Central 8 doing fine with just 6 schools

It might just be fuzzy math or the high school equivalent of the Big Ten, but the Central Eight Conference is content to only have six members.

As it stands, all six schools - Cross County, Friend, Fullerton, Osceola, Shelby and Twin River - are fully committed to the league. At the bimonthly meetings, the conference's athletic directors aren't taking any immediate action to increase membership.

While they worry about schedules, tournaments and other issues, one topic that isn't generating much debate among administrators is changing the conference's name. The league decided to stick with Central Eight for historical and continuity purposes. Plus, the hope remains of someday returning to the original size.

“I think every time our principal hears it called the Central Six, he growls,” Shelby athletic director Terry Chadek said. “We've got six solid teams and good programs.”

The movement started in 2001 when Nebraska Lutheran left because of declining enrollment. The conference remained at eight members with the addition of Friend, which came over from the Crossroads Conference.

Then, David City bolted to join the Southern Nebraska Conference in 2003. East Butler left the Central Eight and switched to the East Central Nebraska Conference this season.

Along the way, Genoa morphed into Twin River, and Stromsburg became Cross County.

Twin River athletic director Terry Gray said the ideal number for the conference would be eight for tournament purposes, but they are in no rush to add members to simply add members.

“For now, we are content to stay with six teams,” Gray said. “It is pretty geographical convenient, except for Friend, but that's a long drive for everyone.”

After David City left, the conference started talking to schools and sent out letters to gauge interest. Chadek said it contacted High Plains, Exeter-Milligan, Nebraska Lutheran and Nebraska Christian, but nothing advanced past conversation.

Also, an idea was floated to the ECNC, which has 10 members, about combining to form a super conference with two divisions for big and small schools. The administers met, but nothing happened, and the idea died.

Elsewhere, the pool for adding individual members is slim, and it would be difficult to convince a school to switch allegiances.

High Plains makes the most sense for its location and size, but it is locked into the Crossroads Conference, which Polk-Hordville belonged to previously. Even if the Storm joined, an eighth team would be needed to compete the conference.

The league could also try to usurp Rising City from the Crossroads. The Terriers also fit geographically, but it is doubtful the larger schools would be excited about having to play a Class D-2 team. However, Rising City is increasing in size and is only 10 students smaller than Shelby according to the 2007-08 enrollment numbers.

Since it left six years ago, Nebraska Lutheran is more stable and become more competitive. However, Nebraska Lutheran would be unlikely to leave the Frontier Conference because it was one of the driving forces in founding the six-member league, which consists of five private schools and Prague.

Another option is Lutheran High Northeast, which is an independent, but it would create a long drive for schools north. Norfolk is 125 miles away from Friend and would be at least an hour drive for every conference member.

On the opposite side of the numbers game, some might worry about Twin River leaving to join conference with more similar sized schools, but Gray said the school is firmly committed to the league now.

Plus, the Titans really don't have anywhere to go. The best fit would be the Mid-State Conference, but that move would add a lot of mileage, including trips to West Point and Hartington, and be a large step up in level of competition. (In last week's state basketball rankings, the conference had three boys teams and two girls teams.)

The small league also helps Twin River because it is locked in to fewer conference games and can play more big schools during nonconference action.

Perhaps the best option for the league is to stay status quo for now and stick with the six teams. None of the schools are hurting for games, and in several years, the situation could change with consolidation.

Only having six members isn't necessarily bad for the conference. It switched the format of the volleyball tournament to two three-team pods with the winners meeting for the title. Also, a fifth-place game was added to the basketball tournaments, which was also played at a single site for the first time.

On to the Items of the Week, which is always taking applications for new members.

n Mad Props: Evan Bohnet and Austin Carmichael, Columbus wrestling. We'll call this a so-far season achievement award. These two Columbus grapplers enter the home stretch of the schedule undefeated and dominant. Bohnet, the top-ranked 215 pounder in the state, has defeated all 26 opponents he's faced, while Carmichael is 21-0 at 140 pounds. Both are juniors and establishing themselves as the wrestlers to contend with at the state meet.

Honorable Mention: Kellie Korth, Scotus Central Catholic; Kendra Drinnin, Lakeview; Kara Gehring, Twin River, Marcus Bender, High Plains, Jared Sharman, Columbus swimming.

n Circle the Calendar: Kearney boys at Columbus High, Friday. With conference tournaments dominating the schedule, one of the more intriguing matchups involves a former Columbus player. Tyler Horky will return to Columbus for his first game against the Discoverers when the Bearcats come to town. Last year, Horky averaged 15 points for Columbus as a junior and returns with ninth-ranked Kearney. Expect a good show.

Other Games of Interest: Thursday: Aurora wrestling at Lakeview; Friday: Boone Central boys at Battle Creek, Lindsay Holy Family boys at St. Edward, Norfolk Catholic at Humphrey St. Francis boys; Saturday: Shelby boys at Leigh; All week: Crossroads Conference tournament, Centennial Conference tourney, Central 10 Conference tourney.

n Working Halftime: Central Community College concession stand. Top notch facilities, and the Raider Reuben is worth the price of admission. You'll have a chance to try it on Wednesday when the Central men play their first home basketball game in six weeks.

n Question of the week: The winner from last week was Chad Pfeifer of Omaha, who knew that Kristin Koski of Humphrey St. Francis made nine 3-pointers in 2001, which is tied for the third best in state history. Also special shout out to Terri Wilshusen, who was the scorekeeper of the game at Howells. She said she kept the crowd updated by holding up the appropriate number of fingers. Terri was close to winning, but her mother, Marilyn Eisenmenger, also beat her out.

This week: How many former Nebraska Cornhuskers are on the rosters of the Super Bowl teams?

Lincoln Arneal is the sports editor for the Columbus Telegram. Contact him at larneal@columbustelegram.com with questions, comments, story ideas and your favorite hot chocolate complimentary food item.