Random Thoughts: congrats, rematches

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

This week’s installment of Random Thoughts includes congratulations, rematches in the football playoffs, College Football Playoff rankings, and a career reflection. 

Congratulations

Congratulations to the Crestview boys’ cross country team – Division IV state champions. Entering the season, the consensus seemed to be this team would be something special and those thoughts were indeed correct. What a season it was, with plenty of personal and school records set, victories, a No. 1 ranking in the coaches poll and the ultimate – a state title, the first cross country title in school history and in Van Wert County history.

As head coach Randy Grandstaff noted – the stage was set in 2024, when the Knights finished second in Division III. That was enough motiviation and all of the hard work paid off.

Congratulations to all local cross country runners that made it to state. Lincolnview’s Brynleigh Moody qualifed for four straight years and Van Wert sophomore Symphony Schuerman has qualified twice.

Overall, Van Wert County was able to boast some talented distance runners this season and that trend is expected to continue with up and coming talent. Van Wert’s girls’ team is a prime example, with a sophomore and three freshmen among the top five runners. Look out Division III.

More congratulations

Congratulations to Crestview’s Kaci Gregory, named Division VI second team All-Ohio by the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association. It won’t be long before we see her on the basketball court.

Rematches

Three rematches are on tap in this week’s football regional quarterfinals.

• In Division III, Region 10, Wapakoneta will host Shawnee.
• In Division VI, Region 22, Paulding will entertain Fairview.
• In Division VII, Region 28, St. Henry will host New Bremen.

Wapak and Shawnee met in Week No. 7, with the Redskins posting a decisive 42-14 win. When Paulding and Fairview met in Week No. 6, a late long pass gave the Panthers a 36-31 win. New Bremen and St. Henry met in Week No. 9 and the Redskins posted a very business-like 20-0 win over the Cardinals.

Rematches can be tricky. We’ll see how things pan out this week and we’ll see how Wapakoneta, Paulding and St. Henry look coming off a bye.

Rematch

Here’s an example of how a rematch can be tricky. During the regular season, Strongsville hosted Medina in a Week No. 6 matchup and Strongsville won the game handily, 42-14. Strongsville went on to finish the regular season 8-2 and was the No. 6 seed in Division I, Region 1. Medina finished the regular season 3-7 but qualified for the playoffs as the No. 11 seed. The Battling Bees as they’re called, stunned the Mustangs in the opening round of the playoffs, 28-25. A win in the regular season doesn’t automatically translate into a playoff win.

More on that

Strongsville was originally scheduled to play John Marshall, but they opted out of the playoffs, which jumbled Region 1 and led to the Mustangs facing Medina again.

By the way – Medina (4-7) is the only team in the regional quarterfinals with a losing record.

CFB Playoff rankings

The first set of College Football Playoff rankings will be released tonight and just like past seasons, it’ll take some fans about two seconds to complain their team is too low, not ranked, etc. Relax folks – the only ranking that matters is the final one in early December.

Reflection

Upon further review, I chose the wrong career path. What I should have done is coach college football for millions of dollars a year with a big buyout, then after getting fired for not meeting the expections of fans and alumni, retired somewhere tropical at an early age.

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.