The Sports Review: VOTE for McClain High School, Week 8 football review, and tournament schedules released
- Let’s all rally and VOTE for McClain High School!
McClain High School is doing something really special, as they are in the Top 40 of the T-Mobile Friday Night Lights contest where they have a chance to win $1 million in field renovations for their school.
Currently they are in first place in the Midwest, and if they win that round of the voting, they will collect a sum of $250,000 for their school, which would be added to the $25,000 they have already received for making it to the Top 40.
To VOTE for McClain, click here.
Voting for McClain would be beneficial not only to the community of Greenfield, but to all the students who use the athletic facilities for games, practices, music for the marching band, and even in the education process for gym classes that can be held outside when needed.
If you have been on social media or around Greenfield lately, the community and school have worked very hard in supporting this contest, as the reward is outstanding. It is awesome to see all they are doing to get attention to their cause, because it is that important of a contest to win for the community of Greenfield.
Having written about McClain athletics for 20 years now, I have learned over the years how much the community loves to support their student-athletes and school in general. I have met many people in Greenfield who have been supportive of not just their school, but the community as a whole, and winning this contest with the award at the end is basically life-changing for McClain High School and their community.
When I was thinking about how this contest could help McClain’s athletic facilities, I thought about two folks who I know would have loved to have seen and been a part of this, and they were John Wend and Karen Yeager. They were two of my very favorite people that I had the pleasure to get to know since I began my sportswriting career, and I’ll always be grateful for how much they supported me when I was a young reporter.
This is a way to support everything those two achieved — and many, many others as well — in all that they did to support the youth of Greenfield in and out of the classroom, because winning this contest is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the school and the Greenfield community.
Remember to vote daily in the T-Mobile contest. Set an alarm on your phone as a reminder because every vote counts.
- Tournament Schedules released
On Sunday, tournament matchups for volleyball and soccer were released, so it is hard to believe it is that time of the year where the regular season is wrapping up and the postseason is arriving before we know it.
You can click here for Highland County matchup and tournament brackets as Highland County teams start their tournament road on Oct. 20-22.
- Week 8 Football Review
Another week of high school football has passed, and after watching the Miami Trace Panthers this past Friday, they are in first place in the Frontier Athletic Conference for a good reason … Their rushing game is outstanding, as their running back Julian Baker rushed for four touchdowns in the Panthers’ 55-15 win over the Hillsboro Indians.
The Indians had positives in the loss, including Collin Swackhamer at quarterback with a 2-of-3 passing performance for 47 yards, with both receptions made by Landon Holland, who recently returned to action after missing the first half of the season with injury.
Tre Captain and Jonathan Malone each rushed the football hard in their battles with the Miami Trace defense. Captain averaged 4.8 yards per carry with 18 rushes for 87 yards, while Malone had the inside rushes where he had 16 carries for the game.
There was also the play of Roman Hardy on defense for HHS as he recovered a fumble. HHS the past three games have all been road contests against Washington, Jackson and Miami Trace, so playing the Frontier Athletic Conference is not an easy task. This upcoming week, they will face the second-place Chillicothe Cavaliers, but the Indians finally return home for the first time since Week 4.
What I am most impressed by Hillsboro is they haven't stopped playing hard throughout the games this season, even if they aren’t getting the final results they want.
As for the McClain Tigers, they have had one heck of a three-game schedule put in front of them, with another challenge occurring in Week 9 as they will face the first-place Miami Trace Panthers.
In the past three games, they have to face the Chillicothe Cavaliers, the Washington Blue Lions and the Jackson Ironmen in Frontier Athletic Conference play. That is not an easy task at all. Looking at their game played in Week 8 against the Ironmen at McClain Field, junior quarterback Hudson Lovett continued his outstanding season with a 21-of-36 passing performance for 218 yards and one touchdown pass. Lovett also had nine carries for 73 yards in the Tigers’ 32-12 loss vs. Jackson.
The wide receivers for McClain put in some good work too, as Gavin Anderson had six catches for 75 yards, Leiland Bond had three receptions for 50 yards and Hunter Peabody totaled seven receptions for 37 yards with a touchdown catch.
Again, like their Highland County counterpart, even though the Tigers are on a tough stretch of games played, they have continued to play hard and not let up, which is really commendable. They have a .500 record at 4-4 with two games left in the regular season.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press