{"id":172827,"date":"2023-11-20T04:44:26","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T09:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=172827"},"modified":"2023-11-20T04:44:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T09:44:26","slug":"monday-mailbag-celina-harbaugh-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2023\/11\/20\/monday-mailbag-celina-harbaugh-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Mailbag: Celina, Harbaugh, more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pre-Thanksgiving Monday Mailbag includes questions about Celina football, heavy favorites, and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Are you surprised with Celina continuing their playoff run? What are your initial thoughts on the game? Scott Miller, Celina<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Hi Scott. Yes, I\u2019m pleasantly surprised with the Bulldogs and their deep playoff run. It\u2019s always nice to see any team from the Western Buckeye League advance this far in the postseason.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transformation of this program is amazing. Celina was just 1-9 in 2021, then improved to 6-4 last season and 8-2 (now 12-2 this season). As I\u2019ve said before, head coach Brennan Bader and his staff have done an incredible job (he should be named Division III Coach of the Year), and the kids have bought into the program and have done what they needed to do to get to this point.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t see Friday\u2019s game first hand but I kept tabs on it, along with several other games. I know there<\/em> were some anxious moments in the fourth quarter but Braylon Gabes sealed the deal with a 65-yard interception return.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face it \u2013 the No. 6 seed Bulldogs have been the underdog in at least two of their playoff games, and going up against powers such as Trotwood-Madison and Badin isn\u2019t exactly an easy proposition. Celina is probably considered the underdog again this week against Bishop Watterson, a program that has eight state semifinal appearances (none since 2010 though). Obviously, this year\u2019s team is no slouch. Like Celina, Bishop Watterson has found ways to win this season.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I could be wrong, but perhaps Celina is enjoying the underdog role. It\u2019s worked out well for them throughout the 2023 season.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of luck to the Bulldogs this Friday night.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: It seems as though at least two of this year\u2019s state football champions are set in stone \u2013 Glenville and Marion Local. What can be done about that? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I\u2019ll agree that Glenville and Marion Local are heavy favorites to win their respective divisions, but nothing is set in stone. Upsets can and have happened before.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otherwise, I\u2019m not quite sure what you\u2019re asking. I know there\u2019s some question about Glenville being in Division IV. Marion Local has bounced between Divisions VI and VII for a few years now, but that\u2019s simply because that\u2019s where they are enrollment wise.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What are the chances Jim Harbaugh is back as Michigan\u2019s head coach in 2024? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I could be very wrong on this, but the odds appear to be the same as you or me winning the lottery before then.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor This pre-Thanksgiving Monday Mailbag includes questions about Celina football, heavy favorites, and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Q: Are you surprised with Celina continuing their playoff run? What are your initial thoughts on the game? Scott Miller, Celina A: Hi Scott. Yes, I\u2019m pleasantly surprised with the Bulldogs and their deep playoff […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-11 00:35:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172828,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172827\/revisions\/172828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}