One of the more little-known, yet important, aspects of postseason scholastic events is the securing of host venues at neutral sites.
For Bradford High, Saturday’s state-playoff basketball doubleheader posed a chance for the school to show itself, both in facility and in personnel. It was the first time in recent history – maybe ever – that the high school had hosted basketball state playoff games, according to BHS Athletic Director David “Pug” Fuhrman.
“We’re always open to it,” Fuhrman said. “We’ll hold district games if they want us to. We’ll hold state games. I think it’s good for the school. It’s good exposure for the school.”
One of the real advantages for the Otto-Eldred girls and Coudersport boys teams is the reduced travel by having a game played in the northern tier of District 9, one of the largest districts by area in the state. The PIAA in the past has placed teams that win or finish second in districts – Otto-Eldred was the Class A runner-up and Coudersport won AA – with first-round games in their home districts.
That has meant, however, that games are played in doubleheaders at Clarion University, more than an hour’s drive for teams in the North Tier League. At least the way things turned out this year, it worked out that northern schools had a northern venue to call home for a couple hours, leading to the packed house Saturday.
“Bradford’s tough geographically since we’re almost in New York State,” Fuhrman said. “Geographically, we’re not really gifted in a nice, central location. At the same time it’s a nice facility and I think people like playing in our venue.”
During his high school career as an Owl, Fuhrman and his BHS teammates played state games in Bradford, albeit at Pitt-Bradford’s KOA Arena.
The Owls’ Nest gym holds about 1,200 fans at capacity and nearly 600 tickets were sold at the door, according to Fuhrman. Tickets were given to the four schools playing Saturday – girls teams from Otto-Eldred and West Greene and the boys squads from Coudersport and United – for presale. The protocol for securing a neutral-site venue, Fuhrman said, starts when District 9 Basketball Chairman Jim Manners sends out an email asking for availability of gymnasiums in the district. With the Owls’ baseball and softball teams having an off day and the track team hosting a fundraiser, the BHS gym became available. Because the school was hosting SAT exams in the morning, the games were pushed back a bit, with the Otto-Eldred girls tipping off at 4:30 p.m.
There were many hands on deck to make Saturday successful, including Assistant AD Tim Walter, who retired after last school year after 16 years at the helm making way for Fuhrman. Walter is still a member of the D-9 committee.
“For me and him to put the game on together,” Fuhrman said, “it really works well. There’s a lot that goes into prepping for an event. At Bradford, we have a great team. Our custodians are fantastic…they take a lot of pride in making our school look nice.”
Fuhrman said the BHS administration is always excited when there is a postseason game to be held at the school. The Bradford High turf hosted a Port Allegany boys soccer state-playoff game in November as well as district football games in the past. Even though it’s a being used as a neutral site, Bradford fans were still treated to some quality basketball: Otto-Eldred won its first-ever state-playoff game in a comeback effort, while Coudersport’s Owen Chambers poured in 35 points in the Falcons’ win.
“I was looking around the crowd of the game and there were a lot of people from the Bradford community there,” Fuhrman said. “That was nice to see.”
