#PACtion™ 2024

cuyahogacuse said:
There's 25 weeks, less one day, left before the start of the 2024 High School Football Season on August 23rd. So ... with the help of the Ohio High School Football Database, I figured I'd go back and try to find out information on The Game of the Year in the PAC, for each of the last 25 years, and make one post a week, leading up to the season. We'll see if I can keep it up?

October 15th in 1999 is remembered for one thing in Northeast Ohio. The Indians fired Mike Hargrove. Front page news in The Beacon Journal. But page 68 is where you'll find the story on the 1999 GOTY in the PAC. Manchester (6-1, with a loss to Green) traveled to undefeated Tuslaw, as the Mustangs were looking for their first-ever win over the Panthers. As so often was the case back in those days, it was over before it even started. Here's a look back, courtesy of the ABJ. And check out the byline on this story. None other than current ESPN senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst, who took in the action in the heart of PACtion™ on that night, 25 seasons ago.

All right, old-timers. What do you remember for this game? This season? Or the week leading up to the big showdown?

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I am probably one of the few people on here that was at this game. While the loss was certainly disappointing, I think most realistic Tuslaw fans knew their best chance was still a year away. The 1999 Tuslaw team was very much a junior led team (Staver, Cresenze, Kurzen, Hoffman, etc). The 1998 team was the first to ever make the playoffs and lost some key pieces from that team. While people were hopeful going into the 1999 game, I personally thought it would be an uphill battle with an eye on the 2000 season as the real chance to strike.

Tuslaw hadn’t exactly played a cupcake schedule, but they hadn’t faced anyone of even remotely Manchester’s caliber to this point and were no where near the 6th best team in the state where they were ranked.

The unfortunate part about the 1999 game is that it was played at Tuslaw. Which meant that the 2000 game (which I am assuming will be the game of the year featured next week), would be played at Manchester.

The Tuslaw teams of the late 90s and early 00s knew tuffness, but unfortunately Manchester was the gold standard for elite tuffness at that time.
 
Rich Kotite said:
This doesn't sound tuff.
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What is tuff is that Mr. Cuse starts a series with the game of the year for every year till the season starts in the PAC. He picks Oct 15th, 1999 as the game of the year....so I check who Lake played that week and sure enough we were playing Phil Here Today Gone To Mauro....I can't win the lottery...no...no I can't...lol
 
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Raylan_Givens said:
Was told tonight by a completely unreliable source that Dial to Tuslaw is a done deal just hasn't been announced.

While I'd love to believe it for what it would mean for the PAC, the same person told me "He's going to be terrible there. He's not that good of a coach, just look what happened in the championship game."

Steve Brule What GIF
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Yeah Right Ok GIF
 
Raylan_Givens said:
Was told tonight by a completely unreliable source that Dial to Tuslaw is a done deal just hasn't been announced.

While I'd love to believe it for what it would mean for the PAC, the same person told me "He's going to be terrible there. He's not that good of a coach, just look what happened in the championship game."

Steve Brule What GIF
Click to expand...
 
cuyahogacuse said:
There's 25 weeks, less one day, left before the start of the 2024 High School Football Season on August 23rd. So ... with the help of the Ohio High School Football Database, I figured I'd go back and try to find out information on The Game of the Year in the PAC, for each of the last 25 years, and make one post a week, leading up to the season. We'll see if I can keep it up?

October 15th in 1999 is remembered for one thing in Northeast Ohio. The Indians fired Mike Hargrove. Front page news in The Beacon Journal. But page 68 is where you'll find the story on the 1999 GOTY in the PAC. Manchester (6-1, with a loss to Green) traveled to undefeated Tuslaw, as the Mustangs were looking for their first-ever win over the Panthers. As so often was the case back in those days, it was over before it even started. Here's a look back, courtesy of the ABJ. And check out the byline on this story. None other than current ESPN senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst, who took in the action in the heart of PACtion™ on that night, 25 seasons ago.

All right, old-timers. What do you remember for this game? This season? Or the week leading up to the big showdown?

View attachment 55263
Click to expand...
You're going to have a tough time picking a game of the year for 2022.
 
Toughest guys I knew back in the day were the Merchants Tavern Fumbleball team that played in the Fumbleball League at old Stadium Park in Canton that is now gone. Could lead off, steal, hard to hit dingers - those boys played some ball - and it was mean - lots of talk lots of fights

the good ole days LOL
 
cuyahogacuse said:
mscuyahogacuse, among her many talents, coaches girls lacrosse. And what a beautiful day to start the season.

Had to share these pics from the entrance to Bulldog Stadium in Stow. Perhaps the ultimate barometer for “tuffness.” And a Syracuse legend as well.

Happy spring, PACtion™ fanatics.
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Thank you for posting...this is great. Larry Csonka of Stow HS (Syracuse Orange Tuff of Ye Olde Eastern College Football back when it really mattered and was really tuff; I wish it was still around) and Don Shula of Painesville and John Carroll.... Hungarian Americans.

The Super Bowl championship Miami Dolphins teams of 72 and 73 were right out of the Paul Brown playbook and the epitome of tuff. And they beat the uber tuff George Allen Redskins in the 72 Super Bowl.

Larry needs to clean up the current Stow HS football program and bring back old world tuffness. Akron needs it! It's a shame there wasn't Akron Mayor Larry Csonka! He would have been better than all the stiffs that ran Akron into the ground, sadly. There were global and Wall Street/DC factors that were too hard to overcome but you gotta think someone with tuffness could have put up a better battle against it.

Larry Csonka's fumble vs Philly in 1978 was totally @Bluestreakoffice, however. 😂

Screenshot_20240304-171218-082.png


I'd post the 1978 Giants vs Eagles fumble but the NFL sucks about videos to their detriment. You'd think they'd want people spreading the buzz about the old NFL....the NFL is on the way to MLB irrelevance.
 
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cuyahogacuse said:
mscuyahogacuse, among her many talents, coaches girls lacrosse. And what a beautiful day to start the season.

Had to share these pics from the entrance to Bulldog Stadium in Stow. Perhaps the ultimate barometer for “tuffness.” And a Syracuse legend as well.

Happy spring, PACtion™ fanatics.
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Their stadium is a smaller version of Blue Streak Stadium....not a bad seat in the house. I wonder when they put this up for Larry...I don't remember seeing this the last time I was there...we used to scrimmage them
 
Bluestreakoffice said:
Their stadium is a smaller version of Blue Streak Stadium....not a bad seat in the house. I wonder when they put this up for Larry...I don't remember seeing this the last time I was there...we used to scrimmage them
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Those scrimmage matches had to be tuff. The Hungarian vibe might have rubbed off on yinz.

Did you leave there and listen to WNIR 100 FM The Talk of Akron, drink Rolling Rock, or eat some goulash or Barberton chicken?
 
Rich Kotite said:
Those scrimmage matches had to be tuff. The Hungarian vibe might have rubbed off on yinz.

Did you leave there and listen to WNIR 100 FM The Talk of Akron, drink Rolling Rock, or eat some goulash or Barberton chicken?
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They were always a competitive scrimmage...then the coach they had went to Olentangy Berlin and their program really dropped off....on away games I always drive separate....so I did a mad dash around the Talmadge Circle!
 

Sadly, Larry Csonka was on the field for this.

I hope it's not symbolism for The Slaw hiring Broc Dial!

The Miracle at The Meadowlands (not Meadowlake Estates) in 1978.
 
Bluestreakoffice said:
One of the better NFL announcers....Don Criqui....he is now 83 years old
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Criqui is stellar. He made me kinda like Notre Dame all those years along with Tony Roberts from Notre Dame radio. WTIG 990 used to air Notre Dame way back in that era.

Tony Roberts! I remember being in my dad's old world garage in the mean streets of Meadowlake Estates when this kick came down. My dad was old world Cleveland....he didn't like Michigan so he was good with Notre Dame beating Michigan and he had a soft spot for Notre Dame like many Eastern European American old world tuffs. He loved WW Hayes and the Buckeyes and was all about the blue feeling blue. I actually liked Barberton Bo. He was a good dude who recruited many 330 kids to greatness and had the right views.


@Raylan_Givens @Stark Sports @Playoffs???
 
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Imagine this being posted at certain school athletic websites.....

woodridgeathletics.com

If Sports Aren't FUN, What's The Point?

If sports aren't FUN, what's the point? A continued WHS athletic department effort is to provide information about - and insight into - our department’s expectations, philosophies, and approach to education based athletics. Today, we want to address what is, unfortunately, turning out to be a...
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