Lorain County football is up, but it still has a long way to go. For the first time in a long time, Lorain County was better than Erie and Huron counties -- a comparison many at the Journal draw upon. What does that really mean? Not much.

After reading a few discussion boards and sitting back and soaking in Friday's night's regional quarterfinal games, it's obvious strength of schedule is part of the problem. But, that strength of schedule also comes from within.

By that, I mean all teams need to improve, and not just the top-tier teams with their schedules. They can only do so much.

Take Avon, which plays Defiance Saturday night, for example. If the Eagles win, you can look at their Week 1 game at Aurora and say you saw then this team had the poise to win in the playoffs. If they lose, you can look at their West Shore Conference schedule, in which they scored more than 40 points every game, and say that conference was a detriment to their chances.

Schools like Ottawa-Glandorf, which beat up on Clearview Friday, don't just go out and schedule the best competition for the first three weeks. Their competition within the conference, from the teams they know and see every year, is strong.

In the office, we had this discussion one time with schools around Lima and basketball. In areas like that, the kids just seem to be more dedicated to the sport. I'd argue it's the more rural areas, or perhaps less distractions. Another is stability.

Avon Lake is the class of the area, and Dave Dlugosz has been there for a few decades. St. Paul makes the playoffs consistently, as does Huron. Both of their coaches have long-standing tenures. Amherst, which has a strong program, has gone through three coaches this decade. Avon is on its third coach since the last time it went 10-0 12 years ago.

The coaching situations aren't neccessarily the fault of the coaches. Take Clearview, for example. The Clippers' last two coaches, Matt Wilson and Mike Collier, have taken their teams to the playoffs. But, the Clippers went through three other coaches after Tom Hoch died in 1997 and before Wilson became coach.

The inconsistency isn't the coaches' faults. It sure isn't the athletes' faults, and believe me, they're just as talented as the kids in Lima or at Ottawa-Glandorf. The fault is with the administration. Oberlin's fall to multiple winless seasons came because a school board member wanted a new coach, and that set the program back by what seemed like light years before Dave McFarland took over.

Many of these coaching changes have come because of agendas with school board members. Look how much better Admiral King has been in the last three years -- it's because Mark Campo has been able to stay. Let the athletic directors do their jobs and oversee the athletic programs. If other administrators worry about what they need to -- which is putting their school systems in a position to succeed academically -- then athletics will take care of themselves.