Blowout blues in TEC

Aiming to head off injuries, even up team rosters and improve the fan experience, at least two Wayne County high schools are exploring the option of leaving the Tri-Eastern Conference.

Northeastern Wayne Schools Athletic Director Ryan Halloran told the NWS school board during its regular meeting Sept. 17 that Northeastern and Centerville were invited to attend a meeting about a year ago with other 2A schools to look at forming a new conference, along with some schools they play normally. Those discussions led to Tri-Eastern Conference members casting two votes last week.

The current TEC includes Northeastern, Centerville, Lincoln, Hagerstown, Tri, Knightstown, Union City, Union County and Winchester.

During the week of Sept. 8, representatives from TEC schools met to consider inviting Shenandoah and Eastern Hancock to increase competition within the conference.

Halloran said TEC fans have seen many uneven contests recently, such as the Sept. 12 football game between Northeastern and Lincoln ending 89-6. The Knights scored 63 points in the first quarter. Two options for conference changes were suggested, but both were voted down 5-4.

The first option would have invited Shenandoah, Eastern Hancock, Monroe Central and Wes-Del to join the TEC in every sport and increase competition. The conference would have divided up by school size, so smaller schools would have a chance of winning a conference title or all-sports trophy, Halloran said.

The second option would have invited the four to only join for football, because Halloran said schools can schedule competitive teams outside TEC for other sports.

Each school received one vote. It’s up to schools to select their voting representative. The no votes came from Knightstown, Lincoln, Hagerstown, Tri and Winchester. Winchester officials said the travel distance was too much, Halloran said. Union County, Centerville, Union City and Northeastern supported the change.

Lincoln, Union City and Union County leaders openly said during those discussions that they can’t compete with Northeastern and Centerville in several sports, Halloran said.

Northeastern High School Principal John Markward said that as Lincoln’s football roster has decreased to about a dozen healthy players, it’s unknown if the Golden Eagles might have to cancel a game. Markward and some board members expressed concern about Lincoln players’ safety if they’re playing all or nearly all the game.

After those two votes, Halloran asked the board to let him explore some options for leaving the TEC and joining a more competitive conference, saying uneven competitions limit player growth.

He said eight schools fairly close geographically are potentially interested in banding together, but discussions are still early in the discovery phase.

The new proposed conference would have five 2A schools and three 3A schools. They would be Northeastern, Centerville, Eastern Hancock, Shenandoah, Lapel, New Castle, Jay County and Delta.

Lapel is farthest away at about 56 miles. While travel time would increase a little, Halloran said schools would benefit because potential members would bring more ticketbuyers.

Halloran said Centerville and Northeastern wouldn’t leave the TEC without the other. According to Centerville’s school board agenda for Sept. 24, Athletic Director Clay Bolser and Centerville Senior High School Principal Brian Bellew are scheduled to provide a TEC update.

Halloran said he polled Northeastern’s varsity head coaches, and all but one favored the change.

The board discussed what kinds of facilities changes would be needed if Northeastern joined a new conference. NHS Principal John Markward said he applauds Halloran for trying to bring in other teams to make Northeastern better.