Approximately 80 people attended a community meeting in the Saltsburg High School cafeteria concerning the future of the Saltsburg Trojans football team. The team, with a roster of fewer than 20 players this year, recently forfeited a game to Ligonier Valley, and the viability of Saltsburg’s football program has come into question.
The meeting was chaired by Rick Harper, President of the Blairsville-Saltsburg School Board, along with board members and leaders of the activity and athletic sub-committee Michael Bartolini and Molly Stiles.
The school had conducted an in-school survey, and the results revealed that students not participating in football cited work obligations, at-home responsibilities with siblings, a lack of interest in football, and the lack of parental consent, mostly due to safety concerns.
Of the current 8th through 11th graders currently playing football who would be eligible for 2019 season, 24 of the 29 committed to playing next year. By grade level those were six of six juniors, four of four sophomores, four of four freshmen, and 10 of 15 current 8th graders. Of those 29, only six said they would participate in a co-op with neighboring Blairsville.
During the meeting, officials expressed disappointment in a perceived lack of support from other school leaders. Some, like Mr. Bill Petro, were upset with conference leaders, saying “who are they to tell us who to play?” Dan McGregor called Ligonier Valley ‘the largest AA team in the state’ and wondered if the Heritage Conference should be asking Ligonier Valley to move out and not Saltsburg, which drew a large round of applause. Harper reminded everyone that there are three AA schools and many times winning cycles are cyclical.
A number of options were discussed, including the status quo, a co-op with Blairsville, trying another conference affiliation, and a different schedule and/or conference for football while staying in Heritage Conference in all other sports and activities.
After 90 minutes of dialogue, the recommendation was to maintain football at Saltsburg but for the committee to study ways to improve participation. That recommendation is expected to be voted on at the full Blairsville-Saltsburg Board Meeting on Tuesday, October 23rd.
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