The Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association proposal is still alive.

By a narrow 6-5 vote, the MIAA Football Committee agreed to submit the new proposal to the Tournament Management Committee for final approval.

The new plan calls for a 10-game regular season with the large selling point being an added emphasis on Thanksgiving Day games for postseason qualifications. From that point, the top eight teams would qualify for the playoffs, with the quarterfinals being contested the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, the semifinals on the next weekend and concluding with state championships five days later.

According to Milton coach Steve Dembowski, who serves as the coaches representative on the football committee, there are several benefits to the MHSFCA proposal, one of the biggest being no more consolation games. He said a recent survey conducted among the football coaches showed that nearly 70 percent of the coaches are against consolation games.

He stated that the emphasis on Thanksgiving being a pinnacle for the season returns in this format. With several schools possibly jockeying for playoff position, there would be a less likelihood of teams sitting their starters (as some have done in recent years to avoid injuries heading into the Super Bowl).

It also addresses a major concern of football cutting into the start of winter season. Under this proposal, with 64 teams making the playoffs, 32 would be eliminated by the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (the present MIAA start date for winter seasons is the Monday after Thanksgiving).

Should the TMC reject this proposal, the MIAA Football Committee voted 8-1 to move ahead with the present football format which is in place. The one no vote was cast by Dembowski, who has been staunch in his belief from the start that the football proposal put forth by coaches is essential to stemming the demise of high school football (he has pointed out in the past that more than 40 schools have dropped the sport in recent years).

As much as the football format has been a hot topic in recent months, what really rankled several of the committee members is the new football alignment. They found it hard to comprehend the fact that Division 2 has 22 schools and Division 8 has 48.

“This is a joke, I’m really angry about it,” said Northeast Regional football coach/athletic director Don Heres. “They always talk about equity but this is not equitable.”

Added Stoneham athletic director David Pignone: “This new divisional alignment is out of whack.”