RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Greenville's switch will make tough MCAC even better

Welcome aboard!
For 30 years, Greenville High's football team has been the kingpin in the Northwest Conference.
Next season, the Trojans will become a member of the Mercer County Athletic Conference, believed by many to be one of the strongest in the area.
For those 30 years, the big question among Mercer County fans centered around Greenville's preference to compete in the Northwest Conference when the school is located in Mercer County. Competing in the Northwest Conference involved a lot of traveling time to Warren, Pa., Titusville, Meadville and other points north.
While Greenville has competed in the NWC in football only, the remainder of the school's teams were a member of the MCAC.
The NWC forced the hand of the Trojans by creating an all-sports league. Thus, Greenville's other sports teams would have had to join the NWC. Greenville opted to join the MCAC in football.
Greenville has been a power in the NWC for many years under former coach Ed Snyder and present coach Bob Stone, who is in his 24th season. The NWC was launched in 1971.
Next year, the Trojans will lock horns with Mercer County teams like Sharpsville, Sharon and Wilmington, who were all state semifinalists last year in A, AA and AAA, respectively. Greenville is Class AA.
Will the Trojans be as tough in the MCAC as they were in the NWC? Time will tell. Their presence in the MCAC will only make a tough league better. You can count on that.
Wildman on top: Sharon High football coach Jim Wildman has gone where no other Mercer County coach has gone before. He notched his 200th victory in the 2001 season opener, a 38-0 mauling of Cornell. His record was 202-74-6 before this weekend's game. Most of those setbacks came early in his career at Sharon.
Twenty-five years ago, Wildman walked onto the field as coach of the Tigers. During those years he had coached a number of outstanding players, many of who have gone on to greater heights, some in the NFL.
I covered Wildman's Tigers for a number of years, including those in his early career. He, as has his players, have displayed the talents of a winner. Today, as in past years, they have become one of winningest teams around. Congratulations, coach. Keep up the good work.
New scoreboard: Bob Pinch of Sharon is a man who gets things done.
The Sharon Senior Division, which plays its home baseball contests in Buhl Farm Park, was in dire need of a scoreboard. Thanks to Pinch, the league now has an all-electric scoreboard.
Pinch said he approached the Pepsi company and talked with officials, who trucked in the new scoreboard. Pinch said that a number of his friends helped install the equipment and did all the wiring.
"It's a beauty and now the kids will be playing on a field with a little more incentive," Pinch said.
Lauded: Senior offensive tackle John Dunlap was voted the 2001 recipient of the Harold Burry Award.
The award is given at the end of football training camp at Westminster College to the senior player who best represents the spirit of Burry, the coach at Westminster from 1952-71 and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Dunlap is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds and is starting his third season as the Titans' left tackle.