Week 5 Oak Hill @ Minford

[RogueWarrior1965]

This was a quote that appears to have disappeared. "These are high school players. No one should ever make fun of anyone for being hurt."

Amen. Let's hope both teams are healthy before and after the game. Pulling for Minford to return the favor from last year and move to 5-0 on the season. This should be a great game. Go Falcons!

[crazee-oakaholic]

Yea I said that and it was removed. Go Oaks!

[MightyOaksFan]

REgardless of outcome from this game lets hope that both of these teams make the playoffs and can meet each other again along with other teams from our area so that all of the playoff games can be close.

[ironman02]

Posts were deleted because they either contained offensive material, had offensive material quoted, or because they were responses to other offensive posts. Why should I leave a post that is a response to something that was deleted? Does that make sense?

[ON THE ROCKS]

good luck to both teams....

[Burg_Grad_77]

Minford has way to much speed for the Oaks. Unless Oak Hill is able to grind the clock this could be a one sided track meet!! Remember 3 of those kids went to the state finals in track last spring. Minford 35-14.

It's funny how the Minford people are all bringing up the "speed" factor after they all made fun of Wheelersburg people for doing it last year. The Burg had far superior speed to Minford last year and we all know how that game turned out.

I would really like to see the Falcons take down the Oaks and then the Burg beat the Falcons, but both of those will be very hard to do. Good luck to the Falcons because they are going to need it. Oak Hill is a very good team and these 35-13 predictions are probably way off line. I see this game being decided by 7 points or less.

Say what? Burg had far superior speed vs Minford last year? What did they put in the water across town?

Seriously outside of Craigmiles who was hurt alot of the time, Shank was the only other "speedster".

Just like Minford this year, last years Burg team had 3 kids that made it to the State in track the year before so yes they did have speed. Didn't help them in the Minford game though.

[Bleeding Red]

I agree that Burg had fast kids, but it didnt show on the football field against Minford, with the exception being Shankweiler

[west siders]

Oak Hill-35
Minford-34

[4dfalcons]

I'd take the injury report that I read on here last night with a grain of salt.

[Buckeye84]

I change my prediction now that oak hill won't have Sloan which means no passing game for the oaks. Minford 28 oak hill 15

[boilermaker]

Hi 4theKids , I hope you and your family is doing well. Also good luck to the Oaks ,,,and well said!

[ManitouDan]

did'nt read all 4 pages , whats up with the injury ? MD

[MightyOaksFan]

Like they say, if it is in the news it has to be true.


FOOTBALL: Unbeatens meet…again
Oaks face Falcons in huge game
By BUZZ FISHER
Sports Writer and
PAUL BOGGS
Sports Editor
Published: Thursday, September 23, 2010 4:32 AM EDT
OAK HILL -- There will not be a league title on the line Friday night when the unbeaten Oak Hill Oaks and unbeaten Minford Falcons meet at Minford High School, but that doesn’t mean the game has no importance at all for the combatants, which are members of the same conference (Southern Ohio Conference) but not the same division. Quite the contrary in fact.

In a battle of 4-0 teams, and with the degree of difficulty in playoff positioning in Division V, Region 19, the undefeated Oaks travel to Minford for a colossal contest at 7:30 p.m. The two squads also sit just one spot, one first-place vote and 22 points apart (Minford is 7th with 109 points and two first-place votes and Oak Hill is 8th with 87 points and one first-place vote) in the second release of the Division V Associated Press statewide poll.

The two met last season in the same situation, and the Oaks prevailed 20-14 at Oak Hill High School’s Davis Stadium. Minford went on to win the Division II title while the Oaks took the other division for the first time since joining the SOC in 1992.

That Oak Hill victory also brought the Oaks to within a win of evening the overall series (Minford leads 15-14).

It also went a long way towards the Oaks advancing to their first-ever state football playoffs, and landing a quarterfinal tilt in Davis Stadium.

Both teams went on to the playoffs, where both lost to Ridgewood a week apart.

Like last year, a plethora of playoff points are at stake with the winner taking the early advantage over the other, since both occupy the same region (Region 19) in Division V.

“This thing has grown into a bit of a rivalry I think,” said Oak Hill head coach Greg Phillips. “They’re 4-0, we’re 4-0. There are a lot of playoff points at stake, making it a big game. The biggest game we’ve played so far.”

Indeed it is.

With the Oaks’ key wins over 2-2 Wheelersburg and 1-3 Wellston in weeks two and four respectively, and with wins by Wheelersburg (over Division IV Portsmouth and Fairland) and Wellston (over Division III Jackson) for crucial secondary points, Oak Hill has climbed to fifth (5.65 computer points average) in the first release of the Ohio High School Athletic Association computer ratings.

Minford, meanwhile, maintains the top ranking in Region 19.

The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs with the top four teams earning first-round home bouts.

Phillips took a retrospective look at last year’s game, and felt that this one would probably be just as great a game as that one was.

The Oaks trailed 14-7 at halftime, but rallied with two touchdowns in a span of 13 minutes to charge ahead 20-14.

Oak Hill held Minford to just 70 total yards in the second half, and amassed all but 97 of their 280 total yards in the third and fourth quarters.

Tailback Westen Hale had 126 yards on 20 carries, including 99 on 15 totes in the final 24 minutes.

As the Oaks enter Friday night riding an 18-game regular-season winning streak -- the longest of any SOC I or II school -- Minford made them work for last season’s victory and has come the closet of any team to knocking the Oaks off.

“Last year’s game came down to one or two plays. They had the lead at the half, then we come back to tie it up, then take the lead and hang on to win. It was a very physical game, hard-hitting and a great game,” he said. “Their kids were physical and so were ours. They come after us and we go after them, and I won’t expect anything less this Friday night.”

Although, this Friday night’s affair is missing one major component.

The Jackson County Times-Journal learned on Tuesday that Oak Hill standout senior quarterback and defensive back Jesse Slone will miss the game due to injured ribs.

Slone -- the reigning Southeast District Division V Offensive Player of the Year and all-time leading passer at Oak Hill -- suffered the injury in the Oaks’ 21-8 win over Wellston on Saturday night, although he never left the game and -- in fact -- eclipsed the 6,000-yard passing mark for his decorated career.

He completed half of his 18 passes for 85 yards, giving him 6,074 yards and 65 touchdowns over his 36 career games in Black and White.

He also intercepted two Golden Rocket passes.

Slone is scheduled to re-visit with medical personnel on Friday, but initial indications are that he will miss one-to-four weeks.

However, one player with the surname Slone will play in this game.

That is Minford’s Mark Slone (5-11, 210 pounds) who, like Jesse Slone, is a four-year starter on both sides (fullback/linebacker) of the football.

Mark Slone has been the workhorse through the Falcons’ first four games, which include wins over South Point (35-12), Wellston (23-21), Piketon (49-6) and Meigs (43-0).

Slone has 48 carries for 344 yards, followed by tailback Jacob Piguet with 20 carries for 240 yards.

Quarterback Ethan Butcher has toted the ball 13 times for 114 yards, and has completed 15-of-21 aerials for 261 yards.

Phillips feels that the Falcons are a well-balanced club that while they may not be as big as they have been in the past, they may be a step quicker.

“They are a power-run team that runs basic wing-T stuff and they come at you. If you stop that, they’ve got good athletes behind a quarterback that’s fast and makes good decisions,” he said. “They’re not fancy defensively. They just line up in a basic 4-3 defense and play fundamental football. They tackle well and make few mistakes. They’re a very good football team. Coach Daniels does a good job, they’re very well-coached, and I think if they make it this year, it will be the third year in a row they have made it to the playoffs.”

It would be the Falcons’ fourth straight trip to the Region 19 postseason, actually.

The Oaks are aiming for a second straight playoff berth, but with Jesse Slone out injured for perhaps a month, Oak Hill has Hale and fellow senior Joey Maynard it must turn to.

The school’s all-time leading rusher, Hale had a season-high 190 yards and a trio of touchdowns on 23 carries in the win over Wellston.

Hale has accounted 441 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 84 carries, while Maynard has made 20 receptions for 263 yards.

Hale and Maynard make up also the Oaks’ second-leading receiver and rusher, respectively.

Defensively, Oak Hill has only allowed three offensive touchdowns all season.

But the Oaks are sure to get their strongest challenge yet come Friday, Phillips feels.

“This is going to be a good game. We are going to have to play our best game of the year if we hope to come away with another win. We’ll be going into a hostile environment down there and if our kids can handle it, we’ll be alright,” he said.

It may well take the Oaks’ best effort to get the job done, because the Falcons do not like to lose to the Oaks at anything, and especially not twice in a row to a team from the smaller division of the SOC

[junedawg14]

MightyOaksFan,
Thank you for the post.

Jesse Slone,
I can honestly say that true Falcon fans and true football fans are deeply upset by the news of your injury. You are a fine young man and our hearts and prayers go out to you.

[UpOnTheHill]

Hale actually has 79 carries for 539yds at 6.8ypc and 10 receptions for 95yds. He also passed the 3000yd mark in the first half against Wellston last week.

[4dfalcons]

ditto on Slone. I hope he can play.

[buckeye21]

I plan on going to the game but was just curious what radio stations will be covering the game?

[PARALYZER]

I believe it will be on 99.3

[dougout]

DOES ANYONR KNOW IF THE OAKHILL MINFORD GAME WILL BE ON RADIO

[BeatsInThaSoutheast]

With Slone out for this game, that speed Minford has wont help much.
Because Westen will run it up the middle everytime.