#PACtion™ 2024

They worried a horse is going to show up and protest?
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Please do not take shots at the physical appearance of former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern.

A life of political privilege, taking away citizens freedom, corporate handouts and smoking crack should not be ridiculed.

She is a horse face to many but she's a HERO to the Pfizer Board of Directors and that's what matters!

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cuyahogacuse said:
He’s still playing!?!

He’ll be a 6th year senior at Davenport University. Here’s the link to his Spring 2024 bio, where he’s listed as a redshirt junior.

Graduated Boardman in 2019 with all kinds of accolades. From his signing day press release at Boardman:

“In his senior year, he earned All AAC 1st Team Honors, Big 22 Award winner, and Honorable Mention All Inland District Northeast. He also set new school records his senior year and became the All-Time school leader in completions (289) and yards (3,464). In Michael’s junior year, he received All-AAC 1st Team honors, Big 22 Award winner, and 2nd Team All Inland District Northeast honors.”

Looks like he redshirted at Saginaw Valley State in fall 2019. Then there was the covid year. Played three seasons at SVSU from 2021-23 and appears to be finishing up at Davenport this fall.
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He is still playing, very talented player. His little brother (Sean) used to come to the wrestling room as a kid as well and I believe plays football for the University of Kentucky after having a great high school football career at Boardman.
 
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Happy Independence Day, y'all.

PS - If the weather doesn't cooperate where you're at and you need entertainment, peruse the interwebs for politicians who spend the rest of the year using their positions to try and limit/eliminate our freedom posting about how they're celebrating freedom today. You could make it a drinking game, but you'd be in a real bad way very very soon . . .
 
I don't know how it is now, but back in the day (Late 70s), we'd be running today. In fact, at Manchester, we'd be running multiple days a week for the next three weeks, right up until two-a-days started. If you played football at Manchester, summer vacation was over on July 5. That's when Physical Training (PT) sessions started. A real premium was put on PTs because the thinking at that time was running in the heat of summer would mean you had better endurance and could last longer in the cool of October. In most cases, we were better conditioned than our opponents, and that was a factor in our success. So, all these years later, I still associate July 5 with the real start of football.
 
TopCat said:
I don't know how it is now, but back in the day (Late 70s), we'd be running today. In fact, at Manchester, we'd be running multiple days a week for the next three weeks, right up until two-a-days started. If you played football at Manchester, summer vacation was over on July 5. That's when Physical Training (PT) sessions started. A real premium was put on PTs because the thinking at that time was running in the heat of summer would mean you had better endurance and could last longer in the cool of October. In most cases, we were better conditioned than our opponents, and that was a factor in our success. So, all these years later, I still associate July 5 with the real start of football.
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Times have changed.

Football Summer Period began on May 15 and runs through July 31.

A lot of schools have been “at it” in some way, shape or form for six weeks already. Coaches are allowed 18 contact days during that 2-1/2 month window.
 
I need reminded...why did CVCA leave the PAC and was there a school or schools that helped drive them out? Also what was the time frame...2 years from start to finish? Yes I know they are playing a PAC football schedule this year but like Fitch was not part of the Federal league when they left.

I found this thread when Kevin Stacy was being hired at Manchester...the CVCA split happened before that...I think
 
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TopCat said:
I don't know how it is now, but back in the day (Late 70s), we'd be running today. In fact, at Manchester, we'd be running multiple days a week for the next three weeks, right up until two-a-days started. If you played football at Manchester, summer vacation was over on July 5. That's when Physical Training (PT) sessions started. A real premium was put on PTs because the thinking at that time was running in the heat of summer would mean you had better endurance and could last longer in the cool of October. In most cases, we were better conditioned than our opponents, and that was a factor in our success. So, all these years later, I still associate July 5 with the real start of football.
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There's very little physical benefit in traditional sprint conditioning for football. Time under tension strength training is what any program with a worthwhile summer program is doing to maximize their athletes ability to perform
 
PAC Game of the Year - 2016 | Orrville (4-5, 3-3 PAC) at Triway (6-3, 3-3 PAC) | Week 10 | October 28, 2016
This is the 18th in an ongoing series, highlighting the PAC Game of the Year in each season, from 1999 through 2023, which will lead up to the start of the 2024 high school football season. For a look back at prior summaries, click here for 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
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The Prelude

The most recent edition of this PAC Game of the Year review recounted how Indian Valley was the class of the conference in 2015, and yet, Manchester finished second in the conference with a 5-1 record, but finished just 5-5 overall. A year later, in 2016, the Panthers won the PAC for the 20th time in school history. We'll get that out the way right up front. The 2016 Panthers finished a perfect 7-0 in conference. But the league was still watered down, as evidenced by Manchester's 0-3 start to the season, with lopsided losses on the road at Norwayne (14-45), at Woodridge (7-49) and at home against South Range (15-34).

In many of the PAC Game of the Year stories, the choice for GOTY status has been fairly easy. One game typically stands out amongst the top two or three teams. But Manchester waxed Triway 56-0 in Week 4 to get off the schneid, and they took care of business against Indian Valley in Week 8. The Braves mustered a second place conference finish at 5-2, but finished a disappointing 5-5 overall, having also lost all three non-conference games against Sandy Valley, Garaway and Claymont to start the season. So the bloom was off the rose for the Braves once Week 8 rolled around, with Indian Valley sporting a sub-.500 record at 3-4 after a fourth loss on the season to Tuslaw in Week 5.

With a weakened PAC for the second straight year, the search for the Game of the Year went a bit deeper. But in retrospect, the choice was an obvious one. Canton City Schools had closed down Timken High School the previous spring, and Orville joined the PAC in the fall of 2016. After 28 seasons, Orrville and longtime rival Triway were back in the same conference after the two schools had shared places in both the Chippewa and All-Ohio Conferences through the 1970s and through 1988. That's when Triway went to the Mohican Area Conference before joining the PAC in 2005. After 1998, Orrville toiled as an Independent for a decade before stints in the Ohio Heartland and Ohio Cardinal Conferences. Still, despite their different paths over nearly three decades, the two schools played in all but five seasons. So it only made sense that once they were finally conference foes once again that the game should shift to Week 10. This was a rivalry that wasn't manufactured. It had been nurtured over decades. And the first edition of Orrville-Triway in the PAC delivered. Did it ever!

The Game

Triway played host to Orrville in 2016, and the Titans entered the game 6-3. Unlike the league leaders, the Titans took care of business in the non-league games to start the season, with wins over West Holmes, Loudonville and Waynedale. But the Titans were shutout by Manchester 56-0 in Week 4 and also were held scoreless in Week 9 against Indian Valley, 21-0. They also sported a 20-7 road loss in Week 6 to Fairless. At 6-3 (3-3), a playoff spot was not in the cards as Orrville week approached. But bragging rights? Absolutely on the table.

Orrville sandwiched non-conference losses to Wooster and Northwest (still an Independent in 2016) around a Week 2 win against Norwayne - the same Bobcats team that had dismantled Manchester in Week 1. (It turned out to be the only regular season loss for Norwayne). So despite the 1-2 start to the year, there were pieces of the puzzle in place for the Red Riders first go-round in the PAC. After edging Tuslaw in a 43-42 shootout at home to start the PAC slate, Orrville dispatched of CVCA in Week 5, before running into a three week gauntlet against Indian Valley, Manchester and Fairless. The Riders lost all three games before steadying the ship against Tusky Valley in Week 9. The Riders were 4-5, but sported the same 3-3 conference record as the Titans heading into the final Friday night of the season.

Once it started, the game had everything. An electrifying first quarter got started when Triway junior quarterback Nick Sparr thrilled the home crowd with a 39-yard touchdown run. His 2-point PAT made it 8-0. But that only set the stage for Orrville sophomore signal caller Logan Domer, who completed the first of his five touchdown passes - a 4-yard pitch and catch to Jake Fitzgerald (5 catches, 130 yards, 2 TDs). It was tied 8-8 after the Riders successfully went for two. On the next Red Rider drive, Domer and Fitzgerald connected again, but this time from long-range. The 73-yard touchdown put the Riders up 15-8 after the PAT. But that was it for the Riders in the first half.

Triway answered again before the close of the first quarter. Sparr connected on a 17-yard TD pass to junior Braden Biggs (10 catches, 122 yards, 1 TD) to close the score to 15-14 at the end of one quarter.

And yet, the game was just getting started. There was plenty more to come in the contest that featured 1,031 yards of offense combined from both teams. It also saw 22 enforced penalties for 183 yards.

The lone score of the second quarter saw Triway junior receiver Trevon Hall take a handoff 24 yards to score, and the subsequent 2-pt PAT put the Titans up 22-15 at the half.

The Titans seemed to be in control of the game midway through the third quarter, which junior running back Cole Hissong plunged into the endzone from two yards out, and then added the two-point conversion himself. Hissong's score was notable not only because it put the Titans up by two scores, but also because Hissong's status had been questionable earlier in the week. The Triway running back played with a huge wrap on his left hand, which required five stitches in a hospital visit the previous Friday, after his had got stuck in the helmet of an Indian Valley player the week before.

Triway head coach Tony Lee credited the Titans' trainer with helping get Hissong ready to play in Aaron Dorksen's game story in The Times Reporter:
"I worried earlier in the week because he didn't always come up with the ball, but I knew he would secure it tonight. Our trainer, Kelly Cruise, was like MacGyver to make sure it was protected with tons of padding."

– Triway Head Coach Tony Lee
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5:44 remained in the third quarter, and the Titans were doubling up their rivals 30-15. But then, a video game broke out. The teams combined for four more scores before the third quarter struck three zeros. The Riders Jacob Hershberger (18 carries, 133 yards) started the comeback for Orrville with a 15-yard scoring run. And before you could blink, Orrville's Domer had the offense back on the field, and he hit Brandon Luangraj on a 63-yard bomb down the left sideline. Fitzgerald and Domer connected on another 2-point PAT and it was tied again at 30-all.

But defense continued to be optional in the third stanza. There was still time for Sparr to connect with Trevon Hall (4 catches, 71 yards) on a 56-yard scoring strike to put Triway back in front. After a traditional PAT, they led 37-30, but Domer wasn't done. The Riders Hershberger hauled in a 23-yard pass to nearly pull Orrville even again. But this time, the PAT failed and the wild third quarter ended with Triway clinging to a 37-36 lead.

They often say in a game like this, the team with the ball last wins. And it initially looked like the Riders might seize the momentum. But there were more twists to come. Dorksen picks up the story:
The Titans got a key interception from Mason Phillips and 30-yard return when Orrville was driving early in the fourth quarter, but penalties forced Triway into a fourth-and-48 from its 12.
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There are not really many plays in the playbook for 4th and 48 from the 12. Tony Lee sent Phillips out to punt the ball away, but Orrville fumbled the punt and Dylan Allison was Johnny On The Spot for the Titans, who had new life on the Riders' second straight fourth quarter turnover. I'm not sure where "Muffed Punt" is in the playbook ... but it worked.

Still, somehow, Orrville's defense held again. And that's when Tony Lee went back into the bag of tricks. You don't hold anything back when it's Week 10 and it's your rival. Again, Aaron Dorksen picks up the story:
Hissong completed a 32-yard fake punt pass to Dylan Eshler to keep possession and finally the Titans found the end zone on Sparr's 6-yard pass to Hall with 6:49 left.
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In retrospect, it's a good think the left hand was wrapped, as the fake punt pass play led to the score.

The euphoria was short-lived. The PAT was missed. The Titans were up by a touchdown, but plenty of time remained. They had to give the ball back to Logan Domer and the Riders. Orrville obliged by driving down the field. When they lined up from the 14-yard line as the clock wound down toward three minutes, it was time, for one last time, for Logan Domer to do what had likely been done hundreds of times in the back yard while growing up. He lofted a ball toward the end zone, and it was snagged out of the air by his brother. Senior Austin Domer scored to bring the Riders back within a point. When the PAT went through the uprights, the scoreboard showed "43" beneath both the home and visitor scores, and 3:12 remained in regulation.

Plenty of time, naturally. Triway quickly returned to the red zone, where Dorksen picks up the plot again as the Titans ran a play from the Orrville 19-yard line:
If anyone saw the wrap on Hissong's left hand, they would have probably wondered how he could hold onto the ball when tackled. However, Lee had complete trust in him and called for the "Cole Cat" formation with the game on the line and Hissong delivered. He took the direct shotgun snap and made an electrifying run up the right side of the field, stutter-stepping to avoid two tacklers and then diving to the pylon for the score.

"I can trust Cole Hissong because he's a gamer," Lee said. "He did everything he could this year to make this team better and he's a very unselfish kid."

"We ran a trap on that play and I just got open and got into the end zone," Hissong said. "It was awesome. There were two Orrville players near the sideline and I just cut back and dove for the pylon. There's no better feeling right now honestly."
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First one to 50 wins. Right? The Titans led 50-43 with just 1:08 to go.

Not so fast. Domer and the Red Riders would not quit. They drove to the Triway 24 yard line with 0:03 left. Domer was 17 of 26 for 344 yards to that point. And he had time for one final throw. But the final pass, lofted toward the right corner of the end zone in the direction of Jake Fitzgerald, fell incomplete, as the two Riders could not connect on what would have been their third score of the evening.

Three hours after it started, the first Principals Athletic Conference game between the two longtime rivals was in the books as one for the ages. Triway defeated Orrville 50-43.

The Postlude

Neither Triway, who finished 7-3, nor Orrville (4-6) qualified for the playoffs. Manchester represented the PAC as a 6-seed in Division 5 Region 17, but bowed out of the playoffs in a 28-7 Week 11 setback to Canton Central Catholic.

But the fans in attendance at Triway's Jack Miller Field not only were entertained with one of the great games in PAC history, but they were able to catch a glimpse at the future. Twenty-one of the 22 starting Titans were scheduled to return the following year. And Orrville's Logan Domer was just a sophomore. The 2016 season was just a prologue for that generation of Riders. There was much more to come.

Indian Valley and Tusky Valley exited the PAC at the end of the school year, and Northwest and Loudonville were ready to take their spots. The next great era of PAC football was waiting in the wings and about to take flight.

Here is the game story link from The Daily Record, followed by the box score from The Akron Beacon Journal:

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ShootNation said:
There's very little physical benefit in traditional sprint conditioning for football. Time under tension strength training is what any program with a worthwhile summer program is doing to maximize their athletes ability to perform
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There's great physical benefit to tackling on a pile of nails and tacks or running up Deerfield Avenue with no water allowed whatsoever.
 
Rich Kotite said:
There's great physical benefit to tackling on a pile of nails and tacks or running up Deerfield Avenue with no water allowed whatsoever.
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Gonna revolutionize the strength and conditioning game with my new "Pain & Suffering" circuit. Leg Lifts over hot coals, bear crawls in gravel parking lots, suicide sprints on asphalt, and we wrap it up with Oklahoma drills until there's only one guy left standing. This team is gonna be so tough they might not even make it to week 1
 
ShootNation said:
There's very little physical benefit in traditional sprint conditioning for football. Time under tension strength training is what any program with a worthwhile summer program is doing to maximize their athletes ability to perform
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Shoot- I take it you've never played in a fourth quarter? I think the difference between sprint and strength training benefits for high schoolers is very minimal. The upper body is hard to change for most high school boys.
 
SpeedSafety25 said:
Shoot- I take it you've never played in a fourth quarter? I think the difference between sprint and strength training benefits for high schoolers is very minimal. The upper body is hard to change for most high school boys.
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Strength training (time under tension) is not limited to upper body. Below parallel squats, slow rep deadlift, and weighted Bulgarian split squats are all going to drastically increase an athletes muscular aerobic capacity which will allow them to perform at higher levels for longer periods of time. That means not only will the players be stronger, bigger, and faster, they'll also have significantly more muscular endurance and cardiovascular range than those that don't do the same. The biggest advantage any high school team can have, other than the ability to recruit, is a competently designed weight training program. The era of running gassers at the end of practice to get "tougher" or to "build endurance for the fourth quarter" is over, it has been disproven by science and the teams at the top of the sport stopped with that nonsense over a decade ago
 
ShootNation said:
Strength training (time under tension) is not limited to upper body. Below parallel squats, slow rep deadlift, and weighted Bulgarian split squats are all going to drastically increase an athletes muscular aerobic capacity which will allow them to perform at higher levels for longer periods of time. That means not only will the players be stronger, bigger, and faster, they'll also have significantly more muscular endurance and cardiovascular range than those that don't do the same. The biggest advantage any high school team can have, other than the ability to recruit, is a competently designed weight training program. The era of running gassers at the end of practice to get "tougher" or to "build endurance for the fourth quarter" is over, it has been disproven by science and the teams at the top of the sport stopped with that nonsense over a decade ago
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Shoot & I have disagreed on a bunch over the years, but have to say that he's cooking with gas on this. Anyone who fondly remembers the "good ol days" of training is probably just jealous that folks today don't have to suck it up the way we did. Gassers for discipline makes sense. Gassers for training in the off season is the football equivalent of using leeches to treat a sinus infection.
 
Raylan_Givens said:
Shoot & I have disagreed on a bunch over the years, but have to say that he's cooking with gas on this. Anyone who fondly remembers the "good ol days" of training is probably just jealous that folks today don't have to suck it up the way we did. Gassers for discipline makes sense. Gassers for training in the off season is the football equivalent of using leeches to treat a sinus infection.
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All boils down to a good blend of smarter not harder.... sometimes. We can all agree that any topic we know more now than we did then. That being said, there are things that stand the test of time and like I tell anyone complaining about not losing weight or being in shape, there still is no substitute for hard work, eating right etc. (unless you find the right dealer of Ozempic in Kenyon Creek) I've been around some of the best trainers around, both from a physical training and nutrition perspective, and I'm a firm believer in any program or plan works, just have to have the discipline to do it. As much as the old school days being gone and some not liking it, the reality is today's kids are different and to be relevant you have to be on the cutting edge of programs and keeping them motivated and not quitting. Example, some schools are throwing kids in the pool and having a swim day. They think it's fun because it's water, but ask any athlete, and they'll tell you swimming is no joke from an aerobic perspective. Just ask Sly ala Rocky III
 
Playoffs??? said:
Abut ask any athlete, and they'll tell you swimming is no joke from an aerobic perspective.
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AMEN! Swimming sucks. You want to how bad swimming sucks - ask the folks at the Ironman Triathalon. They have the contestants do 138 miles of biking & running and ONLY 2.4 miles of swimming. I believe that math works out to 1 mile of swimming is the equivalent to a wet-hell-on-earth.

(And yes, my opinions may have been slightly influenced by the sadistic PT who did one of my rehabs in a pool. Still get cold sweats when I smell chlorine...)
 
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