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3 JHS sports to still play for ‘SEOAL’
Posted: Thursday, July 16, 2015 2:00 am
By PAUL BOGGS Sports Editor
Strange as it may sound, the Jackson High School boys and girls soccer squads and boys tennis team should have some hearty handshakes and thank-yous for their Southeastern Ohio Athletic League foes.
That’s because those three varsity sports at Jackson, as of now, will keep on playing as the ‘SEOAL’ — even after the conference’s official final academic year comes to an end next June.
Indeed, with Warren rejecting an invitation to join the East Central Ohio League — and with Gallia Academy agreeing to remain as an associate member in boys soccer and boys tennis — Jackson will join up to five other schools as competing for SEOAL championships and all-league honors in both boys and girls soccer and boys tennis.
Craig Dunn, sports editor of The Logan Daily News and SEOAL Schedules and Records Coordinator, confirmed that current plan to The Jackson County Times-Journal on Wednesday.
Needless to say, but that is welcome news to JHS student-athletes who graduate in 2017 and beyond.
Barring a last-minute miracle, the SEOAL —the oldest non-city athletic league in the state and which has been in existence for 90 years — will officially be down to just three full-time schools following the 2015-16 academic year.
The remaining trio is charter members Jackson and Logan, along with Warren, which joined the SEOAL in 1986 after being a charter member of the Tri-Valley Conference.
Gallia Academy, another SEOAL charter member, is leaving the league for the Ohio Valley Conference following the upcoming year.
However, Gallia Academy’s administration indicates it plans to remain in the SEOAL — as associate members in boys soccer and boys tennis.
Alexander and Athens are already associate members in both boys and girls soccer, as Athens also sponsors boys and girls tennis.
Those two TVC-Ohio schools in all other sports joined as SEOAL associate members two years ago.
Although, with Warren’s official turning down on Monday night of the ECOL, the SEOAL’s six boys soccer teams (Alexander, Athens, Gallia Academy, Jackson, Logan and Warren) and five girls soccer teams (Alexander, Athens, Jackson, Logan and Warren) from the past two years remain intact.
So too will the four boys tennis teams (Athens, Gallia Academy, Jackson and Logan).
The plan — as of now— is to forge ahead with league standings, league titles and league awards with those three sports.
The Ironlady soccer team, in fact, is the back-to-back defending SEOAL champion — and the early favorite for a three-peat this year.
In the past 16 months, JHS has formally applied for membership into the TVC, the OVC, the Southern Ohio Conference and the South Central Ohio League.
Unfortunately, there were no takers.
Jackson, in the past three-and-a-half months, was officially turned down by two leagues while three others showed no interest in expansion.
Seven years ago, Jackson did apply for membership into both the TVC and SOC, but was denied by both leagues.
Last March (2014), Jackson, Warren, Logan and Gallia Academy applied to the TVC as a bloc, but the now 16-team TVC turned down all four.
Jackson City Schools Superintendent Phil Howard has maintained that he wants JHS student-athletes to have an athletic league in which to compete in — with the subsequent opportunity for those same student-athletes to earn all-league honors.
With Warren saying “no†to the ECOL, and Athens, Alexander and now Gallia Academy all as associate members, that will indeed happen in both boys and girls soccer and boys tennis.
There are strings attached, however.
Any of the six schools can eventually opt out of the arrangement, especially Jackson, Warren and Logan — if one or more land in a new league.
It appears, though, Jackson and Warren will both be independent, as the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference will be the Warriors’ secondary league.
Warren has agreed to join that 52-school conglomerate in Ohio and West Virginia, but the OVAC will not be its primary league.
It’s likely Logan, if eventually extended an invitation, will join the Mid-State League.
Dunn said the next SEOAL Board of Control meeting is in August, and future schedules are among the items to be discussed.
The official league fall sports schedule was also released on Wednesday, with boys and girls soccer — in terms of number of participating teams — now the largest two sports in the SEOAL.
There are only six league football games, encompassing all of October with one game for each of the first four Friday nights and two on the final Friday night (Oct. 30).
Jackson, of course, hosts Gallia Academy that night — with Warren (Oct. 2) and Logan (Oct. 9) before that on the road.
Each school — Gallia Academy (Sept. 15), Jackson (Sept. 10), Logan (Sept. 22) and Warren (Aug. 18) — hosts one league boys golf match, with one match set for Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Ohio University as a fifth league tilt.
For girls tennis, there are only three teams —(Athens, Jackson and Logan) and thus the standings will not count towards the SEOAL All-Sports Trophy, because only two full-time members (Jackson and Logan) field a team.
Jackson hosts Athens on Aug. 20 and travels to Logan on Aug. 24, before going to Athens on Sept. 14 and hosting Logan on Sept. 21.
Jackson will also host the SEOAL boys and girls cross country meet on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The standings will count towards the All-Sports Trophy — IF at least three of the four teams have a team score.
The Ironmen soccer team has 10 league matches, the Ironladies eight, and the Ironlady volleyball club — thanks to Portsmouth out of the conference — has just six contests now.
All SEOAL soccer matches will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 25 and ending on Thursday, Oct. 15.
All of the Ironladies’ league volleyball matches will also be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting on Sept. 10 and ending on Oct. 15.
