Monday Mailbag: August 20, 2018

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

The Monday Mailbag is one of the newest features added to our sports coverage. Today’s questions, which were chosen at random, center around high school football and Urban Meyer. However, questions may be submitted about any sport at the high school, collegiate or professional level.

Q: Why did you pick Van Wert to finish only fourth in your pre-season football poll? Don’t you know the Cougars have a lot of great players and are ready to win the WBL title? You should have picked them higher. Name withheld upon request

A: I wanted to pick the Cougars higher, and I hope I’m wrong with my prediction. I would love to see them win the Western Buckeye League championship. Van Wert lost some solid players to graduation, and you’re correct, the team has some great returning players.

Here’s why I didn’t pick them first – the WBL appears to be absolutely loaded this season. In my mind, there are anywhere between 4-6 teams that could at least contend for the title, including Van Wert.

St. Marys is the defending champion, and with a wealth of returning talent, there’s no reason the Roughriders shouldn’t be considered the preseason favorite.

Kenton returns quarterback Jaron Sharp, who accounted for over 4,600 yards of offense and 46 touchdowns last season. If the Wildcats show any improvement on defense (they gave up 35 points per game last season, including a shutout of Bath), they’ll be very tough.

I believe Celina is in play for the title as well, and you can never count out Wapakoneta, and Ottawa-Glandorf should be much improved this season.

See what I’m getting at? There aren’t just one or two teams that are head and shoulders above the rest – several teams return a lot of talent.

Q: I thought Crestview would be a bigger favorite to win the NWC. Why weren’t they picked by a wider margin? Name withheld upon request

A: I have to admit I was a bit surprised by the results.

The Northwest Conference coaches voted in that poll, and it was all done anonymously. The only person who saw all of the ballots was me.

Without checking with each of the coaches for their reasoning, I’m going to say this – it seems the majority of the team, the defending champion is considered the champ until someone knocks them off.

Spencerville was last year’s outright championship, and before that, head coach Chris Sommers won three consecutive championships at Delphos Jefferson.

In some ways, it seems silly to pick against the Bearcats, but then again, Crestview returns some outstanding talent.

No disrespect to any NWC teams, but I believe Crestview or Spencerville will win the conference title this season, but there doesn’t seem to be the balance like the WBL. However, titles aren’t won on paper, and all teams know that.

Q: Is Urban Meyer going to keep his job? Name withheld upon request

A: Long answer short: your guess is as good as mine.

If I have to expand on that a bit, I’ll say yes, I think so. Could there be some sort of suspension, perhaps a fine of sorts, or a public reprimand? Yes, any or all of those could be possible. We should know the outcome soon.

Without rehashing the entire situation, I’ll say this. I feel bad for the children of Zach and Courtney Smith. They don’t deserve any of this.

Q: What’s going to happen with the case involving the Cincinnati schools and OHSAA? Name withheld upon request

A: In case you haven’t heard, Roger Bacon and several other southwest Ohio schools filed suit against the Ohio High School Athletic Association over a portion of the Competitive Balance Plan.

I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think they have a leg to stand on, and frankly, I’m surprised they were even granted a temporary restraining order.

I do expect a resolution fairly soon, and the schools involved very well may not like it.

If you have questions for next week’s Monday Mailbag, please email them to sports@thevwindependent.com. You may choose to have your name used or withheld. Questions must be received by 5 p.m. each Sunday.