Western Buckeye League 2022

Cavman96 said:
I'm pretty excited for Celina! If they keep playing well, they could possibly be 6-2 if they can knock off Defiance heading into the final two games of the season against Wapak and St. Marys. And man, does that town need that! They are our county seed and it's nice too see them green and white "C" hats come out of the woodwork every now and again. We keep trying to tell them, "Soccer is overrated, nobody watches it!"

Keep it up, C-Town!
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Similarly for us, if we can knock off Elida like Celina did we can be 6-2 headed into O-G and Wapak and the buzz around town is really picking up!

The mid-late 90s Defiance-Celina games were fun and hopefully this is the start to both programs coming back to that. If we're both 5-2 with the winner guaranteed a winning season it's gonna be one of the most electric homecoming games I can remember in Defiance in a long time.
 
dhsdog06 said:
Similarly for us, if we can knock off Elida like Celina did we can be 6-2 headed into O-G and Wapak and the buzz around town is really picking up!

The mid-late 90s Defiance-Celina games were fun and hopefully this is the start to both programs coming back to that. If we're both 5-2 with the winner guaranteed a winning season it's gonna be one of the most electric homecoming games I can remember in Defiance in a long time.
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It's good to see for both programs. Being from Mercer County, I have witnessed three local small towns turn their entire programs around with just one or two successful seasons. One from Mercer County a few years back (Ft. Recovery), and the other two from neighboring Auglaize County more recent (Minster and New Bremen).

Granted these are smaller schools, but I get it. And I'm not sure about Defiance, but it's almost as if Celina's coach might be fighting an uphill battle with the soccer program. I'm actually pulling for the guy. That would seem like a tough environment for anybody.

So, we'll see how this plays out. Best of luck to both the 'Dogs!
 
Cavman96 said:
It's good to see for both programs. Being from Mercer County, I have witnessed three local small towns turn their entire programs around with just one or two successful seasons. One from Mercer County a few years back (Ft. Recovery), and the other two from neighboring Auglaize County more recent (Minster and New Bremen).

Granted these are smaller schools, but I get it. And I'm not sure about Defiance, but it's almost as if Celina's coach might be fighting an uphill battle with the soccer program. I'm actually pulling for the guy. That would seem like a tough environment for anybody.

So, we'll see how this plays out. Best of luck to both the 'Dogs!
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In our case it just seems like EITHER football or basketball can coexist beside baseball, but never both. Soccer has been pretty meh since about the time I was in school.

It's just nice to see some new blood rising again in the WBL. Used to be a week in, week out grind where even the last place teams would give you a fight on the right day. That's been missing for too long, and outside of VW breaking through under Recker we've had the Wapak, St. Marys, OG domination with the occasional Kenton, Shawnee, or Elida good year.

Defiance in particular I'm excited about, both because it's who I watch and because this is a young team. But looking through the league this year, there are 7 teams I could see winning on any given Friday, with Shawnee 8th but showing signs of (inconsistent) life. As a league this is what we need, a few of the communities who have largely given up on their football program the last decade or so to have a resurgence, because at places like Defiance, Elida, Celina, Shawnee we KNOW there's talent and we KNOW the fan support will be there.
 
dhsdog06 said:
In our case it just seems like EITHER football or basketball can coexist beside baseball, but never both. Soccer has been pretty meh since about the time I was in school.

It's just nice to see some new blood rising again in the WBL. Used to be a week in, week out grind where even the last place teams would give you a fight on the right day. That's been missing for too long, and outside of VW breaking through under Recker we've had the Wapak, St. Marys, OG domination with the occasional Kenton, Shawnee, or Elida good year.

Defiance in particular I'm excited about, both because it's who I watch and because this is a young team. But looking through the league this year, there are 7 teams I could see winning on any given Friday, with Shawnee 8th but showing signs of (inconsistent) life. As a league this is what we need, a few of the communities who have largely given up on their football program the last decade or so to have a resurgence, because at places like Defiance, Elida, Celina, Shawnee we KNOW there's talent and we KNOW the fan support will be there.
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Well put. It's good for the WBL as a whole. Hopefully, with the current playoff expansion, there will be a few WBL teams with extra playing time. ;)
 
dhsdog06 said:
In our case it just seems like EITHER football or basketball can coexist beside baseball, but never both. Soccer has been pretty meh since about the time I was in school.

It's just nice to see some new blood rising again in the WBL. Used to be a week in, week out grind where even the last place teams would give you a fight on the right day. That's been missing for too long, and outside of VW breaking through under Recker we've had the Wapak, St. Marys, OG domination with the occasional Kenton, Shawnee, or Elida good year.

Defiance in particular I'm excited about, both because it's who I watch and because this is a young team. But looking through the league this year, there are 7 teams I could see winning on any given Friday, with Shawnee 8th but showing signs of (inconsistent) life. As a league this is what we need, a few of the communities who have largely given up on their football program the last decade or so to have a resurgence, because at places like Defiance, Elida, Celina, Shawnee we KNOW there's talent and we KNOW the fan support will be there.
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Former Elida basketball coach, Chris Adams, was asked years ago what was the key to his success at Elida. He said an 0-10 football team doesn't hurt. Hope Defiance's apparent rise isn't short lived after current sophomore class departs. I don't think the lower grades are anything special. The demographics of the Defiance community has changed drastically since winning the State in 1997.
 
dhsdog06 said:
In our case it just seems like EITHER football or basketball can coexist beside baseball, but never both. Soccer has been pretty meh since about the time I was in school.

It's just nice to see some new blood rising again in the WBL. Used to be a week in, week out grind where even the last place teams would give you a fight on the right day. That's been missing for too long, and outside of VW breaking through under Recker we've had the Wapak, St. Marys, OG domination with the occasional Kenton, Shawnee, or Elida good year.

Defiance in particular I'm excited about, both because it's who I watch and because this is a young team. But looking through the league this year, there are 7 teams I could see winning on any given Friday, with Shawnee 8th but showing signs of (inconsistent) life. As a league this is what we need, a few of the communities who have largely given up on their football program the last decade or so to have a resurgence, because at places like Defiance, Elida, Celina, Shawnee we KNOW there's talent and we KNOW the fan support will be there.
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Very well said. The WBL is very competitive in it's current state.
 
ShoelessJoe said:
Former Elida basketball coach, Chris Adams, was asked years ago what was the key to his success at Elida. He said an 0-10 football team doesn't hurt. Hope Defiance's apparent rise isn't short lived after current sophomore class departs. I don't think the lower grades are anything special. The demographics of the Defiance community has changed drastically since winning the State in 1997.
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Hasn’t Defiance lost some students who chose to go out to Tinora?
 
ShoelessJoe said:
Former Elida basketball coach, Chris Adams, was asked years ago what was the key to his success at Elida. He said an 0-10 football team doesn't hurt. Hope Defiance's apparent rise isn't short lived after current sophomore class departs. I don't think the lower grades are anything special. The demographics of the Defiance community has changed drastically since winning the State in 1997.
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I know the JV is terrible, but that's probably expected with so many underclassmen playing varsity. Beyond that, I have no clue. Can't say I care right now, honestly. Even if this is a quick 2-3 year rebound and then the bottom drops out again, I'm more worried about living in the moment and enjoying what we have right now while it's here. I'll worry about 2025 when it gets here.
 
Every time I've seen a JV or 8th grade score so far, it seems like Defiance is shut out in a big loss, or shuts out the opponent in a big win.
 
WBL Week 6 Finals
Wapakoneta 39, Kenton 8
Van Wert 31, Ottawa-Glandorf 16
St Marys Memorial 41, Shawnee 14
Defiance 31, Elida 14
Celina 29, Bath 0

WBL Standings
1. Wapakoneta -- 5-1 (5-0)
2. Van Wert -- 5-1 (4-1)
2. Celina -- 4-2 (4-1)
4. Defiance -- 4-2 (3-2)
4. Elida -- 4-2 (3-2)
4. St Marys Memorial -- 4-2 (3-2)
7. Kenton -- 1-5 (1-4)
7. Ottawa-Glandorf -- 1-5 (1-4)
7. Shawnee -- 1-5 (1-4)
10. Bath -- 0-6 (0-5)

WBL Week 7 Games
Wapakoneta (5-1) @ Elida (4-2)
Shawnee (1-5) @ Van Wert (5-1)
Celina (4-2) @ Ottawa-Glandorf (1-5)
Defiance (4-2) @ Bath (0-6)
Kenton (1-5) @ St Marys Memorial (4-2)
 
I'll give kudos to Coach Ken Schriner and the OG Titans. They always play the Cougars tough and last night was no exception. Their Defense was very solid and the wrinkles they threw at us were great. Honestly, I feel like we owe you a beer have for helping our offense experience that and break down tape for future opponents. Especially during a playoff run. Good luck Titans and be gentle on us in basketball. ;)
 
Busy weekend and just now got time to process everything. But things, for now, appear to be stabilizing around the league.

1 Wapak
2 Van Wert
3 St. Marys
4 Defiance
5 Celina
6 Elida
7 OG
8 Shawnee
9 Kenton
10 Bath

If broken into tiers, I'd have 1 & 2 in tier 1, St. Marys alone in tier 2, 4-7 together in tier 3, Shawnee and Kenton in tier 4, and then Bath in their own. Gonna be interesting how the battle for 4th shakes out with a lot of games between each other, except Elida who appears to be fading with the meat of their schedule coming up.

Still crazy that Defiance and Celina could be playing with both sitting 5-2 and the winner in the driver's seat for 4th.
 
This is Defiance's first 3 game win streak since weeks 7-9, 2013. Which also happens to be their last winning season.
 
Currently playoff chances/projections based on Pasteur's Fantastic 50.

D3 R10 - Defiance (in, outside shot at first round home game)
D3 R12 - Wapakoneta (home), Elida (bubble - a win over Shawnee will put them at 5-5 and in at #16 seed according to Pasteur's projections. Will see what happens with the health of the team), Celina (bubble - will probably need to get to 5 wins which means a win over either OG or Defi), Shawnee (out)
D4 R14 - Van Wert (home), St Marys Memorial (home), Kenton (out), Bath (out)
D5 R20 - Ottawa-Glandorf (bubble, leaning toward out)
 
Has Defiance actually clinched a spot yet? I don't think so but I don't think I understand it all. Looks like to get a home game it will have to win out, and that's not happening. I'm not even yet convinced Defiance will beat both Celina and O-G.
 
No, Defiance hasn't clinched. These are projections. Pasteur has Defiance projected as in the playoffs based on their remaining games.
 
tucson said:
Currently playoff chances/projections based on Pasteur's Fantastic 50.

D3 R10 - Defiance (in, outside shot at first round home game)
D3 R12 - Wapakoneta (home), Elida (bubble - a win over Shawnee will put them at 5-5 and in at #16 seed according to Pasteur's projections. Will see what happens with the health of the team), Celina (bubble - will probably need to get to 5 wins which means a win over either OG or Defi), Shawnee (out)
D4 R14 - Van Wert (home), St Marys Memorial (home), Kenton (out), Bath (out)
D5 R20 - Ottawa-Glandorf (bubble, leaning toward out)
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Looks like a nice year in the WBL. Potentially sending as many as 7 teams to the playoffs. Even having that many vying for the postseason is a nice overall year. In the end, I expect them to get at least 5 in, maybe a 6th.
 
yappi.com

Limaland Week 7 Pick 'Ems

Results for Week 6: Multiple contestants tied this week at 14-2. St. John's upset over Anna, Bluffton beating Crestview, and LCC beating Hopewell-Loudon were the most common misses. Almost all participants last week were 5/5 on WBL games, with a couple missing on Defiance over Elida...
yappi.com yappi.com
 
WBL Week 7 Finals
Wapakoneta 21, Elida 7
Van Wert 38, Shawnee 14
St Marys Memorial 55, Kenton 0
Defiance 35, Lima Bath 0
Celina 14, Ottawa-Glandorf 7

WBL Standings
1. Wapakoneta -- 6-1 (6-0)
2. Van Wert -- 6-1 (5-1)
2. Celina -- 5-2 (5-1)
4. Defiance -- 5-2 (4-2)
4. St Marys Memorial -- 5-2 (4-2)
6. Elida -- 4-3 (3-3)
7. Kenton -- 1-6 (1-5)
7. Ottawa-Glandorf -- 1-6 (1-5)
7. Shawnee -- 1-6 (1-5)
10. Bath -- 0-7 (0-6)

WBL Week 8 Games
Celina (5-2) @ Defiance (5-2)
St Marys Memorial (5-2) @ Elida (4-3)
Bath (0-7) @ Wapakoneta (6-1)
Ottawa-Glandorf (1-6) @ Shawnee (1-6)
Van Wert (6-1) @ Kenton (1-6)
 
SM with a 55-0 win over Kenton

michaelhirn.com

Roughriders roll over Wildcats

ST. MARYS – While the night was to honor the Hall of Fame past at St. Marys this years squad put on a show of their own as the Roughriders rolled past Kenton Friday night in front of a capaci…
michaelhirn.com michaelhirn.com
 
Hale for Bath looks like he could be a nice little back. Did I see right that he's a freshman? Unfortunately there just doesn't appear to be any help around him.

Skipping my power rankings this week, because we've settled in and there's not really any change. Defiance-Celina and maybe OG-Shawnee could change them, but otherwise I think we've kinda discovered how the pecking order will be this year.
 
I haven't followed the games all that closely the past week or so. Usually I try to follow along with the league scores or some radio broadcasts, but I've been under the weather. All the games this week seemed to go as expected. Just kicking myself I continue to get picks wrong with Celina and Ottawa-Glandorf respectively.. they've been so difficult to peg down. Looking forward to the Defiance-Celina game this week. Winner will likely be the surprise #4 team in the WBL this year. Good for both programs.
 
50/50 Total for Van Wert Home Games
$10,320 - Week 1
$12,335 - Week 3
$14,480 - Week 5
$13,205 - Week 7

Total So Far: $50,340!

cougar Htown GIF by University of Houston
 
yappi.com

Limaland Week 8 Pick 'Ems

Week 7 Results: Lots of ties for 1st this week, 10 contestants went 14-2. Bluffton upsetting Leipsic got most pickers this week, Celina over Defiance was split about 50/50 as well as LCC over Lucas. For the season, StateChampion2012 keeps his 1 pick lead at 105-24 overall, with Diesel55 and...
yappi.com yappi.com
 
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