SCOL Football Notebook: Week 4
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The South Central Ohio League slate of games has finally arrived for high school football in what is the fourth week of play for the 2016 season.
Through the first three weeks of play, teams from the SCOL have been competitive against non-league opponents (the SCOL went 14-10 combined in non-league games), with all but one team having at least one win to start the season. Now, though, the real fun begins with games against league opponents to see who will be the last SCOL champions before the league folds for what will be a third time since 1923.
As for saying goodbye to the league for a third time in its history, it is a shame it has to end this season because it is such a fun league to cover. There are teams at all levels of play from Division III through Division V, plus all are in surrounding counties from Highland to Clinton to Fayette and Ross.
Now, back to this final season of SCOL play in the sport of football. The Clinton-Massie Falcons have won the SCOL since 2006, as they’ve only had to share the league championship once in that span (in 2007 with Miami Trace and Washington), and now they are looking to leave the league with one last trophy to add to their collection.
Achieving that goal might be a little tougher than usual by looking at the records and play of teams in the top tier of the SCOL with Miami Trace and Washington entering Week 4 with 3-0 records. There are also Wilmington and Chillicothe at 2-1 overall, and the Falcons also fall into that final category with a 2-1 record.
With that said, the Falcons in my opinion are still the best team in the league until somebody defeats them, as they are not only looking for their 11th SCOL championship, but they’ve won 52 consecutive league games dating back to the final game of the ’07 season.
As the old saying by former professional wrestler “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair goes, and especially with the ’16 version of the SCOL football slate, “To be the man, you have to beat the man.” It will be exciting to see how this final league season plays out, as it could be one for the record books.
• The opening week of the SCOL schedule won’t leave anyone waiting to see how things can possibly turn out, with the CM Falcons traveling to play the undefeated Miami Trace Panthers at Panther Stadium.
That game should be exciting, and it will be a very good way to see where each team stands near the halfway point of the ’16 season as well. Both teams are very well coached, both teams have great athletes, and both fan bases really love their football. It should make for an excellent evening in Fayette County on Friday night, and too bad this will be the last time this will be a league matchup for the foreseeable future.
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• Here are the games for this Friday night (Friday, Sept. 16):
- Chillicothe (2-1) at East Clinton (0-3)
- Clinton-Massie (2-1) at Miami Trace (3-0)
- Hillsboro (1-2) at Washington (3-0)
- Wilmington (2-1) at McClain (1-2)
• Here is a sneak peek at all four Week 4 games:
- Hillsboro Indians (1-2) at Washington Blue Lions (3-0): I’ve seen the Indians play twice this season, and last week was their best played game in their 42-6 win over Clermont Northeastern this past Saturday night. Washington is coming off a 35-22 win over London. The Blue Lions this season have scored no less than 35 points in a game this season, totaling 125 points in three combined games. They’ve also allowed 90 points in those same three wins, with 42 of those from Circleville in Week 2.
The Blue Lions have a very skilled and athletic team, with a skilled and athletic quarterback, plus a lot of athleticism from their group of wide receivers. They use a platoon system with offensive and defensive starters, and it has to wear out their opponents, allowing them to stay a little fresher than the opposition who uses players on both sides of the field.
The Indians are coming off their first win of the season, as they played their best game of the season thus far. Hillsboro has a nice rushing game that is the core of their offense, even using wide receivers at times to score points with runs. The Indians have scored 90 total points this season and have allowed 103 points, with all but six of those points allowed in games against Western Brown and Goshen.
This will be a tough test for the Indians this week, but one that will be interesting to watch and see where both teams stand against each other. Last season, the Blue Lions defeated the Indians, 22-3.
- Wilmington Hurricane (2-1) at McClain Tigers (1-2): Both teams are coming off double-digit losses, but the Wilmington squad enters this game with momentum as well as they’ve had excellent play this season from their athletic freshman quarterback, plus they’ve played well this season. Their loss was against a very good Vandalia Butler team (by a 42-21 score), and through three games this season the ’Cane have allowed just 61 points defensively, and most of those came last Friday night.
The ’Cane have also scored 89 points this season, scoring no less than 21 points in a game, and their program as a whole has been on an upswing since Scott Killen took over in what is now his third season leading Wilmington. They will be a team to watch in the SCOL for the remainder of the year, and one team that should be very entertaining to watch.
McClain is coming off a very tough loss to the Zane Trace Pioneers last Friday, losing by a 42-7 loss in what wasn’t their best outing by any means. McClain will also be celebrating Homecoming this Friday, and it also begins a five-week stretch of games where they face Wilmington, Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace, Chillicothe and Washington, all of whom currently have records above .500.
This game will have very athletic skill players at quarterback, but ultimately it will come down to who plays the best defense in Week 4 to determine who gains the win. Last season, WHS defeated McClain, 54-7.
- Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-1) at East Clinton Astros (0-3): The Cavaliers have played in two very closely played games the past two weeks, winning with stifling defensive play. They’ve won their games by a combined five points, while allowing a total of just 31 points in those two wins combined. CHS won in Week 2 over Jackson, 24-21, and in Week 3 at Teays Valley, 12-10.
The Astros haven’t won yet this season and the past two weeks have allowed 47 and 49 points defensively. For the year, they’ve scored 66 points, but on a positive note are averaging 150 yards rushing per game as a team, with Anthony Osburn leading the pack with 187 yards on the ground on 37 carries. For the season, EC has rushed the ball 101 times and passed it 58 times.
As EC is still looking for that first win of the season, the Cavaliers want to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Last year, the Cavaliers defeated the Astros, 50-7.
- Clinton-Massie Falcons (2-1) at Miami Trace Panthers (3-0): This is the “Game of the Week” for the SCOL with two of the top and most storied teams in the history of the SCOL battling one final time as league counterparts.
Miami Trace is having a resurgence season with three straight wins, already tying their total number of wins from last year at three. This season, they’ve already scored 137 points and have allowed just 53 points. Compare that to 10 games last season, where they scored a total of 190 points. At this point in ’15, MT had scored a total of 51 points in their first three games last year.
It is exciting to see the Panthers back to their winning ways, because when they are a good team, with all of their history and tradition in the SCOL, the league overall is better to watch, too.
As for the Falcons, though they have an early season loss, it came against a Turpin team that is very good right now, a team that is 3-0 with 111 points scored in three games this season. Now for the reigning SCOL champion Falcons, besides the seven-point loss to Turpin, they’ve played some solid football, too.
CM has scored 90 points in three combined games and are coming off a game where they won over Springfield Shawnee, 36-0. Like mentioned earlier, for a team to win this league, they have to go through the Falcons, and that’s something that hasn’t happened in a long time.
Is this Massie team as good as past seasons? That I can’t answer, but I do know this … it will be very fun to watch/read about/listen to, and not only to see how this game turns out, but just how the season for the Falcons and Panthers build each week.
- Final Thoughts: As I’ve said earlier, it is a shame the SCOL will be gone again after the season. With the matchups mentioned above, especially when teams that have momentum like Miami Trace and Clinton-Massie to face each other to start league play, it makes things more exciting.
Will success be a given for either one of those teams on Friday night? The answer is no, because they are two competitive teams who will settle things on the football field, and that is the way things should be, right?
Enjoy this last season of the SCOL football slate, because even though all of us will move in various directions next season, this year hopefully the SCOL football schedule of games will give all of us something to talk about the next seven weeks.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
Through the first three weeks of play, teams from the SCOL have been competitive against non-league opponents (the SCOL went 14-10 combined in non-league games), with all but one team having at least one win to start the season. Now, though, the real fun begins with games against league opponents to see who will be the last SCOL champions before the league folds for what will be a third time since 1923.
As for saying goodbye to the league for a third time in its history, it is a shame it has to end this season because it is such a fun league to cover. There are teams at all levels of play from Division III through Division V, plus all are in surrounding counties from Highland to Clinton to Fayette and Ross.
Now, back to this final season of SCOL play in the sport of football. The Clinton-Massie Falcons have won the SCOL since 2006, as they’ve only had to share the league championship once in that span (in 2007 with Miami Trace and Washington), and now they are looking to leave the league with one last trophy to add to their collection.
Achieving that goal might be a little tougher than usual by looking at the records and play of teams in the top tier of the SCOL with Miami Trace and Washington entering Week 4 with 3-0 records. There are also Wilmington and Chillicothe at 2-1 overall, and the Falcons also fall into that final category with a 2-1 record.
With that said, the Falcons in my opinion are still the best team in the league until somebody defeats them, as they are not only looking for their 11th SCOL championship, but they’ve won 52 consecutive league games dating back to the final game of the ’07 season.
As the old saying by former professional wrestler “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair goes, and especially with the ’16 version of the SCOL football slate, “To be the man, you have to beat the man.” It will be exciting to see how this final league season plays out, as it could be one for the record books.
• The opening week of the SCOL schedule won’t leave anyone waiting to see how things can possibly turn out, with the CM Falcons traveling to play the undefeated Miami Trace Panthers at Panther Stadium.
That game should be exciting, and it will be a very good way to see where each team stands near the halfway point of the ’16 season as well. Both teams are very well coached, both teams have great athletes, and both fan bases really love their football. It should make for an excellent evening in Fayette County on Friday night, and too bad this will be the last time this will be a league matchup for the foreseeable future.
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• Here are the games for this Friday night (Friday, Sept. 16):
- Chillicothe (2-1) at East Clinton (0-3)
- Clinton-Massie (2-1) at Miami Trace (3-0)
- Hillsboro (1-2) at Washington (3-0)
- Wilmington (2-1) at McClain (1-2)
• Here is a sneak peek at all four Week 4 games:
- Hillsboro Indians (1-2) at Washington Blue Lions (3-0): I’ve seen the Indians play twice this season, and last week was their best played game in their 42-6 win over Clermont Northeastern this past Saturday night. Washington is coming off a 35-22 win over London. The Blue Lions this season have scored no less than 35 points in a game this season, totaling 125 points in three combined games. They’ve also allowed 90 points in those same three wins, with 42 of those from Circleville in Week 2.
The Blue Lions have a very skilled and athletic team, with a skilled and athletic quarterback, plus a lot of athleticism from their group of wide receivers. They use a platoon system with offensive and defensive starters, and it has to wear out their opponents, allowing them to stay a little fresher than the opposition who uses players on both sides of the field.
The Indians are coming off their first win of the season, as they played their best game of the season thus far. Hillsboro has a nice rushing game that is the core of their offense, even using wide receivers at times to score points with runs. The Indians have scored 90 total points this season and have allowed 103 points, with all but six of those points allowed in games against Western Brown and Goshen.
This will be a tough test for the Indians this week, but one that will be interesting to watch and see where both teams stand against each other. Last season, the Blue Lions defeated the Indians, 22-3.
- Wilmington Hurricane (2-1) at McClain Tigers (1-2): Both teams are coming off double-digit losses, but the Wilmington squad enters this game with momentum as well as they’ve had excellent play this season from their athletic freshman quarterback, plus they’ve played well this season. Their loss was against a very good Vandalia Butler team (by a 42-21 score), and through three games this season the ’Cane have allowed just 61 points defensively, and most of those came last Friday night.
The ’Cane have also scored 89 points this season, scoring no less than 21 points in a game, and their program as a whole has been on an upswing since Scott Killen took over in what is now his third season leading Wilmington. They will be a team to watch in the SCOL for the remainder of the year, and one team that should be very entertaining to watch.
McClain is coming off a very tough loss to the Zane Trace Pioneers last Friday, losing by a 42-7 loss in what wasn’t their best outing by any means. McClain will also be celebrating Homecoming this Friday, and it also begins a five-week stretch of games where they face Wilmington, Clinton-Massie, Miami Trace, Chillicothe and Washington, all of whom currently have records above .500.
This game will have very athletic skill players at quarterback, but ultimately it will come down to who plays the best defense in Week 4 to determine who gains the win. Last season, WHS defeated McClain, 54-7.
- Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-1) at East Clinton Astros (0-3): The Cavaliers have played in two very closely played games the past two weeks, winning with stifling defensive play. They’ve won their games by a combined five points, while allowing a total of just 31 points in those two wins combined. CHS won in Week 2 over Jackson, 24-21, and in Week 3 at Teays Valley, 12-10.
The Astros haven’t won yet this season and the past two weeks have allowed 47 and 49 points defensively. For the year, they’ve scored 66 points, but on a positive note are averaging 150 yards rushing per game as a team, with Anthony Osburn leading the pack with 187 yards on the ground on 37 carries. For the season, EC has rushed the ball 101 times and passed it 58 times.
As EC is still looking for that first win of the season, the Cavaliers want to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Last year, the Cavaliers defeated the Astros, 50-7.
- Clinton-Massie Falcons (2-1) at Miami Trace Panthers (3-0): This is the “Game of the Week” for the SCOL with two of the top and most storied teams in the history of the SCOL battling one final time as league counterparts.
Miami Trace is having a resurgence season with three straight wins, already tying their total number of wins from last year at three. This season, they’ve already scored 137 points and have allowed just 53 points. Compare that to 10 games last season, where they scored a total of 190 points. At this point in ’15, MT had scored a total of 51 points in their first three games last year.
It is exciting to see the Panthers back to their winning ways, because when they are a good team, with all of their history and tradition in the SCOL, the league overall is better to watch, too.
As for the Falcons, though they have an early season loss, it came against a Turpin team that is very good right now, a team that is 3-0 with 111 points scored in three games this season. Now for the reigning SCOL champion Falcons, besides the seven-point loss to Turpin, they’ve played some solid football, too.
CM has scored 90 points in three combined games and are coming off a game where they won over Springfield Shawnee, 36-0. Like mentioned earlier, for a team to win this league, they have to go through the Falcons, and that’s something that hasn’t happened in a long time.
Is this Massie team as good as past seasons? That I can’t answer, but I do know this … it will be very fun to watch/read about/listen to, and not only to see how this game turns out, but just how the season for the Falcons and Panthers build each week.
- Final Thoughts: As I’ve said earlier, it is a shame the SCOL will be gone again after the season. With the matchups mentioned above, especially when teams that have momentum like Miami Trace and Clinton-Massie to face each other to start league play, it makes things more exciting.
Will success be a given for either one of those teams on Friday night? The answer is no, because they are two competitive teams who will settle things on the football field, and that is the way things should be, right?
Enjoy this last season of the SCOL football slate, because even though all of us will move in various directions next season, this year hopefully the SCOL football schedule of games will give all of us something to talk about the next seven weeks.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.