The players in the Steel City deserve better than their current, dire situation where they have proved they can't compete with teams outside of Gary.

Let's get this straight: Current IHSAA by-laws won't allow the move. Assistant commissioner Bobby Cox said student-athletes may compete only for the school at which they are enrolled.

The IHSAA should reconsider.

Gary has good football players. The city just doesn't have enough of them to field four competitive programs. Too many freshmen play varsity ball in Gary. Varsity coaches have told me they're lucky to have a JV program.

Consolidation would allow the underclassmen much-needed time to prepare for the varsity level.

The city has good football coaches. It just doesn't have enough to match opposing staffs, which have the ability to scout Gary teams on game nights. For the most part, Gary coaches don't have that opportunity.

The city's football facilities are old and rusty. If consolidation occurred, it could put its efforts into one stadium, make it look nice and go from there.

Consolidation has happened in other states. In Joliet, Central and West high schools merged into Joliet Township for athletic purposes.

Some coaches in Gary want the same situation. West Side's Gene Johnson said he has brought up the idea in meetings, but feels others would have concerns with the potential move.

“It's like an all-star team,” Johnson said. “If you were to do that and have an all-star team and win, somebody would say that's not fair.”

What's not fair is Gary's current plight. Wirt, West Side, Roosevelt and Lew Wallace bring 20-or-so players capable of competing at the varsity level to each game. Other teams bring three-to-four times that many. Arrowhead (Wis.) sent three busloads full of players — 106 to be exact — to Wallace in Week 2 this season. Hornets coach Fred Nolan was simply in awe. The same could be said of Johnson when the Cougars traveled to Hobart in Week 1.

“I just stood there and said 'That's fantastic,' ” Johnson said. “In Hobart, every kid wants to be a Brickie. In Gary, some kids want to be Cougars, some want to be Panthers, some want to be Hornets or whatever.”

Gary is not at the point where it needs one high school. The city is at the point where it requires one football program.

Molding four teams into one would not be the end all, be all. With the current athletic administration — which coaches and current and former players have complained about — the city already is facing an uphill battle just staying organized.

But consolidation would a be a good start toward rebuilding a once-great football city.