As we await the latest rankings in Ohio high school football both in the polls and playoff
computer points, it appears a sure bet that most area teams will retain at least their placings as of last week. In D-II the Associated Press had Troy’s Trojans ranked 12th in the state while in D-III Trotwood-Madison’s Rams were 10th and the Bulldogs of Celina 11th. In D-V the Coldwater Cavaliers held the 2nd spot and the Blue Devils of Brookville were 12th and will probably move up the board following Friday’s win over Eaton. Versailles’ Tigers led the pack in D-VI with the Tri-Village Patriots 11th. In D-VII perennial power Marion Local’s Flyers were again ranked 1st followed by the Ansonia Tigers in 2nd. Look for all of these squads to have high seedings in the postseason playoffs as the regular season enters Week Nine.
Greenville’s Green Wave football team played their best game of the year on Homecoming
Night Friday only to once again come up on the short side of a 20-18 score to Fairborn. The
Wave held a 10-0 halftime lead over the Skyhawks and appeared in control of the contest after recovering the second half kickoff on a Fairborn fumble. However Fairborn came out running the old fashioned T-formation on their next possession and rumbled for 256 yards in the last two quarters to claim the victory as the Wave had no answer defensively to the three running back offense which is seldom seen nowadays.
The T-formation is the oldest offensive formation in football, dating back to 1882. With all
seven linemen bunched up in tight alignment and no wide receivers, the backs form a T with the quarterback directly under center. Telecasting the game (can be seen on YouTube by going to “The WAVE at GHS”) Ty House and I were reminded of the Oklahoma powerhouse teams of the ‘50s, coached by all-time great Bud Wilkinson. Under Wilkinson’s guidance the Sooners won three national championships in 1950, ‘55, and ‘56, compiling a record of 145-29-4 including an NCAA record 47 straight wins from 1953 through 1957. Here is today’s trivia question—who ended the Sooners win streak?
High school volleyball enters the last week of the regular season as teams jockey for
seedings in the upcoming tournament. Greenville’s Lady Wave are having an excellent season with a 14-6 overall record, 12-4 in the MVL, trailing only a 20-0 (10-0) Tipp City squad and Butler at 16-3 (15-1). In the MAC Coldwater, New Bremen, and St. Henry all hold 6-1 league marks while in the WOAC Arcanum and Preble Shawnee stand at 9-1 with Mississinawa Valley at 9-2 and Newton at 8-2 close behind. In the SWBL Valley View has a 11-0 record in the Buckeye Division with Eaton at 9-2 and Brookville at 8-3.
The Major League Baseball playoffs enter the divisional rounds after completion of the wild
card series. The executives at league headquarters and the television networks have to be
moaning the loss of advertising revenue as each of the four best-of-three series were won in two games by the Diamondbacks, Phillies, Rangers, and Twins (who won following a stretch of 18 straight playoff game losses).
Speaking of the Twins, my brother Mark is one of their biggest fans. A longtime resident of
Rochester, Minnesota my younger sibling turned 70 (70!) Saturday which makes me feel a little older (I must be dyslexic as I still think I’m 47!). Mark has had a stellar career as an
anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, holding about every important position there is including being a former president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Happy Birthday Marko, as always I’m proud of my bro!!
A well-deserved congratulations to Jim Buchy as the former long-time West Central Ohio
state representative and Greenville native was honored Friday with the unveiling of a statue at the head of the Jim Buchy Mile on the Darke County Parks bike trail near the Garst Museum. Accolades were the order of the day as Governor Mike Dewine, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, and other dignitaries both local and statewide were present. As Jim stated, “I started out peddling baloney in the family business and kept it up during my political career.” One of Darke County’s finest, the one and only Jim Buchy!!
In case you missed it, Miami’s Hurricanes were undefeated, ranked 17th nationally, and
playing at home running out the clock against Georgia Tech. With a 20-17 lead and the ball at the Tech 30-yard line all the Hurricanes had to do was take a knee with 33 seconds remaining and celebrate another win. But they ran a play and watched Tech recover a fumble with 30 seconds left. Yep, you guessed what happened next—Tech drove to the Miami 44 and threw a game-winning touchdown pass with one second left to a receiver who inexplicably got behind the ‘Canes defense, giving the Engineers an improbable 23-20 victory. Think Miami Coach Mario Cristobal doesn’t have a long week ahead?!?
Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish defeated Oklahoma in the eighth game of the ‘57 season by a
7-0 count in Norman, ending the Sooners 47-game win streak. The second longest such
streak in NCAA play you ask? The Rockets of Toledo ran off 35 straight from 1969 through
1971.
Finally, one of the part-time activities I’m participating in after retirement is that of being a
program aide (read that “usher”) at Miami University sports events. Saturday I worked the
RedHawks’ Parents Weekend game against Bowling Green down in Oxford, checking bags
and backpacks as fans entered the premises. After about an hour I noticed that an inordinate number of women were carrying Lululemon belt bags. Being a numbers kind of guy (my wife might call it something else!) I started counting how many of the evidently popular bags continued to come through the gate I was working. Can you believe 219 more, just at one entry point in a crowd of over 19,000. Guess I should have bought stock in Lululemon!!
By the way, the original Miami shutout the Falcons 27-0, the same team that defeated the
above mentioned Georgia Tech of the Power 5 ACC the week before. That’s why you play the game, because you never know!! Have a great week!!
