SBAAC Football 2025

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footballsalads43

Well-known member
Just wanted to get a thread started early this year! Here are some interesting things to keep in mind for the upcoming season:

-Clinton-Massie and their districts financial status.. how can this impact their football team?

-Batavia is returning their QB, a star WR, and others.

-Wilmington seems to be graduating a lot of talent.. will they take a step back overall?

-Fayetteville-Perry is no longer a football only member and the national division is now at 5 football teams. Is it time for the league to consider expanding and adding a new team?

-Blanchester will have a new head coach this upcoming season. How will he handle the task of a difficult non conference schedule?

-After a tough last two seasons can Western Brown find their way to the upper half of league play again? Same for New Richmond?

-Can East Clinton and Goshen be more competitive this year?

Finally, just wanted to do a way too early pre-season poll!

AMERICAN

1. Clinton-Massie
2. Batavia
3. Western Brown
4. Wilmington
5. New Richmond
6. Goshen

NATIONAL

1. Williamsburg
2. Bethel-Tate
3. Clermont NE
4. Blanchester
5. East Clinton

American side right now it is just CM and everyone else. Batavia seems to have something good going on in their program, but CM last year showed that they still can't compete with them quite yet.. Batavia is the clear 2nd best team at this time though

National side is really a toss up, besides East Clinton. I think CNE can be competitive in the league if they learn how to play OFFENSE! Williamsburg, Bethel and Blanchester have been a good three man race the past few years.. however, I think Blanchesters program is trending in the wrong direction.. I think CNE takes 3rd place from them this year. But 1-4 on this side are all decently close.

Thoughts?
 
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Have to agree with your way too early preseason rankings. All those questions loom large but only time will tell. Does anyone know if CNE has picked up a week 3 game yet? Last I saw they were open.
 
BeaverAchiever said:
Have to agree with your way too early preseason rankings. All those questions loom large but only time will tell. Does anyone know if CNE has picked up a week 3 game yet? Last I saw they were open.
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I do not believe they found a game yet. I was kind of surprised they didn’t reach out to Washington CH, they were also open week 3 but picked up Brookville recently. Not many local teams with open dates left. CNE might have to travel for week 3
 
formercardinal said:
CNE wouldn't schedule WCH, CNE always tries to find one of the down schools in the Cincy area. They rarely play up 2 divisions.
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CNE usually schedules schools from the MVC or CMAC. They use to play Hillsboro often, and WCH is pretty on par with Hillsboro. Even though WCH is by no means good, I don’t think CNE would stand much of a chance against them, so they probably didn’t entertain it.. I would think WCH at least reached out. WCH would probably much rather play CNE then Brookville. WCH is definitely trying to get an easier non-conference schedule.

I wonder if one of the SVC schools has an open week. I could see CNE playing one of them. Not many local options.
 
footballsalads43 said:
CNE usually schedules schools from the MVC or CMAC. They use to play Hillsboro often, and WCH is pretty on par with Hillsboro. Even though WCH is by no means good, I don’t think CNE would stand much of a chance against them, so they probably didn’t entertain it.. I would think WCH at least reached out. WCH would probably much rather play CNE then Brookville. WCH is definitely trying to get an easier non-conference schedule.

I wonder if one of the SVC schools has an open week. I could see CNE playing one of them. Not many local options.
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WCH wouldn't be a great match up for CNE, CNE dropped Hillsboro once Hillsboro quit going 0-10, 1-9, 2-8. I figured CNE would reach out to Manchester area teams. I know there are a few club teams around that area starting up.
 
formercardinal said:
WCH wouldn't be a great match up for CNE, CNE dropped Hillsboro once Hillsboro quit going 0-10, 1-9, 2-8. I figured CNE would reach out to Manchester area teams. I know there are a few club teams around that area starting up.
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Might be their only option, won’t count for OHSAA playoff points and record though, but I’m sure CNE could care less about that. They just want to be competitive in league play. I believe they haven’t won the SBAAC national in almost 30 years now.
 
Anybody have any insight as to why CNE struggles so much at football? The school seems to be pretty alright at other sports.. but they just can’t seem to compete in football.
 
Football requires numbers of athletes that CNE just does not get very often for whatever reason. Typically they have around 30 kids on the roster including freshmen, while similar schools like Bethel and Blanchester will often have 40 or more. I think CNE had so many 1 and 2 win seasons over the years that it eventually became difficult to get kids excited about coming out to play football. They had a few winning seasons in the late 2010's but that does not seem to have created any momentum. CNE's enrollment seems to be continuously declining (I imagine open enrollment negatively affects them a good bit), so I am not sure what can be done to jump start this program.
 
kyles_mom said:
Football requires numbers of athletes that CNE just does not get very often for whatever reason. Typically they have around 30 kids on the roster including freshmen, while similar schools like Bethel and Blanchester will often have 40 or more. I think CNE had so many 1 and 2 win seasons over the years that it eventually became difficult to get kids excited about coming out to play football. They had a few winning seasons in the late 2010's but that does not seem to have created any momentum. CNE's enrollment seems to be continuously declining (I imagine open enrollment negatively affects them a good bit), so I am not sure what can be done to jump start this program.
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CNE might just be a “broke” program. I don’t think there is any fixing it. However, besides Williamsburg the rest of the SBAAC national is not good at all. I think CNE can probably find themselves in a better position to compete and win some more league games going forward, as a result of the leagues decline.
 
Has Blan made a hire yet and yes they have a very difficult non conference schedule.

Kind of agree about CNE being a “broke” program and can probably throw EC into that conversation as well. Williamsburg has a different mentality when it comes to football and has themselves apart from the others.
 
LouHoltz said:
Has Blan made a hire yet and yes they have a very difficult non conference schedule.

Kind of agree about CNE being a “broke” program and can probably throw EC into that conversation as well. Williamsburg has a different mentality when it comes to football and has themselves apart from the others.
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Blan started interviewing guys, but has not made a hire yet. Hope they can hit on this next hire as they have been a revolving door of head coaches these last few years.

Williamsburg is going in a great direction. Pretty sure I saw that they are building a whole new athletic facility too or something like that. They are investing into athletics greatly!
 
It's been rumored EC maybe suspending their football program? Lack of interest. Where can the current players play if there is no season?
 
covidsucks said:
It's been rumored EC maybe suspending their football program? Lack of interest. Where can the current players play if there is no season?
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Rumored? I live in Clinton County and haven't heard a whiff of this "rumor". Not saying someone didn't or couldn't say it, I just have to question the validity until I hear it somewhere...
 
covidsucks said:
It's been rumored EC maybe suspending their football program? Lack of interest. Where can the current players play if there is no season?
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I haven’t heard anything about this rumor yet, but if true that would suck for the district. Their athletic department is an absolute mess right now.

I’m sure boys who would be interested in football could play at a different district, just need approval from the superintendent I believe. I would think most would go to Wilmington, then some would go to Miami Trace and Hillsboro. Not sure about Massie as they no longer offer Open enrollment, but I’m not sure how/if that would effect something like this.

I know I brought it up in last years thread, but I’m really starting to question if in 10-15 years from now if Clinton County will only have three school districts instead…
 
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footballsalads43 said:
I haven’t heard anything about this rumor yet, but if true that would suck for the district. Their athletic department is an absolute mess right now.

I’m sure boys who would be interested in football could play at a different district, just need approval from the superintendent I believe. I would think most would go to Wilmington, then some would go to Miami Trace and Hillsboro. Not sure about Massie as they no longer offer Open enrollment, but I’m not sure how/if that would effect something like this.

I know I brought it up in last years thread, but I’m really starting to question if in 10-15 years from now if Clinton County will only have three school districts instead…
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Yes they could play, but only if they open enroll into that new district. I think this what you are saying, just wanted to clarify. In Ohio, if you attend a public school that does not offer a sport you can not just join the athletic team at a neighboring school that does. Below is from the OHSAA website:


6. The public school my student attends does not offer a certain sport. Are students who want to play that sport eligible at a different school?

For a 'conventional' public school, NO. Bylaw 4-3-1 indicates that a student must be enrolled and attending full-time to have the privilege of athletic participation. Exception 6 of Bylaw 4-3-1 indicates that there is an exception in accordance with state law. The students who have an opportunity to participate on different school teams in accordance with state law are those who reside in a district and are students who attend the following types of schools: non-public schools, community schools and STEM schools. Students who are home schooled and live in a school district also have an opportunity to participate on those school teams. The language in the state law is not written to include students who attend conventional public schools that do not have a participation opportunity. Remember that the opportunity for non-enrolled students is at the residential public school ONLY, with the two exceptions cited – home educated students and non-public school students.
 
BeaverAchiever said:
Yes they could play, but only if they open enroll into that new district. I think this what you are saying, just wanted to clarify. In Ohio, if you attend a public school that does not offer a sport you can not just join the athletic team at a neighboring school that does. Below is from the OHSAA website:


6. The public school my student attends does not offer a certain sport. Are students who want to play that sport eligible at a different school?

For a 'conventional' public school, NO. Bylaw 4-3-1 indicates that a student must be enrolled and attending full-time to have the privilege of athletic participation. Exception 6 of Bylaw 4-3-1 indicates that there is an exception in accordance with state law. The students who have an opportunity to participate on different school teams in accordance with state law are those who reside in a district and are students who attend the following types of schools: non-public schools, community schools and STEM schools. Students who are home schooled and live in a school district also have an opportunity to participate on those school teams. The language in the state law is not written to include students who attend conventional public schools that do not have a participation opportunity. Remember that the opportunity for non-enrolled students is at the residential public school ONLY, with the two exceptions cited – home educated students and non-public school students.
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This makes sense.. so if a kid at East Clinton wants to play football at Wilmington, then they have to open enroll at Wilmington to be eligible, REGARDLESS if East Clinton offers the sport or not. Thanks for the clarification!!

Well in that case, if EC is suspending the football team, could they see a bit of an exodus? They really can’t afford to lose anymore enrollment.
 
I remember when EC was a once very respected program. It's beginning to look like more and more of these rural school systems are declining at a rapid pace. Hoping the SBC can win more than one tournament game in basketball this year.
 
covidsucks said:
I remember when EC was a once very respected program. It's beginning to look like more and more of these rural school systems are declining at a rapid pace. Hoping the SBC can win more than one tournament game in basketball this year.
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I hope so too. The SBAAC has had some solid basketball talent come through as well. It should be a better basketball league then it really is.

East Clinton is in a tough spot.. there is a lot of buzz that the OHC will be losing Greenon.. I wonder if EC will apply to the league? They would then be with more similar rural schools and communities.
 
footballsalads43 said:
I hope so too. The SBAAC has had some solid basketball talent come through as well. It should be a better basketball league then it really is.

East Clinton is in a tough spot.. there is a lot of buzz that the OHC will be losing Greenon.. I wonder if EC will apply to the league? They would then be with more similar rural schools and communities.
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I don't think the OHC is any easier than the SBAAC as far as competition goes, it's hard to find a league worse than the SBAAC in all sports. If the OHC is going to take a new team it will most likely be a northern school.
 
formercardinal said:
I don't think the OHC is any easier than the SBAAC as far as competition goes, it's hard to find a league worse than the SBAAC in all sports. If the OHC is going to take a new team it will most likely be a northern school.
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Well, I’m not gonna say SBAAC National is better than the OHC South or vice-versa, because no matter how you look at it EC is going to struggle no matter where they go.. it’s going to take a lot to rebuild that program back up.. but if you look at numbers EC is falling behind the rest of the SBAAC National in regards to enrollment, and they will probably continue to lose more enrollment, while the Clermont county schools will continue to grow.

I know people love to point out how bad the SBAAC is, but I honestly think it’s an under-appreciated and well constructed league. Not all conferences are made to produce the highest level of athletics.. some are made to group together schools who can compete with each other in all sports. Which the SBAAC does a pretty great job with in both divisions.

East Clinton would be a perfect fit in the OHC size wise, and it’s a travel improvement. Also, they would have more winnable league games in football and most sports. I don’t know what the OHC will do next, but if you ask me East Clinton should consider applying, I think it’s a great fit.
 
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footballsalads43 said:
Well, I’m not gonna say SBAAC National is better than the OHC South or vice-versa, because no matter how you look at it EC is going to struggle no matter where they go.. it’s going to take a lot to rebuild that program back up.. but if you look at numbers EC is falling behind the rest of the SBAAC National in regards to enrollment, and they will probably continue to lose more enrollment, while the Clermont county schools will continue to grow.

I know people love to point out how bad the SBAAC is, but I honestly think it’s an under-appreciated and well constructed league. Not all conferences are made to produce the highest level of athletics.. some are made to group together schools who can compete with each other in all sports. Which the SBAAC does a pretty great job with in both divisions.

East Clinton would be a perfect fit in the OHC size wise, and it’s a travel improvement. Also, they would have more winnable league games in football and most sports. I don’t know what the OHC will do next, but if you ask me East Clinton should consider applying, I think it’s a great fit.
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I don't think EC would have won a game in boys basketball this season in the OHC and Cedarville (who finished in the bottom 3) ran EC off the field for 3-4 straight years. If EC can't beat CNE they aren't beating OHC schools. EC is in a really bad place, diminishing enrollment and a lack of interest in all sports outside of volleyball. The SBAAC is the best fit for them athletically, they don't have to worry about playing teams that are going to physically hurt their kids.
 
Sbaac national is trash and that’s where EC belongs for now. Sbaac national is also terrible for the size of schools in it. EC could never fit in that division.
 
formercardinal said:
I don't think EC would have won a game in boys basketball this season in the OHC and Cedarville (who finished in the bottom 3) ran EC off the field for 3-4 straight years. If EC can't beat CNE they aren't beating OHC schools. EC is in a really bad place, diminishing enrollment and a lack of interest in all sports outside of volleyball. The SBAAC is the best fit for them athletically, they don't have to worry about playing teams that are going to physically hurt their kids.
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Facts!!
 
formercardinal said:
I don't think EC would have won a game in boys basketball this season in the OHC and Cedarville (who finished in the bottom 3) ran EC off the field for 3-4 straight years. If EC can't beat CNE they aren't beating OHC schools. EC is in a really bad place, diminishing enrollment and a lack of interest in all sports outside of volleyball. The SBAAC is the best fit for them athletically, they don't have to worry about playing teams that are going to physically hurt their kids.
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East Clinton is in a rough spot.. no matter where they end up it’s an upward battle. SBAAC National or OHC. Really the best competive fit for them would probably be the Southern Hills with schools like Fayetteville, Whiteoak, Fairfield and etc. but they don’t offer football and wrestling. But outside of Greeneview the OHC south is really nothing special in football, and EC wouldn’t perform any worse than they already do In the SBAAC. I mean they already get ran off the
field by Williamsburg, Bethel and Blanchester every year, and CNE depending on the year.

Boys Basketball at EC has been horrible for awhile now, but the only OHC south school they have played this year is Cedarville, which they lost a close contest to 53-50, and Cedarville is currently 2nd in the OHC South, so I think EC could’ve won a few games in the OHC.

I don’t know, we can just respectfully disagree with each other on this, and that’s fine. But I think the OHC can make sense for EC.
 
footballsalads43 said:
East Clinton is in a rough spot.. no matter where they end up it’s an upward battle. SBAAC National or OHC. Really the best competive fit for them would probably be the Southern Hills with schools like Fayetteville, Whiteoak, Fairfield and etc. but they don’t offer football and wrestling. But outside of Greeneview the OHC south is really nothing special in football, and EC wouldn’t perform any worse than they already do In the SBAAC. I mean they already get ran off the
field by Williamsburg, Bethel and Blanchester every year, and CNE depending on the year.

Boys Basketball at EC has been horrible for awhile now, but the only OHC south school they have played this year is Cedarville, which they lost a close contest to 53-50, and Cedarville is currently 2nd in the OHC South, so I think EC could’ve won a few games in the OHC.

I don’t know, we can just respectfully disagree with each other on this, and that’s fine. But I think the OHC can make sense for EC.
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I don't disagree it makes sense for EC, but what does EC bring to the table for the OHC? I don't see any benefit for the OHC adding EC.
 
I think that if EC drops there football program the southern hills league would be a perfect fit for their level of athletics. CM could also take they're spot in the National division with their athletic programs also declining. Would be a win win for both of these districts.
 
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