LOOKING UP...even though one Cross County Conference team captured a win in week one, it's not as bad as it seems.

After the results came in for the first week of the 2008 football season, many were scratching their heads wondering if this is a down year for the Cross County Conference as a whole. And others even went so far to indicate the CCC is at the bottom of the barrel compared to other conferences in the state.

The results do speak volumes as Mississinawa Valley was the lone CCC team to get a win by defeating Dayton Jefferson 32-6 to open the Drew Era.

Plus, traditional CCC power Covington dropped its first season opener since 1994 as New Bremen handed the Buccs a 32-10 defeat. It was also Covington's first regular season loss since the 2005 season when Anna defeated the Buccs 26-8.

To make matters worse, a preseason favorite to knock Covington off its throne in the CCC, Miami East didn't get off to the start it wanted as Milton handed the Vikings a 35-28 defeat.

The list goes on as Tri-County North fell to Madison 28-14; Bethel lost to Northridge 33-13; Twin Valley South lost to Dixie 49-7; Ansonia was manhandled by Fort Recovery 48-6, Bradford was shut out by Troy Christian 27-0; National Trail lost to Preble Shawnee 53-21; and finally Arcanum was handed a 69-0 defeat by Carlisle.

Looking at the results, the people who question the strength of the CCC may have legitimate claims.

But, is it fair to make the assumption that the CCC is weak after just one weekend of football?

Considering seven of the ten teams have new coaches, it's not a fair observation at this point of the season.

It takes time for teams to gel within a new system, especially when those teams consist of teenagers.

Considering several teams in the conference have a lot of underclassmen playing significant rolls, it makes it that much more difficult for the teams to develop the continuity needed to win.

It's early - really early. Give the new coaches time to work with the kids and see how they improve from now until season's end.

Then you'll likely see things are not as bad as they seem.