Conference title back home

It probably isn't the most political correct thing to say, but it's good that the Mid-Penn Conference tournament championship will call the Commonwealth Division home for the next year.

Nothing against the Keystone, Colonial and Capital - all good, competitive divisions - but when the dust settles and the division champions come together, the winner should be from the conference's largest division.

It's true that Wayensboro, a AAAA team that calls the Colonial home, took the trophy last year after beating Commonwealth champion Red Land and Keystone champion Lower Dauphin, another AAAA school. But last year's tournament was drastically different from this year's.

Chambersburg, the new king of the Mid-Penn, was the lone AAAA school in the field. The other three - Shippensburg, the runner-up, Greencastle-Antrim and Hershey - were all AAA.

The Trojans weren't dominant all year - they had bad losses to Central Dauphin East and two-win Altoona - but in the postseason, they flexed the Commonwealth's muscle.

It should mean something for another division's champion, especially if it's a smaller school, to eliminate the Commonwealth champion. It's the typical David vs. Goliath scenario. What fun is it if David whacks Goliath every year?

Look at the Berks and Lancaster-Lebanon champions. Governor Mifflin, the winner of the county's largest division, Berks I, beat Class AA challenger Schuylkill Valley 5-4. The L-L came down to Hempfield and Manheim Twp., both members of Section I, the equivalent to the Commonwealth.

Had the Panthers taken out Governor Mifflin it would have been the highlight of the team's season to that point.

If Shippensburg beat Chambersburg for the Mid-Penn title, all it would have meant was that another team took out Goliath.

Instead, the trophy is in the Commonwealth and the giant that emerges from the division next year will have to watch its back. The Commonwealth is again the hunted. And that's how it should be.