MVP’s Top 10 Football Programs of the Decade: Nos. 1-2
By Adam Adkins
The decade is just about over. That means one thing in this age of know-it-all writers like me.
Best of the decade lists. And I’ve got a good one.
I am counting down MVP’s Top 10 Football Programs of the Decade. (Read here to see if your school is in our coverage area. Fair warning, if you play in Cincinnati, Columbus or Cleveland, you probably aren’t here.)
I wanted to do this because it’d be fun, first off. Figuring out who was truly the best for our area was a tough task, and everyone has an opinion.
But this is my project and we’re playing by my rules.
Today we conclude our countdown of MVP’s Top Football Programs of the Decade…No shock as to who the top two teams are:
#2: Coldwater Cavaliers
• 2 State Championships (2005, 2007)
• 10 Playoff Appearances
• Regular Season Record Of 93-7
• Playoff Record Of 30-8
• Overall Record Of 123-15
Coldwater had a fairly awesome decade, didn’t they?
2 rings.
10 trips to November.
Oh yeah, and they lost fifteen games all decade. (!!!)
How does a team even manage that? Coldwater played 138 games in the last 10 years, and won 89 percent of the time. That’s astronomically awesome, guys. I’ve seen this stat several times over the course of the process, and not once has it ceased to blow me away.
So why aren’t they #1, then?
Because despite the accomplishment that is their record, they only won state twice, and the team above them won twice as many. Coldwater could’ve easily won another ring, but the problem is, they didn’t.
I hate having to start off with a detraction from their record, because, well, Coldwater went Anderson Silva on opponents this decade.
To prove my point, here are just 4 of the impressive achievements the Cavs have:
• Going undefeated in the regular season three consecutive times (04-06), and 5 times overall
• Never losing in the first round in the playoffs despite going 10 times
• Advanced to the Regional Final or later a whopping 8 times
• Coldwater lost 8 playoff games; 5 times the team they lost to ended up winning a ring
Without hesitation, Coldwater was superior to Alter overall. Coldwater was more dominant, consistently defeated superior competition, and never flamed out in the playoffs – their largest playoff lost came a few weeks ago, a 30 point defeat by Youngstown Ursuline, who actually beat Coldwater in the State Final 10 years ago.
Consider, again, that Coldwater is a MAC school. Consider that 4 of the 5 best teams on my countdown hail from that league. That should make their record all the more awe inspiring.
The MAC is a really tough place to make a living today, and Coldwater not only survived – like Versailles – or had some success – like St. Henry or Delphos – they flat out dominated. Despite playing powerhouse teams countless times, Coldwater flourished.
If that stat doesn’t leap off the page and smack you in the face, nothing will. It’s an unbelievable achievement – the hyperbole I’ve used all the way through isn’t by accident – and one that Coldwater should be very proud of.
Also, the MVP family wishes the best to Coldwater coach John Reed in his battle with cancer. If he’s half as successful in that as he is as a coach, cancer might as well surrender now.
#1: Maria Stein Marion Local Flyers
• 4 State Championships (2000, 2001, 2006, 2007)
• 9 Playoff Appearances
• Regular Season Record Of 76-24
• Playoff Record Of 33-5
• Overall Record Of 109-29
Remember what I said way back in Part 1?
“State Championships are the goal, are they not? That’s why the boys suit up and sweat all August long, so they can shiver in November up in Canton. In football, particularly high school football, deep playoff runs tend to separate the weak from the mighty.”
Explains it all, no? That’s why we play, to win titles. Herm Edwards was right after all, and in our area, no one brought home the gold better than the Flyers.
Marion Local is the definition of excellence. There overall record is quite good – their winning percentage is 79 – and they succeeded the most on the biggest stage, which, pointing back to the italicized paragraph, is a solid way to examine a team’s ability.
Simply put, seeing Marion Local as a postseason opponent must feel like being led to slaughter. They are as close to unbeatable as we have, winning 35 playoff games, and routinely beating higher seeded opponents.
Not to pick on Mechanicsburg, but they are a perfect example of this. In 2005, the Indians were a dominant team in the regular season, beating weaker foes by scores of 70-21, 50-15, 56-0 and 42-9 en route to a 10-0 finish.
Marion Local made the playoffs as an 8 seed, and wasn’t considered a strong team. They were hammered by Coldwater, Versailles and Delphos St. Johns in the regular season, and barely defeated a 5-5 St. Henry team.
But you know what? They beat Mechanicsburg, 17-7.
Also, do you recall how Marion Local won in 2000 and 2001? Why don’t you go ask Mogadore, maybe they remember.
(Go ahead. Ask.)
What? They didn’t want to talk about it? Yeah, I’m sure they brought up 2002. Congratulations.
Marion Local defeated Mogadore consecutively in the state final by a combined score of 117-7.
Goodness gracious. Guys, this was the state final! And Marion did that?
If the goal is to win the big games, no one did it quite like the Flyers.
But if you still don’t think Marion Local should be ahead of Coldwater, let me throw a few more stats your way:
• Only once did Marion Local fail to reach the Regional Final in 9 of their playoff runs
• The Flyers reached the State Semifinals or higher in 7 of their playoff runs
• They won 87 percent of their postseason games
I define greatness first by championships. (Note: That doesn’t apply to individual players in football because football is a team sport.) Coldwater did some awesome things this year – go read all of it again, it’ll still blow you away – but I couldn’t get past this thought.
They don’t put up banners for winning percentage or playoff appearances.
They put up banners for state championships. And that’s why Marion Local is #1.
TEAMS 3-4
TEAMS 5-6
TEAMS 7-8
TEAMS 9-10
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