SCOL History: Blue Lions lead SCOL; Nared era begins at WHS
By
Bob Patton-
Blue Lions lead SCOL;
Nared era begins at WHS
By BOB PATTON
For The Highland County Press
Continued from last week.)
In the Wilmington vs. Xenia football game in 1981, Wilmington freshman quarterback Greg Nared had a rough introduction to varsity football when he completed only four of 16 passes and was intercepted three times. Often times, there was considerable difference in the caliber of the competition in these non-league encounters.
In another round of non-league action Sept. 11, WCH edged tough Greenon, 15-14, Wilmington squeaked by Springboro, 7-6, and Hillsboro downed New Richmond, 14-6, when all-league defensive lineman Richard Hastings pounced on two New Richmond fumbles at key points in the game. Also, Miami Trace thumped Dayton Dunbar, 35-6, and Circleville handcuffed Chillicothe, 10-0.
In the Wilmington vs. Springboro matchup, Springboro won the battle of statistics, but Wilmington recovered three Springboro fumbles which turned the tide of the game.
In other games, McClain entertained London. The Raiders scored the first five touchdowns, rolling up a score of 31-0 before the Tigers got on the board. The final score was 31-14. Also, Southeastern clipped Madison-Plains, 19-13, and Pickerington blasted Teays Valley, 24-6.
Washington recorded its third straight win Sept. 18, when the Lions beat Chillicothe, 26-20, at Gardner Park. At Lebanon, the Warriors shut out the Wilmington Hurricane, 15-0, and Hillsboro traveled to Unioto and came out on the short end of a 32-12 score.
Meanwhile, Miami Trace looked very good in defeating Cincinnati Hughes, 20-6, and Linden McKinley trounced Teays Valley, 20-6. At Westfall, the Mustangs scored when Madison-Plains snapped the ball through the punter’s hands and out of the end zone for a safety, in the third quarter. That’s all the scoring there was, as neither team could get the ball across the goal
line. Westfall 2, Plains 0.
Springfield Shawnee walloped McClain, 35-0. At Circleville, junior fullback Tony Cooper rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries and scored Circleville’s first three touchdowns, and the Tigers beat Athens, 35-0.
Interestingly, Chillicothe, who was expecting to have a very good season, opened their non-league season by playing Miami Trace, Circleville and Washington, and losing to all three of them.
So, as the SCOL teams prepared to open their league seasons, Miami Trace and WCH were 3-0, Hillsboro and Circleville were 2-1, Madison-Plains and Wilmington were 1-2 and McClain and Teays Valley were 0-3.
SCOL action began Sept. 25, when Washington traveled to Circleville, Hillsboro was at Teays Valley, Miami Trace visited Greenfield McClain and
Wilmington hosted Madison-Plains. Hillsboro had to play without starting quarterback Will Gregory and star running back Doug Price, due to injuries.
But running backs Jeff Jackson and Tim Kiefer combined for 110 yards on 36 carries, while TV quarterback Robert Fetherolf missed on all six of his
pass attempts and had two of them intercepted. It just wasn’t his night. The Indians came home with a 14-0 win.
At Wilmington, the Hurricane had a hard time getting started, but ran over Madison-Plains in the second half, and won the game by a score of 33-7. Meanwhile, Miami Trace downed McClain, 27-12 and Washington blitzed Circleville, 27-7.
The next Friday night, Oct. 2, WCH (4-0) would take the short drive out to Miami Trace (4-0), and either the Blue Lions or the Panthers would drop from the ranks of the undefeated.
Also, Madison-Plains would celebrate their Homecoming by taking on the McClain Tigers, Teays Valley would make the long trip to Wilmington, while
Circleville would visit Hillsboro.
Washington C.H. proved too much for Miami Trace. The game was deadlocked in the second quarter, 7-7. But after they were unable to move the ball, the
Panthers were in punt formation when the snap from center sailed over punter Steve Grooms’ head. The loose pigskin was scooped up by Bill McGown of the
Blue Lions, and he carried it in for the go-ahead score. WCH went on to down the Panthers, 35-14.
At Madison-Plains, the McClain Tigers were forced to play the entire second half with a makeshift backfield, after Eddie Seldon and Steve Baxla
both left the game with injuries. The Tigers fumbled on their 18-yard line and, a couple of plays later, Danny McGlaughlin ran the final seven yards
for the only touchdown of the game. Plains 7, McClain 0.
Circleville showed up at Hillsboro. The red and black jumped out to a 31-6 halftime lead, and neither team scored in the second half.
At Wilmington, the Hurricane ran for 214 yards and passed for 246, downing Teays Valley, 35-0. Freshman quarterback Greg Nared completed 14 of 22 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Not a bad evening’s work.
At this very early point in the SCOL season, Washington C.H. and Wilmington were at the top with 2-0 league records, MT, Circleville,
Hillsboro and MP stood at 1-1, while McClain and Teays Valley were 0-2. But there was still a lot of football to be played.
October 9 saw the Hillsboro Indians meeting WCH at Gardner Park, MT traveling to Teays Valley, Wilmington meeting the Tigers at Greenfield and
Circleville entertaining Madison-Plains.
At this stage of the SCOL season, Washington was clearly in the driver’s seat They had a 2-0 league record and a 5-0 overall record. They were ranked
seventh in the AP high school poll. More importantly, they were number one in the computer rankings in division 3, meaning that they had a shot at
making the state playoffs. But they would have to beat Wilmington in order to win the gold football.
Madison-Plains proved that their defense was super tough, when they went into Circleville and battled the highly favored Tigers to a scoreless tie. This was MP’s eighth year in the SCOL and the first time that they did not lose to Circleville.
Washington shut out Hillsboro, 27-0, making the Blue Lions 3-0 in the league and 6-0 overall. Miami Trace, playing without starting quarterback Bill Dennis, still had enough to trample Teays Valley, 30-0. This win kept the Panthers one game out of first place.
This was Homecoming week in Greenfield. Before the game, lovely McClain High School senior Julie Hockenberger was crowned 1981 MHS Homecoming queen.
She was escorted by queen’s attendant Tina Haines, senior attendant Rhonda Trefz, junior attendant Sabine Gaber, sophomore attendant Sonya Bichsel and
freshman attendant Tammy May.
When the football game started, it was soon obvious that the Tigers didn’t just come to play, they came to win. Playing without top tailback
Eddie Seldon, who was injured the week before, quarterback Dusty Miller completed 11 of 34 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Along the way,
he also set a new SCOL record by throwing eight interceptions.
Wilmington fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the final buzzer sounded with the Hurricane ahead, 20-14. It was a moral victory for McClain.
On the 16th of October, the undefeated WCH Blue Lions trampled winless Teays Valley, 40-7, but it was a moral victory for Teays Valley, who scored their first touchdown in four weeks.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.
(Continued from last week.)
In the Wilmington vs. Xenia football game in 1981, Wilmington freshman quarterback Greg Nared had a rough introduction to varsity football when he completed only four of 16 passes and was intercepted three times. Often times, there was considerable difference in the caliber of the competition in these non-league encounters.
In another round of non-league action Sept. 11, WCH edged tough Greenon, 15-14, Wilmington squeaked by Springboro, 7-6, and Hillsboro downed New Richmond, 14-6, when all-league defensive lineman Richard Hastings pounced on two New Richmond fumbles at key points in the game. Also, Miami Trace thumped Dayton Dunbar, 35-6, and Circleville handcuffed Chillicothe, 10-0.
In the Wilmington vs. Springboro matchup, Springboro won the battle of statistics, but Wilmington recovered three Springboro fumbles which turned the tide of the game.
In other games, McClain entertained London. The Raiders scored the first five touchdowns, rolling up a score of 31-0 before the Tigers got on the board. The final score was 31-14. Also, Southeastern clipped Madison-Plains, 19-13, and Pickerington blasted Teays Valley, 24-6.
Washington recorded its third straight win Sept. 18, when the Lions beat Chillicothe, 26-20, at Gardner Park. At Lebanon, the Warriors shut out the Wilmington Hurricane, 15-0, and Hillsboro traveled to Unioto and came out on the short end of a 32-12 score.
Meanwhile, Miami Trace looked very good in defeating Cincinnati Hughes, 20-6, and Linden McKinley trounced Teays Valley, 20-6. At Westfall, the Mustangs scored when Madison-Plains snapped the ball through the punter’s hands and out of the end zone for a safety, in the third quarter. That’s all the scoring there was, as neither team could get the ball across the goal
line. Westfall 2, Plains 0.
Springfield Shawnee walloped McClain, 35-0. At Circleville, junior fullback Tony Cooper rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries and scored Circleville’s first three touchdowns, and the Tigers beat Athens, 35-0.
Interestingly, Chillicothe, who was expecting to have a very good season, opened their non-league season by playing Miami Trace, Circleville and Washington, and losing to all three of them.
So, as the SCOL teams prepared to open their league seasons, Miami Trace and WCH were 3-0, Hillsboro and Circleville were 2-1, Madison-Plains and Wilmington were 1-2 and McClain and Teays Valley were 0-3.
SCOL action began Sept. 25, when Washington traveled to Circleville, Hillsboro was at Teays Valley, Miami Trace visited Greenfield McClain and
Wilmington hosted Madison-Plains. Hillsboro had to play without starting quarterback Will Gregory and star running back Doug Price, due to injuries.
But running backs Jeff Jackson and Tim Kiefer combined for 110 yards on 36 carries, while TV quarterback Robert Fetherolf missed on all six of his
pass attempts and had two of them intercepted. It just wasn’t his night. The Indians came home with a 14-0 win.
At Wilmington, the Hurricane had a hard time getting started, but ran over Madison-Plains in the second half, and won the game by a score of 33-7. Meanwhile, Miami Trace downed McClain, 27-12 and Washington blitzed Circleville, 27-7.
The next Friday night, Oct. 2, WCH (4-0) would take the short drive out to Miami Trace (4-0), and either the Blue Lions or the Panthers would drop from the ranks of the undefeated.
Also, Madison-Plains would celebrate their Homecoming by taking on the McClain Tigers, Teays Valley would make the long trip to Wilmington, while
Circleville would visit Hillsboro.
Washington C.H. proved too much for Miami Trace. The game was deadlocked in the second quarter, 7-7. But after they were unable to move the ball, the
Panthers were in punt formation when the snap from center sailed over punter Steve Grooms’ head. The loose pigskin was scooped up by Bill McGown of the
Blue Lions, and he carried it in for the go-ahead score. WCH went on to down the Panthers, 35-14.
At Madison-Plains, the McClain Tigers were forced to play the entire second half with a makeshift backfield, after Eddie Seldon and Steve Baxla
both left the game with injuries. The Tigers fumbled on their 18-yard line and, a couple of plays later, Danny McGlaughlin ran the final seven yards
for the only touchdown of the game. Plains 7, McClain 0.
Circleville showed up at Hillsboro. The red and black jumped out to a 31-6 halftime lead, and neither team scored in the second half.
At Wilmington, the Hurricane ran for 214 yards and passed for 246, downing Teays Valley, 35-0. Freshman quarterback Greg Nared completed 14 of 22 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Not a bad evening’s work.
At this very early point in the SCOL season, Washington C.H. and Wilmington were at the top with 2-0 league records, MT, Circleville,
Hillsboro and MP stood at 1-1, while McClain and Teays Valley were 0-2. But there was still a lot of football to be played.
October 9 saw the Hillsboro Indians meeting WCH at Gardner Park, MT traveling to Teays Valley, Wilmington meeting the Tigers at Greenfield and
Circleville entertaining Madison-Plains.
At this stage of the SCOL season, Washington was clearly in the driver’s seat They had a 2-0 league record and a 5-0 overall record. They were ranked
seventh in the AP high school poll. More importantly, they were number one in the computer rankings in division 3, meaning that they had a shot at
making the state playoffs. But they would have to beat Wilmington in order to win the gold football.
Madison-Plains proved that their defense was super tough, when they went into Circleville and battled the highly favored Tigers to a scoreless tie. This was MP’s eighth year in the SCOL and the first time that they did not lose to Circleville.
Washington shut out Hillsboro, 27-0, making the Blue Lions 3-0 in the league and 6-0 overall. Miami Trace, playing without starting quarterback Bill Dennis, still had enough to trample Teays Valley, 30-0. This win kept the Panthers one game out of first place.
This was Homecoming week in Greenfield. Before the game, lovely McClain High School senior Julie Hockenberger was crowned 1981 MHS Homecoming queen.
She was escorted by queen’s attendant Tina Haines, senior attendant Rhonda Trefz, junior attendant Sabine Gaber, sophomore attendant Sonya Bichsel and
freshman attendant Tammy May.
When the football game started, it was soon obvious that the Tigers didn’t just come to play, they came to win. Playing without top tailback
Eddie Seldon, who was injured the week before, quarterback Dusty Miller completed 11 of 34 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. Along the way,
he also set a new SCOL record by throwing eight interceptions.
Wilmington fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the final buzzer sounded with the Hurricane ahead, 20-14. It was a moral victory for McClain.
On the 16th of October, the undefeated WCH Blue Lions trampled winless Teays Valley, 40-7, but it was a moral victory for Teays Valley, who scored their first touchdown in four weeks.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.
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