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After losing its season opener to Hudson, Austintown Fitch coach T.J. Parker wanted nothing more than to get his Falcons back on the field and lined up against another opponent.
"That loss stung, just the way that we lost and the mistakes that we made. It left a bad taste in our mouths," Parker said. "Our kids were ready to play that next day. We needed to get back on the playing field. It's often said that the biggest growth of a team is between the first and second week of the season. I feel there's some truth to that, and I wanted to see how this team would immediately respond to the loss."
Instead, the Falcons were forced into an unusual early bye week.
Following a 14-day layoff, Fitch returns to action tonight when it travels to Painesville to take on Riverside (1-1).
Fitch's early-season bye also left a bad taste in Parker's mouth. Fitch was originally scheduled to play Bethel Park (Pa.). Several years ago, the two teams played at a 7-on-7 tournament in Pittsburgh. Parker began corresponding with Bethel Park coach Phil Peckich, who eventually reached out to Parker asking if he would be interested in hooking up during the regular season.
"I loved the idea. Bethel Park is a really nice school, the football program is really well-run and they have a lot of talent," Parker said. "They remind me of a Boardman, only bigger.
"As soon as the season ended last year, (Peckich) reached out to me and asked if I'm interested in a game. We agree on a two-year deal. We agreed to go there this year. They tell us to send them a contract. They tell us to go through the process of assigning referees. We're locked in."
Then on April 2, Parker received an email from Peckich informing him that Bethel Park backed out of the agreement, choosing to schedule a different opponent.
"I get this long, drawn-out email saying that their WPIAL schedule changed and they couldn't play a program like ours and then jump right into conference play," Parker said. "They left us in a terrible spot. Just the way they handled it, I have no respect for the coach or athletic director.
"I don't mind a bye, but Week 2 is a terrible spot for it."
Parker noted that the past two weeks "felt more like a return to training camp than the regular season." Last week's practice schedule was slightly altered, with full pad workouts on Monday and Tuesday, followed by an off day on Wednesday, which coincided with the first day of school. Saturday, generally an off day for varsity players, turned into a community service day for the team.
Rather than spend last Friday night on the sidelines, Parker spent it in the stands watching Riverside defeat Aurora 40-13.
"This was my Friday off this season, and I take my wife and kids to a football game; they're troopers," Parker said. "Riverside is a very good team. They have a three-year quarterback. A tackle going to Penn State, another tackle to Ball State. Outstanding receivers.
"We're just scratching to get back out under the lights. We've been sitting on this for two weeks. We're anxious to play."
THE G-WOMAN
The Garrettsville Garfield football team proudly sports its G-Men logo and nickname on its uniforms and other apparel, but for a third straight season a woman is leading the Garfield kicking game.
Senior Hannah Timmons is poised to earn her third varsity letter as Garfield's placekicker. Since her sophomore season, Timmons has handled extra-point kicks for the G-Men. Through two games this season, Timmons has converted 10 of 12 extra-point attempts. For her career, she has booted 85 PATs.
This year, Timmons added to her resume with her first field goal attempt. In Garfield's 37-28 season-opening win over Warren JFK, Timmons booted a 20-yard field goal as the first half clock expired, giving Garfield a 17-14 halftime lead.
Last Friday Timmons converted six extra points in Garfield's 48-13 win at Crestwood.
"Hannah has hit some big kicks for us over the years, no doubt," said Garfield coach Mike Moser. "She had a game-winner down at Crestview two years ago. The field goal against JFK was huge because it gave us the lead and momentum heading into the locker room, and we got the ball to start the second half.
"We have all the confidence in the world in her. She's with us because she totally earned her spot on the team. She's one of us."
Timmons is also a four-year member of the Garfield girls soccer team.
Moser noted that the idea of Timmons joining the football team first surfaced four years ago when she was in the eighth grade.
"She made sort of an off-handed comment in class one day that maybe she'd like to give it a try," Moser said. "That was the end of it, or so I thought. Then at the start of her sophomore year, we didn't have anyone on the team who could kick it past the goal line.
"I went down to watch a boys soccer practice. Then I thought back to Hannah's comment a few years back, went to her coach, and he tells me, 'She definitely has the best leg on the team.'
"She's just a great, hard-working kid. There are days where she comes to practice with us, we work on our kicking game, then she heads right to the soccer field for a game. She puts in the work. And she's a straight-A student and an all-around great person."
Garfield will look to extend its record to 3-0 tonight when it travels to Springfield.
THE HEAT IS ON
Following a rather seasonable and average month of August, temperatures this week soared way above normal. At the Youngstown Regional Airport, the thermometer reached a high of 88 degrees on Tuesday and 92 on Wednesday. A heat advisory was issued early Tuesday and extended into Wednesday evening. Similar temperatures were forecast for Thursday.
With school being back in session for many area districts, practices are now generally conducted in the late afternoon, during peak temperature readings.
The spike in temperatures forced most area coaches to alter practices over the past few days.
"We follow a chart (recommended by the Ohio High School Athletic Association) which is pretty direct and straightforward and which shows what you're permitted to do, what you're permitted to wear based on temperature," said Jackson-Milton coach Brian Shaner. "We follow that guideline to a T."
On Wednesday, Shaner's team practiced outside, but only for an hour and without equipment. Four water breaks were scheduled during the practice.
"We were right on the bubble in terms of the temperature," Shaner said. "We had plans in place if we needed to go indoors. A few degrees warmer, and we would have practiced indoors with air conditioning."
Shaner noted that with his team playing Saturday at Ashtabula St. John, he was able to flex his practice schedule a bit this week. Knowing the weather would turn hotter as the week went on, practices were extended a bit on Monday and Tuesday.
"We got lucky because we had an extra day this week," Shaner said. "But it was an odd week. We've been able to wear helmets since May, and now it's September and we're just in cleats. When we were hit with the heat wave in July, we were practicing in the mornings so we were good.
"This is Ohio, so you just go with the flow."
Howland coach Brian Jones noted that his practices were "trimmed down" this week, and that he and his coaches "take an abundance of caution" in dealing with extreme temperatures.
Jones noted that he was a freshman in high school when former Warren native and All-Pro tackle Korey Stringer died from heat stroke in 2001.
"That left a lasting impression, and you can't take anything lightly anymore," Jones said. "We went out this week in shell pads, helmets and shorts and we scaled back on our workouts.
"You still want to get in quality reps, but if you're doing things right, there's things you can do to cut back but still not omit."
Jones noted that practicing on turf also has to be factored in the equation, as "you can literally see heat radiating from the turf on days like this."
A health teacher, Jones said that he stressed the importance of staying hydrated this week to both players and students.
"I'm not talking just at practice, but all throughout the week," Jones said. "Even at home, if you're thirsty you're already dehydrated. Don't wait until you feel like you're thirsty before you react.
"We feel like we do a good job all throughout the week and on game day, but in both of our games this year we were dealing with cramping issues. It's something we have to address on a daily basis."
Howland will look to lift its record to 3-0 tonight when it hosts Shaw at Lombardo Field.