Doniphan West considering withdrawal from league

Subhead

Principal looking at various options to leave the TVL, which wouldn’t happen until 2022

Image
Body

HIGHLAND – The Doniphan West school board voted unanimously on Nov. 9 to have their school principal Chris Lackey look at various options to leave the Twin Valley League (TVL).

Lackey, who was principal at the school when Doniphan West joined the league in the 2013-14 school year, said he was directed to approach the Northeast Kansas League about joining their league. That league includes many of the schools that were part of the former Delaware Valley League, to which Doniphan West used to belong.

Lackey said he would also investigate the options of forming a new league or just going independent.

“I’ve been asked to explore opportunities,” said Lackey. “Which could lead to leaving the league and going another route.”

Lackey said he would present options to his board as he progresses through them and they would direct him on how to proceed from there.

A withdrawal, if it were to happen, would not occur until the 2022-23 school year because schools are in the first year of a two-year cycle in football scheduling.

Lackey said they have been pleased with the TVL, for both the level of competitiveness as well as the camaraderie.

“But there has always been a perception that it was a long ways to some of those schools,” said Lackey. “They’re looking for a shorter travel distance. But everyone has their own opinion.”

• • • According to articles in the Washington County News in 2012, Doniphan West started considering joining the TVL in May 2012 after the realignment of the 14-school Delaware Valley League.

Eight of the schools officially announced they would pull out to form their own league. But left out were Atchison County Community, Riverside (a past consolidation of Elwood and Wathena), Horton, Troy, Doniphan West (a past consolidation of Highland and Midway-Denton) and KC Christian.

The addition of some 11-man football to the TVL was considered a big benefit of bringing in new 11-man football programs to join Washington County, Valley Heights, Onaga and Centralia, which played 11-man football at the time, as did Doniphan West and Troy (Washington County and Onaga have since switched to play 8-man football, as does Doniphan West.)

“I think that’s the best reason we had for bringing in two more schools,” said WCHS principal and head football coach Phil Wilson in 2012. “We didn’t really have a league for 11-man. This will definitely strengthen that.”

At the time, the TVL had 13 schools, including the current schools as well as B&B and Bern, which have since consolidated. (Bern closed the year Troy and D-West joined.) Horton was involved in talks with the TVL at the beginning too.

On May 20, 2012, the TVL board issued an official invitation to Doniphan West and Troy to join the league. Concerns about the expansion were expressed by Clifton-Clyde at the time, but “as a whole, for the stability and overall well-being of the league, this is a very smart move,” said John Whetzal, who was principal at Centralia at the time, as well as president of the TVL. He is now superintendent at USD 223 Barnes-Hanover-Linn.

There was a lot of discussion on east-west divisions in the potentially expanded league, because of travel involved. But all schools agreed everyone should play everyone at least once during each season.

East and west groups were created for basketball scheduling purposes, so Tuesday games were supposed to be played within those groups. The premise on the discussion was that the local schools would only really just be adding one long trip per year.

At the time, coordinators said there would be no league quads in volleyball, just triangulars and double-duals. Teams on the edges of the district would never travel to another edge for a triangular. They would always be scheduled somewhere in the middle. This was according to Ken McClanahan, who did the scheduling for the league. This concept has not continued. For example, this season, Linn traveled to Doniphan West and Troy for Tuesday evening volleyball matches. The longest trip in the league is between Clifton-Clyde High School and Troy High School, which Google says is a 2 hour, 22 minute trip.

After receiving an extension of the deadline to decide on joining the league, in June 2012 the school boards for Doniphan West and Troy accepted invitations to join the league in all sports except baseball, softball and wrestling. D-West still offers baseball and wrestling, but they have not had large enough involvement to field a softball team in a few years, according to Lackey.