High school football: U.S. Grant, Capitol Hill to play independent for 4 years

“We just need a timeout,” Sinor told the board. “We need a chance to build these programs.”

The plan, which was approved unanimously by the board, entails in-depth program building beginning at the middle school level, something that hasn't always had strong continuity at the two south OKC schools.

The programs will become independent for the 2014 season. U.S. Grant and Capitol Hill will honor all of their games for the 2013 season, then be allowed to create their own schedules for the following four seasons before returning to OSSAA district play.

That will allow them to play similar competition and teams from smaller classes with comparable participation numbers.

“We came back to them with the plan of how we were going to execute the success of those two programs,” Sinor said.

This was Sinor's third appearance before the board asking for independence, with the first two proposals being turned down. But the depth of the new plan, which came with input from the OSSAA staff, made the difference Wednesday.

“We've seen big advancement from where we started with this,” board member Bill Denton, the Yukon superintendent, told Sinor. “It shows full support of the administration of your school district.”