Seeking scheduling stability and a series of games against teams closer to its enrollment size, the Ready football program began competing as an auxiliary member of the MSL-Ohio Division in 2017.
The Silver Knights have more than held their own, going a combined 18-13 against MSL-Ohio opponents in five seasons. But they did so without being eligible to win the league championship and without their players being eligible for all-league honors.
That will change in the fall 2023 season, as Ready announced April 13 that it will be joining the MSL-Ohio as a full-time member in every sport beginning with the 2023-24 school year.
Ready, which opened its doors in fall 1961 and had its first graduating class in 1965, will be leaving the CCL.
“We are officially joining the MSL starting in 2023-24 for full membership,” athletics director Steve McQuade said. “(Ready principal Matt) Brickner and I sat down and went over the (enrollment) numbers of our programs. It came down to a numbers game, and we decided the MSL would be a good fit.”
The boys basketball team went 6-2 in the CCL to win the league championship this winter, but it marked the program’s first outright title since 2002.
In April 2021, Joe Lang retired after coaching the girls basketball program for 40 seasons. Under Lang, the Knights won the CCL just six times while competing as a Division III program against three larger schools in DeSales, Hartley and Watterson.
Other schools to previously compete in the CCL before moving on to other leagues include Columbus School for Girls and Worthington Christian, which are now in the MSL after leaving the CCL in 2019 and 2013, respectively, as well as Newark Catholic and Zanesville Rosecrans.
In football, Ready competed in the CCL-Gold with Hartley until 2018. It played St. Charles in its only CCL games in 2019 and 2020 and will complete a two-year rotational agreement with Watterson in 2022.
The football team’s last win over a CCL opponent came in 2009, when it beat Hartley 31-21.
Last fall, Ready finished 5-6, including going 3-3 against MSL-Ohio teams. The Knights competed in Division V and will join an MSL-Ohio that features one program in Division II (Whitehall), one in Division III (Buckeye Valley), one in Division IV (Bexley), two others in Division V (Columbus Academy and Harvest Prep) and one in Division VI (Grandview).
Wellington doesn’t have football but competes in other sports in the MSL-Ohio, as does CSG. Worthington Christian competes in the MSL-Cardinal in football but in the MSL-Ohio in all other sports, and Harvest Prep competes in all other sports in the MSL-Cardinal.
“We’re extremely blessed to have worked with all of the CCL schools and have built great relationships,” McQuade said. “We look forward to future games with them in some sports.
“We had a scheduling agreement (with the MSL-Ohio), but we couldn’t win any league awards. We’ve been in talks with MSL commissioner Jim Hayes about how everything would work. (We’ve) definitely (been in the CCL for) a while, so we have mixed emotions about (leaving). It’s about competitiveness and putting our kids in a spot to succeed, and to earn league titles is huge for us. By no means are we going to be world beaters in the MSL, but we definitely believe it’s a greater fit.”
julrey@thisweeknews.com
@UlreyThisWeek
