117 OHSAA football schools will be changing divisions

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

Cardinal Mooney High’s football team is moving up, while Liberty and Lakeview are going down — in divisions.

Thursday, the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced that 117 schools are changing divisions.

The OHSAA reassigns schools to divisions every other year and changes that will result in 16.3 percent of schools being relocated were approved on Thursday by the OHSAA Board of Directors.

There will be 718 football-playing schools this fall, which is up three from 2007 (Hilliard Bradley, Lewis Center Olentangy Orange and Manchester have been added).

Don Bucci, Mooney athletic director, said he was surprised.

“I knew we had 252 boys, but I thought that would still keep us at IV,” Bucci said. “In fact, the division cutoff is 252, so we’re the smallest in Div. III.”

The division breakdowns are: Div. I – 120 schools (enrollments of 518 or more); Div. II — 118 schools (348 and 517); Div. III — 120 schools (252 and 347); Div. IV — 119 schools (177 and 251); Div. V — 120 schools (125 and 176); and Div. VI — 121 schools (124 or less).

Bucci said he was amazed at the number of other teams that moved up from Div. IV, including Steubenville Big Red and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Bucci said the enrollment numbers as of Oct. 1, 2008 and their subsequent divisional listing will remain in force for both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years.

Bucci noted that the Cardinals won state championships in Class AAA in 1973, in Div. II in 1980 and 1982 and Div. III in 1987. Mooney’s two state crowns under current coach P.J. Fecko were in Div. IV.

“We’re happy to be able to go into a larger classification and compete at that level,” Bucci said. “We’ve been IV quite a while, so it’s nice to know the enrollment is increasing which is good this day and age.

“It shows we must be doing something right. The competition is tougher, but the kids are looking forward to it.”

Liberty and Lakeview are two of 10 statewide dropping from Div. III to Div. IV.

Lakeview coach Tom Pavlansky said he wasn’t surprised by the change because the school’s numbers were 287 boys previously before submitting an enrollment of 216 boys for 2009-10.

“I knew we’d would drop, I just didn’t know how far,” Pavlansky said. “It’s all in the state’s hands.”

Once a school’s lot has been cast, the numbers are immaterial.

“Once you make the playoffs,” Pavlansky said, “what matters is that you’ve got to play good football to move on, regardless of division.”

Divisions are based on enrollment of males in grades nine through 11 as reported to the State Department of Education in October 2008.

Thirty-four (17.8 percent) schools changing divisions qualified for the football tournaments last year, including defending Div. II state champion Sylvania Southview (moves up to Div. I); defending Div. III state champion Aurora (moves up to Div. II); 2007 Div. II state champion and defending Div. II state runner-up Cincinnati Anderson (moves up to Div. I); and defending Div. IV state runner-up Steubenville (moves up to Div. III).

Other notables changing divisions are 2004 Div. I state champion Columbus Brookhaven (down to Div. II); 2007 Div. III state champion Sunbury Big Walnut (up to Div. II); three-time state champion Columbus St. Francis DeSales (down to Div. III); and two-time state champion Coldwater (down to Div. V).

In the area, Mooney will be one of 15 moving up from IV to III; Pymatuning Valley is one of 11 schools jumping from Div. V to Div. IV; United Local is one of eight slipping from Div. IV to Div. V; and Mathews High and nine others also slip from Div. V to Div. VI.

A complete list may be accessed at www.ohsaa.org.