I think Wheelersburg is D5 in Ohio (bigger than Raceland) and won three playoff games last year so this score would not alarm me if I was a Raceland fan.  If I have my OHSAA stuff wrong anyone, please let us know.  Either way, I think it is great Raceland is scrimmaging good teams like Wheelersburg and Belfry.

2 minutes ago, theguru said:

I think Wheelersburg is D5 in Ohio (bigger than Raceland) and won three playoff games last year so this score would not alarm me if I was a Raceland fan.  If I have my OHSAA stuff wrong anyone, please let us know.  Either way, I think it is great Raceland is scrimmaging good teams like Wheelersburg and Belfry.

It’s exactly what Raceland needed to start the season. You get better playing good teams.

3 hours ago, theguru said:

I think Wheelersburg is D5 in Ohio (bigger than Raceland) and won three playoff games last year so this score would not alarm me if I was a Raceland fan.  If I have my OHSAA stuff wrong anyone, please let us know.  Either way, I think it is great Raceland is scrimmaging good teams like Wheelersburg and Belfry.

To add on, Ohio schools - at least in my experience - typically go harder in scrimmages than we do. When they host you over there, they treat it more like a mid season game. Atmosphere, game prep, etc. is all a notch or two above where we are.

Raceland's coaches saw plenty of "wrongs" that need "righting". I think this result is a good thing for the Rams in the long run.

11 hours ago, theguru said:

I think Wheelersburg is D5 in Ohio (bigger than Raceland) and won three playoff games last year so this score would not alarm me if I was a Raceland fan.  If I have my OHSAA stuff wrong anyone, please let us know.  Either way, I think it is great Raceland is scrimmaging good teams like Wheelersburg and Belfry.

You are right on! ?Wheelersburg has 37 wins over the past four seasons and actually since Raceland has Ashland coming up, Wheelersburg defeated Ashland at Ashland 49-7 in 2022. Coach Rob Woodward has done a fantastic job there. While his teams in contention each year, he had unreal success between 2013 - 2018 in particular. Wheelersburg went a whopping 74-12 with a state championship in that stretch.

@Ram from the archives . . .

Checking in on my pre-season predictions.  I called 15-0 for the Rams, I missed the undefeated season by a lightning delay that turned the Raceland/Pikeville game on its ear.  That being the only loss on the season as the Rams are plowing through their schedule and on a road that leads deep in the playoffs.  Can they make it a 14 win season with a State Championship?  Maybe, we are getting ready to see. 

I am not sure if Raceland will see Pikeville again but there is a good chance.

If that happens I am guessing the game film of what Belfry game-planned against the Panthers is going to be a valuable commodity for the Raceland staff.

 

Pikeville is improving a lot, but I still would take Raceland to win in a re-match after how that first game played out.

So here’s my 2 cents on this subject. I've been a Raceland fan since 1976 I've watched this struggle through the eighties losing to Beechwood in the first round of the playoffs just about like every class A school did. But it was when we went down and played Williamsburg in the semifinals that you could see a big difference we went from having the small 40-50 man rosters to 60+ players on our team. I could smell a state final in the making. We lost to Williamsburg but Raceland has this grit about them and like I told some people each loss is just another part of the learning process. So I've said at the beginning of this year that Raceland will get it done either this year or next or possibly two years in a row. Besides the loss to Pikeville I still say that Raceland is still the legitimate number one team in class a this year.

25 minutes ago, 79ram said:

So here’s my 2 cents on this subject. I've been a Raceland fan since 1976 I've watched this struggle through the eighties losing to Beechwood in the first round of the playoffs just about like every class A school did. But it was when we went down and played Williamsburg in the semifinals that you could see a big difference we went from having the small 40-50 man rosters to 60+ players on our team. I could smell a state final in the making. We lost to Williamsburg but Raceland has this grit about them and like I told some people each loss is just another part of the learning process. So I've said at the beginning of this year that Raceland will get it done either this year or next or possibly two years in a row. Besides the loss to Pikeville I still say that Raceland is still the legitimate number one team in class a this year.

Raceland has made small strides since the 80s, they have been slow at times, but always in the right direction.  Winning District Championships used to be the goal, then it became the rule instead of the exception.  Winning that first Regional Championship was another rung in the ladder, and now it is expected.  Getting to the State Championship was far from consideration, now, it's expected.  There's only one more rung to go to and once that is achieved, I expect it will happen more frequently.  

1 hour ago, ATLCat said:

I am not sure if Raceland will see Pikeville again but there is a good chance.

If that happens I am guessing the game film of what Belfry game-planned against the Panthers is going to be a valuable commodity for the Raceland staff.

 

Pikeville is improving a lot, but I still would take Raceland to win in a re-match after how that first game played out.

I agree, Belfry's game plan will be looked at hard.  Raceland was dominate in the first three quarters of that game and getting ready for a running clock, dang lightning.  

Edited October 23, 2025Oct 23 by Ram

14 minutes ago, Ram said:

Raceland has made small strides since the 80s, they have been slow at times, but always in the right direction.  Winning District Championships used to be the goal, then it became the rule instead of the exception.  Winning that first Regional Championship was another rung in the ladder, and now it is expected.  Getting to the State Championship was far from consideration, now, it's expected.  There's only one more rung to go to and once that is achieved, I expect it will happen more frequently.  

I believe that once Raceland gets that first Championship it will be on of many!

Just now, 79ram said:

I believe that once Raceland gets that first Championship it will be on of many!

Agreed.