Ahhh, early August – and that means we're about to hear the crack of the pads! Yes, area high school football teams are gearing up for the season to come which begins in 15 days.
In the past few years, we've been fortunate enough to see some good playoff runs from teams across the area – a feat that isn't easy considering that roughly a third of the high school football teams even qualify for the playoffs – unlike most other sports where everyone gets a shot in the postseason.
Some of those games have ended in heartbreak, and others in celebration.
One of most recent include the 2014 West Virginia Class A State Championship game between Williamstown and St. Marys. Two LKC rivals less than 20 miles apart that made their way through opposite sides of the bracket to meet in an epic triple-overtime game at Wheeling Island Stadium, with the Yellow Jackets gaining revenge and spoiling the Blue Devils undefeated season.
Then there was the 2014 classic game in the second round of the Division 7 playoffs between Caldwell and Trimble that came down to the final few seconds of the game and a touchdown from the tomcats to break the hearts of Redskin fans. Trimble would go on to reach the state semifinals before bowing out.
Also in 2014 was the memorable run of the Athens Bulldogs all the way to the Division 3 Championship game – another that came down to the last couple of minutes of play. It was a fourth quarter that saw six touchdowns scored, before Toledo Central Catholic scored with just 15 seconds remaining to deny Athens a state title.
Then just last year there was the completion of a 10 – 0 season for the Fort Frye Cadets, and the chance to host a playoff game as the #1 seed in their region. The draw turned out unfortunate, as they up against a Fredericktown team that as the #8 seed, came to Beverly and shut out the Cadets.
Last year was also a memorable one for Caldwell, as they made a run to the regional championship game at Zanesville High School against highly touted Danville. Despite many not giving the Redskins a chance, they pretty much matched the Blue Devils blow for blow, before appearing to just run out of gas at the end.
We certainly have been lucky to see our share of good football over the past several years, and we look forward to another good season of it on the radio.
As always, WMOA continues to be “The Voice of the Tigers,” with all 10 regular season games airing live on AM 1490, and here on wmoa1490.com. All games kick off at 7 pm, with pregame beginning about 6:45. Here's the schedule:
August 26 – at Morgan
September 2 – at Warren
September 9 – host Williamstown
September 16 – host St. Marys
September 23 – host Parkersburg
September 30 – host Cambridge
October 7 – host Magnolia
October 14 – at New Philadelphia
October 21 – at Dover
October 28 – at Zanesville
All games can also be heard live
here.
Our schedule on ESPN 100.9 is also chock full of football goodness, with 14 games on the slate for the season. All of these can also be heard at wmoa1490.com. Kickoff for each of these games is also 7 pm, unless noted otherwise:
August 26 – Fort Frye at Belpre
August 26 – Marietta at Morgan, approx. 9:30 pm
September 1 (Thurs.) – Buckeye Trail at Caldwell
September 2 – Wahama at Waterford, 7:30 pm
September 2 – Marietta at Warren, approx. 10 pm
September 9 – Waterford at Fort Frye
September 16 – Morgan at Shenandoah
September 23 – Monroe Central at Fort Frye
September 24 (Sat.) – Oak Glen at Warren
September 30 – Frontier at Fort Frye
October 7 – Caldwell at Frontier
October 14 – Fort Frye at Caldwell
October 21 – Philo at Morgan
October 28 – Belpre at Waterford
All games can also be heard live
here.
Our team of broadcasters is gearing up and getting ready to go. And again we hope to bring you the best of high school football from around the region.
Shameless plug: If you have a business and are interested in advertising on any of our high school broadcasts throughout the season, contact our sales team at (740) 373-1490 or 1-800-371-1490.
