Not off the Press: Tournament Time
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
This past week can easily be called championship week for Highland County. In fact, this month could be called championship month for Highland County teams.
This fall, the following teams won a league title: Hillsboro boys golf, McClain girls golf, McClain boys soccer, Hillsboro girls soccer, Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer, Fairfield volleyball and Fairfield boys cross-country.
Seven league championships is a great way for Highland County to end the regular season of the 2011 fall season.
Now on to the postseason games, as this should be an interesting tournament for a lot of teams.
• This week's schedule
Click here for the postseason schedule for Highland County teams. One change is the McClain Lady Tigers' soccer team will now play Warren at Athens High School.
• 10 thoughts on high school sports
1. Sending a big congratulations to the Fairfield boys cross-country team in winning the Southern Hills League championship this week. Also sending a congrats to the Fairfield Lady Lion volleyball, Hillsboro girls soccer and Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer teams in winning their respective league championships this past week.
2. Ready or not, the fall sports postseason (except football) begins today.
3. The game by Miami Trace senior Clayton Dyer on offense and defense Friday night against the McClain Tigers was one of the best overall individual performances I've seen in a long time. Six touchdowns in a game can't go unnoticed (five rushing, one on fumble recovery on defense.)
4. Once Week 9 of football is over, I'm looking forward to the 27th annual Rotary Bowl. This is always a fun game to cover because records won't matter, and it will be a game that each team will play for school, community and team pride.
5. Of all the games this coming week, I'm most looking forward to the McClain Tigers' boys soccer sectional final match on Saturday. It has the possibility to be a third installment of Hillsboro vs. McClain. It will happen if the Indians are able to defeat Fairfield-Union in the sectional semifinal match this week.
6. The "Eye of the Tiger" painted at midfield by Ed and Tim Bolendar for the McClain homecoming game was nicely done. Very nice job.
7. Don't forget the Run 4 Hannah will be this Saturday (Oct. 22) in Greenfield.
8. One of the best things about covering high school sports is seeing a team overcome early struggles, then ending their regular season on a strong note. See the Hillsboro boys soccer team as they won back-to-back games this past week.
9. In case you didn't know, the Madison-Plains Lady Golden Eagles and Washington Lady Blue Lions shared the SCOL volleyball title. I covered both teams this season when they visited Highland County, and they were the two best teams I watched this season.
10. The best student section I saw this fall was the student section that came to Fairfield volleyball matches. They gave the match a good atmosphere, even perfecting "The Roller Coaster," along with having a "white-out." One of the best parts of going to games is seeing the creativity of the student sections.
• 10 non-high school sports thoughts
1. I have mixed feelings on "Real Steel." It was better than the Shaq movie titled "Steel," but it wasn't "Rocky." I think it is worth watching though for the soundtrack alone.
2. Whenever a race car driver dies during a race, it is just a very sad day. RIP Dan Wheldon. The tribute the drivers had once the race was called was very touching.
3. I will never understand why teams give Tom Brady chances to win football games.
4. I'm ready for all the campaigns and elections to be over with.
5. This weekend, I didn't attend any musicals.
6. The Cincinnati Bengals are 4-2 after 6 weeks? Didn't see that coming.
7. The best part from the Week 6 of the NFL season as the handshake between Detroit's Jim Schwartz and San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh. Never seen coaches almost get into a rumble after a game.
8. I read the book "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton" by Jeff Pearlman for the past week … this is one of the best sports biographies I've read. Well worth reading, but it's no fairy tale.
9. Do people actually buy CDs? I was sitting here, and I can't remember the last time I purchased a CD.
10. Click here to watch the video from the recent Sasquatch sighting in Highland County.
• Quote of the Week
"It's always nice to come to Greenfield and get a win. It's always a tough place for us to come play. Coach (Randy) Closson had his kids ready to play, but we caught a couple breaks early. Our offensive and defensive line were key to the victory. We handled them up front OK, and we mixed in enough passing that kept (McClain) off-balanced. Defensively, our kids played well." — Mike Bernard, Miami Trace head football coach following the Panthers' 48-0 win over the McClain Tigers Friday night.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"That was a good team effort. We are playing much better soccer than what we have been playing. The last time we played them we missed 40 shots, but tonight we hit our shots and scored goals." — John Weber, Hillsboro boys soccer coach after the Indians defeated the London Red Raiders last Thursday.
• (A third) Quote of the Week
"It's good to get back to that status in the league again. We fell short the past three seasons, so I'm happy for the girls for this achievement." — Leslie Molen, Hillsboro girls soccer coach following clinching a share of the SCOL title last Thursday.
• (A fourth and final) Quote of the Week
"This was just a good match, and we just told the girls at halftime they have to be ready, and that first 10 minutes of the second half were going to be huge … and the girls responded. When we scored the two goals at the start of the second half, you could feel the momentum change. The game had a whole different complexion after that." — Dennis West, Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer coach after they clinched the SHL girls soccer title last Wednesday at LC.
• Stat of the Week
Miami Trace senior Clayton Dyer finished with six touchdowns (five rushing) with 186 yards on the ground (17 carries) Friday night against the McClain Tigers.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
The McClain boys soccer team went undefeated overall this regular season at 15-0-1 overall.
• (A third) Stat of the Week
The Lady Mustangs of LC went 7-0 in the SHL this season, They finished the regular season at 14-2, both losses to Division II schools.
• A (fourth) Stat of the Week
The Clinton-Massie Falcon defense has allowed just 98 points this season in eight football games. That's an average of 12.25 ppg.
• A (fifth and final) Stat of the Week
In the three league SCOL football games this week, the winning teams won by a combined score of 164-7. The wins went to Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace and London.
• One last item of business
Good luck to all the Highland County teams in their respective postseason games. On another note, I hope everyone realizes high school sports, though fun, competitive and full of high emotions, are, in fact, a game. If the players can keep those emotions in check following the game, everyone else should as well.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
This fall, the following teams won a league title: Hillsboro boys golf, McClain girls golf, McClain boys soccer, Hillsboro girls soccer, Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer, Fairfield volleyball and Fairfield boys cross-country.
Seven league championships is a great way for Highland County to end the regular season of the 2011 fall season.
Now on to the postseason games, as this should be an interesting tournament for a lot of teams.
• This week's schedule
Click here for the postseason schedule for Highland County teams. One change is the McClain Lady Tigers' soccer team will now play Warren at Athens High School.
• 10 thoughts on high school sports
1. Sending a big congratulations to the Fairfield boys cross-country team in winning the Southern Hills League championship this week. Also sending a congrats to the Fairfield Lady Lion volleyball, Hillsboro girls soccer and Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer teams in winning their respective league championships this past week.
2. Ready or not, the fall sports postseason (except football) begins today.
3. The game by Miami Trace senior Clayton Dyer on offense and defense Friday night against the McClain Tigers was one of the best overall individual performances I've seen in a long time. Six touchdowns in a game can't go unnoticed (five rushing, one on fumble recovery on defense.)
4. Once Week 9 of football is over, I'm looking forward to the 27th annual Rotary Bowl. This is always a fun game to cover because records won't matter, and it will be a game that each team will play for school, community and team pride.
5. Of all the games this coming week, I'm most looking forward to the McClain Tigers' boys soccer sectional final match on Saturday. It has the possibility to be a third installment of Hillsboro vs. McClain. It will happen if the Indians are able to defeat Fairfield-Union in the sectional semifinal match this week.
6. The "Eye of the Tiger" painted at midfield by Ed and Tim Bolendar for the McClain homecoming game was nicely done. Very nice job.
7. Don't forget the Run 4 Hannah will be this Saturday (Oct. 22) in Greenfield.
8. One of the best things about covering high school sports is seeing a team overcome early struggles, then ending their regular season on a strong note. See the Hillsboro boys soccer team as they won back-to-back games this past week.
9. In case you didn't know, the Madison-Plains Lady Golden Eagles and Washington Lady Blue Lions shared the SCOL volleyball title. I covered both teams this season when they visited Highland County, and they were the two best teams I watched this season.
10. The best student section I saw this fall was the student section that came to Fairfield volleyball matches. They gave the match a good atmosphere, even perfecting "The Roller Coaster," along with having a "white-out." One of the best parts of going to games is seeing the creativity of the student sections.
• 10 non-high school sports thoughts
1. I have mixed feelings on "Real Steel." It was better than the Shaq movie titled "Steel," but it wasn't "Rocky." I think it is worth watching though for the soundtrack alone.
2. Whenever a race car driver dies during a race, it is just a very sad day. RIP Dan Wheldon. The tribute the drivers had once the race was called was very touching.
3. I will never understand why teams give Tom Brady chances to win football games.
4. I'm ready for all the campaigns and elections to be over with.
5. This weekend, I didn't attend any musicals.
6. The Cincinnati Bengals are 4-2 after 6 weeks? Didn't see that coming.
7. The best part from the Week 6 of the NFL season as the handshake between Detroit's Jim Schwartz and San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh. Never seen coaches almost get into a rumble after a game.
8. I read the book "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton" by Jeff Pearlman for the past week … this is one of the best sports biographies I've read. Well worth reading, but it's no fairy tale.
9. Do people actually buy CDs? I was sitting here, and I can't remember the last time I purchased a CD.
10. Click here to watch the video from the recent Sasquatch sighting in Highland County.
• Quote of the Week
"It's always nice to come to Greenfield and get a win. It's always a tough place for us to come play. Coach (Randy) Closson had his kids ready to play, but we caught a couple breaks early. Our offensive and defensive line were key to the victory. We handled them up front OK, and we mixed in enough passing that kept (McClain) off-balanced. Defensively, our kids played well." — Mike Bernard, Miami Trace head football coach following the Panthers' 48-0 win over the McClain Tigers Friday night.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"That was a good team effort. We are playing much better soccer than what we have been playing. The last time we played them we missed 40 shots, but tonight we hit our shots and scored goals." — John Weber, Hillsboro boys soccer coach after the Indians defeated the London Red Raiders last Thursday.
• (A third) Quote of the Week
"It's good to get back to that status in the league again. We fell short the past three seasons, so I'm happy for the girls for this achievement." — Leslie Molen, Hillsboro girls soccer coach following clinching a share of the SCOL title last Thursday.
• (A fourth and final) Quote of the Week
"This was just a good match, and we just told the girls at halftime they have to be ready, and that first 10 minutes of the second half were going to be huge … and the girls responded. When we scored the two goals at the start of the second half, you could feel the momentum change. The game had a whole different complexion after that." — Dennis West, Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer coach after they clinched the SHL girls soccer title last Wednesday at LC.
• Stat of the Week
Miami Trace senior Clayton Dyer finished with six touchdowns (five rushing) with 186 yards on the ground (17 carries) Friday night against the McClain Tigers.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
The McClain boys soccer team went undefeated overall this regular season at 15-0-1 overall.
• (A third) Stat of the Week
The Lady Mustangs of LC went 7-0 in the SHL this season, They finished the regular season at 14-2, both losses to Division II schools.
• A (fourth) Stat of the Week
The Clinton-Massie Falcon defense has allowed just 98 points this season in eight football games. That's an average of 12.25 ppg.
• A (fifth and final) Stat of the Week
In the three league SCOL football games this week, the winning teams won by a combined score of 164-7. The wins went to Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace and London.
• One last item of business
Good luck to all the Highland County teams in their respective postseason games. On another note, I hope everyone realizes high school sports, though fun, competitive and full of high emotions, are, in fact, a game. If the players can keep those emotions in check following the game, everyone else should as well.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]