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Hard to believe, this may be my final prep football column of the season.
Where did the time go? It's a cliche to say the high school football season is the fastest 10 weeks of the year, but it's probably true.
The reason high school football goes so quickly for most people is the fact that it's what most people in the Ohio Valley and for that matter the entire state of Ohio plan their entire calendar's around.
Here in a couple of weeks, boys basketball and wrestling will be in full swing and that will keep people occupied for a little while, but as the calendar flips to 2008 and the weather eventually warms back up, people start to get the urge.
You'll be walking around the mall, grocery store and or just about anywhere for that matter and you'll hear the same questions, "What's (Fill in School Here) going to have in football this year?; Who's going to be the quarterback for (Fill in school here too)? or do you think (fill in school here) has a chance to win the state?
It comes down the fact that high school football is a way of life around the Ohio Valley. People have a genuine thirst for as much as they can get.
The fact that so many people -- including the local media -- spends so much time preparing for the season that they lose sight of the time and eventually it's all gone. It's kind of like preparing for Christmas. You spend so much time deciding what gifts to buy, wrapping gifts, making plans and then it's all gone in a span of 24 hours.
Well, the high school football season isn't gone in 24 hours, so you do get a little more enjoyment out of it over the long haul, but you get the idea.
If you take a step back and look at in terms of weeks, the 14th week of the Ohio season and 13th week of the West Virginia season came to a close this weekend. Kind of hard to fathom isn't it?
A lot has changed in 14 weeks. But, if you want to know who's going to win the state championships in the Buckeye State, you'd better stay tuned for at least one more week.
The chase for the state title started in the dog-days of August and the last day of prep football season comes on Dec. 1. That's a long time for anyone, including the most die-hard football fan.
You'd think most average people would be looking for a break, but not the football fans of the Ohio Valley. It isn't like these people don't have lives, it just comes down the fact that they love it. There's no other way of getting around it.
What's unfortunate is the fact that people don't carry their passion into basketball season. The level of play of hoops in the valley isn't as strong as some areas in the state, and that's well-documented, but it's still prep sports and that's a passion for the area. But, that's another column for another day.
Anyway, getting back to prep football, this past season -- regardless of how quickly it went -- ushered in a new list of lasting memories and throughout this piece, I will do my best to touch on some of those in no particular order.
For the first time in quite a long time, no Ohio OVAC school won an Ohio regional title. Area has been spoiled the past two seasons with Steubenville winning the Division III title and Shadyside and Steubenville Catholic finishing second in Division VI.
However, this year it wasn't meant to be.
St. Clairsville, Shadyside and Steubenville all advanced to the regional final, but were denied in their quest to claim the title. St. Clairsville was upended by Williamsport Westfall, 14-12, while Shadyside was knocked out by Newark Catholic and Steubenville fell to the Ohio version of the Patriots, Youngstown Mooney last week in Division IV.
THE RED DEVILS are as good a place to start as any. The football season started really early for the coaching staff. Brett McLean was on the South staff in the Ohio North-South Game and then he and his entire staff guided the Buckeyes to a dramatic win in the OVAC All-Star Game in July.
Then came the real season in which many thought the Red Devils would be strong, but who really expected them to go 12 straight weeks without a loss. They got outstanding play from a deep senior class that had no fewer than eight three-year starters.
A trio of threats -- including Anthony Vincent, Dustin Hynes and Kurtis Cullen -- led the offensive unit from the get-go. All three flirted with the 1,000-yard mark rushing and Hynes was a threat catching the ball as Vincent was the general on the field.
Along with those three skill players, the Red Devils' offensive line was one of the finest in the area with senior anchors Jake Antolak, Anthony Skrabak and Cody McKeever doing work most of the season.
Couple a productive offensive unit with a sterling defense led by cat-quick defensive tackle John Earliwine and the Red Devils were a force to be reckoned with.
Along with the football aspect, McLean and his wife Victoria had their first child, a son Sam, just before the playoffs began a few weeks ago. Assistant coach Ryan Clifford and his wife Jen, also gave birth to their first child during the course of the season.
SHADYSIDE took its fans on yet another ride to remember. The Tigers came into the season knowing they had a lot of key pieces back from a team that was state runner-up, but as always it came down to how well those pieces came together as a unit. Needless to say, they fit pretty well. Shadyside was one of the hottest teams in the area until last week's loss to the Green Wave.
Senior quarterback Billy Merryman and classmate Nathaniel Haney formed one of the area's nastiest passing duos in the area. Through in a lot of other key receivers such as B.A. Holloway, Nathan Butts and others and Shadyside's passing game was lethal. However, the Tiger defense -- led by linebackers Dustin Sadlowski, Johnny Merryman and Ross Palicka -- also did a lot of damage.
Something tells me, this won't be the last time we hear from the Tigers. Ty Fleming and company have an awful good thing going right now. Basically it comes down to the ability to reload rather than rebuild.
RIVER is another team that enjoyed a season probably not many outside of Hannibal expected prior to the season. Coach Mike Flannery's team finished 10-2 on the season, falling to Shadyside in the second round of the playoffs. The Pilots used a strong offensive game led by senior back Troy Starr and a devastating defensive unit led by junior D.J. Duke to turn last year's 3-7 campaign into a season to remember.
UNION LOCAL did something that had never been done in its history. The Jets qualified for the playoffs. Thanks to an offense that could score from anywhere on the field, Coach Mark Cisar's Jets turned in a 9-2 campaign that ended at Waverly in the first round of the playoffs. The Jets had the area's biggest home-run threat in senior speedster Zach Gust who was an invited guest at Ohio State this season. Throw in other weapons like Jordan Barbina, Kyle Blackman, Zach Azallion, Carl Perkins and numerous others and the Jets were one of the most exciting teams to watch all season.
BEALLSVILLE was criticized at times this season once again for its schedule. However, let's face it, the Blue Devils don't care what's said about them because all they care about is winning. They did it again this season, finishing 10-1, dropping a heart-breaker to River in the playoffs. Dave Caldwell's team was an offensive juggernaut thanks to quarterback Kevin Stoney, receiver Jimmy Reisz and junior Eric Lucas who missed the latter part of the season after an injury. It's safe to say, the Blue Devils will be back again this force next season.
SPEAKING of injuries, this was a strange season for that and no one can claim they had a worse run of the injuries than Martins Ferry. The Purple Riders were ticketed to be one of the area's premier teams coming into the season, but then the injury bug set in. Junior tailback Jeremy Murray -- who was coming off an all-Ohio sophomore campaign -- battled a host of injuries. The Riders also lost players up front on both sides of the ball and finished with a 6-4 mark. However, if they can stay healthy, the Purple has a host of key personnel back for next season.
IT WASN'T a first season to remember for Gregg Bonar or Scott Holt in the community of Bellaire. Bonar's Big Reds were another team that battled off-field problems such as everything from meningitis to youthful players all over the field to concussions. However, the Big Reds won't be down for long. Bonar and his quality staff won't allow it to happen and it's safe to say, they are already back at work making sure it doesn't. As for Holt, he came to SJC from Wheeling Central and experieced a youthful team that never quit in any game, but was never really in any game. Holt's an energetic guy and something tells me this guy will work his tail off to try to rejuvenate a once-proud Irish program.
HARRISON CENTRAL is a school that turned in a solid 5-4 season. The Huskies were in the thick of the Division III, Region 11 playoff chase up until the final few weeks. However, the story of the Huskies' campaign is the way the players and coaches stuck together through the difficult work stoppage, which forced the cancellation of the Buckeye Local game. However, the way they battled back and knocked off Indian Creek in the first game back tells you a little something about the resiliency of the Huskies. While head coach Justin Kropka will definitely miss Robbie Davia, who has been the only quarterback to ever take a snap for the Huskies, the future is extremely bright for Harrison and 2008 could be the beginning of something really special.
BARNESVILLE found itself in a rebuilding stage this season after graduation took its toll from a 11-1 team in 2006. The Shamrocks began the season 1-5, but were in many of those games, including a narrow loss at Shadyside. The Shamrocks had their fair share of dramatics especially in when senior playmaker Michael Wehr took a punt back for a game-winning touchdown against Monroe Central as the clock was expiring. While Wehr is going to graduate in May, many of the other Shamrocks will be back and don't look for Luke Johnson's club to be down for long.
MONROE CENTRAL was one of the true enigmas of the prep football season. The Seminoles came into the year with high aspirations, but were never able to get their traditional running game going and Jay Circosta went to a more pass-happy offense with sophomore quarterback Derek-London Dierkes leading the way. The Seminoles will be a team to watch next season, but they will need to run the ball better to alleviate some of the pressure from Dierkes.
BUCKEYE TRAIL enjoyed a special season this year. Randy Thompson -- one of the real good-guys in the business -- guided his Warriors to a 10-0 campaign. That season included an OVAC and PVC title and a playoff berth. Senior quarterback Brock Davis and backfield mate Steve Beros were electric all season. Thompson and his staff have already accepted the bid to coach the Ohio squad in the OVAC All-Star Game.
BRIDGEPORT capped its second consecutive 6-4 season as the rebuilding job by Rudy Vavrock has continued. The Bulldogs were solid defensively with senior Michael Bachie leading the way. Vavrock has reinstilled the pride in the Bulldogs' program. It just so happened that the back half of the Bulldogs' slate was loaded with the likes of River, Beallsville, Shadyside and Madonna.
BUCKEYE LOCAL is another team that's been in the rebuilding mode, but veteran mentor Ron Pobolish had his team back to a level of respectability this year. Every team that played the Panthers knew they were in a ball game. They were one of the most physical teams around with seniors Issac Omaits and Shane Bishop leading the way.
SETH'S SCOOPS
• POST-SEASON honors continue to trickle in this week. The Associated Press will announce its all-Ohio teams, beginning Monday and will culminate Thursday with the announcement of the coveted Mr. Football. My early pick for that award is Youngstown Mooney's Danny McCarthy despite the fact that he's out for the season.
• HEADING TO Stark County this weekend for the state finals, it appears Mother Nature might cooperate slightly. The temperatures will be chilly in the upper 30s and low 40s, but the sun is expected to shine.
• LOCAL ATHLETIC directors are reminded to submit their 2008 football schedules once they are completed. Looking ahead at prospective matchups is another exciting part of the season.
• THE ALL Times Leader team will be announced in next week's edition. The unit will honor the area's finest football players from East Ohio.
Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com