Trail Makes a Statement

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National Trail made a statement Friday night against North. Coming into the game as a playoff bubble team, they needed a win to ensure that they would make the playoffs. And all this season the talk has been about the top three teams in the Cross County Conference for the past few years: Covington, Miami East, and North.  Trail has been on the outside looking in - despite their record, they have not been getting the respect that those teams command.  Like a gunslinger they used all their bullets against North: fake punt, passing on 1st down from their own 12, then going for and making a critical 2 point conversion.  A scrappy team and gutsy play calling combined to give Trail an upset win against North 15-12.

In the first quarter it was a flag festival as it seemed that both teams accumulated more yardage in penalties than in yardage.  Either the players or the referee's adjusted as the flags didn't seem to fly as much after the first quarter. Trail had a great runback by Devin Mize to midfield and they visited the redzone and actually scored twice - but penalties nullied the TD's. Finally they turned over the ball on downs with nothing to show for their efforts.  North meanwhile went to work and scored on a 2 yard run by Garret Woodgeard.  The score was set up by a Austin Johnson catch on the 19 yard line.  But on the extra point, there was a flag that moved the ball back to the 8. Then a messed up kick attempt made North try to run the ball in and that failed. 

North's lead was shortlived as Trail scored quickly on their possession with a 65 yard touchdown pass. They made their extra point and Trail led 7-8 as the teams entered the second quarter. Trail seemed to move the ball with short passes to the flats, mixing in an occassional run. They were able to get the ball inside the red zone but a penalty left them in long yardage. They tried a field goal, the ball had the distance but hit the goal post.  That was the only scoring opportunity by either team in the second quarter. North was blitzing more often and were pressuring the quarterback.

The second half was where I was impressed with Trail.  When I compared sidelines - North had a lot more depth.  So Trail was playing iron man football with a lot of players going both ways. So conventional wisdom was that Trail would wear down in the second half, but they were scrappy throughout. And in their opening drive, it seemed that indeed North was going to grind them down.  Using almost exclusively the run they had a clock chewing drive to the 32 yard line where Garrett Woodyard caught an Austin Hutchins pass for North's second score, but the 2 point conversion failed.  Still North lead 12-7.  North's strategy seemed to be to utilize the run to keep Trails potent offense off the field.

Neither team did much in the remainder of the 3rd quarter, Trail had a good defensive stand and made North turn over the ball on downs at the Trail 28.  They moved the ball to midfield and early in the 4th quarter they did a fake punt and got the first down. When you are trying to get into the playoffs, you do what it takes.  They moved the ball to the redzone and a North sack seemed to knock them back - but a roughing call on the same play advanced the ball.  And on that same drive with a 4th and a long one at the goal line, Trail scored a touchdown pass.  They went for two and made it that gave them a 15-12 lead.  

North got the ball with about 4 minutes left on the scoreboard.  Then used a clock eating drive to advance the ball deep into Trail territory. Austin Johnson made a nice catch to put the ball on the 12. But here the drive stalled.  And with 23 seconds left, 4th and 2, North elected to go for the tie with field goal. It was not a good night for kickers as the ball sailed wide left. Trail took the victory formation and celebrated their best season ever.  

Trails spread offense was effective.  They did run the ball somewhat, but I would imagine that the bulk of their plays are passes.  Their quarterback, Garrett Griffen, took a pounding.  North really started to bring the heat. But he picked himself up and got himself ready for the next play. Trail's program has been constantly at the bottom of whatever league it has been in for decades.  It is tough when you can count the number of winning seasons for your school with one hand, and still have fingers left over. Well that has changed, no matter what happens in the playoffs the coach and the team can be proud of earning everyones respect this season. 

North Prevails Against South

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Twin Valley South Played with North for 3 quarters.  Both teams have playoff aspirations, South desperately needed the win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive and North needed to cement their place in the top 8 of the district. The halftime score was 14-7 in favor of North. And entering the 4th quarter it was a two score game, 20-7. Then the wheels fell off as North's stalwart defense held South to that touchdown on the night and scored on a Colton Boothe interception. The offense went to work and that resulted in a 35-7 victory for North.  South was able to move the ball, but just when they sniffed the red-zone, North put up a defensive stand and made them turn over the ball on downs.  South had several good drives that died inside the 30 yard line of North.

It was senior night for TVS since it was their last home game. And they honored their seniors by entering the field from the East end of the stadium as the teams used to do years ago.  The senior players entered the field as a unit and the underclass players lined up with the band to form an entrance for them.

North found the endzone first on a 31 yard touchdown pass from Hutchins to Austin Johnson.  But South answered right back. Jordan Burns returned the North kick off to about the North 35.  And 2 plays later Joe Webb scored on a 33 yard touchdown run.  It was game on.  The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the first half. Late in the second quarter Wes Cole was able to pick off an Austin Hutchins pass, but a North sack on third down forced South to punt.  North began their last drive of the half at the TVS 43 yard line and after advancing the ball, Hutchins threw a 25 yard strike to Austin Elmore.  This gave North their 14-7 halftime lead.

In the second half, it looked like South might be able to strike early.  Darren Brown intercepted a North pass and gave South the ball at the North 37.  But North forced South to give up the ball on downs at the 25. North must have made some halftime adjustments, because their running game improved in the second half and Colton Booth was able to run 40 yards for a North score.  Late in the 3rd quarter South again threatened, but North stopped this drive at the 26.

So as the teams entered the last quarter it was still a close game 20-7 in favor of North.  But the game went into a downward spiral in a hurry for South. North had been forced to punt and South had the ball in good field position at the 47 yard line. But a South pass was picked off by Colton Booth and ran back 85 yards for a touchdown. So that play was a 14 point swing - instead of South getting the ball at about the 15 in the redzone and a chance of making it a one score game, North got the score and made it a 3 touchdown lead.

This seemed to take the wind out of South's sails.  Austin Hutchins padded the score with a punt return to the 11 yard line where it seemed like every South Panther got a hand on him, but couldn't bring him down. Then he passed for a 10 yard TD reception to Austin Johnson.  So North makes their playoff hopes more definite and have pretty much dashed South's chances. But North battles another team next week with playoff ambitions in National Trail, while South travels to play the beast in the East as in Miami East.

Vikings Defeat Panthers in Overtime

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In the early going North seemed to dominate. They used two clock eating drives to go up 14-0 early in the 2nd quarter.  But any thoughts that Miami East would just tuck tail and fade away were quickly dashed as they bounced back to tie the score.  And North had to go to the air as Miami East began to smother the running game.  Meanwhile Miami East was able to get chunks of yardage through the pass themselves. And although North lead at halftime 21-14, the East defense closed them out in the second half.  Finally tying the game in the 4th quarter.  The game went to overtime and East won the toss and elected let North go first. North was unable to score and East kicked about a 20 yard field goal to seal the win 24-21.

North really dominated the first quarter. They used the run almost exclusively to grind out yardage against East.  The first two scores were by quarterback Austin Hutchins.  Then East bounced back - they returned a kickoff to the North 34 and worked the short field for a score.  Later a Miami East punt was muffed by North and again they worked the short field for a touchdown.  The 14 all tie was broken by Garrett Woodyard who carried the ball in from 8 yards to put North up 21-14.

The Miami East defense pretty much took away the run in the second half, and North's offense sputtered. And when two closely matched teams are playing, a lot of times the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.  North had a break down on special teams to set up the first East score, the second score was by a muffed punt reception, and the tying touchdown likewise was set up by a fluke play by North. Set up to punt the ball was snapped over the punters head.  The punter ran back to the endzone and got the ball and then was actually able to get the punt off.  But with all the scrambling, the coverage again broke down and East returned the ball all the way to the 8 yard line where they scored a few plays later to tie the game at 21 all.

The North defense put some heat on the Miami East offense and were able to rush the quarterback effectively and sacked him several times. And that seemed to slow down the success that East had with the pass. So neither team was moving the ball well the rest of the 4th quarter. And the game went to overtime where the Miami East defense pretty much held North in place for 4 plays.  And when it was their turn they moved the ball to about the 10 where they put the game in hands of their place kicker who cooly iced a 20 yard field goal for the hard earned victory.

This game was fight for second place in the CCC and more importantly for homefield advantage in the playoffs.  Miami East controls their destiny with 2 games left in the season.  North has to make sure they win out to make the playoffs.  North plays at South next week, while East travels to Bradford.

TVS Hangs on for Win

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It was not the prettiest game played this season.  But win's do not come with style points.  South hung on in the last seconds of the game to hold off Bethel for a 15-7 win.  At times South seemed determined to hand over the game to the Bee's with mistimed penalties - one that negated a hook and ladder play to the 2 yard line and several that took away field position when South got a hand on a punt and got the ball at the Bethel 35.  That series actually took the Panthers backward with 2 penalties.  But South was able to find the endzone twice and the defense fell on a Bethel fumble in the last minute to end Bethels efforts at a tie and overtime.

There was plenty of pink on the field as South hosted a cancer awareness night.  The cheerleaders released balloons and gave flowers to breast cancer survivors in a pregame ceremony.  The pass was not kind to TVS against Bethel. At one point in the first half South had dropped back to pass 6 times. The result was 4 scrambles as the quarterback was chased out of the pocket, one incomplete pass, and one interception.  There were 3 interceptions thrown in the first half by my count.  But the running game got traction, particularly in the second half when they seemed to grind down the Bethel defense. Joe Webb was churning out chunks of yardage in between the tackles. But when you give up offensive penalties it puts you in long yardage situations where you have to chuck the ball up in the air.

South's first score was set up by a Bethel offsides on 4th down. South was in a punt formation and an over eager Bethel defender jumped to give South a fresh set of downs and they continued their drive to the 2 yard line where Wes Cole drove it in for the lead.  The extra point snap was muffed and South did not get their extra point.

South had a frustrating drive that began when Jordan Burns recovered a Bethel fumble at the Bethel 38. Then Cole was sacked and a penalty put the Panthers into long yardage.  South successfully ran the hook and ladder play with Burns getting all the way to the 2 yard before being drug down.  But another hold penalty took away all the yardage.  South was then intercepted when they took to the air again and Bethel promptly drove the ball into the endzone for their touchdown. So a drive that South should have scored on, instead handed the ball to Bethel where they drove instead for the lead. Bethel made their extra point and had a 7-6 lead that they took into the locker room at half time.

Darren Brown gave South a shot at another score when he got a hand on a punt and South got the ball at the Bethel 35.  But Bethels defense make a vigorous stand and South had to turn over the ball on downs after 4 plays.  This time of year with the warm days and cool nights, dew will form on the grass in the evening.  So although there was no rain the conditions were slick on the field as the teams entered the last quarter.  A bad Bethel snap put the ball into the endzone where the ball was booted out of the endzone to give South a safety.  Then a few series later a bad snap on a punt gave South the ball in good field position. Cole scored on a 6 yard run to give South a 15-7 lead.

Bethel had one of their best drives of the night with about 4 minutes left in the game.  They combined the pass and run to keep South off balance and moved the ball down to about the 4 yard line. There was a little over a minute left in the game.  They ran an option and the pitch to the halfback fell to the ground.  And a Panther defender was able to fall on the ball and end the Bethel attempt at a tie and over time.  Although there was some confusion towards the end and it seemed that South's offense would never run out the clock for the win.

South improves to 5 and 2 on the season.  Bethel is 2 and 5.  South goes thru the 3 heavy weights of the CCC to end their season - Covington, Miami East, and TCN.  All three teams have been dynamos this year. They need to be able to knock off at least one of these teams to have any kind of shot at the playoffs and a winning season.

The Axe Falls at Miami

The axe is falling already and we are not quite up to the half way point of the season. When I was growing up Miami University had a knack for getting good coaches, they would move on to bigger things after success at Miami. Miami has that reputation as the 'cradle of coaches'.  Hey Woody Hayes cut his teeth there. But they were always able to find and attract someone else just as talented and keep the program at a high level.  But Coach Treadwell who won like 4 games his first 2 seasons, and is 0'fer this season was released by the AD.  Things must really be bad if they pull the plug on you while the season is in progress.   Read the below exert from the Middletown Journal.  If your offensive coordinator (John Klacik) is so bad that a school considered dropping football after he coached there, maybe you should not have hired him in the first place...

here is an excert from the Middletown Journal:

Klacik is most known for his stint as head coach of D-II Lock Haven, his alma matter. Klacik coached the Eagles for six season prior to leaving for Miami in 2011, and in his tenure he won just 5 games, while overseeing a losing streak that had reached 32 games by the time he resigned.When he left things were so bad at Lock Haven that the school considered actually shutting down the football program. The program lived on, but the streak lasted another 20 games before it was snapped in November of last season.

I'm not sure John Klacik should ever coach another football game again, at any level

 — Josh Tejkl (@jjtejkl) October 6, 2013

During his time at Miami the RedHawks offense finished ninth in the MAC in total offense in both 2011 and 2012.

Ohio State Defense Shows Holes vs Northwestern

Wisconsin showed some kinks in the Ohio State armor, but Northwestern really exposed them.  The Buckeyes defense has some new faces this season after graduating a good group last year.  And that inexperience is showing in the pass defense. I recall the announcers talking up Roby,Ohio States premier cornerback, early in the game against Wisconsin.  And there is no question that he a good athlete, and does some good things on the field.  But he was burnt repeatedly in single coverage. Even with him grabbing and tugging at the receiver every play, they finally brought in a safety to help cover deep. And the Northwestern quarterbacks were able to pick apart the remainder of their pass defense. With a porous defense, the Buckeyes offense has to be a powerhouse and be able to score a bucketload of points in a horse race against the other team.

And the Buckeye's have the offense this season.  When your backup quarterback can set a school record for TD's, you know you have depth.  Backup Guiton throws a good ball, the only difference between him and Braxton Miller is running ability.  Miller is multi-dimensional and that ability to run for big gains, or scramble for positive yards gives him an edge.  Guiton is more of an NFL type passer, even though he is a backup, I would not be surprised if he gets an invite to a training camp next year.

Hyde is emerging as a weapon. Did OK running the ball against Wisconsin, great against Northwestern.  Seemed to be really fatigued at the end of the game. Maybe missing the beginning of the season due to suspension was a factor.  He is putting distance between himself and the other Buckeye ball carriers.  And I like his personality, at the end of the game they interviewed him what made the difference in this game? He responded that the offensive line was the difference in the running game. Gotta like that - it's not about me and giving props to the guys in the trenches.

The team showed some character.  First time this season that they had to play from behind.  They could have panic'ed and crumpled up. But they were able to make some plays and come with a win. Meyer might have been a little panicky when he did the fake punt in his own territory and failed.  But you could see his intensity when he was arguing with an official about getting his timeout back when they were reviewing the Hyde TD call.  When Guiton started to warm up, I think it put some additional pressure on Miller to make plays.   Even though Miller put up good numbers, he coughed up 2 fumbles and an interception.  If the Buckeyes want to win a championship, they will need to get that defense shored up. For sure they will be in a bowl game, and maybe even the Championship game.  But we all know the adage that defense wins championships and I don't think the Buckeye defense is there yet.

South Dispatches Newton

Twin Valley South volleyball took care of Newton in 3 sets on Thursday.  South is midway thru a busy week where they played Arcanum (win) and Tri-Village (loss).  But wait there's more - South winds up the week with a 3 way match at Dixie with Stivers this Saturday.  The team won 25-22; 25-12; 25-16.  So as the season winds down the team is staying busy.  They have an overall record of 11-7 as of tonight.

The first set had this pattern - a coach would take a time out and rally their players.  Then that team would go on a run until the other coach took a timeout, then the teams would switch roles.  South had a lead for pretty much the entire match, and at one time lead by 6 points before Newton took a time out and pulled to within one - 19-18.  Coach Roberts took her second time out at this point.  And whatever was said made the difference in this set and for that matter the rest of the night.  TVS pulled ahead with good serves and sizzling spikes to beat Newton by 3.

After that first set, Newton seemed rattled for the remaining two.  They played even again South in the early going, but kept letting the ball hit floor and gave South some easy points.  And when a team starts making mistakes, sometimes they lose their composure.  South won that match handily.  Then in the last set, South sent some smoking spikes across the net and that aggressive play allowed them to build an early lead. They relaxed a bit and Coach Roberts took one more time out to focus the team and they finished strong for the win. So all in all it was a good night for the team.

TVS STATS:
Taylor Kirkpatrick – 8 digs, 17 assists and 4 kills
Skyler Lain – an ace, 17 digs and 7 kills
Emma Fergus – a dig and a kill
Caitlyn Meyers – 11kills and 3 solo blocks
Gentry Gates – 2 aces, 9 digs, 18 assists and 4 kills
Abby Beneke – 16 digs and 9 kills
Paris Gruber – 5 kills
Kaylee Johnson – 15 of 16 on serve receive with 20 digs
Madison Wright – 2 digs

Arcanum Edges South

Arcanum Edged out South in a hard fought contest on Friday night. South had their chances, but just couldn't get the deal done and a tenacious Arcanum defense made big plays in the red zone to thwart South's efforts at a homecoming win. Twice Arcanum made goal line stands with time running out and one yard to go and twice Arcanum kept South out of the endzone. This made the difference in the game as Arcanum edged out South for a 18-16 victory and spoiled South's homecoming.

You had to figure that South was in for a long evening when an offensive lineman jumped offsides in the first play from scrimmage in the game.  They were 3 and out and the punt put the ball at midfield for Arcanum.  They used the short field to advance the ball to the 4 where on 4th down they threw a rare pass for a touchdown for the first score of the night.

The next score was set up by an interception.  South's Wes Cole threw an interception, but on the Arcanum series they tried to sneak in another pass and Cole, who plays safety on defense, returned the favor and picked off this pass. Zane Cottingim finished the subsequent drive with a 20 yard carry for the score.  South made their extra point and briefly held the lead 7-6.

After some three and outs by both teams, it was South's turn to receive a punt again. This time the punt was muffed and Arcanum recovered. They wasted no time taking advantage of this opportunity.  The Arcanum quarterback, O'Donnell, ran a keeper and scooted 40 yards to put Arcanum back on top 12-7.  South threatened right before halftime, they ran out of time outs, but had the ball on the Arcanum 1 yard line and just could not punch it in before time expired. The Trojan defense had held when it counted.

Arcanum had deferred in the first half and so received the ball to start the second half. They moved the ball well and ended their first drive of the half with a 32 yard touchdown carry by Byers. This put South behind by 2 scores.  South tried to answer before the quarter ran out, but an illegal block set South back and ended their drive with a 4th and forever. Early in the 4th quarter, South got the ball back in good field position - starting at the 38 yard line of Arcanum.  Zane Cottingim was able to catch a screen pass and make a broken field run for what appeared to be a touchdown.  But a flag was thrown towards the end of the play, a rare flag for a face mask by the ball carrier nullifying the touchdown.  Wes Cole took care of business on the next play, running a keeper 16 yards for the score, making it 18-14.

Although Arcanum did not score on their next series, they ate up a lot of valuable clock.  Finally they punted and gave South back the ball with 5:05 left on scoreboard.  South moved the ball well - mixing the run and pass.  It was probably their best series of the night until they hit the redzone.  They got the ball to the one yard line where the snap was mishandled on 3rd down.

Then it was the play of the night, 4th and 1 with less than 2 minutes on the clock.  South tried to run a sweep but Arcanum contained it and kept South out of the endzone. Arcanum ran some quarterback sneaks,while South had to use up time outs to keep the clock from running, and then on 4th down Arcanum had the ball carrier run around the endzone and finally run out of bounds to deliberately take a safety.  The idea was to run down the clock and not leave South any time. With seconds left on the clock South caught the kick off after the safety at midfield and took a knee to stop the clock.  With 2 seconds on the the scoreboard there was time for one more hail mary pass.  But once again the Trojan defense stepped up when it mattered. As Cole was beginning to rip the pass loose, a Trojan defender got his hand on the ball and the pass was driven into the ground.  The final score was 18-16 Arcanum.

After their first game (a win over Preble Shawnee), Arcanum has had to play the three best teams in the CCC in succession.  Their next three games were losses against Covington, Miami East, and TCN.  So although they came into the game with a losing record, the losses were against quality teams.  And South's schedule has them pitted against those same 3 teams for the last 3 games of the season.  South's strength this season has been their offensive line.  They have to be disappointed at the two defensive stands that Arcanum was able to make against them. I think every team works on goal line in practice - it's gut check time. But Arcanum made the play and South didn't. Something tells me that there is going to be a lot of reps spent this next week on making sure that the team gets it done on 4th and one.

South Back in Win column

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After staying on South's heels all night Ansonia couldn't keep pace in the second half and in particular the 4th quarter as TVS got back into the win column with a 41-14 victory over the Tigers. There was a steady drizzle all night which meant that both teams would run a lot and use the pass sparingly.  Going into the 4th quarter South was up by two scores 28 to 14 and with the slick conditions - a timely fumble could have changed the game around and given Ansonia new life. But South kept the pressure on Ansonia and scored twice more in the final frame to put the game well out of reach.

South has a deeper bench and with the ability to rotate players, it helped keep their legs fresh.  Ansonia has to play iron man football with a good many players going both ways and South seemed to grind them down in the second half.  But Ansonia teams are always gamers and they made the most of their opportunities, keeping it a close game for 3 quarters.  The South defense stopped Ansonia's first two drives of the second half and that seemed to break the back of the Tigers.  The first drive was stopped by a TVS sack that made it 4th and forever.  The second drive was later in the 3rd quarter and they drove down to deep into TVS territory but a fumble ended that drive after they had gotten all the way to the TVS 7 where it was 1st and goal.  And South actually intercepted a half back option pass during that drive - but a roughing the passer penalty gave Ansonia the ball back for another chance at the end zone.  In any event, it was a real momentum changer as South would go the distance in their ensuing possession and score.

Ansonia opened the game with a squib kick, which South mishandled.  Ansonia played Tiger ball on offense a good bit of the night - full house backfield and two tight ends. They went for it on 4th down two times in their first possession and got the first down.  But the feisty South defense stopped them on their third try at a 4th down conversion and took over on downs at their own 7 yard line.  They drove the distance and scored on a 2 yard carry by Zane Cottingin, who had set up the score with a 28 yard carry the play before.  Ansonia tried to do a fake punt when their next drive failed, but South sniffed it out and then South promptly scored when Wes Cole called his own number and went about 50 yards to put South up 14-0.

Ansonia scored just before time let out in the half. South had a touchdown called back by a hold and couldn't convert a 4th down at Ansonia's 40.  Ansonia used the short field and put together a nice drive, scoring thru the air with a pass with about 4 seconds left.  Making it a 14-8 game at the half.  South scored twice in the third quarter and made two good defensive stands. Jordan Burns made a 28 yard TD catch. Wes Cole made a 16 yard TD run - after having a previous TD run called back by a penalty. So twice in this game Cole had TD's called back because of penalty. Jordan Newman ran back the South kickoff right before the end of the third quarter for a score to show that Ansonia still had some fight left in them.  This made the score 28-14 as the teams entered the last quarter.

South scored two more times - Joe Webb made a spectacular run where he broke multiple tackles on a 35 yard TD run.  Shockey made the last score of the night.  Ansonia couldn't muster much offense at all by this point. The momentum needle had swung completely over to South's side and their hungry defense was feasting on the Tiger running backs. It was a treat for the hardy South fans that travelled to Ansonia on a rainy Friday night.  I think that South at least equalled if not bettered the fan count of the Tigers. The win puts South at 3 and 1 for the season and next week they host a homecoming game against Arcanum. While Ansonia is 1-3 and travels to National Trail.

Trail Offense Too Much for TVS

Trail Offense Too Much for TVS

National Trail's spread offense made several big plays on Friday night against TVS.  South would seem to have Trail pinned back and then Trail would make a big play and put South on their heels.  And the Trail play calling was good - work the edges, then do a middle screen.  Work the short pass, then go deep.  But South showed their resiliency and fought back. The game was hard hitting, there were several stoppages for players who were shook up.  South kept the game close all night and had their chance at a comeback until late in the 4th quarter when South failed to convert on a 4th down and gave the ball up with about 3 minutes left.

South's game plan seemed to be to use their experienced line to churn out yardage on the ground, use the clock, and keep the ball away from the Trail offense.  And they were able to move the ball, but penalties stalled some drives and Trail made some good plays on defense to stop others.  Trail used every page in their playbook - half back option pass, onsides kicks (worked once, failed the second time), and several other inventive plays to keep South guessing.  South's defense, which had not allowed a score in 6 quarters, gave up 35 points to the Blazers.

It was South who scored first. After stopping Trail on 4th down, they marched the ball down the field and Wes Cole ran it in from about 35 yards out late in the first quarter.  But any momentum from the defensive stand and offensive success was shortlived as Trail took the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the house to even up the score.  Then holding South to a 3 and out, they quickly positioned themselves for a second touchdown.  In the space of about 3 minutes, Trail had scored twice and created a lead that they would not give up.

And luck was with the Trail ball club as well.  Trails next TD before the half was set up by a tipped ball. Receivers ran deep and a South defender got a hand on the pass, deflecting it into the air.  An alert Trail receiver, Josh Lee, snagged the ball and ran it to the one yard line where Wes Cole tackled him.  But one quarterback carry later and Trail scored anyway.  South threatened just before the half and were on the Trail 26 with 12 seconds left but a Trail sack ended South's scoring chances.

After Trails second onsides kick failed, South took advantage of the short field and scored on a Joe Webb 9 yard run to make it a one score game 21 - 14.  But Trail scored again after using the half back option pass and a gutsy 4th down play to reach the endzone.   After exchanging the ball a few times.  South got the ball back at midfield due to a shanked punt. Josh Cottingim caught a Wes Cole pass to again make it a one score game 28-21.  Josh Lee caught a Garret Griffen pass for Trails last score of the night around the 4 minute mark.  And that was a critical touchdown as it now made it a 2 score game for South to pull even. South ran the two minute drill since they needed 2 scores. But Trails defense stepped it up and a quarterback sack put South into a 3rd and forever and that put the first down out of reach and South gave the ball up on downs.  Trail was the victor 35-21.

All in all it was a hard fought game - and an exciting game from a fans perspective. Lots of offense, a lot of big plays from both teams. Next week South travels to Ansonia and Trail travels to Bradford.

TVS off to 3-0 start

The Twin Valley South volleyball team continued their winning ways.  With decisive wins over Stivers and league opponent - Bradford.  Stivers went down  25-11, 25-15, 25-22 and Bradford was  25-17, 25-16, 25-23. In the Stivers win, Paris Gruber lead the Lady Panthers with ten kills. Stats for the Bradford game: Taylor Kirkpatrick (17 assists), Paris Gruber (9 kills) and Caitlyn Meyers (7 kills),Gentry Gates 9 assists, Skyler Lain chipped in with two aces, ten digs and four kills, Abby Beneke stepped up with an ace, 11 digs and 6 kills, and finally Kaylee Johnson charted three aces and defensively turned in her strongest performance of the season thus far with 19 of 24 in serve reception and 16 digs.

Coach Roberts commented after the Bradford game,  "...that Taylor Kirkpatrick did a nice job tonight of spreading the wealth, giving everyone an opportunity to put the ball down.  And Paris Gruber and Caitlyn Meyers  then went on a "Pay it Forward" campaign of their own by taking those sets [from Kirkpatrick] and putting them away in the scoring column." She went on,  "Bradford did a nice job of attacking the ball all night. They have a very athletic young group that is finding it's volleyball prowess."

South heads into a more difficult part of their schedule playing Arcanum at home (ccc),Brookville(swbl),TCN(ccc), and National Trail at home(ccc).  All of these matches should be closely contested.

South Surges Past Dixie

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South Surges Past Dixie

In the first half, the ball bounced Dixie's way as they took advantage of opportunities and gained an early lead.  But South was resilient and fought their way back to tie the ball game by the half.  In the second quarter they were down by two scores and could have folded up. But the team maintained their energy level, did not get down, and held Dixie scoreless for the rest of the game while scoring 31 unanswered points.

Dixie scored early in their first series on a 70 yard pass play.  Dixie has a new quarterback this year, southpaw Ethan Arnett; he connected with Logan Watts for the score.  South answered with a touchdown drive of their own, capped by a Zane Cottingim dive from about the one yard line. So we were back even again.

Then South gave Dixie two gifts - which to Dixie's credit they capitalized on.  Dixie punted to South and the ball hit the ground in front of the South return man.  He wheeled to get out of the way, but apparently not fast enough.  The ball touched the returner according to the referee and an alert Dixie player - Isaiah Prichard scooped up the live ball and ran it in for the score.  There was a Dixie offsides on the ensuing kickoff and South opted to redo the kick.  This time the ball squirted loose and Dixie recovered.  A few plays later and Arnett connected with Watts again to put Dixie up by two touchdowns 21-7.

First year coach Tyler Cates did a good job of keeping the team focussed.  After giving up two touchdowns in two minutes it would have been easy for the team to get down and fold up the rest of night.  But the team rallied at this point and the game was all South the remaining 2 and half quarters. A resolved South scored two more times in the second quarter - a quarterback keeper by Wes Cole (set up in part by a nice run by Zane Cottingim) and a 30 yard pass to Darren Brown.  This tied the game at 21 all at the half.

With a good sized roster, South has some latitude in the schemes they can put together for different situations.  They have a jumbo package for short yardage on offense, where they bring in some beefy boys on the line and put 3 backs in the back field.  They they can put in coverage defensive players for passing situations and so forth.  With the players going in and out, they are also getting rest on the sidelines.  And so I thought South had more gas in the tank in the second half. They seemed to grind down Dixie in the steamy heat of late August.

The defense bent some in the second half, but they mostly held Dixie to 3 plays and punt. The offense went to a clock chewing ground game.  Cole capped off two more drives with quarterback sneaks for scores and Zane Cottingim peeled off a 20 yard touchdown run. Cottingim also set up the first score of the half with a 40 yard run + a face mask. Jordan Burns deserves mention, he made a critical 4th down catch to set up South's second touchdown of the second half - which put them up by 2 scores. Cody Meyer who had missed a field goal earlier, redeemed himself and hit a 22 yarder to finish the scoring for South. All in all a good victory for South and a first win for coach Cates who got the water cooler treatment at the end of the game.

TVS Posts First Win Out of the Gate

TVS Posts First Win Out of the Gate

After a lackluster season last year, South's volleyball squad wanted to return to form this year.  Used to a winning tradition coach Roberts wanted to put last year behind and set the team on path.  And the team made a statement that they indeed were on their way back in their opener against Carlisle, dominating the match and winning in straight sets 25-6, 25-11, 25-6. The team maintained control throughout the match and never let the Indians have a sniff at a comeback.

Taylor Kirkpatrick lead the way for the Lady Panthers serving up ten aces, five digs and dishing out eleven assists. Paris Gruber knocked down eight kills and had a block assist with teammate Taylor Kirkpatrick. Skyler Lain stepped up with five aces and eight digs. Caitlyn Meyers chipped in with three digs, five kills and a block assist with teammate Gentry Gates, while Gentry posted eight assists and four kills. Kaylee Johnson turned in a solid performance of her own scoring ten service points,three aces and seven digs. And In her varsity debut Abby Beneke garnered four aces and three kills.

Coach Roberts commented after the match, “Even though it was a non-league contest it's a good first win. It was a nice way to ease into the season before things get challenging and chaotic in league play come the first two weeks of September.” 

This puts South at 1-0 for the week.  Their next matches are as follows: 8/26 Stivers (home)8/29 at Bradford 9/3 Arcanum (home)

South vs Preble Shawnee Scrimmage

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By my count South's varsity was on top 34 to 13 at tonights scrimmage when I left - and it looked like both squads had JV's on the field at that time. South was not domineering, but they were persistent. When I came home I told my wife that they weren't great, but they played good enough to win. And that sums things up, they are improved, but need to get better. Positives are that they kept coming back, taking advantage of opportunities, and stayed in the face of Shawnee.  I liked the enthusiasm on the sideline, the team had a good attitude.

Both teams were 3 and out on their first possessions.  And it made you wonder if this was going to be a long night with both teams struggling to get a first down.  But on their second possession Shawnee hit their stride. They used both the pass and run to go to about the 30 yard line where they tossed one into the end zone to go up by a score.  South was plagued with penalties and an inconsistent running game. They finally put together a drive where they scored from 26 yards out to even up the scoring. 

Then South intercepted a pass and Wes Cole fired up a hail mary pass that was tipped and caught in the endzone to put South up by a score.  Later he would find the endzone again - this time carrying in the ball from 16 yards out to put South up by two scores.  South's defense really stepped up at this point in the scrimmage.  They stuffed Shawnee and kept their varsity offense contained.  They would not score again until late in the scrimmage. South would score again from 41 yards out and 20 yards out. 

 Cole did a good job at quarterback, he is elusive and if you get by the line he is hard to sack.  And when he has the time, he can throw a decent ball.  And he used several different receivers, not focussing on one target. Running game was sporadic. There were times when the backs were running downhill and raced for decent gains.  Other times they were tentative.  The blocking was decent but not great.  The defense did a fair job.  They bent several times but rallied back to get a stop. Tackling was better, and the pass defense did an OK job, and the line did get in on some sacks.  Penalties were a problem, Shawnee had their fair share, but South gave away the most yardage in penalties. 

South had good numbers on the sidelines, and when their JV's were in the game, they played well.  I saw several good pops by the JV defense and the offense moved the ball and scored.  On the other hand, Shawnee's numbers looked to be down this season.  They are playing against some bigger schools and that lack of depth is going to catch up to them. Their spread offense was able to move the ball, just not consistently.  Their defense was good against the run, but South was able to complete some long passes for big gains.  South should be able to improve on their 3 wins of last season.  

August 18th Sports Wrap Up

Next week I am intending to watch the South vs Shawnee Scrimmage.  So stop back for comments next weekend.

Butler Play for a Cure Game Set (football)

New Pieces Could Help Ohio State Take Off(football)

Bradford Offers Reserved Seats in New Bleachers(football)

MV Grad Coaching at Mount Union (basketball)

Wave Wins(Golf)

Versailles Wins Invite(golf)

Wave Looks Good in Scrimmage(football)

Bengals 2-0 in preseason

CJ Shuts out Butler (soccer)

Springfield Football Preview

Hamilton Football Preview

Eaton Looking to Improve (soccer)

Panthers Look to return to .500 (soccer)

Shawnee New Look, Same Goals(soccer)

Macy's Strikes Deal with Lids

Bengals Last Training Camp Practice at Springboro

Don't Look Back (Reds)

GCL Announces 18 Team Alignment

Scrimmage Northmont at Piqua(football)

Transfers

Any school coach in Ohio has to pass a test from OHSAA.  While studying for this, I was amazed at the volume of the rule book that dealt with eligibility and transfers.  I would guess that about half of the rules dealt with just these two topics. And you have to put on your amateur lawyer hat to understand parts of it. And the rules have evolved over the years. People keep finding loopholes and work arounds.  It is hard to distinguish between a family that legitimately moves from one district to another or a family that moves an athlete into a district for sports.

But why do athletes transfer?  One of the biggest reasons is to get your kid on a competitive team and try to get recognition for a college scholarship. Sometimes there are conflicts or problems with a coach, but those cases are a lot fewer. With the cost of college skyrocketing, I can see where parents would want to give their kids a chance (however slim) to improve their chances.  I still maintain that if Penn State could find Curtis Enis in Mississinewa Valley then it proves that if you are good, scouts are going to find you. So if your kid is a blue chip athlete then I don't know if it is worth the effort to try to move them around. And if your kid can't carry a team on their back at the high school level, then they probably won't be getting a free ride. But I can see where parents want to try and take that chance at getting a free ride for their athlete. Free vs $40,000+ for tuition is a big incentive.

So instead of fighting it why not have OHSAA make a workable plan where students can transfer and streamline the rules.  So maybe some districts can become 'sports magnet districts' where students can openly transfer in and play - maybe for a fee.  These schools can become part of a different class of schools that have their own leagues and play off systems. So they do not compete against schools that keep their district closed to sports transfers and have an unfair advantage. And this could go towards ending the private vs public debate.  I can see a lot of the private schools opting into a system like this.  Its the rough frame work of an idea, but it is a different way of addressing the problem. Don't fight it - find a way to make it workable.

Of course the one danger is that with open transfers, will schools openly recruit junior high and freshman athletes to their schools?  Right now that is against the rules. Is this going to change the landscape of high school sports?   And there is the danger that we are putting too much emphasis on the athlete and forgetting about the student part of going to school.  You go to any high school graduation and the number of academic scholarships dwarfs the athletic scholarships. But parents are still going to chase that dream, this is the way to satisfy their desires and let the rest of the students focus on academics.  And who knows - opening this door for athletics could open the door for robotics magnet school districts, or college prep school districts, healthcare, etc.  Transferring for the right reasons can be a good thing.


weekend sports wrapup:

Troy Football 2013

Ansonia Loses (golf)

Green Wave 12th (golf)

Edgewood relying on Tradition (football)

Richmond Red Devils new turf

Improvement in Springfield(football)

Urbana Hungry to Exceed

August 04 Update

Football Division Realignment

Urban Meyer Sets Tone with Suspension

Brody Hoying at Coldwater (football)

New Look to 2 a Days

Jackson Gets Early Start

Junior League 4th in State (little league)

Ohio State Prospectus

Chris Carter Brings Middletown Friends with Him (pro football)

Time to Watch Wildcards? (pro baseball)

July 28th Sports Blog - Can you feel it?

Can you  feel it?  This weeks abnormally cool temps makes you think of fall.  And fall in Ohio means football. Looking forward to another season of high school, college, and professional football. There will be a new division this fall for Ohio as they have expanded the number of divisions. So even more teams will now have a shot at the playoffs.  Ohio State should have another shot at an undefeated season - if they can keep their players out of the jailhouse.  Lots of off field antics have put some starters in jeopardy.  Bengals seem primed for a good season.  Browns still have to pull themselves off the floor, but at this point in the season - they are all winners.


The Master of Starting Over (CCC Football)

Bengals Training Camp Kickoff

Cav's Reach Title Game

AJ Green Twists Knee (Bengals)

Meyer Furious Over Turmoil (Buckeyes)

Red's Outfielder Headed to Dayton

Butler Football Golf Scramble

Bengals Set for Another Round of Hard Knocks

Elks Send 5 to Nationals

Travel Fastpitch team holding tryouts

Tri-Village Team Wins Little League Championship

History Will be Key as Middies Hire New Coach (Basketball)

Eaton 9-10 Team goes 2-1 in Tournament

Browns - Major Changes to Defense

Micah to Join Brother at OSU (Wrestling)

Sports Roundup July 7th

Great Choice in Choo (Reds)

Varsity Rivals TV Show to feature Versailles vs Coldwater

GTI Over Russia

Ally Russell Named All-American

Lady Trojans win Tourament

Middies Hoops Coach Leaves

Game/Home Run derby to honor fallen player

Eaton All-Star Season Kicking Off

Lynch Named to All-Ohio Team(fastpitch)

Brother Reunite on Wittenberg Diamond

Meyer Worked Hard to Mentor Herendez

Cincy Rookies Listen to Jones (Bengals)

All Star Game Special for Chapman (Reds)

Sports Round up June 2

Track: State Qualifiers

Summer Football in the Miami Valley

Tipp Falls in Regional Final

Where are Jay Bruce Haters Now? (Reds)

Deer Season Changes to be Voted

Public vs Private Debate Continues

Elks Bats go Cold(baseball)

Lady Elks District Champs

Elks 8 Straight

North Dayton Athletes Headed to State

Xenia Captures GWOC Championship(fast pitch)

Uy Returning to State in 3 Events

Xenia Sweeps Districts (track)

Versailles Wins Regional(track)

Lady Wave Makes Final 8

Arcanum Moves on (baseball)

Versailles Wins District(track)

Franklin Monroe Loses to Covington(fastpitch)

Dark County Athlete Qualify for Regional Meet

Deaton Leads Blazers(track)

South Qualifies 7 to Regional Meet

Shawnee Track