DON McCORMACK
Star Beacon
August 28, 2008 03:43 am
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Paying a visit to the variety store...
Alumni report
Five of six former area head coaches led their respective teams to victory in their opening games of the 2008 season last week.
It began on Thursday night when former Perry coach Mike Elder led Avon to a last-second 27-24 win at Aurora in a game that was televised on FSN Ohio.
Perhaps the biggest news, though, was former Pymatuning Valley coach Brian Cross leading Olentangy Orange to a 21-20 victory against visiting Elgin in the first game in program history on Friday night.
Former Conneaut coach Jeff Whittaker, who still resides in Ashtabula County, saw his Liberty Leopards bounce back from having the opening kickoff returned for a touchdown to prevail at Brookfield, 55-21. Whittaker has also taken over as athletic director at Liberty.
Another former Conneaut coach, Steve Nolan, and his Troy Trojans defeated visiting Dayton Chaminade-Julienne, 17-14.
Former Madison coach Art Bortnick, led by Ashtabula County native Romel Dismuke, saw his Benedictine Bengals record a 35-14 victory against Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin on Friday night at Bedford Stadium.
Dismuke, a former West Junior High standout and a University of Cincinnati recruit, scored four touchdowns, ran for 97 yards on 15 carries and had a key third-quarter interception in the end zone for the Bengals.
Former Riverside coach Matt Jordan was not successful in his debut as head coach at Grove City as his troops dropped a 27-0 verdict to Dublin Scioto.
Among the... 329
What, besides winning their respective first games of the 2008 high school football season, do Geneva, Grand Valley and Perry have in common?
They are three of the 329 Ohio High School Athletic Association teams to win in Week 1.
The 618 teams who played last week went a collective 329-289, a wining percentage of .533. The only Ohio squad to not buckle the chin strips and get after it last week was Old Washington Buckeye Trail, which did not play.
Interestingly, in Ohio’s six-division setup for football, the Buckeye State’s Division V teams had the best overall combined record, posting a 62-39 mark, a winning percentage of .614.
Division II teams were just off that pace, going 68-43 (.613), while Division I squads also finished better than break-even, compiling a 59-46 record (.562).
Next in line were Division IV teams (49-50, .495), followed by Division III (51-58, .468) and Division VI (.430).
Back on track
The teams with the longest active streaks on the short end — SS. John and Paul and Conneaut — will square off on Friday night at Municipal Stadium, meaning one of those skids will come to an end.
The Heralds and Spartans have dropped 16 and nine straight games, respectively.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
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Photos
DON McCORMACK Star Beacon