Te 54th OHSAA state football tournament is in the rear view mirror, and comparing the outcomes of this year’s title games, the question…what has seven divisions done for the game of football?
If our friend, the late Joe Neves, was still operating the weekly football scoreboard on the Press Pros site he would have been on the phone during Saturday night’s long ride home from Canton…reminding me of the margin of victory in at least six of the seven championship outcomes.
The sad reality is, that Joe is no longer here to keep track, or even care. He loved the game, and he was a throwback to all of its values and virtues.
VPP, in Versailles, proudly sponsors Buckeyes football on Press Pros Magazine.com.
And he was, I think, the first person I ever heard turn the phrase Respect the Game in this fashion. “Tell me how 74-0 in a state championship game is showing respect for the game,” he said in 2024. “Football deserves something more than that.”
Just words, – semantics – some will point out. The object of the phrase is really about respecting each other. Be kind..be nice…a good sport.
But others, imbued with a competitive quality handed down since the days of Knute Rockne, will counter. To be the best you want to beat the best…and when the state championship game is that wide open, how can that be?
All of which was pointed out to me over the weekend in Canton, as daily readers commented on not only coverage of games, but for respecting the tradition of competition, its values, and a refusal to compromise. “We’re not here just to win, but how to play the game,”… a quote heard frequently in today’s culture.
And for good reason.
None of the seven divisions, be it public or private schools, were actually that close.
In Division I, Olentangy Orange literally controlled the clock and the score in beating favored St. Xavier, 28-14. And it wasn’t that close.
In Division II, Avon was up 34-13 over Anderson before late scores cut the margin to 37-20.
In Division III Columbus Watterson thumped Toledo Central Catholic 30-0, and again…it wasn’t that close.
In Division IV Cleveland Glenville wiped out Shelby, 45-7.
In Division V Liberty Center barely gave Wheelersburg a breath of air, before winning 35-3.
In Division VI Kirtland won for the eighth time, blowing out Hopewell-Loudon, 41-7.
And in Division VII, St. Henry beat Hillsdale 37-3, and left a pair of unclaimed touchdowns on the field.
Chances are, the best lawn on your block is an Ever-Green lawn. Call us at 937-335-6418!
FYI…for those cloaked in the worn-out argument of public versus private, that wasn’t the issue in 2025. Six of the seven winning teams were public. Only Watterson won as a private, and for the uninformed St. Henry is the name of the town in Mercer County, not the local Catholic church.
No, the argument now is clearly about seven divisions of high school sports in Ohio…the watering down of the competition by granting expanded opportunity to the weaker schools to share in the championship experience. But that’s also watering down the age-old message to champions past and future … “that to be best you have to beat the best”. And that’s sad, because if you’re keeping track of things measurable – the math of the matter – the Division VII state championship game over the past three years has now been won by a cumulative score of 149-3.
Leading some to question…is it respecting the game when we’re handing out trophies, gold or silver, for non-competitive outcomes? It’s noble, yes, for the runner-up who would never have been there before, but does it say anything about the teams that win?
For the progressive fringe in sports, it has to be a delightful turn of events to make headlines, even when you get beat by seven touchdowns – for those who care more about hugs and handshake lines than they care about competition. And by all accounts we’re pushing that narrative like a tumbling avalanche.
Someone wrote, and there’s no question about it…that Hillsdale won 27 games over the past two years, and was the first local school district ever to play in back to back title games. And while that resonates in the community, what do you say about 111 to 3 in those two state title games, compared to programs that win 15 times in three different divisions – V, VI, and VII – against schools like Youngstown Ursuline, Newark Catholic (twice), and Kirtland (twice).
A matter of fairness? So what’s fair, and to whom?
The Allenbaugh Agency, of Jackson Center, Ohio, is a proud supporter of Shelby County League sports on Press Pros. Call us today.
Or ask it this way, if you care. What has expansion done for the sake of football in any of the seven divisions? To the knowledgeable with an appreciation for history, the most honored games and records from past tournaments can barely be compared with the present, and participation given equal respect with those in the past who’ve beaten the best…to be called the best.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“It doesn’t seem like there are many squeakers, anymore, is there?” a security person asked in the end zone during Saturday’s Division VII game. He must have been psychic, as if he knew the scores of the Kirtland and Liberty Center games yet to come.
And honestly, there have always been state championship games that weren’t competitive.
But back to Joe Neves, who in 2024 kept track of the number of regional high school playoff games on our weekly Friday night scoreboard that were decided by margins of 30 points or more. If you care…40%. 40% of those games to ultimately determine the best of the best in Ohio football were governed by a running clock…as were the Division III, IV, V, VI and VII title games in this year’s tournament.
Repeating…five of the ultimate games in Ohio High School football were governed by a running clock – 71.4%!
Yet, we can’t say enough in defense of the more, the merrier…or to criticize those committed to compete at a higher standard.
And we really can’t say much about what it means to respect the game, either.
Regardless of who says it.
Kremer Roofing supports the best in area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.