Redemption season for Tiger football
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
If one high school sports team in Highland County had what can be coined a "redemption season" during the 2012 fall campaign, the one that comes to my mind is the McClain Tiger football team.
Hear me out … first off, the Tigers had a six-win improvement from the previous year (which is tough to do), played much better on both sides of the ball (more than doubling their overall points scored), overcame some injuries and to be honest, played much better than anyone would have predicted or thought they would at the beginning of the season.
If you weren't a member of the team or the coaching staff before the start of the season, you didn't pick the Tigers to go from a 1-9 season to a 7-3 year.
[[In-content Ad]]One of the reasons why I love high school athletics are because of seasons like this. Not only did the Tigers win seven games (tied for third in the South Central Ohio League at 5-2), but they were on the brink of reaching the postseason for the first time in school history … and by brink, I mean one spot short in the computer rankings … as they were ninth in the Region 12 rankings. At one point, they were as high as sixth.
Be honest again … when was the last time an MHS team had those type of hopes of making the playoffs at the conclusion of the Rotary Bowl in Week 10? It's been a while.
This team is the perfect definition of redemption.
I want to take you back to the 95-plus degree summer heat of August … a Monday afternoon practice of the second week of two-a-days at the McClain practice field in Greenfield. That day, during a break in practice, I spoke with senior running back Roscoe East in a casual conversation. Sometime during the conversation, he looked at me and said, "We will be better than a one-win team."
I believed him on that sweltering day … and his play, along with the play of his teammates this past season, more than proved it.
About a week later, I knew the Tigers were much improved from the previous
season just from their play in a scrimmage against Wilmington. In a notebook article about that scrimmage, I wrote, "In their first 10 plays on defense against Wilmington, the Tigers' defense had good energy …"
That energy lasted for a vast majority of the season.
This regular season, the Tigers began with a double-overtime win at Adena, then a home win over Unioto in their SCOL vs. Scioto Valley Conference games.
Week three was the toughest loss to digest this year, as the Tigers had a lead, lost it, and had multiple chances to score from five yards away very, very late in the fourth quarter but just couldn't score and lost 17-12 to Zane Trace.
A week-four loss to the Clinton-Massie Falcons was nothing to hang their heads about because everyone on CM’s schedule came up short on the scoreboard.
That loss was followed by three straight wins against East Clinton, London and Washington … all of which were losses in the previous season. The biggest surprise of the season was the loss at Miami Trace … not because they lost, as MT was an improved team also, but by the point differential. That loss didn't damper the Tigers' season, though.
MHS rebounded with two final wins against Madison-Plains and the Rotary Bowl win against Hillsboro.
Another improvement MHS showed this season was their offense. In '11, they totaled just 94 points, but one year later, they totaled 262 points, ending the year winning five of their final six games. A lot of that was due to much improved offensive line play, which allowed for the rest of the offense to gain their momentum. All football fans know you can't win without great play from an offensive line, and the Tigers had that this season, so give credit where credit is due.
MHS lived and died with their defensive play … a much more aggressive defense than what MHS fans have been used to.
I liked it … no, I loved their defensive play this past season. That defense gained their first shutout in eight seasons (a 36-0 win over London), and I don't think I watched a more dominant MHS team than I did that game.
A season like this wasn't built in a year or two … no, like I've said many times, it takes time to build a successful football program or even successful season. Patience is the key, and with two winning seasons in the past three years, the Tigers should be proud of the direction their football program is headed.
It takes not only patience, but solid coaching, which the Tigers have in coach Randy Closson and his staff. This year, you could see each has their own role in a given game … some are calm, some are collected and some are downright intense. A football team needs that dynamic and variety to be a success.
This season can be the correct stepping stone needed for MHS in future seasons, not only at the varsity level, but at all levels of football in Greenfield because success in the future starts at the youth levels. That's how programs are built. That's where the excitement starts for this game.
As the '12 has come to a close, this is a simple congratulations to the Tigers … the seniors for playing tough their final season, and I hope for more successful seasons in the future for the McClain program, because they've earned it. They've worked for it.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Stephen can be reached via email at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
Hear me out … first off, the Tigers had a six-win improvement from the previous year (which is tough to do), played much better on both sides of the ball (more than doubling their overall points scored), overcame some injuries and to be honest, played much better than anyone would have predicted or thought they would at the beginning of the season.
If you weren't a member of the team or the coaching staff before the start of the season, you didn't pick the Tigers to go from a 1-9 season to a 7-3 year.
[[In-content Ad]]One of the reasons why I love high school athletics are because of seasons like this. Not only did the Tigers win seven games (tied for third in the South Central Ohio League at 5-2), but they were on the brink of reaching the postseason for the first time in school history … and by brink, I mean one spot short in the computer rankings … as they were ninth in the Region 12 rankings. At one point, they were as high as sixth.
Be honest again … when was the last time an MHS team had those type of hopes of making the playoffs at the conclusion of the Rotary Bowl in Week 10? It's been a while.
This team is the perfect definition of redemption.
I want to take you back to the 95-plus degree summer heat of August … a Monday afternoon practice of the second week of two-a-days at the McClain practice field in Greenfield. That day, during a break in practice, I spoke with senior running back Roscoe East in a casual conversation. Sometime during the conversation, he looked at me and said, "We will be better than a one-win team."
I believed him on that sweltering day … and his play, along with the play of his teammates this past season, more than proved it.
About a week later, I knew the Tigers were much improved from the previous
season just from their play in a scrimmage against Wilmington. In a notebook article about that scrimmage, I wrote, "In their first 10 plays on defense against Wilmington, the Tigers' defense had good energy …"
That energy lasted for a vast majority of the season.
This regular season, the Tigers began with a double-overtime win at Adena, then a home win over Unioto in their SCOL vs. Scioto Valley Conference games.
Week three was the toughest loss to digest this year, as the Tigers had a lead, lost it, and had multiple chances to score from five yards away very, very late in the fourth quarter but just couldn't score and lost 17-12 to Zane Trace.
A week-four loss to the Clinton-Massie Falcons was nothing to hang their heads about because everyone on CM’s schedule came up short on the scoreboard.
That loss was followed by three straight wins against East Clinton, London and Washington … all of which were losses in the previous season. The biggest surprise of the season was the loss at Miami Trace … not because they lost, as MT was an improved team also, but by the point differential. That loss didn't damper the Tigers' season, though.
MHS rebounded with two final wins against Madison-Plains and the Rotary Bowl win against Hillsboro.
Another improvement MHS showed this season was their offense. In '11, they totaled just 94 points, but one year later, they totaled 262 points, ending the year winning five of their final six games. A lot of that was due to much improved offensive line play, which allowed for the rest of the offense to gain their momentum. All football fans know you can't win without great play from an offensive line, and the Tigers had that this season, so give credit where credit is due.
MHS lived and died with their defensive play … a much more aggressive defense than what MHS fans have been used to.
I liked it … no, I loved their defensive play this past season. That defense gained their first shutout in eight seasons (a 36-0 win over London), and I don't think I watched a more dominant MHS team than I did that game.
A season like this wasn't built in a year or two … no, like I've said many times, it takes time to build a successful football program or even successful season. Patience is the key, and with two winning seasons in the past three years, the Tigers should be proud of the direction their football program is headed.
It takes not only patience, but solid coaching, which the Tigers have in coach Randy Closson and his staff. This year, you could see each has their own role in a given game … some are calm, some are collected and some are downright intense. A football team needs that dynamic and variety to be a success.
This season can be the correct stepping stone needed for MHS in future seasons, not only at the varsity level, but at all levels of football in Greenfield because success in the future starts at the youth levels. That's how programs are built. That's where the excitement starts for this game.
As the '12 has come to a close, this is a simple congratulations to the Tigers … the seniors for playing tough their final season, and I hope for more successful seasons in the future for the McClain program, because they've earned it. They've worked for it.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. Stephen can be reached via email at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.