Ron Greeson

Sports Editor

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DARKE COUNTY - Both Greenville and Ansonia would be in the 2008 prep football playoffs if the season ended today.

At least according to the almost-always reliable www.joeeitel.com, an Ohio prep football website respected around the Buckeye state.

Late Sunday night, the updated, “unofficial” computer ratings were posted on the site, and both Darke County varsity football teams were listed seventh in their respective regions.

The top eight teams in a region make the Ohio high school football playoffs each fall.

Green Wave team piled up points with Dunbar win

GREENVILLE - For T. J. Powers and the football Green Wave, it is a hoped-for first trip to the playoffs since 1996. Greenville has never won an Ohio high school football playoff game, suffering first round losses in each of its two trips.

The win over previously-unbeaten Dunbar vaulted the Wave from 13th to 9th position in the unofficial ratings, then when the Wolverines won the completed of a suspended game at Newark Sunday afternoon, Greenville leaped into the seventh slot in Region 6 of Division II.

Also helping the Green Wave computer point rise was the fact that almost all of the Greenville foes, past and future, won games over the weekend.

Even Thurgood Marshall and West Carrollton won last Friday night, the first victories of the season for both teams. Vandalia Butler lost again, however, and is now 0-6 in 2008.

Tippecanoe moved to 6-0 last Friday, and Franklin improved to 4-2.

Upcoming foes on the home turf at Harmon Field, University School of Hunting Valley and Jay County, Ind., both won in moving to 2-4 on the season.

Then, the final two foes on the Greenville schedule, Dover and New Richmond, both won impressively in moving to 5-1 and 6-0, respectively.

Greenville plays at both of those schools, far from Darke County, in week nine and ten, 7:30 p.m. Friday games on Oct. 17 and 24, respectively.

University School is a prep school from the Cleveland area, and the game this week has been moved until Thursday night in order for some of the University players to take scheduled SAT tests back in Cleveland early on Saturday.

Ansonia rolls to fifth straight CCC win

ANSONIA - The Ansonia Tiger varsity football team is seeking a first playoff berth since 2001, and five straight wins in the Cross County Conference (CCC) have lifted the team to seventh place in Region 24 of Division VI.

The most recent win came at Bethel last Friday night, but the A-Tigers face challenging games in the last four weeks of the regular season, all in advance of possible postseason play.

A road trip to Tri-County North follows the Friday Homecoming Game with Covington, all before Miami East, which shares the CCC lead with Ansonia, comes to northwestern Darke County in week nine on Fri., Oct. 17.

The A-Tigers play at Twin Valley South to finish the regular season Fri., Oct. 24.

Some more wins by Fort Recovery, plus the CCC teams Ansonia has already beaten in National Trail, Bradford, Arcanum, Mississinawa Valley and Bethel, would be a significant help to the Tigers in the team’s bid to return to the Ohio prep postseason.