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

New Coach at TVS

Tyler Cates has been offered the TVS head coach position pending approval of the school board is the word on the street.  He has been an assistant at Greenville, Versailles, and Arcanum.  He is a teacher at TVS who did the middle school track program this last school year.  So he has an advantage as far as knowing the players already and being familiar with the school as opposed to an outside candidate.  With the school levy failing there are rumblings that the play to pay fee's will be increased.  If this is the case, it could be a factor as far as numbers - if the fee's go up too much then it could prevent some kids from participating if their families simply don't have the money.

I know that the program was starting to move in the right direction under the previous head coach - and participation has been up. So the hope is that the new coach can build on that momentum. Lots has to happen in a short period of time - fall is not that far away,  get assistant coaches lined up, introduce the players to the new system - and the new offense and defense.  It will be interesting to see if the coach will stay with a spread offense or switch gears to a wing T option defense, pro set or ???

Time off

Well folks I took some time off for my wife who has thyroid cancer. She goes back into surgery in June.  But I am going to resume posting highlights here to keep the site alive.  It has been nice to have some time off and  take a break.

TVS is searching for a new football coach. Lance Engleka's position was eliminated with the failure of the levy and so he is being released.  South was hoping to have someone else before the end of the school year but no announcements as of yet.

The latest competitive balance proposal by OSHAA was voted down.  I think that they are making the formulas too complicated and then penalizing schools for being successful. Something about that doesn't seem right.  If I run a successful program and my kids work harder in the off season than my competitors then my reward is to be moved up to a bigger division?  I wonder if they will try a new direction - separate public and private school playoffs?

Hal McCoy - do you know this man?  (Reds)

Minster Bounced by Crestview (baseball)

Bellbrook and Beavercreek compete at Districts (track)

Three no charm for Bellbrook against ValleyView (fastpitch)

Arcanum Mounts comeback for Win (baseball)

Franklin-Monroe wins 12 Inning Game (fastpitch)

Brookville knocks Arcanum out of tournament (fastpitch)

Ansonia Beats Bradford (fastpitch)

March 3 Roundup

Kenton Ridge to Face CJ (Girls BB)

Jackson Center Charming

Greg Hoard and Bobby Knight (college BB)

Hal McCoy in AZ(Reds)

Alter knocks off Marshal

Fairmont Drops Butler (girls bb)

Local Players Help UD (college)

Tri-Village downs Jets

Versailles State Run Ends(wrestling)

Madison Girls Ease into SemiFinals

Fenwick Falls to Stivers

District Crown to Patriots(girls bb)

Lady Eagles Fall

Arrows Lose Close Final(girls bb)

Trail Toppled by East(girls bb)

Wayne - Centerville Advance to District Finals

Feb. 17th Roundup

Monroe over Eaton

Madison Girls Hit Century Mark

Middletown over Big Blue

Jerry Lucas Grateful

Bellbrook Girls Over Monroe

Waynesville Wins Division with win over Dixie

Northmont Upsets Wayne

Marion Local Flyers Bury Panthers

Three Aviators Sign for College Football

Student Honored, but Lady Aviators 
Fall on Senior Night

North - South Game Coming to Dayton

WildCats Pounce on Tippecanoe

Tigers Too Much for Wave

TriVillage Finishes Undefeated

Enis Honored as Football Coach

Thomas Named Player of the Year

Lady Tigers Win Tournament Opener

Arrows Hit Bullseye 

Eaton Rides 2 Game Win Streak

South in 2 Close Wins

Trail Over North Girls

Changes in Deer Season for Next Year

Hal McCoy - Homer Bailey at Spring Training

Fairlawn Spoils Senior Night for Jackson Center

Patriots Give Clinic

Prize Fight between Anna and Fort Loramie

SouthEastern Edges South

SouthEastern Edged out South in a defensive battle in the opening round of the girls basketball state tournament. It was a low scoring affair as both teams were tentative in their offense but strong on defense.  Which isn't too unusual in tournament play as both schools are meeting for the first time and so like a boxing match, they feel out their opponent to see what will work.  Then you have the tournament factor where both teams are intense and playing tight. Which is not conducive for offensive production.

SouthEastern had an early edge with their half court trap.  It seemed to keep South from getting into an offensive flow and did create turnovers - over 10 in the second half alone.  On the other hand, South seemed to do a good job rebounding and limited SouthEastern to just one shot per possession. Katie Strazheim had a productive second quarter and in a low scoring game, gave South the lead going into the locker room - 10 to 8.  But the third quarter was not productive for South, they could only muster a single basket.  And as the game went on, they were cold from the foul line - only hitting on 2 foul shots for the game and bricking 6 foul shots in the 4th quarter alone.

Still South staying within striking distance when Whitney White connected on a three point shot late in the fourth quarter.  South was fouling in the last minute and SouthEastern connected when it counted to keep their lead. When the horn blew it was SouthEastern 22 TVS 19 in a closely contested game.  Scoring for TVS: Whitney White 3, Gentry Gates 3, Kara Mackie 4, Timberlynn Donaldson 3, Katie Strazheim 6.

TVS - Shawnee Split Games

Saturday night was an 'All the Basketball You Can Eat' night at Preble Shawnee high school.  The two schools matched up both girls and boys squads from freshman to varsity.  It was an eventful evening - thanks to 'Hoops for Hope' there was a proliferation of pink t-shirts in the stands and both varsity teams wore the the shirts during warm ups. The Hoops for Hope shirts were for raising cancer awareness.  It was also senior night, so in between varsity games the seniors were recognized.

Ladies were up first.  Shawnee took off of with an early lead.  They used their basketball skills well - passing, rebounding and a stubborn defense.  They mixed in some full court pressure and kept South off balance.  It was 9-2 in favor of the Arrows about half into the first quarter  South did find some traction with their inside game, but were still down 19-10 at the end of the quarter.

South had accumulated several early fouls and early in the second quarter they were giving up bonus to the Arrows.  But that was the least of their worries as Shawnee dialed up the pressure - trapping South for turnovers. It was a frustrating quarter for South, if Shawnee didn't get a steal - then a pass out of bounds, or a travel would likewise give the ball right back to the Arrows.  South took a time out to try to turn the tide, but it was to no avail - Shawnee went into the locker room with a 42-15 lead.  Holding South to just 5 points while scoring 23 themselves to break the game wide open.

In the second half, South tried to do a little trapping of their own and switched up defenses - but Shawnee shook off any attempt by South at a comeback.  They kept up the pace and cruised to an easy 74-29 victory.  Scoring for South: Taylor Clark 2, Beth Foust 1, Kara Mackie 7, Timberlynn Donaldson 15, Katie Strazheim 4.  Scoring for Shawnee: Woodard 6, Edwards 20, Brown 10, Moore 16, Klamm 6, Lakes 16.

South girls will play SouthEastern next Saturday morning at Brookville. 15-5 Shawnee will make up a league game against Waynesville, but they are runners up in their division of the SWBL.

Next up were the boys varsity teams.  They had met earlier in the year at the Shawnee holiday tournament and South was able to win that time. Again the Panthers found themselves in hostile territory - playing as the visitors. But this did not phase them as they hit some big shots to go out in front early.  Shawnee played zone in the early going and South took advantage with Wysong and Cole chucking in treys. During this period, South was doing a good job rebounding as well.  Shawnee took a timeout to adjust their defense when South had a 10-2 lead. Shawnee closed the gap with a buzzer beater and were down 12-17 after one quarter.

Shawnee pressed some in the second quarter and South responded with some trapping of their own. With the flurry of action from both aggressive defenses, the teams accumulated a lot of fouls.  South was able to go into the locker room with a 26-34 lead.  Inexplicably they came out of the locker room cold as the team couldn't hit a shot in the first 4 minutes of the quarter. And when things aren't working of offense you strain to make things happen on defense.  But when you overplay, you get called for fouls. Innis picked up his third foul early in the quarter and the Panthers were accumulating fouls at a rate of one a minute as Shawnee thundered down the comeback trail.

Shawnee actually took a 2 point lead during their 10-0 run. The drought was finally broken for South when Wes Cole drained a three to allow South to regain the lead, then Anthony Augspurger made a shot on the next possession to provide a cushion.  The South defense was generating turnovers at this time and so it was hard for Shawnee to make any headway.

It was a 4 point game as the teams entered the final quarter of play. South, who had been so cold in the third quarter, found their mark in the 4th quarter.  Extending their lead to 9 points and forcing Shawnee to take a time out at the 5 minute mark to adjust.   With three minutes to go South was very deliberate in their offense, chewing precious seconds off the clock.  Shawnee went to the press to make a run - and they did close to 6 points with 34 seconds left where they sunk a three to make it a three point game. But they had to foul to get the ball back and Mike Green iced the game for South at the free throw line for a 56-51 victory. Scoring for South: Wes Cole 20, Jesse Wysong 12, Mike Green 12, Anthony Augspurger 8, Jordan Burns 5, Seth Baker 6.

Tvs 34 shawnee 26 at half

Girls tvs 29 shawnee 74

Half girls tvs 15 shawnee 42

Sports Wrap up for Feb. 3

Carlisle Dispatches Dixie

Edgewood Over Talawanda

Middletown Christian Evens with Miami Valley (girls bb)

Indoor Football - Dayton Sharks season set to Launch

Miami East - Versailles knockdown, drag out fight (girls bb)

Troy Christian - Lehman Catholic.  A Child Shall lead them

Cardinals Knockoff Ranked Redskins

Inspired Indians defeat Catholic Central

Michael Shines in Fairborn Defeat

Bucc's Beat Blackhawks

Lady Pats Win on Senior Night

Arcanum Girls Dominate Bethel

Cavaliers Down Jets (girls bb)

Stammen on USO trip

Harbaugh's Deep Local Ties

Patriot Powers Past 1000 (girls bb)

Lady Eagles 7 Straight

South Boys Split 2

Eaton Boys Quiet

South Girls - 3 in a Row

Sports Roundup, January 19th

Eaton Takes Bellbrook (girls bb)

Arrows Demolish West Milton (girls bb)

Eaton Beats Brookville

TCN Girls Lose 2

Pipenger - the best in the West

New Breman Over Minster

Centerville Over Fairmont

Oakwood Falls to Waynesville

Lady Knights Down McNichols

Alter Drops Fenwick

Alter Falls to Centerville

Lady Aviators Drop Trotwood

Arcanum no Match for Marion Local

Ansonia Loses to Bethel

Franklin Monroe all-state at soccer

Patriots Untouchable

Jets Repel BlackHawks (girls bb)

Bradford Over Newton

Lady Wave Shuts Down Aviators 

Rumble in the East

Twin Valley South went thru a tough 5 day stretch this past week, playing 3 games in 5 days.  With two of those games on the road against tough CCC opponents.  Tuesday saw South lose on the road against Franklin Monroe by 5, 45-40. But they rebounded Friday against Bradford with a decisive 70-50 victory.  That brought up Saturday night’s road game against Miami East who was coming off of a Friday night victory of their own.  They dispatched Newton easily 52-24.  South and Miami East entered the game with similar 8 win records and both are jockeying behind Tri-Village for second place in the conference and also a good seed in the state tournament.

But before the game started there was a ceremony for the Miami East volleyball team who received championship rings for their state championship – their second in a row.  The school had the raised the money with fund raisers. They had only one loss on the season and won the championship in straight sets, so it was great to see their achievements rewarded.

Back to the game – South started slow.  They gave up 3 turnovers in the early going and along with some fouls, they were playing sloppy.  Miami East charged out to an early 9-2 lead.  Coach Augspurger took a time out to get the players settled down – and they went to work.  Mike Green responded and helped spark a little run to keep the score close.  The two post players – South’s Mike Green and East’s AJ Hickman battled all night.  South played in man to man defense while Miami East stayed in a zone defense for the most part.

So after being down in the first quarter, South hit their stride in the second quarter.  Mike Green tied the game at 14–all on a put back and in the next possession Jesse Wysong sunk a trey to give South their first lead of the night.  JJ Utz then hit a layup and the Miami East coach had seen enough, calling a time out to cool off the South run.  East’s Luke House scored two points at the end of the half to close the gap and South went to the locker room with a 19-17 lead in a defensive battle.

The game became unraveled in the third quarter for South.  Miami East really focused on Green in the second half and so he scored no points in the third.  And the South perimeter was stone cold, they weren’t hitting their shots.  Although Green got a respectable 18 points on the night,  no one else scored more than 4. At the other end of the court, East was able to make some backside cuts to get some easy baskets.  Finally, to add to South’s frustrations, they were called for a technical foul.  It was a miserable quarter – East rallied for  14 points and South only scored 4.    

South tried to respond in the last quarter, but they were giving up bonus – which sent East to the foul line and just didn’t seem to get any breaks.    The team had their best quarter scoring wise, but it was not enough as East held off any attempt at a comeback and won 46-35. 

“We struggled to score,” commented coach Augspurger after the game, “I think we are a little too emotional.  We get a bad call against us – we react and we get angry.  We miss a couple of shots and we react by getting down on ourselves.  Instead of just understanding that those things are just part of the game and we have to play thru it.  In order to be successful we just have to stop that.”

“Our offensive symmetry is just not what it needs to be and tonight I thought we rushed our shots,”  he continued, “Jesse Wysong spotted up and hit a nice three, but every other shot – I thought we rushed it.  We knew coming into the new year that this would be our toughest week – playing Franklin Monroe and Miami East on the road.  They are both good basketball schools.  I can not fault how we battled – we defended pretty well and gave great effort but we didn’t finish some of our possessions and just didn’t score enough.”

South lost

Miami east 17 tvs 19 at half