Not off the Press: League standings are as close as they can get
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
This past week was interesting, to say the least. Since last week's Not off the Press column, the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles said they will be flying off into the sunset … OK, they are leaving the South Central Ohio League (along with Madison County counterpart London) in August 2013.
I won't say much more on it this week, but in case you didn't read it or want to read it again, here is my print column on the topic.
Also this past week (this past Friday), the only game in town was the Whiteoak Wildcats at the Fairfield Lions in a Southern Hills League boys basketball contest where the Lions swept the regular-season series with their rival Whiteoak. All I can say is this twice a year matchup is always one of my favorites, and I can say I'm glad the Hillsboro at McClain boys game was postponed because it allowed me to get the opportunity to see the WHS-FHS game, and now I can see the Tigers and Indians do battle at a date to be determined.
I'll write more about high school sports later in the column.
• Goodbye, Joe Pa
I've written in detail my opinion on the entire Penn State scandal that took place a couple months ago, and I still stand by those words and thoughts, but as a fan of the Nittany Lions for around 17 or so years, I couldn't help but hurt when I turned on the TV Sunday morning and saw Joe Paterno passed away.
I'll always love what Joe Pa brought to college football, and like I've stated before, he's the main reason why I love not only Penn State football, but college football in general.
So yes, I sure didn't like how the story ended with Joe Pa with the entire scandal, but I'll always have a place in my heart for Joe Pa because he is the only college football coach I've ever known.
Goodbye, Joe Pa.
• Impressed with improvement on the court
If anyone watched the Hillsboro Lady Indians play the Washington Lady Blue Lions Saturday afternoon, they could not have left unimpressed by the will and improvement the Lady Indians showed in the loss.
Sure, they suffered a 44-37 loss, but if you look at the game a little closer, they did outscore their SCOL opponent in the final 28 minutes, though it was Washington who got off to the fast start with an 11-0 run to start the game.
What impressed me about this team was the fact they didn't give up, they continued to play hard, and they have improved in many ways on the court from one season ago and even from the start of this season.
I see this team taking the personality of their coaches, especially during the game as head coach JR Moberly keeps the girls upbeat and focused, and you can just tell it makes a difference during the game if and when things don't go the way of the Lady Indians.
Though they have three wins this season, this team has improved immensely, and if they have shown me anything this season, it's that they have a no-quit attitude.
I just get this feeling the culture of girls basketball at Hillsboro is changing towards the upside.
• League Standings
If you haven't looked lately, the league standings of the SCOL and SHL in both boys and girls basketball are very close.
In fact, it's like bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Headed into this week, the SCOL girls standings from first to second place is a mere two-game difference with CM leading both Washington and McClain. In the boys SCOL, Hillsboro leads Washington by one game and Madison-Plains, Miami Trace and Clinton-Massie by two games.
If that isn't close enough for you, in the SHL girls basketball standings (Div. I) Eastern Brown leads North Adams by a single game. In the boys SHL, Peebles has a one-game lead on Eastern Brown.
Then there is the Division II SHL boys standings with Ripley at 4-3, while Fairfield and Manchester are each 5-3 with five or six games left in league play, respectively.
I can't help but be intrigued by these standings as in the SCOL and SHL there isn't much breathing room, which proves every league game will matter the rest of the way. That in itself will make this a must-see rest of the season in both leagues, which some of those matchups are scheduled for Tuesday.
• A look at the upcoming week
This week starts out on Monday as LC will host Georgetown in a girls basketball non-league matchup. Georgetown is the AP No. 7 team in Division III, so this can be a good test for LC as the tournament season will be here before we know it.
Tuesday is a big night of boys basketball action with Lynchburg-Clay at Eastern Brown, Whiteoak at Fayetteville, Ripley at Fairfield and Hillsboro traveling to Washington C.H.
The lead of the SHL in Division II will be up for grabs in the Fairfield-Ripley contest as both have three losses in the league. This game can go either way as both have players who have the potential to take over a game at any given moment.
Also on Tuesday, the Hillsboro Indians take on the Washington Blue Lions for the second time this season where the Indians defeated the Blue Lions 62-49 at HHS.
On Wednesday, two Highland County teams are on the road as the Hillsboro Lady Indians will look for their fourth win of the season when they face London, who have yet to win a game this season. The McClain Lady Tigers will travel to Jackson in a tough non-league game.
Thursday is more girls basketball with the ladies of Whiteoak traveling to Lynchburg-Clay, and Fairfield will host Ripley with both games going towards the SHL standings.
Four games this Friday will all go toward the respective league standings with Lynchburg-Clay traveling to Manchester, Whiteoak hosting Peebles, Hillsboro hosting London and Fairfield hosting Fayetteville.
The weekend games include a makeup game with the LC boys traveling to Peebles and two SCOL girls matchups with Hillsboro Lady Indians hosting MP in their final home game of the season and McClain hosting Washington as both girls teams are tied for second place in the SCOL. This should be a very interesting matchup.
• The week in review
This past week, I had the opportunity to see the FHS Lions boys teams for two games with the Lions falling to a tough Peebles team and defeating the Whiteoak Wildcats. In one game, the Lions were able to finish in the fourth and in the other they weren't, but still they mixed their youth with their seniors, and I'm seeing good things from that club.
Thursday's game with the LC Lady Mustangs and North Adams Lady Green Devils was a strange game, to say the least. Both teams were playing close, but in the final eight minutes, NA scored as many points in the fourth as they did in the first three quarters combined.
[[In-content Ad]]• Non-high school sports thoughts
- What a day of Sunday NFC and AFC Championship games that was. I picked the Ravens and Giants at the start of the day, and at least I got half of it correct. This Super Bowl match should be exciting, though, with the Patriots and Giants meeting for the second time.
- The surprise of the week was Syracuse losing to Notre Dame in men's basketball.
- I'm hearing good things about the SSCC men's basketball program, and they finally have some local players suiting up for the team.
- I want to know what everyone else's Super Bowl picks are.
- Anyone else ready for Spring Training?
- Finally got the chance to watch "Moneyball" and "Warrior," and I must say, both were much better than I thought they were going to be.
- Watched "Captain America" as well … (in my best Dennis Green impression) … "Captain America" was what I thought it was going to be. (Which was an OK movie at best. "Spiderman" was much better.)
• Quote of the Week
"That's far and away our best overall effort of the year. That's as close as we've come to putting 32 minutes together all season. I told the girls after the game … I just wanted them to know they could have hung their heads early in the game, but they didn't. They battled, they executed, they chipped away and got back into it, made a game of it. I'm not sure if we ever had them (Washington) on the ropes, but they were concerned enough that they had to keep playing the whole way through." — JR Moberly, Hillsboro girls varsity basketball coach following their loss on Saturday against Washington.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"The play of Gage (Montgomery), I'm really impressed with him. We brought him along slow all year, and he took full advantage of his first start (Friday). He's a great kid to be around, and Gage would be the first one to tell you his development has been a lot due to his senior teammates. They have taken him under their wing, and they have helped everybody improve." — Matt Carson, Fairfield boys varsity basketball coach following their win Friday against Whiteoak.
• (A third and final) Quote of the Week
"The big thing is whenever you lose schools in the league … there is always that comment 'The league is going to change’ because we went through this almost 20 years ago, almost exactly the same thing. We will continue as a six-team league … if that is for a lot of years, then it will be for a lot of years. I know East Clinton has really made a commitment to be in the SCOL, and the other five are solid, so we'll definitely stay around." — Jim Winner, South Central Ohio League commissioner speaking about the future of the league.
• Stat of the Week
Whiteoak junior Luke Taggert had a very productive week as he totaled 51 points in two games. Against Fairfield, he totaled 28 and scored 23 against Ripley.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
Though the Hillsboro Lady Indians lost 44-37 on Saturday afternoon to the Washington Lady Blue Lions, in the final 28 minutes the Lady Indians outscored Washington 37-33.
• (A third and final) Stat of the Week
Lynchburg-Clay's Brooke Hertlein averages more points (16.2) per game than any other girls basketball player in Highland County.
• One Last Item of Business
Like I said before, this should be a good week of high school sports ahead. There are many games that can switch the scenarios of many of the league standings. This week will be a very important week in terms of what school will be awarded a respective league championship trophy at season's end.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
I won't say much more on it this week, but in case you didn't read it or want to read it again, here is my print column on the topic.
Also this past week (this past Friday), the only game in town was the Whiteoak Wildcats at the Fairfield Lions in a Southern Hills League boys basketball contest where the Lions swept the regular-season series with their rival Whiteoak. All I can say is this twice a year matchup is always one of my favorites, and I can say I'm glad the Hillsboro at McClain boys game was postponed because it allowed me to get the opportunity to see the WHS-FHS game, and now I can see the Tigers and Indians do battle at a date to be determined.
I'll write more about high school sports later in the column.
• Goodbye, Joe Pa
I've written in detail my opinion on the entire Penn State scandal that took place a couple months ago, and I still stand by those words and thoughts, but as a fan of the Nittany Lions for around 17 or so years, I couldn't help but hurt when I turned on the TV Sunday morning and saw Joe Paterno passed away.
I'll always love what Joe Pa brought to college football, and like I've stated before, he's the main reason why I love not only Penn State football, but college football in general.
So yes, I sure didn't like how the story ended with Joe Pa with the entire scandal, but I'll always have a place in my heart for Joe Pa because he is the only college football coach I've ever known.
Goodbye, Joe Pa.
• Impressed with improvement on the court
If anyone watched the Hillsboro Lady Indians play the Washington Lady Blue Lions Saturday afternoon, they could not have left unimpressed by the will and improvement the Lady Indians showed in the loss.
Sure, they suffered a 44-37 loss, but if you look at the game a little closer, they did outscore their SCOL opponent in the final 28 minutes, though it was Washington who got off to the fast start with an 11-0 run to start the game.
What impressed me about this team was the fact they didn't give up, they continued to play hard, and they have improved in many ways on the court from one season ago and even from the start of this season.
I see this team taking the personality of their coaches, especially during the game as head coach JR Moberly keeps the girls upbeat and focused, and you can just tell it makes a difference during the game if and when things don't go the way of the Lady Indians.
Though they have three wins this season, this team has improved immensely, and if they have shown me anything this season, it's that they have a no-quit attitude.
I just get this feeling the culture of girls basketball at Hillsboro is changing towards the upside.
• League Standings
If you haven't looked lately, the league standings of the SCOL and SHL in both boys and girls basketball are very close.
In fact, it's like bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Headed into this week, the SCOL girls standings from first to second place is a mere two-game difference with CM leading both Washington and McClain. In the boys SCOL, Hillsboro leads Washington by one game and Madison-Plains, Miami Trace and Clinton-Massie by two games.
If that isn't close enough for you, in the SHL girls basketball standings (Div. I) Eastern Brown leads North Adams by a single game. In the boys SHL, Peebles has a one-game lead on Eastern Brown.
Then there is the Division II SHL boys standings with Ripley at 4-3, while Fairfield and Manchester are each 5-3 with five or six games left in league play, respectively.
I can't help but be intrigued by these standings as in the SCOL and SHL there isn't much breathing room, which proves every league game will matter the rest of the way. That in itself will make this a must-see rest of the season in both leagues, which some of those matchups are scheduled for Tuesday.
• A look at the upcoming week
This week starts out on Monday as LC will host Georgetown in a girls basketball non-league matchup. Georgetown is the AP No. 7 team in Division III, so this can be a good test for LC as the tournament season will be here before we know it.
Tuesday is a big night of boys basketball action with Lynchburg-Clay at Eastern Brown, Whiteoak at Fayetteville, Ripley at Fairfield and Hillsboro traveling to Washington C.H.
The lead of the SHL in Division II will be up for grabs in the Fairfield-Ripley contest as both have three losses in the league. This game can go either way as both have players who have the potential to take over a game at any given moment.
Also on Tuesday, the Hillsboro Indians take on the Washington Blue Lions for the second time this season where the Indians defeated the Blue Lions 62-49 at HHS.
On Wednesday, two Highland County teams are on the road as the Hillsboro Lady Indians will look for their fourth win of the season when they face London, who have yet to win a game this season. The McClain Lady Tigers will travel to Jackson in a tough non-league game.
Thursday is more girls basketball with the ladies of Whiteoak traveling to Lynchburg-Clay, and Fairfield will host Ripley with both games going towards the SHL standings.
Four games this Friday will all go toward the respective league standings with Lynchburg-Clay traveling to Manchester, Whiteoak hosting Peebles, Hillsboro hosting London and Fairfield hosting Fayetteville.
The weekend games include a makeup game with the LC boys traveling to Peebles and two SCOL girls matchups with Hillsboro Lady Indians hosting MP in their final home game of the season and McClain hosting Washington as both girls teams are tied for second place in the SCOL. This should be a very interesting matchup.
• The week in review
This past week, I had the opportunity to see the FHS Lions boys teams for two games with the Lions falling to a tough Peebles team and defeating the Whiteoak Wildcats. In one game, the Lions were able to finish in the fourth and in the other they weren't, but still they mixed their youth with their seniors, and I'm seeing good things from that club.
Thursday's game with the LC Lady Mustangs and North Adams Lady Green Devils was a strange game, to say the least. Both teams were playing close, but in the final eight minutes, NA scored as many points in the fourth as they did in the first three quarters combined.
[[In-content Ad]]• Non-high school sports thoughts
- What a day of Sunday NFC and AFC Championship games that was. I picked the Ravens and Giants at the start of the day, and at least I got half of it correct. This Super Bowl match should be exciting, though, with the Patriots and Giants meeting for the second time.
- The surprise of the week was Syracuse losing to Notre Dame in men's basketball.
- I'm hearing good things about the SSCC men's basketball program, and they finally have some local players suiting up for the team.
- I want to know what everyone else's Super Bowl picks are.
- Anyone else ready for Spring Training?
- Finally got the chance to watch "Moneyball" and "Warrior," and I must say, both were much better than I thought they were going to be.
- Watched "Captain America" as well … (in my best Dennis Green impression) … "Captain America" was what I thought it was going to be. (Which was an OK movie at best. "Spiderman" was much better.)
• Quote of the Week
"That's far and away our best overall effort of the year. That's as close as we've come to putting 32 minutes together all season. I told the girls after the game … I just wanted them to know they could have hung their heads early in the game, but they didn't. They battled, they executed, they chipped away and got back into it, made a game of it. I'm not sure if we ever had them (Washington) on the ropes, but they were concerned enough that they had to keep playing the whole way through." — JR Moberly, Hillsboro girls varsity basketball coach following their loss on Saturday against Washington.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"The play of Gage (Montgomery), I'm really impressed with him. We brought him along slow all year, and he took full advantage of his first start (Friday). He's a great kid to be around, and Gage would be the first one to tell you his development has been a lot due to his senior teammates. They have taken him under their wing, and they have helped everybody improve." — Matt Carson, Fairfield boys varsity basketball coach following their win Friday against Whiteoak.
• (A third and final) Quote of the Week
"The big thing is whenever you lose schools in the league … there is always that comment 'The league is going to change’ because we went through this almost 20 years ago, almost exactly the same thing. We will continue as a six-team league … if that is for a lot of years, then it will be for a lot of years. I know East Clinton has really made a commitment to be in the SCOL, and the other five are solid, so we'll definitely stay around." — Jim Winner, South Central Ohio League commissioner speaking about the future of the league.
• Stat of the Week
Whiteoak junior Luke Taggert had a very productive week as he totaled 51 points in two games. Against Fairfield, he totaled 28 and scored 23 against Ripley.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
Though the Hillsboro Lady Indians lost 44-37 on Saturday afternoon to the Washington Lady Blue Lions, in the final 28 minutes the Lady Indians outscored Washington 37-33.
• (A third and final) Stat of the Week
Lynchburg-Clay's Brooke Hertlein averages more points (16.2) per game than any other girls basketball player in Highland County.
• One Last Item of Business
Like I said before, this should be a good week of high school sports ahead. There are many games that can switch the scenarios of many of the league standings. This week will be a very important week in terms of what school will be awarded a respective league championship trophy at season's end.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.