“Long as I remember the rain been comin’ down,
Clouds of mystery pourin’ confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages tryin’ to find the sun,
And I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain?”.
It seems like Creedence Clearwater Revival must have been caught in the same system of rainy weather back in 1970 like we’ve been experiencing lately. Man, has Indiana and most of West Central Ohio through Central and Southeastern Ohio taken a pounding from Mother Nature! Have to feel sorry for those areas suffering flood damage; be sure to contribute what you can through the various organizations offering assistance to the affected areas.
High school football started regular season action this week with Versailles winning a close one with Harvest Prep from the Columbus area on Thursday night. One reason you’ll find quite a few Thursday night encounters around the state is due to the shortage of officials, making it necessary for officiating crews to “double up” some weeks. Some scores from around the area Friday evening (a few games were delayed until Saturday as a result of weather) included Ansonia over Riverside; Celina in a thriller over St. Henry; Coldwater in a battle of heavyweights defeating Valley View; Arcanum falling to Covington; Tri-Village with a road win at Bethel; Bradford losing to Wickliffe; and
Waynesfield-Goshen shutting out Mississinawa Valley.
Greenville traveled to Eaton with high hopes of repeating last year’s win over the Eagles, only to fall by a 21-7 count. The Wave moved the ball offensively most of the game but couldn’t finish drives, giving Eaton a chance to hang around and eventually take control of the game. A fumbled Wave snap at the Eagle four-yard line; an Eaton four-play 70-some-yard drive for the first score of the game immediately followed by a blocked Greenville punt recovered deep inside Wave territory, which led to another Eagle touchdown; and some breakdowns in pass coverage which Eaton took advantage of were all key moments in the opening night Wave loss.
A good-sized following of Wave fans made the disheartening drive back north up Route 127 after the game, as this was one that most were counting on putting in the win column. Look for the Wave to bounce back (after what will most likely be a tough week of practice!) as they next travel to West Carrollton for an MVL contest.
If you get the chance and have accessibility to the Peacock Channel, be sure to watch the new documentary “The Cradle of Coaches”. Miami University’s renowned roster of legendary football coaches is highlighted, along with the school itself, in what is a “must-see” for any football fan or anyone interested in human psychology and in what separates ordinary coaches from great ones.
If unfamiliar with my alma mater’s reputation check out this list of ten alums who are honored with life size statues on the plaza at Yager Stadium in Oxford: Paul Brown (Ohio State, Browns, and Bengals); Weeb Ewbank (Colts and Jets); Earl (Red) Blaik (three national titles at Army); Ara Parseghian (two national titles at Notre Dame); Paul Dietzel (a 1958 national title at LSU and the famous Chinese Bandits backup defensive unit); John Pont (Yale, Indiana and a Rose Bowl in 1967); Bo Schembechler (Michigan, enough said); Carmen Cozza (Yale); John Harbaugh (Ravens and Giants); and Sean McVay (Rams).
Let’s play a quick game of “Football Jeopardy”. Name the only university that is the alma mater to a US President, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, and three coaches who’ve won Super Bowls. And the answer is Miami University (which was a school before Florida was a state!); Benjamin Harrison (23rd President from 1889 through 1893), Ben Roethlisberger (two titles with the Steelers), Weeb Ewbank (with Joe Namath and the Jets), John Harbaugh (with the Ravens), and Sean McVay (with the Rams, unfortunately beating the Bengals in SB LVI).
Speaking of Miami, a big shout-out to my brothers-in-law Steve and Mark Moore along with my wife’s cousin Tom Moore. The trio accompanied me to Oxford Tuesday to ready the Theta Chi fraternity house for the upcoming semester. Four hours of hard labor assembling furniture and a steam serving table, along with uncrating folding chairs and tables, were about all the “Gang of Seventy Somethings” could handle! Many thanks and a supply of BioFreeze to the three!
Don’t forget that the annual Darke County Band Spectacular has moved to GHS Alumni Stadium in Greenville Monday evening the 24th, with gates opening at 6:00 and the first band performing at 7:00. Bands participating are: Ansonia, Arcanum, Bradford, Greenville, Mississinawa Valley, Newton, Tri-County North, Tri-Village, Troy Christian, and Versailles. Let’s get out and support these hardworking musicians!
The Reds season was summed up in Thursday’s loss to the Cardinals when their usually reliable center fielder Dane Moore dropped a fly ball that would have been the last out in a Cincinnati win, allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score and paving the way for St. Louis to take a 10-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Even though the Reds scrapped their way back by scoring four runs, they still came up one run short in a 10-9 loss. With a slim-to-none chance of even qualifying as a wild card team in the NL Playoffs, it has been a frustrating season for Reds Nation!
Remember the famous line from the song “Tomorrow” in the musical “Annie”—“the sun will come out tomorrow”! We can only hope so. Enjoy the Great Darke County Fair!
