Fall sports get underway

August is here, and that means Ohio high school fall sports are back. Football, volleyball, soccer, tennis and cross country practices all officially began Thursday, after golf got a head start of a few days. Soon enough, high school athletes around the state will be competing once again. Golfers are already on courses in tournaments. Girls tennis players will be next, with the first matches coming on Aug. 9. Soccer kicks off in the area the following Friday, Aug. 16, with the first local volleyball teams taking to the court for matches on Aug. 17. Cross country's official competition opening day is Monday, Aug. 19. That all leads up to high school football Week 1, which features Friday night, Aug. 23. Every area 11-man football team will be in action that night, with local 8-man outfits Danbury and St. Mary Central Catholic slated to begin their regular seasons the following weekend. On Thursday, Port Clinton's volleyball team helped ring in the fall with its third annual Midnight Madness event, an intra-squad scrimmage that begins as soon as the calendar flips to August. Looking back to the fall of 2023: Last season's SBC football division championships were won by Perkins (Lake), Edison (Bay) and Hopewell-Loudon (River). Volleyball's Lake Division title was shared by Norwalk and Tiffin Columbian, while powerhouses Huron and Calvert also won league crowns. The new, one-division SBC soccer competitions were won by the Perkins boys and Norwalk girls. Norwalk is the defending team champion in SBC Lake girls tennis, while SMCC is coming off its first league title in 40 years after triumphing in the Bay last fall. In boys cross country, Bellevue, Edison and Old Fort are defending league champions, while the Columbian, Huron and Woodmore girls have titles to defend. Last fall's golf SBC Lake and Bay team champions were the Columbian and Margaretta boys along with the Perkins and Edison girls.