2024 WBL talk

WBL Week 2 Final Scores
St Marys 35, Celina 6
Wapakoneta 34, Defiance 9
Ottawa-Glandorf 34, Kenton 18
Bath 43, Van Wert 37
Shawnee 21, Elida 14

WBL Standings
1. Shawnee -- 2-0 (1-0)
1. St Marys -- 2-0 (1-0)
1. Wapakoneta -- 2-0 (1-0)
1. Bath -- 1-1 (1-0)
1. Ottawa-Glandorf -- 1-1 (1-0)
6. Celina -- 1-1 (0-1)
6. Elida -- 1-1 (0-1)
6. Van Wert -- 1-1 (0-1)
6. Defiance -- 0-2 (0-1)
6. Kenton -- 0-2 (0-1)
I GOTTA hear the whole story or watch that Bath VW game. Wow.
 
WBL Week 2 Final Scores
St Marys 35, Celina 6
Wapakoneta 34, Defiance 9
Ottawa-Glandorf 34, Kenton 18
Bath 43, Van Wert 37
Shawnee 21, Elida 14
Not doing full recaps, because I'm too tired. But just some brief thoughts.

St Marys is probably going to be the first WBL game completed each week with that lethal ground game and their ability to own time of possession. Still uncertain about Celina. I thought this would be a little bit of a closer rivalry game.

Wapak probably has some of their worst special teams in years. Two missed short field goals and a missed XP (I think some might have been blocked bc the kicks were so low), and a bad snap on a punt that went through the end zone for a safety. Defiance's Zipfel had a rough return with three thrown interceptions, including one returned by Wapak for a touchdown. Wapak forced 4 turnovers I believe. I still think it's a good Defiance team that just needs to find their groove and play cleaner. Wapak offense and defense played sharp.

Shawnee and Elida were back and forth. Scoreless at the end of the first quarter. 7-7 at half. Elida went up 14-7 in the third, but Shawnee scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to win. Didn't hear much about this game, but I think there were limited offensive possessions for each team. Impressed by Shawnee's 2-0 start, disappointed in Elida; I feel like they should be playing better than they are.

Probably most puzzled by OG-Kenton. I'm not sure if Eastwood is expected to be bad this year (since Kenton played them so well last week) or if OG really just improved that much from week one to week two. The Titans went up 14-0 early and led the entire way. Good win for the Titans.

Surely the most exciting game of the week was Van Wert-Bath. I'll share a bit more detail since I followed this one. Van Wert started with a 65-yard drive that ended only in a field goal. 3-0 lead with 6:38 to play in the first quarter. Bath had an immediate answer with a 70-yd touchdown pass from Welsch to Cole (5:53 1Q). Van Wert responded with a 24-yd TD pass to take the 10-7 lead and that was the score at the end of the first quarter. Van Wert went up double digits with a 10-yd TD pass from Wise to Cowan, 17-7 Cougars (8:49 2Q). Bath with another quick answer as they had a long TD pass from Welsch to Hale, 17-14 VW lead (7:23 2Q). The next possession, Van Wert throws an interception. Bath goes into their bag of tricks with a double reverse pass, Welsch to Foster for a 61-yd TD pass. Bath takes the lead 21-17 (5:10 2Q). VW is then able to add a touchdrown right before the half with a 12-yd TD pass from Wise to Cowan to go ahead 24-21 at the break. To start the third quarter, Van Wert again went up by two scores with an 11-yd TD run. Not sure if it was a missed XP or no good 2-pt conversion, but the score was 30-21 Cougars (7:39 3Q). Bath with, yet another, lightning quick strike as they connected on a 57-yd TD pass from Welsch to Clark. This was Welsch's fourth touchdown pass and all to four different receivers. Bath cut the lead to 30-28 (7:19 3Q). They each added touchdown runs later in the third quarter as Van Wert went up 37-28, and Bath cut it again to 37-35. The latter was the score at the end of the third quarter. Going into the final quarter, the Bath defense came up with a huge stop on 4th & 1, however, their offense immediately went 3 & out. Van Wert then took over on their own 40 and drove into the Bath red zone, but made a critical mistake. The snap went over the VW QB's head and was recovered by the Wildcats. That fumble occurred with around 6 minutes to play in the game. Bath proceeded to drive the length of the field, score a touchdown and 2-pt conversion, to take the go-ahead 43-37 lead with 1:11 left to play. Van Wert got the ball back and had a last ditch effort, but turned it over on downs. A wild game. A very impressive effort from Welsch. Glad to see Bath bounce back after last week.
 
I shut off the Defiance game just before half. I guess it was a nice 1-2 year revival but I don't see any nice playoff run in Defiance's future as I expect a fall off in the next few years.

Had the Celina/St. Marys game on TV but it got boring after a while. I swear it's so frustrating as a St. Marys opponent, when they get the ball back on their own side of the field with less than 2 minutes left and yet they so many times seem to still find the end zone without throwing one damn pass...
 
St Marys runs 42 rushes in the first half and ends up with 300+ in the win

 
St Marys runs 42 rushes in the first half and ends up with 300+ in the win

Riders yet to complete a pass this season, I love it. Nothing like running the football and the other team can't stop it just takes the "will to fight" out of the opposing team.
 
I shut off the Defiance game just before half. I guess it was a nice 1-2 year revival but I don't see any nice playoff run in Defiance's future as I expect a fall off in the next few years.

Had the Celina/St. Marys game on TV but it got boring after a while. I swear it's so frustrating as a St. Marys opponent, when they get the ball back on their own side of the field with less than 2 minutes left and yet they so many times seem to still find the end zone without throwing one damn pass...
Celina had 1 or 2 defensive stops, but it was too little too late. Big game this Friday with Van Wert. This will determine who finishes 3rd and who finishes lower.
 
WBL Week 3 Games
St Marys (2-0) @ Defiance (0-2)
Bath (1-1) @ Shawnee (2-0)
Ottawa-Glandorf (1-1) @ Wapakoneta (2-0)
Van Wert (1-1) @ Celina (1-1)
Elida (1-1) @ Kenton (0-2)
 
WBL Week 3 Games
St Marys (2-0) @ Defiance (0-2)
Bath (1-1) @ Shawnee (2-0)
Ottawa-Glandorf (1-1) @ Wapakoneta (2-0)
Van Wert (1-1) @ Celina (1-1)
Elida (1-1) @ Kenton (0-2)
St Marys - similar score to the Celina game
Bath - they have the ability to score, Shawnee is much improved but is not scoring much
Wapak - see St Marys
Celina - will rebound and finish 3rd or maybe 4th in the league, but several steps below SM and Wapak
Elida - Kenton will probably be 0-10 this year.
 
 
Not football related, but football field related, Shawnee may have been the first OHSAA school to play a volleyball game outdoors on their football field like Nebraska did. Shawnee beat Spencerville in straight sets. It looks like it was a cool event and Shawnee's looking to make this an annual thing.

https://www.limaohio.com/top-storie...e-tops-spencerville-in-unusual-outdoor-event/

ShawneeVball.jpeg
 
Not football related, but football field related, Shawnee may have been the first OHSAA school to play a volleyball game outdoors on their football field like Nebraska did. Shawnee beat Spencerville in straight sets. It looks like it was a cool event and Shawnee's looking to make this an annual thing.

https://www.limaohio.com/top-storie...e-tops-spencerville-in-unusual-outdoor-event/

View attachment 64285
Curious how they got the court level considering a football field isn't flat. Looks like the court is just sitting flag on the turf. Would it have been level?
 
Curious how they got the court level considering a football field isn't flat. Looks like the court is just sitting flag on the turf. Would it have been level?
Most turf fields are flat or have extremely little crown. They don’t need the crown for drainage like grass fields do because of the gravel under the surface
 
IMG_7597.JPG



Really can't say enough good things about being able to cover this event.

Shawnee had both an 8th grade and a JV football game that morning/early afternoon then had the volleyball dads take about 90 minutes to get this court down and smooth it out.
 
WBL week 2 stats, courtesy of wblsports.com... a few things of note:
-The top 4 guys in all purpose yards ARE their team: Wise for VW, Spyker for Shawnee, Welsch for Bath, Johnston for Kenton.
-SM 360 yards rushing a game, 0 completions. 130 attempts rushing, 2 pass attempts. 1924 offense in its best form.
-Moyer for Wapak is an efficient QB through 2 games. 71% completion, 4 TD 0 INT.
-Celina turned Columbus South over SEVEN times. Just a bad football team.
-There appears to be no defensive death machine in the WBL. Everyone near 200 yards allowed even with some weaker week 1s for some teams. Also speaks to the parity of the league, though.

Thoughts?
 

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WBL week 2 stats, courtesy of wblsports.com... a few things of note:
-The top 4 guys in all purpose yards ARE their team: Wise for VW, Spyker for Shawnee, Welsch for Bath, Johnston for Kenton.
-SM 360 yards rushing a game, 0 completions. 130 attempts rushing, 2 pass attempts. 1924 offense in its best form.
-Moyer for Wapak is an efficient QB through 2 games. 71% completion, 4 TD 0 INT.
-Celina turned Columbus South over SEVEN times. Just a bad football team.
-There appears to be no defensive death machine in the WBL. Everyone near 200 yards allowed even with some weaker week 1s for some teams. Also speaks to the parity of the league, though.

Thoughts?
Van Wert’s offensive output through 2 games is like last year. Bryan is absolutely terrible and Bath does not play defense. This week will be a test for both Van Wert and Celina.
 
Van Wert’s offensive output through 2 games is like last year. Bryan is absolutely terrible and Bath does not play defense. This week will be a test for both Van Wert and Celina.
Huge measuring stick game for both of these teams. Both should-be playoff teams, but a home game is probably on the line tomorrow night in that one.
 
Huge measuring stick game for both of these teams. Both should-be playoff teams, but a home game is probably on the line tomorrow night in that one.
FWIW, last year Celina was middle of the pack on offense and defense yardage, but was second in the league on points allowed. Last year Celina was extremely efficient on forcing turnovers and converting to points. We had several defensive scores or special teams set us up in great field position. There were 3 playoff games alone that our opponents had more yards than we did. Not sure if we can do that this year.
 
Celina 7 VW 7 with 1:30 left in 1st. VW QB is the main offense for VW, scrambling for yardage each time.
 
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