Memory Lane

I often get nostalgic this time of year, what with the holidays around the corner, and the Ohio high school football playoffs set to begin this weekend.

It seems not long ago that Dad was taking me to see Hiawatha Francisco lead nationally feared Cincinnati Moeller when the Crusaders came up to Cleveland to take on annual power St. Edward, led by the elusive Chris Mobley.

Pops pulled a string or two to get me into prestigious St. Ignatius High School, which I promptly chose to leave just one semester in because the hammer surely would have dropped before the end of the second one. I wanted to get that transfer back to Plan B Richmond Heights promptly certified so I could actually earn a spot on a basketball team.

But as I went through high school, and my Spartans were adding on to the nation's longest losing streak each week, Coach Chuck Kyle was building a dynasty back at Ignatius. His daughter Maureen wasn't even 10 yet, but little did I know I'd have a big crush on her upon meeting her in Louisville 14 years later.

Anyway, one of Kyle's first state championship teams was led by Joe Pickens, who I met just two months ago when this conversation went down at a bar here in New York:

Me: "Oh, you were on that team?"
Some big guy named Joe: "I was."
Me: "Hey, that quarterback from those first title teams, Joe Pickens ... I know he started out at Ohio State, then transferred to Duke. What's he up to these days?"
Some big guy named Joe: "He's at a bar on the Upper West Side, drinking a beer right now."

Anyway, if you're like me or PAE contributor Wall and you frequent the agate page and you've got excellent recall, you've probably heard of the Richmond Heightses of the great state of Ohio. Sure those big schools are impressive, but the Buckeye state has its share of cornfields and rural roads and its own Friday night lights. So without further delay, here's a re-run of one of my favorite columns that I've ever had the privilege to write:

Ohio Prep Football: Bring On The Playoffs!