SCOL Notebook: Competition is high at McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Monday afternoon had me driving to Greenfield to visit the McClain Tigers football team on the first stop of the seventh day of my high school football tour.
It was another hot day in Greenfield, but a cup of Kool-Aid and a shade tree kept me somewhat cool as I watched the Tiger football players, trainers and coaches do all the work.
I had the chance to see the Tigers work on their offense, including seeing returning starting quarterback Camron Cooper work on his game, as he enters his senior season. I also loved watching the linemen work on blocking schemes and even enjoyed watching MHS work on many aspects of their special teams. (Again, what can I say, I love watching special teams practice because it is overlooked by most people in actual games.) And the detail the Tigers used on their special teams practice was impressive.
In just chatting with players and coaches, the tempo and mood at the McClain practice was very upbeat as they continue to not only prepare for Week 1 of the regular season, but they have a scrimmage this Saturday against the Wilmington Hurricane on the campus of Wilmington College. It is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Last season, the Tigers had a winning season of 6-4 overall and currently are in possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy as they defeated Highland County rival Hillsboro last season in the final game of the year.
Back to the upcoming '11 season where the Tigers will start the year at home with a game against the Adena Warriors, who should be one of the top teams of their own league (Scioto Valley Conference).
MHS head coach Randy Closson said his Tigers have had an exceptional preseason. He told me they were a good group of kids and best described his squad as "blue-collar."
I liked how he said his team isn't really flashy but have guys that work extremely hard, saying this is the hardest-working bunch the coaches have had in a very long time. (A hardworking football team is my type of team. So if nothing else, their "blue-collar" type of play should be interesting to watch, to say the least).
Here are some facts/thoughts on the Tigers:
- MHS lost 13 seniors from last season, including team leader Zach Matracia, who will be playing college football at the University of Findlay (Oilers) this season. Last season, Matracia was an honorable mention All-Ohio player. He was also academic All-Ohio.
- What should be fun and intriguing is the position battles to overtake some of the spots left open by the graduation seniors. Fans may need a roster with all the new starters but might know some of the faces for the fact they had varsity playing time when the Tigers battled injuries all last season.
- The Tigers will have eight seniors this season. Again, with all the new faces that will be on the field Friday nights, this is a new era at MHS.
- Two new teams on the Tigers' schedule will be East Clinton and Greenville (which is close to two hours away).
• Quote from the coach
"This time of year is exciting. It's exciting to see how the competition for the offensive line will shake out. It's going to be exciting to see who will win out the starting spots on the defensive line and our secondary." — Randy Closson, MHS head coach speaking about the remainder of the offseason.
• (Another) Quote from the coach
"I say we've had a productive preseason. The kids are working exceptionally hard … we have guys who are working extremely hard." — Randy Closson, MHS head coach speaking about the Tigers' work ethic.
What catches my attention about this team is the simple fact it is now time for players who were a part of the team last season in a back-up role or part-time role a year ago to take over and make it their team.
Like I said numerous times, that is always a fun part of high school football is seeing new players take over the leadership roles and put their stamp on a football team.
Also, one advantage the Tigers have is having a three-year quarterback, as many teams in the area are starting over with a new quarterback under center. Cooper has played the position for what will be his third straight year. Last year, he suffered an injury in a preseason scrimmage against Logan Elm, costing him the first three games of the '10 regular season.
Again, thank you to the Tigers for letting me hang around to watch their practice on Monday afternoon. Don't forget their scrimmage at WC on Saturday at 10 a.m. The final MHS scrimmage will be on Friday, Aug. 19 at home against Logan Elm one week before the regular season.[[In-content Ad]]
It was another hot day in Greenfield, but a cup of Kool-Aid and a shade tree kept me somewhat cool as I watched the Tiger football players, trainers and coaches do all the work.
I had the chance to see the Tigers work on their offense, including seeing returning starting quarterback Camron Cooper work on his game, as he enters his senior season. I also loved watching the linemen work on blocking schemes and even enjoyed watching MHS work on many aspects of their special teams. (Again, what can I say, I love watching special teams practice because it is overlooked by most people in actual games.) And the detail the Tigers used on their special teams practice was impressive.
In just chatting with players and coaches, the tempo and mood at the McClain practice was very upbeat as they continue to not only prepare for Week 1 of the regular season, but they have a scrimmage this Saturday against the Wilmington Hurricane on the campus of Wilmington College. It is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Last season, the Tigers had a winning season of 6-4 overall and currently are in possession of the Rotary Bowl trophy as they defeated Highland County rival Hillsboro last season in the final game of the year.
Back to the upcoming '11 season where the Tigers will start the year at home with a game against the Adena Warriors, who should be one of the top teams of their own league (Scioto Valley Conference).
MHS head coach Randy Closson said his Tigers have had an exceptional preseason. He told me they were a good group of kids and best described his squad as "blue-collar."
I liked how he said his team isn't really flashy but have guys that work extremely hard, saying this is the hardest-working bunch the coaches have had in a very long time. (A hardworking football team is my type of team. So if nothing else, their "blue-collar" type of play should be interesting to watch, to say the least).
Here are some facts/thoughts on the Tigers:
- MHS lost 13 seniors from last season, including team leader Zach Matracia, who will be playing college football at the University of Findlay (Oilers) this season. Last season, Matracia was an honorable mention All-Ohio player. He was also academic All-Ohio.
- What should be fun and intriguing is the position battles to overtake some of the spots left open by the graduation seniors. Fans may need a roster with all the new starters but might know some of the faces for the fact they had varsity playing time when the Tigers battled injuries all last season.
- The Tigers will have eight seniors this season. Again, with all the new faces that will be on the field Friday nights, this is a new era at MHS.
- Two new teams on the Tigers' schedule will be East Clinton and Greenville (which is close to two hours away).
• Quote from the coach
"This time of year is exciting. It's exciting to see how the competition for the offensive line will shake out. It's going to be exciting to see who will win out the starting spots on the defensive line and our secondary." — Randy Closson, MHS head coach speaking about the remainder of the offseason.
• (Another) Quote from the coach
"I say we've had a productive preseason. The kids are working exceptionally hard … we have guys who are working extremely hard." — Randy Closson, MHS head coach speaking about the Tigers' work ethic.
What catches my attention about this team is the simple fact it is now time for players who were a part of the team last season in a back-up role or part-time role a year ago to take over and make it their team.
Like I said numerous times, that is always a fun part of high school football is seeing new players take over the leadership roles and put their stamp on a football team.
Also, one advantage the Tigers have is having a three-year quarterback, as many teams in the area are starting over with a new quarterback under center. Cooper has played the position for what will be his third straight year. Last year, he suffered an injury in a preseason scrimmage against Logan Elm, costing him the first three games of the '10 regular season.
Again, thank you to the Tigers for letting me hang around to watch their practice on Monday afternoon. Don't forget their scrimmage at WC on Saturday at 10 a.m. The final MHS scrimmage will be on Friday, Aug. 19 at home against Logan Elm one week before the regular season.[[In-content Ad]]