Mercer / Harrodsburg Consolidation

[LeatherFace]

Central City played football (and had some very good teams!) through the 1941 season. They gave up football after Pearl Harbor was attacked (as did several other schools), and they never took up the sport again.

 

Didn't they have a little rivalry with BG?

[Buffalo Gap]

I would guess this will take more than a year to get done. I DO NOT think it can happen in roughly 3-4 months. Are the new facilities even done at Mercer? If they arent finished, where will heyput the new kids?

 

too many questions, not enough answers, or enough time for this to be wrapped up by August. Maybe august 07

 

 

The new fieldhouse will be completed by this summer, and the new HS is due to be built by the the fall of 2007...

[heisman20]

You're right about Coach Jaggers playing the best players. He proved that this year. By doing that we won ball games. He proved that there can be more than just one good player in a position and both or all three can be very successful. This year he had 3 good running backs that were all able to carry the ball and mix things up. This allowed teams to be somewhat surprised at what he was going to do, which in my opinion helped us win ball games.

[PurpleHaze]

Didn't they have a little rivalry with BG?

 

Yes, they did. Though BGHS held a big lead in the series (14-3 with one tie), the majority of the games were very close. Central City, in their final win over the Purples (1933) ruined a perfect season and Homecoming Night in the same night, 6-0! It was fairly even in the 1920s, but the Purples put some great teams on the field in the 1930s, nearly winning the WKC in 1933 and 1939, and winning the conference title in 1935.

[Tall Trees]

Any news on this? THere are aot of people that say this is going to happen. Also several people waiting to see about trying to find another game.

[westsider]

Just a couple of 9 win seasons for Greenville in football. Yes there was football @ Greenville High School for 15 years before the consolidation.

Actually, I think Greenville's football tenure was shorter than that. Best I recall, Greenville started playing football in the early 80s and Muhlenberg consolidated seven schools into two around 1990. Greenville might have had some decent seasons, but I don't know that they ever played a district schedule.

And their success @ Muhlenberg North has been based on the demise of every other sports program in the school. Players are encouraged to not play other sports besides baseball or golf which are other just ran by the political powers at the school I would say. That place is a wasteland for any coach of a sport besides basketball.

I hear this a lot from people in that area. As an outsider, judging by how their non-basketball teams have fared over the years, I have would have a tough time disagreeing with them.

[westsider]

If the consolidation goes through and takes place immediately, Mercer County will have quite an advantage over its 2A opponents. A new Mercer school would have over 900 students, much more than its district brethren.

 

This has happened before in western Kentucky. When Hopkins Central was consolidated, they played "down" in 2A for a year, but one of the closed schools (West Hopkins) didn't have a football team.

 

The same thing happened at Greenwood, but it wasn't much of an issue because the Warren County schools, as I understand it, let the existing players at Warren Central stay there until they graduated.

 

Unlike those situations, Harrodsburg and Mercer will combine two viable football programs into one, giving it a significant edge.

[mountainmojo68]

I'm still curious as to what schools suffered in Pike County due to consolidation.

I was trying to be nice and not name any names but if you insist, The school Im using as an example is Shelby Valley. Yes I know Valley has done good in B-ball. But its football team is a joke because of the reasons I named off and politics play a huge role in the mess that the powers that be up there have let it become. Other schools like east ridge and pike central from what I hear suffer from the same thing and I know people who teach at each place and they tell me about the problems they have and its not just in athletics either.

[Buffalo Gap]

If the consolidation goes through and takes place immediately, Mercer County will have quite an advantage over its 2A opponents. A new Mercer school would have over 900 students, much more than its district brethren.

 

This has happened before in western Kentucky. When Hopkins Central was consolidated, they played "down" in 2A for a year, but one of the closed schools (West Hopkins) didn't have a football team.

 

The same thing happened at Greenwood, but it wasn't much of an issue because the Warren County schools, as I understand it, let the existing players at Warren Central stay there until they graduated.

 

Unlike those situations, Harrodsburg and Mercer will combine two viable football programs into one, giving it a significant edge.

 

 

It's happened in a lot more cases than just those, thats just the way it is sometimes.

(ex: Nelson County and Meade in 90's, playing AAA when they had 4-A #'s

Boyle County and LexCath in their last year of AA before moving to AAA, Lawrence County in their last year of AA, Franklin-Simpson, etc.)

 

....so, as you can see, it happens...

 

And, the "edge" that you say Mercer may or may not have is out of anyones control.. If schools didnt fall or rise in their enrollment, then there wouldnt be any need in the class realignments every few years. Those schools that do end up going "up" a class due to realignments are usually playing their last year of the previous alignment, "down'' a class(as I mentioned above).If this merger goes through, then Mercer wont be the first and they definately wont be the last school to be playing "down" for a year. I would hope, that if this merger does in fact go through, then any success their football team has wouldnt be looked down upon.

[mountainmojo68]

Those schools in Pike County have to be better off since their consolidations. Haven't Shelby Valley and East Ridge both won regional championships? I don't remember Feds Creek, Millard, Mullins and Johns Creek getting a whole lot accomplished in sports.

 

People like to use that "political" line as an excuse when their kid isn't quite as good as the ones who start. What school actually suffered in sports?

For the 3rd time yes the schools are better off because of the better facilities. Yes Valley and ER have won region championships but, there still constant drama and infighting and when a coach wins hes still in danger of losing his job if the political climate shifts or the wrong parents are watching theyre kids set the bench. You can say what you want but Ive seen the "political" thing happen for myself at the county schools. Im from Pikeville were independent from the county so I dont have a dog in the hunt Im just telling the truth about what happens down here.

[mountainmojo68]

Your scenario sounds like the Hatfields and McCoys .:argue:

some of these schools theyve thrown together down here were bigger rivals than the hatfields and mccoys.LOL!

[westsider]

It's happened in a lot more cases than just those, thats just the way it is sometimes.

(ex: Nelson County and Meade in 90's, playing AAA when they had 4-A #'s

Boyle County and LexCath in their last year of AA before moving to AAA, Lawrence County in their last year of AA, Franklin-Simpson, etc.)

Those aren't uncommon, and those situations evolved because of the normal year-to-year fluctuations of enrollment and growth, not because of consolidation. This is an entirely different scenario.

[HDE]

I was trying to be nice and not name any names but if you insist, The school Im using as an example is Shelby Valley. Yes I know Valley has done good in B-ball. But its football team is a joke because of the reasons I named off and politics play a huge role in the mess that the powers that be up there have let it become. Other schools like east ridge and pike central from what I hear suffer from the same thing and I know people who teach at each place and they tell me about the problems they have and its not just in athletics either.

 

 

How many games did Virgie and Dorton win in football before Shelby Valley opened?

[Buffalo Gap]

Those aren't uncommon, and those situations evolved because of the normal year-to-year fluctuations of enrollment and growth, not because of consolidation. This is an entirely different scenario.

 

Well, why dont we just break it down to the nitty gritty, then?!? Personally, I dont care about the scenario..900 students from growth or 900 students from consolidation, it's still 900 students...all of them comming from pracitically the same town of 6,000 people. Now, it would be an entirely different scenerio if both H'burg and Mercer were big 2A schools, merged, then played in 2A with 4A numbers...that, my friend, would be an "entirely different scenerio"!

..900 students is 900, I dont care how you break it down. Plus, it would only be like that for one year, anyway. But, Im sure theres going to be all kinds of people that would try to disect this merger in every possible way to show how much of an "unfair" advantage Mercer would have...

 

..I just hope that people keep in mind the other schools across the state that will be playing "down" a class next year before they make a move "up" in 2007. It's nobody's fault, it happens..all the time:thumb:

[westsider]

Well, why dont we just break it down to the nitty gritty, then?!? Personally, I dont care about the scenario..900 students from growth or 900 students from consolidation, it's still 900 students...

There is a difference between growth and an escalation in enrollment from consolidation. Some schools grow from 600+ to 900+, but they do it gradually and over time. In this situation, Mercer County may do it overnight.

 

What is the advantage? I don't know the numbers of returning starters from both teams, but a newly-consolidated Mercer could have a wealth of experience because its players gained such experience while playing on two separate teams.

 

I'm sure that Newport, Lloyd and the rest of their district rivals would love such an infusion of numbers and experience. Essentially, this would be like Mercer getting something like 10 or 15 transfers with significant varsity experience. How do you think that would be received?

Now, it would be an entirely different scenerio if both H'burg and Mercer were big 2A schools, merged, then played in 2A with 4A numbers...that, my friend, would be an "entirely different scenerio"!

Not a different scenario, just different numbers. No matter how you slice, it 900+ students to draw from is an advantage in 2A.

But, Im sure theres going to be all kinds of people that would try to disect this merger in every possible way to show how much of an "unfair" advantage Mercer would have...

No one but you has used the word "unfair" ...

I just hope that people keep in mind the other schools across the state that will be playing "down" a class next year before they make a move "up" in 2007. It's nobody's fault, it happens..all the time:thumb:

One big difference. A Mercer-Harrodsburg consolidation would have been 3A from the start. Growth isn't in the equation, as it often is in situations to which you're referring.

 

And no one is placing blame here. I'm simply giving the facts of the situation.