Buckeyes, Irish, and NFL History

Shots in the Darke

186

After yet another winter’s snow, it’s time for some random thoughts while waiting for the  weekend’s NFL Wild Card playoff games to kick off— 

This is a great time for beginning drivers to learn how to handle winter road conditions here in West Central Ohio, as empty parking lots were made for learning how to manage skids, etc. Perhaps the two best pieces of advice are “slow down” and “just because you have four-wheel drive doesn’t mean you have four-wheel stop”! You can still enjoy doing doughnuts in the parking lots (make sure the lots are empty however)!! 

Have to feel sorry for the folks out in the Los Angeles area with the destruction wrought by the wildfires, just a terrible tragedy. Makes you wonder if more preventative measures shouldn’t have been taken, some of which were bypassed by well-intentioned but drastically misguided procedures.  

Two great NCAA semi-final games weren’t there? THE’s win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl was a nail-biter until the late goal-line stand, and Jack Sawyer’s strip and recovery touchdown sealed the victory. Even with Jeremiah Smith held in check by a stout Longhorn defense, the Bucks offense had enough firepower to put three touchdowns on the board, and the defense played one of their better games of the year for the most part.  

Notre Dame came from behind to knock off Penn State in the Orange Bowl and claim the other berth in the championship game on a late field goal. Much was said about the play of  Irish QB Riley Leonard and his offensive teammates, but to me, the unsung hero of the game was backup signal caller Steve Angeli. With Leonard out of action late in the first half and ND struggling to move the ball while trailing 10-0 with 2:18 left in the second quarter, Angeli came in and led a drive down the field, completing 6 of 7 passes and putting his team in position to get on the board with a last-play field goal. Taking the second-half kickoff and with Leonard back in the game, the Irish then scored to tie the contest and eventually win a thriller on a last-second field goal.  

I’m ten for ten in my playoff predictions, will have to think about the title game before putting my reputation (what little there is!) on the line in next week’s column prior to the clash in  Atlanta! 

Congratulations to Greenville senior wrestler Andrew Winner on tying the school record for career pins with 87. Taking the mat in the 285-pound class, Andrew still has plenty of opportunities to extend his mark. Also, hats off to Mississinawa Valley’s Taylee Woodbury as she became the Lady Blackhawks’ all-time leading scorer with 1,288 points and almost half of her senior season remaining. 

Had a great time the other night at the Old Richmond Inn—good food, nice atmosphere,  reasonably priced—it’s companion restaurant Galo’s is also one of our nearby favorites across the state line.  

Don’t know how many of you had a chance to watch the inaugural broadcast of TGL, the golf league, the other night. An adventure in high-tech indoor golf (think golf simulators on steroids), it’s the brainchild of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, pitting three-man teams against each other over the course of a fifteen-match schedule. Check it out; it’s certainly an innovative concept complete with a “screen zone” and a “green zone” that can be manipulated to create various putting undulations. Fore!! 

Most people are aware of the schools that consolidated over the years to form today’s Tri-Village (New Madison and Westmont) and Mississinawa Valley (Jackson and Union City) districts, but can you name the three schools that merged to become Preble County’s National Trail?  

An interesting article in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated—37 sports journalists voted for their picks of the 50 greatest games in NFL history. The Bengals were mentioned in two, the  ‘81 AFC title game 27-7 victory over the Chargers that was played in a frigid -59 degrees wind chill, the coldest contest in NFL annals; and the ‘89 Super Bowl loss to the 49ers in which Joe  Montana drove his team 92-yards to the win on a 10-yard pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left.  

The Browns were recognized in four games (impressive for one of the few teams to never play in a Super Bowl, sorry to mention that Cleveland fans!). The first Monday Night Football game ever played in ‘70 against the Jets; the early ‘87 AFC title contest loss to “The Drive” by the John Elway led Broncos; the late ‘87 AFC title rematch with Denver and the infamous late goal-line fumble by Earnest Byner resulting in yet another heartbreaking loss; and finally the Brian Sipe interception in the end zone late in an ‘81 divisional playoff loss to the Raiders when all the Browns needed to advance was a short field goal attempt. “Red Right 88”, words of infamy in Cleveland lore!! 

The greatest NFL game ever played, according to the panel of experts? The ‘67  championship tilt between the Packers and the Cowboys on “the frozen tundra of Lambeau  Field,” the so-called Ice Bowl. With a game-time temperature of -13 degrees, Green Bay QB  Bart Starr scored from one-yard out with 13 seconds left to win the game 21-17, giving the  Packers its fifth title in seven years (in a side note, in 1994 I happened to be seated beside Starr on a shuttle bus at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport and he said that game was still the highlight of his Hall of Fame career!).  

Finally, according to the National Trail website, in the late ‘60s the district was formed as a result of a merger of Jackson, New Paris Jefferson, and Monroe schools with the current high school home of the Blazers built in 1968.  

Have a great week, get ready for that Buckeye-Irish clash of epic proportions on Monday the 20th!!