Mix high school playoffs and tournaments with a touch of college football, a pinch of the NFL, a sprinkling of the World Series, stir in some general observations, and it all adds up to a witch’s cauldron of Halloween interest! Lots to discuss, so let’s get started with some high school football thoughts—
Ansonia’s Tigers clinched at least a share of the WOAC title by pounding the Arrows of Preble Shawnee Saturday night, 24-13. Adam Hall’s team played ball control, throwing just one pass and keeping the ball out of the hands of the high-powered Shawnee offense. An outright trophy is the Tigers if they beat arch-rival Mississinawa Valley Friday night or the Arrows lose to winless Dixie.
The traditional sellout crowd is expected up north when Marion Local puts its 57-game win streak on the line at Coldwater with the MAC championship at stake. Want to find Ohio’s largest 50/50 drawing Friday night? Head up to Mercer County!
A matchup of a different sort but no less interesting takes place down in West Carrollton when Greenville’s Green Wave line up against the Pirates. Both teams are winless going into the last game of the MVL season, so this should be a competitive contest. The Wave are looking to snap a 21-game losing streak while the Pirates have lost 11 of their last 12, so both teams should be fired up for the opening kickoff! These teams have worked hard all season and deserve the support of fans from both schools as they put on the pads for a final time.
Around the state, not only league titles and local bragging rights but also playoff spots are on the line, as 448 teams will advance to postseason play. There will be seven divisions, each consisting of 64 schools, divided into four regions, with the eight highest-seeded teams in each region hosting opening-round games.
High school cross country reaches the regional stage this coming weekend after teams and individuals qualified at district meets last Saturday. Southwest Ohio squads will gather on the banks of the Miami River at Troy’s Memorial Stadium Saturday, with D-III boys and girls teams starting at 10:00, D-II at noon, and D-I at 2:00 as state berths are up for grabs.
Volleyball action this week has district semifinals during the week, with finals scheduled for Saturday in all of the seven divisions. Locally, Greenville faces Tippecanoe in D-III Tuesday at Fairborn, while Versailles tangles with Dayton Christian on Thursday in D-V at Vandalia-Butler. Arcanum High School is the site of D-VI action Wednesday as the host Lady Trojans (the number one seed) get set against Fort Recovery, followed by Anna and Ansonia, while Tri-Village takes on Houston Thursday at Newton High School. For complete pairings, check out the OHSAA website.
An interesting game between the Browns and Bengals, wasn’t it? After setting professional football back about 75 years in the first half (Charlie Jones’ 100-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown being the exception), Cincy finally got rolling in the second half. Joe Burrow hit ace receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for third-quarter scoring strikes to take control of the game and advance the Stripes to 3-4 on the season, while the Browns fall to an unexpected 1-6 mark.
The Deshaun Watson saga continues to haunt Cleveland fortunes as the quarterback suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Sunday’s game, adding to the script of woes and misfortunes that have plagued Watson since signing that huge contract a few years ago that basically mortgaged the Browns future in terms of salary cap and draft choices—sad times on the Lake and a new billion-dollar stadium being proposed out in the suburbs!
One other NFL thought—it’s time for Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers to hang up the cleats isn’t it?
As much as I hated to see it, the Dodgers and the Yankees will square off in the World Series beginning Friday in LA. The franchises with the game’s largest payrolls have made the hearts of baseball and television executives, as well as advertisers, jump with joy at the thought of the two largest media markets being on the airwaves. My great friend, former GHS head football coach Dr. Randy Reed, summed it up best when he said, “It’s hard to beat teams that have superstars scattered throughout the lineup when your team has only good or great players. ” Like I said in a column a few weeks ago, it sometimes comes down to “the Jimmies and Joes.”
Finally, I want to take a moment to congratulate my two brothers-in-law, Steve and Mark Moore, as they harvest their final crops this week in long and successful farming careers. Having worked together in southwestern Darke County and eastern Indiana for well over fifty years, the two have proven that hard work, dedication, mechanical skills, and continual schooling are the ingredients needed to handle over 1,800 acres at times in an environmentally and economically beneficial manner while still maintaining great senses of humor! Hats off to both of them as they start to enjoy well-deserved retirements (and apologies for my spilling a few bushels of shelled corn a few years ago while driving the grain cart!).
