Every vote counts. It is a phrase commonly attached to politics.

It can also be applied to the gridiron.

Mandatory football scheduling was rejected by OVAC schools more than a decade ago. It was defeated by a single vote.

Some dozen years later, countless schools are painfully feeling the effects. Lengthy road trips, lopsided matchups, tweaking schedules in season and even open dates are common after-effects of that razor-thin balloting.

Another vote to impose mandatory scheduling will likely never happen.

“It can be brought up at the request of the schools,” said OVAC Executive Secretary Tom Rataiczak. “The only problem is, since the last vote you had the Buckeye 8 and TRAC conferences being formed. The PVC voted it down as a solid block back then.

“The biggest obstacle is making the state playoffs and playing “power” schools who have winning track records. Everyone wants the win,” he added. “Some schools do not want to play a school who consistently wins. Plus, like in 5A, you have seven West Virginia schools and three Ohio schools.West Virginia schools need to play so many West Virginia schools their size to make it to state. So they don’t want to play Ohio schools.”

St. Clairsville is the poster boy for the need of mandatory scheduling. The Red Devils play just nine games this season. It is not a case of the Red Devils ducking anyone. They stepped to the plate by adding Steubenville to this year’s card.

“Mandatory scheduling may have an impact on schools with dual affiliation,” said St. Clairsville Athletic Director Kelly Rine. “Most good programs gear their schedules toward making the playoffs. If anyone should be for it, we should, after what we went through this year. But Brett (McLean) wants to put a schedule together that helps put us in the position to make the playoffs. I support that thinking.”

Wheeling Central, meanwhile, just altered its 2015 card late last month. The Maroon Knights dropped Beallsville, replacing it with Carrick (Pa.). The Blue Devils vs. the Knights is a game that should never have been scheduled, as it was a mismatch of major proportions, but one needed by both schools to fill an open date.

“I am for mandatory scheduling as it determines a true champion. It improves attendance and also makes for local rivalries,” said Wheeling Central Athletic Director and head grid coach Mike Young. “Who cares if West Virginia or Ohio plays a Canada school? Mandatory scheduling would reduce travel expenses, create more rivalries and increase intensity every week.”

Wheeling Park is racking up some fuel bills this fall. Coming off a lengthy road trip to St. Albans, the Patriots will be trekking to Princeton on Oct. 23. It’s tough to play your best after a four-hour bus trip. Such a haul is also a burden to Park grid fans.

Shadyside is a small school that pays the price for football excellence. With an elongated run of postseason success comes a difficulty to schedule. That is reflected by the Orange needing to add Division II Logan (6-0) to complete a 10-game card.

“Mandatory scheduling would have really helped us the past two years. Last year we only had nine games and this year, we had to add Logan,” Shadyside head coach Mark Holenka noted. “My concern is that it may take away some flexibility. If each class had eight or nine schools within your division that would be fine as you could still have two or three flex games. There are some rivalries we do not want to lose, such as Monroe and Bellaire.”

Martins Ferry, also boasting an outstanding grid tradition, also had to scramble for a 10th game after a quality OVAC program backed out of a verbal accord. Consequently, the Purple Riders are hosting Reigning Sports Academy – formerly known as the Cleveland Knights – on Oct. 16.

John Marshall – improving by leaps and bounds under Rick Goodrich’s tutelage -has two Pennsylvania teams on its schedule.

“I would like it (mandatory scheduling) so we don’t have to travel all over the place for games – Mussleman, Mountain Ridge, Bellefonte and Logan,” Goodrich said. “Plus, if you are gonna be in a conference and be declared conference champs you need to play one another -like the ECOL does.”

Linsly is a school – for a variety of reasons – that must schedule up to find 10 games. The Cadets play only three local squads – Martins Ferry, Wheeling Central and Magnolia, all boasting solid football traditions. Linsly must play the likes of Columbus Bishop Ready, Columbus DeSales, Kiski, Western Reserve and Mogadore.

Since the Cadets are not eligible for the state playoffs and playing a meat grinder of a schedule, it is virtually impossible to gauge how good Linsly football is each year.

“Why would schools join an athletic conference if they didn’t intend to compete with conference schools? I can’t believe there are many conferences out there where there is no type of mandated schedule,” said Linsly head coach and Athletic Director B.J. Depew. “It would decrease travel and expenses for most schools. It would provide more opportunities for rivalries to develop, and it would validate the OVAC football championship.”

Steubenville is the flagship program in terms of Ohio Valley football. The Big Red will take on all-comers. Unfortunately, only two OVAC schools opted to accept the challenge and play Reno Saccoccia’s program – Brooke and St. Clairsville.

Consequently, the balance of Steubenville’s program features Cleveland JFK, Clinton-Massie, St. John’s College (Washington, D.C.), Massillon, Dover, Ursuline, University Prep and Cardinal O’Hara.

More OVAC flavor is needed on Steubenville’s schedule. Normally, Big Red would not eligible to win the OVAC 5-A crown as three conference games are needed. However, Steubenville was granted an OVAC waiver because conference schools are unwilling to play Big Red.

“A five-game schedule would be a dream come true- at least five – but it will never happen in my day,” Saccoccia stated.

Jay Circosta is the dean of OVAC football coaches. The Monroe Central grid boss brings unquestioned perspective to the issue.

“Scheduling is a tough issue. I have always wanted to be able to control our schedule. I don’t necessarily want someone else dictate who we play. It is always been our priority to play OVAC schools,” Circosta said. “This year, for example, all 10 of our games are OVAC opponents. We have done that for years. We want our schedule to be challenging, with a chance to get in the playoffs, but at the same time we don’t want to over schedule because we want to be fair to our kids.

“You must also take into consideration travel time, size of school and potential of making money. An example would be: Why play Linsly? You never know from one year to the next what players they are going to have and there will be no gate,” he continued. “We have played them before and it is not a win-win situation.”

Kapral may be reached at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com