'We are just thrilled': Lucas officially accepts invitation to join Northern 10 Athletic Conference

LUCAS — Lucas Athletic Director Taylor Iceman let out a giant sigh of relief on Tuesday night.

That was when the Lucas School Board unanimously voted to accept an invitation to join the Northern 10 Athletic Conference in all sports starting in the 2026-27 school year. The acceptance marks the end of the Cubs' 12-year run in the Mid-Buckeye Conference and more than a decade of stress from being an independent in football.

"We were in a league that was kind of dwindling and had just four schools and none had football so things were getting difficult," Iceman said. "It is going to make things so much easier. Less travel, a set schedule, life will be so much easier than being an independent."

Lucas is no stranger to conference realignment. In the early years of the school nearly a century ago, Lucas was part of the Richland County League before joining the Johnny Appleseed Conference from 1963-67 along with much larger schools like Lexington, Clear Fork and Ontario. In 1968, Lucas joined the MBC for the first time and enjoyed 11 years of stability before the league folded sending the Cubs to the Black Fork Valley Conference for a few years before rejoining the resurgence of the MBC until 1998 when the invitation came from the North Central Conference where they stayed until they were essentially forced out in 2013 with the formation of the N10 and the dissolution of the NCC. It was back to the MBC, but this time, the league did not have football as part of its conference so Lucas has been independent on the gridiron for more than a decade while in the MBC in all other sports.

After Loudonville announced it was leaving the MBC in 2023, Lucas was left looking for options.

Then, the invitation from the N10 rolled across Iceman's desk in early 2025 and it was a give from the high school sports Gods.

"The biggest thing is we are going to be able to access to officials," Iceman said. "Right now, we still do not have a Week 9 opponent in football so I can't go and schedule an officiating crew yet because I have no idea if we are going to play at home or away, where or when. With being in a league, all of that headache is gone."

Scheduling has been a major challenge for Iceman over the last decade or so. For all other sports other than football, some of those slots were taken up by MBC opponents but in a league with so few teams, he still had to get creative with some nonconference games. But in football, it has been a nightmare.

There was a 150-mile round trip to Millersport, a nearly-200-mile round trip to Upper Scioto Valley, a 120-mile round trips to Open Door Christian and Horizon Science Academy, a 180-mile round trip to Waterloo, a 250-mile round trip to Beallsville, a 280-mile round trip to Bridgeport and a 340-mile round trip to River just to name some of the shorter trips over the last decade.

Last season, the Cubs had to travel to Smethport, PA, more than 500 miles round trip, for a Week 1 game all because they couldn't find an open opponent nearby.

"When it comes to football, we have had to play anybody and everybody," Iceman said. "So, if we have to drive to Hopewell-Loudon and play a very good team like that, so be it. It's better than driving to Pennsylvania."

Having a consistent football schedule will do wonders for Lucas, financially. With football being a main money maker for nearly every athletic program in the state, Iceman sees a move to the N10 as a huge bonus for all involved.

The Lucas Cubs are set to compete in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference in all sports starting in the 2026-27 athletic season.

"We are fortunate to always have a really good following anyway, so we do well with our home football games, but the tough part is when you are searching for football games and you bring in a Division I school from Cleveland and they bring the bus driver and three parents, you aren't generating a whole lot there," Iceman said. "It will be great to welcome in the Buckeye Centrals, Wynfords and Colonel Crawfords to our facility and travel to theirs as well to provide that financial boost. Those programs have been successful and will bring bigger crowds so it will be good for both sides. Then, you look at recently, we have had to play six road games and only four home games because we got what we could get, so that hurt us a little bit. Now, we will have a balanced schedule and it will only help."

The N10 sent invitations to six schools — Willard, Hopewell-Loudon, Lucas, New Riegel, Old Fort and Tiffin Calvert — and are awaiting those schools to accept those invites. Willard accepted its last week.

One unconfirmed proposal has the N10 splitting into two divisions — East and West — for football. One division is Lucas, Willard, Buckeye Central, Bucyrus, Colonel Crawford and Wynford with the other being Calvert, Carey, Hopewell, Mohawk, Seneca East and Upper Sandusky. Old Fort and New Riegel do not have football programs.

"We have played all of those schools in several sports over the years so we are familiar," Iceman said. "We are also excited to have some cross over with some of the bigger schools. In the end, we are the new school coming in and I didn't want to be the one coming in and making all of these demands, we are just thrilled to be in the Northern 10."

More information with complete details is expected to be released by the N10 at a later date.

Lucas would be in a division with some familiar foes as Wynford, Buckeye Central and Bucyrus were all part of the NCC during the time the Cubs competed in the league. Lucas was left hanging when the N10 was formed and those schools joined.

"I think it is a much different situation now than it was back then," Iceman said. "We are at a different point than where we are now and some of those schools are at a different point, too. I don't think there is any animosity there and I only have great things to say about the people we have been working with so far. They are putting in a ton of work to figure everything out and it is going to be great for us."

The Northern 10 Conference is loaded with talent in every sport. Mohawk made a regional final appearance in football and five teams made the playoffs with four at least one postseason game. In boys basketball, Colonel Crawford just made a run to a state semifinal appearance and also saw its girls team win 20-plus games. Mohawk volleyball won 24 matches and all other sports are solid from top to bottom.

"It is going to be very competitive, but I think that is going to be good for our kids," Iceman said. "I wish we would have been in this league in boys basketball five or six years ago when we were really rolling because we would have been pushed a lot more in our league play. In the MBC, during that time, it was almost a forgone conclusion that we were going to win the league and it was hard to coach and keep the kids focused. Sometimes, you show up and go through the motion, but with the N10, its going to be a competitive game every single night."

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

X: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lucas set to join Northern 10 Athletic Conference in 2026-27 season

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