Ballard. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM on Mickey Naish Field.