2018 Football Preview: Frontier Athletic Conference
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
It is almost time for the second season of Frontier Athletic Conference football, and for the six schools involved in the conference, there could be a close battle for the championship for the second consecutive year.
Last year, it was a very talented Chillicothe Cavaliers team coached by Ron Hinton and led by a handful of All-Ohio selections that climbed the top of the ladder for the inaugural season in the conference, as they became the first FAC football champions.
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That championship win came down to the final regular-season game of the 2017 season, when the Cavaliers defeated the Jackson Ironmen, 31-17 to secure the trophy while putting their name in the record books of the FAC.
As the Cavaliers finished 5-0 in the conference (8-3 overall) and the Ironmen were 4-1 in conference play (8-3 overall), the Hillsboro Indians in the ’17 season had a spark as well, going 3-2 in the FAC and along the way having their first overall winning season (7-3) since 2009. Next were the Washington Blue Lions at 2-3 in the conference, followed by Miami Trace at 1-4 and McClain at 0-5.
In their path to the undefeated conference championship, Chillicothe outscored the FAC opponents 213-69, and Jackson scored 166 points and allowed 79 points within the five conference showdowns as both the Cavaliers and Ironmen qualified for the playoffs.
Now with the ’17 season in the rearview mirror and entering the second season of the FAC, what can one expect to see within the conference standings for the 2018 season? That could be the million-dollar question because there are four teams who — if they stay healthy — can win any week in the FAC this season.
The leader of the conference until they are unseated is still the Cavaliers, who are replacing skilled positions at quarterback, running back and on their defense, as described in their 2018 season preview article. The Cavaliers lost All-Ohio quarterback Branden Maughmer to graduation and will now have Adrian Beverly under center.
Jackson was one win away from winning the FAC championship, and they are replacing most of their offensive line and moving players all around their roster to give them the best chance to win their first FAC title. Jackson will be interesting to watch for sure in ’18 to see if they can leap ahead of the competition.
The Hillsboro Indians surprised many with a seven-win season, and having three of those wins in the FAC proved they were a competitive football team as they showed promise a year ago. Having most of their offense back from ’17 is a big help for the Indians, as their defense returns too, but they’ll need to stay healthy if they want to compete for a top spot in the FAC as they have just 38 players on their high school roster.
A team to watch this year is the Washington Blue Lions because if they, too, can stay healthy, they just might have the most athletic team in the entire conference. Washington will have a new quarterback with a family heritage of winning, plus WCH is hungry after having a disappointing ’17 season where they were not only a .500 team in the standings, but they were 2-3 in the FAC as they had high expectations going into the ’17 season.
The Miami Trace Panthers are in the midst of rebuilding their program as their numbers are down compared to most years. The tradition-rich Panthers football program had just one win last season and have had three straight losing seasons entering the ’18 season. With head coach Jerry Williams entering his second season at the helm of the Panthers, he and his coaching staff are working hard on rebuilding the MT program.
In Greenfield, the McClain Tigers are having their struggles too with a 0-10 season last year and a one-win season two years ago. They are working to get the program back in the right direction and moving forward. MHS began by hiring new head coach Jake Orr-Zody in May, and he is in charge of grooming the Tigers into a competitive football program.
Conference action for the FAC begins Week 6 and will go throughout to the end of the regular season for all six teams.
Last year, it was a very talented Chillicothe Cavaliers team coached by Ron Hinton and led by a handful of All-Ohio selections that climbed the top of the ladder for the inaugural season in the conference, as they became the first FAC football champions.
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That championship win came down to the final regular-season game of the 2017 season, when the Cavaliers defeated the Jackson Ironmen, 31-17 to secure the trophy while putting their name in the record books of the FAC.
As the Cavaliers finished 5-0 in the conference (8-3 overall) and the Ironmen were 4-1 in conference play (8-3 overall), the Hillsboro Indians in the ’17 season had a spark as well, going 3-2 in the FAC and along the way having their first overall winning season (7-3) since 2009. Next were the Washington Blue Lions at 2-3 in the conference, followed by Miami Trace at 1-4 and McClain at 0-5.
In their path to the undefeated conference championship, Chillicothe outscored the FAC opponents 213-69, and Jackson scored 166 points and allowed 79 points within the five conference showdowns as both the Cavaliers and Ironmen qualified for the playoffs.
Now with the ’17 season in the rearview mirror and entering the second season of the FAC, what can one expect to see within the conference standings for the 2018 season? That could be the million-dollar question because there are four teams who — if they stay healthy — can win any week in the FAC this season.
The leader of the conference until they are unseated is still the Cavaliers, who are replacing skilled positions at quarterback, running back and on their defense, as described in their 2018 season preview article. The Cavaliers lost All-Ohio quarterback Branden Maughmer to graduation and will now have Adrian Beverly under center.
Jackson was one win away from winning the FAC championship, and they are replacing most of their offensive line and moving players all around their roster to give them the best chance to win their first FAC title. Jackson will be interesting to watch for sure in ’18 to see if they can leap ahead of the competition.
The Hillsboro Indians surprised many with a seven-win season, and having three of those wins in the FAC proved they were a competitive football team as they showed promise a year ago. Having most of their offense back from ’17 is a big help for the Indians, as their defense returns too, but they’ll need to stay healthy if they want to compete for a top spot in the FAC as they have just 38 players on their high school roster.
A team to watch this year is the Washington Blue Lions because if they, too, can stay healthy, they just might have the most athletic team in the entire conference. Washington will have a new quarterback with a family heritage of winning, plus WCH is hungry after having a disappointing ’17 season where they were not only a .500 team in the standings, but they were 2-3 in the FAC as they had high expectations going into the ’17 season.
The Miami Trace Panthers are in the midst of rebuilding their program as their numbers are down compared to most years. The tradition-rich Panthers football program had just one win last season and have had three straight losing seasons entering the ’18 season. With head coach Jerry Williams entering his second season at the helm of the Panthers, he and his coaching staff are working hard on rebuilding the MT program.
In Greenfield, the McClain Tigers are having their struggles too with a 0-10 season last year and a one-win season two years ago. They are working to get the program back in the right direction and moving forward. MHS began by hiring new head coach Jake Orr-Zody in May, and he is in charge of grooming the Tigers into a competitive football program.
Conference action for the FAC begins Week 6 and will go throughout to the end of the regular season for all six teams.