Not off the Press: Slow week of high school sports and reviewing Week 1 of the NFL
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
This past week was a standstill for the most part in the high school sports arenas as the Highland County Fair caused there to be just a handful of games.
All I had the chance to watch this past week was a football and volleyball game when McClain hosted Zane Trace and I watched the McClain volleyball team at Washington Court House in a South Central Ohio League volleyball match.
The Hillsboro football team also hosted the Wilmington Hurricane, and there were a couple more away events … and that's about it.
• A little on high school football before the notebook this week
This week of football was interesting from the start with games getting late starts due to inclement weather or not getting started at all until Saturday in some cases throughout the state.
Not a whole lot of positive to talk about from this past week from Highland County in terms of wins as both schools lost, but for the SCOL, there was one positive in that the league finally didn't have a losing non-league week, going 4-4, which didn't happen at all last season.
The league has two undefeated teams in Clinton-Massie and Madison-Plains both being 3-0 overall. Another thing they have in common is they each will be visiting Highland County this Friday with CM going to McClain and MP visiting Richards Memorial Field in HHS.
Again, I'll have a lot more later this week on SCOL football in my Week 4 Football Notebook.
• Looking at the week ahead
This week is full of events, so before I get started with all of my opinions and thoughts, game stats and results can be submitted to sforsha@gmail.com or the other ways I've previously listed and sent to the schools. You can also call 937-840-9490 to find out the other many ways to get the info to me if email isn't your thing.
OK, with that said, here are some (not all) of the games that jump off the schedule this upcoming week:
- Tuesday, Sept. 11 — McClain at Clinton-Massie boys soccer: I won't be able to make this contest, but I'm interested in it for the fact it has a lot of SCOL factors on the line. MHS is the defending champ of the league, and CM is tied in first place currently.
- Tuesday, Sept. 11 — McClain at Hillsboro volleyball: Rivalry matches are always fun to watch. HHS hasn't played in over a week and McClain last played this past Thursday … should be an interesting matchup, to say the least.
- Wednesday, Sept. 12 — Fairfield at Lynchburg-Clay volleyball: Again, neither team will have many games played due to last week, and two Highland County schools in a sports event always makes for an interesting matchup. Honestly, though, I've only seen LC once and this will be the first time I've seen FHS this season … no idea what the records are for either team, either.
- Thursday, Sept. 13 — McClain at Miami Trace boys/girls soccer: I've seen both these teams play this season, and it, too, could be an even matchup at Panther Stadium. Also, the girls teams are close to even on the field and could produce a competitive match.
• Looking back at Week 1 of the NFL
*This will not include the Monday Night games, but will include thoughts on all games up to Monday Night Football.
- Cowboys 24, Giants 17: Was a good game to open the '12 NFL season … Giants are better than they played on Wednesday, and the Cowboys are a better team than last season. The NFC East is the toughest division in football right now.
- Bears 41, Colts 21: If you watched the first two possessions of the Bears, you would have thought they were wanting to lose the game on purpose. The Bears settled down, and their offense ended up with 480 yards. I like the running back duo of Matt Forte and Michael Bush, and I love the QB-WR duo of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall. As for Andrew Luck, he had a good enough game for a rookie making his first start (23-of-45 for 309 yards passing with one TD and 3 interceptions with a QB rating of 52.9) … could have been worse.
- Eagles 17, Browns 16: The Browns had their chances for this game, and they realized they are the Browns and lost again. The Eagles didn't play to their capabilities either … their offense needs to be better than what it was to compete in the NFC East.
- Lions 27, Rams 23: Matt Stafford didn't look like the all-world QB we saw last year, which in turn makes Calvin Johnson not play to his full potential either. Not a good game for the Lions with Stafford's three interceptions, and they are lucky they got the win. The Rams are improved but still have a long road ahead of them.
-Patriots 34, Titans 13: The Patriots spread out the ball and did what they always do … what was expected of them, no real surprise here. As for the Titans, they played part of the game with their starting QB on the bench injured … not good. As for their running game … when an NFL team can only get 20 yards rushing on 16 attempts … that's sad.
- Falcons 40, Chiefs 24: Matt Ryan's performance (23-for-31, 299 yards passing, 3 passing TDs and one rushing TD with a QB rating of 136.4) should make everyone in the NFL take notice … and it pretty much ruined my fantasy football day as my opponent had him on their team. Also, Julio Jones at wide out to throw to doesn't hurt either. The Chiefs kept it close early, but their defense wasn't much compared to the ATL offense. After week one, they look like the best team to me.
- Vikings 26, Jaguars 23: Even though they lost, the Jaguars played better than I thought they would. As for the Vikes … it is safe to say Adrian Peterson is baaaack. Two TDs (84 rushing yards) coming off a knee injury from last season .. yeah, AP proved many people wrong Sunday. Also, how impressive was Maurice Jones-Drew after no training camp from his holdout? My answer is very. Having 77 yards on 19 carries with a week of practice … didn't see that coming.
- Redskins 40, Saints 32: The Saints need their head coach back, and the Redskins have offensive firepower for the first time in a long time. To believe in the 'Skins, I want to see it for more than a week, but Robert Griffin III was impressive with the 320 yards passing and two TDs (an 88-yard TD pass) with a QB rating of 139.9. It took the Saints too long to get started, and their defense is suspect to the big play … not a good combo for this game.
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- Jets 48, Bills 28: Didn't see this coming, and the Jets came to play. The Bills … well, I'm not sure they even found the field Sunday … they disappointed on both sides of the ball. For the Jets, looks like Mark Sanchez told everyone to shut it with his play Sunday (266 yards with three TDs) … maybe it should be called "Sanchez Time" in NY instead of the backup QB getting all the headlines.
- Texans 30, Dolphins 10: The Texans' defense is still good, and they dominated a rookie QB (Matt Schaub finally got his contract … one he deserves) following the 20-point win. Arian Foster got his two TDs, and the Texans showed they can be the Super Bowl contender the experts think they can be. I have nothing to say about the Dolphins.
- 49ers 30, Packers 22: This win makes the 49ers the best team in the NFL, in my opinion. Though the score says they won by eight points, their defense was the reason they won. I like watching this defense … and more than likely, these two teams will meet again in the playoffs. The Packers didn't have their best game by far, but the 49ers will do that to most teams they play this season with that defense. Also, did you see the Randy Moss sighting … he's still got it.
- Cardinals 20, Seahawks 16: The surprise of the day was the Cards winning this game. Maybe it had something to do with John Skelton leaving the game with an injury or the Seahawks starting a rookie QB, but if there was one game at the start of the day where I would have 100-percent picked a team winning, it would have been the Seahawks defeating the Cardinals … and I would have been wrong.
- Tampa Bay 16, Panthers 10: I like the Tampa Bay running game of Doug Martin … he's going to be a star in the NFL with a rookie debut of 24 carries and 95 yards. Cam Newton had the yards, but he forgot he wasn't a Buccaneer, and throwing to them twice hurt the Panthers' chances of winning. I like what Greg Schiano has brought to Tampa Bay.
- Broncos 31, Steelers 19: The Broncos looked refreshed, and the Steelers didn't. The last stand by the Broncos' defense where they kept sacking Ben Roethlisberger made them a team to watch in the AFC, along with the interception for a TD by Terry Porter … the Broncos' defense is dangerous. Also, Peyton Manning looked like the same Manning who won many times wearing a Colts uniform. The Broncos and Falcons could be a fun game to watch next week.
- In my predictions from last week for Week 1, I'm currently 9-5 headed into the two Monday night games.
• A few non-high school sports thoughts
- Seems like fall weather is here … I love the fall, so I'm not complaining.
- Fall also means "NCIS" will be returning for its 10th season … can't wait. This summer, I watched every episode of "How I Met Your Mother," so I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out as well. (The thing is, I never watch these shows during their regular time … thank goodness for the internet.)
- The new baseball movie "Trouble with the Curve" starring Clint Eastwood doesn't look like Clint Eastwood movies I'm used to watching. Looks a little cheesy to me … but I might give it a try. I mean, it is hard to mess up a baseball movie, unless it is a Bad News Bears sequel.
- Fantasy football wasn't so great to me in Week 1 … not even friendly to me. In fact, I don't think fantasy football likes me one bit.
- I'm still winless as a Penn State football fan. Going to be a long four years … that's for sure.
- MLB this time of year is great … love all the playoff races going on.
- Same with NASCAR and its playoff race… 10 races to go … the Chase for the Sprint Cup this season will be hard-pressed to top last year's, but it still should be entertaining, to say the least. Without the Chase, last Saturday's race was just another race on the schedule instead of a playoff clincher race for Jeff Gordon as he outran Kyle Busch for the final wildcard spot.
- I'm back to being the worst player ever at Madden football video games. I tried Madden '13 for the first time … I'm not very good.
- Robert Griffin III became the first quarterback to start a game who was born in the 1990s … I feel older than I should.
- Get Well Soon, Matt Carey! (Matt played baseball for the American Legion Hillsboro Post 129 summer team the past few summers.)
• Stat of the Week
The McClain Tigers had more offensive yardage than the Zane Trace Pioneers on Friday night (247-197) but still lost by five points.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
41 yards … that was the distance of a field goal by Connor Smith of Zane Trace Friday at MHS.
• Quote of the Week
"We have to come next week with a better mindset for football." — Randy Closson, McClain football head coach, following the Tigers' 17-12 lead to Zane Trace on Friday. This week, MHS hosts Clinton-Massie.
• One last item of business
I'm just ready (I hope) to get back to a normal schedule of work. The fair week break was nice, but I can only sit around and do nothing for so long. Can't wait to be back at the games and see how this season of fall sports turns out. Also, Tuesday will complete my sixth year of covering sports and news in Highland County, and I'll start on my seventh … thanks for having me around (I continue to strive for improvement) … and thanks to Rory Ryan for giving a nervous kid out of college with a few clips in a folder a chance to pursue his career choice back in September 2006.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
All I had the chance to watch this past week was a football and volleyball game when McClain hosted Zane Trace and I watched the McClain volleyball team at Washington Court House in a South Central Ohio League volleyball match.
The Hillsboro football team also hosted the Wilmington Hurricane, and there were a couple more away events … and that's about it.
• A little on high school football before the notebook this week
This week of football was interesting from the start with games getting late starts due to inclement weather or not getting started at all until Saturday in some cases throughout the state.
Not a whole lot of positive to talk about from this past week from Highland County in terms of wins as both schools lost, but for the SCOL, there was one positive in that the league finally didn't have a losing non-league week, going 4-4, which didn't happen at all last season.
The league has two undefeated teams in Clinton-Massie and Madison-Plains both being 3-0 overall. Another thing they have in common is they each will be visiting Highland County this Friday with CM going to McClain and MP visiting Richards Memorial Field in HHS.
Again, I'll have a lot more later this week on SCOL football in my Week 4 Football Notebook.
• Looking at the week ahead
This week is full of events, so before I get started with all of my opinions and thoughts, game stats and results can be submitted to sforsha@gmail.com or the other ways I've previously listed and sent to the schools. You can also call 937-840-9490 to find out the other many ways to get the info to me if email isn't your thing.
OK, with that said, here are some (not all) of the games that jump off the schedule this upcoming week:
- Tuesday, Sept. 11 — McClain at Clinton-Massie boys soccer: I won't be able to make this contest, but I'm interested in it for the fact it has a lot of SCOL factors on the line. MHS is the defending champ of the league, and CM is tied in first place currently.
- Tuesday, Sept. 11 — McClain at Hillsboro volleyball: Rivalry matches are always fun to watch. HHS hasn't played in over a week and McClain last played this past Thursday … should be an interesting matchup, to say the least.
- Wednesday, Sept. 12 — Fairfield at Lynchburg-Clay volleyball: Again, neither team will have many games played due to last week, and two Highland County schools in a sports event always makes for an interesting matchup. Honestly, though, I've only seen LC once and this will be the first time I've seen FHS this season … no idea what the records are for either team, either.
- Thursday, Sept. 13 — McClain at Miami Trace boys/girls soccer: I've seen both these teams play this season, and it, too, could be an even matchup at Panther Stadium. Also, the girls teams are close to even on the field and could produce a competitive match.
• Looking back at Week 1 of the NFL
*This will not include the Monday Night games, but will include thoughts on all games up to Monday Night Football.
- Cowboys 24, Giants 17: Was a good game to open the '12 NFL season … Giants are better than they played on Wednesday, and the Cowboys are a better team than last season. The NFC East is the toughest division in football right now.
- Bears 41, Colts 21: If you watched the first two possessions of the Bears, you would have thought they were wanting to lose the game on purpose. The Bears settled down, and their offense ended up with 480 yards. I like the running back duo of Matt Forte and Michael Bush, and I love the QB-WR duo of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall. As for Andrew Luck, he had a good enough game for a rookie making his first start (23-of-45 for 309 yards passing with one TD and 3 interceptions with a QB rating of 52.9) … could have been worse.
- Eagles 17, Browns 16: The Browns had their chances for this game, and they realized they are the Browns and lost again. The Eagles didn't play to their capabilities either … their offense needs to be better than what it was to compete in the NFC East.
- Lions 27, Rams 23: Matt Stafford didn't look like the all-world QB we saw last year, which in turn makes Calvin Johnson not play to his full potential either. Not a good game for the Lions with Stafford's three interceptions, and they are lucky they got the win. The Rams are improved but still have a long road ahead of them.
-Patriots 34, Titans 13: The Patriots spread out the ball and did what they always do … what was expected of them, no real surprise here. As for the Titans, they played part of the game with their starting QB on the bench injured … not good. As for their running game … when an NFL team can only get 20 yards rushing on 16 attempts … that's sad.
- Falcons 40, Chiefs 24: Matt Ryan's performance (23-for-31, 299 yards passing, 3 passing TDs and one rushing TD with a QB rating of 136.4) should make everyone in the NFL take notice … and it pretty much ruined my fantasy football day as my opponent had him on their team. Also, Julio Jones at wide out to throw to doesn't hurt either. The Chiefs kept it close early, but their defense wasn't much compared to the ATL offense. After week one, they look like the best team to me.
- Vikings 26, Jaguars 23: Even though they lost, the Jaguars played better than I thought they would. As for the Vikes … it is safe to say Adrian Peterson is baaaack. Two TDs (84 rushing yards) coming off a knee injury from last season .. yeah, AP proved many people wrong Sunday. Also, how impressive was Maurice Jones-Drew after no training camp from his holdout? My answer is very. Having 77 yards on 19 carries with a week of practice … didn't see that coming.
- Redskins 40, Saints 32: The Saints need their head coach back, and the Redskins have offensive firepower for the first time in a long time. To believe in the 'Skins, I want to see it for more than a week, but Robert Griffin III was impressive with the 320 yards passing and two TDs (an 88-yard TD pass) with a QB rating of 139.9. It took the Saints too long to get started, and their defense is suspect to the big play … not a good combo for this game.
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- Jets 48, Bills 28: Didn't see this coming, and the Jets came to play. The Bills … well, I'm not sure they even found the field Sunday … they disappointed on both sides of the ball. For the Jets, looks like Mark Sanchez told everyone to shut it with his play Sunday (266 yards with three TDs) … maybe it should be called "Sanchez Time" in NY instead of the backup QB getting all the headlines.
- Texans 30, Dolphins 10: The Texans' defense is still good, and they dominated a rookie QB (Matt Schaub finally got his contract … one he deserves) following the 20-point win. Arian Foster got his two TDs, and the Texans showed they can be the Super Bowl contender the experts think they can be. I have nothing to say about the Dolphins.
- 49ers 30, Packers 22: This win makes the 49ers the best team in the NFL, in my opinion. Though the score says they won by eight points, their defense was the reason they won. I like watching this defense … and more than likely, these two teams will meet again in the playoffs. The Packers didn't have their best game by far, but the 49ers will do that to most teams they play this season with that defense. Also, did you see the Randy Moss sighting … he's still got it.
- Cardinals 20, Seahawks 16: The surprise of the day was the Cards winning this game. Maybe it had something to do with John Skelton leaving the game with an injury or the Seahawks starting a rookie QB, but if there was one game at the start of the day where I would have 100-percent picked a team winning, it would have been the Seahawks defeating the Cardinals … and I would have been wrong.
- Tampa Bay 16, Panthers 10: I like the Tampa Bay running game of Doug Martin … he's going to be a star in the NFL with a rookie debut of 24 carries and 95 yards. Cam Newton had the yards, but he forgot he wasn't a Buccaneer, and throwing to them twice hurt the Panthers' chances of winning. I like what Greg Schiano has brought to Tampa Bay.
- Broncos 31, Steelers 19: The Broncos looked refreshed, and the Steelers didn't. The last stand by the Broncos' defense where they kept sacking Ben Roethlisberger made them a team to watch in the AFC, along with the interception for a TD by Terry Porter … the Broncos' defense is dangerous. Also, Peyton Manning looked like the same Manning who won many times wearing a Colts uniform. The Broncos and Falcons could be a fun game to watch next week.
- In my predictions from last week for Week 1, I'm currently 9-5 headed into the two Monday night games.
• A few non-high school sports thoughts
- Seems like fall weather is here … I love the fall, so I'm not complaining.
- Fall also means "NCIS" will be returning for its 10th season … can't wait. This summer, I watched every episode of "How I Met Your Mother," so I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out as well. (The thing is, I never watch these shows during their regular time … thank goodness for the internet.)
- The new baseball movie "Trouble with the Curve" starring Clint Eastwood doesn't look like Clint Eastwood movies I'm used to watching. Looks a little cheesy to me … but I might give it a try. I mean, it is hard to mess up a baseball movie, unless it is a Bad News Bears sequel.
- Fantasy football wasn't so great to me in Week 1 … not even friendly to me. In fact, I don't think fantasy football likes me one bit.
- I'm still winless as a Penn State football fan. Going to be a long four years … that's for sure.
- MLB this time of year is great … love all the playoff races going on.
- Same with NASCAR and its playoff race… 10 races to go … the Chase for the Sprint Cup this season will be hard-pressed to top last year's, but it still should be entertaining, to say the least. Without the Chase, last Saturday's race was just another race on the schedule instead of a playoff clincher race for Jeff Gordon as he outran Kyle Busch for the final wildcard spot.
- I'm back to being the worst player ever at Madden football video games. I tried Madden '13 for the first time … I'm not very good.
- Robert Griffin III became the first quarterback to start a game who was born in the 1990s … I feel older than I should.
- Get Well Soon, Matt Carey! (Matt played baseball for the American Legion Hillsboro Post 129 summer team the past few summers.)
• Stat of the Week
The McClain Tigers had more offensive yardage than the Zane Trace Pioneers on Friday night (247-197) but still lost by five points.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
41 yards … that was the distance of a field goal by Connor Smith of Zane Trace Friday at MHS.
• Quote of the Week
"We have to come next week with a better mindset for football." — Randy Closson, McClain football head coach, following the Tigers' 17-12 lead to Zane Trace on Friday. This week, MHS hosts Clinton-Massie.
• One last item of business
I'm just ready (I hope) to get back to a normal schedule of work. The fair week break was nice, but I can only sit around and do nothing for so long. Can't wait to be back at the games and see how this season of fall sports turns out. Also, Tuesday will complete my sixth year of covering sports and news in Highland County, and I'll start on my seventh … thanks for having me around (I continue to strive for improvement) … and thanks to Rory Ryan for giving a nervous kid out of college with a few clips in a folder a chance to pursue his career choice back in September 2006.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.