43
Small ITCL schools happy with new leagues
Crestview, S. Range seek new homes
By Greg Gulas
When the Inter-Tri County League ceases operation in 14 months, two leagues — the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference and Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference — are set to absorb the majority of the schools.
Play is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2017.
The MVAC will welcome Jackson-Milton, Lowellville, McDonald, Mineral Ridge, Sebring, Springfield Local and Western Reserve.
The EOAC will be comprised of Columbiana, East Palestine, Leetonia, Lisbon, Southern Local, United and Wellsville.
Rounding out the eight-league membership in each will be Waterloo in the MVAC and Toronto in the EOAC.
South Range and Crestview are looking for new league homes.
With former Tri-County League commissioner John Mang mentioned to take the reins of the MVAC, retired Sebring superintendent Howdy Friend may be the future leader of the EOAC.
ITCL commissioner Paul Andraso hates to see his league disbanding.
“I think that our league has done really well in that we brought together both the Inter-County League and Tri-County, and were able to solve a lot of problems that both were having at the time,” Andraso said.
Andraso said the ITCL will continue use its three-tier format for the final year.
“While we have had plenty of team and individual successes over the past decade, we were never able to solve our divisional problems nor could we agree on expansion,” Andraso said.
For the MVAC schools, the chance to start anew and renew old rivalries is anticipated.
“The Western Reserve athletic programs have experienced a great deal of success while competing in the Inter-Tri County League,” Jeff Martig, Blue Devils athletic director said.
Martig said his school is disappointed by the ITCL breakup but excited about the new league.
Damon Dohar, Mineral Ridge superintendent, agreed.
“I’m disappointed that the ITCL didn’t last, but very excited about the MVAC,” Dohar said.
Pat Keney, Jackson-Milton athletic director for 30 years, said, “I knew that it would come down to something like this because small schools like ours, especially in football, find it hard to compete year in and year out.
“The old Inter-County League was very competitive and it all balanced out with schools having their good years,” Keney said. “The proposed MVAC looks to be very competitive.”
Dan Williams, McDonald Blue Devils athletic director, views the new league as the old Inter-County League plus one.
“We have a lot of history with the other schools in the new MVAC and are looking forward to continuing those rivalries,” Williams said.
Springfield Local principal Tony DeFelice said the school also applied to join the All-American Conference.
“While the AAC could not guarantee us a football schedule for 2017, the MVAC has said that they will do their very best to accommodate our football and other scheduling needs,” DeFelice said.
Brian Fedyski, Lowellville athletic director, is happy for the eight-team format.
“It’s a lot easier to schedule with an eight-team league when you don’t have to worry about crossover games,” Fedyski said.
Josh Scott, Sebring athletic director, is happy his school has a league.
“We’re kind of out in no man’s land geographically so it was very important to retain a league affiliation,” Scott said.