{"id":211146,"date":"2026-10-12T20:42:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T01:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=211146"},"modified":"2026-10-12T20:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T01:42:31","slug":"random-thoughts-title-races-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/10\/12\/random-thoughts-title-races-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Random Thoughts: title races, more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

This week\u2019s installment of Random Thoughts centers around a meeting of two undefeated teams, plus title chases in the NWC, GMC and MAC, Crestview volleyball\u2019s impressive streak, the ALDS and the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8-0 vs. 8-0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s here. No one expected this matchup when the season began, but it\u2019s going to happen Friday night, as 8-0 Ottawa-Glandorf hosts 8-0 Celina. The winner will clinch at least a share of the Western Buckeye League title and in all likelihood, the outright WBL championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celina was 4-6 last year, while Ottawa-Glandorf was 0-10.There are great storylines all around for this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There won\u2019t be an empty seat at the stadium and it should be a great game. One of the Ottawa-Glandorf people in the press box for Friday’s game against Van Wert said 1,200 advance tickets have already been sold for this Friday’s game. Who do I think will win? At this moment, I\u2019m not sure. I\u2019ve seen both teams and it\u2019s a tough call. I\u2019ll have to make a decision in time for Thursday\u2019s Pigskin Pick\u2019Em feature, so check back then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NWC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NWC title race could go to Week No. 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lima Central Catholic currently has a one game lead over Bluffton and Columbus Grove in the standings. The undefeated Thunderbirds will travel to Spencerville (0-8) this week, then will host Crestview (2-6) in the regular season finale. Columbus Grove (7-1, 4-1 NWC) will play at Crestview on Friday, then will finish the regular season at Bluffton (7-1, 4-1 NWC). Bluffton is at Fort Loramie (5-3, 3-2 NWC) on Friday, then has Columbus Grove next Friday, so the Pirates appear to have the toughest road to at least a share of the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On paper, it appears as though Lima Central Catholic will finish as outright champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GMC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GMC title race comes down to three teams \u2013 Paulding (7-1, 5-0 GMC), Fairview (6-2, 4-1 GMC) and Tinora (4-4, 4-1 GMC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Panthers will play at 0-8 Hicksville this Friday, then will host Tinora in the regular season finale, which should be a great game. Tinora will host Ayersville (3-5, 2-3 NWC) this Friday, while Fairview will host winless Edgerton this Friday, then will host Wayne Trace (5-3, 3-2 NWC) in Week No. 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Paulding remains the favorite, there are a handful of scenarios that could play out this week and next Friday. Plus, there\u2019s a decent possibility that Paulding and Fairview could play in a rematch in the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marion Local (8-0, 6-0 MAC) has a one game lead over St. Henry (5-3, 4-1 MAC) in the standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Flyers will host Minster this Friday then will travel to Coldwater in Week No. 10. Both teams are 6-2 (4-2 MAC). St. Henry will host Coldwater this Friday then will play at Delphos St. John\u2019s (1-7, 0-6 MAC) in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the remaining two games, Marion Local remains the favorite to win its 10th consecutive MAC title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six straight?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of conference titles, Crestview has won its sixth straight NWC volleyball championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lady Knights (10-8, 6-0 NWC) have a one game lead over Lincolnview and just one NWC match left \u2013 at Allen East (4-13, 0-6 NWC) on Wednesday. A win gives Crestview another outright conference crown. It should be noted that Crestview hasn\u2019t lost a NWC match since the 2021 season and at least on paper, it appears as though that streak will continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to admit \u2013 when the Chicago White Sox went up two games to none on Cleveland in the American League Division Series, I thought it was over. I figured it would end in a sweep. Then I figured there was no way the series would end up going back to Cleveland. Then when it went back to Cleveland, I wasn\u2019t really sure if the Guardians would win it. Needless to say, they did win it. Not bad for a team with a low payroll, compared to some teams with much more money on the books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleveland Browns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All I can say to my fellow Browns fans is \u2013 back to reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports This week\u2019s installment of Random Thoughts centers around a meeting of two undefeated teams, plus title chases in the NWC, GMC and MAC, Crestview volleyball\u2019s impressive streak, the ALDS and the Cleveland Browns. 8-0 vs. 8-0 It\u2019s here. No one expected this matchup when the season began, but it\u2019s going to happen […]<\/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-211146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-25 17:05:29","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\/211146","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=211146"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211153,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211146\/revisions\/211153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}