Monday Mailbag: two sports, more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Editor’s note: information has been corrected to add Alex Benner as a fall-dual sport athlete at Van Wert High School.

This week’s Monday Mailbag features questions about a follow up comment to last week’s question about a high school golf hole-in-one, fall dual-sports athletes in the WBL, WBL upsets, Marion Local and Ohio St. wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

C: I played on the Cougars golf team in the early 70s. At an away match (I think Ottawa), Carl Demidovich, myself, and two opponents were in a foursome. On a kind of hidden par 3, Carl had a nice tee shot. We looked everywhere for the ball. I said that I was going to check the hole and there it was! We went crazy. So at least one Cougar has had a hole in one in a match. Name withheld upon request

A: I can only imagine what a thrill that must have been. I’m glad you shared the information with us because it’s an important part of Van Wert High School athletics history. For those who don’t know, there was a question last week about a recent hole-in-one by Van Wert High School golfer Keaton Foster. It happened during a practice round.

Q: I see Griffin McCracken playing both golf and football this fall for the Van Wert Cougars. How many boys and girls are doing this at Van Wert with other sports? What are the requirements for this to happen? Is this common in the WBL? It seems that some of the sports could benefit from sharing athletes with other sports. Cross country and soccer come to my mind first. What are your thoughts? Name withheld upon request

A: McCracken is one of two dual fall sports athlete at Van Wert. Alex Benner also is a golfer and is a kicker on Van Wert’s football roster.

As far as requirements, the biggest one, according to Van Wert High School Athletic Director Trent Temple, is to make sure both coaches are on board with the idea, because obviously the student-athlete is going to miss someone’s practice or in rare circumstances, a game/match/meet. What affect does that have on the student-athlete and the team in general? Obviously, it hasn’t been an issue.

It’s not common, but it’s not exactly uncommon to have dual fall-sports athletes in the WBL. I reached out to all 10 WBL athletic directors and of the nine that responded, including Van Wert, all have fall dual-sport athletes. Bath did not respond to multiple inquries.

Shawnee has three dual sport athletes – a female and male that play soccer and runs cross country, and a male that plays soccer and kicks for the football team. Wapakoneta has three male soccer players and a female soccer player that kick for the football team, a cheerleader who plays tennis, two soccer boys and one soccer girl who runs cross country, and a girls golfer who runs cross country. St. Marys Memorial has a girls soccer player who runs cross county, a girls soccer player who plays golf and a boys soccer player who plays football. Celina has two – a soccer and cross country athlete and a football/soccer player. Ottawa-Glandorf Athletic Director Tyson McGlaughin said the school has a few, including soccer players who kick for football, but mostly girls cross country who also play soccer. At Defiance, two soccer players are kickers on the football team, a girls golfer is a cheerleader and a girls cross country runner is also a cheerleader. Elida has three soccer players who are football kickers, a cross country/soccer athlete and a cheerleader/soccer player. Kenton has a girls soccer player who also runs cross country and a cheerleader that runs cross country.

Along with coaches being on the same page, I think the most important thing is the student-athlete and his/her family. Every situtation is different. It may work for some and not for others. I know some people would point to grades but often times, student-athletes have higher grades during a particular season, simply because they have a routine that includes study and homework time.

Long answer I know, but that’s the information I gathered along with my thoughts.

Q: Which was the bigger WBL upset Friday night, Ottawa-Glandorf over Bath or Elida over Celina? Name withheld upon request

A: There’s a case to be made for both, but I think I’d probably go with Elida over Celina. Elida has lost four straight entering the game, including a pair of one-loss scores. It was a nice victory for Kyle Harmon’s squad.

Bath came in averaging 42 points per game, which is tops among all league schools, but was shut out by the Titans. Did weather have something to do with it? I wasn’t there but I’d say it probably didn’t help, but O-G has the WBL’s top defense. I’m not shocked the Titans won but I’m still surprised by the margin and the shutout. 

Q: Is it true this might be Marion Local’s best team of all-time? Name withheld upon request

A: I haven’t seen the Flyers play in-person but judging by the results so far, it appears that may be the case. That’s saying a lot, because they’ve had some truly great teams over the years.

With all due respect to all other teams, I think it’s safe to say the Flyers are easily the best team in all of Division VII, and probably Divisions V and VI as well.

Q: During Saturday’s Ohio State vs. Michigan State game, the announcers kept saying freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith could play in the NFL right now. What are your thoughts? Name withheld upon request

A: I heard that too and with all due respect, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. He’s obviously very talented and is a human highlight reel. He’s also 18 years old with room to grow. He’s seamlessly made the transition from high shool to college but the jump from college to the NFL is another thing. Remember, in the NFL, even the 260 pound linebackers are as fast as some receivers. 

It’s been said only two other athletes could have jumped from high school to the NFL – Herschel Walker and former Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree (a real blast from the past). As good as Walker was, he never really dominated at the NFL level once he finally got there, but he was still more than solid player. It’s fair to note he had a stellar three year career in the USFL.

Dupree left Oklahoma after one year and wound up in the USFL. He played one season and one game then blew out his knee. He came back years later and played 15 games with the Rams and totaled less than 300 yards.

Of course it’s all a moot point because Smith can’t enter the draft until his junior year is over. Here’s hoping he stays injury free and enjoys a long career!

If you have a sports question or comment for the next Monday Mailbag, please email it to sports@thevwindependent.com.