After claiming the all-time Ohio record for 58 consecutive wins, the question with Marion Local now shifts from ‘will they’ to ‘how far’ can they go?
As predicted in Friday’s game story of Marion Local breaking the all-time Ohio high school consecutive wins record, it’s now been read and heard about all over the state.
58 consecutive wins, going back to 2000 – the longest current streak (to anyone’s knowledge) in America – and despite anyone, anywhere, willing to question, something that most of us will never again see in our lives.
To coach Tim Goodwin and the Flyers…you are this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree on Press Pros.
In just six words Goodwin summed it up when he finally talked about the record in his post-game remarks Friday.
“Man, that’s a lot of games,” he said.
And contrary to a reader at Ohio Stadium Saturday questioning: ”It’s high school football. How tough can that be?” Consider…..
It’s not 58 games of intra-mural football. It came while playing in the most competitive conference, overall, in the state of Ohio. And yes, you can add ‘proportional’ as a caveat, because of school size. But there is no caveat regarding competitive commitment, pride, and consistency. When it comes to those three attributes it doesn’t matter how big you are.
Plenty of bigger schools, and bigger conferences, would die to have what the Midwest Athletic Conference can claim, top to bottom, regarding those qualities. The same schools (locally), however, want nothing to do with scheduling Marion as a non-conference opponent. And over recent years Marion’s won against schools with twice the enrollment – Chaminade-Julienne, Wapakoneta, and most recently…Franklin.
With nearly fifty total state titles in high school football by nine different member schools since the inception of the MAC Conference fifty years ago, nine of the member schools have won a title at least once. Four of the nine have won the state title at least six times!
How tough do you want it to be?
Included in the current 58 games is a record of 18-0 against post-season playoff opponents, and back-to-back-to-back state titles. There have been no rebuilds, or setbacks due to pandemics and socio-economic factors. Expectation has exceeded all the pitfalls of contemporary culture.
Tim Goodwin has won 319 of 367 games at Marion Local in 24 seasons…with 14 state titles. “You just don’t do this from a dead start. It takes a lot of traction – a lot of commitment from a lot of people.”
They’ve done it with all shapes, sizes, and skill sets.
They’ve done it with whatever it takes – run, pass, and defense.
And while Tim Goodwin did sum it up in six words, he also acknowledged : “You don’t just do this from a dead start,” he said. “It takes a lot of traction, and it takes a lot of commitment by a lot of people.”
And realistically…how many more than 58?
Twenty five years is long enough to realize that nothing they’re doing at Marion Local is apt to change soon.
“Something will happen to the streak,” Goodwin said Friday. Good, yes, and realistic.
But likely not until it’s been extended to an even higher peak for some future challenger to climb…if they ever do!
Simply put, congratulations to the Marion Local Flyers, this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree on Press Pros.
And, who’s hotter?
On behalf of sponsor, the St. Henry Bank, Press Pros is pleased to recognize this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ honoree, Marion Local football.