Still more fall notes, quotes & amp; anecdotes

You see a lot of unusual things at the state cross country meet.
Strange hats, strange head paintings and strange hair colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. (I kept track.)
You also see vomit. Whether you want to or not.
But nothing was stranger than seeing someone dress up -- for no apparent reason -- like something resembling the giant "Big Boy" restaurant mascot.
"We had our pictures taken with him," McDonald runner Erin Koppel said. "He smelled like B.O."
You also see cool things. Not just in cross country, but in every sport.
Here are my fall highlights.
Highlights
Favorite cross country shirt: Leetonia's "And the road becomes my pride" shirt, which is very similar to a quote from a Metallica song. After reading a few thousand, "Pain is temporary, pride is forever" shirts, you start to appreciate original slogans.
Least favorite cross country shirt: I hate to repeat last year's choice, but I still haven't found one as dumb as "Running cross country. That's my final answer."
Favorite halftime show: Hubbard's band played "Hang on Sloopy" and a pretty darn good rendition of "Script Ohio" in a game against Liberty. "Script Niles" was also nice, but the Red Dragons lose points for playing the Michigan fight song.
Favorite version of Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up the Sun": I heard about eight different versions of this song this season, but Howland's was the best. Columbus Brookhaven did a surprisingly good rendition of "Sk8ter Boi" by Avril Lavigne.
Favorite coaches to talk to: Fitch football coach Neal Kopp, Hubbard volleyball coach Chuck Montgomery, McDonald boys cross country coach Chris Rupe, Fitch volleyball coach Tom Case and Mooney soccer coach Lenny Krispinksy. Krispinsky held junior Kiki Willis out of the game I attended because of injury, then put him in for the final two minutes after repeated badgering from a certain member of the local media. I thought that was nice of him, especially since he would have found "For Sale" signs in his yard had Willis re-injured his ankle.
Favorite players to talk to: Poland senior wideout Dave Koval, Maplewood senior runner Paul Moser, Boardman senior runner Brittany Durkin, McDonald sophomore runner Ashleigh Tondo and Ursuline senior quarterback Daryll Clark.
Favorite players to watch: Fitch senior volleyball player Maggie Case, Jackson Milton senior runner Luke McCluggage, Liberty senior wideout/DB Bradley Fletcher, Boardman senior volleyball player Krysta Sylvester and Warren Harding senior quarterback Alex Engram.
Complaint about the state volleyball meet: Why is this thing in Dayton? All you need is a gym. Move it to Columbus. (And, while I'm complaining, I wasn't in favor of moving state track out of Dayton -- which was a nice setup -- just like I'm not in favor of moving state football out of Canton/Massillon -- which is also a nice setup.)
Best quotes
Finally, here are the five fall quotes I loved the most.
U"It's like a 360. We're awesome now." said Fitch senior volleyball player Stacie Mang, who was within 180 degrees of what she meant.
U"My coach always says to run the first mile with your legs, the second mile with your head and the last mile with your heart," Pymatuning Valley sophomore runner Tracee Gruskiewicz said.
U"If you think that was a good performance, then there's something wrong with you," said Struthers football coach Gary Zetts, after a 19-16 win over Niles.
U"[Kenston has] the foulest-mouthed rooting section of any team we played this year," said Salem volleyball coach Don Conser, after a loss to the Bombers in a Div. II regional semifinal.
U"Quite honestly, I get bored," said Columbiana football coach Bob Spaite, when asked why he favors an offense that puts so much responsibility in the quarterback's hands.
XJoe Scalzo covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.