Lorain County League

The Lorain County League (LCL) is an Ohio high school athletic league that will begin with the 2019-20 school year and will be made up of eight schools predominantly based in Lorain County, Ohio. All schools are members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Previous versions of a Lorain County League existed from 1924–61 and again from 1968-2005.

School Nickname Location District Colors[1] Middle school Tenure
Black River Pirates Sullivan 5:15 Black, Gold
   		 Black River Middle School 2019-
Brookside Cardinals Sheffield 4:12 Red, Black
   		 Sheffield Middle School 2019-
Clearview Clippers Lorain 4:12 Blue, Gold
   		 Durling Middle School 2019-
Columbia Raiders Columbia Station 5:16 Kelly Green, White
   		 Columbia Middle School 2019-
Firelands Falcons Oberlin 4:12 Red, White, Black
     		 South Amherst Middle School 2019-
Keystone Wildcats LaGrange 4:12 Purple, White
   		 Keystone Middle School 2019-
Oberlin Phoenix Oberlin 6:19 Red, Blue
   		 Langston Middle School 2019-
Wellington Dukes Wellington 5:16 Maroon, White
   		 McCormick Middle School 2019-

League history

The most recent idea for the new LCL was formed in 2017 when the eight primarily Lorain County schools (Brookside, Clearview, Columbia, Firelands, Keystone, Oberlin, and Wellington, as well as Black River) announced they would leave the Patriot Athletic Conference (PAC) to form their own league by 2020.[2][3]

In response to the PAC's imminent dissolution, Brooklyn and Lutheran West were accepted by a league-wide vote in April 2018 to join the Chagrin Valley Conference in 2019-20.[4]

In May 2018, Buckeye and Fairview were approved to join the Great Lakes Conference for the 2019-20 school year as their eighth and ninth members.[5]

Since the four schools that weren't invited to join the new LCL were able to leave the PAC after the 2018-19 school year, the LCL was able to begin a year sooner than anticipated.

Previous Lorain County League/Conference memberships

The first version of the LCL began in 1924 as one of several small-school county leagues across Ohio. The league survived the consolidation wave until 1961, when the schools who weren't already aligned with the Inland Conference joined the Lakeland Conference. The conference revived itself in 1986 as the Lorain County Conference when the Lakeland Conference collapsed, and the schools banded together for roughly two decades until the schools split, this time to help form the Patriot Athletic and West Shore conferences.

First Version (Lorain County League, 1924–61)
  • Avon Eagles1 (1924–61, to Inland)
  • Avon Lake Shoremen (1924–1961, to Lakeland)
  • Belden Bees (1924–55, consolidated into Midview)
  • Brighton Bears (1924–52, consolidated into Wellington)
  • Sheffield Brookside Cardinals1 (1924–61, to Inland)
  • Brownhelm Bombers (1924–52, consolidated into Firelands)
  • Kipton Camden Knights (1924–52, consolidated into Firelands)
  • Columbia Station Columbia Raiders1 (1924–61, to Inland)
  • Grafton Eaton Eels (1924–55, consolidated into Midview)
  • Grafton Comets (1924–55, consolidated into Midview)
  • Henrietta Hawks (1924–52, consolidated into Firelands)
  • LaGrange Wildcats (1924–59, consolidated into Keystone)
  • North Ridgeville Rangers (1924–27, to NOAL, 1933–61, to Lakeland)
  • Penfield Bombers (1924–59, consolidated into Keystone)
  • South Amherst Cavaliers1 (1924–61, to Inland)
  • Wellington Dukes (1924–27, to NOAL)
  • Lorain Clearview Clippers (1928–38, to NOAL, 1947–53, to Lakeland)
  • Oberlin Firelands Falcons1 (1952–61, to Inland)
  • Grafton Midview Middies (1955–61, to Lakeland)
  • Lagrange Keystone Wildcats2 (1959–61)
  1. Concurrent with Inland Conference 1957-61.
  2. Concurrent with Inland Conference 1959-61.

Division Alignments

LCL Divisions 1947-55
Eastern Western
Avon Brighton (1947–52)
Avon Lake Brownhelm (1947–52)
Belden Brookside (1952–55)
Brookside (1947–52) Camden (1947–52)
Columbia Clearview (1948–53)
Eaton Firelands (1952-)
Grafton Henrietta (1947–52)
North Ridgeville LaGrange
Penfield
South Amherst

Second Version (Lorain County Conference, 1986-2005)
The league members from 1986-2005.
School Nickname Location Colors[6] Tenure Left for
Avon Eagles Avon Purple, Gold
   		 1986-2005 West Shore Conference
Brookside Cardinals Sheffield Red, Black
   		 1986-2005 Patriot Athletic Conference
Clearview Clippers Lorain Blue, Gold
   		 1986-2005 Patriot Athletic Conference
Elyria West Wolverines Elyria Orange, Brown
   		 1986-1996 Closed, absorbed by Elyria High School
Firelands Falcons Oberlin Red, White, Black
     		 1986-2005 Patriot Athletic Conference
Keystone Wildcats LaGrange Purple, White
   		 1986-2005 Patriot Athletic Conference
Midview Middies Grafton Blue, Silver
   		 1996-2005 West Shore Conference
Oberlin Phoenix Oberlin Red, Blue
   		 1986-2005 Patriot Athletic Conference
Wellington Dukes Wellington Maroon, White
   		 1986-2005 Patriot Athletic Conference

See also

References
  1. OHSAA Member Schools Archived November 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, last accessed 17 August 2011
  2. Shapiro, Todd (December 13, 2017). "PAC to dissolve in 2020 as eight Lorain County teams set to form new league". Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  3. Patriot Athletic Conference facing breakup in 2020 - cleveland.com
  4. Kampf, John (April 20, 2018). "Chagrin Valley Conference adds six schools starting in 2019-20". The News-Herald. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  5. Kampf, John (May 10, 2018). "Fairview Athletics to Join Great Lakes Conference in 2019". Fairview Park City Schools. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  6. OHSAA Member Schools Archived November 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, last accessed 17 August 2011
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