Random Thoughts: runners, court, more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

This week’s installment of Random Thoughts includes good luck wishes and congratulations, plus thoughts about Glenville, the OHSAA, an old school offensive philosophy, and Ohio State.

Good luck

Good luck to all the local runners who will compete at this weekend’s OHSAA cross country state championships. Van Wert County is very well represented this season.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Van Wert High school alum Owen Scott, who has been named the Horizon League Men’s Cross Country Freshman of the Year. Scott led all freshen and placed eighth in the 130-runner field at this past week’s league championships.

Scott was a record-setting runner during his time at Van Wert. His younger brother Oliver is a top runner now for the Cougars.

Still waiting

It will be sometime this morning or perhaps this afternoon before a judge issues a ruling in the Glenville/OHSAA situation.

Last Thursday, the OHSAA announced Glenville had been removed from the football playoffs due to student residency issues. In a nutshell, a number of football players attending the Ginn Academy, a magnet school, played football at Glenville should have been playing for other schools. Glenville sought and obtained a temporary injunction on Friday and a court hearing was scheduled for Monday.

The hearing began early in the afternoon and continued into the early evening hours and according to a friend of mine who covered it, the hearing took a number of detours. Closing statements and a decision are expected today. It may not be over though – an appeal seems likely from whichever side loses.

OHSAA

I’m stating the obvious here when I say the OHSAA isn’t exactly a fan favorite at times like this. Just look at social media comments.

I don’t always agree with the OHSAA’s decisions but I do wonder this – do at least some of the naysayers realize that the organization is enforcing rules that were approved by the majority of its more than 800 members?

One more thing and this is my opinion – you might agree with it and you might not – that’s fine. Judges don’t belong in this process. I’ve said the same thing about disputes involving the NCAA. Membership in organizations like the OHSAA or NCAA is completely voluntary. When you sign on the dotted line, you agree to abide by the rules established by the majority of member schools.

The option

I’ve said this for years and I’ll say it again. If I had to rebuild a high school football program, the triple option would be the staple of it. Otsego reinforced that last Friday night.

It’s an old school offensive philosophy that not many teams run anymore and that’s what makes it perfect. It takes a lot of repetition in practice and you have to totally commit to it. You don’t dabble in that type of offense, you either run it or you don’t but once you get the hang of it, it’s a nightmare for opposing defenses. You do need a smart and tough (and preferably fast) quarterback and a tough fullback. You don’t need huge offensive linemen. 

If nothing else, it makes a team competitive.

OSU

Wow. If you’re an Ohio State fan, Saturday’s game against USC was frustrating. The defense was seemingly MIA and playcalling was questionable at times, especially a foot from the goal line.

Luke Fahey had his ups and downs but all things considered he did okay. I know a lot of fans were calling for Tavien St. Clair to play but I’m going to trust that the OSU coaches are in a better position to figure out which one gives the Buckeyes a better chance to win. 

I will say that in my opinion, the offensive coordinator Arthur Smith experiment isn’t working. I see what they did – former NFL coordinators on both sides of the ball but with all due respect, Smith seems out of place, kind of like a square peg in a round hole. Even at full strength, the offense seems very vanilla, sort of like an NFL offense. Look what Chip Kelly did with the offense during his time at Oregon, UCLA, Ohio State and now at Northwestern and with the exception of Oregon, he did more with less.

Ohio State’s four remaining games are all winnable. I’m not saying they’ll be easy wins but the Buckeyes can win all four. If that happens, they’ll be in line for a playoff spot, regardless if they make the Big Ten Championship Game or not.

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