Two Plus Two Equals One
German Twp, OH (August 1, 2004) It was 1968 when the Farmersville and Germantown high schools merged together to form Valley View. The combination of the schools brought many things to the area, but one of the biggest impacts it had was in sports.
The two schools once friendly rivals were now working together. It brought many things to Valley View athletics program, but most importantly it brought a desire to take everything to the next level. And with the joining of the two towns, Farmersville students, finally, had the choice to play football without having to transfer to Germantown schools.
"Each school had their own athletes and they each had their up and down years. It was a pretty good transition to Valley View. There was more competition (between players), but that made more out of you," Tom Sears said.
The new, larger, football team had their first practice on August 19, 1968. During the practice, 50 boys competed for the starting spots for their first game which was held on September 6, 1968.
The first two games of the season showed signs of an adjustment period, as the newly joined Cardinals and Wildcats worked together as one team, the Spartans. Although so they could play football, some of the Farmersville boys were familiar playing football in Germantown because they had enrolled at Germantown the year prior.
"Well, we had played with some of them. The guys who wanted to play football came over. I think the whole thing was a good experience. There are a lot of really neat people from both Farmersville and Germantown," former basketball and baseball player Duane Wise said.
They fell to Franklin 0-28 and Springboro 26-28 but came back to beat Carlisle 28-0 in their third game. Things seemed like they were coming together for the blue blooded team, until Twin Valley South put a damper on things when they beat them 46-22.
The season continued, but the Spartans just couldn't seem to get into the groove and came out on the bottom once again against Jefferson (0-14).
The things began to change after they tied state-rated Dixie 6-6 and then cruised through the remainder of their season with only victories. The Spartans defeated Bellbrook, beginning a strong rivalry between the Spartans and Eagles, 32-6 before upsetting Preble Shawnee 14-8. The remaining two games of their season were blowouts, as the Spartans ran the ball to the end zone, several times, against Woodrow Wilson (37-0) and Twin Valley North (47-0).
Moving into the basketball season, the team went 1-8 and made it to the second round of the District finals before falling out 59-74 to Xenia. Tom Sears remembers the transition as a simple one.
"It was fun and we all did well. We knew almost everyone from Germantown and our coach, Jim Robins, knew all of us from summer camp, so we all knew what to expect before going into the season," Sears commented.
Next up is baseball and track.
That year the Spartans baseball team battled with the weather, playing 30 of the 40 scheduled games. The Spartans' opened the tournament round with a huge 11-0 win against Stivers before beating Franklin 5-4 in extra innings.
Valley View continued to make outs and get hits as they sent Fairmont West packing with a 5-3 upset in the quarterfinals before falling to Miamisburg. Their first season ended with 19 wins and 11 losses.
On the track, the Spartans took second at Little Miami with their small squad of 23 kids.
Overall the transition from two smaller schools to one bigger sized school had positive influences jumping all around.
"Originally we were a little worried about what was going to happen, but we soon found out that it was the best thing that could've ever happened," Wise said.
"I think the transition was easy and it was very positive. It brought both communities together. It took some time to adjust, but with each year it became better and better. Now, both communities are working together and that's one of the best things, the working relationship," Sears added.
