Beginning with the 2008 season, the Bradford Owls’ football
program will be leaving the District 9 League and joining District
10.
The Bradford Area School Board approved the change at its
meeting Monday night.
The move was necessitated because current District 9 League foes
Clearfield, DuBois, Punxsutawney and Brookville will be joining
different leagues.
Clearfield and DuBois are joining the Mountain Athletic
Conference in District 6; Brookville and Punxsutawney will become
the newest members of the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference in
District 9.
That would leave Bradford without any league affiliation.
“We would be the Notre Dame of Northwestern Pennsylvania,”
Bradford High athletic director Tim Walter said Monday night if
they didn’t join District 10. “We would be an independent team
looking for schedules every two years which is very difficult
because you don’t know where you are going. It could create a lot
of travel.”
Walter said he is not happy about leaving the league, which
started in 1988.
“I’m not happy,” he admitted. “We wanted to stay in the District
9 League. After nearly 20 years of being in a league, I felt
something could have been worked out.
“We have been working for two years with principals and athletic
directors in District 9 to try and create a new Class AAA league
with District 6. But that didn’t work because of geographics and
travel.
“We tried to work things out in District 9 to create a Class AA
and Class AAA football league and that didn’t work. My voice wasn’t
strong enough.
“The alternatives left were going independent or petition
District 10 and join one of its leagues,” Walter said. “It’s
terrible you have to go outside your own district and get games.
It’s all driven by the playoffs and winning the state championship.
Clearfield started the ball rolling with their move to the MAC.
Once they made their move it just snowballed.
“It puts a hardship on athletic directors. You just don’t pick
the phone up and get a game.”
Bradford has been forced the last several seasons to go outside
of District 9 to fill its football schedule.
Joining District 10 does have its benefits, Walter
maintained.
“As far as travel, we are going to be in good shape,” he noted.
“It’s not going to create any more travel. It will strengthen the
football schedule and will help our football program. It will make
our teams better.”
Schools that could be on future Owls’ schedules include Oil
City, Titusville, Warren, Meadville, Erie Prep, Erie Central and
Erie McDowell. Some of those schools played Bradford in the early
1980s when the Owls were in the Northwest Conference.
A 2008 Owls’ football schedule won’t be put together until after
new enrollment figures are available in November, Walter said.
“District 10 builds its schedules upon regions,” Walter pointed
out. “We will be in one of three regions.”
Rivals St. Marys and Olean may or may not be included on Owls’
schedules after the 2007 season, Walter said. Availability of open
dates will determine if Bradford continues to play the Dutch and
Huskies.
“At least we are going to have a schedule that will be good for
the program and the community,” Walter remarked. “You are going to
see some good football. It will give us great exposure playing up
there with the Erie TV stations and college coaches. It’s going to
be a plus. I would like to thank the administration and the board
for all their hard work and support in this move. Without them we
couldn’t go anywhere.”
Bradford High football coach Steve Ackerman is enthusiastic
about the move.
“It’s real positive,” Ackerman said. “They play awfully good
football up there. General McLane (Edinboro) won the state
championship last season in Class AAA.
“More importantly, we’ll have a full schedule year-in and
year-out. A lot of people follow football in that area. It’s all
positive for us.”
