bigger is better

We've all heard the phrase "bigger is better" right? Well at Toledo Whitmer High School they took it literally when the turf at Whitmer memorial stadium was put in. The huge panther logo in the center of the Field reaches from one thirty nine yard line to the other making it the largest center Field logo in the United States. This is just the beginning for a football program that likes to go big. The stadium which seats 10,000 also has a new scoreboard equipped with a HD jumbotron for instant replay. The crowd pleasing screen is 19 feet wide and 10 feet high. Also coming soon with a stadium renovation will be new lights installed, concessions and restrooms. While all of this is expensive, winning makes people forget about the price right away. Last season the Panthers were the Toledo City League Champs and made an appearance in the OHSAA Division 1 playoffs.

Simply the best

The next Ohio high school stadium I'll be talking about is one that is not just the best in our state but also the entire country. ESPNRISE.com picked Canton Fawcett Stadium as the best venue to watch a football game in the entire country. This stadium is special for many different reasons that would make any other stadium great if it only had one thing from a long list of impressive components that make this one the best around. Canton Fawcett Stadium is located right next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is a huge attraction for any fans who will be at the stadium to watch a game anyway. While were on the subject of fans this stadium can hold over 22,300 of them and often does because it's the home of many OHSAA playoff games including the division I, IV and V state championship games. Just because the stadium is used by the local high school team (Canton McKinley) who happens to have one of the most storied programs the state does not mean that it's not good for the NFL to use as well. Every year since 1962 the NFL has hosted what is called the Hall of Fame game featuring an AFC and NFC team in a preseason contest. Using finances from the NFL and the city of Canton in 1997 Fawcett Stadium underwent $4.3 million worth in renovations to make it a state of the art facility. The stadium got it's name after former Canton Board of Education member Jim Fawcett who was a well known athlete and died of pneumonia at the age of 44 several years before the stadium construction began in 1937. When the project was finished in 1939 Fawcett Stadium was the largest High school venue in the country with a seating capacity of 15,000 people. From the very beginning history was being made and will always be preserved in Canton.

Death Vally

As promised from the last blog I'll continue the series on some of the best Ohio football teams and facilities by introducing you to the Big Red of Stuebenville. Again I'll start by informing you of some things that will make it very obvious that the Stuebenville football program has to be considered when talking about teams with an elite status. Stubenville ranks 7th in all-time playoff appearances in the state compiling a record of 42-18 and 3 state titles. Even more impressive than that is the 67-game regular season winning streak including 53 home wins during the impressive streak that was snapped just this past season. Now we'll move on to what makes the stadium where all those wins took place so special. Just for starters there is a 12 foot high fire breathing horse on top of the scoreboard that has hydraulic movement and a flame that blasts 6 feet into the air after every Big Red score. Another feature that would make you look towards the scoreboard is the video replay that has been in use since 1997. The in ground irrigation system was put in during 1999 but pro grass synthetic turf has since installed in 2004. Watching and playing the games are obviously something special but the newly upgraded surround sound system was put in during 2009 that makes listening to the game a treat as well. Most fans that live in Stuebenville say that there is no other atmosphere in all of sports. this may very well may be confirmed by 10,000 cheering fans attending a game in a town that has a population of 10,015. Many towns in Ohio Bleed the colors of their high school teams and it's very clear that Big Red fans Bleed red with all their hearts.

LAYING DOWN THE MONEY

In the state of Ohio their are some very good football teams. When you have good teams it is a lot easier to get money from your school and community that you may not necessarily need. In this blog I Will Talk about just one football team in particular that is very well off. Massillon Washington more commonly known simply as Massillon has one of the most storied histories of any team at the high school level not only in Ohio but in America. Here's a quick look at the background of Massillon's history in football... 22 state titles, 3rd most victories in the entire country and a stadium that seats 17,000 fans and is considered to be one of the best high school stadiums in the nation. At first these facts look pretty good but when you consider that the population of Massillon, Ohio is only 30,000 people they become staggering and it becomes very clear just how important the football team is to this particular town. The things fans will do to support a winning team will never cease to amaze many of us and when talking about Massillon Tigers fans that means spending $6 million on a project that includes an indoor practice facility. Most of the sports teams will benefit from the project but it was made possible because of the football team. The indoor practice facility named The Paul L. David Athletic Training center is 80,000 square feet (20,000 square feet larger than the Cleveland Browns indoor facility) and cost $3 million. It will soon be joined by an 18,000 square foot sports medicine building that is also nearly unheard of at the high school level. The fact that a high school has these facilities for its own use is truly amazing and is a huge reason why Massillon may forever be considered the Mecca of high school football. Follow my next blog as I move into the world of Big Red football in the always passionate Stubenville, Ohio!