SWOC: The Vote
Here’s how the coaches voted in the preseason Southwest Ohio Conference football poll, with point totals and first-place votes (in parentheses):
1. Mount Healthy (6) 48; 2. Harrison 38; 3. Northwest (1) 36; 4. Edgewood 25; 5. Talawanda 21; 6. Ross 18; 7. Little Miami 10
Once again, the Southwest Ohio Conference football bull’s-eye is squarely on Mount Healthy High School.
The three-time defending champion Owls, Division II regional finalists the last two seasons, have been voted the team to beat by the SWOC coaches.
“It’s good for the program. We’ve got some respect,” seventh-year Mount Healthy coach Arvie Crouch said. “Our program is pretty good right now, so I’m happy about that. But this team hasn’t done anything yet. We’ve got a lot of growing to do.”
The Owls got six of the seven first-place nods in the voting. Northwest got the other No. 1 vote, but finished third in the poll behind Harrison.
Edgewood was fourth, Talawanda fifth, Ross sixth and Little Miami seventh.
Mount Healthy is 19-1 in three years of SWOC competition. Its only loss came Oct. 19, 2012, against Edgewood (14-10).
“Until somebody proves different, the title goes through Mount Healthy,” Ross coach Brian Butts said. “They are having a great run.”
Mount Healthy has a dynamic player in senior quarterback David Montgomery, who ran for 1,951 yards and threw for 836 last season.
Crouch called his quarterback “the best running back in the state.”
“At one point, I said, ‘Well, he’ll be a running back,’ but the more I watch him, he’s a hell of a quarterback,” the Owls coach said. “He’s got the whole package. I’m starting to believe he can play some quarterback in college. He’s really got some touch on the the ball this year.”
Mount Healthy’s defense is inexperienced, but the Owls have plenty of size and speed. Crouch is looking for big things from junior linebacker Trayvon Wilburn and senior tackle Montez Davis, who’s returning from a 2014 injury.
“We work hard in the offseason,” Crouch said. “We always tell the kids it’s not punishment. It’s preparation. That’s our attitude about it. We’re just trying to outprepare everybody.”
Edgewood was just 2-8 last season, but the Cougars used 13 sophomores along the way.
“We’ve got quite a few returning starters, so that’s probably why everybody figures we’ll finish in fourth place,” EHS coach Scott Clemmons said. “I like our overall attitude, work ethic and team chemistry. But this is a tough league. Four of the seven teams made the playoffs last year.”
Talawanda is coming off a breakthrough season that saw the Braves go 7-4 and advance to the Division III playoffs while finishing in a three-way tie for second in the conference.
But tailback Maurice Thomas and the 38 touchdowns he piled up last year are gone, and Talawanda coach J.D. Vonderheide knows a lot of observers are thinking his squad will slide backward in 2015.
“Now we’ve got to prove we’re more than just a one-man show,” Vonderheide said. “Not that we were last year, but that’s what public opinion is, and until we can prove we can do it, that’s about where we are.
“This might be one of the more exciting years in the SWOC. It’s a very, very competitive league, and we’re right in the middle of the pack. At least we’re in the discussion now. Now it’s our time to go out and prove that we belong in the upper level.”
Ross was 5-5 last season and got hit hard by graduation. But Butts said his young crew has considerable quickness and could surprise some people this fall.
“The last time we won the league we were picked near the bottom,” Butts said.
About the Author