Sports
Conference Snapshot: TVC-Hocking
< < Back to conference-snapshot-tvc-hockingThe Wahama White Falcons have been nothing short of dominant in the TVC-Hocking in recent years. Can anyone stop them in 2012? Here is the early outlooks for the 2012 season.
Belpre Golden Eagles: By Steve Uhlmann
2011 was yet another year to forget for the Belpre Golden Eagles, as the team went a dubious 0-10 while being outscored by an average margin of 36-5 in those games.
But for a team that has won only one game the past three years, there is a sense of optimism that the rebuilding project under Greg Adams may finally be making progress.
This comes from the fact that the team had a pair of losses by just six points to Federal Hocking and Southern. The experience from those losses should help going in to 2012. While it’s obvious that the team has a long way to go to reach the likes of conference foes like Wahama, the timetable that Adams set after he was named to the position prior to the 2010 season should mean some results are in the near future.
One challenge that faces the squad is replacing graduated quarterback Todd Packard and linebacker Wes Hatfield. Both were named to the All-TVC-Hocking Team, and their production will need to be replaced.
A good barometer on how the team will fare in 2012 will come in the first two weeks of the season, when the team has rematches with Paint Valley and Fort Frye. The Golden Eagles were blown out in both games, so a more competitive showing could mean a more successful TVC-Hocking campaign.
Adams has spent his first three seasons overhauling this football program that was on life support. The time is now to see if the work pays off in 2012.
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Eastern Eagles: By Lucas Widman
After a 3-7 season that was filled with misfortune, the Eastern Eagles will look to prove their power in the upcoming 2012 football season. With a sixth place finish in the TVC-Hocking division a year ago, second-year head coach David Tennant is confident that his senior leadership will bring a positive outcome this season.
“We are a senior heavy team hungry to get out and show what we can do. Last year we faced a lot of adversity, but I believe that this group of kids has grown from it,” Tennant said.
Some of these seniors include returning quarterback Joey Scowden, lineman Tim Minear, receiver/safety Alex Amos, and receiver Max Carnahan. Scowden has an accurate arm and a great understanding of the game. Minear will make Scowden’s job a lot easier with his strength on the offensive line. Amos, a natural-born leader on both sides of the field, will be motivated to bounce back from an injury that kept him sidelined for the majority of the 2011 season. The Eagles bring back their leading receiver in touchdowns with Carnahan, whose athleticism will be a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.
The Eagles will also welcome Kemp Kelly to the coaching staff this season as offensive coordinator.
“Bringing in Coach Kemp Kelly has been huge for our program. His energy and experience has energized not only the players, but the coaching staff as well,” said Tennant. Kelly will be able to work with his crafty weapons and invigorate their offensive attack.
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Federal Hocking Lancers: By Billy Hartman
The Federal Hocking Lancers are looking to improve this season after going 5-5 last season, and finishing 5th in the TVC-Hocking. The Lancers only graduated 4 seniors last year, 2 of who were starters.
There will be many key returning players for the 2012 season. Assistant Coach Cameron Ruff expects senior quarterback and outside linebacker Kyle Jackson to step up as a leader this year, as well as senior defensive end and fullback Terrance Nayle.
Although there are many returning players, the Fed Hock Lancers did lose one key piece to their puzzle, former head coach Doug Miller. Miller stepped down as head coach of the Federal Hocking Lancers to focus on his family. Phil Hoffman was named head coach of the Lancers squad this past offseason. Coach Hoffman is very familiar with the Federal Hocking Community, teaching in the school district and coaching baseball for a decade. He has also been a part of the Lancers football program as an assistant coach for the past 3 years.
Although Federal Hocking is under a new head coach, the coaching staff is still very optimistic. Coach Ruff has high hopes for this upcoming season, saying, “We have very high expectations. We are going to take it one game at a time; however, we’re trying to win every game.”
Newly hired head coach Phil Hoffman is also positive, stating: “Winning is contagious, as well as losing. We need to change our mindset to winning and believing.”
The Maroon and Gold open up the 2012 campaign at home on Friday, August 24 against the Spartans of Alexander.
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Miller Falcons: By Morgan Eastman
Fans are about to see a lot of changes when it comes to the Falcon football program this season. Four new members to the coaching staff will be seen on the sidelines, including new head coach Sean Bartley.
Bartley is a Miller alum where he played as running back, although he played numerous other positions as well. Now, he is getting his chance to relive his glory days on the high school field after coaching at the younger level for several years, where he worked with some of the current players a few years back.
This familiarity with his players and the program itself are key elements Bartley brings to the Miller program.
“We’re trying to bring a lot more enthusiasm to the program and trying different things with the kids," he said. "We’ll have new offensive and defensive schemes. We lost a lot of senior leadership last year, so you’ll see a lot of kids in a lot of new roles this year.”
However, if Falcons fans are looking for some familiar names to seasons past with amped up expectations, keep your eyes open for returning quarterback Garrett Sinift and lineman Stephen McGrath.
Although their play in the trenches was their saving grace last season, the Falcons really struggled with their backfield. With all these black clouds lingering over the Corning area, Bartley was asked what fans can expect to see differently this coming season, and he strongly replied: “We have a lot of hardworking kids at Miller. We want to push and get as much out of them as we can this year. They want have a better season and they’re ready. We’ve had a lot of good turnout in the weight rooms and they’re really trying hard this offseason.”
All of this hard work will be seen in big matchups against Trimble and Crooksville this season. Last year, Miller had the doors slammed on them against these teams with scores of 67-0 and 53-0
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Southern Tornados: By Steve Uhlmann
For a school that takes great pride in it's basketball and baseball, the Southern Tornadoes football program has been struggling to capture the attention of Racine, OH.
The team, which has struggled in some years to field a roster with enough players to even play, has not finished better than 6-4 the last 20 years and has averaged just under three wins per season in the past decade.
But that isn't deterring head coach Kyle Wickline who is now entering his third season at the helm. The team was able to pull out a pair of wins last year, defeating Belpre and Miller, but improving on 2011's mark of 2-8 will not come easily.
The Tornadoes must replace All-TVC-Hocking Team selection Ryan Taylor who was a staple at wide receiver. The team also loses two other seniors, Dustin Custer and Devin Dillard. Many other teams would be ecstatic to be losing just three players, but for a team that desparately lacks depth like the Tornadoes, the departures have a much greater impact.
The good news for Southern is that junior running back Tyler Kline is back, fresh off a selection to the All-TVC-Hocking Team. Sophomore Tristen Wolfe will return under center at quarterback after receiving a great deal of playing time during his freshman year.
Even with the returning experience, the team will still have to muster everything they can in the tough TVC-Hocking to keep fans' attention on the football field, and not the hardwood.
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South Galia Rebels: By Billy Hartman
The South Gallia Rebels had a very impressive season last year, going 7-3 overall and finishing third in the TVC-Hocking with a conference record of 6-2. The Rebels were not far behind the TVC-Hocking champs, Wahama, last year. They were also neck-and- and neck with Trimble, only losing by 4 against the Tomcats.
The South Gallia Rebels know what is takes to win and become successful in the TVC-Hocking. Although the Rebels finished with a record over .500, there is still room for improvement. The Rebels would like to win the conference this year, and have each player improve from last year.
South Gallia takes on the Trimble Tomcats Friday, September 7 at South Gallia. Having home field advantage will help when taking on last year’s runner-up. However, the Rebels will have to travel to Wahama on October 12. The game against Wahama, will be a tough one for the Red and White, but they believe they have what it takes to win there. The Rebels open up their 2012 season in their home stadium on Friday, August 24 against Sciotoville.
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Trimble Tomcats: By Keith Turner
Following a 7-3 season last year ending a heart breaking 28-19 playoff loss to Symmes Valley, Trimble returns to a 2012 season with good expectations. The Tomcats are excited about the returning players to help lead this team in the TVC Hocking.
“We only lost eight players but many of those were hurt throughout last year,” Coach Phil Faires said.
Two of the biggest losses for the Tomcats are quarterback Justin Jewell and running back Austin Keith. Together the two led the offense in total yards and touchdowns. Along with the two offensive stars they also lose three linemen that played both sides of the ball plus defensive leader Cyrus Jones.
Even with the personel losses, the Tomcats still have a lot to look forward to this year. One main reason for excitement is returning quarterback Konner Standley. During their playoff game last year, Standley helped lead the offense and showed great potential with his feet and arm. He will be a key for this year’s offense to be successful.
The Tomcats also bring back four-experienced lineman on both sides of the ball. But Coach Faires understands defense will have to step up this year to lead in the league. Big returns on defense are Jacob Koons and Casey Degarmer, who helped lead last year’s defense in its success.
“Our defense will be tested in our first two weeks with Nelsonville-York, and Wahama, we have to play tough and look for two big victories,” Coach Faires states.
Another big key for Trimble will be to stay healthy. Many injuries hurt the team down the stretch last year, and with numerous players playing on both sides of the ball, this team can't afford injuries.
Trimble is looking forward to the improvements in team speed and hard work in this off-season to lead in their quest for the TVC-Hocking title.
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Wahama White Falcons: By Mike Bundt
Another year of high school football is around the corner and in the TVC-Hocking, and everybody is trying to dethrone Wahama as the league’s top team.
Nobody in the TVC-Hocking came close to stopping the White Falcons in 2011, as Wahama played quality football all year on their way to a 12-1 record, finishing in the semifinals of the West Virginia State Playoffs.
This year however, Wahama is without star receiver Isaac Lee. With Lee gone, the White Falcons will be forced to build around multi-threat quarterback Trenton Gibbs which brings up the question:How good will Wahama be in 2012?
It’s an interesting question. Wahama rolled over their opponents in 2011, averaging 46 points per game while only giving up 10.69 points an effort. Dominance of that caliber is hardly ever the result of just one or two players. That is more often the result of a collective team unit.
With that being said, it looks like Wahama is still the team to beat in the TVC-Hocking in 2012.
The White Falcons return five starters on defense including TVC-Hocking Defensive Player of the Year Zack Longsley and linebacker Crandall Neil. According to Coach Cromley, the players on the team think of themselves as “world beaters” and are motivated to show what they’re capable all-over. Cromley is very confident in his staff and thinks his team is talented enough to make another run at the TVC-Hocking title.
All that’s left for the White Falcons is to go out on the field and prove it.
Wahama hits the field for the first time this year on August 24th when they hit the road to take on Fayetteville.
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Waterford Wildcats: By Mike Bundt
After consecutive 6-4 seasons, Waterford is looking to rise to prominence this year as they hope to contend for a TVC-Hocking championship. The team features 10 seniors, which is a high for any team in the TVC-Hocking.
Not returning, however, is Chad Ross. The former Waterford Head Coach left the school after the year ended to take a job in Parkersburg.
Taking over the helm for Waterford is new head coach Tom Tucker. Tucker has been involved with the Wildcats since the program was formed and is looking forward to see how the team competes in 2012. Tucker says that the Wildcats have high expectations this year and that he and the team are going to “work as hard as any team you’ll find.”
With the changes to the coaching staff, Tucker says that Waterford will still be run in a similar fashion. The team feature similar offensive and defensive styles as they did with Coach Ross, but feature different terminology and players.
With practices just underway, Tucker doesn’t exactly know who’ll play where but he did point out two players to look out for. Brian Moore and Hunter Moses are the best athletes on the current Wildcats squad and will be locks to get a lot of playing time and the chance to make an impact. Both will need to have good seasons for Waterford to keep up their recent success.
The Wildcats are a small school that’s had success according to Tucker and the only thing they have on their mind on in 2012 is winning the TVC-Hocking title.