Streakers, squawkers & amp; midyear musings

This has not been a good year for streakers.
If you're Sebring or LaBrae, that's a good thing. If you're Lowellville, East Palestine or Will Ferrell in "Old School," it's a bad thing.
(If you didn't get that joke, forget it. It wasn't that funny.)
Sebring snapped a 33-game losing streak with a win over Conotton Valley in its opener, while LaBrae beat Brookfield in week four to stop a 20-game losing streak.
Lowellville had won 16 straight before losing to South Range last Friday -- the same night United snapped East Palestine's 13-game Tri-County League winning streak.
Some teams are still streaking, however. Warren Harding has an 18-game regular season win streak and Wilson has a 15-game losing streak, which might end this week against Indian Valley.
The Raiders also hold the area's longest opening week win streak at 10 straight. Boardman had won nine straight openers before this season. (Speaking of Boardman, I think the Spartans will win their first game this week to snap a five-game losing streak.)
Quick streaking story: A kid at my high school, Uniontown Lake, actually streaked across the field at a game. He was nearly expelled. (So let that be a lesson for you crazy kids out there.)
What does all this mean? Probably nothing. As the sometime philosopher Homer Simpson once said, "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true."
Midseason awards
Opinions are also pretty meaningless.
But, for what it's worth, here are five midseason things I think I think.
Best coaching performance: P.J. Fecko, Mooney. In two years, Fecko has turned an 0-10 team into a possible state title contender.
Best player I've seen: Cleveland Benedictine senior running back Raymond Williams.
Best team: Warren Harding. Who else?
Biggest surprise: Alliance is 3-2, which matches its win total from the previous three years combined. Before the season, we picked them to finish last in the Metro Athletic Conference. Oops.
Game I wish I would have seen: Warren Harding's 27-20 overtime win over Lakewood St. Edward on Saturday. This is becoming a really good rivalry.
Trivia question: Name the only team in the tri-county area (still in existence) with a winning record against Mooney. The answer is below.
Best quotes
Finally, here's the four quotes I loved the most. (Why only four? Because I couldn't find five I liked.)
U"It's ridiculous to have a three-team conference. It's almost embarrassing to think of ourselves as such. You tell me where else in America is there a three-team league? If you find me somebody out there who wants one or all three of us in their conference, I'll give you $1,000," said Harding coach Thom McDaniels when asked about the Steel Valley Conference.
U"I'm not pleased, to say the least. There was no jumping up and down by me after this game," said Niles coach Phil Annarella, after a 24-6 win over Rayen.
U"Film doesn't lie. We didn't fabricate our pitiful performance; it's on tape for anyone to see. [But] we can have one of two reactions. We can pout like second graders because we played badly or we can be angry about our performance and go do something about it," said McDaniels, after a win over Akron Buchtel.
U"We got too many stiffs out here. Our coaches picked you guys because they thought you were the best. I must have been out golfing that day because nobody out here can run," said Fitch coach Neal Kopp, who was shouting at his special teams players on the first day of two-a-day practices.
Trivia answer: Believe it or not, it's Jackson-Milton, which is 1-0 against the Cardinals. (Goshen Union, which became West Branch, is also 1-0.)
XJoe Scalzo covers high school football for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.