MSL Expansion = Logan and Chilly???

[pfloyd]

O & B ... sorry if my post came across as defensive - wasn't meant to be that way ... not sure if the move will happen but as I said it is at least being discussed and is on the table ... as was posted by others Craig Dunn of the LDN will have this covered if anything of substance comes from these "discussions" ...

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

There was a very valid reason why Waverly left the SEOAL, and a very valid reason why Wheelersburg would be insane to leave what is primarily one one county league for any combination of SEOAL schools. And dont look for GAHS to ever fall for any invitation for Ironton to join them in anything.

I almost feel sorry for Chillicothe....almost. Their recent state basketball championship aside, their nomadic athletic life has taken them from the COL to the OCC to the SEOAL, and now possibly where? In between their athletic existence was threatened with permanent removal had the voters not ponied up and voted for two levies. If I was a Cavalier fan, I would get on my rooftop and scream for the city schools to find a league and make a commitment to it.

Their past relationships havent worked out....the COL folded, the OCC considered them red headed step children, and now they are in a situation where they are very much wanted by a league that appreciates commitment and faithfulness, and this is how they repay that? I grew up in Chillicothe. My mother and brother still live there. I own rental property there and pay increased property taxes to support the city schools, but if they bolt from the SEOAL, they can kiss my hind parts!

i think the red headed step child thing , has run it's course . don't you.

[bman]

Realignment and expansion are topics of discussion in the MSL. The growth of Canal Winchester, Teays Valley, Hamilton Township and Licking Heights has led to at least realignment being needed. I really can't add anything more than that. When there is something concrete to report, I'm sure the community newspapers served or who could be served from the MSL will run stories. To speculate and run stories with errors really doesn't serve the schools being mentioned, their present league or the MSL well. It also isn't good journalism.

[ChieftainGrad135]

pfloyd...............thank you for clearer insight into the situation. Discussion is all I believe everyone is seeking on here, nothing more. I don't think the topic has regressed into a rumor mill, nor should it.

To those who think that local media are being called out..........no one has called out any newspaper to post a story about it. The only thing I have said about it is I am surprised that there has been no written article from anywhere on it. But after getting further explanation from pfloyd, I can see why. Sometimes people create topics to get more information and to get a better grasp on a situation. That is what this topic has provided I believe. I wasn't calling out the LDN or any other local newspaper for not having anything on it yet. Like I said, I can see why. I do believe, just as others do, it would be an injustice to the SEOAL, MSL, LHS, and any other schools involved to put anything in print without concrete material. As well as bad journalism as was said. But as for the topic on here, there is no journalism involved. Just posters talking about what is, what could be, and what we think.

After all.................it is getting to be near summer. What else are we going to talk about?

[bman]

^
we can talk about reds baseball

well, nevermind

[ironmen1987]

trojandave, the only reason i didn't mention PHS was because i know they have a desire to join the SOC. I think they would be a great fit but with the cost of travel and what i imagine would be an increase in attendence should they be part of a localized league i would fully understand if they made such a move.

[Paladin]

I can't imagine this happening. For FB, it would be a tragedy as Logan would destroy Hamilton, TV, Licking Hts., Canal, etc on a yearly basis. As weak as the SEOAL has become, it is still a better competitve level than the MSL in many regards. And Logan would also be better than many schools in the other sports. Most schools there now are smaller than Logan, just like the SEOAL. But it would be possible to put together a closer travel league for Logan. And, its worth noting that the "stability" of the MSL is in question as schools come & go. To make the move to the MSL might mean another move in 3-5 years,etc.

[Orange and Brown]

I can't imagine this happening. For FB, it would be a tragedy as Logan would destroy Hamilton, TV, Licking Hts., Canal, etc on a yearly basis. As weak as the SEOAL has become, it is still a better competitve level than the MSL in many regards. And Logan would also be better than many schools in the other sports. Most schools there now are smaller than Logan, just like the SEOAL. But it would be possible to put together a closer travel league for Logan. And, its worth noting that the "stability" of the MSL is in question as schools come & go. To make the move to the MSL might mean another move in 3-5 years,etc.

I think it would hurt them come playoff time. They would end up playing 8 league games a year and it would limit who and when they could schedule Lancaster or Pick. If a couple more real good big schools came and some realignment was done then maybe.

[Daniel Larusso]

I can't imagine this happening. For FB, it would be a tragedy as Logan would destroy Hamilton, TV, Licking Hts., Canal, etc on a yearly basis. As weak as the SEOAL has become, it is still a better competitve level than the MSL in many regards. And Logan would also be better than many schools in the other sports. Most schools there now are smaller than Logan, just like the SEOAL. But it would be possible to put together a closer travel league for Logan. And, its worth noting that the "stability" of the MSL is in question as schools come & go. To make the move to the MSL might mean another move in 3-5 years,etc.

The MSL would be better travel for Logan, but you are correct in the fact that Jackson, Portsmouth, Gallipolis, Chillicothe, and Logan would probably beat the teams mentioned most years. The key words being most years. For football purposes Logan is better off in the SEOAL.

I have nothing personal against Warren or Marietta. I have enjoyed watching both their programs over the years in many sports. However, the main concern with the SEOAL is the travel to the schools in Washington county plain and simple. Marietta has already given their two week notice, and I'm guessing it won't be long before we start hearing rumors of Warren joining the TVC. I can't really blame them because they are out on an island by themselves with the departure and upcoming departure of Athens and Marietta. Now I'm not saying I want them to leave, but if they do decide to go the SEOAL will become a desirable place again. The longest trip would be Portsmouth to Logan which is under 90 miles. To be in a competitive league in very rural southeastern Ohio I don't know how much more you can ask for.

Logan, Chillicothe, Jackson, Portsmouth, and Gallipolis is a very good 5 team league. If Ironton had not jumped the gun this would have been an outstanding 6 team league. Basically you would have the SEOAL south plus Logan. I have a feeling though that Ironton burned down London bridge.

[bman]

The MSL has been in existence since 1949 and has 24 teams presently so it is not going anywhere. As for the competition, I'd stack the MSL against the SEOAL in football. Logan has had a very, very good team the last couple of years. Logan will still be good as they have a good program, but not as dominating. Canal is just coming on as a program the past three years and growing into its size. They're playing Grove City, St. Charles and Westerville Central this season so they are expecting to have good football to compete against those types of schools.

[85inside]

I think the MSL is a good fit for both of these schools. However, I dont know what the goals of the athletic departments of both schools are. I believe Logan would be challenged much more year in and year out in the MSL conference that featured Licking Valley, etc. I think the MSL that features Logan Elm, etc is a great fit for Chilly.

I wonder if Gallia Academy would be a good fit for the OVC? I know they dont play any OVC schools in football the past few years, but they play a heavy OVC schedule in the other sports I believe.

[GAHS83]

My family recently moved from a MSL school to the SEOAL. IMO, the Buckeye division would be a very good fit for Logan both from a travel and competitive point of view.

[trojandave]

Ironmen1987: I understand your point of view.......and you are correct about Portsmouth's desire to join the SOC.......but that is in the past........we are now members of the SEOAL for the long term........the SOC has turned Portsmouth down at least 4 times........with Zanesville, Athens, Ironton, and Marietta having left or getting ready to depart, it now makes much more sense for Portsmouth to stay in the SEOAL on a long term basis. The so-called "travel issue" is not nearly an significant as it was with the 10 team SEOAL. PHS can also still make big money with its local rivals.......Wheelersburg, West, and now Ironton as non-conference games. SEOAL opponents Gallia Academy, Jackson, and Chillicothe normally bring decent gates also, while I anticipate Logan bringing a bunch of purple to Trojan Coliseum the 9th game of the 2010 season.

[GAHS83]

I can't imagine this happening. For FB, it would be a tragedy as Logan would destroy Hamilton, TV, Licking Hts., Canal, etc on a yearly basis. As weak as the SEOAL has become, it is still a better competitve level than the MSL in many regards. And Logan would also be better than many schools in the other sports. Most schools there now are smaller than Logan, just like the SEOAL. But it would be possible to put together a closer travel league for Logan. And, its worth noting that the "stability" of the MSL is in question as schools come & go. To make the move to the MSL might mean another move in 3-5 years,etc.

Canal Winchester, Licking Heights, Logan Elm, Licking Valley, Fairfield Union and Amanda Clearcreek have all had programs that would compete with Logan in football very well over stretches in the MSL Buckeye. This isn't a knock against the SEOAL, but there wouldn't be much of a drop off in competition if any at all.

[SPG9]

I find the Hubris around Logan football pretty comical. Logan has had an unbelievable ten year run....let us not forget there have also been some very lean years prior to that. These things occur in cycles and I suspect we are not to far away from Logan reverting back to the mean. MSL would be a good fit in my mind and makes sense for a lot of reasons. I would hate to see it happen however, a 5 team league is just not a viable solution. If it does come to that, Logan would be wise to pursue the MSL option..

[GoChiefs]

I find the Hubris around Logan football pretty comical. Logan has had an unbelievable ten year run....

First it was 'Logan has had an unbelievable run the last couple years, but they'll come back to Earth next year.' Then it was 'Logan has had unbelievable last 5 years, but they'll level out soon enough.' After that it was 'Logan has been a great team these last 8 years, but that won't last much longer'....you seeing a pattern here?

[Paladin]

Oh brother.... here we go again. There isn't any comparasion of the MSL with the SEOAL. Logan wiped the field with Canal last season in the playoffs. Canal beat MSL teams TV 41-10, Logan Elm 23-20,Fairfield Union 27-10, Hamilton 43-0, Bloom Carrol 30-0. Also beat Circleville 38-13 who Logan stomped in a scrimmage. Canal lost to Amanda 7-0 & a poor D-I Westerville Central ( 5-5) team 17-13. While Logan was stomping the dog crap out of Canal, they also beat D-I play-off teams Lancaster & Pick North and whipped playoff bound Ironton. The schedules aren't comparable. Neither are the leagues.

You won't be seeing Logan Elm, Teays Valley, Bloom Carroll or Fairfield Union scheduling Chilli, Ironton, Portsmouth, Jackson or Gallia. Those teams are all traditionall smaller division schools only recently growing in student population and playing smaller division schedules BY NECESSITY. Only Amanda had a reputation & they are a D-IV school. Go to Joe Eitel and see WHO those teams are playing !! See how they ranked in the ratings as well. It was awful.

If you are looking for a league that matches the SEOAL, look to the MVL. There is a track record there as well that has matched the SEOAL. Otherwise, you are talking a poor game that has no basis in facts.

[bman]

^ Logan Elm handled Chillicothe by two touchdowns in the playoffs two years ago.

Logan had a fantastic team last year, but it was those once in a generation teams. Logan is a good football program and should continue to put out good teams, but they are not untouchable by programs like Canal most years.

Logan is in an interesting position. The SEOAL is really too small right now and is unstable with the recent defections. A potential large-school MSL division probably is the same competition, especially without Ironton in the SEOAL, but is more stable and closer drives. .

[Late 70s Logan grad]

For details check out today's Logan Daily News...

[NYBuckeye96]

Can someone with online access to the Logan Daily post the article on here? It hasn't appeared in the Athens Messenger yet, otherwise I would post it myself.