SCOL Football Notebook: Week 6
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The 2011 South Central Ohio League football season is about to start the second half of its season this Friday, but it seems just a few days ago I was traveling to all the schools' preseason practices for the then-upcoming football season.
I'll be the first to admit this is not the type of season I was looking forward to. Out of the league, the SCOL has struggled a lot. I know the competition is a lot different away from the league, but after 24 non-league games, the league has just five non-league wins for a record of 5-19. Three of those wins came in the first week with Madison-Plains, Clinton-Massie and Miami Trace gaining those wins. Also winning in non-league games have been McClain and Washington, coming in Week 2. Since then, the SCOL is 0-9 in non-league games.
This week, the non-league game will be the Hillsboro Indians hosting the Chillicothe Cavaliers in a matchup of 0-5 teams. The Indians have lost to Western Brown, Goshen, Wilmington, Clinton-Massie and Washington. The Cavaliers have losses to Portsmouth, Athens, Ironton, Big Walnut and Hamilton Township. (More on this game later.)
SCOL games this week include: Washington at McClain, Madison-Plains at Miami Trace and London at Clinton-Massie.
Let's take a look at the four games this week involving SCOL teams.
• Washington (2-0, 3-2) at McClain (0-2, 1-4)
Again, it was another week with a loss in Week 5 for the McClain Tigers. They failed to get double-digit scoring for the fourth time this season. They have scoring efforts of 0, 21, 6, 0 and 7 in games against Adena, Unioto, East Clinton, London and Madison-Plains.
They did get 107 yards passing from Thomas Schrader, who is now the main quarterback option for the Tigers after Camron Cooper suffered multiple injuries in Week 3.
The leading rusher against MP was Dillon East with 65 yards on 15 carries, followed by Clayton Burgess with 28 yards on eight carries. MHS totaled 214 yards of offense on 66 plays last week. This season, on the offensive side, they have 702 yards of offense, an average of 140.4 yards per game.
Quite simply, the Tigers just haven't produced much offense through five games, and it will not get any easier in Week 6 when the Blue Lions come to McClain Field.
The Blue Lions are entering the game coming off a win against the Hillsboro Indians where they led 15-12 at halftime but outscored HHS 28-0 in the second half. This season, Washington has outscored their opponents 143-104, including wins against Circleville, Madison-Plains and HHS for their 2-0 SCOL mark and 3-2 overall record with losses coming to Logan Elm and the Adena Warriors.
In the aforementioned win last week against HHS, Washington senior Jerome Pettiford rushed for 162 yards, and the previous week, he totaled 166 yards against MP. In five games this season, the former offensive lineman has gained 691 yards of rushing.
• Chillicothe (0-5) at Hillsboro (0-2, 0-5)
Through the first five weeks, both teams have gone winless, but on the upside of things, the Indians played their most inspired and best half of football last week against the Washington Blue Lions, trailing by just three points after 24 minutes at 15-12.
Then the second half crumbled with penalties, and the Tribe lost 43-12 to fall to 0-2 in the South Central Ohio League standings. Scoring touchdowns for the Indians were senior quarterback Christian Cundiff running for five yards and a 24-yard pass from Cundiff to Michael Stuckey for the second score of the first half.
As for the Cavaliers (who are former members of the SCOL, winning four football league championships from 1924-1929), they are also winless at 0-5 this season with losses to Hamilton Township (27-23), Big Walnut (38-22), Ironton (42-0), Athens (28-14) and Portsmouth (31-24).
• Clinton-Massie (2-0, 3-2) at London (1-0, 1-4)
For two straight weeks, the Clinton-Massie Falcons have won by a score of 72-7. When they lost two straight before SCOL play, which they have dominated, it woke up a sleeping giant.
It is safe to say … stay out of the way of the Falcons.
I know the Red Raiders have some very good athletes, and they have some very good competition, but this Falcon team is just one spot out of the playoff race, and I don't see any team in the SCOL stopping them this season.
Last week for the Falcons, Bayle Wolf rushed for 170 yards on just 10 carries against MT. Teammate Wyatt Running had 151 yards on 11 carries, while Wolf and Zach Zurface each had three touchdowns for CM.
Wait … it gets better. Against MT, Wolf had TD rushes of 7, 15 and 34; Running had TD scores of 35 and 38 yards. Zurface's TDs went for 38, 3 and 5 yards.
But … the Red Raiders are probably the second-best team in the SCOL … maybe.
Last week against Jonathan Alder (who also defeated CM this season), the Red Raiders tallied 309 offensive yards on 46 plays. Kyle Fisher was the leading rusher with 90 yards, and Antonio Wilson had 69 yards on the ground. Dylan Follrod ran for 44 yards and went 6-of-11 for 74 yards passing with one touchdown at quarterback.
This is just a tough two-week stretch for the Red Raiders.
• Madison-Plains (1-1, 2-3) at Miami Trace (0-1, 1-4)
I honestly can say the Miami Trace Panthers are, in my opinion, a mystery, and here is why.
They have played a brutal schedule this past month with games against Wilmington, Tecumseh, Jonathan Alder and Clinton-Massie.
That is a very, very tough schedule for any team, so this week will be very telling of who exactly the Miami Trace Panthers are.
Their best stat last week was a 61-yard touchdown run from Clayton Dyer.
As for the Golden Eagles, they have already passed their win total from last season when they defeated McClain 14-7 last week on the MP homecoming. They did it with their backup quarterback and changed their offense some along the way.
They passed for 174 yards but had three interceptions. Stephen Lemieux had three catches for 58 yards and 116 yards of rushing. He tallied a rushing and receiving score.
For the game, MP rushed for 186 yards.
Again, this game will be interesting for the fact that we'll know where each team stands after this one is over.
• My Week 6 Predictions
- Washington over McClain
- Hillsboro over Chillicothe
- Clinton-Massie over London
- Miami Trace over Madison-Plains
• Stats that Stood Out
- Jerome Pettiford (WCH) has 691 yards rushing in five games this season.
- The McClain Tigers have scored just 34 points all season.
- Bayle Wolf (CM) averaged 17 yards per carry last week against MT.
- CM has outscored opponents in the past two weeks 144-14 … both by scores of 72-7.
- HHS had 26 penalty flags last week.
- MHS had over 200 yards of offense in Week 5, one of their better totals of the season.
• 5 Things I'd Like To See This Friday
1. I'd like to see the Hillsboro Indians gain their first win of the season. The SCOL really needs another non-league win.
2. I'd like to see a classic game between the Washington Blue Lions and McClain Tigers this week.
3. I'd like to see the rain stay away on Friday, but it can be hoodie weather.
4. I'd like to see McClain Field packed with fans.
5. I'd like to see the CM Falcons back in the Top 8 in the playoff rankings after their game Friday night.[[In-content Ad]]
I'll be the first to admit this is not the type of season I was looking forward to. Out of the league, the SCOL has struggled a lot. I know the competition is a lot different away from the league, but after 24 non-league games, the league has just five non-league wins for a record of 5-19. Three of those wins came in the first week with Madison-Plains, Clinton-Massie and Miami Trace gaining those wins. Also winning in non-league games have been McClain and Washington, coming in Week 2. Since then, the SCOL is 0-9 in non-league games.
This week, the non-league game will be the Hillsboro Indians hosting the Chillicothe Cavaliers in a matchup of 0-5 teams. The Indians have lost to Western Brown, Goshen, Wilmington, Clinton-Massie and Washington. The Cavaliers have losses to Portsmouth, Athens, Ironton, Big Walnut and Hamilton Township. (More on this game later.)
SCOL games this week include: Washington at McClain, Madison-Plains at Miami Trace and London at Clinton-Massie.
Let's take a look at the four games this week involving SCOL teams.
• Washington (2-0, 3-2) at McClain (0-2, 1-4)
Again, it was another week with a loss in Week 5 for the McClain Tigers. They failed to get double-digit scoring for the fourth time this season. They have scoring efforts of 0, 21, 6, 0 and 7 in games against Adena, Unioto, East Clinton, London and Madison-Plains.
They did get 107 yards passing from Thomas Schrader, who is now the main quarterback option for the Tigers after Camron Cooper suffered multiple injuries in Week 3.
The leading rusher against MP was Dillon East with 65 yards on 15 carries, followed by Clayton Burgess with 28 yards on eight carries. MHS totaled 214 yards of offense on 66 plays last week. This season, on the offensive side, they have 702 yards of offense, an average of 140.4 yards per game.
Quite simply, the Tigers just haven't produced much offense through five games, and it will not get any easier in Week 6 when the Blue Lions come to McClain Field.
The Blue Lions are entering the game coming off a win against the Hillsboro Indians where they led 15-12 at halftime but outscored HHS 28-0 in the second half. This season, Washington has outscored their opponents 143-104, including wins against Circleville, Madison-Plains and HHS for their 2-0 SCOL mark and 3-2 overall record with losses coming to Logan Elm and the Adena Warriors.
In the aforementioned win last week against HHS, Washington senior Jerome Pettiford rushed for 162 yards, and the previous week, he totaled 166 yards against MP. In five games this season, the former offensive lineman has gained 691 yards of rushing.
• Chillicothe (0-5) at Hillsboro (0-2, 0-5)
Through the first five weeks, both teams have gone winless, but on the upside of things, the Indians played their most inspired and best half of football last week against the Washington Blue Lions, trailing by just three points after 24 minutes at 15-12.
Then the second half crumbled with penalties, and the Tribe lost 43-12 to fall to 0-2 in the South Central Ohio League standings. Scoring touchdowns for the Indians were senior quarterback Christian Cundiff running for five yards and a 24-yard pass from Cundiff to Michael Stuckey for the second score of the first half.
As for the Cavaliers (who are former members of the SCOL, winning four football league championships from 1924-1929), they are also winless at 0-5 this season with losses to Hamilton Township (27-23), Big Walnut (38-22), Ironton (42-0), Athens (28-14) and Portsmouth (31-24).
• Clinton-Massie (2-0, 3-2) at London (1-0, 1-4)
For two straight weeks, the Clinton-Massie Falcons have won by a score of 72-7. When they lost two straight before SCOL play, which they have dominated, it woke up a sleeping giant.
It is safe to say … stay out of the way of the Falcons.
I know the Red Raiders have some very good athletes, and they have some very good competition, but this Falcon team is just one spot out of the playoff race, and I don't see any team in the SCOL stopping them this season.
Last week for the Falcons, Bayle Wolf rushed for 170 yards on just 10 carries against MT. Teammate Wyatt Running had 151 yards on 11 carries, while Wolf and Zach Zurface each had three touchdowns for CM.
Wait … it gets better. Against MT, Wolf had TD rushes of 7, 15 and 34; Running had TD scores of 35 and 38 yards. Zurface's TDs went for 38, 3 and 5 yards.
But … the Red Raiders are probably the second-best team in the SCOL … maybe.
Last week against Jonathan Alder (who also defeated CM this season), the Red Raiders tallied 309 offensive yards on 46 plays. Kyle Fisher was the leading rusher with 90 yards, and Antonio Wilson had 69 yards on the ground. Dylan Follrod ran for 44 yards and went 6-of-11 for 74 yards passing with one touchdown at quarterback.
This is just a tough two-week stretch for the Red Raiders.
• Madison-Plains (1-1, 2-3) at Miami Trace (0-1, 1-4)
I honestly can say the Miami Trace Panthers are, in my opinion, a mystery, and here is why.
They have played a brutal schedule this past month with games against Wilmington, Tecumseh, Jonathan Alder and Clinton-Massie.
That is a very, very tough schedule for any team, so this week will be very telling of who exactly the Miami Trace Panthers are.
Their best stat last week was a 61-yard touchdown run from Clayton Dyer.
As for the Golden Eagles, they have already passed their win total from last season when they defeated McClain 14-7 last week on the MP homecoming. They did it with their backup quarterback and changed their offense some along the way.
They passed for 174 yards but had three interceptions. Stephen Lemieux had three catches for 58 yards and 116 yards of rushing. He tallied a rushing and receiving score.
For the game, MP rushed for 186 yards.
Again, this game will be interesting for the fact that we'll know where each team stands after this one is over.
• My Week 6 Predictions
- Washington over McClain
- Hillsboro over Chillicothe
- Clinton-Massie over London
- Miami Trace over Madison-Plains
• Stats that Stood Out
- Jerome Pettiford (WCH) has 691 yards rushing in five games this season.
- The McClain Tigers have scored just 34 points all season.
- Bayle Wolf (CM) averaged 17 yards per carry last week against MT.
- CM has outscored opponents in the past two weeks 144-14 … both by scores of 72-7.
- HHS had 26 penalty flags last week.
- MHS had over 200 yards of offense in Week 5, one of their better totals of the season.
• 5 Things I'd Like To See This Friday
1. I'd like to see the Hillsboro Indians gain their first win of the season. The SCOL really needs another non-league win.
2. I'd like to see a classic game between the Washington Blue Lions and McClain Tigers this week.
3. I'd like to see the rain stay away on Friday, but it can be hoodie weather.
4. I'd like to see McClain Field packed with fans.
5. I'd like to see the CM Falcons back in the Top 8 in the playoff rankings after their game Friday night.[[In-content Ad]]