Expansion in the SCOL would be good for everyone
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Does anyone realize that in just 70-plus days, high school football returns on Friday nights?
In between watching, covering and reading about baseball, I figured June was just as good a time as any to start looking at the upcoming South Central Ohio League football schedules.
With football always on my mind, and with all the talk about expansion in the Big Ten and Pac-10, I started thinking again about the SCOL and if they decided to expand, who would be a good fit for the eighth team?
If anyone asks me, they’ll know I don't like the seven-team SCOL format for the fact that having an eighth team would break up the lone non-league game in the schedule during the middle of an SCOL football slate of games after the first three weeks of having non-league games.
But I am not just going to start blurting out names of schools with no reasoning behind it. I've decided to look at schools that are on the 2010 SCOL schedules.
Some of the criteria I am using is location of school, potential draw for gates, tradition of school in football, school mascot, division in football, a former member of the SCOL, natural rivalry, and a wild card option of any choosing.
In a previous meeting held by the people in charge of the SCOL, they have stated that at the said meeting they didn't want to expand and at the time they were happy with what they had.
For an outsider who never played in the SCOL – during my high school days, it disbanded – I say that reasoning doesn't work. I sounds kind of like the old guard of the league learned lessons from the Big Ten when it comes to expansion. (By the way, I hope the Big Ten doesn't get embarrassed by the Pac-10 when all the expansion is over.)
First, let’s start with distance of Jonathan Alder and Wilmington from all the SCOL schools.
Alder is already on five of the SCOL schedules in the upcoming seasons and are not a part of a league or conference. The longest distance from a SCOL team is Hillsboro at 70 miles. Heck, that is nothing for the Indians. This year, they agreed to travel to Zanesville at half the cost. The trip is 118 miles, and well, half of that is 59 miles, so it is just 10 miles more to travel to JA once every other year. I am sure JA wouldn't mind because every other year, JA travels to Greenfield, which is a 60-mile trip. Not to mention last season Hillsboro traveled to Dayton Stebbins, which was a 64-mile trip.
I know other sports have to go on those trips as well, but that argument isn't fair because teams routinely travel long distances during the school week for tournament games.
If JA were to join the league, the longest trip would be the 70-mile trip that was previously mentioned.
If Wilmington were to join the league the longest trip for a school would be 45 miles and that is London. The average travel distance for a road trip for a team if Wilmington joined the SCOL would be 28 miles.
So for the life of me, I can't figure why one of those teams aren't in the league as of this minute, especially when JA doesn't have a league and from reports Wilmington has expressed interest in the past to return to the league for which they used to be league champions in numerous sports in the past. Expansion has worked before with the SCOL when Clinton-Massie joined the league. In the past few years, they have dominated the football scene with an SCOL record of 28-2, going undefeated in the league three of the past four seasons.
For the record (though I am not a keeper of records), my opinion is Wilmington is the logical choice for the these simple facts: 1. They are close in distance for all other teams in the league. 2. They have a natural rival in Clinton-Massie, since they play games in neighboring Clinton County towns. 3. They are former SCOL champions. 4. They will bring crowds with them, which in part equals larger gates for all involved. 5. They already face two SCOL teams and scrimmage another this upcoming season.
Reasons for Alder joining the league could be they are already on five SCOL schedules and the average trip for teams would be 46 miles. The shortest trip would be 17 miles and longest distance would be Hillsboro at 70 miles.
Other teams on SCOL schedules more than once include East Clinton, Adena and Circleville. Circleville is a former member of the league, and they keep their rivalries alive against Miami Trace and Washington. Adena, who usually scrimmages HHS, will face McClain and the Blue Lions. East Clinton scrimmages McClain and plays CM every season in a rivalry game in Clinton County.
Those are the five teams that make sense to join the league, with JA and especially Wilmington making the most sense. Everyone involved needs to get this done so the SCOL can be an eight-team league and have better chances of a more competitive league in sports of all varieties.
I don't know why or how Wilmington left and the behind-the-scene reasons for the SCOL disbanding almost 20 years ago, but maybe everyone should put the past behind them and let bygones be bygones. Help improve this league to even an higher status in the state than what it currently is.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor for the Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
In between watching, covering and reading about baseball, I figured June was just as good a time as any to start looking at the upcoming South Central Ohio League football schedules.
With football always on my mind, and with all the talk about expansion in the Big Ten and Pac-10, I started thinking again about the SCOL and if they decided to expand, who would be a good fit for the eighth team?
If anyone asks me, they’ll know I don't like the seven-team SCOL format for the fact that having an eighth team would break up the lone non-league game in the schedule during the middle of an SCOL football slate of games after the first three weeks of having non-league games.
But I am not just going to start blurting out names of schools with no reasoning behind it. I've decided to look at schools that are on the 2010 SCOL schedules.
Some of the criteria I am using is location of school, potential draw for gates, tradition of school in football, school mascot, division in football, a former member of the SCOL, natural rivalry, and a wild card option of any choosing.
In a previous meeting held by the people in charge of the SCOL, they have stated that at the said meeting they didn't want to expand and at the time they were happy with what they had.
For an outsider who never played in the SCOL – during my high school days, it disbanded – I say that reasoning doesn't work. I sounds kind of like the old guard of the league learned lessons from the Big Ten when it comes to expansion. (By the way, I hope the Big Ten doesn't get embarrassed by the Pac-10 when all the expansion is over.)
First, let’s start with distance of Jonathan Alder and Wilmington from all the SCOL schools.
Alder is already on five of the SCOL schedules in the upcoming seasons and are not a part of a league or conference. The longest distance from a SCOL team is Hillsboro at 70 miles. Heck, that is nothing for the Indians. This year, they agreed to travel to Zanesville at half the cost. The trip is 118 miles, and well, half of that is 59 miles, so it is just 10 miles more to travel to JA once every other year. I am sure JA wouldn't mind because every other year, JA travels to Greenfield, which is a 60-mile trip. Not to mention last season Hillsboro traveled to Dayton Stebbins, which was a 64-mile trip.
I know other sports have to go on those trips as well, but that argument isn't fair because teams routinely travel long distances during the school week for tournament games.
If JA were to join the league, the longest trip would be the 70-mile trip that was previously mentioned.
If Wilmington were to join the league the longest trip for a school would be 45 miles and that is London. The average travel distance for a road trip for a team if Wilmington joined the SCOL would be 28 miles.
So for the life of me, I can't figure why one of those teams aren't in the league as of this minute, especially when JA doesn't have a league and from reports Wilmington has expressed interest in the past to return to the league for which they used to be league champions in numerous sports in the past. Expansion has worked before with the SCOL when Clinton-Massie joined the league. In the past few years, they have dominated the football scene with an SCOL record of 28-2, going undefeated in the league three of the past four seasons.
For the record (though I am not a keeper of records), my opinion is Wilmington is the logical choice for the these simple facts: 1. They are close in distance for all other teams in the league. 2. They have a natural rival in Clinton-Massie, since they play games in neighboring Clinton County towns. 3. They are former SCOL champions. 4. They will bring crowds with them, which in part equals larger gates for all involved. 5. They already face two SCOL teams and scrimmage another this upcoming season.
Reasons for Alder joining the league could be they are already on five SCOL schedules and the average trip for teams would be 46 miles. The shortest trip would be 17 miles and longest distance would be Hillsboro at 70 miles.
Other teams on SCOL schedules more than once include East Clinton, Adena and Circleville. Circleville is a former member of the league, and they keep their rivalries alive against Miami Trace and Washington. Adena, who usually scrimmages HHS, will face McClain and the Blue Lions. East Clinton scrimmages McClain and plays CM every season in a rivalry game in Clinton County.
Those are the five teams that make sense to join the league, with JA and especially Wilmington making the most sense. Everyone involved needs to get this done so the SCOL can be an eight-team league and have better chances of a more competitive league in sports of all varieties.
I don't know why or how Wilmington left and the behind-the-scene reasons for the SCOL disbanding almost 20 years ago, but maybe everyone should put the past behind them and let bygones be bygones. Help improve this league to even an higher status in the state than what it currently is.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor for the Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]