Without a doubt…it’s time for more actual football and less talking about what none of us know for sure. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
On the doorstep of opening night football, some thoughts from area readers who want to know…do you believe Marion Local’s story…who’s the one best team in the Miami Valley…and are you doing more Buckeyes football and less high school?
We can tell by the tone in recent emails and texts that we’ve all had enough politics – too much, in fact – and not enough sports. And in this case, high school football just in time judging by the overwhelming sentiments.
“Thanks for all the pre-season BS, but I’ve read and heard enough. Can we just play football.” … R. Selover
“Looking forward to another year of reading Saturday morning football on Press Pros. But will you be widening your coverage this year to include more schools and more conferences?” … Bob Smith
(Ed. Note: If it’s good football, Bob, we’ll do our best. And we’ll also do our best to avoid 60-6.)
All the proof you need…The MAC has won 43 state titles in football in 50 years.
“You recently wrote that the MAC Conference is the most competitive football conference in the state. Please. Can you prove that?” … Terry Schilt
(Ed. Note: Terry, can you disprove it? They’ve only won 43 state titles in 50 years. Seems good enough for me.)
“I’ve followed Piqua for years and wonder if you might be more specific about why they’ve struggled recently? They’ve won 6 games in the last two years.” … Jason
(Ed. Note: Well, for one they haven’t had the players they had when they were winning nine and ten games and going to the playoffs. One would assume that’s because of the cycle, or at least you hope. Last year there was a noticeable difference in speed from previous years and that usually has a way of changing itself with better, future classes. You also mentioned coaching in your email, and I DO NOT question Bill Nees. When he’s had the talent he’s always won. And a lot of times he’s won when he didn’t have the best talent. That’s my best answer.)
“Having grown up in Troy football seemed to be better when the conference was tougher (WOL and GWOC). Has the current MVL switch helped or hurt football in Troy, Piqua, and Sidney?” … Craig Smith
(Ed. Note: The league is definitely different than the original MVL (with Bellefontaine and Lima Shawnee), and when Sidney was winning 30 games in a row. And yes, I would agree that the current league is not the same football as in those days with featured players like Dave Gallagher, Craig Clemons, Ryan Brewer, Brandon Saine, Jesse Williams, Gail Clarke and Kris Haynes. Many believe that the cultural difference is responsible, with less priority on community football than there was a generation ago. On the other hand, there seems to be plenty of priority currently for football in Tipp City.)
“I was really interested in your July story with the coach at Marion Local and his story about how he lost all of the talent from the 4-peat team and the winning streak. Are you buying that, or was it just coach speak?” … Tony Gano
(Ed. Note: You can’t redshirt in high school, Tony, and graduation does get in the way of football if you haven’t built a program to restock your losses. Is it the same Marion Local team this year. No. But no where is there a better culture of football with which to retool. Will it take a few weeks? I would expect it will. Will the winning streak be stopped? If it is, this would be the logical time for it to happen. Does it keep Tim Goodwin awake at night? I don’t think so.)
“Who do you think will be the one best team in the Miami Valley this year?” … Alan Bookwalter
(Ed. Note: That’s impossible to answer before anyone’s even played a down. I notice you didn’t send any thoughts of your own. I would have been interested, because right now you know as much as I do.)
“Wondering if you think this year’s Ohio State team will be as good as last, and win another national championship.” … Doug Blankenship
(Ed. Note: In a word…no!)
“Are you guys concerned about the quarterback position for the Buckeyes this year?” … Cris Courtney
(Ed. Note: Truthfully, not as much as Ryan Day is.)
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and basketball and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Veteran Marcus Hartman writes the OHSAA, Ohio State, and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“I notice that you have Marcus Hartman and Jeff Gilbert both writing about Ohio State football and wondered if you will be doing more Ohio State coverage at the expense of local high school football. By the way, I love the website. You guys are everywhere.” … Larry Farmer
(Ed. Note: Larry, you’re not the first to wonder, and be assured that the reason Marcus is with us now is so we can do more high school on Friday nights – or more of the better games. That said, when it’s appropriate it’s also nice to have the extra hand with experience in case someone is out of town, or whatever. With Jeff, Marcus, Alan Brads, Steve Blackledge, Jarrod Ulrey and Bruce Hooley I’d say we’re in pretty good shape. Great question. Thanks for asking.)
One last thing….
“I love the addition of coverage for harness racing and wonder if this is a trial thing, or will you continue to do more of it in the future. Loved the stories about Mike Polhamus, Jeff Nisonger, Phil Groves and others. Well done.” … Lonnie Higgins
(Ed. Note: By the looks of things there’s a lot of people who enjoy racing coverage, including the Ohio Harness Horseman Association. If there’s support for it, we’ll be there. Give the people what they want.)
The Dave Arbogast family of dealerships proudly sponsors OHHA harness racing on Press Pros Magazine.com.