Thoughts and observations on a beautiful fall weekend—
Will there be any of the usual fall colors in the next few weeks, or will the foliage merely go brown and down? I’m not sure what the effects of a dry August and September will bring.
High school volleyball, cross country, and soccer begin tournament play this week at various sites. As before, the best way to follow results as well as locations, times, and brackets is to go to the Ohio High School Athletic Association website.
Will Joe Flacco be the Bengals’ answer for winning enough games to remain in the chase for a playoff position? With the hoped-for return of Joe Burrow in December, you have to figure that Cincinnati needs to win at least four of the next seven contests to have a chance for postseason play. Although Flacco played as well as could be expected on only three days preparation the Stripes came up short at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay falling to the Packers 27-18. With Flacco’s departure, rookie Dillon Gabriel made his second start at Pittsburgh and showed his inexperience, which, along with mediocre offensive line play and dropped passes, led to a 23-9 loss to the Steelers and a fifth defeat in six games.
Congratulations to Arcanum junior Luke Stephens on his fourth-place finish at the State Division II golf tournament by shooting a 77 and earning first-team All-Ohio honors. The tournament was shortened to just one day instead of two due to inclement weather, as Alter won its fourth consecutive state title. National Trail’s boys team tees off in D-III state play Monday and Tuesday at NorthStar Golf Club outside of Columbus, the Blazers’ second straight attempt at state championship glory.
Four huge games that will most likely determine high school football league titles take place this Friday evening. In the Miami Valley League, Tipp hosts Troy’s Trojans with both teams holding 7-0 league marks. If you plan on attending, you’d better get there early, as Tipp’s smallish City Park Field will be filled to overflowing.
In the Western Ohio Athletic Conference, Tri-Village visits Preble Shawnee in a battle of unbeatens with the winner claiming at least a share of the season’s honors. Meanwhile, in the Southwestern Buckeye League, Brookville’s 8-0 Blue Devils travel to Germantown to face the 7-1 Spartans of Valley View with both squads undefeated in league action. Up north, Marion Local’s Flyers, after escaping with a double overtime win over Anna and extending the nation’s best winning streak to 72 games, make the short trek to Minster in hopes of winning yet another Midwest Athletic Conference title.
The Brewers outlasted the Cubs to advance to the National League Championship Series against the defending champion Dodgers. The Brew Crew is seeking their first pennant since 1982, which would bring joy to Milwaukee fans in particular and Dodger-haters in general. Here’s today’s first trivia question—The Braves left Milwaukee after the 1965 season and moved to Atlanta, leaving Wisconsin’s largest city without a major league team. What franchise later moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers?
In college football, THE continues to show why they are the number one team in the country to this point of the season, following a win over a good Illinois eleven in Champaign-Urbana. Indiana proved its credentials with a huge win over Oregon in Autzen Stadium out in Eugene, and Alabama continued to play well by winning for a third consecutive week over a ranked team, taking out Missouri in Columbia. Perhaps one of the more thrilling comebacks occurred in the “Battle of I-75” as Bowling Green scored 28 unanswered points in overcoming a 21-0 deficit to defeat visiting Toledo.
Meanwhile, the Royals of Warner University, located in Lake Wales, Florida, fell to 0-5 at the hands of St. Thomas (FL) 52-6. Unless the Royals show improvement, my brothers and I will need to reconsider our support of the Sun Conference school!!
Trivia question number two—after I read an article in Sunday’s Dayton Daily News can you name the last US President to sport facial hair in the form of a mustache and/or beard. Abraham Lincoln was the first, who was the last?
If you missed the Darke County Center for the Arts’ first performance of the season, Saturday evening, it was an entertaining display of modern dance as exhibited by the Water Street Dance Milwaukee troupe. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that professional dancers aren’t athletes— what a showing of balance, strength, flexibility, timing, and grace! Also, congratulations to the eighteen young local dancers from studios in Greenville and the county who performed the opening number!
Here are the eagerly anticipated answers to the trivia questions!! The expansion Seattle Pilots, after only one season in the Emerald City, moved to old County Stadium and were renamed the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970. The last US President to display facial hair was Ohio’s own William Howard Taft, who was the only person to have been President (1909 to 1913) and also Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (1921 to 1930). He’s also remembered as the heaviest president, at one time carrying around 335 pounds on his 5’11” frame! Stay healthy and active!!
