Kevin Connelly: Valley playoff teams have lofty goals

It was Aug. 29 at approximately 6:15 p.m.

The 2014 high school football season had yet to kick off and Hubbard High School athletic director Chuck Montgomery was still thinking about last year.

He stood leaning over a chain-link fence at Hubbard’s Memorial Stadium watching the Eagles warm up prior to their home opener against Lakeview.

It was the Eagles’ first game since being knocked out of the OHSAA playoffs for the second consecutive year by Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary last November. Although the future appeared brighter than that evening’s beautiful summer sun for Hubbard football, Montgomery still couldn’t get that game off his mind.

“That was a frustrating one,” he said, his eyes following a punt into the arms of the Eagles’ all-everything senior Larry Scott.

“With Matt [Jones] going down and unable to come back, I think that hurt us.

“That back of theirs was pretty good, too,” he added.

Jones, a 6-foot-4, 314-pound beast of a lineman, was diagnosed with a concussion in the first half of Hubbard’s Division III regional final loss to the Irish.

The Eagles made no secret about their goals prior to this season.

“I want to get a state title with [Scott],” junior running back George Hill said back in July.

“We’re looking forward to making it past the third round,” Scott added. “Instead of 13 weeks, we’re looking forward to 15 weeks, for sure.”

Ten weeks, 5,296 yards, 466 points and 67 touchdowns later, the Hubbard Eagles are a perfect 10-0 and the top-seed in Division III, Region 7.

Waiting right behind them at No. 2 — St. Vincent-St. Mary.

The Eagles and Irish can’t meet until the regional final again this season. Should they both survive the first two rounds, Nov. 21 will be one heck of a heavyweight fight.

FOOTBALL CONFESSIONAL

I must admit, I thought Liberty sophomore Lynn Bowden was crazy.

He was named the starting quarterback prior to this season, after a sensational freshman year at running back. I asked Bowden in August how good he thought this team could be with him under center.

Without hesitation, he said: “45-0 for the next three years.”

Now he still may be crazy, but Bowden has the Leopards as the highest-ranked area team in Division V. Liberty enters the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in Region 15, ahead of Ursuline, Crestview, Girard and United — ranked three through six respectably.

Bowden’s prediction is already one off, since the Leopards dropped their season opener to Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, but he’s led them to nine straight wins to end the regular season and an All-American National Division title.

The road to Columbus begins Friday for five area teams and Saturday for the other nine.

Don’t let it be Aug. 28, 2015 and you’re left wondering what could’ve been.

Kevin Connelly is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at kconnelly@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Connelly_Vindy.