MANSFIELD — The Ohio Cardinal Conference will have a new member and three new head coaches when the season kicks off later this month.
Longtime Ashland coach Scott Valentine succeeded Dave Stupka at Madison. Valentine was a remarkable 130-60 with 10 playoff appearances and seven OCC titles in 17 seasons with the Arrows before stepping down following the 2018 season. Valentine inherited a Madison program that is 4-53 since 2016. The Rams haven’t had a winning season since going 7-4 and reaching the playoffs under Sean Conway in 2014.
Andrew Saris, a longtime Madison assistant and the Rams’ former head track coach, takes over for Taylor Gerhardt at Lexington. Gerhardt stepped down after leading Lex to a playoff berth last fall. It was Gerhardt’s second stint as head coach of the Minutemen.
In addition to Madison and Lexington, Mount Vernon also has a new coach. Jay Campbell replaced Mike Kerr, who stepped down to become the head coach at Bexley. Campbell spent the past five seasons as the head coach at Northridge.
The biggest news for the OCC this fall is the addition of New Philadelphia. The Quakers join the OCC after spending 25 years in the now-defunct East Central Ohio League. New Philadelphia will renew long-dormant rivalries with Madison, Ashland and Wooster. All four schools were longtime members of the Cardinal Conference, which lasted from 1960 to 1987.
Mansfield Senior 2022
Madison 2022
Lexington 2022
Ashland 2022
Mount Vernon 2022
