Not off the Press: A great week of sports
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Where do I start this week?
Should we talk about the three athletes from Highland County who earned a spot in the state cross-country championships? How about two very, very close soccer losses by local teams in district championship matches? What about the 2011 Rotary Bowl?
I say let's go back to Friday night and to the Rotary Bowl.
This was the fifth straight Rotary Bowl I've covered, and after thinking about it for a couple days, I know this is in my Top 2 of the five I've covered. The first Rotary Bowl I covered in '07 went into overtime, but just like TNT says for their motto, "We know drama," the '11 Rotary Bowl sure had that.
It was wonderful. Never have I watched a game with (at the time) two one-win teams play so hard. This game was one of the hardest-hitting games I've watched this season, and I'll say this … I waited all season for a game like this.
This game was worth the wait.
It was so much fun just to see both teams leave everything they had on the field for community pride, for the Rotary Bowl, for a win in the final game of the season. For the seniors, their final high school game ever, and by the way they played, with the heart shown by both teams … it showed.
All the hard-hitting, individual battles in the trenches and come-from-behind touchdowns on that cool and crisp fall evening by both teams all came down to one final play, with the McClain Tigers having possession of the ball. The Tigers came back after trailing 21-7 at halftime to come within one point of tying the score with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter after scoring a touchdown.
The decision was either go for an extra point to tie the score for a possibility of overtime or to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt.
Against a cross-county rival, with one win and the game on the line … I would have gone for two points as well.
Why not … for the last game and biggest game of the season, that is what makes not only high school sports, but sports in general so great … taking a chance and going for the win.
It was the right call in my opinion.
Either way, there was no guarantee for points either way or that Hillsboro wouldn't have scored again … and sports would be pointless if there were automatic guarantees.
Again, it made for an exciting and memorable ending … one I'll remember, no matter how many more I'll cover.
• Cross-Country Runners Headed To State Championships
Hillsboro senior Collin Rothwell and Fairfield sophomores Michael Mangus and Blake Hildebrant all are headed to Hebron for the state cross-country championships for the Division II and Division III runs this coming Saturday after their finishes at the Regional Championships in Pickerington.
These student-athletes have worked very hard to get to the top of their sport this season.
In the Division II Regional run at Pickerington, Rothwell finished in 10th place for the Indians. In the Division III run, also at Pickerington, Mangus was 7th and Hildebrant was 14th. Runners who finished in the Top 16 in each run earned spots in the state championships. In fact, click here to read about the regionals from Saturday.
I've had the opportunity to watch these runners on a few occasions this season, and in past seasons, so this is a well-deserved honor they have earned.
They are part of a rare group of athletes who get to compete at the state level, and best of luck to them this weekend.
• Final soccer matches I didn't attend
Highland County was involved in two very close district final soccer matches this past week, as both matches ended with double shootouts.
Though neither the McClain boys and Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer teams were the victors … both had great seasons and went out swinging.
Both teams won league and sectional titles, and each had a similar fate in losing in the rare double shootout. How often do double shootouts happen, much less in the same week to teams in the same county?
Yes, I didn't attend these events, but I can file these under the "events with close endings that I didn't cover in person" folder. (My apologizes to the teams for being unable to attend the events for various reasons.)
Since all we have left in the fall sports scene are the three cross-country runners, I can say this was a fun season to cover in all aspects of sport.
In my list of favorite games from the fall, a majority come from the soccer scene, which I'll get to next week once the fall season is officially finished.
• 10 thoughts on high school sports
1. Basketball practices have started … before we know it, all of us basketball fans will be in gyms for the winter. The SCOL girls preview is on Friday, Nov. 18 at Miami Trace this year.
2. Speaking of basketball … what are your thoughts on the upcoming season? What are you looking forward to the most?
3. Congratulations to the Clinton-Massie Falcon football team for making the playoffs again. Way to represent the South Central Ohio League, and best of luck in the postseason. How dominant have the Falcons been in the SCOL? … they haven't lost a league game since '07.
4. In their 'By the Numbers" portion of their weekly soccer newsletter, the OHSAA says there were 179 boys ejected from games (as of Oct. 19) this season. There were 41 girls ejected from games, and 10 total coaches. What I find ironic is the Respect The Game logo is right above the "by the numbers" section.
5. I'm going to miss going to football games every Friday. No matter the outcome of the games, just being around the atmosphere was enjoyable.
6. If you haven't read the article on the 50 years of the Tigerettes, I suggest you do. I learned a lot about the group in the article. Read the article and watch the video here.
7. Is there anything more exciting in high school sports than the moment right before the kickoff in a high school football game?
8. I've always thought it'd be fun to see teams wear retro uniforms for a game or two. (I know it can't happen because of costs, but it still would be fun.)
9. Did you realize only the Falcons were the only SCOL team to end the football regular season with an overall winning record? To be honest, in August, I didn't think that would have happened. The Falcons were 8-2, the next closest were Miami Trace and Washington at 5-5 overall.
10. I'm open to ideas if anyone has any as the winter sports season nears. Email me at sforsha@gmail.com.
• 10 thoughts on non-high school sports and so on
1. The 2011 World Series was by far much better than I thought it would be. Game 6 was great drama. It takes a lot for me to get really excited when the game doesn't involve my teams. Let's just say my phone was being overworked with text messages from friends. At the beginning of the season, heck, even at the beginning of the postseason, I didn't think the St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to win the World Series … I was completely wrong.
2. If you are an Ohio State fan, you must be happy, right? They have an honest-to-goodness chance to make the Big Ten title game. Oh, by the way, the Big Ten isn't that strong once again, so they have a good chance.
3. Wisconsin was overrated. And when I say overrated I mean O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D. Rankings means nothing these days in college football.
4. To continue on the Big Ten … I'm not looking forward to the bowl season. How about you? Thoughts? Am I wrong? I think it will be just as bad, if not worse than last year, and that was bad.
5. The LSU-Alabama game this Saturday should be the game of the year. That is until the next game of the year. I hate to say it, but the SEC is the best football conference. Speaking of conferences … I know West Virginia will make more money (isn't that what college football is about?), but they will be nowhere near a BCS game ever again when they officially start playing in the Big XII.
6. If you're a fan of NASCAR, how excited are you for the final three races? I am very excited, wish it was next weekend already. Finally a chance to get excited for the end of a season. I see a new champion in the future of NASCAR's top series.
7. I was wrong for picking Jeff Gordon as the eventual Cup champion at the start of the Chase. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards look strong as the season nears an end.
8. This past week ranks pretty high on the "best weeks for sports list."
9. I don't which football team is worse … my actual team or my fantasy football team.
10. I put zero stock in preseason college basketball rankings or mid-season BCS football rankings.
(Extra Thought) - "The Real Rocky" documentary on Chuck Wepner, who went 15 rounds against Muhammad Ali, was on TV the other night. Actually, I caught the replay on Sunday night. What made this so great was that fight was what inspired the Rocky movie series. If you get a chance, watch this documentary on ESPN because Jeff Feuerzeig directed a great film. It'll give you goosebumps if you are a fan of the underdog.
Back then, it must have been a great time in sports when boxing actually mattered in the overall landscape. Nowadays, I can name all the heavyweight champions of the world – there are two – but I did have to look up how to spell their names in Wladimir Klitschko (WBO, IBF, WBA) and his brother Vitali Klitschko (WBC).
That would be the only fight, the unification of those four titles between two brothers, that could bring back a dying division in the sport. That's wishful thinking because it will never happen. I even miss the days of Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
• One final item of business
As I said before, the fall sports season will end for Highland County this coming Saturday at the State Cross-Country Championships. Again, this has been a very entertaining and exciting fall season for many sports teams in Highland County these past three or so months.
It started on the roads of four different counties for football previews, and the football season ended on basically the final play of Week 10 at McClain Field, with the game on the line.
As a sports fan and sports editor, I can't ask for much more than that.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
Should we talk about the three athletes from Highland County who earned a spot in the state cross-country championships? How about two very, very close soccer losses by local teams in district championship matches? What about the 2011 Rotary Bowl?
I say let's go back to Friday night and to the Rotary Bowl.
This was the fifth straight Rotary Bowl I've covered, and after thinking about it for a couple days, I know this is in my Top 2 of the five I've covered. The first Rotary Bowl I covered in '07 went into overtime, but just like TNT says for their motto, "We know drama," the '11 Rotary Bowl sure had that.
It was wonderful. Never have I watched a game with (at the time) two one-win teams play so hard. This game was one of the hardest-hitting games I've watched this season, and I'll say this … I waited all season for a game like this.
This game was worth the wait.
It was so much fun just to see both teams leave everything they had on the field for community pride, for the Rotary Bowl, for a win in the final game of the season. For the seniors, their final high school game ever, and by the way they played, with the heart shown by both teams … it showed.
All the hard-hitting, individual battles in the trenches and come-from-behind touchdowns on that cool and crisp fall evening by both teams all came down to one final play, with the McClain Tigers having possession of the ball. The Tigers came back after trailing 21-7 at halftime to come within one point of tying the score with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter after scoring a touchdown.
The decision was either go for an extra point to tie the score for a possibility of overtime or to go for the win with a two-point conversion attempt.
Against a cross-county rival, with one win and the game on the line … I would have gone for two points as well.
Why not … for the last game and biggest game of the season, that is what makes not only high school sports, but sports in general so great … taking a chance and going for the win.
It was the right call in my opinion.
Either way, there was no guarantee for points either way or that Hillsboro wouldn't have scored again … and sports would be pointless if there were automatic guarantees.
Again, it made for an exciting and memorable ending … one I'll remember, no matter how many more I'll cover.
• Cross-Country Runners Headed To State Championships
Hillsboro senior Collin Rothwell and Fairfield sophomores Michael Mangus and Blake Hildebrant all are headed to Hebron for the state cross-country championships for the Division II and Division III runs this coming Saturday after their finishes at the Regional Championships in Pickerington.
These student-athletes have worked very hard to get to the top of their sport this season.
In the Division II Regional run at Pickerington, Rothwell finished in 10th place for the Indians. In the Division III run, also at Pickerington, Mangus was 7th and Hildebrant was 14th. Runners who finished in the Top 16 in each run earned spots in the state championships. In fact, click here to read about the regionals from Saturday.
I've had the opportunity to watch these runners on a few occasions this season, and in past seasons, so this is a well-deserved honor they have earned.
They are part of a rare group of athletes who get to compete at the state level, and best of luck to them this weekend.
• Final soccer matches I didn't attend
Highland County was involved in two very close district final soccer matches this past week, as both matches ended with double shootouts.
Though neither the McClain boys and Lynchburg-Clay girls soccer teams were the victors … both had great seasons and went out swinging.
Both teams won league and sectional titles, and each had a similar fate in losing in the rare double shootout. How often do double shootouts happen, much less in the same week to teams in the same county?
Yes, I didn't attend these events, but I can file these under the "events with close endings that I didn't cover in person" folder. (My apologizes to the teams for being unable to attend the events for various reasons.)
Since all we have left in the fall sports scene are the three cross-country runners, I can say this was a fun season to cover in all aspects of sport.
In my list of favorite games from the fall, a majority come from the soccer scene, which I'll get to next week once the fall season is officially finished.
• 10 thoughts on high school sports
1. Basketball practices have started … before we know it, all of us basketball fans will be in gyms for the winter. The SCOL girls preview is on Friday, Nov. 18 at Miami Trace this year.
2. Speaking of basketball … what are your thoughts on the upcoming season? What are you looking forward to the most?
3. Congratulations to the Clinton-Massie Falcon football team for making the playoffs again. Way to represent the South Central Ohio League, and best of luck in the postseason. How dominant have the Falcons been in the SCOL? … they haven't lost a league game since '07.
4. In their 'By the Numbers" portion of their weekly soccer newsletter, the OHSAA says there were 179 boys ejected from games (as of Oct. 19) this season. There were 41 girls ejected from games, and 10 total coaches. What I find ironic is the Respect The Game logo is right above the "by the numbers" section.
5. I'm going to miss going to football games every Friday. No matter the outcome of the games, just being around the atmosphere was enjoyable.
6. If you haven't read the article on the 50 years of the Tigerettes, I suggest you do. I learned a lot about the group in the article. Read the article and watch the video here.
7. Is there anything more exciting in high school sports than the moment right before the kickoff in a high school football game?
8. I've always thought it'd be fun to see teams wear retro uniforms for a game or two. (I know it can't happen because of costs, but it still would be fun.)
9. Did you realize only the Falcons were the only SCOL team to end the football regular season with an overall winning record? To be honest, in August, I didn't think that would have happened. The Falcons were 8-2, the next closest were Miami Trace and Washington at 5-5 overall.
10. I'm open to ideas if anyone has any as the winter sports season nears. Email me at sforsha@gmail.com.
• 10 thoughts on non-high school sports and so on
1. The 2011 World Series was by far much better than I thought it would be. Game 6 was great drama. It takes a lot for me to get really excited when the game doesn't involve my teams. Let's just say my phone was being overworked with text messages from friends. At the beginning of the season, heck, even at the beginning of the postseason, I didn't think the St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to win the World Series … I was completely wrong.
2. If you are an Ohio State fan, you must be happy, right? They have an honest-to-goodness chance to make the Big Ten title game. Oh, by the way, the Big Ten isn't that strong once again, so they have a good chance.
3. Wisconsin was overrated. And when I say overrated I mean O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D. Rankings means nothing these days in college football.
4. To continue on the Big Ten … I'm not looking forward to the bowl season. How about you? Thoughts? Am I wrong? I think it will be just as bad, if not worse than last year, and that was bad.
5. The LSU-Alabama game this Saturday should be the game of the year. That is until the next game of the year. I hate to say it, but the SEC is the best football conference. Speaking of conferences … I know West Virginia will make more money (isn't that what college football is about?), but they will be nowhere near a BCS game ever again when they officially start playing in the Big XII.
6. If you're a fan of NASCAR, how excited are you for the final three races? I am very excited, wish it was next weekend already. Finally a chance to get excited for the end of a season. I see a new champion in the future of NASCAR's top series.
7. I was wrong for picking Jeff Gordon as the eventual Cup champion at the start of the Chase. Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards look strong as the season nears an end.
8. This past week ranks pretty high on the "best weeks for sports list."
9. I don't which football team is worse … my actual team or my fantasy football team.
10. I put zero stock in preseason college basketball rankings or mid-season BCS football rankings.
(Extra Thought) - "The Real Rocky" documentary on Chuck Wepner, who went 15 rounds against Muhammad Ali, was on TV the other night. Actually, I caught the replay on Sunday night. What made this so great was that fight was what inspired the Rocky movie series. If you get a chance, watch this documentary on ESPN because Jeff Feuerzeig directed a great film. It'll give you goosebumps if you are a fan of the underdog.
Back then, it must have been a great time in sports when boxing actually mattered in the overall landscape. Nowadays, I can name all the heavyweight champions of the world – there are two – but I did have to look up how to spell their names in Wladimir Klitschko (WBO, IBF, WBA) and his brother Vitali Klitschko (WBC).
That would be the only fight, the unification of those four titles between two brothers, that could bring back a dying division in the sport. That's wishful thinking because it will never happen. I even miss the days of Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.
• One final item of business
As I said before, the fall sports season will end for Highland County this coming Saturday at the State Cross-Country Championships. Again, this has been a very entertaining and exciting fall season for many sports teams in Highland County these past three or so months.
It started on the roads of four different counties for football previews, and the football season ended on basically the final play of Week 10 at McClain Field, with the game on the line.
As a sports fan and sports editor, I can't ask for much more than that.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]