Top 25 Countdown: No. 20 Ridgway/Johnsonburg Co-Op Flourishing

Between June 26 and July 30, D9Sports.com Sports Editor Chris Rossetti will be counting down his Top 25 favorites stories in District 9 from the 2017-18 school year starting with No. 25 June 25 and finishing with No. 1 July 30. Again these are Chris’ favorite stories and are open for debate.

(Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa’s work here)

No. 20 Ridgway/Johnsonburg Co-op Flourishing

When Ridgway and Johnsonburg decided to co-op a majority of their boys’ and girls’ sports a few years ago, no one quite knew how it would go.

Would kids from rival high schools be able to come together and be successful or would the long-standing rivalry get in the way?

The answer is, success has found a new home.

On the boys’ side, the football team – hosted at Ridgway – won its second straight District 9 Class 1A title, while the baseball team – hosted at Johnsonburg – took home the D9 Class 2A championship.

In girls’ play, the soccer team – hosted at Ridgway – captured the District 9 Class 1A title, while the softball team – hosted at Johnsonburg – was the District 9 runner-up.

So needless to say, the co-op in Elk County is flourishing better than anyone could have imagined and is a formula that is sure to be copied by many more schools as enrollments around the district continue to fall.

Chris Rossetti’s Top 25 Sports Stories in District 9 for the 2017-18 School Year

No. 25 – A-C Valley girls win first PIAA playoff basketball game in school history
No. 24 – Two District 9 girls finish in Top 10 at District 9 Cross Country Meet
No. 23 – Jack Krug bursts onto the scene, helps Brookville football return to the postseason
No. 22 – Brendan Zerfoss wins D9 Track MVP Award, two PIAA medals
No. 21 – Cranberry wins District 9 Class 2A softball title
No. 20 – Ridgway/Johnsonburg Co-op Flourishing
No. 19 – Coming July 4
No. 18 – Coming July 5
No. 17 – Coming July 6
No. 16 – Coming July 9
No. 15 – Coming July 10
No. 14 – Coming July 11
No. 13 – Coming July 12
No. 12 – Coming July 13
No. 11 – Coming July 16
No. 10 – Coming July 17
No. 9 – Coming July 18
No. 8 – Coming July 19
No. 7 – Coming July 20
No. 6 – Coming July 23
No. 5 – Coming July 24
No. 4 – Coming July 25
No. 3 – Coming July 26
No. 2 – Coming July 27
No. 1 – Coming July 30