Not off the Press
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
When I travel to away games when covering teams from Highland County, I always try to look at what the traditions are of those teams that are hosting the Highland County team.
I can say in what I've watched so far this fall, I am a fan of how the London Red Raiders take the football field. They are just like every other football team where they break the banner, but theirs is cool for the fact the band starts playing the Tomahawk Chop, but slowly … then as they make you wait, the beat gets a little faster, then the team runs out and it is time for the game.
It is little things like that which make Friday nights a little more fun to look forward to, plus it just makes the atmosphere even better.
This week, Highland County football teams were outscored 121-7 as Hillsboro lost 72-7 to the Clinton-Massie Falcons and the McClain Tigers lost to the Red Raiders, 49-0.
Also this past week, Hillsboro girls soccer coach Leslie Molen posted her 100th career win as head coach for the Lady Indians. Her team defeated the Lady Golden Eagles of Madison-Plains 10-0 Tuesday at MPHS for the 100th win. Congrats to Coach Molen for the milestone.
This week will be a huge week for the Lady Indians on the soccer field with matches at Washington and a home match against the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons, with first place on the line. In their matchup earlier this season at CMHS, the Lady Falcons and Lady Indians tied at 1-1. I'm looking forward to this because they are the two best girls soccer teams in the South Central Ohio League, and it will be a very fun and competitive match to cover.
Again, this will be another interesting week for all Highland County teams, including the McClain boys, Hillsboro girls and boys and Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer teams as they all are currently in first place of their respective leagues. Not to mention the Hillsboro girls golf team is undefeated in SCOL matches.
• Thoughts on SCOL football
I'll go into more detail this Thursday in my Week 5 SCOL Football Notebook, but the league did have another non-league loss with Miami Trace losing to Jonathan Alder 49-0. In non-league games this season, the SCOL is 5-14 overall. This week's non-league matchup is London vs. Jonathan Alder. The rest of the SCOL football slate is Washington at Hillsboro, Miami Trace at Clinton-Massie and McClain at Madison-Plains.
When it comes to 0-3 teams, I knew the Red Raiders weren't a "normal" 0-3 team, and did they ever prove that Friday with their rushing attack. It wasn't like they put together long drives of rushing plays, but if given the opportunity, the Red Raiders put on a big play ability that couldn't be stopped, including touchdown runs of 93, 73, 66 and 30 yards each, totaling 453 yards of rushing. In what is now my seventh season of covering SCOL football games, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that many big rushing plays in one game. London showed they have the ability to make the big play, as they were easily the most athletic team I've covered in four weeks this season.
In a season where the Falcons of Clinton-Massie have seen all of their winning streaks snapped, they still have this one: 20 straight wins in SCOL football games. Their last SCOL loss came in Week 8 of the 2007 season against the Washington Blue Lions (35-34). Again, in this week's Thursday notebook, I'll go into more detail about the last 20 SCOL games of the Falcons.
• More on Highland County soccer
Each week, I become more and more impressed with the student-athletes who play soccer for teams in Highland County. First, I want to talk about the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and their first eight matches of the season, where they allowed just one goal in those matches, while scoring 63 goals in those same seven matches.
In those matches, the Lady Mustangs have defeated McClain and Miami Trace of the SCOL and Eastern Brown, Ripley (twice), Peebles, North Adams and Fairfield. Any way you look at it, scoring 63 goals in your first eight matches is a good feat, but allowing only one goal in that same span is an even better feat, in my opinion.
LC coach Dennis West even talked about how during fair week they had a couple practices, and the players chose 8 a.m. practices … that's dedication in my book.
As the season progresses, this will be a team to keep an eye out for.
While still on the subject of soccer, as stated earlier, the match between the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons and Hillsboro Lady Indians is one that will be a must-see for anyone that is a fan of soccer. Currently, CM are 5-0-1 in the SCOL, and the Lady Indians are 4-0-1 in the SCOL. Before the teams meet on Thursday, the Lady Indians travel to Washington C.H. to take on the Lady Blue Lions this Tuesday.
Every year, these two teams play a good, tough brand of soccer, and my guess is whomever wins this match Thursday at Richards Memorial Field will be the team taking home the SCOL trophy at the Fall Sports Banquet later this year.
In the boys SCOL slate, the Hillsboro Indians and McClain Tigers have stayed undefeated in league play with the Indians standing at 4-0-1 in the SCOL and the Tigers are 5-0-1 in the league. Again, these two teams tied one another in at Richards Memorial Field earlier this season, and I'm guessing as I did with the girls' season, the winner of their next match against each other (Tuesday, Sept. 27) at McClain Field will go a very long way in deciding who will be the champion of the SCOL.
Did you know the past six SCOL boys soccer titles have been won by either the McClain Tigers or Hillsboro Indians? HHS won four straight titles from 2005-08, and MHS have won the past two ('09-'10). Fans of high school sports in general should make the trip to McClain Field (it will be the second match of the night) and watch these two programs and county rivals play each other for what will be a very important game in the soccer season.
• 10 thoughts/facts on high school sports
1. The SCOL football non-league slate won't get any easier as London have to face the Jonathan Alder Pioneers in their final non-league game of the season. JA has already defeated the Clinton-Massie Falcons and Miami Trace Panthers of the SCOL this season. Later on in the season, JA will face the Washington Blue Lions in their final non-league game as the Pioneers play four of the seven SCOL teams this season.
2. Watch out for the Fairfield Lady Lion volleyball team. They defeated the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats on Thursday in four games to move to 4-0 on the season in SHL play. This team is much improved from a season ago and could be one of the teams to watch out for as the season continues.
3. Last Wednesday at LCHS, I watched the Mustangs and Eastern Brown Warriors play a boys soccer match into the near-darkness. Maybe these games should start at 4 p.m. as it gets darker earlier this time of year. Also, this match had six yellow cards … in my unofficial record book of covering games, that stands out as the most I've seen in a single match. However, this was one of the better soccer matches I've watched this season, as the two rivals played a very tough contest.
4. FYI … the tournament draw for the postseason soccer tournament will be held on Oct. 9, according the the Sept. 16 OHSAA Ohio Soccer Weekly newsletter. Here are a couple fun numbers from that newsletter: there have been 717 ejections in boys soccer matches this season. In the week of Sept. 12-16, there were six coaches ejected. In my time covering soccer, I don't recall ever seeing a coach ejected from a soccer match.
5. I really wish every school had a student section for home football games. Why some schools don't, I don't really understand, but having a student section makes for an overall better atmosphere for the game.
6. No matter the result or difference in the scores, nothing is more fun in my profession than Friday night football games … especially this time of the year with the weather changing and the term "football weather" can be used.
7. I have the date for a couple of these matches, but if anyone knows the dates for upcoming Volley for the Cure matches, feel free to let me know and I will post the dates in this column. These are great events for a great cause.
8. I've been having a few people talking about the upcoming basketball season to me and that is great … basketball season is fun and all. There is one thing I dislike about the season, and that is the snowy weather it brings along with it.
9. If you attend high school sports of any kind, answer this … what is your favorite food to buy from a concession stand and from what location? This is important stuff I'm asking.
10. The remainder of the fall sports season is going to be very interesting, especially on the soccer fields. Highland County is lucky to have four teams who are in first place at this point of the season, and I just think it will be fun to see how it all plays out through the rest of the fall.
• Stat of the Week
I'm going with the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and their six shutouts in their first seven matches. I don't remember seeing that in any of the previous years I covered soccer in Highland County.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
To gain 100 career coaching victories, it took Hillsboro coach Leslie Molen just 133 matches, as her overall record is 100-21-12 since 2004.
• Quote of the Week
"The 100 wins … it's all about the kids under you. If I didn't have quality kids to coach, 100 wins wouldn't be possible … When I took over, I was just happy to get a win. This is just a milestone, not an accomplishment for me. There are bigger and better things to be accomplished." — Leslie Molen, Hillsboro girls soccer coach after posting her 100th career coaching win.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"We told the girls this is a type of match they weren't used to playing in. They responded well, and I was very pleased with the performance at a high level." — Dennis West, Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer coach following their match against Eastern Brown.
• (A third and final) Quote of the Week
"Obviously it does impact the team … the leadership, attitude and toughness he (Camron Cooper) brought to the field … we miss that. He's a quality kid, and not just him, but we miss having Preston Wagner on the field. He's been injured, he's one of our two returning offensive linemen starters. Now we have four guys on the offensive line who are first-year starters … we are also working young quarterbacks and receivers into the game too. They are gaining experience, and we just need to get them where they need to be." — Randy Closson, McClain head football coach after the Tigers' 49-0 loss to London when asked about playing without key starters in Week 4.
• One final item of business
I don't think I can stress how much fun this fall sports season has been to cover thus far. Though some of the results haven't gone in the favor of teams in Highland County, I just wanted to say getting the opportunity to watch the student-athletes from this area make the "job" enjoyable. Everyone should take some time during their busy week and just go and watch a game for fun … to get away from "real life" and watch athletics at a form where contracts, bowl rankings and fantasy points don't matter.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
I can say in what I've watched so far this fall, I am a fan of how the London Red Raiders take the football field. They are just like every other football team where they break the banner, but theirs is cool for the fact the band starts playing the Tomahawk Chop, but slowly … then as they make you wait, the beat gets a little faster, then the team runs out and it is time for the game.
It is little things like that which make Friday nights a little more fun to look forward to, plus it just makes the atmosphere even better.
This week, Highland County football teams were outscored 121-7 as Hillsboro lost 72-7 to the Clinton-Massie Falcons and the McClain Tigers lost to the Red Raiders, 49-0.
Also this past week, Hillsboro girls soccer coach Leslie Molen posted her 100th career win as head coach for the Lady Indians. Her team defeated the Lady Golden Eagles of Madison-Plains 10-0 Tuesday at MPHS for the 100th win. Congrats to Coach Molen for the milestone.
This week will be a huge week for the Lady Indians on the soccer field with matches at Washington and a home match against the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons, with first place on the line. In their matchup earlier this season at CMHS, the Lady Falcons and Lady Indians tied at 1-1. I'm looking forward to this because they are the two best girls soccer teams in the South Central Ohio League, and it will be a very fun and competitive match to cover.
Again, this will be another interesting week for all Highland County teams, including the McClain boys, Hillsboro girls and boys and Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer teams as they all are currently in first place of their respective leagues. Not to mention the Hillsboro girls golf team is undefeated in SCOL matches.
• Thoughts on SCOL football
I'll go into more detail this Thursday in my Week 5 SCOL Football Notebook, but the league did have another non-league loss with Miami Trace losing to Jonathan Alder 49-0. In non-league games this season, the SCOL is 5-14 overall. This week's non-league matchup is London vs. Jonathan Alder. The rest of the SCOL football slate is Washington at Hillsboro, Miami Trace at Clinton-Massie and McClain at Madison-Plains.
When it comes to 0-3 teams, I knew the Red Raiders weren't a "normal" 0-3 team, and did they ever prove that Friday with their rushing attack. It wasn't like they put together long drives of rushing plays, but if given the opportunity, the Red Raiders put on a big play ability that couldn't be stopped, including touchdown runs of 93, 73, 66 and 30 yards each, totaling 453 yards of rushing. In what is now my seventh season of covering SCOL football games, I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that many big rushing plays in one game. London showed they have the ability to make the big play, as they were easily the most athletic team I've covered in four weeks this season.
In a season where the Falcons of Clinton-Massie have seen all of their winning streaks snapped, they still have this one: 20 straight wins in SCOL football games. Their last SCOL loss came in Week 8 of the 2007 season against the Washington Blue Lions (35-34). Again, in this week's Thursday notebook, I'll go into more detail about the last 20 SCOL games of the Falcons.
• More on Highland County soccer
Each week, I become more and more impressed with the student-athletes who play soccer for teams in Highland County. First, I want to talk about the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and their first eight matches of the season, where they allowed just one goal in those matches, while scoring 63 goals in those same seven matches.
In those matches, the Lady Mustangs have defeated McClain and Miami Trace of the SCOL and Eastern Brown, Ripley (twice), Peebles, North Adams and Fairfield. Any way you look at it, scoring 63 goals in your first eight matches is a good feat, but allowing only one goal in that same span is an even better feat, in my opinion.
LC coach Dennis West even talked about how during fair week they had a couple practices, and the players chose 8 a.m. practices … that's dedication in my book.
As the season progresses, this will be a team to keep an eye out for.
While still on the subject of soccer, as stated earlier, the match between the Clinton-Massie Lady Falcons and Hillsboro Lady Indians is one that will be a must-see for anyone that is a fan of soccer. Currently, CM are 5-0-1 in the SCOL, and the Lady Indians are 4-0-1 in the SCOL. Before the teams meet on Thursday, the Lady Indians travel to Washington C.H. to take on the Lady Blue Lions this Tuesday.
Every year, these two teams play a good, tough brand of soccer, and my guess is whomever wins this match Thursday at Richards Memorial Field will be the team taking home the SCOL trophy at the Fall Sports Banquet later this year.
In the boys SCOL slate, the Hillsboro Indians and McClain Tigers have stayed undefeated in league play with the Indians standing at 4-0-1 in the SCOL and the Tigers are 5-0-1 in the league. Again, these two teams tied one another in at Richards Memorial Field earlier this season, and I'm guessing as I did with the girls' season, the winner of their next match against each other (Tuesday, Sept. 27) at McClain Field will go a very long way in deciding who will be the champion of the SCOL.
Did you know the past six SCOL boys soccer titles have been won by either the McClain Tigers or Hillsboro Indians? HHS won four straight titles from 2005-08, and MHS have won the past two ('09-'10). Fans of high school sports in general should make the trip to McClain Field (it will be the second match of the night) and watch these two programs and county rivals play each other for what will be a very important game in the soccer season.
• 10 thoughts/facts on high school sports
1. The SCOL football non-league slate won't get any easier as London have to face the Jonathan Alder Pioneers in their final non-league game of the season. JA has already defeated the Clinton-Massie Falcons and Miami Trace Panthers of the SCOL this season. Later on in the season, JA will face the Washington Blue Lions in their final non-league game as the Pioneers play four of the seven SCOL teams this season.
2. Watch out for the Fairfield Lady Lion volleyball team. They defeated the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats on Thursday in four games to move to 4-0 on the season in SHL play. This team is much improved from a season ago and could be one of the teams to watch out for as the season continues.
3. Last Wednesday at LCHS, I watched the Mustangs and Eastern Brown Warriors play a boys soccer match into the near-darkness. Maybe these games should start at 4 p.m. as it gets darker earlier this time of year. Also, this match had six yellow cards … in my unofficial record book of covering games, that stands out as the most I've seen in a single match. However, this was one of the better soccer matches I've watched this season, as the two rivals played a very tough contest.
4. FYI … the tournament draw for the postseason soccer tournament will be held on Oct. 9, according the the Sept. 16 OHSAA Ohio Soccer Weekly newsletter. Here are a couple fun numbers from that newsletter: there have been 717 ejections in boys soccer matches this season. In the week of Sept. 12-16, there were six coaches ejected. In my time covering soccer, I don't recall ever seeing a coach ejected from a soccer match.
5. I really wish every school had a student section for home football games. Why some schools don't, I don't really understand, but having a student section makes for an overall better atmosphere for the game.
6. No matter the result or difference in the scores, nothing is more fun in my profession than Friday night football games … especially this time of the year with the weather changing and the term "football weather" can be used.
7. I have the date for a couple of these matches, but if anyone knows the dates for upcoming Volley for the Cure matches, feel free to let me know and I will post the dates in this column. These are great events for a great cause.
8. I've been having a few people talking about the upcoming basketball season to me and that is great … basketball season is fun and all. There is one thing I dislike about the season, and that is the snowy weather it brings along with it.
9. If you attend high school sports of any kind, answer this … what is your favorite food to buy from a concession stand and from what location? This is important stuff I'm asking.
10. The remainder of the fall sports season is going to be very interesting, especially on the soccer fields. Highland County is lucky to have four teams who are in first place at this point of the season, and I just think it will be fun to see how it all plays out through the rest of the fall.
• Stat of the Week
I'm going with the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and their six shutouts in their first seven matches. I don't remember seeing that in any of the previous years I covered soccer in Highland County.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
To gain 100 career coaching victories, it took Hillsboro coach Leslie Molen just 133 matches, as her overall record is 100-21-12 since 2004.
• Quote of the Week
"The 100 wins … it's all about the kids under you. If I didn't have quality kids to coach, 100 wins wouldn't be possible … When I took over, I was just happy to get a win. This is just a milestone, not an accomplishment for me. There are bigger and better things to be accomplished." — Leslie Molen, Hillsboro girls soccer coach after posting her 100th career coaching win.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"We told the girls this is a type of match they weren't used to playing in. They responded well, and I was very pleased with the performance at a high level." — Dennis West, Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer coach following their match against Eastern Brown.
• (A third and final) Quote of the Week
"Obviously it does impact the team … the leadership, attitude and toughness he (Camron Cooper) brought to the field … we miss that. He's a quality kid, and not just him, but we miss having Preston Wagner on the field. He's been injured, he's one of our two returning offensive linemen starters. Now we have four guys on the offensive line who are first-year starters … we are also working young quarterbacks and receivers into the game too. They are gaining experience, and we just need to get them where they need to be." — Randy Closson, McClain head football coach after the Tigers' 49-0 loss to London when asked about playing without key starters in Week 4.
• One final item of business
I don't think I can stress how much fun this fall sports season has been to cover thus far. Though some of the results haven't gone in the favor of teams in Highland County, I just wanted to say getting the opportunity to watch the student-athletes from this area make the "job" enjoyable. Everyone should take some time during their busy week and just go and watch a game for fun … to get away from "real life" and watch athletics at a form where contracts, bowl rankings and fantasy points don't matter.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]