Not off the Press: One 'hail' of a week
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
It was one "hail" of a night Friday at McClain Field and a "hail" of a week for Highland County sports.
Not only was there a hail storm for around 10 minutes in Greenfield on Friday night, a majority of the game reminded me of the style of play from the 1930s. There were so many running plays in the game Friday night that I lost count until I found out the exact number when I got the stats following the game.
(As for the hail storm in the seven football seasons I've covered that was a first).
There were so many running plays, even Woody Hayes probably thought "open up the playbook." (OK, I'm kidding … I think.)
Don't believe me? The game lasted under two hours because I was writing final stats down in the press box at 9:29 p.m., and the game started at 7:30 p.m.
For someone like me who is busy on Fridays … that's a quick night, so I'm not complaining about all the runs. I was actually glad to see a game like that.
I did learn this, though … when a player jumps on the ball and slides into the end zone on a punt with the ball, it isn't a touchback, but the ball goes on the 1-yard line. It actually happened last Friday ... I'm not lying. (OK, I'm kidding again, that's not the rule at all.)
But I'm writing more about the football season in the Week 7 edition of the SCOL notebook. Read it this Thursday ... I'd appericate it.
• McClain boys soccer and the road to a 3rd straight title
What a great season the McClain Tigers have had so far, and on Tuesday night it could even get better. For those who enjoy supporting high school student-athletes, this is probably the biggest night in MHS boys soccer of the season.
If they win, they clinch a share of their third straight SCOL championship. They have 25 points in the league standings (in soccer, teams get three points per win, one point per tie). You should have seen me trying to figure out when and how they could clinch a share of the title. Math is not my strong suit.
Not only did the Tigers defeat the Red Raiders this past week, but I will say they put on one of the better games of the season in their win against the Hillsboro Indians with a 4-2 win last Tuesday.
This, along with their first meeting and a match a couple weeks ago with HHS vs. CM girls soccer, entered my Top 3 soccer matches I've watched this season.
It was such a good match last Tuesday, people commented on the game story and Facebook about how good it was. This match had everything that not only a soccer fan, but a fan of sports in general could ever want from an event: rivals, league standings on the line, big saves by keepers, defense, offense, a close score in the late minutes, more fans than usual … it is just easier to say that type of match can make people who don't enjoy the sport, or understand the sport, watch it. It was that well-played and exciting.
I hope to see a lot of fans supporting the Tigers on Tuesday when they take on the Blue Lions. This team deserves the support of the community. A few years ago, this was a program that had a handful of wins, and now they are working towards their third straight title.
Yes, I'm excited for this team (and game/match on Tuesday) … something like this doesn't happen a lot in Highland County, so let's all enjoy this team while we can.
• On the other side of the mic
I was the one being interviewed the other day on Buckeye County WCHO Radio by Stu Gardner. It aired Saturday morning, and it was fun to talk about the area sports scene. That was different … I'm used to being the person asking the questions, but it was a fun experience to answer some as well.
• 10 High school sports thoughts
1. This is my favorite part of the OHSAA Soccer weekly newsletter … the number of ejection stats. It is now up to 141 total, with 115 boys, 26 girls in that state this season. (I've only seen one of those this year.) This probably isn't that big of a number with all the teams in the state, but every week the number has its own spot in the newsletter.
2. The Volley for a Cure events are one of the best things to happen to high school sports. The events go to great causes. Also, there are bake sales, and who doesn't like a bake sale? Fairfield and Hillsboro each will host one this week.
3. The Fairfield Lady Lions volleyball team keeps improving in the SHL standings. Well I mean they keep adding to their lead in the SHL standings. They won matches over LC and Whiteoak this past week. They have improved a lot this season.
4. I like what I'm seeing and hearing about the Paint Valley football team. I watched them two weeks ago against Southeastern, and this team is very improved from where they were a year ago. This past week against Westfall, they held strong for 3 1/2 quarters.
5. The London Red Raiders could be the best 1-5 football team in the state. They have had one tough schedule this season, with teams on their schedule they've played (and lost to) combining for 21 wins out of 30 possible chances.
6. Congrats to all the golfers who reached the district tournament.
7. Don't forget the soccer tournament first-round matches will be set on Sunday, Oct. 9. I'll post the match-ups as soon as I receive them. Also, don't forget there are three divisions in soccer this season.
8. I'm a big fan of the new McClain boys soccer jerseys. They have numbers on the front!
9. Speaking of soccer, Highland County should be proud if MHS does, in fact, win this title. That will give Hillsboro and the Tigers the past seven league championships in the SCOL. Remember, though, MHS is taking it one game at a time … then they'll celebrate.
10. More on soccer … The LC boys and girls teams are in first place in their respective SHL divisions, and HHS is tied with CM in girls soccer. What a last couple weeks this season will be.
• NFL Thoughts
Where do I start this week?
Do I start with the Detroit Lions starting the season 4-0, due in large part to the Dallas Cowboys gift-wrapping a win for them? Do I start with the comeback win by the Cincinnati Bengals, or how someone must have put oil on the Cleveland Browns' gloves because they were having problems catching passes when the game actually mattered?
Here is me during the Cowboys game … In the first half I was like "Dez Bryant and the offense look awesome." (I even thought the combo of Tony Romo and Bryant was similar to Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin.)
Then the Cowboys are up 24 points … and all looks swell.
After halftime … what! "You have got to be kidding me!?"
"OK, well, they are still leading … oh crap, there is 9:00 left."
"Not again!"
"Double cover Calvin Johnson!"
This doesn't end well if you are a Cowboys fan.
Then I realized it was just going to be a bad day for my NFL team when of all people, Bobby "I didn't do anything positive during my time as a Dallas Cowboy" Carpenter intercepted Romo for a touchdown in Dallas Cowboys Stadium. I haven't even mentioned Johnson catching a touchdown pass in the end zone with three Cowboy defenders around him.
(Really, a interception to Bobby Carpenter for a touchdown?)
I didn't even know he was still in the league.
Wait, I forgot the Chris Houston 56-yard interception for touchdown against Dallas.
This was not a good way to enter a bye week. (I'm revisiting this about five hours after I first wrote this, and yeah, I still feel the same.)
I'm pretty sure when I said the Lions were the most overrated team in the NFL at the start of the year, it is being thrown back in my face right now.
As for the Bengals … nice win against a once-undefeated Buffalo Bills team. A win is a win in the NFL, and I really like the Andy Dalton-to-A.J. Green combo. They will be a force for years to come.
As for the Browns, I watched a lot of that game as well … they have a lot of problems. Sorry, Dawg Pound … it will be a long season.
Here is a quick comment on each NFL game from Sunday:
- Chicago over Carolina: I wonder how good Cam Newton can really be.
- Cincinnati over Buffalo: Great thing about NFL … any team can win any week.
- Tennessee over Cleveland: I wonder if Seattle is sleepless for releasing Matt Hasselback?
- Detroit over Dallas: These aren't the Lions of the past five years.
- Houston over Pittsburgh: This could be the year for the Texans.
- New Orleans over Jacksonville: Didn't expect anything different.
- Kansas City over Minnesota: The Vikings are a long, long away from 2009.
- San Francisco over Philadelphia: Couldn't happen to a better "dream team." A 1-3 start is more like a nightmare.
- Washington over St. Louis: I'm disappointed in the Rams. That's all.
- New York Giants over Arizona: Eli Manning is finally the best quarterback in his family during a season.
- Atlanta over Seattle: Julio Jones will be a force in the NFL. He's really good.
- Green Bay over Denver: A team will have to beat Green Bay to be the champs.
- New England over Oakland: Tom Brady will be the MVP, not Philip Rivers like I predicted.
- San Diego over Miami: I see a coaching change coming to the Miami football team as well.
- Ravens over Jets: One word describes this game - defense. Craziest game I've watched all season, and my Super Bowl champ pick looks very good following this game.
• 10 thoughts not on high school sports
1. Do Buckeye fans miss Tressel ball or what this season? Two losses in five games. Once I say Luke Fickell, that is three OSU football coaches mentioned in this column. That is a record.
2. How crazy was the final day of the MLB regular season? It wasn't the greatest night of sports ever, but it had to be in the Top 10 ever, right? If the Yankees would have played their actual starters, the entire outlook of the playoffs would have been different. Still, I was cheering, and my team was nowhere near the playoffs.
3. Speaking of my baseball team … it will be different without Ozzie Guillen as the manager of the White Sox. I still think they got rid of the wrong guy.
4. It was sad to see Andy Rooney is done being a regular on "60 Minutes." I don't watch the show that much, but whenever a reporter has stayed in this business as long as Rooney has, it is always sad to see them leave.
5. I bet the movie "Real Steel" will be the best thing to happen to boxing since Rocky Balboa. The movie can't be any worse than the heavyweight division currently is. (Quick, name all four heavyweight champs currently in boxing … don't worry, I can't, either).
6. I don't know if I will watch "Moneyball" because I already know the A's don't win the World Series.
7. The Phillies will win the World Series in '11. They will play the Detroit Tigers. (Honestly, I'll be happy as long as the NY Yankees don't make it.)
8. Since it is deer season, and I don't hunt because I don't have the patience (and mornings are too cold), where is the best place to buy deer jerky?
9. Finding a Roger Staubach autobiography from 1980 at Goodwill in Wilmington Saturday afternoon ranks pretty high on what was good this weekend. (It has that old book smell.)
10. I hear the NBA is on lockout … If there is no season I will only realize it on Opening Night, Christmas Day and when the Playoffs begin. Who am I kidding, I'll miss it if there is no NBA season, I'm just trying to be strong. Though, I'm excited for the upcoming NHL season ... prediction time: the Columbus Blue Jackets will make the playoffs.
• Quote of the Week
"My hope is when they watch film, they see what they are capable of doing each week. We can play like we did in that first half every week, but we have to do it for four quarters. Last week, in the second half, we went back to looking like a young team. That first half shocked a lot of people, but I can honestly say we have had two great weeks of practice, and we are learning and getting better." — Brian Spicer, HHS football coach early in the week before Friday's game against Chillicothe.
• (Another) Quote of the Week
"We are still trying to recover mentally from our two losses last week. We just need to relax, and I told them the two losses were to a Division I and Division II team, and we haven't lost to a Division III team, which is who we will be playing come tournament time. We just need to get over those losses and accept the fact they were games against good competition." — Dennis West, LC girls soccer coach following their game against Fairfield on Wednesday.
• (A third and final) Quote of the Week
"It has been a long time coming. We've come a long way, and we've had great players and a great program to be able to have a chance to accomplish three league titles." — Shawn Jackson, MHS boys soccer coach following their win against London on Thursday.
• Stat of the Week
The McClain Tigers boys soccer team has sat atop the SCOL standings since 2009. They have lost just two league games since that season. In '09, they went 10-2 in league games, and last season they were 10-0-2. In this current span of seasons, they are 28-2-3 in SCOL games. They have three remaining this season.
• (Another) Stat of the Week
In six weeks of football, the Clinton-Massie Falcons are the only team in the SCOL who have allowed less than 100 points while on defense. CM has allowed just 77 points in six games, an average of 12.8 ppg. The rest of the SCOL has allowed averages of 17.3, 31.2, 29.5, 30.3, 25.5 and 48.3.
• (A third and final) Stat of the Week
The Washington Blue Lions' offense collected 380 yards, with a majority (361 yards) coming via the run, which the Blue Lions did 57 of its 63 plays.
• One last item of business
Just so everyone realizes, Highland County has two boys soccer teams in first place, a girls soccer team in first place, an SCOL champion girls golf team, a SCOL champion boys golf team, cross-country teams who win meets on a regular basis and a girls volleyball team that is currently in first place. So though the football season hasn't gone as planned in wins and losses, this fall sports season as a whole has been a very positive one for a lot of teams in the county.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]
Not only was there a hail storm for around 10 minutes in Greenfield on Friday night, a majority of the game reminded me of the style of play from the 1930s. There were so many running plays in the game Friday night that I lost count until I found out the exact number when I got the stats following the game.
(As for the hail storm in the seven football seasons I've covered that was a first).
There were so many running plays, even Woody Hayes probably thought "open up the playbook." (OK, I'm kidding … I think.)
Don't believe me? The game lasted under two hours because I was writing final stats down in the press box at 9:29 p.m., and the game started at 7:30 p.m.
For someone like me who is busy on Fridays … that's a quick night, so I'm not complaining about all the runs. I was actually glad to see a game like that.
I did learn this, though … when a player jumps on the ball and slides into the end zone on a punt with the ball, it isn't a touchback, but the ball goes on the 1-yard line. It actually happened last Friday ... I'm not lying. (OK, I'm kidding again, that's not the rule at all.)
But I'm writing more about the football season in the Week 7 edition of the SCOL notebook. Read it this Thursday ... I'd appericate it.
• McClain boys soccer and the road to a 3rd straight title
What a great season the McClain Tigers have had so far, and on Tuesday night it could even get better. For those who enjoy supporting high school student-athletes, this is probably the biggest night in MHS boys soccer of the season.
If they win, they clinch a share of their third straight SCOL championship. They have 25 points in the league standings (in soccer, teams get three points per win, one point per tie). You should have seen me trying to figure out when and how they could clinch a share of the title. Math is not my strong suit.
Not only did the Tigers defeat the Red Raiders this past week, but I will say they put on one of the better games of the season in their win against the Hillsboro Indians with a 4-2 win last Tuesday.
This, along with their first meeting and a match a couple weeks ago with HHS vs. CM girls soccer, entered my Top 3 soccer matches I've watched this season.
It was such a good match last Tuesday, people commented on the game story and Facebook about how good it was. This match had everything that not only a soccer fan, but a fan of sports in general could ever want from an event: rivals, league standings on the line, big saves by keepers, defense, offense, a close score in the late minutes, more fans than usual … it is just easier to say that type of match can make people who don't enjoy the sport, or understand the sport, watch it. It was that well-played and exciting.
I hope to see a lot of fans supporting the Tigers on Tuesday when they take on the Blue Lions. This team deserves the support of the community. A few years ago, this was a program that had a handful of wins, and now they are working towards their third straight title.
Yes, I'm excited for this team (and game/match on Tuesday) … something like this doesn't happen a lot in Highland County, so let's all enjoy this team while we can.
• On the other side of the mic
I was the one being interviewed the other day on Buckeye County WCHO Radio by Stu Gardner. It aired Saturday morning, and it was fun to talk about the area sports scene. That was different … I'm used to being the person asking the questions, but it was a fun experience to answer some as well.
• 10 High school sports thoughts
1. This is my favorite part of the OHSAA Soccer weekly newsletter … the number of ejection stats. It is now up to 141 total, with 115 boys, 26 girls in that state this season. (I've only seen one of those this year.) This probably isn't that big of a number with all the teams in the state, but every week the number has its own spot in the newsletter.
2. The Volley for a Cure events are one of the best things to happen to high school sports. The events go to great causes. Also, there are bake sales, and who doesn't like a bake sale? Fairfield and Hillsboro each will host one this week.
3. The Fairfield Lady Lions volleyball team keeps improving in the SHL standings. Well I mean they keep adding to their lead in the SHL standings. They won matches over LC and Whiteoak this past week. They have improved a lot this season.
4. I like what I'm seeing and hearing about the Paint Valley football team. I watched them two weeks ago against Southeastern, and this team is very improved from where they were a year ago. This past week against Westfall, they held strong for 3 1/2 quarters.
5. The London Red Raiders could be the best 1-5 football team in the state. They have had one tough schedule this season, with teams on their schedule they've played (and lost to) combining for 21 wins out of 30 possible chances.
6. Congrats to all the golfers who reached the district tournament.
7. Don't forget the soccer tournament first-round matches will be set on Sunday, Oct. 9. I'll post the match-ups as soon as I receive them. Also, don't forget there are three divisions in soccer this season.
8. I'm a big fan of the new McClain boys soccer jerseys. They have numbers on the front!
9. Speaking of soccer, Highland County should be proud if MHS does, in fact, win this title. That will give Hillsboro and the Tigers the past seven league championships in the SCOL. Remember, though, MHS is taking it one game at a time … then they'll celebrate.
10. More on soccer … The LC boys and girls teams are in first place in their respective SHL divisions, and HHS is tied with CM in girls soccer. What a last couple weeks this season will be.
• NFL Thoughts
Where do I start this week?
Do I start with the Detroit Lions starting the season 4-0, due in large part to the Dallas Cowboys gift-wrapping a win for them? Do I start with the comeback win by the Cincinnati Bengals, or how someone must have put oil on the Cleveland Browns' gloves because they were having problems catching passes when the game actually mattered?
Here is me during the Cowboys game … In the first half I was like "Dez Bryant and the offense look awesome." (I even thought the combo of Tony Romo and Bryant was similar to Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin.)
Then the Cowboys are up 24 points … and all looks swell.
After halftime … what! "You have got to be kidding me!?"
"OK, well, they are still leading … oh crap, there is 9:00 left."
"Not again!"
"Double cover Calvin Johnson!"
This doesn't end well if you are a Cowboys fan.
Then I realized it was just going to be a bad day for my NFL team when of all people, Bobby "I didn't do anything positive during my time as a Dallas Cowboy" Carpenter intercepted Romo for a touchdown in Dallas Cowboys Stadium. I haven't even mentioned Johnson catching a touchdown pass in the end zone with three Cowboy defenders around him.
(Really, a interception to Bobby Carpenter for a touchdown?)
I didn't even know he was still in the league.
Wait, I forgot the Chris Houston 56-yard interception for touchdown against Dallas.
This was not a good way to enter a bye week. (I'm revisiting this about five hours after I first wrote this, and yeah, I still feel the same.)
I'm pretty sure when I said the Lions were the most overrated team in the NFL at the start of the year, it is being thrown back in my face right now.
As for the Bengals … nice win against a once-undefeated Buffalo Bills team. A win is a win in the NFL, and I really like the Andy Dalton-to-A.J. Green combo. They will be a force for years to come.
As for the Browns, I watched a lot of that game as well … they have a lot of problems. Sorry, Dawg Pound … it will be a long season.
Here is a quick comment on each NFL game from Sunday:
- Chicago over Carolina: I wonder how good Cam Newton can really be.
- Cincinnati over Buffalo: Great thing about NFL … any team can win any week.
- Tennessee over Cleveland: I wonder if Seattle is sleepless for releasing Matt Hasselback?
- Detroit over Dallas: These aren't the Lions of the past five years.
- Houston over Pittsburgh: This could be the year for the Texans.
- New Orleans over Jacksonville: Didn't expect anything different.
- Kansas City over Minnesota: The Vikings are a long, long away from 2009.
- San Francisco over Philadelphia: Couldn't happen to a better "dream team." A 1-3 start is more like a nightmare.
- Washington over St. Louis: I'm disappointed in the Rams. That's all.
- New York Giants over Arizona: Eli Manning is finally the best quarterback in his family during a season.
- Atlanta over Seattle: Julio Jones will be a force in the NFL. He's really good.
- Green Bay over Denver: A team will have to beat Green Bay to be the champs.
- New England over Oakland: Tom Brady will be the MVP, not Philip Rivers like I predicted.
- San Diego over Miami: I see a coaching change coming to the Miami football team as well.
- Ravens over Jets: One word describes this game - defense. Craziest game I've watched all season, and my Super Bowl champ pick looks very good following this game.
• 10 thoughts not on high school sports
1. Do Buckeye fans miss Tressel ball or what this season? Two losses in five games. Once I say Luke Fickell, that is three OSU football coaches mentioned in this column. That is a record.
2. How crazy was the final day of the MLB regular season? It wasn't the greatest night of sports ever, but it had to be in the Top 10 ever, right? If the Yankees would have played their actual starters, the entire outlook of the playoffs would have been different. Still, I was cheering, and my team was nowhere near the playoffs.
3. Speaking of my baseball team … it will be different without Ozzie Guillen as the manager of the White Sox. I still think they got rid of the wrong guy.
4. It was sad to see Andy Rooney is done being a regular on "60 Minutes." I don't watch the show that much, but whenever a reporter has stayed in this business as long as Rooney has, it is always sad to see them leave.
5. I bet the movie "Real Steel" will be the best thing to happen to boxing since Rocky Balboa. The movie can't be any worse than the heavyweight division currently is. (Quick, name all four heavyweight champs currently in boxing … don't worry, I can't, either).
6. I don't know if I will watch "Moneyball" because I already know the A's don't win the World Series.
7. The Phillies will win the World Series in '11. They will play the Detroit Tigers. (Honestly, I'll be happy as long as the NY Yankees don't make it.)
8. Since it is deer season, and I don't hunt because I don't have the patience (and mornings are too cold), where is the best place to buy deer jerky?
9. Finding a Roger Staubach autobiography from 1980 at Goodwill in Wilmington Saturday afternoon ranks pretty high on what was good this weekend. (It has that old book smell.)
10. I hear the NBA is on lockout … If there is no season I will only realize it on Opening Night, Christmas Day and when the Playoffs begin. Who am I kidding, I'll miss it if there is no NBA season, I'm just trying to be strong. Though, I'm excited for the upcoming NHL season ... prediction time: the Columbus Blue Jackets will make the playoffs.
• Quote of the Week
"My hope is when they watch film, they see what they are capable of doing each week. We can play like we did in that first half every week, but we have to do it for four quarters. Last week, in the second half, we went back to looking like a young team. That first half shocked a lot of people, but I can honestly say we have had two great weeks of practice, and we are learning and getting better." — Brian Spicer, HHS football coach early in the week before Friday's game against Chillicothe.
• (Another) Quote of the Week
"We are still trying to recover mentally from our two losses last week. We just need to relax, and I told them the two losses were to a Division I and Division II team, and we haven't lost to a Division III team, which is who we will be playing come tournament time. We just need to get over those losses and accept the fact they were games against good competition." — Dennis West, LC girls soccer coach following their game against Fairfield on Wednesday.
• (A third and final) Quote of the Week
"It has been a long time coming. We've come a long way, and we've had great players and a great program to be able to have a chance to accomplish three league titles." — Shawn Jackson, MHS boys soccer coach following their win against London on Thursday.
• Stat of the Week
The McClain Tigers boys soccer team has sat atop the SCOL standings since 2009. They have lost just two league games since that season. In '09, they went 10-2 in league games, and last season they were 10-0-2. In this current span of seasons, they are 28-2-3 in SCOL games. They have three remaining this season.
• (Another) Stat of the Week
In six weeks of football, the Clinton-Massie Falcons are the only team in the SCOL who have allowed less than 100 points while on defense. CM has allowed just 77 points in six games, an average of 12.8 ppg. The rest of the SCOL has allowed averages of 17.3, 31.2, 29.5, 30.3, 25.5 and 48.3.
• (A third and final) Stat of the Week
The Washington Blue Lions' offense collected 380 yards, with a majority (361 yards) coming via the run, which the Blue Lions did 57 of its 63 plays.
• One last item of business
Just so everyone realizes, Highland County has two boys soccer teams in first place, a girls soccer team in first place, an SCOL champion girls golf team, a SCOL champion boys golf team, cross-country teams who win meets on a regular basis and a girls volleyball team that is currently in first place. So though the football season hasn't gone as planned in wins and losses, this fall sports season as a whole has been a very positive one for a lot of teams in the county.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.[[In-content Ad]]