MOUNT VERNON — Life in the Licking County League is good for the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets.
Mount Vernon joined the LCL in August after an eight-year association with the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
Mount Vernon slotted into the big-school Buckeye Division alongside Granville, Licking Heights, Watkins Memorial, Licking Valley and Zanesville.
The transition to the new conference has been a smooth one, according to athletic director Justin Sanford.
“It’s been good from a competition standpoint and community support in terms of game attendance,” Sanford said. “It’s been well-received so far, both from our end and from the other teams welcoming us in.”
The LCL pursued Mount Vernon for the better part of a decade. The league’s courtship began when Mount Vernon left the Ohio Capital Conference and accepted an invitation to the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
“The addition of Mount Vernon to the Licking County League has been a win-win,” LCL commissioner Ron Bowman said. “Many of our schools have previously competed with Mount Vernon in numerous sports, allowing for an easy transition.
“Mount Vernon has benefitted geographically, reducing transportation costs, but more importantly competing in a (conference) of equally-sized schools and joining a league that has sought their inclusion for the past several years.”
Mount Vernon decided to join the LCL, at least in part, to cut down on travel. Trips to Granville (22 miles) and Licking Valley (29 miles) are a lot more appealing than trips to New Philadelphia (72 miles) and Wooster (47 miles).
“We’re getting our kids home a lot earlier, especially on weekday trips,” Sanford said. “Our furthest trip is to Zanesville. It’s 42 miles and we make one left turn.”
The competition in the LCL is not unlike what Mount Vernon encountered in the OCC. Four of the six Buckeye Division football teams — and four of the six in the small-school Cardinal Division — qualified for the postseason.
“Some people’s perception is that the competition is not as good, but we found out real quick that it’s great competition,” Sanford said. “Across the board there are very good teams.
“Girls volleyball is a perfect example. We had a great year in the big division, but we lost to five of the six schools in the small division because they have great volleyball.”
The basketball season has proven to be just as competitive. The boys’ team is 9-6 overall and 6-4 in LCL play.
“Top to bottom, it’s a physical league and it has been very competitive,” longtime boys basketball coach Nick Coon said. “It’s been good for our kids to get thrown into the fire.”
For basketball, Mount Vernon plays each of the other Buckeye Division members twice and each of the Cardinal Division members once for a total of 16 league games.
“We have these built-in crossover games with the other division,” Coon said. “I’m still not sure how I feel about that, but with 16 league games it feels like there is a lot at stake in every one of those games.”
Girls coach Nathan Short agreed. The girls are 9-3 in the LCL, trailing only Granville.
“To me, when you have a conference champion, everything should be the same,” Short said. “If we play a (Cardinal Division) team on the road and another team in our division gets to play that crossover game at home or vice versa there’s a discrepancy in that. That’s the one thing that, if I had a magic wand and could change it, I would.
“Overall, I feel like the LCL is a good fit. The competition has been really good no matter which side we’ve played.”
Making the move to the LCL was in Mount Vernon’s best interest, Sanford said.
“We enjoyed our time 100 percent in the Ohio Cardinal, but this just made sense for us,” Sanford said. “The timing was right and it has worked out great.”