The Great Darke County Fair is underway (and under clouds with some rain) this weekend, meaning more than a “fair” share of midway rides, animals, exhibits, concession stand food, vendors, entertainment, 4-H projects, and about anything else you can think of when it comes to good, wholesome family fun. It also signals the approaching fall high school sports season locally with West Central Ohio teams swinging into full action this week and next.
While boys and girls golf along with girls tennis have already begun their campaigns, volleyball, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls cross country will start in earnest, not to mention prep football. Speaking of cross country, Ansonia’s boys team competed in the OHSAA Early Season Invitational at Fortress Obetz near Columbus Saturday, finishing 26 of 44 teams. Looking for an area D-III runner to watch this fall? Check out Ansonia’s Bennett Lehman. The Tiger sophomore finished 3rd out of 415 runners in the D-II, D-III race with an outstanding early season time of 16:25 over the 5K course.
The annual Bob Schul Invitational Cross Country meet will be held this coming Saturday in West Milton with many area schools participating in the event honoring the late 5,000 meter Olympics gold medal winner from the 1964 Games held in Tokyo. From what I’ve heard the OHSAA has eliminated any water crossings from courses this year, effectively taking away part of the excitement and allure of cross country running!
Football kicks off with Greenville traveling to Eaton on Thursday evening, to be followed by a full schedule of games the next night, the return of “Friday Night Lights”!! My CountyLink will try to keep you informed of the latest from area leagues including, but not limited to, the MVL, WOAC, MAC, SWBL, and Three Rivers with a little of the GWOC mixed in for fun.
Marion Local starts the fall with a 48-game winning streak and an almost unbelievable 14 state championship trophies in the display case. How tough is it for the Flyers to find a non-conference opponent to play outside of the traditionally brutal MAC schedule? The Blue and Gold open with a four-hour drive to Linton, Indiana west of Bloomington, to take on the Linton Stockton Miners. The Miners are a D2 school coming off of a 10-2 mark last year (Indiana has four divisions for football, with D1 the smallest schools up to D4 for the largest). I wonder if the Miners know what they’re about to encounter with the appearance of the Flyers!!
College football at the FBS level begins with Florida State facing Georgia Tech this coming Saturday in Dublin, Ireland, a hotbed of ACC enthusiasm if there ever was one! Television money evidently reaches far and wide! The weekend of the 31st showcases the Clemson Georgia contest, Miami (FL)-Florida, Notre Dame-Texas A&M, and USC-LSU while locally, THE hosts Akron and Miami (the original Miami!) travel to Evanston, Illinois to tangle with the Northwestern Wildcats.
At the pro level, how about the behind-the-back pass that the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes threw to Travis Kelce in a pre-season game against the Lions!
Has anyone been watching any of the Little League World Series? Always a great time to view some quality baseball as played by the 12 and under age group. The enthusiasm of the players and fans is matched only by the girls version, the Softball World Series, which was held a week ago with the team from Pitt County, NC claiming the title.
Finally, the value rankings of the NFL franchises going into the 2024 season came out recently. The three most valuable teams are the Cowboys ($10.3 billion), the Rams ($7.79), and the Giants ($7.65). The three least valuable, you ask? The Saints ($4.79), the Jaguars ($4.76), and our own Bengals ranked 32nd and last at $4.71 billion. The Browns are valued at 23rd with a worth of approximately $5.14 billion. I don’t think you can feel sorry for any of the owners can you!?! Enjoy the Great Darke County Fair!!
