This time of the year leaves me breathless!!

Shots in the Darke

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This time of the year in the sports world is a fan’s equivalent of a jar full of chocolate chip cookies! Another column with so much to discuss and so little time, so let’s get rolling— 

Some lucky participant at the Marion Local-Coldwater game Friday night went home with a  50/50 prize of an almost unbelievable $22,480–think that will be reported to the IRS next April? Marion continued to stretch its state record for consecutive wins to 58, shutting out the  Cavaliers, the number one team in Ohio D-VI, for the MAC title 35-0. It was the Flyers fifth consecutive shutout, a major reason for only allowing 22 points THE ENTIRE YEAR! 

I haven’t seen Marion in action for a few years, but just by looking at pictures from the games this season, you can tell that the team has been dedicated in the weight room by the definition of their arms and legs. The Flyers don’t have extraordinary size, have many good and several really good athletes, and are extremely well-coached. But it’s the tradition and high expectations that define each class as it goes through the system—where a lot of high school teams are told “you should be in the weight room,” the Flyers are ingrained in knowing that  “they have to be in the weight room.” Any bets that six more wins are in the offing this fall, along with D-VII honors for state championship number fifteen? 

Some quick high school football hitters— 

Tipp’s Red Devils claimed a perfect MVL record of 9-0 by defeating Xenia, who finished 8-1 in league play, by a 35-21 count in a great game played down in Greene County. 

Ansonia won a third straight outright or shared WOAC title by downing Mississinawa. Here’s today’s first trivia question—who won the first WOAC championship in 2021? 

Valley View won the SWBL Buckeye division, while Bellbrook took Southwestern division honors. 

Northridge was the champion of the Three Rivers Conference, while Fairmont finished first in the GWOC, the Firebirds first league title since 1997. 

Continuing with high school football, first-round pairings for this week’s playoffs were announced based on computer rankings in the seven divisions. Here are a few of the more interesting matchups for West Central Ohio fans—in D-II, Troy travels to Harrison, Sidney gets a rematch with Xenia, and Butler goes up I-75 to Lima Senior. In D-III, one-seed Tipp hosts Talawanda, while in D-IV, Eaton entertains Alter, and Brookville goes to Cincinnati Hills Christian. 

Lots of area teams in D-V—Milton-Union heads to Miami East, Versailles goes on the road to  Indian Lake, while Arcanum ventures to West Liberty Salem and Shawnee welcomes Marion Pleasant. In D-VI Covington draws the unenviable task of visiting Coldwater.

Finally, in D-VII, Marion hosts sixteen-seed Cedarville (like the Indians’ chances?), Twin Valley South heads north to Ansonia, St. Henry entertains New Bremen, Riverside, and Lehman Catholic square off in Sidney, and Tri-Village makes the trek up north to Waynesfield-Goshen.  

Regional cross country meets were held in Troy Saturday, with many area individuals and a few teams punching tickets to Fortress Obetz near Columbus and this weekend’s state championships. For a complete list of these athletes, check out the OHSAA website, but a few mention-worthy notes include Ansonia’s Bennett Lehman winning the boys’ D-III race in 15:52; Tipp’s Landon Kimmel taking D-I honors with an outstanding time of 14:58; and Jackson Spitzer of Versailles running a 15:47 to claim runner-up honors in D-II. Boys teams headed to state include Russia in D-III and Versailles in D-II. 

On the girls’ side, Elyza Long of Covington placed second in D-III, while Tipp’s squad placed fourth in D-II, earning the right to face the state’s finest next Saturday. 

A quick answer to the first trivia question—Preble Shawnee’s Arrows took WOAC honors in ‘21  with a 9-0 mark on the way to a 13-1 season. 

Congratulations to Versailles Lady Tigers volleyball on winning a thirteenth consecutive district  title and moving on to regional play. Other area teams advancing with district titles in different  divisions include Fort Loramie, Russia, Jackson Center, Fort Recovery, Anna, and Tipp among others. 

A few final thoughts— 

How about the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman hitting a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the tenth inning in game one of the World Series, being justly compared to a similar feat in  Dodger lore by Kirk Gibson in the ‘88 Series, a walk-off solo shot. Here’s a second trivia question for you sports aficionados out there—Gibson was a football All-American as a wide receiver for what college? 

God Bless the Browns for defeating the Ravens Sunday—not only did the Browns need the win but it kept the Bengals hopes alive. The Stripes stunk up the field in the second half in a loss to the Eagles, falling to 3-5 but only two games behind Baltimore who are now 5-3. Now if only  the Giants can upset the Steelers Monday night! 

Gibson was a football legend at Michigan State setting numerous school records and starring  in the Senior and Hula Bowls, being named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Although he only played one year of college baseball he had a remarkable major league career hitting 255 home runs and driving in 870 runs, mainly for the Tigers and Dodgers. 

That’s all I have, I’m out of breath, thanks for hanging in there with me!!