HS football playoffs head to the Regional final!!

HS football Analyst and Play-By-Play announcer for the OU Bobcats breaks down OU's showdown with Toledo and the next round of the playoffs

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's go over to the Legacy Retirement Group dot com
phone line and say good morning to radio voice of
the Ohio University Bobcats, also high school football analyst and
all around decent guy. It's Marty Banister. Marty, how are
you this morning, buddy?

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, I appreciate it. All around decent guy. Part of that,
I'm glad you threw that in. Well, that's the thanks. Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Probably should have led with that on the resume. I mean,
that's probably the better option right there. But Marty, so
let's jump. We've got to talk high school football here
in The regional finals are set for this weekend, but
I want to talk about the ou Bobcats. We do
have a lot of a lum listening in Columbus, A
big game on Wednesday night heading up to Toledo. Both

(00:41):
team seven and three.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, and Ohio is in the position, Mike, where every
team wants to be in. You control your own destiny
right now. You went out and you go to the
Mid American Conference championship game. Hey, you can't ask for
anything more than that. Ohio cut a little bit of
a break schedule wise this year. Bobcasts don't play bowling
Green they don't Western Michigan two of the teams that
are that have battled near the top all season long.

(01:04):
In fact, DG's tied with Ohio right now in the
top three of the standings. But again, those things you
kind of don't worry about. You play who shows up
on Saturdays or in the max case, Wednesday, and win.
And that's what Tim Alvin and his staff has done.
And it's interesting to point out, and I think it's
important to point out too, Mike, this is an Ohio
team that when it played at season opener at Syracuse

(01:26):
back on August thirty first, they took thirty seven players
to the Carrier Dome that had not played in an
Ohio football game, and it was because of the transfer
portal and all the other things you're dealing with. And
Tim Alvin and his staff have done a tremendous job
of molding these guys into a very good football team
that's playing outstanding defense right now. It'll be a lot
of fun at the Glass Bowl on Wednesday night. I

(01:48):
played at Ohio has only one one time since nineteen
sixty seven.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Well, hopefully they changed that a little. I'm loving the
midweek maction too. By the way on with the mad
Plane during the week, A lot of people are like,
I know the college football should be on Saturdays. I
love it on a Wednesday night bringing on Bobcats taking
on the Rockets, and it's going to be a fun one.
And you can hear that call by Marty Banister, and

(02:14):
you know, Bobcat fans alum and grads will see a
familiar face if they're going to the Horseshoe on Saturday.
The quarterback for Indiana is he spent some time to
wearing green down in Athens.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Been five years there, Curtis Rourke three years as the
starting quarterback and is again part of the transfer portal
and the things that happened now in college football and
nil and all those other things. He's now having just
a tremendous are at Indiana. It doesn't really surprise any
of us who have had the chance to see him
play and talk to him. But I think is where
he's taking his game again. I don't want to say

(02:50):
it's a surprise, but it's just been remarkable what he's done.
I mean, twenty one touchdown passes, twenty four hundred yards.
He's the highest rated passer FPS right now. It's just remarkable.
And I think what happens a lot of times when
you find the right system, and he found not that
he didn't have the right system. It happens because he did.

(03:10):
But this system fits him also when you make those
type of moves. And I will tell you this, Mike
I said something about Tim Alvin a moment ago, highest
coach who he had long conversation with Curtis about this.
Curtis was kind of hesitant at first about what he
wanted to do in terms of, Hey, you've got to
do this, You've got to do what's best for you.
These opportunities don't come along well, and it's in these days.

(03:32):
It's it's odd when you get a coach that will
do that. And Curtis Work is taking advantage of a
great opportunity. And everybody, I don't think there's a Bob
Can anywhere who's not happy for Curtis work right now.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Yeah, it's going to be fun to watch him and
clearly the biggest game of his career to date.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Oh there's no question about that. And it's funny because
he obviously Indiana wears cream or whatever you want to
call it, red whatever. Crimson how or they was to
refer to it. But Curtis has talked a lot about
how one color you don't wear in Athens there's red
because of the rivalry with Miami, and now he's decked
out in red all the time. He said that took
a little bit get used to.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Sure it did. Speaking with Marty Bannister the advice of
the ou Bobcats, and let's switch to high school football.
The regional finals coming up this weekend. We'll start D one.
Are you surprised at all with ol In Tange Liberty
taking on Pickerington North? This is going to be at
It's kind of nice that the game is staying local
here at Historic Crustadium.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Not surprised whatsoever. There were a lot of people before
the season started, Mike that said Olden Tangi Liberty could
make a deep, deep run to this thing. John Samsbury
has done a great job with that program, and they're
doing it as every team is doing it right now.
If you look down all the teams that are still
alive in this thing, they played great defense and they
run the football, and that's what you have to do

(04:47):
at this time of the year. Old Tangi Liberty does
it picking in Central does it? You can look at
it any team is still alive and that Those are
two of the hallmarks of why they're playing right now
at Liberty. I mean they want to remat with a
with a very good Upper Arlington team last Friday night
who I think diving Justin Butterimore at Upper Orange is
one of the best coaches in the state of Ohio.

(05:07):
I mean, he had his team ready, but Liberty just
has too many pieces right now. That's a very good
football team.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
So like if you look into your crystal ball, I mean,
who else in that in that d you want across
the state? I mean Mentor is thirteen to oher Cincinnati
Moehler's twelve and one. I mean it doesn't get easier
for Liberty. I'll put it that way.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
No, it doesn't. But you mentioned a couple of teams
right there, and obviously record jump out at him. But
I'm gonna throw another team at you that's still playing
right now. They're eight and five and that's Lake with
Saint Edward that won the state championship each of the
last three years they won playoffs. At five and five,
they were kind of a beat up team getting into
the postseason, they play a treacherous schedule and guys are

(05:47):
they're in the regional final. I'm just okay, five people,
People go okay, five. Don't look past these guys. They
know how to win the games this time of year.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
And they've got Mentor on Friday night. So that's it'
that'll be a fun one to five. What about Big
Walnut is kind of staying in Central Ohio. They're twelve
and one. They're taking on Massaline Washington Friday night. That's
that's going to be a good game.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
And again Big Walnuts following the same script as we
talked about a moment ago. Nolan Burley in the last
two weeks is only rushed for over five hundred yards
and score seven touchdowns I mean at the running back spot.
But this is a little different breed a cat Maslin
Washington that they're running into the defending Division two state
champions the games in Mansfield. I'm not telling you Big

(06:31):
Walnut can't win this game, but when you play a
school like Masline Washington, you're playing everything that comes around
it too, because of the tradition and the history, I mean, goodness, stakes,
it's Masline. Who doesn't know that name in high school
football in Ohio, and I think sometimes some teams have
made that too big, if you understand what I'm saying. Yeah,
and I think that's what Big Walnut one of the

(06:52):
things they have to guard against. And I think, I
say question, they're excited about the opportunity. If they can
do those things and keep it a game into the
fourth quarter, that I think they have a chance.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
And they're playing up in Mansfield and there are a
handful of thirteen and oh teams. One of them, Marty
is Bishop Watterson. They take on Steubenville, also undefeated. They're
playing in New Philly, and.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
Again you're taking on a brand. Yeah, but Waterson is too.
I mean, let's be honest about that. Zacht whatever ran
for three touchdowns last week, so again you've got a
team that's running the football. I mean, they shut out
a very talented Licking ballet team in their regional semi
final last week, which was a heck of a for Watterson.
But again, they're loaded and Mike, everybody kind of knew

(07:36):
they were going to be doing this about this time
of the year, and it's impressed. It was, you know,
I want to mention one other team, that's kind of
right under the radar a little bit. Let's don't forget
Grandview Hikes undefeated, twelve and oh. I know it's Division six.
People sometimes don't look past Division three when they talk
about high school football. But the bobcast is Grandview Hikes.
They're twelve and oh in the playoffs. They've got scored

(07:58):
the three opponents seventy one to twelve. They scored forty
or more points six times in the game, and they're
rolling right now. They got a very talented opponent in
thirteen to o Gallion Northmore. That's gonna be one of
the better regional final games.