SCOL History: SCOL looks to be balanced for 1982
By
Bob Patton-
SCOL looks to be
balanced for 1982
By BOB PATTON
For The Highland County Press
The key word for the 1982 SCOL football season was to be balance. The league had been extremely close for the past two years. 1980 had been a nightmare for engravers, who had to crowd Circleville, Wilmington and Washington C.H. on the championship cup. Before that, you had to go all the way back to 1958 to find three teams ending in a tie for the title, when McClain, WCH and Franklin Heights all finished the season in a tie. There were only six teams in the SCOL in 1958, and three of them tied for the championship.
In 1981, there was almost a repeat, but Wilmington lost to Miami Trace on the last playing date of the SCOL season, dropping the Hurricane to third place. MT and Washington tied for the league championship and eventually got into the division 3 playoffs and went all the way to the state finals before being defeated by Akron St. Vincent St. Mary.
In 1982, it appeared that at least four teams, Washington, Wilmington, Circleville and Miami Trace would slug it out for the elusive South Central Ohio League football championship. In addition, Hillsboro, who lost a lot of talent through graduation, had the potential to be in the thick of the race as well.
Washington had lost three of the SCOL’s beat players but still had plenty of talent to make another run for the finish line in ’82. Junior quarterback Jeff Shaw was a budding star. Tim Redman, a top receiver, was still around, as were running backs Brad Massie and Fred Jones. The defense was still a question mark, however, and had been shaky in preseason scrimmages.
Miami Trace had an offensive line coming back that averaged 6’2” and 214 pounds. They needed to develop a kicker to replace the graduated Steve Grooms. The Panthers appeared to be among the favorites to grab another title.
Coach Larry Cook, at Circleville, had the number-one running back in the SCOL in the person of Tony Cooper. He was expected to break Sandy Hill’s
all-time Circleville rushing record of 1,531 yards, and, possibly, Carl Smith’s all-time SCOL rushing mark of 1,648 yards set in only nine games in 1952. Cook, whose Circleville teams had been known for “three yards and a cloud of dust,” claimed that the Tigers would pass much more this season. Time would tell.
Wilmington had 14 returning lettermen, including Greg Nared, who was expected to be the league’s best QB. The Hurricane, however, did lose most of their defensive unit, and Coach Bob White, back for his third year, was quite concerned about his defense.
At Hillsboro, Coach Jim Taylor had lost All-SCOL lineman Richard Hastings, most of the offensive and defensive line, and backs Doug Price, Doug Cooper and Joe Keohl, along with quarterback Will Gregory. The Indians would be starting three or four sophomores. The red and white would have shifty tailback Jeff Jackson back, along with tight end Tom Kiefer. Kiefer had a great season as a sophomore. His receptions dropped somewhat in 1981, partly because he was moved to fullback for part of the season. Five-foot-eleven Steve Woods would replace the departed Gregory as quarterback.
The Indians were a question mark in the SCOL. They were very young but had some talent at the skill positions. If they could avoid being decimated by injuries, as they were in 1981, they could be a factor in the outcome of the league race.
McClain was going with speed, primarily because they had almost no size. Most of the SCOL coaches expected the Tigers to compete with Teays Valley and Madison-Plains for one of the three bottom slots in the final league standings.
The Teays Valley Vikings had survived a really miserable season in 1981. They lost all 10 games, finishing dead last in offensive yardage and points scored. They totaled less than 1,300 yards for the entire season and scored a total of just 29 points. They had 47 young men on the squad this year, including 14 returning lettermen. One of the returning lettermen was senior quarterback Robert Fetherolf, who completed only 25 of 85 pass attempts in 1981 for a total of 243 yards and was intercepted seven times. Several sophomores had moved up from last year’s freshman team, which finished second in the league. The Vikings were an unknown at this point.
Head coach Will Pratt of Madison-Plains was in his second year with the Eagles. In the late ’70s, thanks, in part, to talented quarterback Chris Emrich, the Eagles finished in the upper echelon of the SCOL. But in 1980, the Golden Eagles slipped back into last place. In 1981, they won three league games and played well at times. What this season would hold was anybody’s guess.
As was customary, all the SCOL teams opened their seasons with two or three non-league games. Wilmington took their annual trouncing by Xenia (this time 28-0), Miami Trace and Circleville both thumped Chillicothe, Hillsboro played New Richmond, McClain played Frankfort Adena, Teays Valley usually played Hamilton Township, etc. These games gave the coaches a chance to fine-tune their teams before the rugged SCOL competition began. It also gave the other league coaches a chance to scout their league opponents thoroughly before the league games got under way.
The Hillsboro Indians won two of their three opening non-league games in 1982, including an 18-16 thriller over the Unioto Shermans in which quarterback Steve Woods hit running back Jeff Jackson for a 27-yard touchdown in the final 45 seconds of the game.
The following week, Sept. 24, the Indians traveled to Greenfield to meet the McClain Tigers. It was quite unusual for the Indians and the Tigers to meet in the very first league game of the season.
Usually, this game came near the end of the season. Turnovers played a pivotal part in this game. McClain lost four of five fumbles and had a touchdown called back on a penalty. Hillsboro took advantage of the first Tiger turnover, taking an 8-0 first quarter lead. The Indians defensive unit held McClain to only 113 total yards of offense, and only 44 yards on the ground, while Hillsboro running back Jeff Jackson accumulated 152 rushing yards. The Indians won, 14-0.
In other games, Miami Trace downed Wilmington handily, 34-6, Circleville scorched Teays Valley, 42-0, and Washington drubbed Madison-Plains, 21-0.
On the first day of October 1982, Teays Valley visited Hillsboro, where they were shut out, 22-0. At this stage of the season, the Indians led the SCOL in defense. The Hillsboro offense rolled up 268 yards of total offense while limiting the Vikings to only 72 yards. This was the annual HHS Homecoming game. Prior to the opening kickoff, attractive Hillsboro High School senior Angie Gilliland was crowned 1982 Homecoming queen. Her attendants were: senior attendant Peggy Baker, junior attendant Angie Balon, sophomore attendant Amy Davis and freshman attendant Angie Whitley.
Elsewhere, McClain was shut out for the second straight week, this time by Miami Trace, 19-0. Wilmington shut out Madison-Plains, 8-0, and in an excellent football game, Circleville edged Washington, 13-6.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.
The key word for the 1982 SCOL football season was to be balance. The league had been extremely close for the past two years. 1980 had been a nightmare for engravers, who had to crowd Circleville, Wilmington and Washington C.H. on the championship cup. Before that, you had to go all the way back to 1958 to find three teams ending in a tie for the title, when McClain, WCH and Franklin Heights all finished the season in a tie. There were only six teams in the SCOL in 1958, and three of them tied for the championship.
In 1981, there was almost a repeat, but Wilmington lost to Miami Trace on the last playing date of the SCOL season, dropping the Hurricane to third place. MT and Washington tied for the league championship and eventually got into the division 3 playoffs and went all the way to the state finals before being defeated by Akron St. Vincent St. Mary.
In 1982, it appeared that at least four teams, Washington, Wilmington, Circleville and Miami Trace would slug it out for the elusive South Central Ohio League football championship. In addition, Hillsboro, who lost a lot of talent through graduation, had the potential to be in the thick of the race as well.
Washington had lost three of the SCOL’s beat players but still had plenty of talent to make another run for the finish line in ’82. Junior quarterback Jeff Shaw was a budding star. Tim Redman, a top receiver, was still around, as were running backs Brad Massie and Fred Jones. The defense was still a question mark, however, and had been shaky in preseason scrimmages.
Miami Trace had an offensive line coming back that averaged 6’2” and 214 pounds. They needed to develop a kicker to replace the graduated Steve Grooms. The Panthers appeared to be among the favorites to grab another title.
Coach Larry Cook, at Circleville, had the number-one running back in the SCOL in the person of Tony Cooper. He was expected to break Sandy Hill’s
all-time Circleville rushing record of 1,531 yards, and, possibly, Carl Smith’s all-time SCOL rushing mark of 1,648 yards set in only nine games in 1952. Cook, whose Circleville teams had been known for “three yards and a cloud of dust,” claimed that the Tigers would pass much more this season. Time would tell.
Wilmington had 14 returning lettermen, including Greg Nared, who was expected to be the league’s best QB. The Hurricane, however, did lose most of their defensive unit, and Coach Bob White, back for his third year, was quite concerned about his defense.
At Hillsboro, Coach Jim Taylor had lost All-SCOL lineman Richard Hastings, most of the offensive and defensive line, and backs Doug Price, Doug Cooper and Joe Keohl, along with quarterback Will Gregory. The Indians would be starting three or four sophomores. The red and white would have shifty tailback Jeff Jackson back, along with tight end Tom Kiefer. Kiefer had a great season as a sophomore. His receptions dropped somewhat in 1981, partly because he was moved to fullback for part of the season. Five-foot-eleven Steve Woods would replace the departed Gregory as quarterback.
The Indians were a question mark in the SCOL. They were very young but had some talent at the skill positions. If they could avoid being decimated by injuries, as they were in 1981, they could be a factor in the outcome of the league race.
McClain was going with speed, primarily because they had almost no size. Most of the SCOL coaches expected the Tigers to compete with Teays Valley and Madison-Plains for one of the three bottom slots in the final league standings.
The Teays Valley Vikings had survived a really miserable season in 1981. They lost all 10 games, finishing dead last in offensive yardage and points scored. They totaled less than 1,300 yards for the entire season and scored a total of just 29 points. They had 47 young men on the squad this year, including 14 returning lettermen. One of the returning lettermen was senior quarterback Robert Fetherolf, who completed only 25 of 85 pass attempts in 1981 for a total of 243 yards and was intercepted seven times. Several sophomores had moved up from last year’s freshman team, which finished second in the league. The Vikings were an unknown at this point.
Head coach Will Pratt of Madison-Plains was in his second year with the Eagles. In the late ’70s, thanks, in part, to talented quarterback Chris Emrich, the Eagles finished in the upper echelon of the SCOL. But in 1980, the Golden Eagles slipped back into last place. In 1981, they won three league games and played well at times. What this season would hold was anybody’s guess.
As was customary, all the SCOL teams opened their seasons with two or three non-league games. Wilmington took their annual trouncing by Xenia (this time 28-0), Miami Trace and Circleville both thumped Chillicothe, Hillsboro played New Richmond, McClain played Frankfort Adena, Teays Valley usually played Hamilton Township, etc. These games gave the coaches a chance to fine-tune their teams before the rugged SCOL competition began. It also gave the other league coaches a chance to scout their league opponents thoroughly before the league games got under way.
The Hillsboro Indians won two of their three opening non-league games in 1982, including an 18-16 thriller over the Unioto Shermans in which quarterback Steve Woods hit running back Jeff Jackson for a 27-yard touchdown in the final 45 seconds of the game.
The following week, Sept. 24, the Indians traveled to Greenfield to meet the McClain Tigers. It was quite unusual for the Indians and the Tigers to meet in the very first league game of the season.
Usually, this game came near the end of the season. Turnovers played a pivotal part in this game. McClain lost four of five fumbles and had a touchdown called back on a penalty. Hillsboro took advantage of the first Tiger turnover, taking an 8-0 first quarter lead. The Indians defensive unit held McClain to only 113 total yards of offense, and only 44 yards on the ground, while Hillsboro running back Jeff Jackson accumulated 152 rushing yards. The Indians won, 14-0.
In other games, Miami Trace downed Wilmington handily, 34-6, Circleville scorched Teays Valley, 42-0, and Washington drubbed Madison-Plains, 21-0.
On the first day of October 1982, Teays Valley visited Hillsboro, where they were shut out, 22-0. At this stage of the season, the Indians led the SCOL in defense. The Hillsboro offense rolled up 268 yards of total offense while limiting the Vikings to only 72 yards. This was the annual HHS Homecoming game. Prior to the opening kickoff, attractive Hillsboro High School senior Angie Gilliland was crowned 1982 Homecoming queen. Her attendants were: senior attendant Peggy Baker, junior attendant Angie Balon, sophomore attendant Amy Davis and freshman attendant Angie Whitley.
Elsewhere, McClain was shut out for the second straight week, this time by Miami Trace, 19-0. Wilmington shut out Madison-Plains, 8-0, and in an excellent football game, Circleville edged Washington, 13-6.
(Continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.
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