fuzzhead wrote:Coal Grove Playoff History:
Playoff Record: 5-7-0 (.417)
Playoff Appearances: (8) 1981, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2009
1981: Coal Grove makes it's first ever trip to the playoffs, facing off against the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes at Tanks Memorial Stadium on November 14, 1981. After taking an early 12-0 lead, the Hornets went into halftime up 12-8. The Buckeyes took a 14-12 lead with less than 7 minutes left in the game and late field goal attempt by the Hornets just missed. The Buckeyes won, 14-12 and went on to win the State Championship.
1983: Coal Grove went 10-0 in the regular season and qualified for the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years. Their first opponent was a Belpre Eagle team which also boasted a 10-0 record. Coal Grove dominated this game, leading 18-6 at halftime and by a score of 32-6 in the 4th quarter before a late touchdown by Belpre made the final 32-13 in favor of the Hornets.
The win gave Coal Grove a berth in the 1983 State Semi-finals against the Bishop Ready Silver Knights. But the excitement was short-lived, as the Silver Knights blew the Hornets away, 44-0 on their way to capturing a State Title of their own.
1986: Coal Grove rebounded from a 1-3 start to the season by winning their final 6 games in the regular season and capturing an outright OVC Title - their first outright title since the '83 season. They finished 4th in Region 15 and faced off against the Bishop Ready Hawks in the 1st Round of the playoffs in Groveport. After RB Brian Davis appeared to cross the goal line on 3rd and Goal from inside the Hartley 1-yard line, the refs negated the score and Coal Grove was forced to settle for a 21-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter, making it 3-0 in favor of the Hornets. This score would hold up until Hartley scored the game-winning touchdown with less than 3 minutes to go in the game, taking a 7-3 lead which would be the final score.
Hartley would go on to win a State Championship, but their coach later said the best team didn't win state that year.
1989: Coal Grove won the OVC outright for the first time since the '86 season and earned it's first playoff berth in just as long, finishing 9-1 on the year with their only loss coming to Wheelersburg in game 3, 16-29.
The Hornets finished #2 in Region 16 and faced a 10-0 Paint Valley team at the "Tank" in the 1st Round. The Hornets ran for over 300 yards, soundly defeating the Bearcats, 35-15. The 2nd Round would bring a rematch against Wheelersburg at Spartan Stadium. The Hornets trailed 14-7 at halftime and then 21-14 at the end of the 3rd period. They outscored Wheelersburg 12-7 in the 4th, but missed 2-point conversions proved to be fatal, as Coal Grove lost 26-28 to the eventual 1989 State Champs.
1990: Coal Grove again finished 9-1, again won the OVC outright, again lost to Wheelersburg in the 3rd game of the regular season (6-12), and again qualified for the State Playoffs.
They met defending State Champs Wheelersburg in the 1st round of the playoffs. The lead changed 3 times during the game, but the Hornets stuffed a late Wheelersburg 2-point conversion to win the game, 14-13. This was the last time Coal Grove defeated Wheelersburg.
Coal Grove's next opponent would be the Heath Bulldogs. Coal Grove trailed 12-7 in the 3rd quarter, but scored 12 points in the 2nd half to beat the Bulldogs in heavy rain, 19-12 and thus clinching a spot in the State Semi-finals for the 2nd time in school history.
Just like their first semi-final appearance, this one ended bitterly for the Hornets as they lost badly to the Versailles Tigers, 33-0. Versailles would go on to win a State Championship.
1992: Coal Grove finished the regular season at 8-1 with another outright OVC Crown. They qualified for the playoffs for the 3rd time in 4 years. They faced Columbus Academy in the 1st round and were able to get a two-score win, 20-7. The 2nd round didn't go nearly as well for the Hornets as they faced a very tough Barnesville team which was up 36-6 at halftime and went on to win, 49-18. This was the first playoff trip for Coal Grove in which they didn't lose to the eventual state champs.
1996: Ah. . . the one everyone seems to forget about. The Hornets started out the season 5-0 and pulled off two huge upsets against Waverly in game 1 (20-14 in OT) and Ashland in game 4 (14-7). However, the Hornets went 3-2 in conference play and managed to tie for the OVC Championship with Buffalo, Chesapeake, and Rock Hill.
It was enough to qualify for the State Playoffs, but the stay was a short one as they faced Wheelersburg in the 1st round and lost 39-7. This was the last time Wheelersburg and Coal Grove met each other in football.
What a great look back at Coal Grove's history, thanks for posting. As an Oak Hill fan I didn't know that CG had such an extensive playoff history and had been so close to claiming state titles in the past. You all should definitily be proud of your program and kids.
We all know you are secretly a minford fan its ok to admit it 
but I would have no problem with them beating cg again 
Guess I will go watch Ironton tommorrow night!
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