No intent to knock Milton Union...I realize school size/composition has changed drastically since then. Northmont did have some great teams in the early 70's, no doubt.
I'll take a shot at it. I don't know too much about pre-1980 Columbiana County, so all my picks will be after 1980.
You forgot 2015, 2017 East Palestine, Salem had some good teams in 2000 and 2017.
I think you are thinking about the TCC team from 1962. They won the the AP Poll championship.
Yeah I knew I would. Those were just off the top of my head. I'm sure there are many that deserve to be on there.
Yes, I think E. Liverpool had a few, too, don't know the dates. Most of the good teams were up North in the county.
I would have thought one of Valley View’s three state championship teams (1994, 1996, 1997 all undefeated) would have at least gotten a mention.
You are correct
Agreed...Didn't get my map out and wasn't sure they were Montgomery Co. or not.
Until 1973. After that Troy went down hill. Million ended Jeffersons winning streak and Northmont was very good through the whole decade. They were undefeated several seasons in the 70s.
I only picked D1 schools. Too hard to pick 5 from all the divisions.
Yes
Half of the Clinton Massie district is in Warren County so they should appear on this list. The back to back state title teams of 2012 and 2013 were loaded.
The school is located in Clinton County though
Tough to decide between *1973 Covington (we went 9-1 in 1974) and our 1960 team. That 1960 season ended with giving Centerville an absolute beatdown of 62-8. Both incredible teams and the only state championships we have in football.
Actually the 78 Milton team was lights out. 69 was great but 78 only allowed 21-points all season. The 60 Milton team was very, very good. Centerville wasnt the same school in 1960 that it is now. Covington and Milton-Union would be very close in terms of overall program success. Covington's State Title was class A and not won on the field, but still an accomplishment.
Agreed. 2017 Trotwood went 15-0 and beat D1 state champ Pick Central by double digits. That was probably the most explosive and athletic team I’ve seen in person. The only argument is that they have some close games that shouldn’t have been close? Towards the end of the season Hargrove (3x Ohio player of the year) got hurt and you could tell the offense struggled without him.
Without doing into detail, Milton also had some impressive athletes in the 70s. 1 team in '71 and then really nothing else. You can't degrade the level of competition in the SWBL from then based on what they are now. Northmont was graduating over 400 kids per class in the early 70s, was the fastest growing community in Montgomery County at one point. Their coach was the dean of coaches in the Miami Valley back then as well. Milton also played the likes of Jefferson led by Bob Gregg, Wapakoneta, Wilbur Wright, etc in the 70s on top of the rough SWBL schedule they dominated. Milton routinely faced off with Class AAA schools being a Class AA.
...Thinking back, I do acknowledge that MU and the SWBL were better than I previously thought. Thanks for the info.Bell was one of two players from that Troy1971 team that played in the NFL. Played for the NY Giants and the football St. Louis Cardinals. Ither was Elmo Boyd who played for SF Niners and Green Bay. Trojans also went 10-0 in 1970, 9-1 in 1972 and 8-1-1 74 and 7-3 in 1976along with an 9-1 team in 1977. Their only loss was to Centerville 33-26 . And Troy lost their 26 game winning streak (1972) losing at Xenia 13-12 in the rain to finish at 9-1.
I also have come to learn over the years that there is d1 talent and there is D1 talent. They are not all equal as we know.
Also, things we remember from our youth often seem bigger-than-life, while after years of perspective they begin to appear less sensational (Secretariat not withstanding).
In support of your '71 Troy analysis, I will say this. Though it was only one game (and maybe Troy was a little off that night), Centerville's best 2 or 3 teams from the mid 70's/early 80's would have beaten the '71 Elk team by 3 touchdowns. Of this, I am certain. '71 Troy won by 9.
I can also tell you that Bob Gregg once hinted that prior to the Centerville run ( '75 on ) , that no Elk team prior to that era would have beaten his best Jefferson teams ("AA" or not .)
With respect to Gordon Bell...He was so revered by his opponents in HS, that he remains the only HS player that I can remember where HS fans from the other team would line up after the game to get an autograph. How cool must that have been? By the way what was the name of Northmont's coach you mentioned? First rate stand-up guy as I recall...
Troy was the team that set the bar for Centerville , no question about it. In fairness to the '71 Trojans, the Elks that year had 1 NFL player (Dave Preston) and I believe 3 other future D1 guys. They were definitely no pushover.
2013 Loveland Tigers, not that I’m biased.
