Not off the Press: The postseason continues
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
This past week, the seasons of some Highland County teams ended, some continued ... then ended and some are playing into this week, so there has been a mixture of everything. Not to mention a McClain win in football, along with a loss or two by some teams near them in the standings, could make for a playoff spot in football … but we'll have to wait and see until after Friday night for that one to play out.
The "Game of the Week" was Tuesday night at Richards Memorial Field when the McClain Tigers defeated the Hillsboro Indians in boys soccer, in a high-tempo, physical and entertaining soccer match in the sectional round, by a 2-1 score.
The thing about this match was the underdog team won in McClain as they had just two wins entering the game, but they have since lost by a 4-2 score against Circleville Saturday to have their season ended.
It just was one of the better soccer matches of the season, and both teams should be proud of the match they provided for the fans in attendance that night.
• The Week That Was
Besides that soccer match, there were many other postseason games with some seasons coming to an end, a cross-country team winning a district title, two sectional title wins in volleyball, two sectional titles won in girls soccer and a boys sectional title won.
Let's start with volleyball. Though I was unable to attend either event it was nice to see both the Fairfield and Whiteoak volleyball teams advance to the district round with five-set wins for their respective sectional titles. This was Whiteoak's second straight sectional title.
The Fairfield boys won their sectional crown with a 1-0 win this past week, and they move on to the district round today at Valley High School. The HHS and LC girls soccer teams each won by 7-0 scores for their sectional final victories, and congratulations to the Fairfield boys cross-country teams for winning their second straight district title.
• The Week Ahead
As of Monday, here is the postseason schedule … this could change if teams win their respective games.
Monday, Oct. 22 — Fairfield at Valley, 5 p.m. in boys soccer (district semifinal). Valley is a No. 2 seed, and Fairfield is a No. 3 seed. The winning team will face Berlin Hiland on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Jackson.
Tuesday, Oct. 23 — Lynchburg-Clay vs. Eastern Brown (at LC) in girls soccer (district semifinal). This match will be the "Game of the Week" for the fact LC hasn't defeated Eastern this season. LC lost to them at the start of the year, 2-1 and tied them, 1-1 recently at LCHS. LC did win the Southern Hills League title over EB, so this match could be really good the third time around. This match will begin at 4:30 p.m. at LCHS.
Tuesday, Oct. 23 — Hillsboro vs. Logan Elm in girls soccer at Jackson High School (district semifinal). This again could be a very good match as HHS is the No. 1 seed in the district as they head into this district semifinal match. If HHS were to win, they would play again on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Jackson against the winner of Unioto and Warren.
Wednesday, Oct. 24 — Whiteoak vs. Eastern Beaver volleyball in Jackson (district semifinal). The WHS Lady 'Cats will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday as they are the No. 6 seed. Eastern Beaver is the No. 2 seed. Eastern Beaver defeated Symmes Valley in three sets to reach this match, while WHS defeated Notre Dame in five sets.
Thursday, Oct. 25 — Fairfield vs. Reedsville at Jackson (district semifinal) in volleyball. Reedsville in the No. 1 seed, while FHS is the No. 4 seed. Reedsville defeated Racine Southern in the sectional final by scores of 25-6, 25-22 and 25-13 to advance. FHS defeated Western Latham in five sets. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 26 — McClain at Hillsboro in the annual football Rotary Bowl. HHS is looking to gain a win this season in their final chance, and the Tigers are trying to earn a playoff berth or at least their seventh win of the season. I'll go way more in-depth on this game later this week in the Rotary Bowl preview.
Saturday, Oct. 27 — Cross-country will be in full swing with the regional championships taking place. Top finishers individually and team-wise will earn a spot in the state championship meet.
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• A very quick look at the NFL Week 7
- 49ers 13, Seahawks 6: There's the San Francisco defense that we've come to know the past couple seasons. They are scary good defensively when they are on top of their game.
- Texans 43, Ravens 13: The Ravens are hurting, it seems … or maybe the Texans are just really good at playing defense. I think it is a mixture of both.
- Cowboys 19, Panthers 14: It was an ugly win for the Cowboys, but a win is a win, right?
- Saints 35, Buccaneers 28: Game had an exciting ending, and Drew Brees had four first-half TD passes without his official head coach and his No. 1 Tight end … he's really good. The Buccaneers will be better eventually … starting to build a nice offense and were inches away from tying this game.
- Giants 27, Redskins 23: The Giants showed why they are still the class of the NFC East. Very good game, but it was Eli Manning out-dueling rookie Robert Griffin III in the final quarter.
- Vikings 21, Cardinals 14: Adrian Peterson is back … and the Cardinals with John Skelton at QB are who I thought they would be.
- Packers 30, Rams 20: Hear that …? That's the Packers, angry and making their way back toward the top of the NFC standings. Aaron Rodgers and company seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder.
- Colts 17, Browns 13: New owner, new president … same ol' Browns this week. I kid (kind of), but this game wasn't bad for two teams who are trying to rebuild their respective franchises. (I watched a lot of games at once this week …)
- Titans 35, Bills 34: So much for that Bills defense. Plus, did my eyes deceive me or was that THE Chris Johnson running for 190-plus yards and scoring touchdowns? He still has it in flashes, but it would be fun to see that every week.
- Patriots 29, Jets 26 (OT): Tom Brady and his friends still have the Jets' number … maybe next time, J-E-T-S.
- Raiders 26, Jaguars 23 (OT): Did anybody even watch this game, see a highlight or read the game article … I didn't. Next.
- Steelers 24, Bengals 17: Cincinnati again losing on the national stage. The Bengals seem to struggle with the usage of their timeouts and challenges, but they do have a Top 5 wide receiver in A.J. Green and a pretty good QB … just need more than that, though.
Monday Night Football Prediction: Lions 28, Bears 7: This will be the Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson show tonight. I see Jay Cutler getting sacked a lot tonight in the NFC North rivalry.
• Random thoughts
- I'm finishing up Adam Carolla's book "Not Taco Bell Material." It isn't the most politically correct book, but that's what makes this book good. Again, if you don't like things that aren't politically correct or are offended by curse words … don't read this … otherwise, if you enjoy Carolla, you will probably enjoy this book.
- Congratulations to the Wilmington College football team for gaining a 13-12 win over Marietta this Saturday on homecoming. It was fun to watch the Quakers win for the first time in 30-plus games.
- Giants, Cardinals … Game 7 tonight … winner goes to the World Series. Can't wait. Game 7s in sports are always fun to watch.
- Thank goodness this is the final presidential debate … I might stay off Facebook and Twitter tonight. I'm Stephen Forsha, and I approve this message.
- Why is there so much yelling over public records in Highland County? Let's all be pals.
- Not sure how I feel about Lance Armstrong losing all his Tour de France titles officially … all I really know is he's done great things with "Livestrong," and that's more important than winning a bicycle race in France that nobody ever cared about before or after Armstrong.
- I find it hilarious the Chargers are being investigated for using an illegal "Stick 'em" last Monday vs. the Broncos and still lost.
- I'm pretty much ready for the NBA and NCAA basketball seasons to begin.
- I still feel nobody in the NCAA will beat Alabama in football this season.
- Ohio State and Penn State could be a very good game …
• Stat of the Week
McClain's Roscoe East rushed for around 250 yards in the Tigers' win over Madison-Plains.
• Quote of the Week
"I couldn't be more proud of a group of kids. We played without some of our top players, and we played well in spite of that." — Dennis West, LC boys soccer coach following their 6-2 loss to Eastern Brown on Wednesday.
• One final item of business
It is hard to believe the regular season in all but football is finished, the postseason is already completed with sectionals and I've already begun work on my basketball preview (Call Caitlin, Angie or Rory to place an ad…937-840-9490). Anyway, it's been a fun fall, and hopefully this fall season can continue a few more weeks.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
The "Game of the Week" was Tuesday night at Richards Memorial Field when the McClain Tigers defeated the Hillsboro Indians in boys soccer, in a high-tempo, physical and entertaining soccer match in the sectional round, by a 2-1 score.
The thing about this match was the underdog team won in McClain as they had just two wins entering the game, but they have since lost by a 4-2 score against Circleville Saturday to have their season ended.
It just was one of the better soccer matches of the season, and both teams should be proud of the match they provided for the fans in attendance that night.
• The Week That Was
Besides that soccer match, there were many other postseason games with some seasons coming to an end, a cross-country team winning a district title, two sectional title wins in volleyball, two sectional titles won in girls soccer and a boys sectional title won.
Let's start with volleyball. Though I was unable to attend either event it was nice to see both the Fairfield and Whiteoak volleyball teams advance to the district round with five-set wins for their respective sectional titles. This was Whiteoak's second straight sectional title.
The Fairfield boys won their sectional crown with a 1-0 win this past week, and they move on to the district round today at Valley High School. The HHS and LC girls soccer teams each won by 7-0 scores for their sectional final victories, and congratulations to the Fairfield boys cross-country teams for winning their second straight district title.
• The Week Ahead
As of Monday, here is the postseason schedule … this could change if teams win their respective games.
Monday, Oct. 22 — Fairfield at Valley, 5 p.m. in boys soccer (district semifinal). Valley is a No. 2 seed, and Fairfield is a No. 3 seed. The winning team will face Berlin Hiland on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Jackson.
Tuesday, Oct. 23 — Lynchburg-Clay vs. Eastern Brown (at LC) in girls soccer (district semifinal). This match will be the "Game of the Week" for the fact LC hasn't defeated Eastern this season. LC lost to them at the start of the year, 2-1 and tied them, 1-1 recently at LCHS. LC did win the Southern Hills League title over EB, so this match could be really good the third time around. This match will begin at 4:30 p.m. at LCHS.
Tuesday, Oct. 23 — Hillsboro vs. Logan Elm in girls soccer at Jackson High School (district semifinal). This again could be a very good match as HHS is the No. 1 seed in the district as they head into this district semifinal match. If HHS were to win, they would play again on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Jackson against the winner of Unioto and Warren.
Wednesday, Oct. 24 — Whiteoak vs. Eastern Beaver volleyball in Jackson (district semifinal). The WHS Lady 'Cats will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday as they are the No. 6 seed. Eastern Beaver is the No. 2 seed. Eastern Beaver defeated Symmes Valley in three sets to reach this match, while WHS defeated Notre Dame in five sets.
Thursday, Oct. 25 — Fairfield vs. Reedsville at Jackson (district semifinal) in volleyball. Reedsville in the No. 1 seed, while FHS is the No. 4 seed. Reedsville defeated Racine Southern in the sectional final by scores of 25-6, 25-22 and 25-13 to advance. FHS defeated Western Latham in five sets. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 26 — McClain at Hillsboro in the annual football Rotary Bowl. HHS is looking to gain a win this season in their final chance, and the Tigers are trying to earn a playoff berth or at least their seventh win of the season. I'll go way more in-depth on this game later this week in the Rotary Bowl preview.
Saturday, Oct. 27 — Cross-country will be in full swing with the regional championships taking place. Top finishers individually and team-wise will earn a spot in the state championship meet.
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• A very quick look at the NFL Week 7
- 49ers 13, Seahawks 6: There's the San Francisco defense that we've come to know the past couple seasons. They are scary good defensively when they are on top of their game.
- Texans 43, Ravens 13: The Ravens are hurting, it seems … or maybe the Texans are just really good at playing defense. I think it is a mixture of both.
- Cowboys 19, Panthers 14: It was an ugly win for the Cowboys, but a win is a win, right?
- Saints 35, Buccaneers 28: Game had an exciting ending, and Drew Brees had four first-half TD passes without his official head coach and his No. 1 Tight end … he's really good. The Buccaneers will be better eventually … starting to build a nice offense and were inches away from tying this game.
- Giants 27, Redskins 23: The Giants showed why they are still the class of the NFC East. Very good game, but it was Eli Manning out-dueling rookie Robert Griffin III in the final quarter.
- Vikings 21, Cardinals 14: Adrian Peterson is back … and the Cardinals with John Skelton at QB are who I thought they would be.
- Packers 30, Rams 20: Hear that …? That's the Packers, angry and making their way back toward the top of the NFC standings. Aaron Rodgers and company seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder.
- Colts 17, Browns 13: New owner, new president … same ol' Browns this week. I kid (kind of), but this game wasn't bad for two teams who are trying to rebuild their respective franchises. (I watched a lot of games at once this week …)
- Titans 35, Bills 34: So much for that Bills defense. Plus, did my eyes deceive me or was that THE Chris Johnson running for 190-plus yards and scoring touchdowns? He still has it in flashes, but it would be fun to see that every week.
- Patriots 29, Jets 26 (OT): Tom Brady and his friends still have the Jets' number … maybe next time, J-E-T-S.
- Raiders 26, Jaguars 23 (OT): Did anybody even watch this game, see a highlight or read the game article … I didn't. Next.
- Steelers 24, Bengals 17: Cincinnati again losing on the national stage. The Bengals seem to struggle with the usage of their timeouts and challenges, but they do have a Top 5 wide receiver in A.J. Green and a pretty good QB … just need more than that, though.
Monday Night Football Prediction: Lions 28, Bears 7: This will be the Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson show tonight. I see Jay Cutler getting sacked a lot tonight in the NFC North rivalry.
• Random thoughts
- I'm finishing up Adam Carolla's book "Not Taco Bell Material." It isn't the most politically correct book, but that's what makes this book good. Again, if you don't like things that aren't politically correct or are offended by curse words … don't read this … otherwise, if you enjoy Carolla, you will probably enjoy this book.
- Congratulations to the Wilmington College football team for gaining a 13-12 win over Marietta this Saturday on homecoming. It was fun to watch the Quakers win for the first time in 30-plus games.
- Giants, Cardinals … Game 7 tonight … winner goes to the World Series. Can't wait. Game 7s in sports are always fun to watch.
- Thank goodness this is the final presidential debate … I might stay off Facebook and Twitter tonight. I'm Stephen Forsha, and I approve this message.
- Why is there so much yelling over public records in Highland County? Let's all be pals.
- Not sure how I feel about Lance Armstrong losing all his Tour de France titles officially … all I really know is he's done great things with "Livestrong," and that's more important than winning a bicycle race in France that nobody ever cared about before or after Armstrong.
- I find it hilarious the Chargers are being investigated for using an illegal "Stick 'em" last Monday vs. the Broncos and still lost.
- I'm pretty much ready for the NBA and NCAA basketball seasons to begin.
- I still feel nobody in the NCAA will beat Alabama in football this season.
- Ohio State and Penn State could be a very good game …
• Stat of the Week
McClain's Roscoe East rushed for around 250 yards in the Tigers' win over Madison-Plains.
• Quote of the Week
"I couldn't be more proud of a group of kids. We played without some of our top players, and we played well in spite of that." — Dennis West, LC boys soccer coach following their 6-2 loss to Eastern Brown on Wednesday.
• One final item of business
It is hard to believe the regular season in all but football is finished, the postseason is already completed with sectionals and I've already begun work on my basketball preview (Call Caitlin, Angie or Rory to place an ad…937-840-9490). Anyway, it's been a fun fall, and hopefully this fall season can continue a few more weeks.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.