Indians open 1984 season with 3-0 mark
By
Bob Patton-
The 1984 SCOL football season was about to begin, and there was no clear-cut favorite. Any one of five schools could win the coveted gold football, or, at least, the league championship.
Circleville, Hillsboro, Wilmington, Washington C.H. and Miami Trace all appeared to have a legitimate shot. McClain and Madison-Plains, most people thought, would slug it out for the bottom two rungs on the league ladder.
At Washington, Coach Paul Ondrus was back for his ninth year at the helm. The Lions had lost quarterback Jeff Shaw and running back Fred Jones to graduation. Shaw threw for more than 1,000 yards the previous season, while Jones rushed for 1,245 yards. Also, the heart of the offensive line had graduated. They did have several good-sized young men returning, and the team speed was good. There was not much depth, however, and they would be playing a lot of inexperienced people. The Lions would be a question mark, at least early in the season.
Otis Wagner had replaced Terry Fouch at McClain. Wagner had played football for McClain and gone on to play for Ohio University. After graduation, he had been an assistant coach at Ohio University, Northern Illinois and Middle Tennessee State University, and a high school head coach. Now, he was trying to build a competitive program at McClain.
One of his most important challenges, he felt, was to overcome the losing attitude that had crept in over the past several years.
Dave Truex had replaced longtime coach Larry Cook at Circleville. The Tigers faced a tough early schedule, with the likes of Ironton, Chillicothe, Miami Trace, WCH and Springfield Shawnee. Truex felt that it was crucial that the Tigers get off to a good start. Circleville had a winning tradition, usually having fundamentally sound players and kids who had a tremendous desire to win. Quarterback Eddie Sims was back, along with seven other starters from the previous year’s team, which tied with Wilmington for third place in the SCOL.
Keith Mescher was the new football coach at Madison-Plains High School. The Golden Eagles had never won an SCOL football championship. In their previous 11 years in the SCOL, they had won only 15 games, while losing 52 (along with one tie). This year’s team included only two seniors, a lot of juniors and sophomores and 11 freshmen. This would be their final year in the SCOL. Next year, they would join the Kenton Trace Conference, where they expected to be much more competitive. They hoped to be as competitive as possible this season and build for the next couple of years
Mescher had enjoyed some success rebuilding a program at Waynesville, and he hoped to do the same thing at MP. He was an All-American football player at Division 1-AA Morehead State University, where he was a four year starter at tight end and was captain of the team for three years. Could he build a powerhouse at Madison-Plains?
At Hillsboro, Jim Horne was in his second year at the helm. His team from the last season finished fifth in the league with a 2-5 record (3-7 overall). He had seven starters returning, including fullback (and linebacker) Hugh Ballein. Ballein was considered to be one of the best athletes in the SCOL. This was a good nucleus to build around. But there was not a lot of depth, and the Indians would feature a sophomore quarterback. Also, the talent level was questionable at some positions. Like many other SCOL coaches, Horne figured that the way the Indians got out of the gate would say a lot about this season.
Miami Trace was back with Coach Dick Hill, now in his fourth season. The previous year was not a spectacular season for the Panthers. They finished in a tie with Teays Valley for fifth place in the conference.
In the fall of 1984, they had 17 lettermen returning and a great deal of speed. Trace was undoubtedly the fastest team in the SCOL, and speed is a great asset in almost all athletic endeavors.
Quarterback Mike Bennett also was back. Bennett, who started several games in 1983, was very quick and had a good arm, and 6-foot, 190-pound Shawn Johns was back at halfback. Johns, possibly the best athlete on the Panther team, had great speed and terrific moves with the football. He had participated in the Junior Olympic National Finals in Baton Rouge, La., in the summer, and had placed third in the country. And the other halfback, Mark Casto, was the 100-meter and 200-meter sprint champion in the SCOL. So, it appeared that the Panthers were loaded for bear.
At Wilmington, Coach Bob White was back for his fifth year, and once again, he had Greg Nared at quarterback. A senior this year, Nared led the SCOL in passing yards as a junior with 1,158 yards, playing the entire 10-game schedule without throwing an interception. But Coach White had only four returning starters, and he was concerned about pass protection. Nonetheless, most SCOL coaches predicted that the Hurricane would be in the thick of the SCOL race this season.
The first two or three weeks of the season have always featured non-league games, which have enabled coaches to fine-tune their offensive and defensive techniques before embarking on the crucial SCOL race.
In the first week of the 1984 season, Washington downed West Jefferson, 14-7; Ironton drilled Circleville, 33-7; Hillsboro crushed East Clinton, 25-0; Adena edged McClain, 7-6; Wintersville pounded Miami Trace, 27-8; Wilmington got a win over Xenia, 24-12; and London walloped Madison-Plains, 46-0.
Week two saw Logan Elm playing at Trace, with the Panthers smashing the visitors, 50-6. Chillicothe barely edged the Circleville Tigers, 7-6, on the Circleville field. New Richmond visited Hillsboro, where the Indians recorded a 20-13 win. McClain hosted East Clinton, and shut out the Astros, 22-0.
Cincinnati McNicholas traveled to Washington, where they pasted the Blue Lions, 36-0. Cincinnati Northwest played at Wilmington, dropping a 19-6 decision to the Hurricane, and South Charleston Southeastern took on the Golden Eagles at Madison-Plains and thumped them, 48-6.
On Sept. 14, Westfall visited Madison-Plains, where the Mustangs rolled up 237 yards of total offense to MP’s 81 and gave the Eagles their third straight loss, 14-0. The Miami Trace Panthers traveled to Fairfield and defeated the Indians in the rain, 25-13. Chillicothe shut out Washington, 13-0, while Hillsboro was entertaining Unioto by plastering the Shermans, 22-0. McClain was getting their second win of the young season by racking up 301 yards on the ground against visiting Waverly and winning, 24-0.
Additionally, Circleville waxed Athens, 30-8, in Athens, and Wilmington missed a 31-yard field goal attempt as time ran out and settled for a 14-14 tie with tough Lebanon, on the Wilmington turf.
So, as the SCOL teams began league play, Hillsboro held down first place with a 3-0 record, Wilmington was 2-0-1, McClain and Miami Trace sat on 2-1 records, Washington and Circleville were both 1-2 and Madison Plains was 0-3.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Circleville, Hillsboro, Wilmington, Washington C.H. and Miami Trace all appeared to have a legitimate shot. McClain and Madison-Plains, most people thought, would slug it out for the bottom two rungs on the league ladder.
At Washington, Coach Paul Ondrus was back for his ninth year at the helm. The Lions had lost quarterback Jeff Shaw and running back Fred Jones to graduation. Shaw threw for more than 1,000 yards the previous season, while Jones rushed for 1,245 yards. Also, the heart of the offensive line had graduated. They did have several good-sized young men returning, and the team speed was good. There was not much depth, however, and they would be playing a lot of inexperienced people. The Lions would be a question mark, at least early in the season.
Otis Wagner had replaced Terry Fouch at McClain. Wagner had played football for McClain and gone on to play for Ohio University. After graduation, he had been an assistant coach at Ohio University, Northern Illinois and Middle Tennessee State University, and a high school head coach. Now, he was trying to build a competitive program at McClain.
One of his most important challenges, he felt, was to overcome the losing attitude that had crept in over the past several years.
Dave Truex had replaced longtime coach Larry Cook at Circleville. The Tigers faced a tough early schedule, with the likes of Ironton, Chillicothe, Miami Trace, WCH and Springfield Shawnee. Truex felt that it was crucial that the Tigers get off to a good start. Circleville had a winning tradition, usually having fundamentally sound players and kids who had a tremendous desire to win. Quarterback Eddie Sims was back, along with seven other starters from the previous year’s team, which tied with Wilmington for third place in the SCOL.
Keith Mescher was the new football coach at Madison-Plains High School. The Golden Eagles had never won an SCOL football championship. In their previous 11 years in the SCOL, they had won only 15 games, while losing 52 (along with one tie). This year’s team included only two seniors, a lot of juniors and sophomores and 11 freshmen. This would be their final year in the SCOL. Next year, they would join the Kenton Trace Conference, where they expected to be much more competitive. They hoped to be as competitive as possible this season and build for the next couple of years
Mescher had enjoyed some success rebuilding a program at Waynesville, and he hoped to do the same thing at MP. He was an All-American football player at Division 1-AA Morehead State University, where he was a four year starter at tight end and was captain of the team for three years. Could he build a powerhouse at Madison-Plains?
At Hillsboro, Jim Horne was in his second year at the helm. His team from the last season finished fifth in the league with a 2-5 record (3-7 overall). He had seven starters returning, including fullback (and linebacker) Hugh Ballein. Ballein was considered to be one of the best athletes in the SCOL. This was a good nucleus to build around. But there was not a lot of depth, and the Indians would feature a sophomore quarterback. Also, the talent level was questionable at some positions. Like many other SCOL coaches, Horne figured that the way the Indians got out of the gate would say a lot about this season.
Miami Trace was back with Coach Dick Hill, now in his fourth season. The previous year was not a spectacular season for the Panthers. They finished in a tie with Teays Valley for fifth place in the conference.
In the fall of 1984, they had 17 lettermen returning and a great deal of speed. Trace was undoubtedly the fastest team in the SCOL, and speed is a great asset in almost all athletic endeavors.
Quarterback Mike Bennett also was back. Bennett, who started several games in 1983, was very quick and had a good arm, and 6-foot, 190-pound Shawn Johns was back at halfback. Johns, possibly the best athlete on the Panther team, had great speed and terrific moves with the football. He had participated in the Junior Olympic National Finals in Baton Rouge, La., in the summer, and had placed third in the country. And the other halfback, Mark Casto, was the 100-meter and 200-meter sprint champion in the SCOL. So, it appeared that the Panthers were loaded for bear.
At Wilmington, Coach Bob White was back for his fifth year, and once again, he had Greg Nared at quarterback. A senior this year, Nared led the SCOL in passing yards as a junior with 1,158 yards, playing the entire 10-game schedule without throwing an interception. But Coach White had only four returning starters, and he was concerned about pass protection. Nonetheless, most SCOL coaches predicted that the Hurricane would be in the thick of the SCOL race this season.
The first two or three weeks of the season have always featured non-league games, which have enabled coaches to fine-tune their offensive and defensive techniques before embarking on the crucial SCOL race.
In the first week of the 1984 season, Washington downed West Jefferson, 14-7; Ironton drilled Circleville, 33-7; Hillsboro crushed East Clinton, 25-0; Adena edged McClain, 7-6; Wintersville pounded Miami Trace, 27-8; Wilmington got a win over Xenia, 24-12; and London walloped Madison-Plains, 46-0.
Week two saw Logan Elm playing at Trace, with the Panthers smashing the visitors, 50-6. Chillicothe barely edged the Circleville Tigers, 7-6, on the Circleville field. New Richmond visited Hillsboro, where the Indians recorded a 20-13 win. McClain hosted East Clinton, and shut out the Astros, 22-0.
Cincinnati McNicholas traveled to Washington, where they pasted the Blue Lions, 36-0. Cincinnati Northwest played at Wilmington, dropping a 19-6 decision to the Hurricane, and South Charleston Southeastern took on the Golden Eagles at Madison-Plains and thumped them, 48-6.
On Sept. 14, Westfall visited Madison-Plains, where the Mustangs rolled up 237 yards of total offense to MP’s 81 and gave the Eagles their third straight loss, 14-0. The Miami Trace Panthers traveled to Fairfield and defeated the Indians in the rain, 25-13. Chillicothe shut out Washington, 13-0, while Hillsboro was entertaining Unioto by plastering the Shermans, 22-0. McClain was getting their second win of the young season by racking up 301 yards on the ground against visiting Waverly and winning, 24-0.
Additionally, Circleville waxed Athens, 30-8, in Athens, and Wilmington missed a 31-yard field goal attempt as time ran out and settled for a 14-14 tie with tough Lebanon, on the Wilmington turf.
So, as the SCOL teams began league play, Hillsboro held down first place with a 3-0 record, Wilmington was 2-0-1, McClain and Miami Trace sat on 2-1 records, Washington and Circleville were both 1-2 and Madison Plains was 0-3.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]