AWAITING EAST...is the young, talented Ansonia Tigers and sophomore quarterback Derek Bubeck after a big win over Tri-County North.

After the first week of the season when the Cross County Conference went a combined 1-9 in the season opener, the word around the league was how down the conference was this year.

Sure, every team but Mississinawa Valley lost their opening contest, but we knew things would get better with time.

That's because virtually every team in the conference was young. Other than Miami East, it's rare to find more than a half dozen seniors in the starting lineup for any other team in the CCC.

Things looked really bad after week one, but we were bold enough to post an article stating things were not as bad as it seemed - which we took heat from other media outlets in the area.

Our position was "things would get better" - and they have. We knew teams throughout the CCC were young. We knew it would take time to improve.

Now here we are seven weeks later and the teams in the CCC have improved - drastically.

Arcanum is no longer the team that lost 69-0 in week one.

Ansonia is no longer the team that lost big to Fort Recovery in week one.

Covington isn't the same team that was handled by New Bremen in week one.

And Miami East is much better than the team that narrowly lost to Milton-Union in week one.

With the improvement the teams have shown since season opening losses, the CCC is shaping up to be very interesting with two games to play.

That's because all four teams are in the mix for the CCC Title, with Miami East controlling its own destiny.

The Vikings kept on rolling this week with a 62-0 victory over National Trail, which was the calm before the storm for Miami East as Ansonia and Arcanum await in back-to-back weeks.

Both teams are dangerous and capable of pulling off upsets (if that's what fans would like to call it if the Vikings falter).

But the schedule couldn't have worked out any better for Max Current's powerful squad as his team had high aspirations heading into the season for an historic campaign. A big game early against Covington gave Miami East the confidence it needed and two big games at season's end will only prepare the Vikings for the playoffs - should they come out with wins.

Ansonia is next for Miami East and is coming off a big win over Tri-County North, 42-10. It was a big win because the Tigers were able to rebound from a loss to Covington in a game that was within their grasp.

Should Miami East get by Ansonia, Arcanum will be waiting.

The Trojans have North this week and are steaming from a 21-14 defeat to Covington - also in a game that was there for the taking.

Arcanum is very much improved and has talent across the board - lineman and skill positions. And Quarterback Kyle Fedderjohn is fun to watch.

Rooting for both Ansonia and Arcanum is Covington.

The Buccs are finally getting healthy after being riddled with injuries throughout the year. With Mississinawa and Bethel left on the schedule, Covington has already played the three other teams still in contention - with the lone loss to Miami East.

Mississinawa is next on Covington's schedule and the Blackhawks are licking their wounds after a disappointing 7-6 loss to Bethel.

The other conference contest played in week eight was between two programs headed in the right direction with new coaches as Twin Valley South defeated Bradford 46-19.

Week eight is in the books and things are much different than week one.

Things are much better now than they seemed then - regardless of what other media sources say.