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Post by GoDevils on Dec 9, 2010 13:40:04 GMT -5
I am not a hater of ITCL Football.
I wish the ITCL was as good as the MAC.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I have no hard feeling for any ITCL team.
Reality is reality. Our football league is second rate. Playoff "success" is limited to a very few teams in the league. We know who they are, but even these teams are not even close to being dominate in the post season.
The bar is set pretty low for this league. I'm not seeing any improvement.
Now let address all the complaint from folks..
That team recuits.. we know who
This team is too big for us to play... yada yada yada.. the list goes on.
The bar needs to be raised. If these small schools from from the MAC, by the way the only private in that league is DSJ, can have such high standards and such great playoff success then there is absolutely ZERO reason this league cannot do the same.
Their kids do not have some kind of special DNA. It is all in the goals, hardword, and expectations of every program in that league.
A ton of works needs to be done... I wish it would happen, but I think too many in control are content in the current situation.
I have a ton of pride in our area's football tradition. We should be top in the State but are not even close at this time. Which is why I wrote the rant, had to get it off my mind.
The only people who never fail are those who never try...
have a safe off season all!
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Post by ITCL Web Page on Dec 10, 2010 13:27:27 GMT -5
GoDevils, your rant is welcome, and I appreciate that you spoke of a concern of yours without mentioning names or bashing anyone by name. Thank you.
I think you raise a very interesting question. When the league was formed, I thought that the level of competition would help create some "elite" teams in small school football in this area. And maybe it will eventually. However, I think the exitist of so many ITCL in the 1st and 2nd round of the playoffs the past couple of years raises a concern of whether the league is improveing overall.
When the league was first formed I personaly felt that the ITCL was a little below the WCAL, which is also a small school league. Since that time I feel that the ITCL is a little better than the WCAL, despite a 1-1 record against them this past playoffs. But that in itself rases the question, Is the ITCL a better league or is the WCAL not as competitive?
You mentioned the MAC which is the model for small school football, but I really feel that small school football (D$-6) in the western part of Ohio is leaps and bounds better than in the eastern part of the state. I spoke to a coach from a team that has faced some of those schools in state semi-finals and championships, and he said that small school football in western Ohio is a totally different beast. I'm sure McDonald, Leetonia, and Columbiana fans can attest to that in facing a team called Hopewell-Loudon! I had one coach ask me this year if I thought he had a good team. I told him he had a good team in the ITCL, but Mogadore, Shadyside and Hopewll-Loudon are a different story.
When you mentioned those in control being satisfied, are you speaking of coaches and athletic directors? I would also add that the parents and players also have something to do with that. They have to be committed to the hard work and labor that it takes to being the best in the state. Perhaps those farm boys in the western part of the state having a different work ethic? I don't know.
I would like to see a school from the ITCL make it to the state championships. That would certainly be a thrill!!! I, like you have a lot of pride in the school I graduated from, and the ITCL overall!!! I would take D5-6 football over college and pro football any day, so lets hope we get to see a state championship in small school football from what is a true small school team!
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Post by averagejoe on Dec 10, 2010 15:53:41 GMT -5
How about some suggestions? Not sure what can be done...
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Post by bulldog1974 on Dec 10, 2010 16:03:19 GMT -5
The exit of the Upper teams have been to the University of Ursuline. Now, how can you fault the quality of the league on that? Quite frankly, remove Ursuline and the teams would have gone farther. Ep would have gone farther back in 02 in D4 had they not played Ursuline. It just is not fair, PERIOD!
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Post by 84grad31 on Dec 10, 2010 21:33:55 GMT -5
Didn't Lisbon capture a State title back in 1995 when still part of the TCL? Didn't SR lose to eventual State Champs St Peter Channel earlier this decade? I agree, these powerhouse teams are few and far in-between, but the ICL/TCL (ITCL) schools have presented a few Top-of-the-Division teams over the years, and many more a notch below. The MAC, however, truly has found a way to maintain their dominance of small school football in OH, and should be a model for other leagues to learn from. Regarding Big Green... I can't help but feel (just a little) that their arrival in Region 17 definitely sucked the wind outta some teams, players, coaches, etc. Not sure if that translated into the ITCL becoming "weaker" than they normally would have been over these few years but you can't help but wonder.
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Post by ITCL Web Page on Dec 10, 2010 21:55:12 GMT -5
That is a great point 84grad. You have to wonder how much the schools of the Upper Tier in Region 17, even though they would never admit it, are a bit mentally defeated just knowing that Ursuline is sitting there in the region. Not that the players or coaches should feel that way, but when the media and internet fan boards talk about how great a team is, they read it and some of it no doubt sinks into the back of their minds.
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Post by bulldog1974 on Dec 11, 2010 16:23:10 GMT -5
If you guys feel the Upper needs help, do what I have preached for a few years; add Salem, Beaver Local and East Liverpool. Maybe Campbell and or Brookfield.
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Post by justafan on Dec 12, 2010 22:53:51 GMT -5
Ursuline has Region 17 on lockdown. That is part of the reason the Upper Tier has not advanced really far recently.
It also does not help that for two straight years Crestview and South Range got in each others way. In 2005 I believe that both schools were without a doubt two of the five best DV teams in the state. They just happened to play in Week 12. They were the two best teams in Region 17 by a pretty wide margin I think. Similar thing in 2006. Crestview had a really good team that beat the heck out of a Northwestern team that was ranked in the top five of the state but fell to South Range just a week later. The Raiders then lost to Warren JFK who fell in the state title game. I also think Crestview might have had a chance to get out of Region 17 in 2009 if not for the Ursuline buzzsaw they ran into in Week 12.
As far as football is concerned I think the league has been very good. Six teams from the ITCL qualified for playoff spots this year. Over one third of the DV and DVI playoff teams in northeast Ohio came from the ITCL. I think the only Upper Tier teams to not make a playoff appearance since the merger have been Lisbon and Springfield, while Columbiana, South Range, and Crestview have all only missed the playoffs once during that time frame. It has also allowed the Lower Tier teams to make nice runs. We all saw what happened in the old leagues. Toward the end, it was South Range clobbering everyone in the ICL and Crestview and Columbiana running roughshod over the TCL. Given the way those three programs have dominated the Upper Tier it is hard to imagine that would not have continued. Now, programs like McDonald and Western Reserve and Leetonia can go into every week having a chance, and I think you have seen the benefits. The winner of the Lower Tier usually gets a fairly high seed because of their good record vs decent competition. If the old leagues were in place, who knows if McDonald and Western Reserve are even playoff teams. McDonald lost to both Springfield and Mineral Ridge; neither team finished in the top third of the Upper Tier. Southern also got their first playoff appearance.
Also, do not be surprised to see an ITCL team come out of Region 17 soon if Ursuline bumps back up to DIV (which I believe is supposed to happen). Crestview is doing what South Range was doing from the early to mid 2000s. Keep knocking on the door, taking steps, getting there, getting sent home, and then breaking through. I am sure I am not the only one that would not be surprised in the least to see Crestview in a state semifinal sometime in the next few years.
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