Sun staff
Clermont County’s two Eastern Cincinnati Conference-member football teams, Glen Este and Milford, will face a unique challenge during Week Two of the 2014 football season when both travel upstate to Steubenville and Olentangy-Orange, respectively, for Friday night contests.
Both Glen Este and Milford bore their trips out of necessity when original Week Two opponents were unable to keep the date on the schedule.
Coaches and administrators alike started working quickly to fill the hole in their schedules with opponents that they felt would challenge them competitively and stack up comparably in terms of school and team size.
“The Steubenville game came about when we were looking for an opponent and really no body in town wanted to play us or it was a situation where we felt we had to pick a game that would match us up with someone competitive-wise,” Glen Este head coach Nick Ayers said. “We (had to choose between) Grand Rapids Central Catholic from Michigan, which is six hours away, Steubenville, which is four, and Johnson Central from (Paintsville,) Kentucky, which is a very good football team.
“We want to play teams that give us the best opportunity (to compete). We want play teams that match us size-wise, that match us player-wise and that match us in school size.
“Steubenville went to the state semifinals (last year) and we wanted that competitive game, so we’re excited about that.”
For Milford, they were left scrambling when Edgewood had to cancel their original Week Two game because the previous athletic director had a contract in tact with Franklin High School.
“Edgewood’s coach thought that we had Week Two game, our AD did, their AD did, but he realized the previous AD had a contract,” Milford head coach Shane Elkin said. “So at the last minute, at the end of last season, we have to go find a Week Two game. I looked online and found numerous teams that I interacted with, but Olentangy just needed a one-year deal and I thought that they were a perfect fit for us because we already have something lined up after this year. We were able to go ahead and get the one-year deal with Olentangy.
“I think it’ll be exciting for the kids and fun for them, but chaotic for (the coaches).”
The change of scenery and opponents can be new and fresh for the players, but both coaches were hesitant about the impact the travel will have on their routines, which both said they subscribe to nearly religiously.
“Olentangy creates a whole different set of problems for us,” Elkin explained. “We’re going to get out of school at the end of sixth period, we’re going to load the buses and we’re going to go.
“After we drive for about an hour, we’re going to take short break; get the kids a sandwich, let them get out and walk around and get back in the bus, so it’s not such a long trip.”
Ayers said that Glen Este will similarly try to break up the length of the trip by making stops and getting warmed up prior to arriving at Harding Stadium.
“The challenge is us traveling four hours and playing a 7 o’clock game,” he said. “We have to do the half day of school by OHSAA rules, which we’re fine with. The four-hour travel, we have to adapt a bit: when we’re going to eat our meal, how we’re going to prep, when the kids are going to do their pregame activation and how we’re going to take care of the guys on the way up with the travel and the lethargicness that can happen in that time.”
Both teams will travel at 1-0 coming off of Week One victories. Glen Este beat Amelia, 56-14, and Milford took down Hamilton, 34-13. The Glen Este/Steubenville kick-off is slated for 7 p.m., as is the Milford/Olentangy kick.