LHAC realignment

[oldsport]

This is true I heard it last year near the end of basketball season. As a matter of fact if you look at the schedules for other sports such as basketball ,baseball,softball for this school year you will see that Bedford and BC have already been switched. The story I heard is that BC said it made more sense for them to be playing closer schools like CC & PC twice in the sports I mentioned, I'm sure it had nothing to do with getting pounded by BM in football every year.

[hunterx]

very true...its amazing that BC wanted closer games and gets it. What is the matter with these AD's? All they had to do was vote NO! What about Bedford....One would think they would want closer games? Now Bedford is actually traveling farther and on a much worse road to their in-section games. Before they traveled mostly I99, I would assume for their sectional games. Now they will be going 56. The pleasantville mountain is not a real pleasant drive. It's a shame that their AD did not stand up for this and vote against this exchange.
But it had nothing to do with BC getting whooped up. It had all to do with closer games. Kinda sad that the LHAC AD's will bow down to BC like this.

[123]

If the AD at Bedford allowed this to go down shame on him. Have we no fight.

[ham55]

Well it does make sense for BC, and it kinda makes sense for Bedford. Bedford has always been the outcast in the LHAC because of it's location. Let's break this down a little from the travel aspect.

Who they lose:

Forest Hills- 56 to 219 to Sidman. That's not a horrible trip, but it's also not the easiest.
Penn Cambria- 99 to 22. Real easy.
Central Cambria- 99 to 22 for a little longer. Also real easy
Cambria Heights- This trip is by far the worst for Bedford in any sport. The distance sucks. The roads suck. And it's never enjoyable to make this trip, at any point in the year even if it's for an easy W.
Bishop Guilfoyle- 99 all the way to Altoona.

Who they gain:

Somerset: The PA turnpike is about as easy of a trip as you can get. I'll trade this for the CH trip every day.
Bishop McCort, Westmont, Johnstown, Richland- All on Route 56.

And I believe this schedule will be easier to navigate year in and year out when Bedford gets better (which is gonna happen, soon).

Cons: It really really sucks to lose the yearly rivalry game with Forest Hills, Penn Cambria and Central Cambria. Those were some of the most physical games in Bedford past when all teams were extremely competitive. There grew a general distaste for the other schools. I still can't look at a CC jersey and not get a little fired up. I guess we'll see how it goes...

[hunterx]

Traveling route 56 in the fall is a world away from traveling it in the winter.
And let's face it, the LHAC schools have no real rivaly with Bedford. With the distance between the schools. Yeah there may have been some huge games between CC and Bedford. Or FH and Bedford. But to say these schools are Bedfords rival is a stretch. I would consider a team like Chestnut Ridge to be Bedford's biggest rival. In all sports.
Regardless of rivals it is a shame that the AD in Bedford did not vote against this move for the best of ALL sports, not just football.

[El-Moldo]

For years, Bedford kids have played for the South in the Lantzy game, AGAINST kids from CC, PC, FH and others in their LHAC section. Bishop Carroll kids have played for the North, not with the kids in their section of the LHAC, but WITH kids from CC, PC, FH, etc. I'm sure it just makes sense for them to switch sections during the regular season, not because of the lantzy game, but just because of geography. No scandal here.

[hunterx]

Didn't they switch Bedford to the North? I have been out of the loop but for some reason, I thought Bedford kids had North jerseys on last year. But not sure.

Anyway, the LHAC is more than a football conference and the reallignment should not have been done for football purposes only.

[Jolly Green]

Bedford and Somerset are kind of in the same boat regarding rivalries. They are both the only LHAC team in their county, and both are located in the county seat. In both cases, their natural geographic rivals tend to be single A schools in small school conferences, so there is little chance to compete against them. Both teams could use a "Rivalry Game" to add some zest to the season. There is already a good rivalry between these teams in baseball, and over time this could become "the Rivalry Game" for both schools in all sports.

[ham55]

hunterx,

The realignment wasn't made for football purposes. As oldsport stated earlier, the argument was for BC so they wouldn't have to travel to Johnstown for all of their games when instead in basketball and baseball season they could play their literal neighbors 2 times a year instead of only once. Football just happens to be collateral damage in this situation. Originally the realignment was only to impact the winter and spring sports. Apparently that's changed between now and then.

To say that those teams I mentioned earlier don't have a rivalry would be turning a blind eye to the obvious. Ask anyone who played in the late 90's and early 2000's against those teams and they'll tell you how they went. Why does everybody assume location is the biggest part of a rivalry? Sometimes teams just don't like one another.

[hunterx]

Good points Jolly Green.

I think Bedford rival is Chestnut Ridge and probably their biggest rivalry in all sports. CR actually graduates more kids (or have the last couple years).

maybe CR should rejoin the LHAC.