Yeagley: 99 and counting

NORTH LIMA -- Almost lost amid the excitement of tonight's South Range/Patrick Henry Division V state semifinal football game in Fremont is the milestone Raiders coach Dan Yeagley would reach with a victory.
In 11 seasons as the South Range head coach, Yeagley's teams have won 99 of the 125 games they've played -- remarkable.
And it couldn't happen to a nicer man. Yeagley, a mathematics teacher, is a role model on the field and off.
There's no doubt in anyone's mind that he must have received invitations to coach elsewhere over the past five years. But the Yeagley family is from North Lima and staying put in one of the best academic school systems in the Mahoning Valley is a top priority.
Tonight is the biggest game in South Range football history -- win or lose, North Lima has a gem on the sidelines.
Tonight's football sites
Speaking of math, you have to wonder just what the bigwigs at the Ohio High School Athletic Association were thinking when they picked tonight's football sites.
You'll really be wondering this if you're a Canfield fan arriving at Twinsburg tonight to find there aren't enough seats in the grandstands to accommodate the crowd expected for the Tallmadge/Canfield Div. II state semifinal.
The OHSAA consists of successful educators, some of whom have worked themselves up the chain to prestigious jobs and six-figure salaries. So what were they thinking when they signed off on tonight's sites?
Why is a Div. II game being played in a nice but mid-sized high school facility while the Div. III game between Steubenville and Akron Buchtel is played in Canton's Fawcett Stadium (the one next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame that has more than 20,000 seats).
Division II bigger than Division III
Could it be that the OHSAA selectors have forgotten that in this instance, Div. II is bigger than Div. III (especially when it comes to paying customers).
Canfield/Tallmadge fans standing along the field tonight straining to see the game might be kept warm with these steamy thoughts:
UWhy is the smaller division game being played in the bigger stadium?
UWhy is Warren's Mollenkopf Stadium sitting empty tonight? Last week's Canfield/Louisville game drew approximately 80 percent capacity in Mollenkopf. It's certainly big enough to handle the Steubenville/Buchtel crowd
UWhy does South Range have to travel more than halfway across Ohio to play in Fremont?
Hopefully, the OHSAA didn't ignore Warren because of "travel inconvenience." Two weeks ago, Steubenville fans packed Fitch Falcons Stadium for the Big Red's second-round game. Traveling an extra 30 minutes to Warren would not have been an inconvenience.
And Buchtel fans saw their team play in Ravenna last week. Adding another 30 minutes to their trip tonight would not have been asking much, especially when you consider where North Lima fans are going.
Hundreds of fans may be standing
Asking hundreds -- perhaps more -- of Canfield and Tallmadge fans to stand in tonight's cold hoping to get a glimpse of their adored teams makes absolutely no sense.
You would think that doing the right thing for the families of these teams would be the biggest factor (not to mention ticket sales).
Of course, the OHSAA may dodge a bullet when North Lima, Canfield and Tallmadge fans think twice about spending four hours outdoors tonight (and cash).
The one good thing about tonight's weather forecast for Fremont (think Cedar Point but keep on going west) is that it won't affect the South Range's offense as much as it will Patrick Henry's.
The Patriots run a high-school version of the West Coast offense, which features plenty of quick throws and spread formations.
With the wind blowing and perhaps snow falling, conditions will be better for a ball-control offense and no small school in the Mahoning Valley controls the ball better than Yeagley's Raiders.
The Raiders/Patriots game will hinge on turnovers (South Range hasn't made one in the playoffs) and South Range's ability to rush and sustain drives. The Patriots' offense can't score their usual 50 points if the Raiders are eating up the clock.
XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com.