In another state tournament marked by good football, the anticipation is about the MAC being here – again – and will they go away – again – with more than one OHSAA title?

Hoping for their first state title since 1989, and their third in ten tries, the Ironton Tigers saw their 31-year wait for championship relief go for naught with Saturday’s Division V loss to Kirtland.

Title bath…New Bremen coach Chris Schmidt didn’t mind at all – the 2020 Division VII OHSAA football championship for the Cardinals, and that fraternal feeling of belonging to something much bigger that’s respected state-wide. Read about their impressive win over Warren John F. Kennedy in the latest Press Pros update.

In hindsight, I actually like the way the 2020 football season turned out, and with some tweaks I think it’s something to build on in the foreseeable future.  And some players that might not make anyone else’s all-something team, but they sure made an impression on us. Something to ponder in today’s Press Pros.

The only negative to last weekend’s volleyball tournament in Vandalia was that no local teams won.  The obvious positive was…you don’t need 13,000 seats and rude ushers to stage a state tournament.

Zach McKibbon left a lasting impression Saturday, with 199 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns in Coldwater’s Division VI state semi-final win over Columbus Grove. Read about the game in today’s Press Pros.

Mitchell Hays scored late and put LCC’s back to the wall, capping a remarkable second half comeback by New Bremen to win the Division VII state semi-final game and punch their ticket for their first-ever trip to the state tournament. Read about it today’s Press Pros.

To those who write and ask if it’s responsible to put sports before safety in the face of the current spike…and claim it’s irresponsible to question science and the government’s efforts.  How do you face the inevitable question of which science you believe, and how long do you put your life on hold?

It strikes me ironic that the state volleyball tourney will have the atmosphere of a JV football game, there’s no reason to even go to the state football semi-finals – ironic that all those people who refused to accept the results of the last presidential election expect just the opposite now. And when is the right time to even believe the president of your university?

The mess with electing a president has never painted a more clear picture what our democratic process has becomen – anything for the sake of getting elected…and power!

Catching up with reader responses from the past month, we share those on…Ron Duncan, Dave Zeller, Are You A ‘Hater’, and can we have the ‘old’ MAC back? Enjoy a good read in today’s Press Pros.

No one is more anxious for this to be over than me personally, unless it’s you. And this time people showed up in record numbers over concerns about what’s next…regardless of who wins on Tuesday?

They played nearly perfect football on both sides of the ball (Myles Blasingame sprinting for the end zone, below), impressed their guests, and advanced to next week’s regional final game with an “old-time” Coldwater win over West Jefferson. Read about it in today’s Press Pros.