5 SCOL football preseason questions headed into two-a-day practices

With high school two-a-day practices beginning this Monday all around the state, here are five questions I have entering the 2012 South Central Ohio League football season. Remember, the regular season will kickoff on Friday, Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

1. How much will the extra league game affect the overall standings with an eight-team league?
Having the SCOL as an eight-team league for the first time (at least since it returned in 2003) will be very interesting this year. Gone is the random non-league game in the league slate (there will be seven league games this season), so I do like that (I never was a fan of the random non-league game during the league portion of the schedule). Also, the "extra" league game this season will go far in the overall league standings, as it could keep a team from being in second or third, or even seventh or eighth in the league standings, or it could lift a team to a higher spot in the standings.

The extra league game gives teams more to play for.

2. Can anyone in the SCOL stop Clinton-Massie in '12?
Well, this one seems to have an easy answer (I ask this question every year). It will be very, very tough to knock the Falcons off the top of the mountain.

The Falcons return junior running back Bayle Wolfe, who rushed for 1,390 yards (31 touchdowns) en route to the Division IV State Final Four last season. Also, according to a JJHuddle.com article, senior defensive end Trent Smart returns while having college offers from Ohio University and Miami University.

CM last lost an SCOL game in '07 to the Washington Blue Lions. Since then (including that season), the Falcons have won six straight league titles, with the '07 title being a championship shared with WCH and Miami Trace.

As for the SCOL winning streak by the Falcons, it currently resides at 25 straight wins, as they have gone 6-0 in the league each season since '08. Again, it's going to be very, very tough to stop the Falcons in the SCOL.

3. Can there be a surprise team in the league?
East Clinton will begin its first year in the league, and Miami Trace has a new head coach in Steve Bartlett, who already has 116 varsity high school football coaching victories, so there are two new, but unknowns in the league … which makes the league more interesting.

Those two teams could be surprises just for their individual newness they bring to the league, but the five other schools (excluding Clinton-Massie) could also bring some surprises of their own, as they all look to improve on last season's standings. Last season, excluding Clinton-Massie, no SCOL team had an overall winning record at the conclusion of Week 10.

4. Can the SCOL improve its wins away from games against each other?
Let's hope … that is going to be my answer to this question. Last season, the SCOL lost 22 non-league games (0-7 in Week 3) in 28 chances. This upcoming season, each team will have one fewer non-league game. They will have non-league games just in the first three weeks with the addition of East Clinton to the SCOL, and from Week 4-10 it will be all league match-ups.

The 6-22 non-league record for the SCOL needs to improve, not only for the overall standings, but if any of the teams want to play longer than 10 weeks this season having a winning record (with only three non-league games, the only possible non-league records are 0-3, 1-2, 2-1 or 3-0) away from the league is a must to play in the postseason, right?

5. What will be some of the "must-see" games of the SCOL season?
Excluding all non-league games, here are some SCOL games I think could impact the league standings when all is said and done.

- Week 4: Madison-Plains at Hillsboro — Though this game may not be between two of the "top" teams in the SCOL (based on last season's standings), this game can and will be competitive on both sides. I covered last year's game with Hillsboro gaining the upper hand at 29-28 at MPHS in one of the closer games of the SCOL season a year ago. Should be another interesting game to see in '12.

- Week 7: McClain at Washington — Though the Tigers failed to score a point in last season's game, and though last year's game will be remembered more for the post-game antics, the duel between these two teams has become quite the rivalry by the two neighboring county schools.

- Week 9: Miami Trace at Clinton-Massie — I picked this game because the Panthers return a lot of players from last season, and being late in the season, I'll assume Clinton-Massie will be leading the league at the top of the standings, and the Panthers could be near the top of the standings by this point of the season as well.

- Week 10: Rivalry Week — Except for being the final week of the regular season, I love this week of games as the records are usually thrown "out the window" and the games are about county pride, bragging rights and just trying to leave the season with a win.

Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor. To purchase an ad for the upcoming 2012 First-and-Ten High School Football Preview edition presented by The Highland County Press, contact Caitlin, Angie or Rory at (937) 840-9490.