They say first impressions are important but in football that is not always the case.
Area teams opened the season last week and there was a wide range of outcomes. Some are a preview of how team might do the rest of the seasons others are just blips in a season just beginning that will be forgotten depending on the success of the squad.
Here are some first game observations.
1. Lima Senior had a huge 60-0 win over Toledo Bowsher. What does that mean?
The Spartans put on an impressive performance both offensively and defensively but it was against a subpar and young Bowsher team that was over-matched from the get go. That does not mean Lima Senior did show a lot of promise after the romp.
The Spartans showed they have a lot of weapons in the running game. With the addition of Bryan Hines who transferred from Lima Central Catholic, Lima Senior can utilize its speed with a number of talented runners on the outside or go inside the tough running of Kamar Johnson.
Credit the offensive line for making the lanes for the backs to run through.
Even though they racked up a lot of yardage on the ground, the Spartans offense is still a work in progress with sophomore Aiden Howard at quarterback but this season opener was a major first step in the right direction.
The defense was just as impressive as the offense as they also utilized their speed especially the front seven. The personnel changes made up front showed a more quick strike defense that can get to the quarterback. Again, Bowsher was young and lost their starting quarterback on the opening drive but like the offense it was a tremendous showing by the defense.
2. Special teams played a big role in a number of games.
Prior to the season a number of coaches lamented the fact that the lost week the lost scrimmage meant that working on special teams took a backseat and it showed in several games. Blocked punts, poor kickoffs and bad kicking in general hampered a number of teams and it proved to be costly for some. Columbus Grove, which has one of the best kickers in the area, Rece Verhoff, took advantage of his abilities to continually pin Pandora-Gilboa deep in their territory and win the field position game. It didn’t hurt that the Bulldogs also had a blocked punt.
The same held true in the Delphos Bowl where punting and kickoffs played a key role in the outcome. Well, that and the Blue Jays turnovers.
3. Injuries and cramping.
In the three games that I covered this week, there were at least four instances or more of players cramping due to the excessive heat and a number of other stories of teams dealing with this situation. Expect more cramping this week with hot temperatures and players will have to stay hydrated. As for injuries, this is another by product of the lost week of practice but hopefully with a game under their belts, teams will get more in game shape and avoid injuries.
4. What doe we make of the Shawnee win over Lima Central Catholic?
First let’s say that it was good to see this rivalry renewed.
The question now is can Shawnee keep that momentum going and the other one is can LCC turn it around. The easy answer is yes on both counts but it won’t be easy. The Thunderbirds found out how much you miss four all-state players, especially up front and not to mention Shaun Thomas and Rossy Moore. But expect LCC to improve as they keep moving into the season and the younger players find their footing.
It might be a tougher road for Shawnee who enters Western Buckeye League play this week. The league is a meat grinder of a season where in the end only the strongest team survives. If the Indians can avoid injuries and continue its excellent defensive play, Shawnee can be a force in the run for the WBL. This leads us to …
5. What can we expect from the WBL?
It was an interesting week for the first week of the WBL as six teams won and four teams lost in their non league contests. Again, the relevance of this will be determined in the next several weeks and that begins in week two.
One of the more interesting match ups is Bath against Shawnee. Each of these teams put up wins and it we shall see who can keep the momentum going. Both teams are hungry for success and a win in this game will be a confidence booster for whichever team comes out on top.
Another intriguing match up up is Wapakoneta against Ottawa-Glandorf. Both teams are coming off first game losses. Wapakoneta lost to Marion Local, 31-6, and the Titans fell to Eastwood 42-19. While it is only the second week of the season, this match up could go a long way in determining the winner of the league championship.
Elida notched a hard-fought battle against Spencerville and will try to keep that momentum going when they face Kenton, a team that got beat by Coldwater and another intriguing game is Defiance and St. Marys both of whom picked up wins.
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