April 29, 1999

Additions to Great Lakes League leave Fostoria in limbo

By Ed Fox
Sports writer

Fostoria is in limbo.

Just last week, the school got more bad news when it was announced by the hierarchy of the Great Lakes League that Lorain Southview and Lorain Admiral King had been accepted as the newest members.

The new additions, along with the departure of Bedford (Mich.), will leave the GLL with eight members. Bedford, which has been a perennial power in wrestling through the years, will leave after the 1999-2000 school year and the two Lorain schools will come in with the 2000-2001 school year with the exception of football which will go into effect in the fall of 2001.

While it appears like great news for the GLL, such is not the case for Fostoria which is the only Division II school in the league.

Certainly, it would not have been as disastrous a move earlier this decade when Fostoria was a football power and won two Division II state championships.

But, the Redmen are not the same football power they once were and hammering it out with Division I schools week after week is not going to help.

True, Admiral King and Southview are not known for their football tradition, but it still leaves Fostoria as the smallest school in the league. Basketball has been the strong point for Admiral King through the years while Southview has excelled in wrestling. The two schools did not feature a strong overall program when they were members of the now-defunct Erie Shore Conference.

For Admiral King and Southview, it's a chance to reunite with former Buckeye Conference members Sandusky, Fremont Ross and Findlay.

Obviously, it could have been worse.

There was a great deal of talk concerning the possible addition of Lima Senior to the GLL, but the Allen County school expressed no interest in coming aboard.

Another concern with the two newest members is the amount of travel involved.

Even though Bedford was located in that state up north, it was not a long drive for Fostoria. Now, they are looking at nearly a 90-mile drive to each of the Lorain schools which is almost a two-hour drive in a school bus.

When the Buckeye Conference dissolved many years ago, one of the big reasons was the travel time between the schools. Elyria, Mansfield Senior and Marion Harding were the other members of the conference.

Well, the GLL has worked its way back to being on the road again. Whitmer is looking at nearly 100 miles to Lorain and it is well over 100 miles for Findlay.

So, what is Fostoria to do?

It has shown interest in both the Northern Lakes League (NLL) and Northern Ohio League (NOL), but no one is making a move in either of those leagues and it doesn't appear anything will happen in the near future.

Upper Sandusky and Bucyrus both looked to leave the NOL a few years back, but a few people at the two schools have remained firm in their allegiance to the league which has only seen one move in the 50-plus years of existence, and that was many years ago when Crestline was ousted and Columbian came in.

Also, Norwalk had once looked at leaving the NOL for the Sandusky Bay Conference when Fremont St. Joe and Calvert left. But, Oak Harbor and Edison were asked to join and both Norwalk and Vermilion were left standing outside.

Upper Sandusky, Bucyrus and Norwalk have found it tough to be competitive in the NOL. Sure, there are years when the three might be able to compete in the so-called major sports of football and basketball, but those years have been few and far between.

It's been well over 40 years since Upper Sandusky last won the league football title and 35 years since they last won in basketball.

The Rams have been able to compete in other sports, especially on the girls side.

But, it would be a sure bet that Upper Sandusky, Bucyrus and Norwalk would finish in the bottom half of the league all-sports race when it comes out next month.

The North Central Conference still has seven members following the loss of Fredricktown after this school year and the addition of Lucas.

Would that be a better setting for Upper Sandusky?

Most of the schools in the NCC are comparable in size to the Rams, but most of the conference members don't field teams in every sport. Only a few have wrestling which is a hindrance for some schools.

That could be a drawback for Upper Sandusky since coach Dick DeWitt seems to have the Rams on the upswing on the mats, evidenced by their high finish at the NOL last year.

With the expansion of the football playoffs (from four to eight schools in each region), it is not imperative for a school to play a lot of bigger and better schools to qualify for postseason play. Facing an NCC schedule and having a decent record might be enough to earn someone like Upper Sandusky a postseason bid.

Bucyrus does not appear to have any interest in leaving the league at the present time and Norwalk is not looking around either.

The NCC is definitely looking at an eighth school and has also expressed interest in a few members of the Midland Athletic League.

Three of the most obvious schools they are pursuing would be Mohawk, Carey and Seneca East since those three are comparable in size to NCC members Ontario, Lucas, Buckeye Central, Crestline, Colonel Crawford, Riverdale and Wynford.

But, the three MAL schools have not taken a step toward a possible move and it doesn't appear that they will in the near future.

So, what lies ahead for area schools?

It looks like a game of dominoes is needed for any school looking to leave its present situation.

Once there is a move by one school, the domino effect will kick in and the door could be left open for others.