Week 10 Preview - The 100th Game

Who: Wooster Generals (7-2, 5-2) vs. Orrville Red Riders (6-3, 5-2)
Where: Follis Field - Wooster
When: Saturday October 30th, 7:30pm

All Time Series: Wooster leads 50-40-9 (Detail here)
Last Meeting: 2009 (Orrville won 15-7)
Last Week: Orrville lost to Clear Fork 33-0, Wooster beat West Holmes, 41-8.
Coaches: Doug Davault is 38-17 in his 5th year as Rider coach, his teams are a perfect 5-0 in Wooster games. Mike McCreary is 65-56 in his 12th year as Generals coach, he is 5-6 against Orrville.

Radio:  The game will be on AM 960 WKVX due to the Ohio State game being on 104.5 WQKT.  They're contractually bound to broadcast the Buckeyes game on 104.5.  Webcast of the Orrville-Wooster game will be at WWW.WQKT.COM beginning at 7pm

Playoff Standings: Orrville is 4th in Division 4-Region 14 having already locked up a playoff spot.  A win would guarantee a first round home game.  Wooster is currently 10th in Division 2-Region5.  They need a win over Orrville and for non-conference opponents Galion, Wadsworth and Ellet to all win their week 10 games for the Generals to have a shot at the post-season.

The 1939 Orrville Red Rider Football Team

It's always a good day when pictures like this show up in your inbox. The following three pictures are from the 1939 & 1940 seasons. Thanks to the dedicated reader who took time to send them in.

Football Playoff Scenarios....

I wouldn't risk jinxing the playoffs coming off a real bad loss and 7-win Wooster waiting on us...but the numbers are all but official. The Red Riders are a playoff team, no matter how much we DON'T look like one right now.

So let's look at some of the potential week 11 matchups by projecting the week 10 games that will impact the region.

After Week 8.......

We'll save the football stuff for last. I'd rather highlight the positive first.  Let's talk Orrville Cross Country & Volleyball before we get to the ugliness that was Friday night against Clear Fork.

OCC Postseason Volleyball Honors

Good news from Ohio Cardinal Conference headquarters. No, I haven't been named official OCC blogger, this has to do with OCC post-season volleyball awards. Several Red Riders made the list and one senior Red Rider checks in at the top of the list.

Week 9 Preview - Clear Fork Colts at Orrville Red Riders

Who: Clear Fork Colts (7-1, 5-0) vs Orrville Red Riders (6-2, 4-1)
Where: Red Rider Stadium - Orrville (Click here for map & directions)
When: Friday October 22nd, 7pm

All Time Series: Orrville leads 9-0 (Click here for detail)
Last Meeting: 2009 (Orrville won 28-7 in first round of Div. 4 Playoffs)
Last Week: Orrville beat Mansfield Madison 35-14, Clear Fork beat Ashland 48-33.

Coaches: Doug Davault is 38-16 and in his 5th year as Red Rider coach. Dave Carrol is 14-5 in his 2nd year as Colts' boss.

Region 14 Standings: Clear Fork is 1st in Region 14 and has already locked up a home game for the first round of the playoffs. They have the 3rd highest points of any team in Division 2 through 6, and the 12th highest point total in all six divisions. Orrville is currently 3rd in Region 14, and have pretty much locked up a spot in the top 8. A win over Clear Fork will most likely cement a week 11 home game as well.

Radio:  The game will be broadcast on the 50,000 watt sports powerhouse, 104.5 WQKT.  Game will also be webcast at wqkt.com. I believe this is the 3rd time Orrville has been on WQKT.  Triway, Ashland were the two others.  The Wooster game will make four broadcasts on the year.

OHSAA Harbin Computer Points.....A Tutorial.

I got asked on Twitter about explaining how Ohio's system of ranking teams via computer points works. I never thought twice about taking time to explain how they're calculated, for that I apologize.

I'll give it my best shot. I would however recommend that you take this information and file it away. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to track computer points for Orrville's or any other region. It will consume you. You will not sleep. Trust me. I tried it in the 2008 season....never again.

On a personal note, I remember tracking computer points during study halls spent in Mr. Phil Young's room (loved those blue 'get out of study hall' passes). I'd input the teams and points on a bar graph, it was nothing more than a graphical representation of what you read in the paper, but it LOOKED like work, so I was golden.

Let's get geeky.

Here's Kyle Simmons in a commercial....again.

Remember this post from last year? Well, Kyle's a commercial star again, but this year, one commercial wasn't enough. It's two this year.

All kidding aside, why would you NOT want to feature him in material that promotes your school's academics and athletics? He might be the ultimate definition of a student athlete. Excelling on the field and off the field. Everyone Orrville should be proud to call him a Red Rider.

Keep an eye on the TV listings for SportsTime Ohio to catch some of Kyle's games. They've already featured the Mt. Union game and will be showing the Baldwin-Wallace game Monday morning (tomorrow) at 5am. Fire up the DVR and record one of his last games as a college athlete.

Here's the first video


And the second one...the part about Kyle starts about a minute in.


I'm guessing that his future will be whatever he chooses to make it.

Here's the Division 3 Volleyball - Smithville District Bracket

Volleyball tournament play begins next week.  Orrville begins on Tuesday the 19th against Rootstown. All sectional/district games played at Smithville High School.

Top 4 seeds are...
1.  Smithville
2.  Orrvillle
3.  Norwayne
4.  Northwestern

Here's the complete bracket.

Week 8 Preview - Mansfield Madison at Orrville

Who: Orrville Red Riders (5-2, 3-1) vs. Mansfield Madison Rams (2-5, 1-3)
Where: Red Rider Stadium
When: Friday October 15th, 7:00pm

All Time Series: Orrville leads 24-15-1 (Click here for detail)

Last Meeting: 2009 (Orrville won 41-24)
Last Week: Orrville lost to Ashland 42-28, Madison lost to Clear Fork 62-14.

Coaches: Doug Davault is 37-16 and in his 5th year as Red Rider coach. Sean Conway is in his first year as Ram head coach.
Radio: None

Orrville vs Wooster - The 100th game - News & Updates

Any news and info surrounding "The 100th Game" will be posted here.  It's linked at the top of the page, so click there every few days for the latest.  I'll post the newest info at the top of the page.

First thing I want to show off get out of the way is this...........(Click for fullsize)

What's up with the Orrville helmets?

Ooooooh...the ultra-rare "two posts in one day." I'll keep this one short.

I noticed this over the weekend when looking at the pictures sent to me by Rod Dilyard from the West Holmes game, but neglected to mention it in my "week 6 review" post.

Take a look at the picture below...notice anything?

Week 7 Preview: Orrville at Ashland

Who: Orrville Red Riders (5-1, 3-0) vs. Ashland Arrows (5-1, 3-0)
Where: Ashland Community Stadium (Click Here for Map & Directions)
When: Friday October 8th, 7:00pm

All Time Series: Ashland leads 11-8, there has been 1 tie. (Click here for detail)
Last Meeting: 2009 (Ashland won 14-13)
Last Week: Orrville beat West Holmes 38-6, Ashland beat Mansfield Senior 49-20

Coaches: Scott Valentine is 70-27 in his 9th season as Ashland head coach.  Doug Davault is 37-15 in his 6th season as Orrville coach.
Radio:  WQKT travels West into Ashland County for this one.  Also will stream at WQKT.com.
Computer Points:  Orrville sits at #3 in Division 4, Region 14, Ashland sits in 7th in Division 2, Region 5.

Let's be honest, the minute we beat Lexington back in week 4, everyone's eyes turned to the Ashland game as the next roadblock on our schedule. Both teams come into the game with a 5-1 record and an unblemished 3-0 OCC record. The winner will take one big step towards an OCC title and help their playoff chances immensely.

Thoughts after Week 6.

Orrville has now won 3 straight, and are sitting pretty in the OCC race.  A big test against Ashland awaits.  Let's look back at the 38-6 win over West Holmes and talk about Region 14, penalties, the rest of the OCC...and some interesting comments from a certain conference team down in the valley.

Pic as always from Rod Dilyard.  Derek Graber and Matt Davis chase down West Holmes QB Gabe Snyder.  Check out his full gallery, available for viewing and purchase here.