What a crazy few weeks it has been. Now that the final shoe has dropped and the formation of the Ozark Mountain Conference has been announced I feel I can finally comment. I will always error on the side of caution and “be late” reporting things if I learn them in confidence or in my role of being on the school board.
But, things will certain look different on the areas Sports Scene next year. Reeds Spring and Hollister will be joined by Springfield Catholic as new members of the Mid-Lakes Conference. That league currently consists of Forsyth, Fair Grove, Strafford, Clever, and Skyline. This will be an extremely competitive league for both the Wolves and Tigers and will cut down on travel significantly. As I stated in the original press release:
“The Mid-Lakes Conference offers an athletic environment that will challenge our athletes, showcase their talents, and provide valuable life lessons on and off the field,” said Reeds Spring School Board President Perry Phillips. “This will also reduce our travel time to and from games, which benefits our students and their families. We have enjoyed our time in the Big 8 Conference and the relationships we have developed. Though we may no longer be in the same league, we hope some of those connections will continue for years.”
The rest of the puzzle was made public this morning as the Ozark Mountain Conference announced its founding members would include: Branson, Bolivar, Logan-Rogersville, Marshfield, West Plains, and Carl Junction. The Piratres, Liberators, Wildcats, and Blue Jays were all members of the Central Ozark Conference for years. Log-Rog and Marshfield have most recently been part of the Big 8 East.
For now it looks like the Big 8 will go back to a single division and have 9 teams.
One of the things to look forward to locally is that the already intense rivalry between Forsyth and Hollister will now be taken up a notch, now that they are in the same league. And, they will have a chance to meet on the Football field for the first time. That will be a hot ticket.
I personally look forward to some of the matchups we will see in the new league… It will be a very competitive football league, baseball will be extremely solid. You wont find a better girls basketball conference anywhere, and boys basketball is stacked with quality programs. I could go on, but you get the idea, there are some exciting challenges ahead.
