Do your fingers hurt after typing that long sad story?sportsfanscioto wrote:Northwest, based on last years numbers since this years aren't official, only has 5 more boys than oak hill and 7 more than burg. This years numbers will show northwest is down a couple more students from last year. Northwest isn't as large of a school based on number of students as it was back in the 90's. However it is still as large based on square milieage. Oak hill and burg average about 10 male high school students grades 9-11 per square mile. Northwest averages about .64 male students grades 9-11 per square mile. I would say the distance each player would have to travel to and from practice more than makes up for having 5 or 7 more students eligible to participate. If not then history does. Not to mention the economical differences in community / parent clientele. Lastly northwest has several students living in their district playing at other schools such as valley and west. Good athletic smart students who could make a difference if they were playing for northwest. Also northwest has no players living in other districts playing for them. Northwest needs some time to try and build a program that at least keeps its students. But in all reality size wise belongs in soc 1 if oak hill does. Based on size alone burg and valley would be in SOC 1 and northwest and oak hill would both be in SOC 2. Is that what you want? Would you prefer green to play burg? The number of students doesn't always paint the whole picture. Sometimes you have to take into consideration other things. Not to mention if comparing athletic complexes northwest is much more similar to green than they are to oak hills million dollar stadium. The SOC is not perfect but it is what it is and Northwest needs to be in the small SOC. If the SOC were perfect they would pick up schools and make 3 divisions. That would be more fair to the small schools like green, notre dame, eastern, and symmes. Possibly pick up manchester or someone to give the small division enough. Allow the schools like east, northwest, and oak hill to compete each year and pick up someone like Piketon. And allow the big boys like minford, west, waverly, and burg to play schools that can give them a challenge and give them playoff points when they win like portsmouth, ironton, jackson, or Gallia academy. Northwest's history has helped to cause its current dilemma in an alternate universe maybe they are like burg. But if the SOC doesn't help them out now they are either going to lose football or leave the conference. Getting destroyed the last 5 games of the season can only go on so long. Id say 50 years is enough. Kids aren't determined to play sports like they were 20 years ago. Numbers are down almost everywhere except places like burg and oak hill where winning is an every year thing. Northwest couldn't take many more SOC 2 seasons and survive right now. In northwest's best years playing SOC 2 schools having a bad season they are still lucky to even compete. Last year Northwest was 7-3 but minford still destoyed them something like 60-0 and minford was near last in soc 2 if not last.Jason Vorhees wrote:No, Oak Hill has 150 boys in the high school, while Green probably has half as many. It's still not as large a disparity as Northwest and Green.
Notre Dame has 35 boys in their entire school and manage to field a team year end and year out, and have been successful. If you are going by wins and losses for Northwest, we might as well make a 4th division for them to compete in by theirselves if they have a hard time beating schools with 1/10th as many boys.
Comparing athletic complexes to Green? Are you kidding me? How many times have they F'd up the football field now? They prolly could have turf by now. Northwest has a whole has complexes 5x that of Green.
You put NW back in a division with Valley, East, Oak Hill, they may never win another game.
In all honesty, losing football wouldn't be the worst thing to happen at NW. I really compare them to South Webster. SW has almost 40 guys dressed for soccer, and no football at all, and I don't hear many complaints. Northwest soccer has had success with a great coach in Keeney. It just takes a good coach and the TERRIBLE school board to stay out of things, and some success will return.
SOC can't do Northwest enough favors to keep them from losing. Northwest and Burg are polar opposites in competition. Wheelersburg has great feeder systems and kids want to be a part of winning. Northwest just wants to win but doesn't want to hire coaches and let them work to get better. When a coach loses, he is canned and the next guy comes in.