DON McCORMACK
Paying another visit to the variety store...
Still tops
Despite posting a collective 3-4 record in their Week 3 games, the seven active Ashtabula County high school football teams are still off to their best start in the decade.
With SS. John and Paul not fielding a team this fall, that leaves Conneaut, Edgewood, Geneva, Grand Valley, Jefferson, Lakeside and Pymatuning Valley on the gridiron.
Since Ashtabula and Harbor were consolidated into Lakeside by then superintendent William Licate in the fall of 2001, let’s take a closer look at the collective record of the above-mentioned seven schools through three weeks of competition:
n 2001 — 7-14 (.333).
n 2002 — 7-14 (.333).
n 2003 — 8-13 (.381).
n 2004 — 8-13 (.381).
n 2005 — 8-13 (.381).
n 2006 — 5-16 (.238).
n 2007 — 5-16 (.238).
n 2008 — 6-15 (.286).
Despite the 3-4 record in Week 3, the active seven county teams have compiled an 11-10 record (.523) to this point in the 2009 season.
And, just in case you might be thinking “sure, they’re getting all those victories against other teams in the county,” think again.
Against teams from outside of Ashtabula County, the seven county teams are 8-7 (.533).
No, an 11-10 record is certainly not spectacular, but considering what has transpired on the gridiron in this county in this decade, any progress should not only be pointed out, but also be applauded.
Well done, players and coaching staffs.
Baby steps, yes, but positive steps, nonetheless.
Leagues of their own
Here’s how the conferences with area teams as members have fared collectively through Week 3 of the 2009 season:
n NEC — 5-4 (.556).
n NAC — 4-8 (.333).
n CVC Chagrin Division — 18-6 (.750).
n CVC Valley Division — 5-4 (.556).
n CVC Metro Division — 9-5 (.643).
n PAC — 3-15 (.167).
n Independents (Jefferson and Harvey) — 3-3 (.500).
Get well soon
Having spent many a Friday night looking through a viewfinder while shooting photographs at high school football games back in the day, my heart goes out to Lloyd Engen, sports editor of The Valley Courier, who was injured Sept. 5 while shooting photos at a game between Norwood and Sangre de Cristo high schools in Mosca, Colo.
After being hit by three players, Lloyd sustained a shattered pelvis and three cracked vertebrae. He is still in a Denver hospital and Engen told his newspaper it remains unclear whether he will be able to walk again.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
