New LHAC member....

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abpk2903
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by abpk2903 »

It seems like a crazy concept but I really think if Huntingdon, Tyrone, Bellwood, and Everett would jump to the LHAC it would make a pretty cool conference.

Could have a division that primarily plays its games up in the mountains and a separate division that primarily plays its games east of the Allegheny's.

One division could be Bedford, CR, Central, Bellwood, Tyrone, BG, Everett, and Huntingdon. The other division could be Somerset, Penn Cambria, Central Cambria, Johnstown, Bishop McCort, Richland, Westmont, and Forest Hills.

Correct me if I am wrong but that would align the majority of District 5 and District 6 consistently AA, AAA, or AAAA schools into one conference.
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by ICCFan »

I would be curious who (Charlie Conway) would be looking to leave the LHAC? I can't imagine anyone, that league is pretty solid right now after CH made their decision. Central moving to the LHAC is a smart move, the LHAC is the medium size school conference that is solid while the Mountain is struggling. How are they going to handle a 7 team league, especially in football?

The Crazy Concept provided by abpk is solid in theory, especially where Huntingdon and Tyrone are concerned but forget Bellwood and Everett. They've each been privately courted by the medium size enrollment leagues (Bellwood could have gone to the Mountain in 2007 as an example but chose to stay) before and are very happy in the ICC.

Things are not done in the small school leagues yet either. The ICC just picked up Curwensville as well as the Heritage picking up Cambria Hts. Those two leagues are pretty solid although the Heritage could have the Blairsville/Saltsburg situation to contend with at some point in the near future. The WestPAC is not so solid, at least not in football. Some struggling programs and lots of forfeits in the past couple years makes them the equivalent of the Mountain conference (struggling--at least in football).

I'm sure there will be more movement as schools drop programs and form coops or consolidate (if that ever happens) in the future. It's always fun to speculate.
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DragonsDoExist
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by DragonsDoExist »

Philipsburg has some rumored interest in joining the ICC as well. Scheduling in the Mountain has indeed become difficult. I mean had Central not found Fort Hill they would have been playing Huntingdon twice this fall.


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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by CharlieConway »

ICCFan wrote: February 26th, 2020, 1:12 pm I would be curious who (Charlie Conway) would be looking to leave the LHAC? I can't imagine anyone, that league is pretty solid right now after CH made their decision. Central moving to the LHAC is a smart move, the LHAC is the medium size school conference that is solid while the Mountain is struggling. How are they going to handle a 7 team league, especially in football?

The Crazy Concept provided by abpk is solid in theory, especially where Huntingdon and Tyrone are concerned but forget Bellwood and Everett. They've each been privately courted by the medium size enrollment leagues (Bellwood could have gone to the Mountain in 2007 as an example but chose to stay) before and are very happy in the ICC.

Things are not done in the small school leagues yet either. The ICC just picked up Curwensville as well as the Heritage picking up Cambria Hts. Those two leagues are pretty solid although the Heritage could have the Blairsville/Saltsburg situation to contend with at some point in the near future. The WestPAC is not so solid, at least not in football. Some struggling programs and lots of forfeits in the past couple years makes them the equivalent of the Mountain conference (struggling--at least in football).

I'm sure there will be more movement as schools drop programs and form coops or consolidate (if that ever happens) in the future. It's always fun to speculate.

Ok. So just to clarify. No school has "officially" contacted other conferences about an "official" move out of the LHAC. However, the information regarding schools that would like to make a move was from those "pillars of the communities." Like the ones that usually get the ball rolling.

2 LHAC schools' "pillars of the community" have become outspoken and trying to organize support for a move out of the LHAC.

I am not going to mention the two schools, because I do not want tagged to it.

Just because a conference is "strong" doesn't always mean everyone is happy.
Thanks!
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by Crimson's Ghost »

Are those schools looking for an easier schedule?
abpk2903
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by abpk2903 »

Honestly, I think a lot can be learned from CR with their recent move back to the Laurel Highlands. Even with one of the smallest districts in the conference they have competed annually for titles in most of the "bigger" sports. Then when they go back to playing schools of similar size in District 5 AA playoffs they seem to just be head-and-shoulders better than their competition. Even after a sub-.500 record in the LHAC, they won D5 AAA basketball title last night by a comfortable margin over Everett who was one of the best teams in the ICC this year. In football, they have had no problem getting through District 5 AA the last several years. Wrestling speaks for itself with CR.

Just 10 years ago, it always seemed to be the opposite for CR when they were competing in the ICC and Sideling Hill leagues. They would consistently win the majority of their regular season games just to look get run over in the district playoffs.

I think a huge part of the success is just due to level of regular season competition. I'm not sure why more schools wouldn't want to try something similar.
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by DFFSBA »

abpk2903 wrote: February 27th, 2020, 9:31 am Honestly, I think a lot can be learned from CR with their recent move back to the Laurel Highlands. Even with one of the smallest districts in the conference they have competed annually for titles in most of the "bigger" sports. Then when they go back to playing schools of similar size in District 5 AA playoffs they seem to just be head-and-shoulders better than their competition. Even after a sub-.500 record in the LHAC, they won D5 AAA basketball title last night by a comfortable margin over Everett who was one of the best teams in the ICC this year. In football, they have had no problem getting through District 5 AA the last several years. Wrestling speaks for itself with CR.

Just 10 years ago, it always seemed to be the opposite for CR when they were competing in the ICC and Sideling Hill leagues. They would consistently win the majority of their regular season games just to look get run over in the district playoffs.

I think a huge part of the success is just due to level of regular season competition. I'm not sure why more schools wouldn't want to try something similar.
Could not agree more! :ymapplause:
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by Colonel Mustard »

Knee-jerk reactions lead to bad decisions. Schools are overly concerned with winning, when stability, as someone mentioned above is the most important factor. I'm sure Cambria Heights felt that they were going to have a tough time staying competitive as enrollment shrinks. But just about every school is seeing enrollments decline. It's more likely that some coach, administrator, or board member saw what LV was able to do in the Heritage and thinks that they can do the same. I would imagine that any school thinking about leaving the LHAC is thinking more about wins and losses than anything else. Which is short-sighted. Most public schools go through up and down cycles. Some longer than others. Or Maybe they are just tired of dealing with the privates in the LHAC??
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by Crimson's Ghost »

If you are worried about playing Bishop Carroll and Bishop McCort in the regular season, you should just fold your athletic department.
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Re: New LHAC member....

Post by ShouldaCouldaWoulda »

The CRSD Board approved a new 4 yr cycle in the LHAC last pm.
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