Countdown to football: McComb

MCCOMB 2025 Record: 8-4 (5-3 BVC)Head coach: Kris Alge (28th year, 249-77) KEY GAME: Sept. 5, at Liberty-Benton. For a lot of years, a Week 10 matchup between McComb and Liberty-Benton was a showdown for the BVC title. Due to a rotation of the BVC schedule, the Panthers and Eagles, for the second year in a row, will be squaring off in a Week 3 matchup that is the BVC opener for both schools. In 20 of the past 25 seasons, one of these two schools has won at least a share of the league championship, so no matter where it falls on the schedule, this game will likely play a big role in who wears the crown. INTERESTING FACT: McComb has replaced the first two teams on its 2024 schedule – Columbus KIPP and Convoy Crestview – with two new opponents, with the end result being a brutal gauntlet of road games. Instead of Columbus KIPP, McComb opens with Monroeville, a perennial playoff team coming of a 10-2 season. In Week 2, the Panthers face Toledo Christian, which went 11-0 last season and won a second straight eight-man football state championship. And in Week 3, McComb goes up against defending BVC champion Liberty-Benton, 10-2 last season. The Panthers will be on the road for their first four games and five of their first six. The Week 2 matchup with Toledo Christian offers some interesting dynamics. Due to low numbers but determined to keep its football program going, Toledo Christian opted to play eight-man football in 2019. The Eagles did pretty well at the game, going 20-2 the past two years and outlasting the other seven eight-man teams in Ohio to win back-to-back state championships. With numbers back up, Toledo Christian is returning to the 11-man game. And while football is football, the Eagles may continue to display elements of the wide-open, high-scoring eight-man game. Last season, for example, Toledo Christian scored 50 or more points five times and averaged 45.6 points a game. MAGIC NUMBER: 1. Already the winningest coach at any BVC school with a 249-77 record, Alge needs one win to achieve another career milestone, Win No. 250 would tie Alge for 39th place on the all-time list of coaches who have achieved that many wins at Ohio high schools. He's even higher on the list of coaches who have won that many games at one school, a 15-man roll of OHSFCA Hall of Famers that includes men like Tim Goodwin (Marion Local, 325-48), John Livengood (Norwalk St. Paul, 310-87), Bill Inselmann (Patrick Henry, 271-103), Greg Dempsey (Tol. Central Catholic, 266-55), Ed Nasonti (Bellevue, 260-116) and Rex Lingruen (Liberty Center, 253-104). 2025 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Home/AwayAug. 22 Monroeville A 29 Toledo Christian ASept. 5 Liberty-Benton* A 12 Arcadia* A 19 Ada* H 26 Van Buren* AOct. 3 Leipsic* H 10 Arlington* H 17 Riverdale* A 24 Elmwood* H*Blanchard Valley Conference games