Mountain Ridge 28, Hedgesville 61 F
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Only teams they have a shot against is Hampshire and Frankfort. And I don't see them pulling either one of them out. If this team goes 0-10 again this year... well... I guess there really isn't anything I can do about it. But, I can tell you it has been very disappointing to see where this program has headed in the past 6 years.
They do have some players, Smith and Pinto, for sure but I do not understand what is going on there. Have heard grumbling about the coaching staff from people near the program but take that stuff with a grain of salt. My opinion, I believe they should be better than what they are.
easier for who? are the top two teams in 2a west teams they'd have a better chance against than fh or .alco - because if you can't see them after getting by either of those two.
Unfortunately I have seen the Mountain Ridge JV team this year and know some of the parents. They are really, really struggling. I foresee a long road trying to recover.
There are so many reasons why numbers drop in football. The big one in this area is the declining population.when you multiply that with a program that is really struggling it just compounds the issue. Southern went through the same thing. They seem to be rebounding with the help of a promising junior class. My only fear is whether the Rams can hold on when this class graduates. But at least they changed the football mind set with kids so you hope it pans out for the long run. For a school like the ones in Garrett County, fielding consistent competitive teams is very difficult. Just small numbers making it hard to stay consistent.
There are so many reasons why numbers drop in football. The big one in this area is the declining population.when you multiply that with a program that is really struggling it just compounds the issue. Southern went through the same thing. They seem to be rebounding with the help of a promising junior class. My only fear is whether the Rams can hold on when this class graduates. But at least they changed the football mind set with kids so you hope it pans out for the long run. For a school like the ones in Garrett County, fielding consistent competitive teams is very difficult. Just small numbers making it hard to stay consistent.
does anybody know why southern/northern don't merge? is is the same reasons as fh/alco?
Probably some of the reason, but mostly because of travel time, in that county it can be pretty long travel time in the remote parts. It can also be additional time when winter comes due to road conditions.
I will tell you it is being discussed as a possibility. The budget for next year is somewhere between 1-2 million short I believe. There was a discussion at the August board meeting where they are looking at a long term strategic plan for the system, and consolidation is on the table, as well as requiring student athletes to pay to play. There were other ideas as well. Surprisingly this receieved very little attention. It's hard to tell what will ultimately happen. I think most in the county don't want any more closures of elementary schools. If there are still 2 high schools 10 years from now I'd be shocked, its closer than what I think a lot of people want to believe, unless we experience some unforseen population boom or increase in tax revenue, the future is not good.
Northern and Southern are what, about 20 minutes apart? So if a school was built near the Lake, halfway (??), would that really only at most tack on 10 minutes for some in extra travel time? Curious.
When I moved up to that area in 1996 and saw that there were that many high schools (Flintstone, Oldtown, Allegany, Fort Hill, Beall, Mount Savage, Westmar) at least I believe there was Oldtown, someone correct me if I am wrong, I was a bit confused. I couldn't understand why there was so many high schools in a population area that small. I think that Allegany County would benefit from only having two high schools. And I believe Garrett County would benefit from having one high school as well.
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IMHO, Allegany and Fort Hill will consolidate in time. And it will be sooner than most people think. Money (or lack of) will force the hand. The new Allegany HS will become the middle school. Fort Hill will become the HS. There will be redistricting obviously to accommodate the numbers. The only kink I foresee is the size of the new school. It may not be big enough to handle grades 6-8. I expect junior high would go back to grades 7-8 or some variation. It won't surprise me if the County BOE has to file bankruptcy at some juncture. Should that happen the state takes over. The schools will consolidate no ifs, ands or buts. There will be no local voting or committees involved in the decision making - probably a good thing finally.
From an athletic perspective if Allegany and FH combined now, the enrollment in grades 9-11 would be 1176 students, which would place them as a mid-sized Class 3A school. Although I would suspect Mountain Ridge would take on a small handful of the student population with district reallotment. If the consolidation ever occurs, don't call me to help with the football schedule. LOL. Nobody is going to want a piece of that given our playoff system. If I could put together a combined Allegany/Fort Hill football depth chart right now, it would be insanely good using a roster of 80 kids.
From an athletic perspective if Allegany and FH combined now, the enrollment in grades 9-11 would be 1176 students, which would place them as a mid-sized Class 3A school. Although I would suspect Mountain Ridge would take on a small handful of the student population with district reallotment. If the consolidation ever occurs, don't call me to help with the football schedule. LOL. Nobody is going to want a piece of that given our playoff system. If I could put together a combined Allegany/Fort Hill football depth chart right now, it would be insanely good using a roster of 80 kids.
I agree that Southern/Northern consolidation will happen sooner than later. One main issue, my opinion, is the mere size of the county and travel time for students on buses. If you drive the speed limit, there are areas in the county that take an hour or more to get to, depending on your start / finish location. I was informed by a school employee that, as of now, there are approximately a little over 600 students @ SHS and just shy of 400 @ NHS. Both schools have empty classrooms due to the decline of student population. NG fan is correct as far that budget shortfall goes, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
If they did that they would have to redistribute almost 200 kids from The New Fort Hill to Mountain Ridge in order for the new school to be 2A and not 3A. On the other hand, Mountain Ridge would only need 25 or so students added for them to become 2A.
You are right Todd, if that were to happen, it would become extremely difficult for a 3A school that far west to come up with a schedule. Let alone a 3A school the likes of the one that would be created if the consolidation were to happen between Alco/Ft. Hill. Problem being if you schedule team's in this area it would become very difficult to get a playoff spot each year. The 3A West is usually the toughest region to get a playoff spot in.
If they could make it work with redistricting so that enough kids filtered to Mountain Ridge that both schools would be 2A it would be better in my opinion. If at any point Southern and Northern consolidated they would become 2A as well.
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