Locals still have love for local gridiron

Jul 03, 2010

By: The Morning Journal

By CORY SCHUETT
coryschuett@gmail.com

After the lights are shut off for good on Friday and Saturday nights, the vast majority of high school and college football players cease being athletes and become regular members of society.

Despite the fact that a tiny percentage of athletes play competitive, organized sports into their mid-20s, the Lake Erie Panthers offer such an opportunity.

The Panthers, in their first year of existence, are a minor league football team dedicated to creating a highly competitive, professional atmosphere along with providing a positive influence in the area.

“Obviously first thing with any team is that you want to win,” head coach and team co-owner George O’Hamill said, “but we want to give our young men a chance to play football and something constructive to do.”

The Panthers play in the Heartland Football League, which consists of 24 teams located throughout Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Last year, the HFL entered its inaugural season with 10 teams.

Athletes have to be at least 18 years old and graduated from high school. There is no age limit for the league. Most players are in their mid-to-late 20s, and two are in their 40s. All of them pay to play.

“We all get along really well,” said defensive lineman James Hamilton, who graduated from Southview in 2001. “We all share our love for football, so we have that in common. You don’t know how much you miss the game until you stop playing.”

Playing their home games at Fairview High School, the Panthers are the only minor or amateur football team on Cleveland’s West Side. O’Hamill and his coaching staff have combined for over 300 wins at the high school, college and minor league level.

The team is 0-5 with losses to the Northeast Ohio Disciples (Warren), the North Coast Vikings (Eastlake), the Lake Erie Invaders (Perry), the Mansfield Marauders and the Lima Warriors.
With two practices a week, Panthers look to keep improving.

“We are a first-year team, so they are learning to play together,” O’Hamill said. “We’re taking some of those first-year lumps, but we are becoming more and more competitive each week.”

A main objective of the team is to help support the community. In the past months, the Panthers have assisted with fundraisers and youth football camps.

“It’s great to be able to help out using the game of football,” Hamilton said. “It’s a good experience for everybody.”

Financial problems doom many small sports organizations, and the HFL has been set up to try to avoid them. Power is divided among the teams, which name spokespeople to vote on issues. The league’s Web site lists all its financial information for anybody to look up.

“The league is run the right way,” O’Hamill said. “The rules are set up so there’s no one person who runs anything. It’s all the owners. Everything is upfront.”

Players took look out for are linebackers Delmar Cunningham (North Ridgeville) and Lee Frank (Elyria). Defensive end Charles Smith and linebacker John Levoy played collegiately at LSU and Akron, respectively.

Wide receivers Joe Reaves (Marshall) Boobie Parker (Elyria) and quarterbacks Scott Phillips (Ohio State) and Fred Peters (Glenville) lead the offense.

“We have a very exciting offense, and our defense plays pretty solid,” O’Hamill. “It’s an exciting brand of football. It’s family oriented and some pretty good, cheap entertainment.”

The next game for the Panthers will be on Saturday against the Stark County Thunder. The team will be honoring military veterans for the game with an ID and a part of their uniform or medals.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 at 9:13 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.