SCOL Football Notebook: Visiting with the defending champs
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
On the third day of my high school summer football tour I ended up in Clarksville in Clinton County visiting with the defending South Central Ohio League football champions, the Clinton-Massie Falcons.
CM joined the SCOL in 2005 and since the '06 season they have dominated the league. In their six seasons in the league CM has just two league losses.
If I had to describe the Falcons (a Division IV school) in three words, it would be "attention to detail."
It was a good time watching some of the Falcons' camp. For one reason, it was an overcast day, so the sun wasn't out as much, and the heat went away for a few hours. Another reason it is just fun to watch a practice of a team with higher-than-high season expectations. And thirdly … what can be more fun on a Wednesday than watching high school football?
(I also enjoyed the trip to Clinton-Massie High School. It was a relaxing drive.)
I will say this about the Falcons (who finished '10 No. 1 in the final Division IV AP poll) … they are in shape. Watching them run wind sprints and gassers made me tired just watching … and I guess Wednesday wasn't even a "full" day of football.
Like I've said before … there is no secret about it … whomever wants to become SCOL football champion MUST, and I mean MUST, go through the Falcons to do it. It is also no secret that for the past four seasons, every team in the league has looked up to them (they've won four outright and shared one SCOL title the past five seasons). In 2010, CM outscored their opponents 545-72 in 10 regular-season games.
To go with the above non-secret, the Falcons haven't lost an SCOL game (or regular season game) since 2007. In '11, they will look to continue their 32-game regular-season winning streak, and they have made the playoffs for 10 straight seasons.
Even with all the changes in personnel for the '11 season at the skill positions … don't expect anything differently from the defending champions of the SCOL. This team is built on tradition and like I was told ... nobody wants to be the team that takes the step backward at CM.
Maybe here are some things you didn't know about the 2011 Falcons:
• The Falcons will be replacing 17 seniors from last season, including all-state running back Jordan Scanlon, who had back-to-back 2,000-plus yard seasons. In '10, Scanlon had 227 carries for 2,062 yards with 36 touchdowns. He averaged 9.08 yards per carry.
• CM lost all of their skill position players from last season but are returning the core of their offensive line, which in my opinion was one of the best offensive lines in the state last season.
• CM senior kicker Jeremy Dart has an opportunity to be near the top on the all-time list in the state for points scored by a kicker. (That will depend on the offensive production of the Falcon offense this season). Dart led the state last season in points scored by a kicker. (The state record for a career is 282 points).
Here are some thoughts about the Falcons headed into the 2011 season:
1. I think it will be interesting to see the next group of running backs of the Falcons running behind a top-of-the-line offensive line. Like I was told nobody replaces a Jordan Scanlon, but the Falcons will have a talented backfield this season.
2. The expectations for the Falcons are not to just win the league or to just make the playoffs … they have bigger goals in their sights.
3. I'm intrigued on how the Falcons will "reload" by replacing five players on defense and six on the offensive side of the ball. If any team can do it it is CM. It is always interesting to see new players on any team make their mark on a program.
4. This team is very focused and they are a team-first type of team. Of the players I talked with they said their only goals were team goals.
Quote from the coach
"One of the most talented teams coming back (in the SCOL) is London. I very much respect their coach (Jerry Wasserman) … he's a winner. I think you get a guy like that, his kids are going to play hard, there is no doubt about that." — CM head coach Dan McSurley on the SCOL this season.
Another Quote from the coach
"I think we've had one of the best offseason conditionings we've ever had. We had 60-70 kids all offseason. — CM head coach Dan McSurley on his team's offseason.
Again, I want to thank the Falcon players and coaches for their time this week, and this is one of my favorite programs to cover for the single fact football is ingrained in their community. You can get the feeling the players don't want to let anyone down, and the sport of football, along with the tradition at Clinton-Massie means a lot to those young men. I had players tell me when I visited that CM football is apart of their family and they want to play their best for their coaches, teammates, school and community.
CM will open the '11 season at home against Blanchester. Their first league game will be on Sept. 16 at Hillsboro.
Thanks for reading, and visit back tomorrow for another high school football notebook.
Remember to read the upcoming Highland County Press High Schol Football Preview Edition when it is released before the start of the regular season, where there will be much more on the Clinton-Massie Falcons and all the teams in the SCOL.
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CM joined the SCOL in 2005 and since the '06 season they have dominated the league. In their six seasons in the league CM has just two league losses.
If I had to describe the Falcons (a Division IV school) in three words, it would be "attention to detail."
It was a good time watching some of the Falcons' camp. For one reason, it was an overcast day, so the sun wasn't out as much, and the heat went away for a few hours. Another reason it is just fun to watch a practice of a team with higher-than-high season expectations. And thirdly … what can be more fun on a Wednesday than watching high school football?
(I also enjoyed the trip to Clinton-Massie High School. It was a relaxing drive.)
I will say this about the Falcons (who finished '10 No. 1 in the final Division IV AP poll) … they are in shape. Watching them run wind sprints and gassers made me tired just watching … and I guess Wednesday wasn't even a "full" day of football.
Like I've said before … there is no secret about it … whomever wants to become SCOL football champion MUST, and I mean MUST, go through the Falcons to do it. It is also no secret that for the past four seasons, every team in the league has looked up to them (they've won four outright and shared one SCOL title the past five seasons). In 2010, CM outscored their opponents 545-72 in 10 regular-season games.
To go with the above non-secret, the Falcons haven't lost an SCOL game (or regular season game) since 2007. In '11, they will look to continue their 32-game regular-season winning streak, and they have made the playoffs for 10 straight seasons.
Even with all the changes in personnel for the '11 season at the skill positions … don't expect anything differently from the defending champions of the SCOL. This team is built on tradition and like I was told ... nobody wants to be the team that takes the step backward at CM.
Maybe here are some things you didn't know about the 2011 Falcons:
• The Falcons will be replacing 17 seniors from last season, including all-state running back Jordan Scanlon, who had back-to-back 2,000-plus yard seasons. In '10, Scanlon had 227 carries for 2,062 yards with 36 touchdowns. He averaged 9.08 yards per carry.
• CM lost all of their skill position players from last season but are returning the core of their offensive line, which in my opinion was one of the best offensive lines in the state last season.
• CM senior kicker Jeremy Dart has an opportunity to be near the top on the all-time list in the state for points scored by a kicker. (That will depend on the offensive production of the Falcon offense this season). Dart led the state last season in points scored by a kicker. (The state record for a career is 282 points).
Here are some thoughts about the Falcons headed into the 2011 season:
1. I think it will be interesting to see the next group of running backs of the Falcons running behind a top-of-the-line offensive line. Like I was told nobody replaces a Jordan Scanlon, but the Falcons will have a talented backfield this season.
2. The expectations for the Falcons are not to just win the league or to just make the playoffs … they have bigger goals in their sights.
3. I'm intrigued on how the Falcons will "reload" by replacing five players on defense and six on the offensive side of the ball. If any team can do it it is CM. It is always interesting to see new players on any team make their mark on a program.
4. This team is very focused and they are a team-first type of team. Of the players I talked with they said their only goals were team goals.
Quote from the coach
"One of the most talented teams coming back (in the SCOL) is London. I very much respect their coach (Jerry Wasserman) … he's a winner. I think you get a guy like that, his kids are going to play hard, there is no doubt about that." — CM head coach Dan McSurley on the SCOL this season.
Another Quote from the coach
"I think we've had one of the best offseason conditionings we've ever had. We had 60-70 kids all offseason. — CM head coach Dan McSurley on his team's offseason.
Again, I want to thank the Falcon players and coaches for their time this week, and this is one of my favorite programs to cover for the single fact football is ingrained in their community. You can get the feeling the players don't want to let anyone down, and the sport of football, along with the tradition at Clinton-Massie means a lot to those young men. I had players tell me when I visited that CM football is apart of their family and they want to play their best for their coaches, teammates, school and community.
CM will open the '11 season at home against Blanchester. Their first league game will be on Sept. 16 at Hillsboro.
Thanks for reading, and visit back tomorrow for another high school football notebook.
Remember to read the upcoming Highland County Press High Schol Football Preview Edition when it is released before the start of the regular season, where there will be much more on the Clinton-Massie Falcons and all the teams in the SCOL.
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