A high school football team politely eliminates itself from postseason consideration.

The program sets its own standard in preseason and if it doesn’t reach the standard, it voluntarily ends its own season.

We don’t deserve to go to the playoffs, so even though we’re eligible to go, we’re not going to go.

How refreshing would that be?

We can answer that question because it’s happened.

Karns City isn’t going to the District 9 Class AA football playoffs for the first time since 1996. That’s quite a streak, especially when District 9 isn’t the entity that’s ending it.

The Gremlins qualified for the fourth and final playoff berth in their division. They would be traveling to top-seeded Brockway next week for their first postseason game of 2010.

If they wanted to.

But they don’t.

Karns City entered its season finale against Clarion Friday night sporting a 3-6 record. The Gremlins toughened their schedule this year, no longer playing longtime struggling programs Union and A-C Valley.

They picked up Hickory and Wilmington instead, losing to them both.

Had this team played last year’s schedule, it likely would be 5-4 and headed to the playoffs.

KC coach Ed Conto wants to improve his program by playing higher quality opposition. Maybe this is taking one step back to take two steps forward .

Regardless, this decision to stay home has to be applauded.

Karns City’s school policy is a team must have at least a .500 record to go to the playoffs. The administrators feel a team with a losing record shouldn’t be in the postseason.

The Gremlins clearly improved during the course of the season. They battled a very good St. Marys team tooth and nail on the road last week before falling, 28-20.

In essence, that was their playoff game.

Win there, beat Clarion, play on.

It didn’t happen.

This is the most consistently successful football program in Butler County. In any preseason prognostication, punch the Gremlins’ playoff ticket.

It’s a given.

All they had to do was take it this year. They didn’t earn it, so they don’t want it.

Penn-Trafford, Bethel Park, Pine-Richland and West Mifflin are WPIAL teams with losing records in the playoffs. This isn’t to say they dont deserve to be there.

Finish among the top four in your section in the WPIAL, and you’re in. Every team knows that going in, so congratulations to those folks.

District 9 teams have the option of turning down a playoff bid. Karns City is exercising that option.

Even the seniors shouldn’t feel badly about that. They know the tradition of that program. They played a tougher schedule. They improved. It wasn’t enough.

Karns City won’t take what it doesnt earn.

And that’s refreshing.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle