Three area football programs with rich gridiron histories find themselves struggling to field teams this season due to low numbers on their squads.
Injuries have devastated WestPAC schools Ferndale, Conemaugh Valley and Shade, although none of them are even close to the PIAA minimum-player mark.
“Seven is the minimum number of players that a football team can take the field with,” District 6 Chairman Ray Wotkowski said.
Numbers-wise, Ferndale averages in the mid-20s while Conemaugh Valley and Shade are in the lower 20s or upper teens.
But the low numbers definitely present challenges for the small squads with concerns about injuries and fatigue always looming.
And, with seven players, how effective would a team be going up against 11?
Enrollment-wise, the Blue Jays have 105 males in grades 9-11 while the Yellow Jackets are at 90. Shade is in a co-op with Shanksville-Stonycreek, and the combined male enrollment is 145.
“We suggest that schools go into co-ops for sports that they might not otherwise be able to offer,” Wotkowski said. “More and more schools are going to co-ops because of declining enrollments. It gives schools the opportunity to offer some more choices. I look for it to continue.”
Mount Union is the largest school in District 6 Class A with 187 boys, and Williamsburg is the smallest with 77. In District 5, Windber is the largest Class A school with 191 boys, and Meyersdale is the smallest with 103.
Prior to Conemaugh Valley’s Friday game with Portage, the Blue Jays were 3-3, getting off to a 3-0 start. Ferndale is 0-6 and Shade is 0-5. The Yellow Jackets host Hancock, Md., today at the Hive while the Panthers journey to Blacklick Valley.
Tribune-Democrat records show Franklin and Conemaugh both playing football long before the Conemaugh Valley School District came into existence. The 1966 season was the first year for the Blue Jays, with their first winning season coming in 1969 (7-2).
During the ’70s, the team did not have a winning season. The Jays best finish came in 1992, a 10-2 mark which included a District 6-A championship and an appearance in the PIAA playoffs. Conemaugh Valley’s last winning season was in 2005 (7-3).
Ferndale also was known by other names, including Ferndale-Dale. The Yellow Jackets have had success in every decade, playing in the Appalachian Bowl in 1975 and 1976. Ferndale won the District 6-A championship in a 12-0 victory over Moshannon Valley in 1995.
The Yellow Jackets’ last winning season was 2004 (6-3).
Shade played football as Shade Township and Shade-Central City, becoming known by its current name in 1963.
The Panthers won the Appalachian Bowl in 1982. The school played for District 5-A titles in 1986 and 1987, both losses to Berlin Brothersvalley.
Cory Isenberg is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.
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CORY ISENBERG | Low numbers dog local schools
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