Behind The Box Score

There used to be a time where Michigan Football was prominent among the nation and the Wolverines actually won games. The Maize and Blue used to beat Ohio State, win bowl games, and compete for the Big Ten title. Nowadays, under the direction of Rich Rodriguez, the program that holds the title as the winningest program in college football history, is under scrutiny for multiple accusations of wrongdoing and NCAA violations. Even after going 3-9, Read the rest of this entry »

Coming back to MLS play for the first time since August 15th, the Crew (10-3-9, 39 pts) are on the road again, this time facing the Red Bulls of New York in Giants Stadium tonight at 6. Since the 15th, the Crew has played in two non-MLS games, in CONCACAF Champions League games. They split those two games, a 2-0 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders on the 18th. The second stop of the 2 games wasn’t a pretty result for the Crew, a Read the rest of this entry »

Led by the rushing assault of Jayshon Jackson, the Westerville South Wildcats gambled but came up miserably short in a 21-20 loss against Hilliard Davidson in part of Kirk Herbstreit’s Varsity Football Series. Jackson, a transfer from Central Crossing, had a coming out party in Saturday’s contest. Having not been mentioned during the pregame, Jackson outperformed his former middle school teammate in Davidson’s Rico Butler, rushing for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson scored first on a 10 yard run where he nearly broke the ankles of two Davidson defenders. Using his size and strength, Jackson was essential to a passing offense that struggled for the most part. Read the rest of this entry »

Monday: Hilliard Davidson Preview

Yesterday:Westerville South Preview

Tonight:Preview of the South-Davidson game that takes place on Saturday, 3:30 ET at Ohio Stadium (can be seen live on ESPNU)

As most of the Week 1 games are going on right now within Central Ohio, two of the teams from the Ohio Capital Conference (Central and Capital Divisions) are sitting at home watching it rain. They get to sit at home and watch it rain because they get to play tomorrow, on the hallowed grounds of Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a football friday night. It’s not a football friday night in Grove City, Ohio though. If your a student at Central Crossing, Westland, Franklin Heights, and Grove City, you don’t have a game of your own to go to. I’m not going anywhere for a game. I don’t want to go to another game, because I am Read the rest of this entry »

On a warm summer day in Southern California, head coach Pete Carroll watched as a blonde wunderkid named Matt Barkley took snaps for Mater Dei High School. Carroll, then going into the 2005 season, fresh off a national championship, was witnessing greatness. Only a freshman in high school, Barkley made all the essential passes, but better than any physical attribute he possessed, the cool composed kid from Santa Ana had a skill not evident in most quarterbacks. Read the rest of this entry »

Monday: Hilliard Davidson Preview

Today:Westerville South Preview

Tomorrow Night:Preview of the South-Davidson game that takes place on Saturday, 3:30 ET at Ohio Stadium (can be seen live on ESPNU)

After having two seasons out of the ordinary for South, the other Wildcats are looking to end up on a positive note this year. A dominant program in the mid-late 90s that included the names such as Andy Katenzmoyer (Ohio State), and Ki-Jana Carter (Penn State). However, as of late, those seasons in the 90s have been washed away to a distant memory, going 3-7 and 5-5 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The 2009 season looks promising for the Wildcats, who with the additions of a few key players, are poised to take the OCC by storm.

However, the problem at the quarterback position has arisen quickly, with the injury to Jonathon Jennings in the preseason scrimmage against Olentangy Orange. The depth at quarterback has no true varsity experience, with a transfer from DeSales in Evan Lese, and Tevin Favor, who actually started at QB in 2007 for the JV squad, but played wide receiver last year. Davidson’s coach, Brian White had a few things to say about South’s QB troubles. “No matter who’s playing quarterback, they still have great athletes and when you have those great athletes you can get them in space and they can make things happen. There’s no substitute for speed and I know Rocky well enough that he will find a way to get those great athletes in space and give them an opportunity to use their speed, so that’s obviously a great concern.”

Regardless of whoever throws them the football, the wide receivers at South are very talented. One has already committed to Ball State in Jack Tomlinson, flying down the field, with a 4.38 40-time. Also, the backfield for the ‘Cats picked up a 1,000+ yard rusher from Central Crossing in Jayshon Jackson, looking to help steady the offense.

Defensively, South has always made a name for themselves at dominating and stopping the opposition. The injury bug however, did not stop with just the offense, getting to senior outside linebacker Drake Wakefield, sidelined with a broken arm for 4-6 weeks. Other than that, South returns 9 starters, included with highly touted prospect Derek Jones, another ex-Comet, who has switched to South looking to play. The core of the defense is returning starter Jamar Williams, middle linebacker for a South defense that is trying to improve on last years stat of giving up 24+ points 5 or more times in a game, one of those being to Davidson, a 35-0 hammering.

The schedule for South is fairly tough in the beginning, going to the ‘Shoe for the Davidson game on Saturday, and traveling to Watterson the following week. The test in Week 3 doesn’t get much easier, getting Clayton Northmont at home. The only two losses Northmont suffered last year were to St. Ignatius and Cincinnati Elder in the OHSAA playoffs, two teams that faced eachother in the State Championship Game. Last year’s meeting between South and CNHS resulted in a 42-12 blowout in favor of Northmont. The OCC schedule should be a little lighter for the Cats, not much though. Weeks 4 and 5 bring difficult tests such as Westerville Central and Dublin Scioto.

The midway point of the schedule doesn’t make it much easier on South. 2008 OCC- Capital division co-champion Dublin Jerome is week 6, adding to the stress for South. A 4-2 record would be a great success up to that point in the season. The softest part of the schedule is Marysville in week 7. The major rivalry for the ‘Cats is pushed to week 8 (due to stupid OCC scheduling) against Westerville North. Rounding out the schedule is Olentangy (Week 9), and another 2008 co-champion in Olentangy Liberty in Week 10.

The prediction for this team would have to be 6-4, 7-3 at the best. The road in the beginning is very difficult, and if they can survive by getting 4-2, 5-1 out of those first 6, they would be on lock for the playoffs. At this point, a 6-4 record could be better than a 7-3 team with a softer schedule. The computers love teams like South, taking risks by scheduling big names in the non-conference.

Led by the powerful bats of Luke Ramirez and Kiko Garcia, the Chula Vista Little League baseball team from Southern California, is in tight contention for the crown at the 2009 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Following a harsh defeat to San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday, Chula Vista looks to upset the #1 seed Warner Robins, Georgia team tonight at Lamade Stadium. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh yeah, that’s right, no sports. Vote yes in November!

Being the first Columbus City League school to advance to the state championship since Brookhaven in 2002, head coach Jim Miranda’s team wants to improve on the runner up finish to Aurora a season ago and bring more pride to the city league, a league which seven of it’s 16 teams have never made the playoffs. After nearly missing the playoffs in 2007, going 9-1, the Warriors surged back in ’08, advancing all the way to the state championship game before being defeated 21-10. Read the rest of this entry »