Ohio High school football not as powerful as once was?
- Thread starter Wolverines698
- Start date
algernonsidney
Well-known member
This year, they had a close game with Painesville Riverside. Pickerington Central would destroy Martinsburg.
Especially commie soccer!
Bingo.
Bless Em All
Well-known member
Texas is the size of a small country. Ohio has lost population due to the decline of manufacturing jobs and the migration to the warm south. Ohio is still in the mix. It's just not what it was in the era prior to the 90s.
I attended the Marion Local-Coldwater game this past Friday ... Div VII vs Div VI - these are small schools.
It was great to see Marion’s roster of 74 and Coldwater’s roster of (I think) 84 - so a total of nearly 160 kids on these two teams (due to injuries not every player was in uniform).
I don’t have the answer, of course, but I wish every school had a roster of at least 50. Maybe part of the shrinking football rosters dilemma is that each varsity sport has become so demanding that some potential football players have chosen a different sport to focus on.
It was great to see Marion’s roster of 74 and Coldwater’s roster of (I think) 84 - so a total of nearly 160 kids on these two teams (due to injuries not every player was in uniform).
I don’t have the answer, of course, but I wish every school had a roster of at least 50. Maybe part of the shrinking football rosters dilemma is that each varsity sport has become so demanding that some potential football players have chosen a different sport to focus on.
smurfyeah19
Well-known member
Well to be fair, Ohio does a really good job with a lot of sports. Outside of football/basketball/baseball in the Southern states the non-revenue sports have the organization of our middle school level. It’s hard to take other sports too serious when they’re basically ran like a club sport by the sanctioning body.
My aunt raised her kids just outside of Beaufort and the youngest boy golfed freshman and sophomore year. It was like a 9-10 match season down there with next to no tournaments, basically operated like a club team with a baby sitter as coach. Here they play 18-20 matches with many invitationals, league titles and a 3 round postseason. Not much comparison how well organized and serious Ohio takes most sports
We now have 17 ev’s . Times are changin
algernonsidney
Well-known member
In 1968, Ohio also had one of the lowest tax burdens in the country.
SVillegrad
Well-known member
Ohio has not lost population. It just has not gained population at the same clip as most of the rest of the country.
Going back to the 1968 references, Ohio has 1.2 million more people now than it did in 68.
Anyway, going back to football. I think it's way to early to automatically assume whoever wins state championships this year aren't worthy in years prior.
Crimson and Black
Well-known member
They struggled to beat a decent Painesville Riverside team.
Mr. Slippery
Well-known member
Not losing population as a whole but aging. Population in OHSAA member schools is down both due to reduced birth rates and due to the educational options that exist outside of OHSAA member schools (charters, digital academies, etc).
Total grade 9-11 headcount from OHSAA member schools:
2008: 228658 boys; 217,011 girls
2010: 222,232 boys; 210,718 girls
2012: 219,946 boys; 207,285 girls
2014: 204,698 boys; 193,990 girls
2016: 211,948 boys; 200,526 girls
2018: 208,880 boys; 197,846 girls
OHSAA member schools are down 20,000 boys in a 10-year period. If even 10% of those 20,000 boys play football, that's 2,000 less football players. If those 2000 players' skill levels fall under a normal distribution curve, you can see how the quality of the product on the field would be adversely affected on a statewide level.
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But a lot of the population Ohio has gained is not the Football type nuclear family.
Example Cuyahoga County from 2010-2020 Population County Increase 33.9%
Increase of White +18.6%
Decrease of Black -6.4%
American Indian Increase 0.1%
Increase Asian 103.3%
Increase Hispanic / Latino 184.5%
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Weiskittle
Well-known member
I think part of what makes Ohio great in HS FB is that there are so many smaller schools and so many kids get an opportunity to actually play the game.
In Texas for example most schools are bigger than any school here in OH, think of all the kids that could be great someday and never get the chance because they have a class size of over 1k.
Im not sure we have the top end talent as much as we used to, but we fill out the rosters of most of the Midwest.
In Texas for example most schools are bigger than any school here in OH, think of all the kids that could be great someday and never get the chance because they have a class size of over 1k.
Im not sure we have the top end talent as much as we used to, but we fill out the rosters of most of the Midwest.
Sykotyk
Well-known member
There's schools with 80 kids in the entire school that play 6-man.
Texas has 1200 public schools. Roughly 200 per class and each class broken up into two divisions.
Texas, remember, counts all students, 9-12 for enrollment. Ohio only counts males 9-11. So don't be confused by enrollment numbers.
There is a ton of small towns in Texas with their own schools.
It's longer from Anthony, TX to Orange, TX than it is from Cleveland, OH to Omaha, Nebraska.
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
Are you saying everything in Tx. is bigger?
scbuckeye99
Well-known member
My home in Greenville, SC has doubled in value since I purchased it back in 2014. Like you said, they can't build homes fast enough down here and the migrants are predominantly from the NJ, NY, CT, Mass, and then states like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Penn, etc...
I teach in the largest district in SC. We started the 2007 school year with slightly over 67,000 students in grades k-12. We started this school year with slightly over 75,000 students in k-12. In that time we've added 2 middle schools of about 800 each in grades 6-8, SEVERAL elementary schools, and just opened a new high school this year. Add to that the fact that pretty much every school built prior to 2007 is operating at 100% or more capacity and from a numbers perspective it's not a fair fight.
scbuckeye99
Well-known member
I will agree that for all the complaints I read on here about the OHSAA back home, everyone in Ohio should feel blessed you don't have to put up with the SCHSL down here. Ohio takes it's sports far more seriously than anything SC could ever imagine.
What? It’s just a straight shot down 26.
scbuckeye99
Well-known member
Having lived down here since 2004 I always tell newer transplants from up North you get what you pay for down here. You want lower property taxes (my property taxes this year in 2022 will be around $700, by parents home back in Ohio will be over $4,000 this year) then be prepared for some "iffy" public services and infrastructure. When it comes to high school sports down here everything feels like just an event to get done so we can move on to whatever is next as opposed to in Ohio where sporting events are celebrations and treated as such.
I was back home this week for the holidays and it always warms my athletic soul when I see replayed high school games on TV. Even got to watch a replay of the Allen County Wrestling Tournament on TV when I was home. In SC they wouldn't dream of even broadcasting the state championship football games or even doing replays on TV. It's just a different culture.
The "Mill Hill" mentality is still very strong down here.
Why do we play sports in school? Springfield Ohio had a good football team this year. When to the state finals. Not too many years ago Spring field had two HS and two football teams that would play each Friday. That would mean 22 Springfield boys would be on the field at any given time now it is only 11 since they only have one HS now. Do they put a better product on the field probably but why do we have HS sports is it not to have student participation? My son was 5 9 and weighed 165 his Sr year He play for a smaller HS and was a starter for 3 years he lead the team in scoring for two years, played both ways, and was third on his team in tackles his senior year. If he played for a large school chances are he would not have seen the field except for mop-up duty. So what is important? How many get to participate or just the quality of the product put on the field?
Snowbelt Man
Active member
I saw Martinsburg play Painesville Riverside. They would not have won a state championship in Ohio in any of the top 3 divisions. Great bodies, slick offense using two different QB's. Gave up 33 to Riverside in a game that was undecided until late in the game.
irish_buffalo
Well-known member
And this is changing too. I remember being a kid at games and every old timer in the community was there and even though they did not have a relative on the squad they knew the roster front and back. They'd sit in the stands with one earbud in listening to the game on the AM radio. They worked at local mills and manufacturing facilities and loved to talk about the kids that went on to college greatness. You were a somebody in these communities if you played football. It was relief from a crappy job and offered community pride.
Not saying it has all gone away but a significant part has. If you look at newer growing districts (Olentangy) they have very little following on here because they simply do not care as much as their old school counterparts (Massillon/McKinley). Ohio used to have more Massillon/McKinley communities when it came to football than we do today.
Stirred not Shaken
Well-known member
I agree. This is why I believe MAC schools are very successful in almost all sports because supporting the school is still very important in those communities. But that will change as well eventually.
algernonsidney
Well-known member
I think Martinsburg would have trouble with Kirtland or Marion Local as well.
OHfootball3
Member
I have been saying this same thing for years. Martinsburg would not beat any of Ohio’s 7 state champs from this past season or any other year. Ohio’s small school powers could compete with them.
Martinsburg finishes 4th in the MAC at best. Pick Central or any of the big name Ohio public school would put a running clock on them. Living on the OH/WV border this topic gets brought up a lot. It is quite infuriating. There is a thread on OV Athletics titled Martinsburg vs. Steubenville that has been going on for 10 years now. Martinsburg is good for WV standards but that is like being the biggest fish in the smallest of ponds.