Forsha on Football: A high school football blog

Forsha on Football is a high school football blog from Highland County Press sports editor Stephen Forsha with opinions, facts and stats about the South Central Ohio League and other area football leagues from the summer preseason through the end of the season.

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Post 65: SCOL Football Playoff Previews
Friday, Nov. 8, 2013

The high school football regular season is over, and now the teams that remain in Week 11 are the best of the best in the seven divisions throughout the state.

The South Central Ohio League has three teams who qualified for the state playoffs.

I want to take a look at the two games involving the SCOL this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Here are short previews on each game.


Division III, Region 9
Friday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.
No. 6 Chillicothe (9-1) at No. 3 Columbus Brookhaven (8-2)

Being their first season in the SCOL, the Cavaliers have done the league proud, entering the postseason with nine wins. Coach Ron Hinton and his staff have done a great job this season with a team that has been four years in the making.

This season, the Cavs, who are making their sixth playoff appearance, have scored 351 points (35.1 points per game) while allowing just 8.5 ppg. They finished 4-0 at home and have won their past three games to end the regular season by a combined score 134-27, including two shutouts.

Brookhaven was 3-1 at home this season, as they've scored 345 points (34.5) while allowing 129 points in '13, or an average of 12.9 ppg.

The Bearcats of Brookhaven have averaged 101 passing yards per game and have rushed for 235.9 ypg.

This game should be the best of the ones on this list as it seems these two teams are close to equal in the stat categories. Should be a fun game for those in attendance.

Here are results for CHS this season:
at Jamestown-Monroe, W, 20-7
at Big Walnut, W, 21-14
vs. Teays Valley, W, 21-0
at Miami Trace, W, 20-14
at Washington, W, 62-6
vs. McClain, W, 66-0
at Clinton-Massie, L, 17-7
vs. Hillsboro, W, 49-0
vs. East Clinton, W, 28-0
at Portsmouth, W, 57-27

Here are the results for Brookhaven this season:
at West, W, 49-20
at Marion-Franklin, L, 27-2
vs. Central Crossing, L, 10-7
at Northland, W, 29-28
vs. Whetstone, W, 46-24
at Linden-McKinley, W, 33-0
vs. Centennial, W, 54-7
at Beechcroft, W, 34-7
vs. East, W, 43-6
at Mifflin, W, 48-0



Division IV, Region 14
Friday, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Miami Trace (7-3) at No. 2 Clinton-Massie (9-1)

Talk about good and bad luck for a league. The good was the SCOL had two more teams qualify for the state playoffs, but the bad was they have to face each other in the first round.

This is when the Falcons really turn up their level of play, first and foremost because they are entering this postseason as the defending Division IV State champions. They dominated this regular season with nine wins, and in Week 9 defeated the same Miami Trace team by a 42-7 score at CMHS, the same location this game will be played.

The lone loss for CM this season was to St. Francis DeSales by a 21-16 score. DeSales finished the season 5-4 but didn't earn a postseason berth.

CM is the favorite to win this game, if nothing else, for their play a few weeks ago against the Panthers. In that game, CM led 21-0 at halftime, then had another 21-point half, as MT scored their lone TD in the fourth quarter.

CM hasn't lost a game at home all season, winning five times. CM has outscored opponents, 434-68. I covered CM twice this season when they played Blanchester and McClain and was impressed both times I watched them.

For MT, this has been a very good and positive season for them. They were 3-2 at home and 4-1 on the road. I watched Miami Trace at McClain this season, and again, I was impressed with their play as they were a improved team from a year ago.

I just wish two SCOL teams didn't have to play each other in the first round, but sometimes it happens, and this is one of those years.

For MT, they outscored their opponents, 352-212 with their three losses coming against CM, Chillicothe and Bishop Ready, all teams who are in the postseason.

I hope this game has a great atmosphere and is a celebration of sorts for the SCOL and how far it has come in recent years.

Here are the results for Miami Trace this season:
at Circleville, W, 42-26
vs. Wilmington, W, 35-17
vs. Logan Elm, W, 49-31
vs. Chillicothe, L, 20-14
at Hillsboro, W, 42-0
at East Clinton, W, 44-14
vs. Bishop Ready, L, 52-35
at McClain, W, 42-0
at Clinton-Massie, L, 42-7
vs. Washington, W, 42-10


Here are the results for Clinton-Massie this season:
vs. Blanchester, W, 63-7
at Waynesville, W, 21-19
vs. Jonathan Alder, W, 35-7
vs. McClain, W, 62-0
at St. Francis DeSales, L, 21-16
at Hillsboro, W, 77-0
vs. Chillicothe, W, 17-7
at Washington, W, 70-0
vs. Miami Trace, W, 42-7
at East Clinton, W, 31-0

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Post 66: The final week of the regular season
Friday, Nov. 1, 2013

Week 10 is here, and that means rivalry night for the South Central Ohio League.

Tonight, the regular season comes to a close with four games involving SCOL teams with their biggest rivals on the schedule.

The Clinton-Massie Falcons are at East Clinton, the Washington Blue Lions travel to Miami Trace, the Chillicothe Cavaliers will hit the road to face non-league rival Portsmouth and the Hillsboro Indians will play in the annual Rotary Bowl at McClain.

It is hard to believe we have come to the end of the road for the regular season, but it looks as though three teams from the SCOL will extend their season to a Week 11 game or beyond in the postseason in Clinton-Massie, Chillicothe and Miami Trace, but more on that at a later date.

This is a good time to celebrate the SCOL, as though it was a top-heavy league this year, I believe the overall product of the league was much better than in years past.

Having three teams in the postseason hunt gives the rest of the league something to work toward in future seasons, because with Wilmington coming next season, the football schedules will only get tougher.

Seeing six of the seven SCOL teams in the regular season this year (sorry Chillicothe, our schedules never worked out), I saw a lot of things I liked with the league, and of course I saw a few things that could use some improvements, but again, we'll save all of that for another day.

Friday, Nov. 1 is all about celebrating the SCOL with rivalry night.

I'll be covering the Rotary Bowl, and to be honest it is tough picking a winner in this one, because of a few factors.

One of those factors is this game means so much to both sides. The game should mean a lot to both Hillsboro and Greenfield, and that is what makes this game so special.

This will be the seventh Rotary Bowl I've covered, and I expect this to be a good, quality game.

If Hillsboro plays like they did against the Blue Lions last week (without the turnovers, of course) and the Tigers played like they did in the early stages of the regular season, then we'll have a game on our hands that hopefully we can talk about for years to come.

I'm not saying this year could be one of those games, but it has the capability to be one of those games. My hope, as a reporter, is for a competitive game, no matter who wins.

With that said, good luck to both teams, and I hope there is a sellout at McClain Field this year, because it will be the last varsity football game in Highland County until next August.

The thought of no HHS or MHS football until August depresses me a bit.

Anyway, here are my weekly game predictions, as I was 4-1 last week. My predictions for week 10 are:

- Clinton-Massie over East Clinton
- Chillicothe over Portsmouth
- Miami Trace over Washington

and …

drum roll please ….

McClain over Hillsboro in the Rotary Bowl.

My predictions mean nothing but to humor myself. Everyone have a good game tonight, fans, have fun, and let's enjoy this last game of the 2013 high school football season.


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Post 65: Week 9 Predictions
Friday, Oct. 25, 2013

Sorry for the late post ... it has been a busy week here at the Highland County Press.

In just a few hours, Week 9 of the high school football season will kickoff, and I just wanted to get my game predictions online before the games begin.

This week, the schedule consists of McClain playing in their final non-league game of the season at Jackson. The Hillsboro Indians host the Washington Blue Lions, while the Chillicothe Cavaliers welcome the East Clinton Astros to their renovated field. The other game in the South Central Ohio League is my "Game of the Week" with the Clinton-Massie Falcons hosting the Miami Trace Panthers.

The Falcons vs. the Panthers is for all the marbles, so to speak, in the SCOL. If the Falcons win, they will more than likely be the champions of the league once again.

If Miami Trace were to win this week, there would be a first-place tie in the SCOL between MT, CM and Chillicothe, if CHS were to win their game this week as well. Also, if CHS wins vs. EC and MT were to defeat CM, that means CHS would clinch at least a share of the SCOL crown as they will have completed their league schedule for the regular season.

Basically, if the Falcons defeat the Panthers this week, they have no less than a share of the SCOL crown, and if CM wins this week and next week, they are outright league champions.

Anyway, here are my Week 9 predictions:

- Jackson over McClain
- Washington over Hillsboro
- Clinton-Massie over Miami Trace
- Chillicothe over East Clinton

Everyone have a great weekend.

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Post 64: Week 8 SCOL Predictions
Friday, Oct. 18, 2013

Hard to believe this is already week eight of the 2013 high school football season. The chill in the air is here, the leaves are following and this is the time of the year where computer points are king of the game for those battling for postseason spots.

This week in the South Central Ohio League, the "Game of the Week" is Clinton-Massie at Washington. The reason I say that is because the schedule this week is a tough schedule with the top three teams of the league facing three of the four teams in spots four-seven, and Massie is still undefeated in the league.

The rest of the schedule for the league includes: Hillsboro (1-6) at Chillicothe (6-1), Miami Trace (5-2) at McClain (3-4) and Meadowdale (4-3) at East Clinton (3-4), as EC is the SCOL team this week playing out of the league.

The three top teams in the SCOL (Clinton-Massie, Chillicothe and Miami Trace) have only suffered league losses this season (if any) against each other this season, with CM being undefeated in SCOL play at 3-0, while CHS is 3-1 and Miami Trace is 2-1 in the SCOL.

The rest of the SCOL standings are Washington at 2-1, Hillsboro 0-3, McClain 0-4 and East Clinton at 2-2.

My predictions for the week eight games are:

- Clinton-Massie over Washington
- Chillicothe over Hillsboro
- East Clinton over Meadowdale
- Miami Trace over McClain

Last week, I went 3-1 with my picks.

Here is to another safe week of high school football.

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Post 63: Remembering Ernie Blankenship and SCOL predictions
Friday, Oct. 11, 2013

The Highland County community, the Hillsboro community and the area sports community lost a great man this week with the passing of Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ernie Blankenship.

I'll remember Ernie as a very nice man who showed a rookie reporter nothing but respect when I first met him in 2006. He was always there with a "Hi young man," and that cheerful welcoming by Mr. Blankenship is how I'll remember him.

My memories of Mr. Blankenship are his farewell tour he had. It seemed that at every basketball game I covered that season, Mr. Blankenship was in attendance receiving an award. I remember three games where he received jerseys with his name, plaques, signed team basketballs, standing ovations, handshakes and hugs.

He deserved every single ounce of respect given to him, and there is nobody who will ever cover Highland County athletics as well as Mr. Blankenship did. Ernie was the greatest, and my hope is future generations know and learn about what he meant to the Highland County community and to the sporting community as well.

Mr. Blankenship will be missed.

Now, it is time for the seventh week of the SCOL season (hard to believe we are this far into the season) with some really nice match-ups on the schedule.

The game of the week, and maybe of the past 10 years, for the SCOL will be held in Clarksville with Chillicothe (6-0, 3-0) at Clinton-Massie (5-1, 2-0), as first place in the SCOL is on the line.

I'm not going to sugarcoat this, but my thought is whoever wins this game will be champion of the SCOL ... I have no doubt about that.

CM hasn't lost a SCOL game since '07, and this is the first year Chillicothe has been in the SCOL since the late '20s/early '30s, though back then the Cavaliers did win four league championships.

For a fan of high school football in Southern Ohio, this should be the game at the top of the list ... oh, and it is homecoming for the Falcons.

Other games on the schedule are Washington at McClain for homecoming at MHS, Hillsboro at East Clinton and the non-league SCOL game with Bishop Ready at Miami Trace.

Here are my predictions for the four games, last week I finished 4-0 in my picks, but onto this week's predictions:

- Cinton-Massie over Chillicothe
- East Clinton over Hillsboro
- McClain over Washington
- Bishop Ready over Miami Trace

Again, to everyone who knew Mr. Blankenship, just think of him before kickoff tonight. Remember one of his football calls and smile. Everyone have a safe weekend.

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Post 62: Not a competitive weekend for the SCOL
Monday, Oct. 7, 2013

Week six of the South Central Ohio League was the least competitive of any of the six weeks that have been played thus far, according to the overall scores accumulated this past Friday night.

SCOL teams, and non-SCOL teams who defeated SCOL opponents, scored a combined 280 points compared to the other side that scored just 34 total points.

Here are the scores from Friday:

- Clinton-Massie 77, Hillsboro 0
- McClain 0, Chillicothe 61
- Miami Trace 44, East Clinton 14
- Washington 20, Bishop Ready 98

I don't know what to really say about the scores except they are what they are, I guess?

To me, the SCOL is two tiers, and that proved to be even more true Friday. Tier one is Clinton-Massie, Chillicothe and Miami Trace. Tier two is McClain, Washington, Hillsboro and East Clinton.

The scores prove my theory correct, and so do the league records.

I also believe whomever wins Friday when Chillicothe visits Clinton-Massie will be the SCOL champions as well, because neither one of those teams will lose in the SCOL following that Week 7 game.

That game will be the "Game of the Week" in the SCOL.

As for last Friday, there isn't a whole lot to talk about … I mean, the difference in scoring was 246 points, so I think it is just best for all involved to just move onto this Friday, which we'll talk about later in the week.

I covered the Scioto Valley Conference this past Friday when I watched the Paint Valley Bearcats defeat the Southeastern Panthers, 34-24 at PVHS.

It was one of the more competitive games I've covered this season, as the score was a two-point difference in the fourth quarter.

It was just a fun game as PV moved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in their conference. I'll write more about this matchup and the Bearcats later in the week.

Back to the SCOL … this week games will include:

- Chillicothe at Clinton-Massie
- Hillsboro at East Clinton
- Washington at McClain
- Bishop Ready at Miami Trace

There are some interesting games on this schedule. Bishop Ready is back playing another SCOL team this week, and I bet they don't score 98 points this week against another Fayette County team.

The Washington at McClain matchup has to be a game with two angry teams after they allowed a combined 159 points last week. At least I would be angry going into this game.

That is all for today … let's make this a great one.

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Post 61: Week 6 Game Day
Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I just needed a little time away from the blog for a breather of sorts.

Today is game day for the sixth week of the season and the South Central Ohio League, with a nice slate of games on the list.

The Clinton-Massie Falcons, who are coming off a 21-16 loss to DeSales, visit one-win Hillsboro, and the McClain Tigers travel to Chillicothe. Also on the list, the Washington Blue Lions hit the road to take on Bishop Ready in non-league play, and to wrap up the SCOL schedule this week, the Miami Trace Panthers go to East Clinton to face the Astros.

Last week, I finished 2-2 in my four picks, by far my worst week of predicting games this season. My record with the predictions this season is 24-5 overall.

My picks for games this week are:
- Clinton-Massie over Hillsboro
- Chillicothe over McClain
- Miami Trace over East Clinton
- Bishop Ready over Washington

Here are some random thoughts about last week and the upcoming games:
- Going back to last week, the East Clinton Astros played one of the more motivated games I've watched this season.

- CM suffered just their third regular-season loss in three seasons … they are still the best team I've seen or will see this season.

- Did you realize the SCOL has three teams ranked in the AP state polls? Before this season, when was the last time this has happened?

- It's so hard to believe this is the start of the second half of the season. Where does time go?

- I think of the four games on the SCOL slate for tonight, the most competitive game could be the Chillicothe vs. McClain game.

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Post 60: Week 5 Football Predictions
Friday, Sept. 27, 2013

Following the games tonight, we'll be halfway through the 2013 high school football season. Crazy, huh?

Last week, Hillsboro became the final team in the South Central Ohio League to gain a win, so that gives the league another non-league win for the season, as HHS defeated Landmark Christian.

Also last week, Clinton-Massie and Chillicothe became the two lone teams to stay undefeated in the SCOL as each are 4-0 overall on the season and both are 1-0 in the SCOL. This week, the Falcons of CM travel to face DeSales in Columbus, while Chillicothe travels to Fayette County to take on the Washington Blue Lions (1-0, 3-1).

Also in SCOL play tonight, the McClain Tigers (0-1, 3-1) host East Clinton (0-1, 1-3), and the Miami Trace Panthers (0-1, 3-1) travel to face Hillsboro (0-0, 1-3).

For those wanting to read my HHS and MHS football previews, with comments from both head coaches, click here.

The game of interest for me this week with two SCOL teams facing one another is the Chillicothe at Washington game, where the Blue Lions and the Cavaliers will both rely heavily on the run game, so that will be what is called an "old-fashioned SCOL game," though the SCOL current day is still mostly the run game.

WIth HHS hosting Miami Trace, it is the homecoming game for the Indians, and they have a very tough task of playing a MT team that is coming off their first loss, an overtime loss, last week by a touchdown.

The MHS vs. East Clinton game should be a competitive game, and one team will rebound from their loss last week and gain their first league win.

CM wraps up their non-league slate in a big way when they face DeSales tonight. Here is a link to the game. If anyone wants to listen to it, click here.

Anyway, with it being game day, here are my weekly predictions. Last week, I went 3-1, so after four weeks, my overall record is 22-3 in predictions.

This week, my predictions are:
- Miami Trace over Hillsboro
- McClain over East Clinton
- Clinton-Massie over DeSales
- Chillicothe over Washington

Everyone have a good Friday and a safe weekend.



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Post 59: Rankings and thoughts
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

On Monday, the Associated Press released the second week of their state football polls. For teams in the South Central Ohio League, there were still three teams on their respective lists, with the Clinton-Massie Falcons leading the way for a second consecutive week.

The Falcons were still ranked No. 1 in the Division IV list, following their 62-0 victory over the McClain Tigers to win in the SCOL for the 33rd consecutive time. In their time in the SCOL, the Falcons have lost just twice, the last time being 2007.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association said the Falcons also have the longest current winning streak in the state at 19 consecutive wins. CM went 15-0 last season and are currently 4-0 overall this year.

This week, the Falcons (1-0 in the SCOL) travel for maybe their toughest game of the regular season (though Waynesville was a 21-19 victory in Week 2) as they travel to take on Columbus St. Francis DeSales, who are currently 2-2 overall.

DeSales is coming off a 41-20 victory Friday against Rogers.

Also on the Division IV list were the Miami Trace Panthers, as they are No. 11 on the list. Last week, the Panthers were No. 9 but fell to the Chillicothe Cavaliers, 20-14 in overtime this past Friday for their first loss of the season. MT is now 3-1 overall, 0-1 in the SCOL.

MT hit the road to take on the Hillsboro Indians (1-3) this Friday in SCOL play.

The Cavaliers jumped to the No. 10 spot in the Division III poll, as they won the aforementioned game at Miami Trace to move to 4-0 on the season (1-0 in the SCOL). Last week, the Cavaliers were ranked 11th in the Division III poll.

This week, the Cavaliers will travel to take on the 3-1 Washington Blue Lions.

Other thoughts before Week 5 games:

- How about the SCOL showing it can play football … three teams in the AP poll. The league is getting work done so far this season.

- CM running back Bayle Wolf has 551 yards in three games played this season for an average of 183.6 yards per game this season. He missed week one with an injury. He's averaging 8.4 yards per carry on 66 carries this season.

- In four games this season, Washington running back Tye Smith has 548 yards rushing (unofficially).

- The game I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen this week in the SCOL (between two SCOL teams) is Chillicothe at Washington.

- But my game of the week has to be CM traveling to DeSales, but I'll write more on all the games later in the week.

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Post 58: Reviewing Week 4 of the SCOL
Monday, Sept. 23, 2013

Now that is what I call a week of South Central Ohio League football.

The Hillsboro Indians snapped a 13-game losing streak, Chillicothe played in overtime to defeat the Miami Trace Panthers in a game of two state-ranked teams, Washington won another shootout against East Clinton and the Clinton-Massie Falcons won in a downpour against the McClain Tigers to now have the longest winning streak in the state.

The SCOL should be very proud of the overall football product it had this past week.

First, a little on the Hillsboro football team.

I didn't get to attend the game, but from reading the article from Rory Ryan and looking at the photo slideshow by Colin Ryan, it seemed like it was a good atmosphere at Richards Memorial Field in their 40-6 win over Landmark Christian.

I was so glad to see the Indians gain a win this season, even though when I got the news I was sorting through a rain-soaked bag that ruined pretty much everything that was inside it (some outdoor bag, huh?), as it rained all night at Clinton-Massie in their game against McClain.

It rained so hard at CM, I took notes of the game on my cell phone because it was impossible to write on a piece of paper.

Anyway, nobody really cares about the rain and how it caused me grief this past Friday, but again, congratulations to the Hillsboro football team for that first win of the '13 season.

HHS scored six touchdowns in the victory, with six different players reaching the end zone. Those players were: Lane Hester, Jordan Mosley, Garrett Baldridge, Avery Ventura, Toby Warrington and Andrew Palmer.  

That group worked hard for that win, and hopefully there are more to come this season.

As for the Tigers' traveling to the Associated Press No. 1 ranked team in Division IV Clinton-Massie, that game was a wash … no, it actually was with all the rain. I don't believe I've ever covered a game where it has rained that hard for that long of a period. The only one I can even remember coming close was a Lynchburg-Clay tournament soccer game a couple years ago at LC and a MHS football game against Paint Valley over five years ago at McClain Field.

The Falcons dominated the running game and with their defense in this contest, with over 600 yards of offense. Bayle Wolf had 260-plus yards rushing and four touchdowns, and Kelson Gauden had two rushing TDs with nearly 200 yards on the ground. Chayse Wolf even rushed for over 120 yards.

This was the toughest game for the Tigers all season, so they got through it, and now it's time to focus in the final six weeks of the regular season and see what happens.

Would have liked to seen the shootout between the East Clinton Astros and the Washington Blue Lions … where WCH won by 17 points by a 49-32 score.

Sometimes a good offensive shootout is just as fun to watch as a closely played defensive contest. One standout in this game was Tye Smith with over 200 yards rushing. EC had nearly 400 yards of offense, and WSHS has nearly 500 yards of offense.

The game I really wanted to see and said would be game of the week turned out to be the best game of the SCOL schedule, like I thought it would be back in July when I was traveling to all the football camps. Chillicothe defeated Miami Trace by six points in overtime at Panther Stadium, and if there was any team who was getting good at winning close ball games, it would be the Cavaliers.

They won by a 20-14 score and proved they are worthy of being in the Top 10 of the Division III AP poll, in my opinion. Even with the loss, I believe MT deserves to be in the Top 10 of the Division IV poll, but I don't get a vote, even though I write about high school football on a daily basis.

Again, I'd still really like to watch this game if there is a way to get a copy of it.

Anyway, like I said earlier, the SCOL has a lot to be proud of this week. It has three state-ranked teams entering the week, and every team in the league has at least one win. I'm excited for week four to get here, as it could be another competitive week of football for the league.

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Post 57: SCOL Preview and Predictions
Friday, Sept. 20, 2013

Game day is here once again, so we'll keep this short and sweet this week.

There are some nice matchups on the game schedule this week with the start of the South Central Ohio League games against one another this week, and one game in particular has my eye to see what the final score will be in the Chillicothe Cavaliers visiting the Miami Trace Panthers.

This game will go a long way in determining the final standings and possible playoff berths for these two teams. Currently, CHS is No. 11 in the Division III AP poll with a 3-0 mark, while Miami Trace is 3-0 overall and No. 9 in the Division IV poll.

I think this is by far the SCOL "Game of the Week" and should be really fun and exciting for those in attendance.

It will be interesting to see what bends first, the stout defense of the Cavaliers or the high-yardage offense of the Panthers. Again, like I said yesterday, if I was able to attend this game, I would, but I'd be happy to hear what others' thoughts were about the game once completed.

In other games in the SCOL, Hillsboro has the lone non-league game as they host 1-2 Landmark Christian. HHS, if they can play with the consistency that head coach Matt Hodge is looking for, can win this game and break a 13-game losing streak.

HHS has the players and are capable of winning this game, it just comes down to making fewer miscues.

Washington travels to East Clinton in what could be a competitive game between the two teams. WCH is 2-1 overall and EC is 1-2, but both are capable of running the football. I'm going to have to give the overall running edge to the Blue Lions with Tye Smith carrying the rock.

Smith has had some very good games this season, and the Blue Lions go as far as he and the offensive line can take them in this game.

The final game to talk about is the Clinton-Massie Falcons hosting the McClain Tigers. Teams can't make mistakes against the AP Div. IV No. 1 ranked Falcons, because the Falcons will take advantage of any miscues a team shows against them.

This game will also come down to the ability of stopping, or at least slowing down, the Falcons' offense, but teams can't forget about the Massie defense, as they are pretty powerful as well.

Last week, I finished 7-0 in my SCOL picks, making me 19-2 overall on the season.

My predictions for this week are:
Clinton-Massie over McClain
Washington over McClain
Miami Trace over Chillicothe
Hillsboro over Landmark Christian

Everyone have a safe Friday night and weekend. Thanks for reading.

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Post 56: Double post: Mid-Week report
Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I had some other work I needed to finish for the HCP print edition, but today we are back with my mid-week report for the fourth week of the season.

On Friday, I'll preview all the games and make my weekly predictions.

The Associated Press released their first football poll of the 2013 season, and the South Central Ohio League was well represented with Clinton-Massie being No. 1 in the Division IV poll and Miami Trace also in the Top 10 of the Div. IV pool at No. 9.

In the Div. III AP poll, the Chillicothe Cavaliers are No. 11, giving the SCOL three schools ranked in the state after three games.

Other area schools not in the SCOL that I want to mention are Paint Valley, who are 13th in the Division VII AP poll, and Manchester, who were ranked 17th in the Div. VII poll. Western Brown is 13th in Div. III.

So, with that said, the SCOL has three teams ranked in the AP, poll and do you realize Miami Trace and Chillicothe face each other this Friday … that will be a great game. I'd really like to see film on that game if anyone would want to send it my way next week (hint, hint).

In looking at the rankings, I'm happy to see Manchester just named in the AP poll. I saw one of the school's first scrimmages about six years ago at Paint Valley. I remember seeing the Greyhounds go though a lot of growing pains with that first team, but even though none of those players are still on this year's team, just seeing that program develop from then to where it is now is exciting to see for that school.

I hope others remember what that first-year team went through, because if not for them getting the program off and rolling, today's team wouldn't have a chance to show what a small school program can do given time.

So, what game is everyone attending this week? I'll be at the Clinton-Massie vs. McClain game, but we'll have coverage at Hillsboro hosting Landmark Christian as well with Rory Ryan and son walking the sidelines for that Week 4 game.

I'm excited for both of those games for the fact Hillsboro has a good chance to gain their first win of the season if they play four consistent quarters, and for the game I'll be attending, it is a chance to see the AP No. 1-ranked team at full strength, as when I saw Massie live Week 1 vs. Blanchester, the Falcons didn't have Bayle Wolf playing.

This will also be an interesting game for McClain as even if they are the underdog headed into the game, I want to see how they compete against a team like the Falcons, because the SCOL slate is tough this season, and this game, if they leave healthy, can only make the Tigers better in the long run for the rest of the regular season.

Remember, send any questions about the high school football season to sforsha@gmail.com.

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Post 55: Week 4 SVC Preview
Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013

Before we look at the Week 4 schedule and the first round of inter-conference games between the Scioto Valley Conference, I want to talk a little bit about the time I spent at Paint Valley for their game last Friday night at George Knisley Field.

The Bearcats hosted Africentric in their final non-league game of the '13 regular season and easily defeated the visitors, 46-0. As for this game, I wanted to give a little praise to the Africentric team.

That group of young men played their hearts out Friday, and they did it with a roster of around 20 players. With few fans on their side, I can't stress enough how impressed I was with the players on that team. I'm telling you, they never quit … even when the score was a 46-point deficit and PV was rotating players in and out of the game, Africentric continued to play hard, and it takes a lot of determination to continue to play hard when trailing by that many points.

If I learned anything from that game, it's both teams played hard, and though the score wasn't a close one, I still found something else that impressed me about the visiting school. I hope they can win at least one time this season, because they play with the effort most teams should take a look at.

Now for this week's SVC slate of games. In week four, Paint Valley travels to Unioto, Adena is at Piketon, Zane Trace plays at Southeastern, and in a game of winless teams, Westfall will do battle at Huntington.

PV currently leads the SVC in wins at 3-0, followed by SEHS at 2-1 and Adena at 1-2. The remaining four schools are each 0-3 on the season.

Now let's look at the games.

Paint Valley (3-0) at Unioto (1-2)
This regular season, I've had the chance to see both of these schools live, and one of the biggest factors will be if UHS running back Nate Parker returns from a concussion suffered in Week 2 against McClain.

If the Shermans can have Parker on their side this Friday, it will make the game a lot more competitive, as he was a game-changer when I saw him play a couple weeks ago.

The Bearcats have a lot of depth, from what I saw last week. Their group of running backs will be tough for teams to stop, and if they run the ball like the McClain Tigers did against the Shermans a couple weeks ago where they (MHS) used a multi-back system to race to the win, the Bearcats will have a good opportunity to move to 4-0 overall this regular season.



Adena (1-2) at Piketon (0-3)
It isn't often that when Adena and Piketon play one another, they have just one win combined, but that is the story entering the game this season.

For Piketon, they are coming off a 58-0 loss at Minford and for the season have allowed 106 points, while scoring just 27. The shutout loss for PHS last Friday was the first time they didn't score a single point in a game since Oct. 27, 2006, when they lost 19-0 at Zane Trace. PHS was shutout twice that season.

Adena's lone win this season came two weeks ago in their second game of the year when they defeated River Valley, 39-14. In their two losses, they've allowed 87 combined points, with McClain scoring 47 and Fairfield-Union last Friday putting up 40 points. This season, the Warriors have allowed 101 points, while scoring 67.

I haven't see PHS this year, but I even can tell this isn't a normal Piketon season thus far. Having seen Adena once this year (at McClain), from the game I watched they threw the ball more than I was accustomed to seeing them do, but their bread and butter is still running the football.

This matchup features two teams hungry for either their first win, or in Adena's case, a second win to get back to the .500 mark after four games.


Westfall (0-3) at Huntington (0-3)
Someone will leave this game with their first win of the 2013 season. Who will it be … your guess is as good as mine.

I haven't seen either of these teams this season, but with both teams starting over in their programs with new head coaches, it should if nothing else be a competitive contest between these two schools.

Huntington has scored just 18 points in '13, while allowing 11 in losses to Notre Dame (59-0), Manchester (24-12) and Northwest (28-6).

Westfall isn't far behind as they've scored more points (31), but have allowed more (141) in their three losses to Teays Valley (52-22), Logan Elm (54-8) and Circleville (35-0).

I believe the Mustangs of Westfall have played the tougher schedule of the two teams as all three of their opponents are quality football programs. Logan Elm played Miami Trace really tough through three quarters this past Friday.

This game should be interesting, to say the least, and it is always nice to see a team get their first win of the season, and one of these two will Friday.


Zane Trace (0-3) at Southeastern (2-1)
Southeastern is doing some good things this season but are coming off their first loss of the '13 campaign to Wellston by a 14-13 score. I really like what SEHS is doing with their program, and they, in my opinion, will only continue to improve this season.

They've scored 60 points in three games this season, while allowing just 44 points, no more than 17 in a game, which was in the season opener against Northwest, where they won by two points at 19-17. Their other win was a 28-13 score over Symmes Valley.

Again, with SEHS, they are an improved football team, and from the scores I've seen this season, they are primed to be competitive all year long.

It's not every day the Pioneers are 0-3 to start a season. They've scored 34 points combined in their first three contests, while giving up 86.

ZTHS has been shutout once in '13 against Amanda-Clearcreek (24-0) but are coming off a 28-20 loss to the McClain Tigers in a non-conference game.

Just by looking at scores and opponents thus far, I'm giving the slight edge to SEHS in this one, but don't get me wrong, I believe ZT is a better team than their 0-3 mark.

Overall, all four SVC games should be interesting, to say the least.


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Post 54: Reviewing Week 3 of the SCOL and SVC
Monday, Sept. 16, 2013

Where do I start with the South Central Ohio League from Week 3? It was another winning Friday night for the league, as the teams went 5-2 overall with wins from Miami Trace, Clinton-Massie, Chillicothe, McClain and Washington.

Washington's 24-13 win over Waverly was a fun win for the Blue Lions as it was their homecoming night. The Blue Lions have just two games remaining at home this season, and just four total for the season.

Miami Trace took down Logan Elm, 49-31 with another spot on game from quarterback Jimmy Stroker, who had three touchdown runs and one touchdown pass.

Then there are the Clinton-Massie Falcons, who continue to win football games. They defeated Jonathan Alder, 35-7 with the Wolf brothers combining for 234 yards on 35 carries. They start SCOL play this week by hosting the McClain Tigers.

Speaking of McClain, they moved to 3-0 overall with a 28-20 win over Zane Trace. All three of McClain's wins this season have come against the Scioto Valley Conference.

As for the Chillicothe Cavaliers, in their remodeled stadium, they defeated visiting Teays Valley, 21-0 in their home opener for the '13 season.

The two SCOL losses were Hillsboro and East Clinton as the Astros lost to Greeneview, 46-25, and the HHS Indians lost at Wilmington, 49-0.

Here are the SCOL football standings following the three weeks:
Clinton-Massie (3-0)
McClain (3-0)
Miami Trace (3-0)
Chillicothe (3-0)
Washington (2-1)
East Clinton (1-2)
Hillsboro (0-3)

The standings will take a different look with the start of the six-game SCOL season starting this week. Games for Week 4 will include:

McClain at Clinton-Massie
Washington at East Clinton
Chillicothe at Miami Trace
Landmark Christian at Hillsboro

Later in the week, I'll write a lot more about these four match-ups, but it looks like the SCOL "Game of the Week" will be Chillicothe at Miami Trace.

My thoughts on that game are it will be hard-hitting and full of running football, but that is classic SCOL football at its finest. This game could resemble a Packers vs. Bears matchup in the NFL.

HHS has their best opportunity to date to stop what is a 13-game regular-season losing streak as they host Landmark Christian, a school from Cincinnati that isn't a member of the OHSAA. LC enters the game with a 1-2 mark, but more on this game later in the week.

Back to last week, following three weeks of SCOL non-league play, it's safe to say the SCOL as a whole is a much better football league that it was one season ago. The quality of teams are better, and the football product on the field is much improved as a league.

The SCOL has four teams that are 3-0 entering the fourth week of play, but with two games featuring two 3-0 teams, only two will move to 4-0 overall, setting up a potential SCOL title game later in the season if they both don't lose another SCOL game.

Here are some final notes on Week 3:

- Washington's Tye Smith got back to scoring touchdowns with two against Waverly.

- With Miami Trace scoring 49 points in Week 3, that gives them 126 points in three games. As for their opponent this upcoming Friday, Chillicothe, they've scored 62 points but have allowed just 21 points. Something has to give.

- How good is the CM running game this season? The Wolf brothers are putting up big numbers, and this combination entering SCOL play is only going to get better.

- One plus in the Hillsboro loss was they were only penalized twice for a total of 10 yards. They have a winnable game this week against Landmark Christian.

- I really like what the McClain Tigers have done thus far in '13. I believe they are playing better following three games this season than they did last year, and that's not because they are 3-0 instead of 2-1. They will have their toughest test of the season this week with CM.

- Also for MHS, they held Zane Trace to 230 yards of offense in Week 3.

- Speaking of defense … Chillicothe held Teays Valley to 150 yards of offense and zero points this past week.

Now it is time to get ready for Week 4.

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Post 53: Pregame notes and predictions
Friday, Sept. 13, 2013
Today is one of the spookiest days of the year if you are into that kind of thing, Friday the 13th, but more importantly, today is the third week of the high school football season, which means I'm going to humor myself and make SCOL predictions yet again.

Thus far in the '13 season, I'm 12-2 overall with last week missing the Washington game for the second consecutive week.

This week, my choices are (pick listed to the far right):
Jonathan Alder at Clinton-Massie — Clinton-Massie
Hillsboro at Wilmington — Wilmington
East Clinton at Greeneview — Greeneview
McClain at Zane Trace — McClain
Logan Elm at Miami Trace — Miami Trace
Waverly at Washington — Washington
Teays Valley at Chillicothe — Chillicothe

Like I said yesterday, the South Central Ohio League is improved, and the Game of the Week in my opinion is Miami Trace hosting the Logan Elm Braves. Just seeing the Braves in their final scrimmage and knowing what the Panthers are capable of doing on a football field, this matchup has "competitive" written all over it.

As for my other picks, Clinton-Massie has the Wolf brothers' rushing attack going in their favor, along with one of the most aggressive defensives around in not just this area, but in Ohio. Wilmington is a lot more experienced at the varsity level than the Indians, but with Hillsboro, they are still building their program but showed improvement from Week One to Week Two.

As for the Greeneview and EC game, GHS enters at 2-0 with a shutout win over Dayton Christian (37-0) and madison0Plains (23-13), so I don't know a whole lot about them, but this game should competitive as EC has played a competitive schedule, gaining their first win last week against Blanchester.

The Pioneers and the Tigers played in a "classic" last year, but is this year's version of MHS even better than last season? A win at ZT would go a long way toward making folks think about that question.

Who are the real Blue Lions? Are they the team that ran the ball very well against Wilmington, or are they the team that was held to under 100 yards rushing last week against Circleville? This game will tell a lot the week before the SCOL season begins in Week 4.

Chillicothe is playing in their remodeled home for the first time this season, and I'm sure the Cavaliers want to give their fans a good show. Last week, they won with a bit of trickery at the end of the game on a hook-and-ladder, and they've had two comeback wins … who knows what to expect this week, but one thing I can close to guarantee is there will be lots of excitement for the Cavs in their home opener.

Everyone have a safe Friday night at the games.

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Post 52: Previewing Week 3 of the SCOL
Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

With a 10-4 overall record in the first two weeks of the high school football season, I believe the South Central Ohio League is a much better league than it was one season ago.

Look at this: last season after two weeks of football, the SCOL was 5-11 overall with eight teams in the league.

But this season, if you keep track of the SCOL closely, you have to be impressed with the overall outcome with the record. And if you look at who the SCOL teams are playing, their schedules aren't "cupcake" games, either.

For instance, the Miami Trace Panthers are such an improved team from a season ago, as they have defeated two teams in Circleville and Wilmington, who beat them last season. In '12, the Panthers lost to those two teams by a combined score of 61-54 … this season, MT defeated those same two schools by a combined 77-43. That is a difference of +23 points in the Panthers' favor, and they've allowed 14 fewer points defensively.

The league also has all but one team with at least one win this season, with Hillsboro being the lone 0-2 team. With that said, if you have seen any film or been to any games, in my opinion, the Indians are a better team than one year ago. As coach Matt Hodge said this week, they (HHS) just need more consistency throughout four quarters.

Then there are the reigning champions of the league in Clinton-Massie, who are also 2-0 in the '13 season, and last week they defeated a tough Waynesville team by a 21-19 score, so that was a good test for the Falcons early in the season.

The final 2-0 team, McClain, have won their games with a varying running attack with multiple backs, as at least five players have been a part of a running game that just wears down the opposition in the second half.

All in all, fans of the SCOL have to be proud of their non-league results thus far, as this is the final week where the league will have a full slate of non-league games.

Here is this week's schedule:
Jonathan Alder at Clinton-Massie
Hillsboro at Wilmington
East Clinton at Greeneview
McClain at Zane Trace
Logan Elm at Miami Trace
Waverly at Washington
Teays Valley at Chillicothe


In those games, I'm really interested to find out the outcome of the McClain-Zane Trace contest, because they played in a close game last season, but the game of the week in the SCOL should be Logan Elm at Miami Trace.

That MT-LE game at Panther Stadium could be a heck of a contest. Both teams are 2-0 entering the game as they've defeated Zane Trace 34-14 and Westfall, 54-8. MT has won by scores of 42-26 against Circleville and 35-17 over Wilmington.

Last season, the Braves defeated MT, 49-28 at LEHS.

In their game last week, LE allowed just 128 yards of offense vs. Westfall. MT this season has 944 yards of offense, so someone has to bend or break in this game.

Other SCOL games:

- Jonathan Alder (0-2) at Clinton-Massie (2-0)
This season for the Pioneers of JAHS has been tough in the losing column as they lost to Thomas Worthington 33-7 and Marysville, 7-0, but if you think about it, those are two good football schools.

JA last season won four games, and one of their losses in '12 came against CM by a 49-7 score. Two seasons ago, JA defeated the Falcons, 29-28.

CM this season has had the aforementioned close game with Waynesville and dominated Blanchester. Bayle Wolf returned last week, and he and his brother Chayse (a sophomore) dominated the running game as both players were well over 100 yards rushing each.

- Hillsboro at Wilmington and McClain at Zane Trace
For previews of these two games, click here.

- East Clinton (1-1) at Greeneview (2-0)
The matchup of these two teams sees Greeneview entering with two straight wins as they've defeated Dayton Christian (37-0) and Madison-Plains (formerly of the SCOL) by a 23-13 score.

EC is also coming off a win, they defeated Blanchester, 28-25. One thing with EC is they've allowed 60 points, compared to GHS allowing just 13 in their first two games.

It seems for this game EC will have to overcome a tough defense by GHS to gain their second win of the season.

 - Waverly (1-1) at Washington (1-1)
The Tigers enter Week 3 coming off a 68-0 loss to Jackson, but they won their season opener over Piketon, 14-7. The Blue Lions have had an up and down season thus far as well.

They won week one over Wilmington (35-28) with a big first-half running game, but last week at Circleville, their running game was held to under 100 yards, so it is hard to tell exactly what type of team the Blue Lions are so far in '13.

This game will be interesting to see for those in attendance for the fact these two schools seem to be similar in their wins and losses so far in '13, and that could mean for a very competitive game Friday.


- Teays Valley (2-0) at Chillicothe (2-0)
Someone will suffer their first loss of the season in the opening of the "new" Chillicothe football stadium, as the Cavs now will have turf to play on in games this season.

For TV, they have scored 78 points in the first two weeks and allowed 35 with a 52-22 win over Westfall and a 26-13 victory last week at Logan.

The Cavs have battled from trailing in the second half on two occasions to gain wins this season. They've scored 41 points in two games (21 last week against Big Walnut).

CHS seems to rely on their defense this year as they allowed just 21 points in two games, 14 in Week Two and seven against Johnstown-Monroe.

What I like about CHS this season is their ability to play with a deficit and making the plays to win the games. They've been waiting a while to play in their remodeled stadium, so I'm expecting their energy to be high come game time Friday.

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Post 51: Mid-Week Report
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013

We are at the mid-week point for the third week of the high school football season. Being that we are at the halfway point before the start of the games, I just want to chat about a couple games that pique my interest for the week that don't involve the SCOL or the Scioto Valley Conference.

How about the Fayetteville Rockets following their first two games of the season? They are 2-0 this season, already matching their win total from a year ago. For a football program that isn't even a decade old and inside a town that loves its basketball, a 2-0 start is a wonderful thing to see for the Rockets.

They've defeated Clermont Northeastern, 20-12 and Bethel-Tate, 26-14 thus far.

In the First-and-Ten Preseason Preview, FHS first-year head coach Nathan Geers said about his team, "I feel blessed to take over such a unique opportunity, a new program … I can kind of put our footprint on it and make it what we want."

He also said, "It's an exciting time (at Fayetteville). Everything is growing in an upward direction, which as a program, that's all you want to see."

Thus far, Geers and his players have done well with their schedule.

This week, the Rockets host Williamsburg, who enter the game at 0-2 with losses to Reading (41-22) and Paint Valley (28-14).

Another team that has caught my attention this season is the Circleville Tigers. They are 1-1 with a loss to Miami Trace (42-26), then returned the following week to defeat the Washington Blue Lions (56-13).

My question is which is the real Circleville Tigers team? My opinion is they are more like the team that defeated the Blue Lions than the team that lost to Miami Trace.

Circleville usually has a productive football program, and they will have a good opportunity again this Friday to gain their second win of the season when they travel to 0-2 Westfall.

The Tigers just draw my interest as they seem to have the opportunity to be a good team.

SCOL: As for the SCOL football slate, I'll have game-by-game previews posted tomorrow on the blog, but I just want to pick out a few things of note right now:

- In two games this season, the Miami Trace Panthers have 645 yards rushing, while the Clinton-Massie Falcons have 667 yards on the ground. McClain has totaled 652 yards of rushing in the first two games.

- Four teams in the SCOL have records of 2-0 to start the season (McClain, Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace and Chillicothe).

- CM has won 17 straight games (15-0 in '12) and 2-0 so far in '13 and 19 consecutive regular season games.

- After gaining well over 200 yards rushing in Week 1, the Washington Blue Lions were held to 86 yards rushing in Week 2.

This is all for today. Tomorrow's blog will be full of stats and previews for the SCOL Week 3 slate of games.

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Post 50: Week 3 SVC Preview
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2013

Here is the Week 3 preview of the Scioto Valley Conference, as they finished 3-5 overall as a conference in the second week of the season. Winning games were Paint Valley, Adena and Southeastern. For the season, the SVC is 5-11, with PV and Southeastern having four of the five combined wins.

- Africentric Nubians (0-2) at Paint Valley Bearcats (2-0)
The Bearcats and Africentric are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to overall records. PV is 2-0, and the Nubians are 0-2 with losses to Linden-McKinley (54-21) and Whetstone (40-0).

PV has outscored their opponents 83-14 in two games, including a shutout in their season opener. The Bearcats' defense is very strong this season, allowing just 141 yards against Williamsburg and holding Lockland to -7 total yards. This game sets up very well for the Bearcats as it is their final non-league game of the season.


- Unioto Shermans (0-2) at Alexander Spartans (1-1)
I had the chance to see the Shermans this past Friday, and I think they are a good team for being so young. What hurt the Shermans in their game with MHS was the second-quarter injury to Nate Parker, multiple turnovers and giving up big plays.

UHS has just 39 points in their first two games, while allowing 64, so this game against the Spartans will be a nice test for the "Tanks."

AHS defeated Federal Hocking in their season opener, 38-14, but then this past Friday they lost to Oak Hill, 32-7, as Oak Hill seems to be a good football team with a 2-0 mark and allowing seven points in two games.

For UHS to win this game, they have to do a better job of stopping the rushing game, as they allowed 407 yards of rushing in Week 2.


- Southeastern Panthers (2-0) at Wellston Golden Rockets (0-2)
The Panthers this season are turning things around. They already have more wins this season than in '12, and they've scored 47 points combined in both wins. Their defense is allowing an average of 15 points per game, and they are playing a team that has scored 39 points this season, including 21 last week in a 24-21 loss to South Point. Wellston won four times last season.

They have a new head coach in Evan Gallagher, and if I remember anything from his time as a coordinator at Paint Valley, it is he's energetic and he'll be a good head coach for the school.


- Circleville Tigers (1-1) at Westfall Mustangs (0-2)
I think the Circleville Tigers are wide awake now. After a week one loss to Miami Trace, they responded with a blowout win against the Washington Blue Lions … and as they are set to face a young Westfall team, this could be another "awakening" for the Tigers.

The Mustangs have just 30 points this season, while scoring 106, but again, this is a "rebuilding" season for the '12 SVC champions, as they did lose 21 seniors from last year. CHS rushed for 411 yards last week against Washington.


- Huntington Huntsmen (0-2) at Northwest Mohawks (1-1)
Offense hasn't been that great for the Huntsmen thus far in '13 as they have scored 12 points and have allowed 83. They are traveling to face a Mohawk team that has scored 56 points this season, while allowing 31.

Northwest's loss was week one by a 19-17 score to Southeastern and they defeated East (Sciotoville), 39-12.


- McClain Tigers (2-0) at Zane Trace Pioneers (0-2)
This, in my opinion, is the "Game of the Week" for the SVC. Though they have opposite records, this game still could be competitive.

I'll write more in my Week 3 McClain preview, but this game seems like it could be the most competitive of all the SVC games. ZT is entering the game with a 34-14 loss to Logan Elm and a 24-0 loss to Amanda-Clearcreek, so they have faced two tough high school football programs.

MHS has defeated Adena and Unioto, as they are 2-0 against SVC teams.


- Adena Warriors (1-1) at Fairfield Union Falcons (0-2)
Having seen AHS this season, they have the potential to be a quality team in the SVC this season. They are coming off a 39-14 win over River Valley, and this season they are about even in points for and against, with them scoring 60 points and allowing 61.

Fairfield-Union has a loss to New Lexington (41-35) and are coming off a shutout loss to Johnstown-Monroe, 31-0, allowing 72 points in the first two games. This game could go in Adena's favor, but I know very little about Fairfield-Union.


- Piketon Redstreaks (0-2) at Minford Falcons (2-0)
For Piketon, they've scored 27 points this season, and they've allowed 48 points in their two-loss start. Their season opener was a close 14-7 loss to Waverly, but last week, they lost by 14 points (34-20) to Vinton County.

Minford, who made the playoffs in '12, still seems like a very solid football team as they've scored 74 points, while giving up just six. MHS has defeated Rock Hill (40-6) and this past Friday defeated Grandview Heights, 34-0.



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Post 49: Looking back at Week 2 of the SCOL
Monday, Sept. 9, 2013
For starters today, let's list the scores from Friday night's action:
Clinton-Massie 21, Waynesville 19
Goshen 25, Hillsboro 12
East Clinton 28, Blanchester 25
McClain 31, Unioto 19
Wilmington 17, Miami Trace 35
Washington 13, Circleville 56
Chillicothe 21, Big Walnut 14

With those results, that means for the second straight week the South Central Ohio League had a winning mark in non-conference games with another 5-2 mark for the week, putting the SCOL at 10-4 overall after two weeks.

I covered the McClain at Unioto game, and again, I have to say I'm very impressed with both the offense and defense of the Tigers thus far. The varsity defense of MHS gave up just one actual touchdown against the Shermans in Week 2, as UHS scored first on a kickoff return, so that goes to the special teams, and the final score of the game came against the reserve defense of MHS.

And I want to give credit to MHS quarterback Thomas Schrader for his performance with his running game this past week, scoring three touchdowns. I've covered his games since he started games as a sophomore, and he's just improved so much as the leader of the Tigers' offense. You can just see it, especially when he takes over a game with his running game. Schrader finished with 190 yards rushing.

Another standout is senior Dillon Hunick for the Tigers. He's a very nice change of pace back for MHS and has made the most of his carries this season, with 134 yards Friday against Unioto, averaging 8.9 ypc in that game.

Week 3 will be interesting for the Tigers when they travel to Zane Trace, who was one of the three teams that defeated MHS last season. ZT is 0-2 thus far with losses to Logan Elm (34-14) and Amanda-Clearcreek (24-0).

More on the rest of the SCOL

Miami Trace: How impressive have the Miami Trace Panthers been thus far this season? They defeated Wilmington by 18 points Friday, and with that, they are a solid 2-0 in the standings.

In their win against WHS, MT totaled 413 yards and allowed just 275. Again, Jimmy Stroker was solid, as the MT quarterback passed for 141 yards and rushed for 55.

What I like about MT is their rushing numbers are so spread out … they had four players rush for at least 42 yards, and that was Trevor Haines who scored three touchdowns. I have to watch this team in person this upcoming season, either when they play McClain or Hillsboro.


Clinton-Massie: The Falcons did what they needed to do to stay undefeated and pass their first tough test of the season by defeating Waynesville by two points Friday. I was told Aaron Gullette was the hero of the game as he knocked down a two-point conversion attempt with seconds left in the fourth.

That's what I like about CM … you never know who is going to come up big with a team like them. The Wolf brothers combined for 279 yards rushing, with Bayle having 143 in his season debut and Chayse collecting 136 yards.  

Again, having seen them live in game action once this season already, I can't wait to see them play in the SCOL, and I'd really like to see them play at DeSales in week five as I believe they will be the next "biggest test" for the Falcons this season.


East Clinton: I called their win in Week Two over Blanchester in my weekly predictions, and I'm happy to see coach Bill Hrabak gain his first win as the head coach of the Astros so early in the season. Dalton Floyd showed again why he's a four-year starting varsity player (three at QB) with a 220-yard passing performance in Week 2.

This team has some nice potential as the season goes on, and I see them improving each game. I can't predict them winning all of the games left on their schedule, but I do believe they will improve as the season goes on.


Washington: After the way the Blue Lions played in Week 1, their stats we basically completely opposite this past Friday, which is a bit surprising to me. In their loss at Circleville, the Blue Lions had just 86 rushing yards for the game, a big decrease for the Week 1 game against Wilmington.  

Tye Smith was held to 43 yards, following a week where he totaled 214 yards of rushing. I still believe he's one of the better running backs in the league, though, and to be honest, 86 yards is still a good number of yards to rush for against a Circleville team that I believe was "inspired" following their week one loss.


Hillsboro: The Indians put up another solid effort in week two, but an old problem that haunted the Indians last season returned again in week two … being shut out in an entire half, and that's what happened in the third and fourth quarters against Goshen Friday.

HHS trailed by just six points at halftime by an 18-12 score and held GHS scoreless in the third, but GHS scored when they needed to in the fourth to put HHS at 0-2 on the season.

Toby Warrington did pass for two TDs for HHS, so that's a good thing to see, as Matthew Arnold and Jordan Mosley caught the TD passes.



Chillicothe: The Cavaliers won with, get this, a hook-and-ladder play with under 10 seconds left in the fourth. How awesome would that have been to see live? And they achieved that play on the road.

I really like what Chillicothe is doing this season, as they are 2-0 for the first time under 30-plus year head coach Ron Hinton, who is in his fourth season at CHS. The hook-and-ladder TD was scored by Nate Rosenbauer, according to WKKJ.

The defense, again, played well for the Cavs, as they held Big Walnut to 14 points and less than 200 yards of total offense.

CHS is a team to watch in the SCOL this season, no doubt about it.

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Post 48: Week 2 Game Day
Friday, Sept. 6, 2013


What a fast week this has been. Seems like yesterday was the season opener for high school football, but tonight marks the second game of the season, and the schedule is full of potential competitive matchups.

Yesterday, I previewed the SCOL slate of games, so scroll down if you want to read my thoughts on each of the seven games involving teams from the league.

Before we go on with what to look for in each game, let's get the weekly predictions out of the way. Last week I finished with a 6-1 mark, with the Washington Blue Lions vs. Wilmington game being the only blemish of my choices.

Not bad for the first week, though.

This week, my choices are:
- McClain over Unioto
- Clinton-Massie over Waynesville
- Washington over Circleville
- Miami Trace over Wilmington
- East Clinton over Blanchester
- Goshen over Hillsboro
- Chillicothe over Big Walnut

I believe the SCOL can have their second consecutive winning week to start the '13 season. Last weekend, the SCOL finished 5-2, with HHS and EC falling in their season openers.

Here are two keys to look out for in each of the SCOL games tonight:

Clinton-Massie
1. If senior running back Bayle Wolf returns to action this game, the CM offense will be even more dangerous than it was in their season opener vs. Blanchester. CM is coming off a short week as they played Sunday in a game that had to be rescheduled, but I don't see that affecting the Falcons at all.

2. There is something about a rivalry game that makes that game more special … and emotional. Fans watching this game will probably see two teams playing with a higher emotion than normal, but that emotion could bring out the best in these two teams.


McClain
1. I want to see if they can repeat what they did offensively last week, especially at the running game. Last week, the Tigers "wore down" their opponent in the second half with a power running game. That being said, they also snuck in two nice passing plays that went for touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers use their running attack to their advantage tonight.

2. The defensive line play of the Tigers helped set the tone as they pressured Adena, plus it allowed the linebackers to free up and make plays as well. That will be key for tonight … if the defensive line can disrupt things again, it could mean a second win for MHS.


Chillicothe
1. Can the Cavaliers win their first two games of the season for the first time under head coach Ron Hinton? To do that, they will have to have another big game from their defense. With two players having double-digit tackles last week, along with the Cavs forcing multiple turnovers, it is easy to say if they can do that again, they will have a good chance to win.

2. I really believe it comes down to the Cavs' defense in this one. Last week, they held Johnstown to 70 total yards of offense .. if they hold Big Walnut to under 100 yards again, I have no doubt Chillicothe will start 2-0.


Washington
1. The Blue Lions will go as far as their running game will take them tonight's game with Circleville. The Tigers (CHS) allowed over 500 yards of offense last week, nearly 400 yards rushing, so if that happens in this game with Washington's Tye Smith leading the way, the Blue Lions will leave Circleville with another victory.

2. Another key to the win will be the defense in the second half for Washington. Last week, Wilmington scored most of their points in the final two quarters, and if I know anything about football, I'm guessing that was a focus with WCH this past week.


Miami Trace
1. The MT running game has another chance to have a big night on the ground in their matchup with Wilmington. MT had 373 yards last week on the ground against Circleville, and WHS allowed one runner to gain 214 yards last week.

2. One player to watch is senior QB Jimmy Stroker of MT. MT will go as far as he can take them, and if he can have another 100-plus-yard game of rushing, along with a quality passing game, they will have more success in this game.



East Clinton
1. Their game with Blanchester this week could be a competitive contest. EC will have to play a better first half to earn their first win of the season and one player to watch is QB Dalton Floyd. Last week, he had 110 yards in the air with two TD passes.

2. For Blanchester, they are coming off their toughest game they will have this season, so they have that behind them. BHS is young, but should some pluses against the state champs Sunday, and if they can be consistent against EC, this game could be competitive through the second half tonight.


Hillsboro
1. One key to this game will be consistency in a positive way for the Indians. They must show consistency on each side of the ball, including not giving up the big plays tonight.

2. HHS must stop their opponent when they are on defense. They must pressure and disrupt the Goshen offense to compete in this game. For HHS, it is about improving each week.

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Post 47: Previewing Week 2 of the SCOL
Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013

Hard to believe Week 2 of the high school football season is tomorrow, but think about it: we now have football at the high school, college and pro levels on mostly any given day, starting tonight with the return of the NFL.

But this is about high school football, and today I want to preview the upcoming week of games in the South Central Ohio League.

Here are the games for Week 2:

• McClain Tigers (1-0) at Unioto Shermans (0-1)

This should be a good matchup with a team that is very young, full of sophomores in Unioto and a team that has a mix of talented players at the sophomore, junior and senior levels in McClain.

What I want to see in this game is how the Tigers handle playing on the road for the first time this season, the first of three games. Another aspect of the game that draws my interest is seeing if the Tigers can mimic their ground game success from week one.

As coach Randy Closson said in the Week 2 McClain preview article (click here to read it), the offensive line played well, and the depth the Tigers have at running back helped a lot.

With Unioto, I'm interested in seeing this young group of players and how they respond after a week one loss. Should be a competitive matchup.


 • Goshen Warriors (0-1) at Hillsboro Indians (0-1)
Hillsboro has to stop the big plays to have an opportunity to gain their first win of the season. Big plays = touchdowns in high school football, and last week, the Western Brown Broncos had plenty of them.

I will say this after watching a replay of the HHS game from week one … the Indians didn't quit. They battled no matter the deficit, and when a team is being rebuilt, that's all anyone can ask for.

This will be a tough test for the Indians, but teams can only get better by playing good teams. Seeing improvement week to week with HHS is key with this young group of players.

GHS is coming off a tough loss to Ross, 42-7 as Ross scored 14 points in each of the first three quarters. GHS scored their lone TD in the fourth quarter.

In the Clermont Sun football preview, it says GHS will use a shotgun spread formation "that gives a wide-ranging receiving corps the opportunity to make some plays."

Click here for a preview article on the HHS-GHS game with comments from HHS head coach Matt Hodge.


• Clinton-Massie Falcons (1-0) at Waynesville Spartans (1-0)
Waynesville is coming off a 28-7 win over North College Hill, and their match Friday with Clinton-Massie is my Game of the Week for the SCOL.

Though these two teams aren't in the same conference, their annual game is a good rivalry for high school football, especially early in the season.

Waynesville scored all 28 points in the first half last week (14 in each quarter), and I'm pretty sure they want to be the first team to knock off the defending state champions, since as I mentioned above, these two are pretty good rivals and bring out the best in each other.

CM and WHS have split their last two meetings, with the Spartans winning in '11 by a 17-2 score and CM winning last season, 39-14.

One key for this game will be if senior All-Ohio running back Bayle Wolf will return to action. Wolf sat out the first game of the season against Blanchester, Sunday, but if CM proved one thing, it's they have some talent playing behind Wolf, including his brother, Chayse, who is a sophomore. Chayse rushed for over 180 yards in the Falcons' season-opening 63-7 win over BHS.

The Falcons are on a mission to be a better team than last season, and they will see how they stack up this week in a good test against Waynesville.


• East Clinton Astros (0-1) at Blanchester Wildcats (0-1)
One team from Clinton County will earn their first win of the season, while the other will drop to 0-2 overall.

This game will be played between two teams who are playing young players and going through transition, so it makes for a nice matchup early in the season.

For EC, they had a tough test in week one as they lost to Ada, 35-19, where they gave up 23 points in the third quarter. EC led 13-12 at halftime.

Blanchester had probably their toughest game of the season in week one as they lost to the CM Falcons, 63-7. For BHS, they did score aTD against CM for the first time since the '07 season, so that in itself was a plus for a young football team.

I have a feeling this game can be competitive for four quarters.


• Washington Blue Lions (1-0) at Circleville Tigers (0-1)
I can say I was surprised when I heard the score for the Washington win over the Wilmington Hurricane last week, but after thinking about it … should I have been that surprised?

Washington brings a running game to CHS that will match that of what the Miami Trace Panthers did to the Tigers last week, as MT defeated CHS, 42-26.

MT had over 500 yards of offense against the Tigers last week, and I don't know if the Blue Lions can equal that feat, but they have one of the better running backs in the league on their side in Tye Smith, who had four rushing TDs against WHS last week.

In fact, Smith on 35 rushes totaled 214 yards in the season opener. Smith scored all his TDs in the first half, as WCH scored 28 of their 35 points in the first two quarters.  

This game could really be something the Blue Lions can continue to build on if they can establish the running game for the second week in a row, but they still have to play maybe a little better defensively in the second half as WHS did mount a comeback effort in the second half as they lost by just seven points.



• Wilmington Hurricane (0-1) at Miami Trace (1-0)
This is an old-school SCOL matchup for one last year as teams playing in different leagues, with WHS becoming an official member of the SCOL again in the '14 fall season.

As for '13, this matchup will be similar to what WHS faced in their season opener with the Blue Lions, as the Panthers like to run the football with a variety of players, including starting quarterback Jimmy Stroker, who led the Panthers in rushing last week with 137 yards. MT had 373 yards on the ground in their win over Circleville.

I like the matchups the Panthers bring to the field each week as they have talent at all the "skill" positions, but I like their offensive line as well, because any line that can block for nearly 400 yards of running is must-see in my book. (MT also had three others rush for at least 62 yards).

This will also be a good test to see how WHS rebounds from their season-opening loss. WHS has talent, and even though they played week one without one of the top players, they still have the talent to make things happen in their favor this season.


• Chillicothe Cavaliers (1-0) at Big Walnut (0-1)
The Cavaliers finally gained a season-opening win for the first time in four seasons under state champion head coach Ron Hinton. That was a big goal for the Cavs this season, and they were able to put a check in the box for accomplishing that goal.

Now it is on to trying to win consecutive games for the first time while playing under Hinton, and they must do that on the road against the Big Walnut Golden Eagles, who are coming off a 28-7 loss to Mansfield Senior in their first game of the season.

In their win last week, the Cavs allowed a net total of 70 yards against Johnstown-Monroe in their 20-7 victory. Tyler Kelley and Julius Lee have double-digit tackle performances, while Lee has three tackles for loss.

BWHS allowed 22 points in the third quarter against Mansfield Senior, as BWHS totaled just 98 yards of rushing and nine first downs.

I can't say I know a whole lot about Big Walnut, but if the Cavs can duplicate their positives from week one, I'm guessing they will be competitive in their second road game of the season.

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Post 46: Week 2 SVC Preview
Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013

Here is the Week 2 preview of the Scioto Valley Conference, as they finished 2-6 overall as a conference in the first week of the season. Winning games were Paint Valley and Southeastern.

This week's games include:

- Paint Valley (1-0) at Williamsburg (0-1)
The PV Bearcats are coming off a big win in their season opener against Lockland, as it was a game to remember for sophomore Teagan McFadden, who finished with nine carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns rushing and four TDs overall.

The Bearcats as a team had 391 yards of offense on their 45-0 win over LHS.

As for Williamsburg, they lost their season opener to Reading, 41-22 at RHS. WHS allowed one running back to gain 120 yards against them, including a 66-yard touchdown.

WHS totaled 150 yards of offense, while allowing 291. Their TDs came from Mason Hall, Lane Edmisten and Kurt Meisberger all in the second half off running plays. WHS trailed 31-0 at halftime.


- Adena (0-1) at River Valley (0-1)
Adena trailed by just three points in their season opener at McClain at halftime but were outscored 29-6 in the final two quarters to lose 47-21.

AHS had a great first drive to open the season, scoring on 14 plays and going nearly 80 yards for a TD, but turnovers and allowing big touchdowns through the air proved to be a big difference, along with being unable to stop the power run game of the Tigers at the start of the second half.

RHS lost their season opener 31-0 to Racine Southern.


- Symmes Valley (1-0) at Southeastern (1-0)
The SE Panthers are coming off a close 19-17 victory over Northwest.

One player to look out for is Dezmond Perkins, as he has 128 yards rushing on nine rushes. He finished with two TDs in the win over NWHS. Two others to look out for are Jordan Allen and Travis Abner, as Allen caught a TD pass from Abner.

As for SVHS, they won over Eastern (Reedsville), 20-0 with all 20 points coming in the first half, including 14 points in the first quarter and six more in the second.


- Manchester (1-0) at Huntington (0-1)
Huntington is coming off a 59-0 loss to Portsmouth Notre Dame. As for Manchester, they are 1-0 overall after defeating Green, 21-13 to begin the '13 season.


- Amanda Clearcreek (0-1) at Zane Trace (0-1)
Zane Trace is coming off a tough 34-14 loss to the Logan Elm Braves in their season opener. One player for ZT to look out for is QB Tyler Hinty, as he is a mobile QB shown by scoring two touchdowns in the opener. Nate Mettler rushed for 51 yards.



- Vinton County (1-0) at Piketon (0-1)
The Redstreaks had their opportunity to tie the score late in their game, but according to svcsportszone.com, PHS was held on a fourth-and-goal near the end zone.

A player for PHS to watch is John Blevins, as he collected 100 yards rushing.


- McClain (1-0) at Unioto (0-1)
UHS is coming off a 33-20 loss to Vinton County as they allowed 13 points in the first quarter, followed by scoring of six, eight and six the next three frames. UHS scored six points in the second, followed by a 14-point second half with seven points in each quarter.

UHS had 36 yards passing on two compilations, while five rushers combined for 107 yards on 31 carries and two TDs from junior Nate Parker.

MHS won their season opener by a 47-21 score as the Tigers rushed for 245 yards.


- Westfall (0-1) at Logan Elm (1-0)
WHS didn't have the best of season openers last Friday as they lost by a 52-22 score to Teays Valley with all of the WHS points coming in the second half.

The Mustangs allowed 13 points in the first, followed by 23 points in the second frame. In the second half, TV added seven points in the third and nine points in the fourth. WHS scored eight points in the third frame and 14 points in the final quarter.

One bright spot for the Mustangs was a two-touchdown game from Taylor Simmons.

LE is coming off a 34-14 win over ZT. The Circleville Herald reported running back Cory Heeter scored three times and had 187 yards rushing, breaking the school's career rushing record.

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Post 45: Looking back at Week 1 of the SCOL
Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013

What an impressive season opener for the South Central Ohio League. The seven teams combined to go 5-2 in the first week with Chillicothe, Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace, McClain and Washington all winning their openers.

Here are the actual results:
Western Brown 49, Hillsboro 6
Adena 21, McClain 47
Chillicothe 20, Johnstown-Monroe 7
Wilmington 28, Washington 35
Miami Trace 42, Circleville 26
Ada 35, East Clinton 19
Blanchester 7, Clinton-Massie 63

I had the chance to watch the McClain game live, the Hillsboro game on the internet and the Clinton-Massie Falcons live since they played on a Sunday evening at CMHS.

First off, I want to talk about the McClain 47-21 win over the Adena Warriors. The Tigers impressed me on their aggressiveness on the defensive side, along with their big play ability through the air. Those two passes from Thomas Schrader to Alex Hollar and Ryan Faulconer were game changers.

Schrader's stat line: 2-for-7, 119 yards, 2 TDs.

On offense, the Tigers totaled 364 yards, including 245 yards rushing. That's another thing … the Tigers have a lot of weapons at running back, and starting out the second half with Faulconer having six straight carries is a smart and effective way to wear out an opponent. He averaged 9.3 yards per carry on eight total rushes for 74 yards. Dillon Hunick also impressed with his time carrying the ball. He led MHS with 83 yards rushing on six carries (13.8 ypc).

Again, it was just a productive win for the Tigers.

Thanks to the website www.hhs-indians.com, I was able to watch a replay of the HHS vs. Wilmington replay, and I can say the HHS squad played hard. That was easy to see, but Western Brown was a really good team that loved going for the big play.

As for the Clinton-Massie game Sunday vs. Blanchester, even without All-Ohio running back Bayle Wolf, the Falcons were more than impressive. They scored on the opening kickoff, and from there, they never looked back.

Sophomore running back Chayse Wolf led the Falcons with 189 yards (three TDs), and from what I saw him do against the Wildcats, the Falcons have a lot of talent rushing the ball this season. They could be very dangerous with the brother combination of Bayle and Chayse.

The win by CM gives them a 16-game overall winning streak dating back to last season. CM also scored 42 points in the first half and outright dominated the game. Their game with Waynesville this Friday should be a great matchup.

For the rest of the SCOL, the win by the Blue Lions was impressive and from what folks have told me who attended the game, the Blue Lions took control of the game early and fended off Wilmington late.

The Blue Lions have one of the best running backs in the league in Tye Smith, and he didn't disappoint in the season opener. Smith scored four touchdowns against the Hurricane and 214 yards on the ground.

What a win by the Miami Trace Panthers, huh? This team could be dangerous this season, and they showed they are able to run the ball at will against the Circleville Tigers as they have 373 yards rushing. Jimmy Stroker, the MT QB, had 137 yards on the ground. They had three others runners rush for at least 62 yards apiece.

Defense was the name of the game for the Chillicothe Cavaliers Friday as they won a season opener for the first time in four seasons. They held their opponents to 70 total yards of offense with Tyler Kelley leading the defense with 13 tackles (two for loss) and a sack. Julius Lee followed with 12 tackles (three for loss). CHS had an interception, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

All in all, this was a very productive week for the SCOL. It will be interesting if the league can have a winning week for the second consecutive week, but we'll preview that later in the week.


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Post 44: Game Day has finally arrived
Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2013

Game Day is Here … that is all!

I'm joking, but how can we not be ready for the start of the regular season tonight?

This weekend, the South Central Ohio League looks to have a winning record for the first week since the '10 season, but that will be a tough task as there are some strong programs on the schedule this week.

So before we really get into things, I want to give my predictions for tonight's games. (Note: To do predictions I have to pick a winner, so if I don't pick your favorite team, it isn't personal, just my opinion on that game. I welcome others to leave their predictions as well. It is all in good fun.)

My Week One Predictions are:
- McClain over Adena
- Wilmington over Washington
- Western Brown over Hillsboro
- Miami Trace over Circleville
- Chillicothe over Johnstown-Monroe
- Ada over East Clinton
- Clinton-Massie over Blanchester

But really, my predictions don't really matter … it is just a way for me to have something else to do. I've been waiting for the start of high school football since the end of the '12 season.

Since the start of last year, the SCOL has lost two members, welcomed in a new one and now has a state football champion to brag about.

I really believe this league can get at least two teams into the playoffs this season, and if two teams don't reach the postseason, I'll be surprised. It was close last year, but again, I believe the SCOL can have two teams in the postseason come November.

Another thing I'm excited about is just being in the atmosphere of a high school football games because there is no other sport that can duplicate the feeling of a high school football game … not one.

I'm excited to hear what songs the marching bands will go with this season. One of my favorites was the year McClain played the "Batman" theme.

I'm excited about seeing new faces make their mark on the football field, seniors making a lasting impression and seeing if there will be a surprise or two not just this week, but in the weeks to come.

I'm excited to just have the opportunity to watch high school football for another year.

Good luck to all the players, coaches, cheerleaders and band members (and Tigerettes), because this is your time to shine and enjoy this time. I hope tonight that stadiums are packed. Everyone have a safe and fun evening.

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Post 43: Thoughts for Week 1
Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013

The season is almost here. Really close. Real games that mean something in the standings start for five teams in the South Central Ohio League on Friday and two more on Saturday.

Friday's schedule consists of the following in the SCOL:

- McClain vs. Adena
- Hillsboro vs. Western Brown
- Washington vs. Wilmington
- Miami Trace at Circleville
- Chillicothe at Jamestown

Saturday's schedule consists of:
- Clinton-Massie at Blanchester (in Centerville)
- East Clinton vs. Ada

My complete game preview for the Hillsboro game and for the McClain game is here.

As for the other games, I've touched on their games some earlier in the week, but here are some things to look out for in each of the seven SCOL matchups.

- I'm interested in the offensive line play of the McClain Tigers. They have three new starters this year, and their overall play in their final scrimmage seemed to improve in the second quarter, compared to the first against a tough Logan Elm team.

- Another thing for the MHS game is clock management. AHS will probably rely heavily on their run game, which means the clock will keep ticking. More so than normal, every possession could count for just a little bit more in this game.

- In the Hillsboro game, I'm curious about a lot of things, but I'm interested in seeing how the team reacts to having a new coach with a new playbook and new outlook this season.

- Also for the Indians, who have a new quarterback under center with part of a new offensive line and new running backs for '13, being crisp will be key in their matchup with the Broncos.

- The Washington vs. Wilmington game has a lot of points to look at, but in terms of the SCOL team, the Blue Lions' running game with, like other teams, a rebuilt offensive line will be key. WCH has a running back named Tye Smith who ran for 1,300 yards and scored 26 touchdowns in '12. It will be fun to watch to see if he can repeat that success this season. Wilmington will be a strong test to start out this season with.

- I want to see if Miami Trace can gain a road win to open the '13 season. They didn't win on the road last year, and a win at Circleville could go a very long way in their hopes and goals of a playoff berth in November.

- MT also has a three-year quarterback in Jimmy Stroker. This senior is a very good athlete, and from watching him play in the past, he seems to improve each season.

- Chillicothe has their first game as a member of the SCOL in a very long time Friday. During his preseason interview, coach Ron Hinton spoke about how the previous three seasons, his team has lost the first game of the season. He wants that trend to stop, so this is their chance this season for them to achieve that goal.

- Also with the Cavaliers, they have a veteran group that has been groomed for this season … it will be fun to see and read about the progression of the Cavs this season and ultimately where they end up in the SCOL.

- For Saturday's games, the Astros have a very tough opponent with Ada visiting. The key for the Astros' game is to see how much they improve from the first snap to the final one as they enter the game with an entire new coaching staff and playbook.

- I'm also curious in seeing senior QB Dalton Floyd being used differently than he has in the past.

- Now for the reigning state champion Clinton-Massie Falcons. What can you say about this team? In game one, it will be interesting to see if they can keep the Blanchester Wildcats scoreless for the sixth straight season. CM last allowed the Wildcats to score a TD in '07. In that time, the CM scores have been the following: 49-0, 58-0, 55-0, 34-0 and 63-0.

- Also, the player to watch in the CM game is senior running back Bayle Wolf and the revamped offensive line. Wolf totaled 2,059 yards and 41 touchdowns last season, and his sophomore year, he was one of three CM backs to carry the ball for over 1,000 yards with 1,390 and 31 TDs.
 
- As for the entire SCOL, last season they began the year at 3-5 in week one when it was an eight-team league with London and Madison-Plains in the mix. In '11, the league began 3-4. The last winning mark to open a season for the SCOL was '10 when they went 4-3 as a group.

KICKOFF IS TOMORROW!

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Post 42: Upcoming games to look out for this weekend
Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013

With game week finally here, my questions for everyone are what game are your attending this weekend, and what other games are you looking forward to this first week of high school football?

As for me, I'll start making the Wednesday blog post about what games I'm looking forward to that week.

This week, there are a few games that really have me wondering or just have my attention as to their eventual outcome.

Here are my top five games of the week involving area schools. Tomorrow I'll preview all the SCOL games in greater detail, along with other opinions on the first week of the regular season.

- Miami Trace at Circleville
This is one of the better traditional games to start a football season in the surrounding area. It seems like these two teams have been playing forever against each other, and the winner of the most recent matchup in '12 was Circleville by a 41-34 score.

This year, I feel the Panthers will improve on their winless non-league record last season as they have a really nice core group of players returning from a 6-4 season.

Circleville went 6-5 last season, losing in the first round of the playoffs to Athens (63-28) as AHS went onto win another postseason game last year. CHS lost 13 seniors from one year ago.

This game should be one of the better games on the SCOL schedule this weekend.


- Adena at McClain
I wrote a little about this game yesterday, but I like the annual season-opening matchup. In '10 and '12, the games were two of the better games of the annual start of football season, so by that pattern, that means in this Friday's game one team will score a decent amount of more points than the other.

Either way, this is how I've begun the start of the high school football season since the '07 season, so this is always going to be a Top 5 matchup for me.

I'll post an actual game preview of this matchup, Thursday.


- Clinton-Massie vs. Blanchester
I don't think the game will be close in the scoring column, but how can anyone not be excited for the start of the Clinton-Massie football season as defending state champions?

CM dominated their scrimmage last weekend against Carlisle, so it seems like they are primed for the regular season.


- Wilmington at Washington
Next year, this will be a South Central Ohio League game, but Friday it is a non-league opener. This is a big game for both teams as Wilmington is a talented team, and it will be a nice way to see how Washington has improved in the past few months as they have some talented players returning as well.

This game should have a good atmosphere with both schools being around 20-25 miles apart from each other. I'm interested in seeing how the Blue Lion offense matches up with the Wilmington defense.


- Westfall at Teays Valley
This game marks a new start for the Westfall Mustangs as they lost a wealth of talent from last season's playoff and Scioto Valley Conference champion team. They also have a new head coach in Brian Spicer, formerly the head coach at Hillsboro.

Like when Coach Spicer arrived at Hillsboro, I'm interested in seeing how his offensive schemes will work at Westfall. Teays Valley will provide a good test for the Mustangs to begin the season.

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Post 41: Previewing Week 1 of the SVC
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013

Today, I want to quickly preview the upcoming first week of Scioto Valley Conference football play which kicks off this Friday night.

- Adena at McClain
This is the best way to open up a football season any year. I'll have a more detailed preview of this game later in the week since I cover McClain football on a weekly basis, but going into the season, I've had the opportunity to see both these teams in scrimmages.

What I like about the Warriors is their traditional running game, something I felt they did well in the scrimmage against CNE and Hillsboro. I saw the Tigers scrimmage against Logan Elm, and with the competition they faced, while battling injuries and a youngish offensive line, I felt the Tigers improved from the first quarter to the second quarter.

If the Tigers' defense can stop the run game of Adena, they have a good chance to leave week one with a win. On the other hand, if AHS can pressure the Tigers' offense and force them into mistakes, then AHS can gain a road win to start the season.


- Huntington at Notre Dame
I only saw Huntington this season in a 7-on-7, but if they can use momentum gained from last season where they won five games, who knows what to expect from this program. HHS is going through change with a new head coach this season, while Notre Dame is coming off a 7-3 season.


- Lockland at Paint Valley
The Bearcats could be a even better team than the six wins they posted last season. They were one spot away from the postseason in '12 but return a good core of players who have been groomed for this season as PV has a really good mix of underclassmen and seniors. This team will be interesting to watch this season.

The Bearcats have a shot to compete for the SVC title, as this conference doesn't have a clear-cut front runner for the title.

Lockland is coming off a 2-8 season as they've lost 16 seniors from that team. Their two wins were against Aiken and Ponitz Career Tech.


- Piketon at Waverly
The Redstreaks could be a sleeper team this season in the SVC. They return a couple standout players in Farmer and Southworth, so this game could be an interesting test to see where Piketon stands early on in the season.

The Tigers of WHS are coming off a 2-8 season, as last year they lost the season opener to PHS, 29-21.


- Northwest at Southeastern
Had a chance to see Southeastern in a 7-on-7 this summer, but it is hard to tell a lot from those events. SE is coming off a season of 1-9 where they defeated Northwest in the season opener, 23-21. NW didn't win a game last season at 0-10, so it is safe to say both of these teams are hungry for a win.


- Unioto at Vinton County
Unioto played their final scrimmage against the Washington Blue Lions and also scrimmaged the Hillsboro Indians this preseason. They could be one of the better teams in the SVC this fall, but to do that, they'll have to improve on their 5-5 mark from last season. Last year vs. VC, the Shermans won, 38-15.

VC won just once last season, ending with a 1-9 mark. Their one win came against South Point (27-19).


- Westfall at Teays Valley
Westfall lost a lot from last season's SVC title team, including their head coach. This year, the head coach for Westfall is Brian Spicer, the former coach at Hillsboro. I still believe Westfall is in the top half of the SVC, but we'll have to wait and see.

Even with the success of a 9-2 mark last year, Westfall lost their season opener to Teays Valley, 49-27. Teays Valley ended last season 5-5 overall.


- Zane Trace at Logan Elm
This could be a competitive game. I was more than impressed with Logan Elm last Friday when I watched them face McClain in a scrimmage at MHS. They ran they ball well, and their offense looked crisp.

ZT is one of the favorites in the SVC this season, but last year they lost their season opener to LE, 42-13 as the LE Braves finished the '12 season at 6-5.



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Post 40: Game Week
Monday, Aug. 26, 2013
The week of the first game has finally arrived for Ohio high school football. All of the scrimmages are finally over, and it is finally times for games that count.

From what I can garner from the Friday preseason scrimmages, East Clinton defeated Southeastern (26-0), Logan Elm defeated McClain (27-0), Chillicothe defeated London (27-0) and Clinton-Massie defeated Carlisle (64-26).

Scores for Miami Trace vs. Amanda Clearcreek, Washington at Unioto and Paint Valley at Hillsboro weren't available.

As for the game I attended, I watched the McClain Tigers host the Logan Elm Braves.

There were some positives and negatives in the game for the Tigers, but it was just a scrimmage, so there were kinks to be worked out by all teams in the final preseason scrimmages this past Friday.

What I liked about the Tigers was how they improved from the first quarter to the second quarter, as just from my standpoint it was more crisp for MHS in the second. I liked the play of Dillon Hunick defensively as he seemed the most aggressive player on the field at times.

The Tigers made some nice plays at times on the offensive side, and quarterback Thomas Schrader made a couple plays while scrambling. One plus in the three varsity quarters was I don't recall the Tigers making a turnover.

With high school football, it is still tough to gauge what we'll see this coming Friday, because players are going to play differently when they know the game is for real. That's what I want to see … how players play the game when they count in the standings, because if MHS learned anything from last season, it's that every game counts.

On the other hand, what I saw from Logan Elm was impressive. They used their athletic quarterbacks and running game to their advantage, and it turned into 21 points. Then their defense late in the third recovered a fumble, and in short field position, they added another TD.

I don't know a lot about any of the other scrimmages, but I believe HHS scored 14 points late in the scrimmage against Paint Valley, and the CM Falcons in their scrimmage did what they always do, and that is score points.

Later in the week, I'll preview all seven games from the SCOL and also take a look at the first week of the SVC, along with who other area teams are playing this week as well.

We are just four days away from kickoff of the first Football Friday Night of the season.


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Post 39: First-and-Ten Football Preview
Friday, Aug. 23, 2013

After about three weeks of traveling to football camps, late-night writing and a few other issues, the 2013 Highland County Press First and Ten High School Football Preview Edition is complete.

Working on the preview this week was one of the reasons why I've been silent on the blog most of the week, but now it is time to get back to a normal schedule once again and fill this blog full of football stats, opinions, scores and whatever else we can come up with pertaining to high school football.

Sometime this weekend I'll have all the articles from the print version of the tab posted online, just in case you are unable to get a print copy from The Highland County Press office or at a number of store locations throughout Highland County and the surrounding area.

Looking back at the First and Ten camp trips I had the past few weeks, I got to see players and coaches doing the work that most don't have the chance to see.

My favorite, besides seeing the different ways teams practice, is just talking to those involved with the game, learning their viewpoints on the game of football and learning why they play the game.

One of my favorite interviews was with Chillicothe coach Ron Hinton, as his media day preview interview was very detailed, and along with that it, is a bit of a history lesson learning about how he and his co-coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Arndt have been coaching together for around 30 years. Hinton is a state champion head coach at Amanda Clearcreek, and the coaching combo of those two men has been very successful.

Also, it was nice to see just how motivated the Clinton-Massie Falcons are to repeat this season. Winning a state title is tough, but this group of players will do their best to repeat the championship feat of last year. The seniors I spoke with said they don't want to be the class that takes a step back, and with that type of motivation and attention to detail they have in Clarksville … it will be hard to look past the Falcons this season. They will be interesting to watch, especially in the early part of the season with games against Waynesville, Jonathan Alder and DeSales.

I also like what is going on at Miami Trace. That group of players is all but poised to make a run at the playoffs this season, and quite honestly, this is one of the best opportunities the MT program has had to achieve that feat in quite some time. They have most of their starters back from a six-win season last year, and as they told me, their motto is "Unfinished Business." One of the players told me a story of how they don't like the word "potential" at MT, saying potential means you haven't done anything yet. This year, Miami Trace wants to do something that their fans remember for a long time to come.

Another part of what I learned and enjoyed this camp summer when interviewing players is the respect they have for their football program and the tradition of whatever program they have.

Take, for instance, in Hillsboro: one player said they felt they let down their fan base last season by not getting a win and in turn spoke about how much the tradition of playing at HHS means to them. You could sense the pride they had in their school. That can be said for all the schools I spoke with … like McClain, when they players say they want their team to be remembered this year in the same way other past MHS teams in the school are remembered. At Fayetteville, the Rockets, though having a very young program, want to be the team that moves them another step closer in building a traditional football program as the entire program isn't even a decade old.

At MT, seniors spoke of past players and how their stadium is one of a few schools where the home stands are built into the school, and how that is one of the traditions they enjoy. Then there is CM, who have been to the playoffs for over 10 years straight, coming off a state championship and a final four appearance the previous season, and this year's senior class still isn't satisfied with that success and wants to work even more to get back that feeling of being the absolute best football team in their division.

I have to also thank all the coaches and players I spoke with one last time this summer, as they give me all the time and access I needed and wanted during their camps, which is much appreciated. I hope the preview is better than any edition in the past, but I hope to make next year's even better.

Again, thanks to everyone who reads this blog or picks up a copy of the football preview … myself and copy editor/transcriber Caitlin Ryan put days of work into it, and we hope you enjoy it.

Good luck to all the high school football teams this year, enjoy the final scrimmages tonight and everyone have a safe weekend!


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Post 38: 2 weeks until kickoff
Monday, Aug. 19, 2013

With this being the final week until the start of the regular season, I had a chance to watch the Hillsboro Indians in a bit of game action this past weekend as they faced both the Adena Warriors and the Clermont Northeastern Rockets at Richards Memorial Field.

The Saturday scrimmages are always fun to watch as I usually alternate between HHS and McClain each season, because that is when they are usually the home team. This year, the Tigers' Saturday scrimmage was at Wilmington.

As for the scrimmage I watched, I stayed for the 10-play drills between the round robin of the three teams as each took a turn against each other on offense and defense.

Like I wrote in the actual short article on the scrimmage, I was impressed with the hustle of new HHS quarterback Toby Warrington. He ran a very nice play that took him around 47 yards down the sideline, a play which displayed his speed.

In watching Adena, they did what AHS does best, and that is run the football and run it hard. Against HHS, the Warriors on offense began with an 8-yard run, followed by a gain of 18 yards on yet another run, taking them to their own 49-yard line. On play three of the 10-play set, AHS had a breakout rush of 25 yards, followed by runs of nine, six, three and -1.

To get the touchdown, the Warriors threw a pass for around seven yards. From there, they had two more plays, both passes going 1-for-2 with 12 yards.

In Hillsboro's offensive drive against Adena, they struggled with a net of -3 yards on their first three plays, but Play 4 was the Warrington run which took HHS to the Adena 30-yard line.

That was followed by a gain of about four yards on a run, then an incomplete pass. Warrington kept the ball on Play 7 for two yards and passed for six more on the ensuing play. Plays 9 and 10 didn't fare that well for HHS as they both went for negative yardage.

Against CNE in their first offensive 10 plays against the Rockets, the first two plays went for no gain and a holding call on a run. Plays 3-8 all went for positive yardage, including Play 4 that was a 14-yard completion and Play 6 that was a 10-yard run. On Play 10, HHS had a 10-yard gain.

These Saturday scrimmages are a good way to prepare for this final scrimmage this Friday night. Here is a list of the SCOL Friday scrimmages (SCOL team is bolded):

- Paint Valley at Hillsboro
- Logan Elm at McClain
- Chillicothe at London
- Clinton-Massie at Carlisle
- Amanda Clearcreek at Miami Trace
- Southeastern at East Clinton
- Washington at Unioto

There are 11 days until the first football Friday night.


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Post 37: The Cavaliers have arrived in the SCOL
Friday, Aug. 16, 2013

We are ever so close to the '13 football season, and as I near the end of my football camp travels, I've had the rare opportunity to visit with two state champion football coaches on back-to-back days.

On Wednesday, I spoke with Clinton-Massie head coach Dan McSurley, and Thursday I had a lengthy conversation with Chillicothe head coach Ron Hinton, who won state titles at Amanda-Clearcreek in the '90s.

Since I spoke about CM yesterday, today I want to talk about the newest member of the South Central Ohio League in the Cavaliers, who are now a Division III team in football.

For those who didn't know, Chillicothe was an original member of the SCOL, and they won four football league championships in the 1920s. Since that time, the Cavaliers have made the playoffs five times with the last time being '08.

This will be Coach Hinton's fourth season at Chillicothe, and he said the team needs to get over the hump as they are coming off a 4-6 season, but they won three of their final four games to end the '12 season.

I feel the Cavaliers' style of the triple-option offense is perfect for the SCOL, as most of the teams in the league rely on a running game for their offense.

One thing Coach Hinton spoke about was how he has double figures at all four grade levels, and the numbers are getting to where he wants them to be, but they aren't there quite yet.

I had a chance to watch a little of the Cavaliers' practice after my conversation with Coach Hinton, and what I liked about their practice was the high intensity and their enthusiasm for the game. It was a hard-hitting practice, but the players seemed to be enjoying it.

Hinton said earlier of practices, "We like seeing how the kids react in practice." He continued to talk about a new climate, a new culture and having a new identity and establishing it in practice, and they better have it by the time the first game of the season arrives.

Coach Hinton spoke about a variety of topics during our meeting, and I'll write about a lot of it in the First-and-Ten Preview edition.

One final thing Coach Hinton spoke about was being in the SCOL, saying they are excited to be in the league and the anticipation for the season was high.

One final thing to keep track of is Coach Hinton needs seven wins to have 300 total wins for his head coaching career that has spanned Piketon, Amanda Clearcreek and CHS. He's entering his 33rd season as a head coach.

We are two weeks away from kickoff! Everyone have a safe weekend.

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Post 36: Clinton-Massie focused once again
Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013

Wednesday was a good opportunity as I had the chance to visit with the Clinton-Massie Falcons, the reigning Division IV State champions.

Getting to watch the final portion of their morning practice, it was evident that they aren't resting on their success from last year, but more than that, they want to win just as badly as they did last season.

The seniors I spoke with said, like others before them, they don't want to be the class that takes a step back, and they are just as focused, maybe even more focused, than they were last season. You can read about them in the fourth annual First-and-Ten High School Football Preview edition.

"The kids are real competitive," McSurley said. "This senior class obviously are very competitive, and they want to make sure they etch their name in stone, and they want to leave the legacy the previous senior class did.

"Basically, the motivation is carrying on the tradition and keeping the program moving forward."

Again, I only watched around 30 or so minutes of their defensive practice, but from what I watched, I loved the intensity and the attention to detail the coaching staff had for each play, but I'm guessing that's one of the reasons why they went 15-0 last year and haven't lost a game in the South Central Ohio League since '07.

Another thing I asked Coach McSurley was about players at the youth levels learning the playbook at such a young age and how it helps his high school program. I find this very interesting, as I think all schools should do this if they are able to.

"If you run a high-skill offense like ourselves, we are a high-skill, high-rep offense, so what we do, we do over and over again," McSurley said. "You get the skill by all the repetition. When you get your younger kids playing that same style of football, and they get to be in high school, it is natural to them … it becomes second nature.

"So then, when they get here, it is just a matter of repetition and honing in on their skill set, and I think that's where it benefits our program."

I can't say how much I agree with him on this aspect of football, and from the success his teams have had the past 12 or so years, with all the playoff berths, playoff runs and the aforementioned state title, the process seems to be working quite well.

As for the schedule of the Falcons, THE game to watch this season is Week 5, when the Falcons travel to face St. Francis DeSales in Columbus. Last year, DeSales went 5-5 last season, and two seasons ago, they were 7-4 overall.

Remember, once again, to read more about the Falcons in the 2013 First-and-Ten High School Football Preview when it is released before the start of the season.

There are just 15 days remaining until the start of the first football Friday night.

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Post 35: More from the Blue Lions, Indians and Bearcats
Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013

I want to continue from yesterday by talking more about the Washington Blue Lions and Hillsboro Indians.

When speaking with head coach Corey Dye of the Blue Lions, one thing he was really pleased with was the winter and spring of his players as he was impressed with his players' work ethic in the weight room.

One thing he spoke about was having a 1,000-pound club in the weight room which consists of combined weights of bench press, squat and clings. He said he had one player reach the 1,000-pound mark but also had more players reach the 900- and 800-pound plateau.

"We had an awesome winter workout," Dye said. "We had a lot of kids make a lot of strength gains. We had one guy reach the 1,000 pounds, D.J. Merricks, he's been working really hard this offseason to achieve that."

Another thing that brought back some memories on my side was when Coach Dye spoke about the "Cherry Hill" conditioning program. From what I remember from my freshman year, possibly sophomore year, you basically condition by running up and down a big hill in front of Cherry Hill School in Washington C.H. From what I remember, that's a great way to condition for football season.

As many coaches have mentioned, and it is also common knowledge, work in the weight room is one of the most important parts of football or any sport, and it seems it is working out well for Washington this offseason.

Now back to Hillsboro … in speaking with Coach Hodge, he talked about rebuilding the varsity football program … a program that has nine seniors.

"We are bringing in a whole new system here, a lot different than what the players are used to," Hodge said. "They've done a real good job of studying and keeping up with things, learning the offense and defense. So far, it has gone pretty well."

Also with the Paint Valley Bearcats, after meeting with them Tuesday during their media day, one thing that stood out was head coach Pete Hollon speaking about his seniors who have started since their sophomore seasons.  

"It's been pretty rewarding as a head coach to watch their progression. You never really want to throw a kid on the varsity level before they are really ready, and honestly none of them were, but that's the life of being a small school.

"It's been fun to see the progression each year of them, not just on the field, but as young men off the field. I like to see them win a lot of football games … we reestablished a lot of our history and tradition last year, and I'd like to see these guys take it to another level like some of our previous teams."

Again, my apologies for the later in the evening post as I've been busy with a few things. Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the Clinton-Massie Falcons and my visit with coach Dan McSurley and watching some of their morning practice from Wednesday.


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Post 34: 2 camps in 1 day
Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013

Monday was a rarity for this summer due to different scheduling, but I had the chance to visit two different football practices, visiting the Washington Blue Lions in the early afternoon and the Hillsboro Indians in the latter part of the day.

The Blue Lions are currently in two-a-days as they don't start the school year until next week, while Hillsboro are having one practice per day right now as they began their school year on Monday.

Hillsboro, though, completed two-a-days, as they began a few days earlier than the Blue Lions.

Either way you look at it, the regular season is nearing.

As for the two camps I visited, what did I learn?

Let's start with the Blue Lions, as I had the chance to watch a good portion of their practice on both offense and defense. What I liked about their practice was watching the repetition of each play. Whether they were practicing offense or defense, they made sure they had the play down, and they even threw in a few audibles.

After speaking with head coach Corey Dye, he spoke about how this year his team has more experience headed into the season, as last year they had to battle being a younger team learning on the go. In '12, Washington finished with a 4-3 South Central Ohio League mark and a 5-5 mark overall.

What I like for the Blue Lions is they have a quarterback who will be starting his second full season and playing in part of a third season at the varsity level in Josh Williams.

Williams made a handful of starts his sophomore season under center for the Blue Lions and is poised to led the Washington offense his senior season as Dye describes Williams as one of the best pure passers he's coached.

As for the Indians, as I mentioned earlier, they have completed their two-a-day practices, and (Tuesday) they were scheduled to have a scrimmage at Unioto.

What I got from watching the Matt Hodge led Indians is they are disciplined and even more than that they are motivated to put last year in the past and focus on this season.

We all know the story about how the Indians didn't win a game last season, and what I like is that a couple of the players I spoke with said they are using that feeling of not winning a game one season ago as something they don't want to experience again.

Just from watching a portion of the Indians' practice Monday evening, they are motivated to be better than last year.

I'll write more about these two teams tomorrow with some quotes added from both coaches, along with some quotes from Paint Valley head coach Pete Hollon about his '13 Bearcats.



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Post 33: Visiting with the Tigers
Monday, Aug. 12, 2013

After a few ordered days away from the computer, work and writing in general, I want to begin this week by taking a look back at the last day I covered a football two-a-day last Thursday.

The last team I visited for the First-and-Ten Preview was the McClain Tigers as I got to see one of their final two-a-day practices, as they are one of the schools who begin a little earlier than usual this year.

While at the camp, I had a chance to catch a little of the defensive practice, along with some end-of-the-day offensive line work.

If anyone knows anything about the Tigers football team, they should know their defense has been their backbone the past few seasons, especially last season as they were 5-2 in the SCOL and 7-3 overall. They allowed a total of 219 points last season, with only two other SCOL teams allowing less in Clinton-Massie (46) and Miami Trace (195) in 10 regular-season games.

Just from the little I watched Thursday, I can say I was impressed, at times, by some of the defensive play I watched.

Coach Randy Closson spoke about his defense: "John Penwell, our defensive coordinator, has done an outstanding job with our kids and our defensive schemes and calling games. Last year, there's no doubt, and really for many years, our defense is the heart and soul of what we do. We're looking to have another solid defensive year this year."

Also, for those who follow the Tigers, they have higher numbers than usual, which means more competition for starting jobs.

"With the numbers, we get the opportunity to compete in practice," Closson said. "We've got two or three guys that want to be the starter at one spot, and they compete for it, which means they're pushing each other in drills, they're pushing each other in conditioning, they're pushing each other in the weight room. They're trying to do things to set themselves apart from others."

What also caught my attention was though the Tigers were pleased with the success they had, I was also told they are using the disappointment of being just short of the playoffs as motivation, as since the playoffs began the Tigers have never qualified as they were one spot short last year.

Remember, this Wednesday the Tigers have a scrimmage at 5 p.m. at Southeastern, followed by one on Saturday (8-17) at Wilmington at 10 a.m. They will wrap up their scrimmage season on Aug. 23 at McClain Field when they host Logan Elm.

As for the rest of this week, I have visits with teams scheduled all week, so there should be plenty to write about headed closer to the season.

There are 18 days until the first football Friday night.

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Post 32: A visit to Fayetteville
Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013

The First-and-Ten Football Preview has a new team in the edition for the first time as I had the opportunity to visit with the Fayetteville Rockets football team Wednesday.

I got the chance to watch a little of their practice, as it is starting to look a lot like football season since they were wearing shoulder pads and helmets, and maybe I got to hear the pads pop a couple times.

It was also my first chance to meet with their new head coach Nathan Geers, as he is taking over the program for the first time. Last season, he was the Rockets' defensive coordinator, not to mention he's also a fellow Wilmington College graduate, so that makes him an overall good guy right off the bat. Go Quakers!

What I noticed about the time I spent with Coach Geers and his team was their enthusiasm and hustle for the game of football.

I've seen them earlier this preseason in a 7-on-7 scrimmage this summer at Paint Valley, and I wrote then how I liked their intensity, and I can say that again, but I'm adding the word "enthusiasm" along with it.

You can just tell his team is excited to be practicing and playing football in August, and isn't that all any coach can ask for this time of year?

They are still working on building a consistent football program (I believe Geers is their third head coach since bringing football to Fayetteville), and a fact I learned while being at their camp … the senior class for the Rockets will be the first class at FHS to go through the program all four years.

Getting to talk to a couple seniors following the two-a-day practice, it was also easy to see they have a great respect for the game, as they spoke about how much they just like playing the game and told me how much football meant to them. You can read the First-and-Ten Preview for complete quotes.

Just speaking and watching the players from Fayetteville practice Wednesday makes me even more excited to watch football this year.

Another thing that stood out that I never see is watching coaches individually recognize every player following the practice.

The Rockets might not be the biggest team or come from what is considered a football powerhouse, but since the '09 season, they've won at least one game each season, including seven games the past three years, with two wins last year, three wins in '11 and two wins in '10.

They have higher aspirations this season, and continued improvement is all you can ask for for a football program that isn't even a decade old. They seem to be headed in the right direction, and I'm interested in seeing how much more they progress this season.

The countdown is down to 22 days left until Friday night football begins.

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Post 31: Preseason scrimmages
Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2013

One of my favorite parts of the high school football preseason is when teams play in scrimmages. Though the games don't count in the standings, playing in scrimmages is still a good way to see where a team stands when faced with a different opponent before the start of the regualr season.

Usually the better scrimmage is the final one, the week before the season begins, where it is usually treated like a game of sorts, playing it around the same time a usual game would on a fall Friday night.

Since I don't have complete scrimmage schedules for all the SCOL teams, here is the list for the final scrimmages of the preseason on Friday, Aug. 23, which is just 16 days away. Usually most of these games start around 7 p.m. or a little before:

• Clinton-Massie at Carlisle
• Paint Valley at Hillsboro
• Logan Elm at McClain
• Amanda-Clearcreek at Miami Trace
• Southeastern at East Clinton
• Washington at Unioto
• Chillicothe at London

For a final preseason week, that's not a bad slate of matchups.

Before then, for Highland County, Hillsboro will face Unioto and Adena in scrimmages on Aug. 13 and 17, while McClain will face Southeastern and Wilmington on Aug. 14 and Aug. 17 on the road.

Clinton-Massie has scrimmages scheduled against Eaton (home) on Aug. 13 and a four-team scrimmage at Indian Hill on Aug. 17.

East Clinton has a scrimmage at Greenon on Aug. 17. Other than that, those are all the scrimmages I have been able to find for the preseason concerning the SCOL.

Today also starts back up my football camps visits, as I've taken a two-day break to work on some other sports projects for the preseason. I'll have more to write about today's visit in the blog tomorrow, as it will be a school that's never been in the First-and-Ten football preview before.

As for these scrimmages, I'm really interested in seeing teams finally hit one another and just to see how things have progressed since the 7-on-7 season, because we all know football is much different once players start wearing a full uniform and playing actual football.

Just looking at Hillsboro for example, their scrimmages start with one on the road at Unioto starting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 13. This should be a nice test 17 days before the start of the season once it takes place against the Scioto Valley Conference team.

The Indians follow that up with two other scrimmages against SVC opponents in Adena on a Saturday (in Hillsboro) and the annual "Fish Fry" on the 23rd at 7 p.m. against PV.

One scrimmage on the list that interests me is on next weekend on Aug. 17 when McClain travels to Wilmington at 10 a.m. This is usually a good scrimmage between the two schools.

I've covered this scrimmage the past two years, but I'm still trying to work out a schedule to be able to see both the Tigers and Indians this scrimmage preseason, so I'm not exactly sure when and where I'll be just yet.

As for the annual Chillicothe and London scrimmage to end the preseason a fun fact is this: the old team of the SCOL (London) is hosting the new team of the SCOL (Chillicothe).

There are just 23 left until the '13 season begins.

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Post 30: What can we expect from the SCOL in '13?
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013

What do I see from the SCOL this year is a question I've been asked a lot lately by various folks in various counties this summer.

Later, I might write some preseason rankings after I find out more about each team, but until I have a chance to see every league team in person, whether it be interviews, a scrimmage or practices, I want to hold off on that list. I do see the league in four different sections as we enter the preseason schedule.

Though I'm holding off on my rankings, I do expect more from the SCOL than what we've seen the past couple seasons, but I don't see that as asking too much from this league.

Besides Clinton-Massie leading the league, I believe from what I saw last year Miami Trace has a good change to make some noise in not only the league schedule, but in their four non-league games as well.

I can't wait to speak with head coach Steve Bartlett about the Panthers this preseason because my early opinion of this team is they should be really good in the league, but they must improve on their mark away from the SCOL this season as the Panthers were 0-3 in '12 in non-league games with losses to Circleville (41-34), Wilmington (20-14) and Logan Elm (49-28).

This season, the Panthers will play the same three teams in the same order to start the football year, so they have a good opportunity to avenge those losses from last season.

With the departure of the two schools from Madison County and the arrival of Chillicothe, my thoughts are the SCOL will be stronger at the top part of the league this season.

Don't mind the overall mark of the Cavaliers last season (4-6), but look at the schedule they played … it was tough inside their former conference and away from it as well, as they faced two teams who won a playoff game.

The overall mark combined of the teams on their schedule from last season was 55-51. The '12 overall mark of teams on this year's schedule is almost identical to what it was last season at 55-50, but with a defending state champion in Clinton-Massie on the slate.

Either way you look at it, the experience the Cavs will bring to the SCOL can only make the league that much stronger.

And speaking of Miami Trace and the Cavs, they play against each other in Week 4 this season in what will without a doubt in my mind play a big role in the final standings of the season. Just wait and see.

As for my camp visits, I didn't attend any Monday, but I have managed to fill up a lot of dates in my planner for the next few days, so hopefully I'll have a little more preseason items to write about near the end of the week.

Twenty-four days remain before the first Friday night of the high school football season.



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Post 29: Camp visits and other notes
Monday, Aug. 5, 2013

After two camp visits for the fourth annual Highland County Press First-and-Ten High School Football Preview, I've had the opportunity to see East Clinton and Wilmington at their camps.

Those two schools began their camps early due to the date they start school, and today all Ohio high high schools will begin their two-a-day football practices.

It is safe to say we are now officially in football season.

Though the two camps I visited at East Clinton last Thursday and Wilmington this past Friday weren't in contact drills yet, I did get a chance to see them away from competitions of the 7-on-7's and working on individual drills, especially special team drills.
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Working on the special teams may not seem that exciting, but it can be if you find something to watch and look for. In my case, I was just watching players at Wilmington catch the ball. Again, it may not seem like it, but I think catching a punt or kickoff, especially during the game, is one of the toughest parts of football.

Am I not right on this assessment?

While at East Clinton's camp on Thursday, I had the chance to watch the Astros practice numerous pursuit drills while on special teams.

Today I don't have anything on the schedule in terms of camp visits, but the rest of the week and next week, hopefully I have not only the teams from the SCOL, but possibly a few new schools added to the preview this year.

As for the camp visits I've had thus far, also while at East Clinton, I had the chance to see a little bit of defensive practice, where I concentrated on watching defensive linemen in individual drills. I wish it would have been a full-contact practice for the fact I think the most "exciting" parts of training camp practices are the individual lineman drills, especially when the drills are one-on-one.

In the drills I did get to watch, I had the opportunity to see the Astros' linemen work on individual moves which they will have to use on the defensive line in order to be successful this season.

After their practice was complete, I spoke with EC head coach Bill Hrabak, as he had this to say about the upcoming season: "Two things we want to see are we want to see them play fast and play hard. We've been preaching that from day one. We want to play with speed and not let up."

I've seen East Clinton three times now, counting two 7-on-7 drills this summer, and though they are basically rebuilding from the ground up with a completely new coaching staff, I do feel they are working hard like Coach Hrabak and some of the players I've spoken with have talked about.

I've seen them early in the summer in their first 7-on-7 as a group when they played at Paint Valley, then a couple weeks after that at the Clinton County 7-on-7 against Wilmington and Xenia.

Do I have any idea how much those improvements in the non-contract drills and early two-a-day practices will work … no, but that improvement they've seen can't do anything but help as the summer practices and scrimmages continue.

Back to Wilmington.

Thought the Hurricane won't be back in the South Central Ohio League until next season, I still feel it is important to watch them this season, just to get a glimpse of the future of the league.

Coach Robin Vida wasn't able to be at the practice I attended, but it was still nice to speak with former Hillsboro head coach Duane Earley for a few moments. Like with EC, I watched the Hurricane practice their special teams, but what I watched was more on the technical side of the practice.

I was watching players practicing catching the ball, pursuing the kick or punt return … the linemen were in a far corner working on technique, and I even watched players practicing holding the football for what could only be for field goal or extra point attempts.

You never know, all the small detailed work in a special teams practice could be the difference in a win or loss come a game this regular season.

Also, besides the camps last week, I want to go back to the McClain 7-on-7 one last time, which took place last Wednesday.

I know they were just working on passing drills, but at times I did see nice work out of the Tigers' passing game. It will be interesting to see how MHS uses the success they had one year ago into the early stages of this year.

Either way, I hope to have more camps to write about later in the week.

There are 25 days until the first football Friday night.


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Post 28: Two-a-Days have arrived
Friday, Aug. 2, 2013

Due to a schedule where I was at a two-a-day football camp, along with having the rest of the day away from the laptop, there was no post for Thursday.

But that's OK, because a break here and there is OK, plus it gives me more to write about to wrap up the week.

The 2013 First-and-Ten High School Football Preview tour began at East Clinton Thursday where I spent an hour talking with three seniors, watching some of the practice and interviewing EC head coach Bill Hrabak about the upcoming season.

As I've written many times, this "tour" I take of visiting all the different football camps in the summer is my favorite thing I do all year, but besides the point of just watching football, it's a great way for me to get to know a little about the players who we watch on a given week in the fall for 10 or even more games.

One of my favorite questions that I ask the players is "Why do you like football?"

Let me explain.

I try to get from players exactly why and what about the game they like so much that they practice twice a day for basically two weeks in usually hot weather. I know it is a tough question, one that I even have to think about, but all of us have our own reasons as to why we like to watch, play or write about the sport, and I find it interesting what everyone's individual answer is.

Some of the answers I've been told in the past have included: "I just love the sport," "I like hitting people," or after a few moments of silence, I've had players say "I just love the game."

Whatever the answer, football is important to a lot of people, and it is good to see them out there playing, because what is the fall season without football?

This week has been an interesting one. Going back to Wednesday morning, I watched a 7-on-7 with the McClain Tigers, Southeastern Panthers and Amanda Clearcreek Aces.

For that two-hour time period, even though it wasn't a game and they were in shorts and T-shirts, it was still some good football to watch.

Though early and not being actual football in the sense of what we'll see in week one, I saw some good things from all three teams, and it will be interesting to see what that transforms into nice contact scrimmages and the regular season begins in the coming weeks.

Speaking about the 7-on-7, McClain head coach Randy Closson spoke about the summer at the conclusion of the game, as they were headed into the start of two-a-days, Thursday: “This summer, headed into two-a-days, we are looking to build off last season’s success,” Closson said. "We’ve had better numbers this summer than in past years, and we have a good core of players who were juniors last season leading the team as seniors right now.

“They have come back, accepted their leadership roles and have done a good job providing that leadership this summer. We want them to continue to be leaders throughout the season. We are in a good spot headed into two-a-days.”

After all of that, it is time for football to return. I'm excited, are you?

We have 28 days until kickoff. Have a good and safe weekend.

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Post 27: Wrapping up 7-on-7 season
Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The 7-on-7 season is pretty much wrapping up, and two-a-days are beginning, as some schools have to move up their two-a-days a few days due to the start of the school year being earlier than usual.

As for the 7-on-7s, I had a chance to watch 10 schools in three different 7-on-7 events prepare for the upcoming season.

The schools I watched in about 10 combined hours of these events were McClain, Southeastern, Amanda Clearcreek, Wilmington, East Clinton, Xenia, Fayetteville, Huntington, Paint Valley and Hillsboro.

I even went and watched the Cincinnati Bengals practice for a couple hours last weekend.

Those three 7-on-7s were held at Paint Valley, Wilmington College and McClain.

Now, what can be learned from these events?

Though the players aren't wearing pads or participating in any full contract drills, there is a lot of coaching going on, and from my standpoint, these events are more fun to watch and even more interesting than some games I've covered in the past eight seasons of high school football I've written about.

Did I just basically write I'm about to start my ninth season of covering high school football? It has really been a long time since I first covered my first high school game in the fall of '05, then a college student.

Back to the present … I learn from watching these events, for the fact I get to watch how different teams think an offense or defense should be run and watch how they coach a team.

It really is interesting, if you pay attention to all the differences teams have when they have the football. I like seeing how teams view their play calling when they are 20 yards away from the end zone, or in these 7-on-7s, what type of passing play they might call in the situation.

For instance, at Wednesday's 7-on-7 at McClain, all three teams scored points while in the red zone, but all three have different plays they used. Now, what I'm wondering is how well will those plays work with 22 players on the field instead of 14?

I saw the same thing Tuesday, as I mostly watched the Wilmington players in their scrimmages. They used a varying set of plays in their red zone downs, and I'm looking forward to seeing them in live action this season … well, I hope I'm able to see them in a game this season.

Some coaches are very intense, some are laid-back, and there are many other ways of coaching mixed in between, but that is what is needed to make a football team go around, right?

Not every coach on a staff can have the same demeanor, because not every player can be coached the same way.

Variety in a coaching staff is good.

But with the coaching aspect of 7-on-7s and even two-a-days, just seeing the difference from start to finish is a sight to behold, because watching teams learn their plays and not only learn how to run them, but learn how to run them to a tee, is one of the best parts about preseason football.

Now, an even better part of the preseason is about to start with the actual team practices in two-a-days. I know from the past that those practices are long and tiresome, but it is only the real way to prepare for a football season.

The time is now for high school football where teams are built and coaches find out who the players are as individuals and as a team.

I can't wait for scrimmages to begin, and I'm about to start my football camp tour for the fourth year in a row, so thank you in advance to all the coaches and players that I will be bombarding with questions in the upcoming weeks.

We are getting closer to the start of the regular season as the countdown to the first football Friday night has hit the 30-day mark.

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Post 26: Looking at more area teams
Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Yesterday, we took a look at a couple area teams, along with a view of their schedule and how they fared last season. I think we should continue that trend today of looking at some teams who aren't in the South Central Ohio League or the Scioto Valley Conference.

Western Brown: The Broncos finished with an overall mark of 8-2 overall. Folks in Highland County know the Broncos also, as they are the traditional team the Hillsboro Indians begin the regular season with.

In an preview article on jjhuddle.com, it says of the Broncos, "Senior QB Devyn Wood is the reigning SBAAC Player of the Year after throwing for 2,700 yards, rushing for 304 yards and accounting for over 30 total TDs."

The Broncos are listed as one of the challengers in Region 10 this season by the website. Last season, the Broncos scored 434 points and allowed 239. They won their first eight games of the season, then lost their final two games to Batavia (42-28) and Norwood (39-29). In their eight wins, the Broncos scored no less than 41 points in a game.

Here is a look at the Broncos' '13 schedule:

Week 1 — at Hillsboro
Week 2 — vs. Little Miami
Week 3 — vs. Ross
Week 4 — at New Richmond
Week 5 — at Greenville
Week 6 — at Goshen
Week 7 — at Clermont Northeastern
Week 8 — TBA
Week 9 — vs. Batavia
Week 10 — vs. Norwood

 

Blanchester: The Wildcats are coming off a season where they finished above .500 at 6-4. In their conference, they finished 5-2, and for the season, they totaled 203 points, while allowing 285.

They gained wins against East Clinton (26-21), Bethel-Tate (21-14), Williamsburg (33-20), New Richmond (14-7), Goshen (27-20) and Clermont Northeastern (41-21). Blanchester has finished with an overall winning season the past two years as they were 7-3 in '11.

Before the start of the regular season, the Wildcats will face Greeneview in their final scrimmage on Aug. 23. Here is a look at their regular-season slate:

Week 1 — vs. Clinton-Massie (neutral field)
Week 2 — vs. East Clinton
Week 3 — vs. Waynesville
Week 4 — at Bethel-Tate
Week 5 — vs. Williamsburg
Week 6 — at New Richmond
Week 7 — vs. Batavia
Week 8 — at Norwood
Week 9 — vs. Goshen
Week 10 — at Clermont Northeastern

 

Manchester: The Greyhounds enter this football season by coming off a year where they finished 1-9 overall, with the victory coming against Hannan (W.Va.) by a 36-28 score in Week 7.

Last season, the Greyhounds allowed 448 points, while scoring 96 points. Besides the 36 points in their win, they scored double figures two more times last season with 22 points in a loss to Notre Dame and 14 points in the season finale loss to South Gallia.

One noticeable change to the Manchester schedule is they will not be playing Fayetteville this season, as they are the only two schools from the Southern Hills Athletic Conference that play football.

The '13 schedule for Manchester:

Week 1 — vs. Green
Week 2 — at Huntington
Week 3 — vs. Oyler
Week 4 — at East
Week 5 — at Riverview East Academy
Week 6 — vs. Notre Dame
Week 7 — vs. Gamble Montessori
Week 8 — at Cincinnati College Prep. Academy
Week 9 — at Miami Valley Christian Academy
Week 10 — vs. Hillcrest

 

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Post 25: One week until two-a-days
Monday, July 29, 2013

The time is almost here for two-a-days to begin, as they start in just six days for most schools throughout the state.

As we get ever so close to the two-a-day practices beginning, I hope to have some really fun things to write about in the blog later in the week and into the next couple weeks.

But as we do enter the next few weeks with the best part of the offseason about to begin, I want to look at a couple schools we may not have spoken about much this summer.

Fayetteville: The Rockets from Fayetteville finished 2-8 last season, but not having a conference to compete in for football is tough for any school. Their two wins last season were against St. Bernard-Elmwood Place (20-14) and Manchester (48-0).

The team scored 114 points, but allowed 309.

Their schedule this season looks like this, as neither team they defeated last season is on the schedule in '13.

Week 1 — at Clermont Northeastern
Week 2 — vs. Bethel-Tate
Week 3 — vs. Williamsburg
Week 4 — vs. Miami Valley Christian Acd.
Week 5 — at Grove City Christian
Week 6 — vs. Dayton (Ky.)
Week 7 — vs. Aiken
Week 8 — vs. Horizon Science Acd.
Week 9 — vs. Landmark Eagles (club team)
Week 10 — at Batavia

I had a chance to see Fayetteville in a 7-on-7 earlier this summer at Paint Valley, and if I could choose one word to describe the players I saw that day, it would be "intense."

Just from watching them, you could easily tell this team wanted to be there, and they were going to play with intensity for their allotted time on the field. I can't say I know a whole lot about the Rockets, but just from watching them that day, in the three-hour span, my one word to describe them would definitely be intense.

When I watched them on defense in the 7-on-7, they had a couple nice stops in the red zone, and if that can translate over to the field this fall in actual games, who is to say this club couldn't surpass their win total from one year ago?



Jonathan Alder: The Pioneers are another team this season I'm very interested in seeing what they do. They has an unusual season in '12 where they went 4-6 overall, and in Plain City, that rarely occurs.

Before last season's setback year, the Pioneers had at least six consecutive winning seasons. Like I wrote about Fayetteville, I don't know a whole lot about the team, but what I do know is this is a program that is more used to winning games than losing them.

In '12, they gained wins at Thomas Worthington (28-6), at Marysville (30-10) vs. Logan (35-0) and at Marion Harding (44-12). Here is the '13 schedule for JA:

Week 1 — at Thomas Worthington
Week 2 — vs. Marysville
Week 3 — at Clinton-Massie
Week 4 — vs. Fairbanks
Week 5 — at Buckeye Valley
Week 6 — vs. Pleasant
Week 7 — at Elgin
Week 8 — vs. River Valley
Week 9 — at North Union
Week 10 — vs. Bishop Watterson

Of course, the game I'm interested in is Week 3 at Clinton-Massie, as these two teams (besides last season) usually have very, very competitive football games.

I don't see JA having a season like last year's just from the overall history as of late, but again, like I said earlier, I don't know as much about JA as I do other schools in the area.

We'll continue this topic tomorrow as we'll take a look at the schedules and talk about other teams who aren't playing in the SCOL and SVC.

There are just 32 days until the first week of Football Friday night.


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Post 24: Thirty-five days away
Friday, July 26, 2013

If you read the headline, then you know we are 35 days away from the kickoff of the high school football regular season on Friday, Aug. 30, though some have 36 days if their season kicks off on Saturday night.

Either way, we are just a little over a month away, and next week is the last week before two-a-days begin throughout the state.

With this being a Friday, I was wondering what others are looking forward to when Friday Night football begins?

Myself, I'm looking forward to the sound of the marching bands playing from a distance, then as they march up to the field, their presence gets louder and louder, as that's one of my favorite pre-game traditions in football.

There is also the pre-game coin flip. Don't ask me why, but I even like watching the coin flip. Partly because there is some strategy involved after the result of the flip. Doesn't anyone else wonder why some teams take the ball, while others defer to their opponent? I guess it depends on who the opponent is and how much confidence one has in their team against the given opponent.

Another thing I'm looking forward to before the game even begins are concessions. If I'm in Greenfield, at least once, usually twice a season I'll have one of the band booster fish sandwiches. I usually arrive at MHS on the side where the athletic boosters concession stand is located, and I'll usually get a coffee, or if the temperature is hotter, a bottle of water, as I usually have dinner at the athletic booster concession during the break in a soccer game sometime during the week.

But there is more to look forward to than feeding my dinnertime cravings in the fall season.

What I'm looking forward to the most are the games. I know I put a lot into the wins and losses in my articles, but that is just a way to inform fans of the game, but really I'm just looking forward to the action of high school football, because the game is just so pure. When watching high school games, I don't have to worry about millionaire athletes or keeping track of who my favorite college team is after to join the team.

When I watch high school football, it is, or should be, about two communities doing battle on the gridiron for the sake of not just winning, but for competition. Sure, winning the game is really important as well, because winning is more fun that losing (trust me, I hate losing at anything), but being at a high school game and just watching the competition is one thing I'm really looking forward to.

As we get closer to two-a-days and football games, tell me what you want to know, and I'll do my best to find out. You can email me at sforsha@gmail.com or just leave a comment on the blog.

Again, thanks for reading, and have a safe weekend.



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Post 23: Get Well Soon and football talk
Thursday, July 25, 2013

I want to start out today by sending Clinton-Massie head coach Dan McSurley well wishes and recovered health following a health scare earlier in the week. From what I've read on the Clinton-Massie football Twitter account, he seems to be recovering well.

Their post said on Wednesday evening, "Update: Coach is good to go and will be released tomorrow in the a.m. Now just a little sore and WILL be ready."

They also posted, "Update: the cardiologist has cleared coach of any type of blockage. He is doing well and will try to be at the 7-on-7 tomorrow in Columbus."

I also want to wish continued improved health to McClain football/basketball public address announcer and all-around great guy John Wend following his health scare a few weeks ago.

This was posted on John's Facebook page: "Update on John Wend! He has been moved to a regular room, where he is now able to go outside and get some fresh air!! He is getting regular therapy sessions and is in great spirits!!! Go John Go!!! We love ya buddy."

Again, I wish the best to both Coach McSurley and Mr. Wend as they continue to improve their health.

As for some football talk, there have been some recent 7-on-7s taking place, though I haven't been to any due to scheduling conflicts. I'm planning on being at some next week, so there will be more to talk about then, the week before two-a-days begin.

Speaking of 7-on-7s, I believe Clinton-Massie has one scheduled for tonight at Bishop Ready High School, located at 707 Salisbury Road in Columbus.

Chillicothe also has a 7-on-7 scheduled for this evening at 6 p.m. at Zane Trace.

Also, while scanning the Chillicothe football Facebook page, I stumbled upon this quote that I liked from Paul Brown: "We're going to be as good a football team as the class of people we are."

Knowing about Paul Brown's history … that was true, because when he was in charge of the Cleveland Browns and later the Cincinnati Bengals, get this … they were good and played for championships.

Here are a couple of other football quotes I like:

"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan." — Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys.

And here is one final quote:

"Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” — Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers.

There are 36 days until Week One of Football Friday Nights. 

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Post 22: The SVC and non-league opponents
Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Earlier in this blog, I wrote about the South Central Ohio League and their success and non-success away from league play, and today I'd like to do the same thing with the Scioto Valley Conference, with one of the main reasons is I just want to know how this league has fared the last season away from their eight-team conference.

As a conference, the non-conference record was 13-10-1, as each team played three games away from the SVC and the remaining seven games against each other.

The one tied score was a 7-7 final with Paint Valley playing Cedarville due to some inclement weather that evening at CHS.

No team won all three games in non-conference play, but Piketon, Unioto, Paint Valley, Westfall and Huntington each won twice.

The closest wins away from their conference were Week 2 and 3 victories by Westfall. They defeated Logan Elm, 28-27 and Circleville, 42-41. Both Circleville and Logan Elm went to the postseason, finishing with identical 6-5 records. Westfall also went to the postseason, with a final record of 9-2.

Adena, Southeastern and Zane Trace all went 1-2 in the non-conference games, while Paint Valley was 2-0-1, defeating Belpre (54-14) and Williamsburg (52-13) in consecutive weeks to start '12.

Huntington has their best season in a number of years in '12, and it showed with not only a winning non-conference mark, but in those three games to open the season, they allowed 32 points, with 20 coming against Notre Dame. The most points allowed in three non-conference games were given up by Westfall with 95 points, but in their defense, they won two of those games and totaled 119 points in those same games against Teays Valley, Logan Elm and Circleville.

I know all of this is last season, but I can't be the only person interested in seeing how teams play away from their league or conference, right?

I find it interesting how Adena last season was 0-2 against McClain and Washington, while UHS also lost to McClain, but Zane Trace defeated MHS, 17-12 on a goal line stand to end the game.

To extend that thought, later in the season, ZT, who was the lone SVC team to defeat MHS of the three teams they faced from the conference, lost to Adena (33-14) and Unioto (21-0). UHS also defeated Adena, 10-7 to finish up that circle of games.

I know I put too much thought into this, but I can't believe I'm the lone person who doesn't at least find that scenario interesting, or at least the non-conference records of any conference.

With all of that said, there are 37 days left until kickoff.

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Post 21: Changes in schedule and other quick thoughts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013

There has been a change in the first week of the South Central Ohio League schedule since the first one I compiled a couple months back. The change comes
with East Clinton as the first schedule I saw had them playing Waynesville to start the season, and now they will play Ada.

The game against Ada will be a home game for EC and now will be played on Saturday, Aug. 31, as Ada is coached by Bob Olwin.

A little about Ada: They finished last season 10-2, where they were 5-1 at home, 5-0 on the road and 0-1 on a neutral field. In their 12 games, they scored 484 points and allowed 180 for a .833 winning percentage.

The lone loss for Ada came in the second week of the postseason against St. Henry by a 40-35 score, as they won their first 11 games. One thing about Ada last season was they had 13 seniors.

Besides that change in the schedule, the rest of week one (see Post 8) is still the same.

I wish all teams had at least one Saturday night game (I'd get to watch more football that way). I remember a few years ago during Highland County Fair Week when Hillsboro faced Dayton Stebbins on a Saturday night … that was a good idea, and I would like to see it return when one of the Highland County schools are home for that week.

What are your thoughts on having an occasional Saturday night game?

That now gives the SCOL two games in the first week that will be played Saturday as Clinton-Massie will play Blanchester on a neutral field.

What else is there to talk about today?

Do you realize two-a-days are scheduled to start in 13 days? Yes, that is Monday, Aug. 5.

I do have a question for everyone … if you know the scrimmage dates of your school, please email them to sforsha@gmail.com with the times and opponents … I'm making a list of football scrimmages in the area and need your help.

If anyone knows of any upcoming 7-on-7 dates, let me know about them as well.

We have just 38 days until the first football Friday night and 39 days until the Saturday night kickoffs.





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Post 20: Random Monday thoughts and Wilmington talk
Monday, July 22, 2013

We are only a couple weeks away from two-a-day practice beginning, but there is still plenty to think about before the upcoming season.

Last week, I gave a few thoughts I had before the camps begin, and I think we should start this week by writing about some more thoughts on the upcoming season.

I've been thinking a lot about who, besides Clinton-Massie, will be competitive in the South Central Ohio League.

If we think about it, Miami Trace has a nice core of players returning, and like I've written before, the Chillicothe Cavaliers should have some great veteran leadership on both sides of the ball.

Last season, McClain was third in the league, but they lost one of their top running backs and some other seniors who played a vital role in their 7-3 season in '12. Even with those losses, MHS should have a senior at quarterback and a few surprises at the running back position, but we'll have to wait and see.

Like I said, this is a random, more scatterbrained Monday, so keep up with me.

Once I see the other teams, I'll be able to write a little more in-depth on my thoughts, but for the sake of just making a "prediction" about this or that, I just want to be able to meet with coaches and players before that occurs.

I'm also interested in the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC), where the Wilmington Hurricane are members. The reason the second-year league draws my interest is the Hurricane, as that school will become a member of the SCOL in the fall of '14.

Wilmington last season went 2-5 in their conference and 5-5 overall. They scored 275 points and allowed 154 as they won the final two games of the '12 season.

In conference play, they had a .286 winning percentage, where they scored 155 points and allowed 128.

Their season began with three straight wins, all against SCOL opponents, in Washington (52-6), Miami Trace (20-14) and Hillsboro (48-6). They then lost five consecutive games to begin SWOC play, followed by wins at Talawanda (40-14) and Little Miami (50-6).

In their losses, it was a 43-point differential, with two of the losses by a combined 29 of those 43 points. They also had a nine-point loss to Northwest, a four-point loss to Harrison and a one-point loss to Mount Healthy.

The '13 schedule is a replica of the '12 season, except the locations of the games are opposite. I'm very interested in seeing how they fare against their future league opponents to start the season at Washington, at Miami Trace and home vs. Hillsboro, as it is a preview of the new SCOL next season.

Unless there has been a change, Cody McCune will be a senior quarterback at Wilmington. Last season, he led the Hurricane with 915 yards passing with three TDs on 147 attempts, with a 95.1 QB rating. He had four games of 100 yards or more in the air, along with two games of 91 and 99 yards passing.

Another standout last year for the Hurricane was Zach Day, who in his junior season rushed for 1,222 yards and 19 touchdowns. He had just one fumble and averaged 152.8 yards per game and 7.1 yards per carry.

I'll get more into writing about the Hurricane as I visit with them during camp once again, but they seem to be one of the teams to watch in the SWOC this season. We won't know for sure about any of the teams until they start practices, scrimmages and the actual games.

There are 39 days until kickoff.


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Post 19: Overall Records Watch: Part 2
Friday, July 19, 2013

In day two of this two-part blog post, I want to continue to look at the overall records of South Central Ohio League teams since the reformation in '03.

The reason I want to do this is one, I'm interested in what the teams have done in the regular season since they've joined the SCOL; and two, it is the middle of July and I'm really missing all forms of football.

This is a two-part blog with the remaining teams today, and yesterday I wrote about Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace and Washington.

The way I'll do this is give you a team's overall record since the reformation of the SCOL, along with a few thoughts and stats.


McClain Tigers: Though the McClain Tigers have a losing mark overall since the SCOL has reformed (37-63), they've had two winning seasons out of the past three with a 6-4 mark in '10 and 7-3 last season. In the past three seasons, they are 14-16, just two games under the .500 mark.

As someone who has seen nearly every MHS football game since the '07 season, the Tigers have improved the overall health of their program, and a lot of that is because they are willing to make necessary changes when they need them.

The school will be forced to drop down to Division IV this season and lost 11 seniors from last year, but if they can build off the 7-3 record they had last year (they were just a couple plays away from being 8-2), the Tigers can continue the recent trend of having more wins than losses in a season.

Going back to the '10 season through last year, MHS has eight SCOL wins. Compare that to a three-year period of '07-09 where they had just three league wins total and eight overall victories.

I believe the Tigers can add to their recent two-of-three-year streak of having a winning record (or at least .500), but it all comes down to execution.

They lost a great deal of offensive power in their running game and offensive line with graduation, and their defense was one of their better units they've had in the past few seasons, and they, too, are gone with graduation.

It will be very interesting watching this next group of MHS players trying set the tone like last season's group did, because that group has now set the tone all MHS teams from now on need to meet, or possibly exceed, in future seasons.



Hillsboro Indians: Since they returned to the SCOL a decade ago, the Hillsboro Indians have had two winning seasons with two 8-2 records in '05 and '09. They've also had one mark at .500 in '04 at 5-5.

Overall, in the past 10 years, the Indians are 36-64 in the regular season and have had their struggles the past three seasons with four wins, including a winless year in '12.

This year, the Indians have begun to try to change their program with the addition of head coach Matt Hodge, who in the past has built a playoff-caliber program at East Clinton.

Of Hillsboro's past 36 wins in the 10-year period, 21 have come within the SCOL.

Hillsboro has spots where they will have some experience at the varsity level, but they have an uphill battle where they have to work their way back up the SCOL ladder.



Madison-Plains Golden Eagles/London Red Raiders: I'll be brief on these two schools as they are no longer members of the SCOL. The two Madison County schools were a part of the league for the past 10 years, with MP going 11-47 in the SCOL and 32-68 in that span. London was 26-33 in the SCOL from '03-12, while overall they were 34-66.

MP managed to have two .500 seasons in '03 and '05 with the other eight seasons going under .500. The Red Raiders of LHS had two winning years in '03 and '08, both 6-4 finishes.

Both of these teams are now members of the Mid-State League.


East Clinton Astros: They've had just one season in the SCOL, as they were 2-5 in their first season in league play, with a 3-7 mark overall. They are now a Division V team and will be playing under a new head coach in Bill Hrabak.

Before they were in the SCOL, EC had records of 7-3, 8-2, 6-4 and 7-3 from a four-year stretch of '08-'11 (in the regular season) as members of the SBAAC.

EC is clearly in a program overhaul, so as the smallest member school of the SCOL, they have a lot of work ahead of them.



Chillicothe Cavaliers: This upcoming season, the Cavaliers of Chillicothe will play their first season in the SCOL in quite some time, as they were members of the older version of the SCOL decades ago.

The last time the Cavs had a winning record was in '08 when they went 8-4, but since then they've had marks of 1-9, 4-6, 3-7 and 4-6 as a member of the SEOAL (Southeastern Ohio Athletic League), but to be fair to the Cavs, their non-league schedule is quite tougher than most.

In their final season in the SEOAL, the Cavs went 3-2 in league play, only trailing Gallia Academy in the standings.

Now being in the SCOL, I'm interested in seeing how they transition over to a new league and new teams on the schedule in '13.


This wraps up another week. We only have 46 days until the regular season … everyone have a good and safe weekend.

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Post 18: Overall Records Watch: Part 1
Thursday, July 18, 2013

Today, I just want to look at the overall records of South Central Ohio League teams since the reformation in '03.

The reasons I want to do this are one, I'm interested in what the teams have done in the regular season since they've joined the SCOL; and two, it is the middle of July, and I'm really missing all forms of football.

This will be a two-part blog, with three teams today and the remaining teams on Friday.

The way I'll do this is give you a team's overall record since the reformation of the SCOL, along with a few thoughts and stats. It will all eventually make sense, I hope.

Clinton-Massie Falcons: (In SCOL since '05) — They have been, and are, the class of the SCOL. Their overall regular-season record is 75-5 in their time in the league, with a league mark of 47-2, and we can't forget they won the Division IV state title last season.

They have won seven consecutive league titles (six straight outright), and I don't see them letting up this season in league games, either.

Their non-league schedule for this year is interesting, starting the season in a neutral field game with Blanchester on a Saturday night, followed by a game at Waynesville, home against Jonathan Alder and what should be one of the best games of the year when they travel to play St. Francis DeSales in Week 5.

Really, though, think of how good of a game Week 5 with CM and DeSales will be! That game between two of the better teams in the state is one high school football fans wish they could see, and now this season they can.

CM has earned a game like that because of their overall records these past few years. In the regular season, since joining the SCOL, they've gone 10-0 five of the eight years, and in '11, when they were 8-2 in the regular season, the Falcons went to the State Final Four.

This program is the type of program all schools should strive to become.



Miami Trace Panthers: They came into and dominated the "new" SCOL from '03-06, winning the first three league titles outright and sharing their fourth one. In the entire history of the SCOL, the Panthers have 20 league titles, with their first one coming in 1971.

As for their time in the "new" SCOL, MT in the past 10 seasons has an overall regular-season mark of 60-40, the best record for any team who started back in the SCOL in '03. They have six winning seasons in 10 chances, with one one-loss season in '04 and two two-loss seasons. In their other winning seasons, the Panthers have gone 6-4 three times, including their overall record last season.

They've gone 43-13 in league games, but more than that, the past two seasons they haven't had a losing record in the overall mark and last year began their self-stated motto of "Rebuilding Tradition" at the very proud football program.

Miami Trace's non-league schedule looks like this: Circleville, Wilmington, Logan Elm and Bishop Ready.

This team has the makings of being a successful football program once again, especially under head coach Steve Bartlett. MT should be exciting to watch this season, if for nothing else to see if they can improve on what they accomplished last season, where they went 6-1 in the SCOL.



Washington Blue Lions: With another team from Fayette County in the SCOL, the Washington Blue Lions have gone 48-52 the past 10 seasons since joining the SCOL in '03. With their 48 wins, they have one shared league title in '07 with CM and MT, along with overall winning seasons of four, the last coming in '10 when they went 8-2 and reached the playoffs.

Last season, the Blue Lions were 5-5, and the year before that, they also were 5-5 with league finishes of 5-1, 4-2 and 4-3 last season.

They have had to play a variety of players at the QB spot the past couple seasons but have produced well with their defense, and they've had a good running game as well.

Their non-league schedule includes: Wilmington, Circleville, Waverly and Bishop Ready, so it is a very similar non-league slate to their Fayette County counterpart Miami Trace with just one team being different as Washington replaced Adena with Waverly this season.

Washington has four winning seasons since the SCOL reformed, and as of right now, I don't know a lot about what they have planned for the season with their roster.

Either way, good or bad, I'm interested in seeing if the Blue Lions can get past the 5-5 mark this season and gain their first winning record since '10.

Check back Friday for Part 2 of the Overall Records Watch.

Forty-six days remain before regular season kickoff.


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Post 17: Mid-Week Thinking
Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Do you realize there are between 15-19 days before two-a-day practices begin, and then later, on Aug. 13-24, actual scrimmages are allowed?

I'm not wishing the summer away, but those dates being so close makes a person realize that before we know it, the high school football season will begin.

I'm already planning a few changes for the fourth annual First-and-Ten High School Football Preview, but I'm always up for adding new or improved things to the annual football edition.

But before we get near that project, I just want to take today to write about what I have on my mind for the upcoming football season in both the South Central Ohio League and the Scioto Valley Conference.

Here are five thoughts/questions as we inch closer to two-a-days. I'm not going into too much detail because I don't know a whole lot about individual teams as of yet, so for now, these are just basic thoughts.


1. Who will win the SVC championship?
I know this one is a long ways off, but looking at some of the teams with coaching changes and graduation from last year's seniors, who are the front runners in the conference? I have a feeling this conference will come down to the final games of the season, as there could very close standings with a number of teams in the running.


2. How will Chillicothe change the landscape of the SCOL?
On paper, I think Chillicothe has a good chance to be near the top of the standings of the SCOL this season. They have a nice group of players who have been playing at the varsity level since their first year of high school, and they have a coach who has built very, very successful programs in the past.


3. How will coaching changes affect the SCOL?
With two teams changing coaches, but with just one new coach in the SCOL, things should run as normal. One thing to remember, though, is some coaches will change their offense on a team-by-team basis, and most coaches will at least add some new wrinkles to their offense or defense depending on a given roster selection. That's the fun part of any season – seeing and noticing the changes being made each year.


4. Will the non-league record improve overall?
I know I wrote a post on this last week, but is still one of the questions that is always at the top of my list. My hope is to see improvement in the non-league schedule in the SCOL this season.


5. Can any other team make the playoffs from the SCOL besides Clinton-Massie?
This I would love to see happen. If the SCOL can get at least two teams in the postseason, how great would that be for a league that had a state champion the season before? I think there are teams in the league more than capable of earning a playoff bieth, but it comes back to not only winning games within the league, but the non-league games as well.


The regular season starts in 47 days.

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Post 16: Meeting new EC coach Bill Hrabak
Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Finishing up writing about the Paint Valley 7-on-7 event, I was able to have a short conversation with new East Clinton head coach Bill Hrabak, who is rebuilding the Astros' program from the ground up.

With basically an entirely new coaching staff, Hrabak spoke about what he saw from his team at the event, this summer and about assembling a new coaching staff in a matter of a couple months.

"We had a mini camp last week, and that was the first time we really did some football-type activities and brought that over to here," he said. "We've put in parts of the pass offense, and for the first time, they've been running the offense. With guys playing different positions, I thought they did pretty well."

The new EC head coach then spoke about building the team and getting to know all the players and coaching staff.

"The coaching staff is new, and this is the first chance they're getting to see the guys in football activities, so from an evaluation process, you want to see how the guys move on the field and what we need to work on.

"We want to see what we need to do between now and Aug. 1 when we get onto the football field. I like to throw the ball, and I like to see what the kids can do in the formations. I put a lot into the 7-on-7s because of that."

Rebuilding a program, especially in the first year, is tough on any team, but coach Hrabak spoke candidly about the Astros' summer thus far.

"I can't complain … we have enthusiasm in the weight room, and the number of kids that have shown up, it has been a good turnout," he said. "With the number of kids we've had, it has been fantastic. We've worked them hard, and they keep coming back.

"That tells me a lot about the heart of this team and the direction we can go, and that's a positive. As for the new coaching staff, we've come together pretty well. We have a guy from Chillicothe, Cleveland Heights, Hillsboro and so on … we're melding, but the staff is coming together really nice. It's important we get to know each other and the kids get to know us, and things will get better."

Hrabak gave some final thoughts on the summer.

"I think the biggest thing is we run the kids really hard because of the nature of our offense," he said. "What I've found out is most of the time, you find out a lot about your players … how much they want to be out there, because they don't want to be out there for the running.

"The weight lifting, they want to be in there, but when you are out there running the 200s, 400s and the 100-yard dashes and 40s … when all that is going on and the kids keep coming back, and the numbers continue to improve, you feel good about where the program can go.

"My impression has been the kids want to win, they want to improve and they want to be a good football team, and they are willing to do the work to get there."

I enjoyed the conversation with Coach Hrabak, and I'm looking forward to seeing his team again this summer and later on during the regular season, just to see the improvement. It will be fun to watch a new coach in the South Central Ohio League and see what his offense brings to the table in '13 and beyond.

The countdown to the regular season sits at 48 days.


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Post 15: More on the Paint Valley 7-on-7
Monday, July 15, 2013

In Friday's post, I wrote more about Hillsboro and their time in the 7-on-7 at Paint Valley High School.

Today, I want to continue that trend, but switch over to writing about the host of the event, PV.

I want to thank Coach Hollon for the invite to cover the summer football event, as it was a really nice evening to watch a summer football 7-on-7 event. The event itself was competitive at times, and you could tell the players are just waiting until they are allowed to put on the pads and begin actual football.

In speaking with Coach Hollon, following the conclusion of the event, he said: "For us football guys, any time you can get schools together to play under the lights, it is a lot of fun."

He also spoke about his team, saying: "I really like our speed right now. We have good numbers, and we're playing a lot of kids from the JV level. We had a lot of kids make plays, and the thing is, we've only had one night outside because of the storms the last few days.

"We're just tickled where we're at right now as far as play recognition on both sides of the football."

Hollon went on to say, "We were able to get a lot of kids playing time at the JV level and able to really concentrate at the varsity level. We had a lot of kids make plays, but more so than anything is we've had just one practice due to the storms.

"We are still early enough where coaches are still out here coaching, and we are learning, and this has really turned into a good event for us.

"We are off until the 29th because we want to give our kids some time off to just be kids. We did a lot of weight lifting in the winter and in June, and we will get our 10 days in July and get away from it for a little bit. We just want the guys to come back fresh and ready to go."

Hollon finished by talking about the event itself one last time.

"Everyone found out a lot about their teams, and everyone should be happy," he said. "With new coaches at Huntington, Hillsboro and East Clinton, this was a good event to get things started for those teams."

Again, this was a good event for any football fan to spend a few hours in the summer. McClain will be in one 7-on-7 this summer on July 31 at 10 a.m., as they will be hosting Amanda Clearcreek and Southeastern at McClain Field.

As for Paint Valley, as Coach Hollon spoke about the team speed, he was right on that account as they did have some nice plays from their defensive backs by breaking up passes and reading the QB for interceptions.

The race for the Scioto Valley Conference should have Paint Valley involved somehow this season, as they return a nice core of players on both sides of the ball. We'll talk about that more later in the summer, though.

Remember, there are 49 days left until the football regular season begins.

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Post 14: Finally some football
Friday, July 12, 2013
 
There was finally some football played Thursday night … though non-contact, it was football nonetheless.
 
I had the chance to cover the seventh annual Paint Valley 7-on-7 Under the Lights event, where they start games in the daylight and finish with the final match-ups under the lights.
 
There was no score being kept, and there was no tournament winner, but it was football, and in July, that's all anyone can ask for.
 
What was really good to see was there were three teams I keep track of during the season playing in the event in PV, Hillsboro and East Clinton, along with Fayetteville and Huntington taking part.
 
I was really interested in Hillsboro, since they are one of the two teams from Highland County I keep track of.
 
It was good to see Hillsboro back on the football field … though it was just non-contact, passing drills, football is still football. What I liked about Hillsboro was their upbeat attitude, and at times they had some nice drives, given the fact it was basically their first time out on the football field this summer.
 
One series of plays really stood out against Fayetteville. Hillsboro put together a nice drive starting around the 40-yard line and drove it down to the 3-yard line. Fayetteville, I'll credit them, they played well when it came to goal line plays, and they forced an interception.
 
Here is where the Indians stood out … they continued to grind out, as they had to go back to the 40-yard line on offense, and the very next play, they came back and threw a touchdown pass. I know this is the earlier stages of July, but something like this is good to see with a program like Hillsboro, who is in a rebuilding mode under new head coach Matt Hodge.
 
Speaking of Coach Hodge, he was pleased with his team considering it was their first day against an actual defense.
 
"This was our fourth day together, and Mother Nature canceled at least a day and a half of that for us," Hodge said. "I really like where our attitude and work ethic is at right now. We have a lot of stuff that we need to work on, but we have a good foundation set."
 
Hodge also spoke about the program itself.
 
"So far, the kids are working hard and they are very coachable," Hodge added. "They are learning on the run. They are learning a whole new system, which isn't easy to do, but so far the attitude and work ethic has been great.
 
"We knew coming in we were going to make mistakes because it was the first time out for us. It was good to see the kids' attitude stay positive and bounce back to make plays (after mistakes).
 
"We come back next week and are excited to get back to work."
 
In next week's blog, I'll have comments from Coach Pete Hollon of Paint Valley and Coach Bill Hrabak of East Clinton talking about their summer football programs.
 
I liked this event, and though they don't count in the standings, I like seeing teams participate. It can only help teams when the actual two-a-day camps begin, especially with teams who are learning entirely new systems.
 
If anyone knows of any other 7-on-7 events taking place and the time of those events, please email me at sforsha@gmail.com or leave a comment on the page, as I believe there can't be enough football to be watched, and I'd like to see other teams play in these events.
 
Anyway, thanks for all the new readers this week and for those who are spreading the word about the blog. As always, send any suggestions over that you would like to see in the blog, and have a great weekend.
 
Remember, there are 52 days until kickoff.


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Post 13: Randomness
Thursday, July 11, 2013

My head is starting to hurt from all the math that's been going on this week in the blog, so today let's move away from a lot of the numbers and just talk about the football scene as a whole.

What style of football do you prefer? Are you more of a passing game fan, or do you like the "old school" style of run the ball … run the ball again … and for good measure keep running the football?

The style of football in this area is the latter, but hey, it works for a lot of teams, and as the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Myself, I'm more of a fan of the balanced attack. I'm not saying it is better or worse, but that's my preference of football, because I like seeing both the passes. What is better in football than watching a running back break tackles and taking the ball to pay dirt?

What is your favorite style of football, and why?

Is anyone else getting that "itch" for football yet? Sure, I watch a lot of baseball in the summer, but when you are a fan of the third-worst team in MLB (winning percentage-wise), you start to gravitate some of that attention toward football.

I know this is a high school blog, but on a quick detour, is there any other BCS National Championship matchup you see happening in January other than Alabama and Ohio State? I don't exactly cheer for either school, but that is the game I'd like to see come early January.

I want to watch a live football game so much right now, I'd even watch a Canadian Football League game ... or at least the first quarter.

Remember, the title of today's post said "randomness," and that's what this is today.

OK, we do need to talk a little about high school football today, so with all of that said, besides Clinton-Massie, who else do you see being at the top of the SCOL this season?

One of the teams I'm very interested in seeing this summer is the Miami Trace Panthers. They had a productive season last year under head coach Steve Bartlett, in his first season at MT, and I'm assuming that trend will continue this season.

MT is on my radar of teams to watch out for this season, but that is just by sight unseen. I'll have a better grasp of things once I get to sit down with coaches this August.

To continue the numbers trend we've had this week, here is one for you to ponder that just shows how dominant Clinton-Massie is in the SCOL … In SCOL games last season, the Falcons scored no less than 42 points in a game, and that game was shortened due to inclement weather against Madison-Plains. In other SCOL games last year, CM had total scoring of 66, 77, 62, 76, 56 and 76 … and trust me, those totals could have been higher if they wanted them to be.

We only have 53 days until football Friday nights.

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Post 12: More numbers from past SCOL standings
Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Continuing the same type of topic from yesterday's post, I've been looking at past overall records of the South Central Ohio League since the reformation back in '03, and here are some conclusions I've come up with:

- Clinton-Massie is at the head of the pack, but that's the Captain Obvious conclusion. CM is 47-2 in their eight seasons as a member of the SCOL. They've won 32 consecutive SCOL games. CM has won all or part of the SCOL title since the '06 season.

- Miami Trace has the second-most wins since the reformation of the SCOL with 46 in league play. They have also been better than everyone except CM when it comes to SCOL play. In the past 10 seasons, MT is 46-13, winning the outright title the first three years of the reformed league and part of the league title in the fifth year of the reformed SCOL.

- Fayette County is pretty good at football. I say that from the standings … they tell the story. Like I said in the above paragraph, MT has 46 wins in SCOL play since '03, and Washington follows with 33, giving Fayette County 79 SCOL wins in the past 10 seasons. Compare that to the now-departed Madison County, where they went 37-80 the past 10 seasons.

- Highland County has been serviceable in the SCOL, with both Hillsboro and McClain each having their positive seasons in league play. Neither team has gone undefeated in league play, but only two teams have accomplished that in the league since '03. Hillsboro's best SCOL seasons (since the reformation) have been four-win years of '04, '05 and '09. MHS just had its best SCOL season at 5-2 in '12, and they had a four-win league season in '06.

- Also for Highland County, HHS is leading in the win column with their rival McClain when it comes to SCOL play. HHS has 21 wins, and MHS trails with 18.

- Excluding East Clinton (they've only played one season in the SCOL), only two teams have fewer than 20 league losses (since '03) in CM and MT.

So, by just looking at what I've written above, it is easy to see who are or have been the top teams when it comes to league play, which is what every team in the league strives for.

Right now Clinton-Massie is the class of the SCOL, but they've more than earned that title. Every team in the league has pretty much looked up to them since the '08 season, as they've won every outright league title since then.

It is going to be tough to knock them off the top of the ladder this season as well, but that's the fun of football – trying to get to the standard the Falcons have set for the league.

I'm not discouraging others in the league, because when teams play against each other in this league, there have been some really competitive games, no matter what their league or overall record has been.

One of the best games I've ever covered was between two teams who finished the league season with a combined four league wins.

I have a feeling this season could be competitive within the league once again, but like the story has been for years now, CM is the team to beat entering the season.

Maybe we can continue this discussion in tomorrow's blog post, as I keep finding the history of the standings and results very intriguing to look at and continue to look for trends throughout the seasons.

There are only 54 days until kickoff.

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Post 11: How much do non-league games matter?
Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Last season, teams in the South Central Ohio League were 10-14 against non-league opponents, but just how important are those numbers in the grand scheme of a season?

There were two teams in the SCOL whom were perfect in their non-league regular-season slate in Clinton-Massie and Madison-Plains in '12.

CM went on to win a state championship with a 15-0 overall mark, while the Golden Eagles won just once more last season, but the two non-league schedules were as different as ketchup and mustard.

The non-league regular-season records for SCOL teams last year looked like this:

Clinton-Massie (3-0), Madison-Plains (3-0), McClain (2-1), East Clinton (1-2), Washington (1-2), Hillsboro (0-3), London (0-3) and Miami Trace (0-3).

In '11, the SCOL, with seven teams each playing four non-league games, went 7-21 as no team had a winning mark in games away from the SCOL, with just CM earning a playoff berth (eventually reaching the Final Four).

I find the versus non-league stat interesting, but I don't know how much it means in the grand scheme of a season. All I do know is since the SCOL reformed in '03, only CM, WCH and MT have earned playoff appearances, as a non-league schedule can go a long way in determining a coveted playoff spot.

A lot of the non-league records depend on just who schools can schedule for a given week. Sometimes the teams are a lot better, and sometimes they aren't so much, but there seems to be a trend going on with the non-league slate of games for the league as a whole.

Here are the non-league records for the entire league since the reformation:

'03 — 16-14
'04 — 11-19
'05 — 13-15
'06 — 7-18
'07 — 11-17
'08 — 10-18
'09 — 20-8
'10 — 13-15
'11 — 7-21
'12 — 10-14

OVERALL: 118-159 (10 seasons)

To further the stat, there have been nine occasions where a team in the SCOL has been perfect in non-league play since '03, with CM leading the way six times ('06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '12). HHS has gone perfect in non-league play twice ('05, '09) and MP was last season.

Again, I don't know why I'm fascinated by the records against non-league teams, but I am. I see it as a way to compare the league to others in some sort of way, but who doesn't like to see how the teams of one league compare against teams in area leagues?

Who doesn't like seeing the SCOL win against teams from other leagues?

Does anyone else see the recent records against non-league opponents worrisome, or as just a product of the teams scheduled or not scheduled in a given season?

As we enter the 11th season of the SCOL since the reformation, change is happening with Chillicothe coming this year, Wilmington next season and East Clinton last year.

I like the changes to a point, and let's hope the changes continue to improve in the non-league win/loss column this upcoming season.

To sum things up, my thought is non-league games matter in a lot of ways. The wins matter for playoff chances, and if nothing else, these games can be a learning point to prepare for the actual league season. Still, winning games is fun, too.

There are just 55 days until the regular season begins.


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Post 10: Looking back at East Clinton's 1st year in the SCOL
Monday, July 8, 2013

Last season for the South Central Ohio League was a rare time where there were eight teams in league play, with the addition of East Clinton last season.

As we all know now, they are no longer the new kids on the block with the arrival of Chillicothe this season, but with the departure of London and Madison-Plains to the Mid-State League, EC is now the "smallest" school in terms of enrollment in the league.

Last season, in their first year in the SCOL, the Astros finished 3-7 overall with a league record of 2-5.

They ended the season with a two-game losing streak, scoring a total of 220 points, while allowing 321 points as their three wins came against Southeastern (49-14), Hillsboro (31-26) and Madison-Plains (28-20).

Three of their SCOL losses were by nine points or less, including a 46-43 loss to the Washington Blue Lions and a 20-14 loss to the McClain Tigers. Their other single-digit loss in league play came against London at 22-13.

So if you think about it, EC was 18 points from having possibly three more wins in their first season of the SCOL.

The win at Hillsboro last season was described as a "heartbreaking" loss for HHS by Highland County Press Publisher Rory Ryan, as he wrote: "In the most exciting game of the season, the Hillsboro Indians lost a heartbreaker to the East Clinton Astros, 31-26."

That particular win by EC was sealed with an interception by Clyde Snow late in the fourth quarter.

In their seven SCOL games, the Astros were outscored 245-142, but take away the 76-0 loss to the state champion Clinton-Massie Falcons, and the differential reads 169-142, which isn't that bad of a differential for a team that was in a state of change last year.

The change has continued into this season as last year's head coach Matt Hodge is now the head coach at Hillsboro. The new head coach for the Astros is Bill Hrabak.

I've had the opportunity to speak with Coach Hrabak on a couple occasions, as an introductory basis.  

EC's current transition will be interesting to watch progress from start to finish. This program, when in the SBAAC (Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference), was the top team in their division for four consecutive seasons, so the folks in Lees Creek know how to have a winning football program.

EC does have some talented players just by looking at last year's underclassmen (I believe EC will have a three-year starter at QB this season, unless things have changed for EC), but this is early July, and we won't know a whole lot until teams begin putting on pads and having scrimmages and practices. I do know the Astros have lost a few talented seniors from last year who will be tough to replace.

As we inch closer to August, my excitement gains more and more momentum, but let's be serious ... I start missing football the day after the season ends.

Remember, there are 53 days until kickoff of the '13 regular season. That's all for today.

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Post 9: SVC facts for Friday
July 5, 2013

After taking the day off from the blog for Independence Day, let's end Friday with our first Scioto Valley Conference football post of the summer.

Westfall led the conference in scoring last season, but they were a team with a very good senior class. WHS led the SVC in scoring with 33.1 points per game, followed by Piketon (31.9) and Paint Valley at 28.6.

Westfall has since had a coaching change with Brian Spicer (the former coach at Hillsboro) taking over for the Mustangs.

The team I know the most about in the SVC is Paint Valley, as I write about them on a weekly basis. Not only did the Pete Hollon-led Bearcats place third in scoring per game in the league, but they were second in points allowed per game with 19.3 and third in point differential at +9.3. PV enters the season with a two-game winning streak, along with being a member of the new Division VII football conference, as they were ninth last year in Division V, Region 20.

What I like about the Bearcats headed into the season is they have three of their four All-Ohio players returning from last season in Mark Clifford and Nate Yoakum, who will be seniors this season, along with Tegan McFadden, who was a freshman one year ago.

Clifford was selected as a punter, averaging 40.4 yards per punt with eight punts landing inside the 20-yard line. He had five punts land inside the 10-yard line and had six fake punts for first downs, including one for a touchdown as he was selected the SVC Punter of the Year. Offensively, he rushed for 588 yards and 11 TDs, and on defense, he totaled 63 tackles at nose guard with five sacks and nine tackles for loss.

Yoakum was selected as a linebacker to the All-Ohio team for the second year in a row. This season, he totaled 73 tackles (12 for loss) as he was a first-team All-SVC player. Offensively, he had three touchdowns as a tight end.

McFadden earned special mention honors. At strong safety this year, he earned state honors with 68 tackles (nine for a loss) and collected two interceptions. He deflected nine passes and had three TDs on the defensive side. He was also honorable mention All-SVC.

The standings last season saw Westfall win the conference at 7-0, followed by Piketon at 6-1 and PV and Unioto at 4-3 in the conference. They were followed by Zane Trace and Huntington, each at 3-4, while Adena was 2-5 in SVC play and Southeastern ended at 0-7.

Here are the final overall regular-season standings from the '12 SVC season:
Westfall (9-1), Piketon (8-2), Paint Valley (6-3-1), Unioto (4-3), Zane Trace (4-6), Huntington (5-5), Adena (3-7) and Southeastern (1-9).

My opinion on this conference is, right now, it is up in the air. There are teams rebuilding, and there are others who I feel are poised to make the next step as they gained experience last season. This conference could be surprising, and fans of it should be excited for conference play this upcoming season.

There are 56 days until kickoff.

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Post 8: Looking forward to Week 1
Wednesday, July 3, 2013

If you are reading this in July, it means you are a fan of high school football, so is it too early to starting looking at the first week of the South Central Ohio League football schedule, which kicks off on Friday, Aug. 30?

I don't think it is too early to start peeking at the schedule, so with that said, here is the first week of games for the SCOL:

Blanchester at Clinton-Massie (neutral field)
Western Brown at Hillsboro
Waynesville at East Clinton
Adena at McClain
Miami Trace at Circleville
Wilmington at Washington
Chillicothe at Johnstown-Monroe

What game interests you the most for the first week?

If history has anything to say, one of the better games could be the Adena at McClain contest at McClain Field.

The past few seasons, some of the Tigers-Warriors match-ups have come down to the wire, even advancing to overtime on a couple occasions.

Here are the results for the past six seasons from the annual meeting:
2012 — McClain 24, Adena 18 (2 OT)
2011 — Adena 31, McClain 0
2010 — McClain 20, Adena 15
2009 — McClain 46, Adena 20
2008 — Adena 29, McClain 27 (OT)
2007 — Adena 18, McClain 7

I've had the opportunity to cover each of those games, and besides the '11 and '09 games, all of the others have been exciting games, especially the '08, '10 and '12 games.

This annual game is a good watch for high school football fans, and this is usually how I start my football-watching season each year I've been a sports editor.

I'm also interested in the new-look Hillsboro Indians when they take the field for the first time under new head coach Matt Hodge. Hillsboro starts the season at home against Western Brown, as HHS is coming off an 0-10 season and three consecutive losing campaigns.

The rebuilding project of the Hillsboro program has already begun, so it will be interesting to see how much progress the team will have by Aug. 30 when they welcome the Broncos.

Hodge said this when he was hired by HHS: "I want football to be a great experience for the kids," he said. "Playing high school football is special, and I want this to be a special opportunity.

"Teaching the fundamentals of the game is very important to me. I'm a fundamentals guy, and if you have those, the X's and O's will take care of themselves."

Watching this program make the necessarily steps not only this summer, but in the seasons to come, will be fun and interesting to watch.

Remember, we have 58 days until kickoff!

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Post 7: Looking at the newest SCOL member
Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Having the Chillicothe Cavaliers as the newest member of the South Central Ohio League has had me interested from the very first time I heard they were interested in becoming a member.

The Cavaliers last played in the SEAOL, where they went 3-2 in conference play and 4-6 overall, but this team is a better football program than what their record shows.

Here are the six teams they lost to last year with their '12 overall record in parentheses: Hamilton Township (7-3), Big Walnut (6-4), Thurgood Marshall (12-2), St. Francis DeSales (5-5), Gallia Academy (9-3) and Logan (2-8).

The combined record of those six teams was 41-25, with two of those teams earning playoff spots and just one with a losing record in Logan, but go look at Logan's brutal schedule last season, and their 2-8 mark is also misleading.

For those who don't know, the Cavaliers are coached by Ron Hinton, who is a state champion coach, so we know the Cavs will be ready to play whenever they take the field.

What I like about this Cavaliers team is they've been playing their players from a young age. They should have a veteran team leading the way, players who have been through the grind of some tough seasons and who have played at the varsity level since some of them were freshmen and sophomores.

The Cavaliers' wins last year included the following games: Portsmouth West by a 24-7 score, followed by wins against Warren at 38-7, at Jackson at 14-13, and they wrapped up the '12 season with a 63-0 win over Portsmouth.

So, headed into the SCOL, Chillicothe has won three of their past four games, including their final two regular-season games they've played.

I'm excited to see how the Cavaliers match up against the rest of the SCOL. It should be exciting to see a different team in the league, and remember, we only have 59 days until kickoff.

Here is Chillicothe's 2013 schedule ('12 record in parentheses):
8-30: at Johnstown-Monroe (10-3)
9-6: at Big Walnut (6-4)
9-13: vs. Teays Valley (5-5)
9-20: at Miami Trace (6-4)
9-27: at Washington (5-5)
10-4: vs. McClain (7-3)
10-11: at Clinton-Massie (15-0)
10-18: vs. Hillsboro (0-10)
10-25: vs. East Clinton (3-7)
11-1: at Portsmouth (1-9)

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Post 6: Monday Morning Musings
Monday, July 1, 2013

There are 61 days until kickoff of the '13 regular season. We have entered the month of July, a month where teams usually kick up their summer program a notch.

While the teams prepare the best way they see fit for the next couple months to get ready for a grueling 10-week regular season, I thought we'd start the first day of July having some random, quick thoughts about the upcoming season:

- Right now, looking at the first week of the South Central Ohio League season, the game I'm very curious about is Wilmington at Washington, which will be played at Gardner Park in WCH. What a way to start off the season by playing a future league rival right off the bat. The Hurricane won the game last year by a 52-6 score.

- Chillicothe makes their return to SCOL play in that same week, which will be Friday, Aug. 30 as they'll be on the road playing Jamestown-Monroe.

- Does anyone have any comments on the upcoming football season? It'd be nice to hear others' opinions on some of the topics I've written about … remember, I want this to be an interactive way for all of us who love football to communicate.

- Hard to believe the first day of coaching for football set by the OHSAA is Aug. 5, unless the school begins classes on Aug, 16 or before, then coaching can begin on Aug. 1.

- Dates for scrimmages are from Aug. 13-24.

- Speaking of scrimmages, I think I look forward to those more than the actual first week. I find watching teams practice and preparing for a season something is more interesting to watch than games, because I like watching the process of teams learning the plays.

- All seven SCOL schools open the season on Friday, Aug. 30.

- Last year, just for a reminder, the SCOL opened the year at 3-5.

- Adena at McClain could be another classic between the two schools, as they've had some pretty good games in recent years to open a football season.

- I was told the Clinton-Massie Falcons won an lineman challenge contest. Just from my years of watching that o-line, I wouldn't bet against them in any type of competition.

That about wraps up it up for today, I'll do a better job tomorrow.

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Post 5: Friday fun day
Friday, June 28, 2013

For starters, I just want to write I'm glad I cover the section of the newspaper that I do. For one, I have the most fun job in the newspaper business, and after sitting in on a public meeting Thursday, I can say that some folks can learn a little more about teamwork from the high school athletes I cover.

OK, now for football talk.

What are you most excited about for the upcoming football season? I can't wait for the first kickoff of week one, and before that, I can't wait to start my annual travels for my First-and-Ten High School Football Preview, which it is hard to believe will be the fourth year being published.

I've said this many times, but the football preview edition is my absolute favorite project I do all year long. I've already started with it some, by typing up the schedules and adding to the results list since the reformation of the South Central Ohio League.

In the coming weeks, I'll also start writing about other leagues in the area in this space, and be sure to tell your other football friends about this, because I want this to become more than just me writing about football. I want to share others' opinions on the sport of high school football as well, but I only can do that if you let me know what is on your mind.

Don't be shy!

Though I'm going to enjoy my summertime break, I still have a lot of football questions I can't wait to see be answered, which we'll eventually get to.

There are a lot of changes going on in not only the SCOL, but the neighboring Scioto Valley Conference, as there are at least two new head coaches, possibly more (I'll look into it next week).

I really hope others are more excited about the upcoming football season, and thanks for those who have read for the first week of this blog. I really appreciate it, and I hope you continue to read as we get ever so closer to the high school football season.

Have a good weekend.


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Post 4: Starting young
Thursday, June 27, 2013

During the regular season, Thursday's post will be a good spot to write a few thoughts on upcoming Friday games that may not be included in my South Central Ohio League Football notebooks.

In the summer months, the Thursday post will be a random post on whatever I'm feeling that day.

Today, I just want to somewhat continue yesterday's discussion and talk about building a program.

Contrary to popular belief, it takes not months, but years to build a football program. It starts at the youth level, as I'm a believer that youth programs should run the same plays or at least a portion of the playbook they use at a varsity level.

The basics of the high school football playbook can be taught at the youth level, at least using similar terminology, so when they move up in levels of football, more can be added. By the time the players who remain reach the high school level, there won't be as much learning, and more practice time can be focused on adding wrinkles to formations or working on the fundamentals of football at a higher level.

It has worked for other programs in the area, but maybe I'm imagining a utopian football world as well.

Basically, what I'm rambling on about is it takes a community to build a football program, starting at the younger levels, before they reach the high school levels.

I honestly don't know how many communities in the SCOL use the same plays or something really close in the youth leagues as they do in their high school programs, but I know some do, and they seem to have great success.

OK, enough of me rambling my thoughts. I'm really interested on your thoughts on the matter. Do you think youth programs should adhere to what the community varsity football coach does with his program and use a variation of the coach's high school playbook in youth leagues?

I really want to know why or why not folks agree or disagree with this practice and whether anyone thinks it works or isn't as important as I think it is. This topic is a great interest to me, and I'd like to know how others feel on the topic.

This could be a good discussion in the summer months.

Here is a daily fact: With the departure of Madison-Plains and London, just four of the six teams who came with the reformation of the SCOL remain (Hillsboro, Miami Trace, McClain and Washington).

While we are at it … here's something to ponder: Since the last time Clinton-Massie has been defeated by an SCOL team in football ('07), there have been two presidential elections in the United States.



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Post 3: Most important time of the season
Wednesday, June 26, 2013

I've always thought the time from the end of the regular season through the end of conditioning is the most important part of football.

Let me finish.

Two-a-days are very important as well, in terms of learning what to do on the field and becoming a team, but the work players put in right now in the weight room and on their own is just as important as well.

In an sport, weight lifting and working out is key, but with football, it might just be the most important thing. If players are trying to get bigger, faster or stronger in June and July, by August it could be too late, because that's when the hitting and the technical parts begin.

I remember back when I was in high school, my coaches would put us through a very grueling workout during our morning June workouts and into the July conditioning. Even in the winter months, if we weren't playing a sport, they expected us to be there.

Let me get this out of the way as well … I rarely played in games, but being at the weight liftings taught me more about myself as a person than any tackle I may have ever made.

I'm not sure how the summer workouts are going right now for any of the schools, but my hope is there are many players going out for the teams because this time of year, for just a couple hours per day, is more rewarding than the players will realize at this point of their life.

Last season is last season, the records don't matter, but these workouts in June and July are, again, vital to any football or sports team. Time and the right type of work in the weight room will reflect wins and losses in the fall … it's that simple.

Anyway, that's my short rant on summertime weightlifting for football or any sport.

Here is a daily fact: There have been just three schools win the SCOL football championship since the reformation in '03. Clinton-Massie has won seven straight league championships (six outright), Miami Trace has won four (three outright) and Washington has one (shared '07 title with CM and MT).

While we are at it … here's something to ponder: In the 24 total non-league games for the SCOL in '12, teams in the league lost 14, but CM and Madison-Plains won all three of their non-league games one season ago. I'm interested in seeing how this turns out this upcoming season.

Remember, there are just 65 days until kickoff.


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Post 2: Getting used to the new-look SCOL
Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The upcoming football season for the South Central Ohio League has a new look. London and Madison-Plains, who were members of the league since the reformation of '03, are now in the Mid-State League, but Chillicothe has decided to join the fray in the SCOL beginning this fall.

For one season ('13), the SCOL will consist of seven teams, and in '14, Wilmington will make it an eight-team league.

The SCOL consists of Chillicothe (Ross County), Clinton-Massie (Clinton County), East Clinton (Clinton County), Hillsboro (Highland County), McClain (Highland County), Miami Trace (Fayette County) and Washington (Fayette County).

For those counting, that gives Clinton two schools, Fayette two schools, Highland two schools and Ross one school.

Chillicothe last year in their final season in the Southeast Ohio Athletic League (SEOAL) finished 4-6 overall, as they had to play five non-league games. Don't let their record fool you ... they have some good veteran football talent on their roster.

With basics out of the way, like I've said many times, to be the champion of this league someone must defeat Clinton-Massie. More than that, the rest of the teams in the league, though they may not be at the level of the reigning Division IV state champions, can still have very competitive games with each other this season, and competitive games is all we can ask for at this level.

Here is a daily fact: Did you realize this football season, there will be 49 regular-season games involving SCOL football teams this fall?

While we are at it … here's something to ponder: The past three seasons, the SCOL has had at least one team go winless in league play.

I really do enjoy covering this league, and thus far, after just one post, I'm glad to be generating interest with this blog as well.

I've received some great suggestions via the comment section and email, so I'm pleased to have some topics other than my own to write about.

For instance, I like the idea about the best games I've seen involving the SCOL as provided by Uncle Billy, but I'm going to put some time into that one before I write it. My hope is to improve this blog on a daily basis … some days I may even post more than once. Anyway, stick with me, and we'll make this a great spot to read about high school football.

Thanks to those who have or will send their ideas and comments … I welcome them. Post 2: Getting used to the new-look SCOL

The upcoming football season for the South Central Ohio League has a new look. London and Madison-Plains, who were members of the league since the reformation of '03, are now in the Mid-State League, but Chillicothe has decided to join the fray in the SCOL beginning this fall.

For one season ('13), the SCOL will consist of seven teams, and in '14, Wilmington will make it an eight-team league.

The SCOL consists of Chillicothe (Ross County), Clinton-Massie (Clinton County), East Clinton (Clinton County), Hillsboro (Highland County), McClain (Highland County), Miami Trace (Fayette County) and Washington (Fayette County).

For those counting, that gives Clinton two schools, Fayette two schools, Highland two schools and Ross one school.

Chillicothe last year in their final season in the Southeast Ohio Athletic League (SEOAL) finished 4-6 overall, as they had to play five non-league games. Don't let their record fool you ... they have some good veteran football talent on their roster.

With basics out of the way, like I've said many times, to be the champion of this league someone must defeat Clinton-Massie. More than that, the rest of the teams in the league, though they may not be at the level of the reigning Division IV state champions, can still have very competitive games with each other this season, and competitive games is all we can ask for at this level.

Here is a daily fact: Did you realize this football season, there will be 49 regular-season games involving SCOL football teams this fall?

While we are at it … here's something to ponder: The past three seasons, the SCOL has had at least one team go winless in league play.

I really do enjoy covering this league, and thus far, after just one post, I'm glad to be generating interest with this blog as well.

I've received some great suggestions via the comment section and email, so I'm pleased to have some topics other than my own to write about.

For instance, I like the idea about the best games I've seen involving the SCOL as provided by Uncle Billy, but I'm going to put some time into that one before I write it. My hope is to improve this blog on a daily basis … some days I may even post more than once. Anyway, stick with me, and we'll make this a great spot to read about high school football.

Thanks to those who have or will send their ideas and comments … I welcome them.


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Post 1: Welcome
Monday, June 24, 2013
The 2012-13 high school athletic season is complete, so that means just one thing … high school football season is nearing closer each and every day.

I want to use this space as a way to write thoughts and give stats on mostly the South Central Ohio League and other nearby high school football leagues all season long.

I don't know where I'll go on a daily basis with this blog during the summer months, but being the football follower I am, I'm sure there is something to write about throughout the week.

Let's start day one of this blog by talking about the new football divisions laid out recently by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

I like the changes, I really do.

Division I will be a monster of a division come playoff time, and all the other changes seem fair, plus adding a new division (VII) was a smart move by the OHSAA.

For those who didn't get a chance to read the HCP article on the division changes, click here.

Here are where the current seven SCOL football schools (welcome Chillicothe, goodbye London and Madison-Plains) stand in terms of their divisions this and next season:

- Clinton-Massie: Division IV
- Chillicothe: Division III
- East Clinton: Division V
- Hillsboro: Division III
- McClain: Division IV
- Miami Trace: Division IV
- Washington: Division III

The school with the most boys enrolled is Chillicothe with 381, and the school with the least number of boys enrolled in the league is East Clinton at 175.

I'm not a math whiz or anything, but that's a difference of 206, which can make a lot of difference, right?

I'm not saying a higher school enrollment makes a team better or worse, because it doesn't. The SCOL is proof of that, but a difference of 206 boys enrolled in schools in a league is quite a bit of a difference for any school to overcome in the grand scheme of things. 

The new SCOL will be interesting to see this upcoming season with Chillicothe joining the league, but we'll talk about them later on this summer.

Though the league hasn't had a champion not named Clinton-Massie since 2008 (they shared the title in '07 and won the Division IV state championship in '12), I still know this league has the potential to be a good, competitive football league.

I'm going to do my best to post on this blog Monday-Friday throughout the summer and seven days a week during the high school football regular season.

If you have any suggestions on a topic for the blog, or any questions at all on area high school football, send over an email at sforsha@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer it. Let's make this blog interactive, and I can only do that with your help.

I look forward to making this blog not just what I want, but what fans of high school football want, so let me know what you want to know and I'll do my best to write about it.

Thanks in advance for reading and visiting.