Teams will play the first of two scrimmages this weekend. They’ll get a dress rehearsal next week before the Friday Night Lights officially return on Aug. 22.
The first scrimmage is one of my favorite days of the year. There’s a buzz in the air that’s different from most game days. It’s a glorified practice — teams wear practice gear, coaches stand on the field the entire game and the officials will do more teaching than throwing flags.
And that’s what makes it so great (but not so great for the photographers).
You can hear the coaches talking about scheme and proper technique. The players are happy to finally hit someone other than their teammates. The freshmen are playing high school football for the first time. The stands are surprisingly packed — at least at the scrimmages I attended last year in Clark and Greene County — because the fans can’t wait to watch their boys.
Earlier this week, FOX announcer and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen appeared on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast, hosted by former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan.
While they touched on many topics — including some great stories about Olsen coaching a middle school football team with St. Xavier grad Luke Kuechly — what quickly grabbed my attention were their thoughts on high school football and the overall “wholesomeness” of high school athletics.
Olsen played collegiately for Miami (Fla.), nearly won a Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers in his 14-year professional career. He called his high school years “the highlight” of his “entire football journey.”
“There’s really something cool about playing with your buddies (on) Friday night in front of your town and going to try to beat the town next door to you that you grew up playing against,” Olsen said. “I just don’t think you ever beat that.”
“There’s nothing like it,” said Compton, who played at Nebraska and spent nine seasons in the NFL.
Lewan, who played for Michigan and spent nine seasons with the Tennessee Titans, agreed. After playing at every level, nothing beats high school football, he said.
“The fact that high school is the best in our minds is great,” Lewan said, “because every kid can go play high school football and feel that Friday Night Lights.”
No matter sport you play, there’s nothing like representing your school — even in your practice jersey.
Nominate your student for Athlete of the Week
This fall, the Dayton Daily News will be hosting an Athlete of the Week contest. As the fall sports season gets underway — golf is in full swing and girls tennis begins today — we’ll be accepting nominations for Athlete of the Week.
Voting will begin on Monday afternoon and be held through Wednesday. The Athlete of the Week will be announced on Friday mornings.
The nomination form and contest rules can be found here.
High School Football rewind
It feels like yesterday I was standing on the field at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium as Marion Local and Coldwater both won state championships on the final two days of the season.
This week, the Dayton Daily News is taking a look back at what happened last season with our High School Football Rewind series.
We’ve already posted stories on the Greater Western Ohio Conference, Greater Catholic League Co-ed, Dayton City League and Miami Valley League.
One of my favorite stories came out of the Dayton City League where Meadowdale won the league championship for the first time since 1999. They’ll look to defend their title this fall.
A great run by West Side Little League
After a dominant run through the Great Lakes Region Tournament, the Hamilton West Side Little League All-Stars fell one game short of the Little League World Series.
West Side fell to Clarendon Hills (Ill.) 9-4 in the Great Lakes Region championship game on Wednesday night — a team they had beaten 11-1 earlier in the tournament.
But there’s the rub. A double-elimination tournament (one that televised live on national TV) is somehow a single-elimination tournament when it comes to championship games?
The LLWS adopted a winner-take-all championship game format in the regional tournaments more than 20 years ago to align with the World Series itself. The United States, International and World title games are also single elimination — and have been that way for years.
But that doesn’t make it right.
Manager Ken Coomer had a great message for his team after the game. The loss may sting now, but there’s plenty to be proud of.
“I just told them to be proud,” he said. “They made it this far. How many people make it here?”
Congrats on a great run, West Side.
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