Portsmouth Proposes to join the SOC!

[drrabbit]

The SOC has dictated the addition of sports at specific schools in the past. About 1958, one of the schools was suspended a year because they did not have football yet like they had promised (maybe Minford?). Anyway, I can look it up if someone needs to know. Eastern is adding soccer for a reason and Western is being encouraged to add football or soccer. They need at least one major fall sport for boys to balance volleyball.

Suspending a program for a year or two when times are tough for one reason or another is one thing but to totally not have soccer would mean that Portsmouth will take a lot of grief from both outside and inside the league and it is possible that it could be a deal breaker for some.

[85inside]

I think it is time for Portsmouth as well as Ironton to have a soccer team. i dont buy that it takes alot of kids from the football team. There are only about 40 boys that play football at Ironton in grades 10-12. That leaves amny boys to participate in soccer that dont play football. I would rather see Irotnon have a girls soccer team than a girls volleyball team. Soccer is played in Ironton starting at age 5. My daughter is 6 and she played soccer last year. The earliest she will play organized volleyball is 7th grade. That was just this past year at Ironton. For many years you had to wait until 9th grade to play volleyball. I think Coach Freeman does an excellent job with Volleyball, but wouldnt we be better served having a competitive program, where girls have played the sport most of their life?
I am always disappointed with Ironton's extra curricular numbers. Maybe a soccer team would help the numbers of those participating. Lets get all the kids off the couch.

[sider]

actually west has more wins against burg than anybody else
Burg is 29-19-2 against west a winning record but still no one else has beat burg that many times[/quote]

That would probably be closer if it wasn't for all of the losing seasons we had in the 90's, but there are no excuses, Burg has the overall lead.

Anyway, Portsmouth would be a great add to the Soc. In football, Portsmouth strengthen the Soc, and add more credibility to the conference. They definitely wouldn't dominate, because it seems like they can't string 3-4 good years together. This would help Portsmouth's program as well because of Travel reasons, it would give them more opportunity for wins because they would not be playing D2 and D3 schools every week. Adding South Gallia to the Soc I would not be a major change because all of the Soc I schools play South Gallia already. South Gallia may challenge for a title in a few years, but as of now I don't see anyone over taking the Tartans or Oaks

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

Here is a quick look at how the Trojans have faired vs. the SOC since 2000, this time span includes some of the Trojans best years in school history and some of the worst.
Team Record winning years-------------losing years
Burg 4-5 00,01,02,07 -------------03,04,05,06, 08
West 5-3 01,02,03,04,07----------05,06,08 (02 playoff loss)
Waverly 2-1 00,01,(02 playoff win) --05
Minford 6-0 00,01,02,03,04,05------ None
Valley No games but competitive in preview
Northwest No games
Totals 17-9 A good record but not dominate. Looks very competitive.

In 2000 the Trojans were 10-0 with victories against 3 SOC teams including champ Minford, result PHS championship
In 2001 the Trojans were 9-1 with victories over all 4 of the top teams in the SOC that year result PHS championship
In 2002 the Trojans were 9-1 with victories over 3 SOC teams in the regular season including champ West result PHS championship
In 2003 the Trojans were 4-6 and 2-1 vs. SOC opponents, this year PHS most likely finishes 2nd in the conference
In 2004 the Trojans were 7-3 with a 2-1 vs. SOC opponents, PHS most likely finishes 2nd.
In 2005 the Trojans were 2-8 and 1-3 vs. SOC opponents, PHS probably picks up another win or maybe 2 and finish in the bottom to middle of the conference
In 2006 the Trojans were 3-7 and 0-2 in 2 tight contest with Burg and West .The Trojans most likely win at least 2 of the other league games and finishes in the middle of the conference
In 2007 the Trojans were 8-2 with a 2-0 record vs. the SOC, PHS most likely wins the conference.
In 2008 the Trojans were 1-9 and 0-2 vs. the SOC, PHS would have most likely defeated Northwest, and would have had a few other close games in conference but would not be able to muster a finish better then the middle to bottom of the conference.

Over this span the Trojans would have won 4 of 9 possible titles and rarely finished worse then middle of the pack. This looks Like they are the perfect fit for them to help strengthen the SOC and give the Trojans a chance to compete in a conference that they will be competitive in.

Personally I would like to see the SOC add PHS, and South Gallia, and invite Ironton and Manchester then divide into 3 divisions.

SOC3------------SOC2----------------------SOC 1
PHS------------- Minford--------------------ND
Ironton-----------Valley---------------------East
Burg--------------Oak Hill--------------------Green
West-------------Northwest----------------Manchester
Waverly----------Symmes Valley-----------South Gallia

[oneoak]

Those divisions look good to me Trojan_FB_Alum. I like the idea of Oak Hill in the middle division.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

Here is a look at the enrollment for the SOC and how I propose they set up for a third divison

SOC 3
Waverly 253
Ironton 216
Portsmouth 195
West 186
Burg 185
This would be a strong and competitive conference.

SOC 2
Northwest 228
Minford 182
Valley 178
Oak Hill 133
Symmes V. 124
This to would be very competitive, Symmes Vallley being the smallest has had no problem beating Valley for SOC 1 titles when they were both in SOC 1. Oak Hill is on the rise and and this gives Northwest a better chance. Most years I think Minford and Valley are the front runners. If one day Northwest, Minford, or Valley started to dominate they could be moved up.

SOC 1
Manchester 116
South Gallia 104
East 91
Green 81
Notre Dame 38
Most years very competitive from top to bottom. I think East ND and South Gallia battle it out most years. Manchester is an unknown being that they just started football.

[osu 77]

I think this going to be a hard sale for Portsmouth for the simple fact there will be other teams that will want in the league and will use this as an example to get into the league. This conference at one time was hardly ever mentioned now it is one a great deal of teams in the area want to play in. I would also try the OVC if I was Portsmouth if I did not get into the SOC.

[vladimir]

SOC III
Portsmouth
Ironton
Gallia
Chillicothe
Jackson
Waverly

SOCII
West
Wheelersburg
Minford
Lucasville Valley
Oak Hill
Northwest

SOCI
Sciotoville East
Symmes Valley
Franklin Furnace Green
Notre Dame
Manchester
South Gallia

[westside_rebel]

Trojan_FB_Alum - I love the breakdown...but I don't think Valley and Minford folks would. Both schools do compete for the championship in football. I would say have your smaller SOC division...but then split SOC II into EAST/WEST and have a conf. championship at the end of the season. That would be, if we could get Ironton to join the SOC....

West Conf. East Conf.
Portsmouth Wheelersburg
Portsmouth West Ironton
Waverly Minford
Northwest Valley



Whatever happens....I'm a Sider who wants PHS in the SOC. Good Luck Trojans!!!

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

Westside_rebel
That would be great the OHSAA would allow a championship game in week 10 but I don't think they would. I think this was brought up when we entered into the SEOAL, and the idea was shot down, because they say the schedule has to be set before the start of the season.

I think Valley would be OK with this format being that they have just recently made the move to playing in SOC 2, but Minford might not be a big fan. However with this format they would still have plenty of opportunities to play cross divisional games against long standing rivals like Burg and West.

Also thanks for the support from the West Side. Hopefully our game will mean more then just bragging rights pretty soon.

[Westfan]

Whatever happens, I just want to see a level playing field. Some mentioned the soccer. I think that's a fair argument. Alot of really good athletes play soccer.

Portsmouth may be down in numbers from past but I look for them to pick up again when the economy picks up. It seems like finally the town has made an effort to move forward, upgrade the town, and are trying to attract some industry. With this will come jobs and kids. Also the new schools should keep more kids home. I know of several people from Portsmouth who take their kids elsewhere but this trend will probably stop.

What kind of shape are New Boston and Clay school systems in? What would happen if one or both went under? Would alot of these kids go to Portsmouth? I know it's out there, but it is something that could happen. If this economy doesn't pick up, I look for alot of consolidation to happen like in West Virginia.

I want to see Portsmouth in, but only if it is fair. Strength comes in numbers. Most of the other schools in the league are D5. The difference from D4 to D5 is one thing, but if Portsmouth creeps up to the D3 level like in the past, that is a clear advantage.

Portsmouth is a named team. They have a recognisable name that would add alot of interest and validity to a league that plays good football and has had good success but just so happens to be in the south where we get little respect. It would be good for the league I think.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

Here is a quick look at how the Trojans have faired vs. the SOC since 2000, this time span includes some of the Trojans best years in school history and some of the worst.
Team Record winning years-------------losing years
Burg 4-5 00,01,02,07 -------------03,04,05,06, 08
West 5-3 01,02,03,04,07----------05,06,08 (02 playoff loss)
Waverly 2-1 00,01,(02 playoff win) --05
Minford 6-0 00,01,02,03,04,05------ None
Valley No games but competitive in preview
Northwest No games
Totals 17-9 A good record but not dominate. Looks very competitive.

In 2000 the Trojans were 10-0 with victories against 3 SOC teams including champ Minford, result PHS championship
In 2001 the Trojans were 9-1 with victories over all 4 of the top teams in the SOC that year result PHS championship
In 2002 the Trojans were 9-1 with victories over 3 SOC teams in the regular season including champ West result PHS championship
In 2003 the Trojans were 4-6 and 2-1 vs. SOC opponents, this year PHS most likely finishes 2nd in the conference
In 2004 the Trojans were 7-3 with a 2-1 vs. SOC opponents, PHS most likely finishes 2nd.
In 2005 the Trojans were 2-8 and 1-3 vs. SOC opponents, PHS probably picks up another win or maybe 2 and finish in the bottom to middle of the conference
In 2006 the Trojans were 3-7 and 0-2 in 2 tight contest with Burg and West .The Trojans most likely win at least 2 of the other league games and finishes in the middle of the conference
In 2007 the Trojans were 8-2 with a 2-0 record vs. the SOC, PHS most likely wins the conference.
In 2008 the Trojans were 1-9 and 0-2 vs. the SOC, PHS would have most likely defeated Northwest, and would have had a few other close games in conference but would not be able to muster a finish better then the middle to bottom of the conference.

Over this span the Trojans would have won 4 of 9 possible titles and rarely finished worse then middle of the pack. This looks Like they are the perfect fit for them to help strengthen the SOC and give the Trojans a chance to compete in a conference that they will be competitive in.

Personally I would like to see the SOC add PHS, and South Gallia, and invite Ironton and Manchester then divide into 3 divisions.

SOC3------------SOC2----------------------SOC 1
PHS------------- Minford--------------------ND
Ironton-----------Valley---------------------East
Burg--------------Oak Hill--------------------Green
West-------------Northwest----------------Manchester
Waverly----------Symmes Valley-----------South Gallia

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS IS A GRAND IDEA, AND YOU COULD STILL KEEP 6 RIVALRY GAMES IN OPEN SCHEDULING. OUTSTANDING , BEST IDEA YET. IN IRONTON'S CASE WE COULD STILL PLAY SAY JACKSON, GALLIPOLIS, ASHLAND, RUSSELL, CHILLICOTHE AND MAYBE BELFREY, KY. OR SHERIDAN, OR WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, CIRCLEVILLE, WESTFALL, OR SOMEBODY LIKE NEWARK CATHOLIC, BEECHWOOD, KY. JUST SOME THOUGHTS.

[falconater]

Add Gallia ti the III and Wellston to the II.

[osu 77]

I think the SOC would be up for expansion at some date but not adding all these extra teams this quickly. I feel that is why a great deal of the leagues are falling apart at this time.

[osumufan]

IF Portsmouth and South Gallia are admitted that gives us 18 conference teams. Incognito asked, "What about Northwest?". I think that's the wild card when football is considered. They never have had solid football, so do you base your divisions by enrollment only??? And what about the girls?

I still would like to see an All Scioto County League and boot the rest - if you need to bring a school into the SOC why not add all Pike County Schools too? Waverly, Piketon, Eastern Pike, and Western

Boys/Girls
NW 228/191
Portsmouth 195/194
West 186/192
Wheelersburg 185/142
Minford 182/182
Valley 178/124
SW 129 (no football)/112
East 91/108
Green 81/80
Clay 79 (no football)/80
NB 44 (no football)/58
ND 38/43

I find it very odd that some schools have a huge difference in the number of boys versus girls. Tranfers ???

[drrabbit]

Boys vs. Girls seems to go up and down--except at Oak Hill where the girls always seem to outnumber the boys--at least in the past.

Five years ago, there was about 40 more girls at Wheelersburg than boys--girls were DII track and boys DIII. That reversed few years ago. Expect that to change again to be about even in the next census as the Freshman class at Wheelersburg has very few boys from what I have been told--about 30-35. Wheelersburg boys should drop back to about 140-150 range.

[MightyOaksFan]

Wasn't it just 7 or 8 years ago that Oak Hill girls were Division 4 while their boys were Division 3. Kind of the opposite of what it is now. So what numbers are you talking about drrabbit?

[Tartanblue]

any new news to this story as of late?

[biggdowgg]

no.

should be a couple more meetings before anything is decided.

I know of at least one maybe two other schools, that are supose to be at the next meeting.

[hsfbfan]

biggdowgg. What schools?