First-and-Ten Football Notebook: Visiting SCOL champ Clinton-Massie

WILMINGTON — Monday started what will be a two-week journey of high school football as I'm preparing the third annual First-and-Ten High School Football Preview presented by The Highland County Press.

As I sit in Jen's Deli in downtown Wilmington typing this first notebook on a Monday afternoon, I'm more than excited to get this football season started after watching the defending South Central Ohio League football champions and '11 Division IV State Final Four participant Clinton-Massie go through their morning practice, but more on them later.

The 2012 First-and-Ten preview we are working on (call Caitlin, Angie or Rory at 937-840-9490 to place an ad) will cover various high school football teams from five different counties, including all eight SCOL teams.

These daily notebooks I'll be writing will be a way for me to talk about all the football camps I'm visiting in the next couple weeks in a variety of ways. I hope anyone who reads this will not only enjoy, but learn something about the upcoming season along the way.

Monday consisted of what I'm calling a "Tour de Clinton County" as I met with the three schools from Clinton County that are involves with or will have involvement with the SCOL with CM as the defending champs, East Clinton being the newest members of the league and Wilmington, who are becoming members of the league in a year or two.

Each day I'll add a new notebook, one for each school I'm visiting, so more on Wilmington and East Clinton later this week.

Now, for the first notebook of the preseason, let's discuss the reigning five-time SCOL champion and playoff participant for more than 10 consecutive years in a row, Clinton-Massie.

Visiting Clinton-Massie every preseason is one of my favorite trips on the schedule because of the high standards they set for themselves, standards which they usually achieve. Even on the first day of their first practice, the players and coaches have their mind set on advancing even further than last season, the season where they were one of the final four teams remaining in Division IV.

They said they are using that experience, and the loss in the state playoffs, as motivation as they have even higher goals headed into the season. Speaking of last season, the Falcons were 11-3 overall with an 8-2 mark in the regular season and 6-0 mark in the SCOL, as they've won 25 straight league games headed into the '12 season.

Again, I love the focus of this team, even with conditioning and the individual position drills. They all want to not only improve as players, but they are wanting to improve as a team, as the seniors I spoke with called the team a "brotherhood."

I see great outcomes for this team in 2012 as they return eight starters on offense and defense, which coming off the year they had one season ago is a very good thing to have.

Sure, there are position battles on the offensive lines and players changing positions, but this team has the potential to go even further than they did last year, but in the age-old saying, they are "taking it one game at a time." Coach Dan McSurley said that like every other team, they just want to get better every game, and they know each time they play they are going to have the target on their back.

3 Quick Thoughts on Clinton-Massie
1. They are very focused, confident, but know (and said) they have to work even harder than they ever had. Their senior captains said they won't let the team "rest" or "take it easy," as they all want to recapture and exceed what they did last season.

2. I love the intensity of this team (always have), but they seem to be having fun along the way … even in the 90-plus degree temperatures.

3. I like how this team is returning so many key players from last season, but the players they lost from one year ago will be tough to replace, especially Jimmy Singleton and Jared Salisbury on the line … but if one football program can replace the great players they lost, it is Clinton-Massie. (They have 22 seniors this season.)

Who to Watch
- Trent Smart, defensive end/tight end, senior
Smart recently verbally committed to play for the Ohio University Bobcats next fall. He's a defensive end and will be a big part of the Falcons' offense as well. Was second on team in total tackles last season. One of the five senior captains.

- Bayle Wolfe, running back/line backer, junior
Rushed for around the 1,500 yard mark last season as a sophomore while scoring 31 touchdowns.

- Wyatt Running, full back, senior
Rushed for nearly 1,400 yards a year ago. One of the five senior captains.

Two Must-See Games
- Week 2 (Aug. 31) vs. Waynesville — Last year, Waynesville snapped the 33-game regular season winning streak of the Falcons, and it was a 17-2 loss at Waynesville. This could not only be one of the best regular season games of the year, but a potential playoff matchup down the road as well.

- Week 3 (Sept. 7) at Jonathan Alder — Again, this was the other '11 regular season loss by CM, as this one snapped the regular season home winning streak of the Falcons. Last season, JA won by a single point at 29-28 … a game where CM led 28-0 at halftime. All 29 points by JA came in the second half. In fact, the last three meetings by the two teams have ended in a single point deciding the outcome. In their past seven meetings, CM leads the series 4-3.

Player Quote
"I think we need to work harder than we ever have. We need to play as a team, and we can't have any mishaps like we did toward the start of the season last year. We have to be ready to go before every game and take it one step at a time." — Wyatt Running, Clinton-Massie fullback, speaking about what the Falcons need to do to achieve even more success than last season.

Coach Quote
"We have to keep it crisp. We had a great seven-on-seven this summer, and we want to keep things up- beat, up-tempo … keep things crisp. There aren't a lot of X's and O's with these kids. They know the system since they've pretty much grown up with the system since the seventh grade. It's just going out there and keeping things fun and challenging them every day." — Dan McSurley, Clinton-Massie head coach when asked about if it was hard to keep his players mentally into two-a-days.

Final Thoughts
I really like the chances of the Falcons this year, but what I really like is their mindset of knowing what they are able to accomplish. Saying they want to work even more than they already are, how can you doubt a team like that?

For some teams, the expectations set are too high, especially having expectations of achieving success past a Final Four, but after what happened with CM last year, overcoming two losses to playoff teams (Waynesville and Jonathan Alder in Weeks 2 and 3, respectively), then advancing in the playoffs like they did and now returning with a "one game at a time" mentality, they have the potential to achieve great things.

Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of the Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @hcpsportseditor.