Western Buckeye League 2021

Scary enough to give up 55 to Van Wert.
Eh, you should know it's foolish to make judgements based off of one singular game. See: Van Wert's offense vs. St Marys compared to every other VW game this year. Another example: Wapak's offense against Van Wert compared to every other Wapak game this season.
 
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I'm a Bath grad from way back. I live in Upper Arlington now. Upper Arlington vs Hilliard Bradley was the GOTW. Pregame mentioned Lima Bath transfer was starting at QB for Bradley. Very interested to see him play. UA won the game 35-6. However, Bradley had a pick in the red zone, a fumble inside the 5, another pick that bounced off the WR's helmet. I was empressed with the QB. He is very elusive and a really good runner. He was running for his life most of the night. Throws a good ball. His one TD pass was a great throw about 40 yds i think.
 
Kid is more of a Bluffton product than Bath product. His dad took AD job at Bath and open enrolled his kids at Bath. He quickly gets axed by the Bath regime and took one son back to Bluffton and the other to Hilliard. Both are probably better off where they are at.
 
Kid is more of a Bluffton product than Bath product. His dad took AD job at Bath and open enrolled his kids at Bath. He quickly gets axed by the Bath regime and took one son back to Bluffton and the other to Hilliard. Both are probably better off where they are at.
Thx. Bradley is a place he can thrive. A QB friendly place. He should do well. Is he a soph?
 
1. VW
2. OG/Wapak/SM
3. Shawnee/Bath/Elida
4. Defiance
5. Celina/Kenton

This is how I look at the league. Bath has had their best roster these past two yrs and still can't break into the top half of the league. 2-6 last yr and likely 5-5 this yr for the Wildcats. Roster falls apart for them and it may be several yrs again until they can be in the middle of the league. Celina and Kenton will be improved. Will Elida and Shawnee continue to keep themselves near the top pack or fall off like Bath will? Those teams at the top are there because of talent and coaching. Elida and Shawnee need to utilize their athletes to separate themselves and put them into the top. I can potentially see them break into that group but those would be the only two schools break into that group over the next few years. I can't see Bath, Celina, Kenton, or Defiance break into that club any time soon.

Is there a reason you have Van Wert in a tier above Wapak/St. Mary’s/OG? If they played Marion Local, Eastwood or maybe even London in week 1 rather than Bryan they would be sitting at 4-2 just like Wapak and St. Mary’s. I think either all 4 are in their own tier since they’ve just been beating up on each other or you put Wapak and Van Wert up top since they only have 1 WBL loss each. Even then, I really think all the teams are pretty equal.
 
Is there a reason you have Van Wert in a tier above Wapak/St. Mary’s/OG? If they played Marion Local, Eastwood or maybe even London in week 1 rather than Bryan they would be sitting at 4-2 just like Wapak and St. Mary’s. I think either all 4 are in their own tier since they’ve just been beating up on each other or you put Wapak and Van Wert up top since they only have 1 WBL loss each. Even then, I really think all the teams are pretty equal.
Wapak’s jealousy of Van Wert is my favorite thing of 2021
 
What exactly are VW’s plans for their stadium? It’s an awful place to watch a game.
What don't you like about the stadium? It's been a while since I've been there, but I appreciated how close the stands were to the action since there isn't a track. I also thought the concrete wall was sorta cool and added character to the old stadium. Sure, it probably could use a renovation. I always looked at Bath, Celina, and Shawnee as some of the least impressive stadiums in the league, but I suppose Bath gets some points now for having turf. On the other hand, I think Defiance, St Marys, and Wapak have some of the nicest facilities.
 
I gave VW a slight advantage because they seem to have an offensive explosiveness that separates themselves from the others by just a bit in my opinion.
 
What don't you like about the stadium? It's been a while since I've been there, but I appreciated how close the stands were to the action since there isn't a track. I also thought the concrete wall was sorta cool and added character to the old stadium. Sure, it probably could use a renovation. I always looked at Bath, Celina, and Shawnee as some of the least impressive stadiums in the league, but I suppose Bath gets some points now for having turf. On the other hand, I think Defiance, St Marys, and Wapak have some of the nicest facilities.
If the compliant is about the locker rooms, understandable. There is a bond(2022) coming up to renovate the stadium with new bleachers, press boxes, locker rooms and a turf field but keep the character of the past. The goal is to use it more for the new downtown project. I.E. bigger outdoor concerts and other activities at the stadium.
 
I hated VW's stadium when I was in school.

15 years out....I kinda like it. It's definitely unique in an age of bland, cookie cutter, multi purpose facilities.
 
What don't you like about the stadium? It's been a while since I've been there, but I appreciated how close the stands were to the action since there isn't a track. I also thought the concrete wall was sorta cool and added character to the old stadium. Sure, it probably could use a renovation. I always looked at Bath, Celina, and Shawnee as some of the least impressive stadiums in the league, but I suppose Bath gets some points now for having turf. On the other hand, I think Defiance, St Marys, and Wapak have some of the nicest facilities.
i think when accounting for the actual high school school, football stadium and basketball stadium, Defiance has the best facilities in the league by far. It’s a shame they can’t put it together on the football field or basketball court, because they have the potential
 
i think when accounting for the actual high school school, football stadium and basketball stadium, Defiance has the best facilities in the league by far. It’s a shame they can’t put it together on the football field or basketball court, because they have the potential
Basketball court? Defiance has been strong in basketball in the past 10-15 years or so. A state title and numerous district appearances and maybe some regionals? The football field is very nice, but the facility is only OK if you are on the home side. The visitor side could use some upgrades.

IMO, Elida Kraft field is the best place to see a game in the WBL, stands are close (no track between the fans and field), seats are almost end zone to end zone and those upgrades they did 8-9 years ago(?) to the entrance, concessions make this place top notch. Put field turf at Elida and they could host playoff games. Wapak is good, too, very similar to Elida.
 
Yeah, Defiance basketball has definitely not struggled. Since 2010-11 (the easiest year to go back to on the WBL site, but it goes about 2-3 years beyond that), they're 2nd to OG in league wins, overall wins, tied for 2nd behind OG in league titles with Elida, and have one of the 2 state titles the league has won in that time (OG of course being the other).

OG has been the standard bearer, and we've seen all 3 of the Lima schools plus Celina contend for multiple league titles. But none were able to put up a good, sustained decade. Outside of 17-18, Defiance hasn't had an overall losing season in over a decade, and the only other losing WBL record was 2020's 4-5...which they made up for by going 17-8 with a run to the district finals.

That consistency has them, by pretty much any measurable account, the 2nd best program in the league since 2010.

The problem has always been finding a way to win in football AND basketball. Football was good, basketball was horrendous. Basketball turns it around, football falls off a cliff. It's frustrating. At least we have baseball, I guess, even if that's in a "down" period and not quite as dominant.
 
i think when accounting for the actual high school school, football stadium and basketball stadium, Defiance has the best facilities in the league by far. It’s a shame they can’t put it together on the football field or basketball court, because they have the potential
Defiance was the best basketball program in the WBL for about a decade, and since the state title when talent took a little dip, still has had just one losing record, 2 district runners up, and missed making the district only once. It's not bad enough that I no longer attend games, unlike football. ?
I'm biased but the Defiance gym is the nicest of a large chunk of Ohio west of Columbus and north of Dayton. The football stadium is pretty nice but agree with falcon that the visitors side isn't very good, and the bleachers are way too far from the field. Combine those with the baseball complex and again, it has to be top 10 in Ohio, if not better.

I haven't been to the WBL football stadiums recently, as mentioned, but I always thought Celina was the nicest place to watch a game. It's basically what falcon said about Kraft Field except I recall Celina being even closer to the field and everything being just more packed in.
As for Van Wert, I always liked it, the bathrooms suck but appreciated the history of the place. The visitors stands were kinda rickety, but that can be fixed. And the setting around it makes it even better, something I don't think I considered until recently. It lost a little when the old school was demolished.
 
As for league stadiums, obviously I'm biased and love Fred Brown Stadium. But I'll agree the visitor's side leaves a lot to be desired.

I've never been to Celina or Wapak, so I'll leave them out. I also haven't been to the new stadium at St. Marys, so when talking about them it would be Skip Baughman.

The rest: Didn't mind Elida. As a high school kid it felt cramped, but I now see that as part of the charm. Van Wert has that old school, quirky feel that's easy to love AND hate. Shawnee is meh. Nothing amazing, nothing horrible. Bath, at least 15 years ago, was a dump. I know they got turf, so maybe it's improved. Haven't been there in a while. OG felt small, but it worked considering they're a small school. Kenton was nice. Probably the only nice thing you'll hear me say about Kenton. And I was sad to hear St. Marys moved because the old stadium also has that old school charm. But I hear nothing but great things about the new stadium and I hope one of these years Defiance is at least competitive enough for me to justify the hour + trip down there.
 
As a non-WBL follower, I'm extremely jealous of their football facilities. For high capacity playoff games, Wapak, Defiance, and now St. Mary's are some of the nicest stadiums in the west half of the state. The only high school stadiums I've been to that rival those 3 (on this side of the state) are Sidney, Piqua, and Perrysburg. For old-school feel and classic league rivalry games, you can't get better than being on top of the field like you are at Elida, Van Wert, and Celina. OG, Bath, Kenton, and Shawnee's fields may seem under-whelming compared to some of the other places in the league, but the bottom tier stadiums in the WBL would be the top venues for many other leagues in the state.
 
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Agree with most of the comments on here regarding WBL facilities. People say seats are too far away at Defiance. Maybe. Was at St. Marys new stadium this year. Very nice. With a 10 lane track, their seats are farther away than Defiance. I really enjoy going to all WBL football stadiums. All have their unique features. None are dumps. As far as Basketball, Defiance's is outstanding and Elida's is great because of the large seating capacity. And baseball it is pretty hard to beat Defiance's new facility, but Elida's is very good and since OG moved back to Memorial Park that is right up there.
 
There are minor league facilities in this country worse than Defiance's new baseball stadium.
I tell my son every chance I get, you know how lucky you are to play baseball at Defiance because of the facilities, but the whole school complex is just amazing! We are very lucky!
 
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I tell my son every chance I get, you know how lucky you are to play baseball at Defiance because of the facilities, but the whole school complex is just amazing! We are very lucky!

For any and all faults in the city, the thing Defiance does well is support it's kids! And it's not just sports, band and choir are well supported. The new school is a gem. The results don't always show it, but the kids of Defiance are definitely given a great start to success.
 
Kline is a nice guy, but I lost faith in him as a coach when after going 4-6 in 2018, with most of the offense returning and high hopes for 2019, he did a complete overhaul of the offense.

As expected, the results were a disaster. 2-8 with 8 games with 14 or fewer points scored. There was literally no reason to change things up.

The team was never disciplined, never seemed to improve from beginning to end. There was never a year where I got the sense that a 3-7 talent team maxed out and won 4 games.

They still aren't good this year, and discipline and turnovers at times are still an issue. But we're 6 games in, and at 2-4 there were 2 very competitive losses in there. There are signs that things could actually turn around a bit, which I never once thought was possible under Kline.
 
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I tell my son every chance I get, you know how lucky you are to play baseball at Defiance because of the facilities, but the whole school complex is just amazing! We are very lucky!
Most of the thanks should go to former (deceased) superintendent, Mike Struble. First he got the district's financial situation in order when he arrived around 2007, then he gradually put the pieces and ideas in place to get where we are today. He often stated that you get one chance to do this, so do it right, and he, the Board and residents did it. He did a lot of homework looking at other schools and colleges around the state to get ideas. Defiance has been very fortunate to have administrators that support sports and extracurriculars.
 
Kline is a nice guy, but I lost faith in him as a coach when after going 4-6 in 2018, with most of the offense returning and high hopes for 2019, he did a complete overhaul of the offense.

As expected, the results were a disaster. 2-8 with 8 games with 14 or fewer points scored. There was literally no reason to change things up.

The team was never disciplined, never seemed to improve from beginning to end. There was never a year where I got the sense that a 3-7 talent team maxed out and won 4 games.

They still aren't good this year, and discipline and turnovers at times are still an issue. But we're 6 games in, and at 2-4 there were 2 very competitive losses in there. There are signs that things could actually turn around a bit, which I never once thought was possible under Kline.
Sounds like we are heading in same direction. Has he stayed most places long? Seems to bounce around a lot.
 
Kline is a nice guy, but I lost faith in him as a coach when after going 4-6 in 2018, with most of the offense returning and high hopes for 2019, he did a complete overhaul of the offense.

As expected, the results were a disaster. 2-8 with 8 games with 14 or fewer points scored. There was literally no reason to change things up.

The team was never disciplined, never seemed to improve from beginning to end. There was never a year where I got the sense that a 3-7 talent team maxed out and won 4 games.

They still aren't good this year, and discipline and turnovers at times are still an issue. But we're 6 games in, and at 2-4 there were 2 very competitive losses in there. There are signs that things could actually turn around a bit, which I never once thought was possible under Kline.
I feel like he also rode a talent wave at Bryan and then left... If I remember right
 
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