Anna quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch proved to be the new breath of air in MAC football in 2025, leading the conference with 2,269 yards in total offense. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
In the time it took for Belgium to undo a week’s worth of talk about red cards, Flo Balogun, and unfounded journalism about US soccer being in the midst of world recognition, area sports came back in focus Monday with the reality that high school football and volleyball were just four weeks away.
The headlines of Tuesday morning’s front page on ESPN.com read, “Begium Hands USA World Cup Reality Check”.
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Adding: “For almost a month, the USA’s men’s national team showed the best version of itself. It played with aggression, passion, and even some flair. The team was flying high. And then, on the biggest stage yet at this FIFA World Cup, in front of a capacity home crowd, the USMNT crashed to earth, delivering its worst performance in recent memory, falling to an inspired Belgium team, 4-1.”
No one, and no other words could have said it better.
Even the most ardent about soccer in the Miami Valley that watched probably switched channels early in the second half when Belgium took a 3-1 lead on a goal that looked just too routine – predictable – quieting the Seattle home crowd, and in all likelyhood, even Donald Trump.
And in that same instant, so it seemed, the interest on routes 119, 127, and I-75 immediately turned to area fall sports locally, where never has there been more pre-season interest in MAC football. And, the question over whether there’s a new kid on the block now that Marion Local’s win streak is snapped?
Can St. Henry retool following a state championship…is Coldwater the kind of ‘deep’ water that many suspect with key senior parts returning and a deep youth movement…and can Versailles first-year coach Scot Broerman make good on his wish to restore physical dominance and reclaim the line of scrimmage with ‘Tigerball’?
Can New Bremen and quarterback Gavin Dicke take another, bigger step in 2026?
Was Fort Recovery’s awakening in 2025 something to be taken more seriously come August 21st?
And anyone who takes Minster lightly would be mistaken, simply because of coach Seth Whiting’s competitive standards.
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In volleyball, the spotlight, admitted or not, is squarely on four-time state champion coach Diana Kramer and the New Bremen Cardinals, whose youth and aggressive competitiveness took them to a 25-3 record before falling to Newark Catholic in the Division VI state semi-final match.
That spotlight, too, will find St. Henry, whose 23-6 record took them a step farther to the Division VI state final match, where the ‘Skins lost to Newark Catholic in the championship round.
And Russia, playing on the state’s biggest stage for the first time last November, will seek redemption after losing to Monroeville in the Division VII state semi-final. Young, and well-coach by Aaron Watkins, that community is all in to see what comes next.
New Bremen’s Diana Kramer hopes for more from her young and talented Cardinals in 2026 Div. VI volleyball.
And these are just the schools that are within a driver and four iron of each other, as mentioned, on 119, 127 and 66, oblivious to what the hoopla that national media made of United State’s men national team, that went up in smoke in a matter of forty five minutes. It leaves the question of who’s actually more questionable now, the USMNT or the media for its eagerness to write checks the team couldn’t cover?
Our coverage of area fall sports will begin in a matter of days, and take it for what it is, and has been for these past twenty five years. Area football (in helmets and pads) will again be no myth in 2026, and there’s little question that at least five teams in the MAC, in three divisions, will make a serious run at three of the OHSAA titles.
Marion Local, you ask? Well of course, because you always do…15 times a champion in 25 years. But at the junction of 119 and 716 they’re talking at Marion about the Anna Rockets, and junior quarterback Logan Zienbusch who led the conference in passing last year (1,472 yards and 19 TDs) and in total yards (passing and throwing) with 2,269 yards.
At Marion Local, another junior quarterback, Brennen Hess, was one yard behind in passing with 1,491 yards, and averaged a league-best with 16.5 yards per attempt.
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In Coldwater, the Cavs return all three principals in the backfield, quarterback Karsyn Homan, and running backs Derrick Dues and Braxton Taylor, who would project as much as 3,000 total yards between based on past performance, if they’re healthy. Taylor returns after a hamstring injury in 2025. Homan accounted for 2,183 total yards in 2025, and Coldwater finished second to St Henry in total yards with 3,168 yards.
At St. Henry, third-year coach Josh Werling retools at quarterback after the graduation of all-stater Charlie Werling, and a number of other key leadership positions. But the optimism is high following the Redskins’ Division VII state title in December. Nothing like winning boosts the hope for more winning.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
And at Versailles, everyone waits to see if Scot Broerman can make good on his statement, “As an old offensive lineman I’d love to line up in the ‘T’ and rip off first downs and long drives. It’s demoralizing for a defense.” It’s the essence of Versailles football, that the iconic Al Hetrick made popular, and Broerman experienced it first-hand, playing for Hetrick.
And in his next breath Broerman will tell you: “And we’re not that far away [from doing it].”
Closer, to be sure, than what the USMNT showed Monday night against Belgium.
More relevant to write about on this and other platforms, than what the national media made about red cards, Flo Balogun, and as it turned out…way too much, and way too soon.
A reality check, for sure, that’s believable, sustainable, and enduring. We’ve already seen it…..
So many times before.
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