Not off the Press: Soccer ties, college football and NFL predictions
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Another week of the high school sports season has wrapped up. It's hard to believe the season is already two weeks old in most sports and even older in golf.
My dilemma from this past week is from the soccer field. I saw some really good matches this week. Two in particular were the boys soccer matches between the McClain Tigers and Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs and the Hillsboro Indians and Clinton-Massie Falcons … both of which ended in 3-3 tied scores, and both games were tied within the final 18 seconds of regulation.
Those two matches have been the two best matches I've seen thus far, but here is where I have a problem with the sport, or any sport that is content ending without a winner … that's the problem … why play 80 minutes and not have an overtime period during the regular season?
When I spend 80 minutes watching any sport, get emotionally involved in it, the players, fans and coaches get emotionally involved … and the score is tied and time runs out … then the rules say "let's just end in a tie unless it is the postseason." I'm just not a fan of that rule. I don't understand why there is a rule like that in the first place.
Am I just worried about wanting a winner too much? What do you think? If you were a rules maker, would you have a tie rule in the regular season? I would like to see that rule changed in the future.
I know some soccer fields don't have lights and such for soccer matches in case the games go longer than scheduled. That could be one of the reasons for a rule like that … if that is the case, start the matches 30 or 45 minutes earlier, and teams will have the extra daylight for those type of situations.
I'm just not a fan of tied scores … that's basically the gist of it. Otherwise, I was very entertained by those two matches and I wish more matches had the type of competition that those two matches had those two nights.
• More on the best soccer of the week
Let's use this section to actually talk about those two tied matches. Both matches had something a little different at stake as there were county bragging rights on the line with McClain vs. Lynchburg-Clay on Wednesday in their once-a-year matchup, and the previous night, the Hillsboro Indians and Clinton-Massie were each wanting a South Central Ohio League win as the boys teams are as close to being even as it has been the past few years. They play again later this month, which will be a match going far in the league standings.
Earlier, I spoke about the goals coming in the final seconds in the respective matches. It was Clinton-Massie's Kyle Minor scoring on a free kick to the right side of the goal with 18.3 seconds on the clock and the tie. Before that goal, Hillsboro's Jarrod Hart put the Indians ahead 3-2 with a goal from 15 yards out with 1:59 left in the match.
It was just one of the better matches of the season thus far.
Then Wednesday happened, and the ending was even closer with the final goal coming with 5.5 seconds left on the clock with Ben Chamblin from 30 yards away.
Both games were worth waiting for the 80 minutes to get to that point. I just wish things could have been settled with an overtime … could have been even more excitement.
Oh well.
• Cross-country runners … I could never do what they do
I don't care if I ever actually got into running shape … there is no way I could do what any of the cross-country runners did on Saturday. That course looked awfully tough … I was getting knee pain going back to my car. I'm jealous of how those runners ran that course because I'm 99.9 percent sure I'd never be able to do that sport at all.
• Looking at the week ahead
This week, there isn't much going on with the Highland County Fair taking place. All games involving Highland County are on the road, and to read about my football thoughts, read my SCOL Notebook later in the week.
[[In-content Ad]]• College Football thoughts from the week
The opening weekend of college football was better than expected for the most part. Though my Nittany Lions lost to Ohio University … but after a couple days of cooling off, I'm just glad Penn State had a team on the field this past weekend. Credit Ohio U for their strong second half.
Here are some other thoughts from this past college football weekend.
- The ESPN 3 replay mode online is amazing.
- Upset of the weekend was Youngstown State defeating Pittsburgh. What has happened to Pitt in recent years?
- Alabama is even better than I thought … wait until late in the season. They could be scary good.
- Michigan is worse than I thought … Michigan State is better. Wisconsin looked a little rough (one of those three teams will win the Big Ten).
- Ohio State did what they should do against teams like Miami.
- Former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis led to Kansas Jayhawks to a great start as they defeated South Dakota State, 31-17.
- It's sad Oklahoma State didn't run up the score, even though it was an 84-0 win over Savannah State. Oklahoma State took their starters out after the first quarter.
- Anyone stay awake Saturday night around 1:30 a.m. to see Oklahoma survive a scare against UTEP? Came down to the final quarter. Not a bad game. UTEP hurt themselves when attempting a fake punt in the fourth … ruined their momentum and opened the door for OU to take control. On a side note, UTEP's uniforms win the award for being brighter than the sun.
- Best ending of a game I watched was a tie of Monday's overtime game with Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech (the fourth quarter was better than the overtime) or Northwestern gaining a late win over Syracuse in the fourth on a late touchdown, though a late (and iffy) personal foul call on the Orange vastly helped Northwestern.
- Heisman talk after the first week is a complete waste of time. Getting 300 or 400 yards against small conference opponents does nothing for me.
- From the score, looks like Iowa was lucky to leave Northern Illinois with a win … they won 18-17 with nine points in the fourth quarter.
• NFL Predictions
Every year with my family, we try to pick the winners of every NFL game each week … I'll share with you my picks on a weekly basis. Feel free to tell me how awful the picks are because usually I finish near or at the bottom of the four people who make the picks. (Feel free to put your picks in the comments section of this column.)
Giants over Cowboys, Patriots over Titans, Bills over Jets, Texans over Dolphins, Eagles over Browns, Bears over Colts, Vikings over Jaguars, Falcons over Chiefs, Saints over Redskins, 49ers over Packers, Lions over Rams, Panthers over Buccaneers, Seahawks over Cardinals, Broncos over Steelers, Bengals over Ravens, Chargers over Raiders.
Remember, the NFL starts on Wednesday this year with the Cowboys at Giants … I won't be much use to anyone once that game starts.
• Quote of the Week
"I thought we played really well. I was still disappointed with turnovers. The guys, you know, they are fighting for us. They are fighting for McClain ... they have a lot of pride, and they are playing really good football." — Randy Closson, McClain head football coach following their 31-12 win over Unioto in Week 2.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"Headed into the layoff is big for us. We were in same situation we are in now last season, and that didn't work out too well for us. The stretch after fair week is critical as we need to play well following the fair." — John Weber, HHS boys soccer coach following their 5-4 win at McClain on Thursday.
• (A third) Quote of the Week
"We were just trying to fight back into the game in the last 10 minutes … we would have rather had a win, but a tie is better than a loss. I'm proud of the boys in their ability to come back." — Jon Chamblin, MHS boys soccer coach following their 3-3 tie vs. Lynchburg-Clay on Wednesday.
• Stat of the Week
Lynchburg-Clay senior Taylor Scott scored three goals in under eight minutes Wednesday at McClain for the hat-trick.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
The Paint Valley Bearcat football team rushed the ball 57 times for 349 yards as the team totaled eight touchdowns en route to their non-league victory over Williamsburg in Week 2.
• (A third) Stat of the Week
At the Ohio Classic this past Saturday … the girls event was won by London junior Sarra Taylor at 21:13 … second place finished with a time of 21:40. Taylor won by 27 seconds.
• One last item of business
This being a light week in the sports arenas, I'm not complaining … so thank you, Highland County Fair week … I needed a slight slow-down as I've been pretty much on the go since Two-a-Day football practices began. I like this small break, but it will be nice to get back to the normal schedule next week.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
My dilemma from this past week is from the soccer field. I saw some really good matches this week. Two in particular were the boys soccer matches between the McClain Tigers and Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs and the Hillsboro Indians and Clinton-Massie Falcons … both of which ended in 3-3 tied scores, and both games were tied within the final 18 seconds of regulation.
Those two matches have been the two best matches I've seen thus far, but here is where I have a problem with the sport, or any sport that is content ending without a winner … that's the problem … why play 80 minutes and not have an overtime period during the regular season?
When I spend 80 minutes watching any sport, get emotionally involved in it, the players, fans and coaches get emotionally involved … and the score is tied and time runs out … then the rules say "let's just end in a tie unless it is the postseason." I'm just not a fan of that rule. I don't understand why there is a rule like that in the first place.
Am I just worried about wanting a winner too much? What do you think? If you were a rules maker, would you have a tie rule in the regular season? I would like to see that rule changed in the future.
I know some soccer fields don't have lights and such for soccer matches in case the games go longer than scheduled. That could be one of the reasons for a rule like that … if that is the case, start the matches 30 or 45 minutes earlier, and teams will have the extra daylight for those type of situations.
I'm just not a fan of tied scores … that's basically the gist of it. Otherwise, I was very entertained by those two matches and I wish more matches had the type of competition that those two matches had those two nights.
• More on the best soccer of the week
Let's use this section to actually talk about those two tied matches. Both matches had something a little different at stake as there were county bragging rights on the line with McClain vs. Lynchburg-Clay on Wednesday in their once-a-year matchup, and the previous night, the Hillsboro Indians and Clinton-Massie were each wanting a South Central Ohio League win as the boys teams are as close to being even as it has been the past few years. They play again later this month, which will be a match going far in the league standings.
Earlier, I spoke about the goals coming in the final seconds in the respective matches. It was Clinton-Massie's Kyle Minor scoring on a free kick to the right side of the goal with 18.3 seconds on the clock and the tie. Before that goal, Hillsboro's Jarrod Hart put the Indians ahead 3-2 with a goal from 15 yards out with 1:59 left in the match.
It was just one of the better matches of the season thus far.
Then Wednesday happened, and the ending was even closer with the final goal coming with 5.5 seconds left on the clock with Ben Chamblin from 30 yards away.
Both games were worth waiting for the 80 minutes to get to that point. I just wish things could have been settled with an overtime … could have been even more excitement.
Oh well.
• Cross-country runners … I could never do what they do
I don't care if I ever actually got into running shape … there is no way I could do what any of the cross-country runners did on Saturday. That course looked awfully tough … I was getting knee pain going back to my car. I'm jealous of how those runners ran that course because I'm 99.9 percent sure I'd never be able to do that sport at all.
• Looking at the week ahead
This week, there isn't much going on with the Highland County Fair taking place. All games involving Highland County are on the road, and to read about my football thoughts, read my SCOL Notebook later in the week.
[[In-content Ad]]• College Football thoughts from the week
The opening weekend of college football was better than expected for the most part. Though my Nittany Lions lost to Ohio University … but after a couple days of cooling off, I'm just glad Penn State had a team on the field this past weekend. Credit Ohio U for their strong second half.
Here are some other thoughts from this past college football weekend.
- The ESPN 3 replay mode online is amazing.
- Upset of the weekend was Youngstown State defeating Pittsburgh. What has happened to Pitt in recent years?
- Alabama is even better than I thought … wait until late in the season. They could be scary good.
- Michigan is worse than I thought … Michigan State is better. Wisconsin looked a little rough (one of those three teams will win the Big Ten).
- Ohio State did what they should do against teams like Miami.
- Former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis led to Kansas Jayhawks to a great start as they defeated South Dakota State, 31-17.
- It's sad Oklahoma State didn't run up the score, even though it was an 84-0 win over Savannah State. Oklahoma State took their starters out after the first quarter.
- Anyone stay awake Saturday night around 1:30 a.m. to see Oklahoma survive a scare against UTEP? Came down to the final quarter. Not a bad game. UTEP hurt themselves when attempting a fake punt in the fourth … ruined their momentum and opened the door for OU to take control. On a side note, UTEP's uniforms win the award for being brighter than the sun.
- Best ending of a game I watched was a tie of Monday's overtime game with Virginia Tech over Georgia Tech (the fourth quarter was better than the overtime) or Northwestern gaining a late win over Syracuse in the fourth on a late touchdown, though a late (and iffy) personal foul call on the Orange vastly helped Northwestern.
- Heisman talk after the first week is a complete waste of time. Getting 300 or 400 yards against small conference opponents does nothing for me.
- From the score, looks like Iowa was lucky to leave Northern Illinois with a win … they won 18-17 with nine points in the fourth quarter.
• NFL Predictions
Every year with my family, we try to pick the winners of every NFL game each week … I'll share with you my picks on a weekly basis. Feel free to tell me how awful the picks are because usually I finish near or at the bottom of the four people who make the picks. (Feel free to put your picks in the comments section of this column.)
Giants over Cowboys, Patriots over Titans, Bills over Jets, Texans over Dolphins, Eagles over Browns, Bears over Colts, Vikings over Jaguars, Falcons over Chiefs, Saints over Redskins, 49ers over Packers, Lions over Rams, Panthers over Buccaneers, Seahawks over Cardinals, Broncos over Steelers, Bengals over Ravens, Chargers over Raiders.
Remember, the NFL starts on Wednesday this year with the Cowboys at Giants … I won't be much use to anyone once that game starts.
• Quote of the Week
"I thought we played really well. I was still disappointed with turnovers. The guys, you know, they are fighting for us. They are fighting for McClain ... they have a lot of pride, and they are playing really good football." — Randy Closson, McClain head football coach following their 31-12 win over Unioto in Week 2.
• (A second) Quote of the Week
"Headed into the layoff is big for us. We were in same situation we are in now last season, and that didn't work out too well for us. The stretch after fair week is critical as we need to play well following the fair." — John Weber, HHS boys soccer coach following their 5-4 win at McClain on Thursday.
• (A third) Quote of the Week
"We were just trying to fight back into the game in the last 10 minutes … we would have rather had a win, but a tie is better than a loss. I'm proud of the boys in their ability to come back." — Jon Chamblin, MHS boys soccer coach following their 3-3 tie vs. Lynchburg-Clay on Wednesday.
• Stat of the Week
Lynchburg-Clay senior Taylor Scott scored three goals in under eight minutes Wednesday at McClain for the hat-trick.
• (A second) Stat of the Week
The Paint Valley Bearcat football team rushed the ball 57 times for 349 yards as the team totaled eight touchdowns en route to their non-league victory over Williamsburg in Week 2.
• (A third) Stat of the Week
At the Ohio Classic this past Saturday … the girls event was won by London junior Sarra Taylor at 21:13 … second place finished with a time of 21:40. Taylor won by 27 seconds.
• One last item of business
This being a light week in the sports arenas, I'm not complaining … so thank you, Highland County Fair week … I needed a slight slow-down as I've been pretty much on the go since Two-a-Day football practices began. I like this small break, but it will be nice to get back to the normal schedule next week.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.