For more from The Era’s 2016 Year in Review, see
Team of the Year: Kane Wolves football
One of the biggest storylines coming into the 2016 high school football season wasn’t about a returning player, a coaching change or anything that would occur on the field.
Instead, the story that reverberated all the way from Olean in the north to Curwensville in the south all surrounded the Allegheny Mountain League decision to add Bradford as a member for the 2016 football season, bringing the league to 12 teams and filling the void in the South division left when Johnsonburg went into a cooperative agreement with Ridgway.
Because of the controversial decision and criticism that followed, the AML’s decision to add Bradford High to be the football league’s 12th team is The Era’s top story for 2016.
The idea came after a failed football realignment – plans called for a 24-team league that would have followed a North-South arrangement – that left Bradford without a league after opting out of District 10 Region 5. Then-Athletic Director Tim Walter applied to join the AML and, after a vote by the other league schools, the Owls were back playing a schedule against District 9 teams for the first time since the D9 League disbanded after the 2007 season.
“We are home,” Walter said to The Era’s Joe Vinelli in a March 4 story announcing the move. “We are back home.”
For the Owls, it was a chance to play in a more competitive league in their home district. It also meant a reduction in travel time and costs and likely increased attendance for both Owls’ home and away games.
For opposing teams, fans and media members, it appeared the playing field wasn’t level with the inclusion of Bradford, a AAA-sized school which was bumped up to Class AAAA under the PIAA’s new classifications.
In District 10, Bradford struggled to a 30-51 record in eight years of playing in District 10, fading to just 12 wins in the team’s last five seasons after going 5-5, 6-4 and 8-2 from 2008-2010.
Chuck Pollock, sports editor at the Olean Times Herald, wrote a few columns on the matter. After the announcement that the Owls were joining the AML, Pollock brought up the fact BHS would be regularly playing Class A and AA schools.
Many other outlets around the district wrote and shared opinions about the move, mainly centering around the size issue – Cameron County, Bradford’s Week 3 opponent, is the smallest school in Pennsylvania with a football program that doesn’t benefit from a cooperative agreement from another school.
At AML Media Day in early August, Bradford’s addition was one of the main topics of discussion for every team. Meanwhile on the Owls’ front, head coach Jeff Puglio time and time again pointed to his team’s record over the last few seasons, noting his team will play hard and physical, but wasn’t some sort of juggernaut.
When time for the regular came, Bradford came out strong, blanking Smethport 41-0 on the road in front of a large contingent of fans who made the trip to the McKean County seat to see fullback John Eakin rumble for a 99-yard score on the Owls’ first play from scrimmage.
After going 3-1 against AML North teams, the Owls struggled against the stronger South division teams Kane, Ridgway, Elk Catholic, Brockway and Curwensville. Kane and Ridgway ended their seasons in the state playoffs, while the other three teams made playoff runs. Bradford finished its season 4-6 after a season-ending victory over Warren.
The Owls, who suffered injuries seemingly every week of the season, will return for their second — and potentially last — season in the AML with many underclassmen players seeing valuable playing time.
The AML’s Bradford experiment may end after the 2017 season if the district agrees on a new league format. Until then, Puglio and the Owls are focused on getting better with each week and competing for a league title.
