Uniontown Area football program to remain in WPIAL
The Uniontown Area High School football program will remain in WPIAL competition after a board vote Monday halted the district from further exploring alternative options.
The school board quashed administrative efforts to further explore withdrawing the football program from the WPIAL for the 2019-20 school year, effectively keeping the district in the athletic league for the foreseeable future.
District Superintendent Charles Machesky said district administration proposed exploring the move away from the WPIAL as a way to boost the struggling program by playing more appropriate competition.
“The reason we pursued it was we haven’t been very successful lately – but that’s okay, our kids are participating and they’re active – and we thought it might give them an opportunity to become somewhat more competitive for a two-year period,” he said.
Machesky said the district would have needed to give the WPIAL official notice of its intent to withdraw from the league by Jan. 1.
The football team is in the midst of a 22-game losing streak and has a combined 3-45 record over the past five seasons. Uniontown was 0-10 last season and outscored, 433-99. The team also went winless in 2017.
The Red Raiders compete in the WPIAL Class 3-A Big East Conference.
“All we’re asking for tonight is permission to continue to pursue that option, if it’s feasible,” Machesky said prior to the board vote. “This is not a decision that if the board makes a decision one way or another tonight, it’s a binding decision.”
However, the majority of the board voted down a motion for administration to further explore the possibility of withdrawing from the WPIAL.
School directors Susan Clay, Bill Collier, Terry Dawson, Dorothy Grahek, Ken Meadows and Pam Neill opposed the measure. Bill Gerke and Bill Rittenhouse voted affirmatively. Don Rugola was not present.
Machesky said following the conclusion of the meeting that the district will inform the WPIAL on Tuesday of its decision to remain in the league.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Steve Walton, who identified himself as a parent of a Uniontown Area High School junior on the Red Raider football team, said it would be a disservice to the student-athletes who make a year-long commitment to the sport if the district were to withdraw from the WPIAL.
“I implore you to consider all of the ramifications and all the ripple effects of this decision. How will you get guys like this to commit to pounding their bodies day in and day out in the weight room, on the practice field, on the field of play, when they’re not playing for anything?
“They won’t be playing for scholarships. They won’t be playing for attention from local universities. You might as well disband the program,” said Walton.
Machesky noted a similar move by neighboring Albert Gallatin Area School District to withdraw its football program from the WPIAL.
Albert Gallatin’s school board voted in October to suspend WPIAL high school football participation effective with the 2019-20 school year in order to develop alternative competition for its program, citing its inclusion in a tough Class 5-A as an undersized team with low participation numbers.
Albert Gallatin officials said that the district will play an independent schedule next season against teams from West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio while the program rebuilds and increases participation with a goal of eventually returning to the WPIAL.
“I’d like to maybe let them go through the growing pains and see how next year works and what happens with them,” said Machesky. “Someone might need to be the guinea pig to see how this might work.”
Machesky indicated that Uniontown administration had begun exploring the possibility of creating an independent schedule against other independent schools, as well as schools from West Virginia and Maryland. However, he said, the district was finding difficulty in filling out a nine- to 10-game schedule.
“We’ll look and see what’s happening with Albert Gallatin, what kind of schedule they’re looking at,” Machesky said. “And then at the end of next year, we’re certain there will be a (WPIAL) reclassification based on new numbers, and we’ll see where that lands us.”
Meetings are planned for this week with current and prospective Uniontown football players about the direction of the program, during which the district will solicit their input, said Machesky.
Grahek, board president, said the board could consider the possibility again in the future after watching how Albert Gallatin handles its situation.
“Maybe further down the road that might happen, if it’s a success with the neighboring schools down the line,” she said.
Grahek said new head coach Cedric Lloyd deserves a chance to rebuild the program at Uniontown and compete in the WPIAL.
“We have a new coach. We have to give him a chance, too. He’s not going to turn the program around in just one year,” Grahek said.
Lloyd was hired in late 2016 and has served two years of a five-year contract at the helm of the Red Raider football program.