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Home > Blogs > Springfield, Ohio High School Sports > Archives > 2009 > August
August 2009
DePriest getting plenty of attention on recruiting Web sites
Ohio State football fans seem to think Springfield junior Trey DePriest will end up a Buckeye. Here’s a link to their ongoing discussion about DePriest’s future.
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Another outlook on Springfield’s win over Hamilton
From the Hamilton Journal News:
“Springfield is a good team, but we probably should’ve won by 21 points … that’s how I feel,” said Hamilton senior quarterback Drew Townsend, who tallied a career-high 234 yards and four touchdowns on 17-of-35 passing. “Toward the end, they had a little more heart than we did.”
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Week 1 football highlights from KR-NE and Springfield-Hamilton
Check out these video highlights from Northeastern’s big win over Kenton Ridge on Friday, Aug. 28 and Springfield’s come from behind victory over Hamilton on Saturday, Aug. 29:
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Springfield beats Hamilton 35-28 in OT
Down 21-7 with 11 minutes left in the game, Springfield scored 21 unanswered points, saw Hamilton tie the game in the final seconds and then beat the Big Blue 35-28 in one overtime period Saturday afternoon at Evans Stadium.
Springfield junior Trey DePriest had a monster game, rushing for three touchdowns and catching another. He also hit 3-of-4 extra points, performed all kickoff and punting dutes and, of course, played linebacker.
DePriest’s short TD run in overtime gave Springfield the lead, and then the Wildcats shut down Hamilton after it got the ball in OT.
Maybe the biggest play of the day, however, was made by Springfield junior Hayden Davis, who returned an interception for a touchdown with 3:35 left in the fourth quarter, giving Springfield a 28-21 lead.
Hamilton then tied the game on a TD pass with 29 seconds left.
The Wildcats are 1-0.
In other action, Tecumseh beat Fairborn 21-14 on Saturday.
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Springfield, Tecumseh, Greenon games postponed
Friday night’s Hamilton at Springfield football game was postponed at 8:29 p.m. It will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at Evans Stadium.
The scheduled kickoff of 7:30 p.m. Friday was pushed back because of a storm. The teams were warming up when lightning was spotted again, and this time, the game was moved to Saturday.
Friday’s Tecumseh at Fairborn game was also postponed. It will be played at noon Saturday.
Greenon’s home game against Thurgood Marshall was postponed until 11 a.m. today.
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2009 News-Sun High School Football Preview: Quest for the Ring
Each and every season is a fresh start in Ohio prep football. Although only six teams will win state championships, that doesn’t keep every other team in the state from dreaming of state glory.
The Springfield News-Sun 2009 High School Football Preview is based on the playoffs, everything from the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory, the near-misses and what it takes to make the playoffs in Ohio.
It’s all about the quest for the ring.
Clark and Champaign counties have never won a state title, but two teams finished as state runner-up, Catholic Central and Urbana.
One area coach, Chris Kosiorek, won a state title as an assistant coach at Cleveland Benedictine. Winning football games is also important because it helps build better people.
Making the playoffs is also a difficult task in its own right. That wasn’t the case before the playoff system, where Springfield High School won two state poll championships.
Here are links to a preview for each area football team, broken down by conference:
Greater Western Ohio Conference
Central Buckeye Conference
Ohio Heritage Conference
Metro Buckeye Conference
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Catholic Central High School, Cedarville High School, Central Buckeye Conference, Coaches, Football preview, Graham High School, Greater Western Ohio Conference, Greeneview High School, Greenon High School, High School Football, Kenton Ridge High School, Mechanicsburg High School, North High School, Northeastern High School, Northwestern High School, OHSAA, Ohio Heritage Conference, Shawnee High School, South High School, Southeastern High School, Springfield High School, State Championships, Tecumseh, Triad High School, Urbana High School, West Liberty-Salem High School, Yellow Springs High School
Springfield’s first test, Hamilton, will be strong again
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, coaches in the Greater Miami Conference think enough of Hamilton to pick them fourth in the league —Â meaning Springfield will once again have its hands full in Friday’s season-opener.
They’ve got a strong coach in former C-J boss Jim Place, who won a state title in 2002. Senior DT Darius Gilbert (81/2 sacks, fumble recovery); senior QB Drew Townsend (1,110 yards passing); junior RB Devin Jarrett (669 yards, six touchdowns) and senior LB Gerald Davis (two sacks) will lead the Hamilton charge.
Here’s their outlook for 2009 from the Enquirer:
Hamilton has high expectations after narrowly missing the playoffs last season. But the schedule is very tough; three of the first five games are against Moeller, Lakota West and Colerain. Still, coaches around the league think Hamilton could make a significant impact. Gilbert has six college scholarship offers, and Davis is a major college prospect, according to Place. Jarrett is up to 210 pounds after an effective sophomore season.
The Wildcats, coming off a 3-7 season where they narrowly missed the playoffs, will host Hamilton at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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Adventure racer McNeil’s team finishes Primal Quest
Springfield’s Mickey McNeil and Team MAAR completed the 2009 Primal Quest in South Dakota on Sunday. This was the fourth time McNeil has competed in the Primal Quest and the second time her team has finished the race.
The team finished 22nd out of 26 teams that finished the 600-mile race. Team MAAR started the race at 7:45 a.m. Aug. 14 and finished at 11:59 a.m. Aug. 24.
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Training Camp Insider: Cedarville
New coach Austin Steward is embracing the history of Cedarville football.
Players don’t have to go far in the high school without seeing some reminder of the program’s past success.
They haven’t got to experience that success themselves as the program hasn’t had a winning season since 2001, but if history is any indication, hope is not lost for the Indians.
Steward replaces Cedarville legend Jim Villinger, who came out of retirement to coach the team in 2008.
“I’m sort of trying to continue what he started last year as far as his offense and his philosophy of coaching and expand on that,” Steward said. “We will rely on him a lot for help as we go through the season.”
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Training Camp Insider: Greeneview
Count Greeneview among the growing list of programs turning to the spread offense.
“I think it gives you the ability to put athletes in space and forces the defense to make adjustment,” said new coach Isaac Seevers, formerly the quarterbacks/wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator at Anderson University. “It’s taken off the last 10 years or so. At the college level, that’s what we did, so I’ve got some experience with that.”
Seevers inherited a small roster and a program that hasn’t had a winning season in the last 10, but he brings enthusiasm into the new season. He’s excited for the season opener against Dayton Christian.
“It’s going to take us a while to change the culture and get a winning attitude,” Seevers said. “I’m excited to see our kids compete. I’ll be nervous. I always get nervous, playing or coaching.”
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Training Camp Insider: Northeastern
Northeastern has had only two losing seasons in the last 10, and maybe that’s one reason coach Scott Rolf is so optimistic heading into the 2009 campaign.
He and the Jets know that last year’s 2-8 finish was more an aberration than a trend. While the program hasn’t won the OHC title or made the playoffs since 2003, it had gone 20-20 from 2004-07 before last season.
Rolf, entering his fourth season, hopes the returning players learned how to deal with adversity last year. The Jets dealt with numerous injuries in 2008.
Rolf also sees hope in the that the JV team has gone 15-5 the last two seasons, including 8-2 last year when it lost two games by one score each. Many of those players will be playing varsity year.
If the Jets improve this year, it might be because of their defense.
“We’re going to run a 3-5-3 this year,” Rolf said. “We ran that a couple years ago against Mechanicsburg and won a big game. Two years ago, we ran that defense primarily. So we’re going to go back to that, and we’re going to use that as more of a base defense. We’ll still have 4-3 look at times, but we’re going to have that 3-5-3 a little more.”
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Football preview: WLS has a stingy defense
It’s going to be hard to top what West Liberty-Salem did on defense in 2008 — 47 points allowed in the regular season was by far the lowest in the area.
That defense was reason the Tigers went 9-2 and advanced to the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.
Returning for 2009 includes leading rusher Zac Culley (951 yards, 10 TDs) and receiver Austin Wilson (450 yards, 4 TDs).
On defense, top tackler Collin Link is back with his 114 tackles (56 solo). Jake Anderson had three interceptions.
WLS head coach Toby Smith said he’s pleased with the team’s progress, but they are thin at certain positions. Staying healthy will be an important part of the Tigers’ success.
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Wagner earns starting nod at Akron
Catholic Central High School graduate Brian Wagner will be getting his first taste of Division I college football this fall.
Wagner, the 2007 Division VI defensive player of the year in Ohio, has earned a starting spot at linebacker at Akron University, according to Tom Gaffney of the Akron Beacon Journal:
Brian Wagner spent the 2008 football season observing Kevin Grant and apparently will spend the 2009 season replacing him. Wagner, a redshirt freshman at the University of Akron, has earned a starting spot at middle linebacker, a position that Grant held with distinction for four years. ”It’s exciting to follow him. It would be an honor to play as well as he did,” Wagner said. ”I want to work hard the rest of camp and hopefully do well this year myself.”
The Zips open the season at Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Noon. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
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Football preview: Northwestern has a new direction
Brian Stevens wants to run the football. Northwestern’s new head football coach has made no secret that the Warriors’ success, with Stevens guiding the team, will be through a ground game.
That, and strong defense and good special teams. Easier said than done, but Stevens has been a part of this kind of turnaround before. The plan sounds a lot like the reinvention at Greenon, where Stevens was a successful assistant.
Northwestern’s changes will be most felt on the offense. The Warriors ran a spread formation in the past seasons, but now will have to learn how to run block instead of pass block.
The Warriors will run the same 3-5 defense as years past, but with some twists brought in by Stevens. Northwestern finished 1-9 in 2008, scored an area-low 79 points and allowed 271.
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Football preview: Greenon has a new look
Everything’s new this season for the Greenon football team, from the head coach to the plays the Knights will run.
John Jewell took over for Tim Hale over the summer. He wants to run a spread offense, much different from last season’s wing-T. Jewell also wants the Knights to be more aggressive on defense with stunts and blitz plays.
The Knights will have a new quarterback, Josh Pilcher. Pilcher is a good athlete and intercepted eight passes on defense last season.
Most people hear “spread offense” and think about teams throwing the ball. That’s not exactly the point — it does incorporate more pass plays, but it also opens up the run game by “spreading out” the defense. A 50/50 run-to-pass ratio is usually the desired mix.
Greenon have won at least five games every year since 2005. The Knights will be an experienced group, and the key will be how to merge the new coach’s philosophy with the players’ abilities.
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Training Camp Insider: Graham
Its basketball team has compiled two straight 20-0 regular seasons. Its wrestling program is one of the nation’s best, having won nine consecutive state championships.
It wasn’t long ago that Graham High School’s football team, too, was a consistent winner. From 1999-2005, its record was 51-21.
But after back-to-back 2-8 seasons, head coach Steve Graves’ contract was not renewed. Nic Black, a Piqua and Wittenberg graduate, was named the new coach in January.
Black immediately started scouting the Graham basketball team to get an idea of what kind of talent he would be inheriting. Several key members of the basketball team — Ethan Ward, Nick VanHoose, Ryan Zook, Casey Crable — will also be major contributors during football season.
“The tradition in the athletic department is something we want to continue,” Black said, “and make sure in the fall we’re representing the school in the same way.”
Logan White, perhaps the team’s most important player in that he was the team’s leading rusher and scorer last season, was a member of the wrestling team. He placed third in the state meet.
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Southeastern: Is this a breakout year?
That optimism you sense in South Charleston comes from the football team. After scoring 105 points in the final three games of the 2008 season, the Trojans are pumped for 2009.
Southeastern moved to a spread offense halfway through last year with new head coach Greg Bonifay. They’ve had a full off-season to prepare for 2009.
Reed Florence, the Trojans Qb, passed for 1,622 yards and 13 TDs last season. His main targets are Tyler Cooper (370 receiving yards in 2008), Preston Snodgrass, Austin Mercer and J.P. McFarland. The line is big, averaging 6-foot-3 and 266 pounds.
The defense will benefit from the return of linebackers Cody Artis and Bo Timmons, plus linebackers Austin Henry, Jordan Timmons and Jordan Hitt.
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Don’t overlook Greenon girls soccer this fall
LeeAnn Shaffer and her 93 career goals are gone. The crisp passes Leslie Oliver provided from the middle of the field and the wall defense of defenders Kasey Matthews and Kayla Falkenbach and goalkeeper Emma McCoy are gone as well.
One of Greenon High School’s most decorated girls soccer senior classes have graduated after winning two consecutive Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division titles. They finished unbeaten in back-to-back regular seasons.
Most will expect Greenon to be down in 2009, but coach Ray Raines is expecting big things once again.
“We have to adapt from all the players that we lost,” Raines said. “We have kids in those positions who’ll step up and do the job. We’re moving forward and that’s a big key. We’re going to come in and fight very hard. They’re eager to get out there and perform. It will be interesting.”
Defenders Maggie Picolo and Brittany Ennemoser and sweeper Kyra Dorney all return at the back for the Knights.
“Our defense is still in tact,” Raines said. “That’s going to be our strength.
Offensively, Raines said the Knights will be dangerous on set pieces.
“We’ve got kids who can hook balls left and right,” Raines said. “If we stay focused on our set pieces, we’ll be very good. You’re going to see goals come from a lot of different people this year.”
The Knights will be tested outside of the conference this season, facing the likes of Circleville, Carroll, Wyoming and Jonathan Alder.
“Our early games are extremely tough,” Raines said.
Team chemistry will be key for the Knights, who hope to keep their winning tradition alive.
“The main thing is coming together,” Raines said. “If they do that, we can achieve our goals.”
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Football preview: Northeastern excited for season
There’s something to be said for a big roster, but Northeastern head coach Scott Rolf prefers a small roster that works hard.
That’s where the Jets find themselves heading into the 2009 season. With the roster in the mid-30s, the numbers are the smallest in Rolf’s four seasons.
But look who’s back: QB Damon Williams has been in Rolf’s system for four years. Chad Phillips led the Jets in scoring and is a big part of the wishbone and the defense. Reid Adkins was the leading receiver. Brand Setty and Brian Mabry are back on the line.
So it’s no wonder the Jets are excited to get the season underway.
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Central boys soccer ready for big things
The Catholic Central High School boys soccer team has had 23 straight winning seasons and 23 straight seasons of 10 wins or more. They’ve won seven of eight Ohio Heritage Conference titles, including three outright titles. They’ve also won two Division III titles (2001 and 2007).
This year, the Irish are loaded once again after graduating just one senior from last year’s 12-win team.
Junior forward Joe Halula, a D-III All-Ohio Second Team selection, will lead the Irish offense this season. Halula provides great speed at the top of the Irish attack. He led the area with 20 assists last fall.
The Irish have another dangerous scorer in sophomore midfielder Calum Latham, who scored an area-best 26 goals during the regular season last fall.
Defensively, the Irish return a strong unit including senior goalkeeper J.P. Derr, who had a goals against average of 0.8. Senior Marco Campolo and juniors Alex Chase, Danny LeMelle and Dan Mullins round out the defensive unit.
“Our defense has been great this summer,” said Irish coach Shane Latham. “Teams find it very hard to get behind us.”
The Irish also have a tough non-conference schedule. They open with Cincinnati Seven Hills in the Private School Tournament on Tuesday, Aug. 25 and play Cincinnati Summit Country Day, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy and Dayton Christian among others.
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An inspiring story of two wrestlers: One blind, one legless
From ESPN.com:
Two high school wrestlers, one blind and one with no legs, discover the meaning of true friendship.
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Training Camp Insider: Northwestern
Of all the players I’ve interviewed over the last three weeks (close to 40 players at this point from 16 teams), four seniors from Northwestern — Brandon Vose, Taylor Turnmire, DeRick Newton and James Mantel — did the best in front of the camera as a group.
These seniors haven’t had a winning record since they were freshman, and they are coming off a 1-9 season, but I was impressed by their optimism and energy heading into 2009 with a new coach, Brian Stevens.
One of the more enthusiastic players was senior lineman Brandon Vose, who runs his own DJ business, Good Vibrations, when he’s not suiting up for the Warriors.
Vose said Stevens has improved the team’s discipline and tempo in practice. He likes the way the defense is shaping up.
“We’re a lot more aggressive. We’re flying around,” Vose said. “I feel bad for the O. That’s all I can say.”
“We’ve got a lot of guys who play fast,” Stevens said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can hit you. We don’t have just one or two defensive players. We really feel like we’ve got 15 to 20 kids who can play for us on Friday night.”
Vose said the team has been working hard since the day Stevens was hired.
“We were out here puking,” Vose said. “He had us going. He’s the real deal.”
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Football preview: Urbana wants to continue success
When Urbana needed a new high school football coach, the Hillclimbers turned to Geron Stokes, a 2003 grad.
He played, and coached, under Dave Carroll. Carroll was well liked and built a winning program at Urbana. Now it’s Stokes’ job to continue the tradition.
The biggest change fans will see this season is on offense. A strong offensive line, tight ends, fullbacks, and tailback Josh Calhoun hope to run up and down the field.
Leading tackler Braydon Gomes is back, along with tackle offensive tackle Brandon Herren (6-foot, 269 pounds).
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Training Camp Insider: Shawnee
Everybody seems to think Tecumseh is the big favorite in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division, but nobody took more delight in pinning the bull’s eye on the Arrows’ back than Shawnee head coach Rick Meeks.
Meeks is good friends with Tecumseh head coach Kent Massie.
“Tecumseh, unquestionably, should win the division with what they’ve got coming back,” Meeks said. “Coach Massie’s not going to want to hear that, but that’s the truth.”
The Braves, however, are also hungry for a title, or at least their first winning season since 2005. Last year, they were a .500 team for the second time in four years and even broke even in points (196-196).
The got off to a 4-2 start, but lost three of their last four by big margins, to Tecumseh, Bellefontaine and Tippecanoe.
Meeks knows his team has a lot of question marks going into the season. One new starter they will depend on is quarterback Evan Storts.
“He’s a two-time state qualifier in wrestling,” Meeks said. “He’s a senior class president. He’s got great character. He’s skinny; he looks like a stick. But he’s tough. He’s a competitor. He can throw the ball. He can run the option. He’s a leader. The kids respect him.”
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Tecumseh boys soccer ready for strong year
Tecumseh High School returns a strong nucleus of 10 players from its boys soccer team that finished 14-3-2 last fall.
Arrows coach Jason Runner said the success has only made his team hungry for more in 2009.
“They’re really determined and focused on what they want to do,” Runner said. “They’ve worked hard and they’re gelling together. We’ve got team unity. It’s way early, but it’s nice to see that.”
The Arrows have a big group this season with 18 on varsity and 17 on the junior varsity. He said the competition has been a good thing for the program.
“There are a lot of people fighting over those positions,” Runner said. “Practices are really intense.”
Forward Zach Schwartz is the team’s returning leading scorer with eight goals and four assists last season.
“He’s going to be dangerous up top,” Runner said.
He said his team has several kids who can score on set pieces and corner kicks.
“We’re really dangerous with everybody,” Runner said.
The Arrows are hoping to claim the CBC Kenton Trail Division title this season after finishing second to Tippecanoe last fall. It was ties to Graham and Shawnee last year that hurt their chances, and Runner hopes they’ve learned from it.
“Hopefully, this year we’re focused more and know that anything can happen at anytime,” Runner said.
Runner knows his group is willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“They’ve got the desire and the want,” Runner said. “They really devoted themselves to that. I can really just sit back and let them play.”
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Training Camp Insider: Southeastern
Just to get to practice, Southeastern’s football players have to run. Drive through South Charleston in August, and you just might spot the team running from the Tizwhiz Feeds plant south of town up South Church Street to the high school.
Head coach Greg Bonifay, in his second season, doesn’t mind. It’s just another way to get his players moving. And this year, the Trojans could be moving up in the Ohio Heritage Conference.
They finished 3-7 in 2008 for the second straight seasons but lost two games by one point and three more by seven points or less.
Last year, the Trojans switched to the spread offense in Week 5, and they will stick to it this season with four-year starter Reed Florence leading the way at quarterback.
“We’ve gotten to work a lot on it instead of putting it in halfway through the season,” Bonifay said. “It fits our athletes better. We’ve got some tall receivers, some athletic receivers with good hands. We’re pretty deep at receiver. We thought it would be a good offense for us our quarterback’s arm.”
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Football preview: Shawnee returns plenty on defense
In 2008, the Shawnee football team allowed 196 points — pretty consistent considering two opponents (Tipp and Tecumseh) combined to score 97 of those.
This season the Braves have eight starters back: linemen Dylan Jamison, Nick Storts and Jared Easterday, defensive ends Eric DeWitt and Brad MacLeod, plus Kris Hanaway at linebacker. In the secondary, Sam Marshall, Dan Rohrer and Cody Combs also return.
The front seven will be one of the team’s strengths this year, head coach Rick Meeks said.
Kris Hanaway’s ability to build on last season’s 812 rushing yards in 2008 will be another.
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Football preview: Catholic Central has a new look
Few teams in the state have experience as much success as Catholic Central’s football program in recent seasons. Six straight playoff appearances and one trip to the state tournament are proof of that.
But many of the contributors from those teams are gone. Two seniors, Pat Sheehan and Devon Halloran, will be the team leaders.
The Fighting Irish will be able to distribute the ball to Sheehan, Ryan Tumblison, Sebastian Monnin and Jake Aldridge.
The top two tacklers are back: Halloran (97) and Sheehan (87).
The freshman and sophomore classes are huge, so the younger Irish players will need to make an immediate impact for continued success.
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Football preview: Springfield’s D is strong
Much has been written about the Springfield High School defense, and the Wildcats deserve every bit of it.
The Wildcats allowed 204 yards per game in 2008, second in the Greater Western Ohio Conference. They’ll need the defense to be strong again for continued success in 2009. Hayden Davis, Desmond McCowan, B.J. Bush and Trey DePriest give Springfield a strong base.
Many players, including Josh Bass, Onslow Williams and DePriest, will be playing both offense and defense this season. The Wildcats need to find five new starters on the offensive line.
And head coach Rick Robertson swears the Wildcats are going to be better at kicking extra points this season. DePriest was a kicker in his freshman year at South. Freshman Meghan Prendergast will get a chance to kick, as well.
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Training Camp Insider: Kenton Ridge
I’ve covered Kenton Ridge in its last two seasons openers, both wins over Northeastern. Last year, after watching Ethan Sharpin throw five touchdowns in a 42-28 victory, I assumed good things lay ahead for the Cougars.
Instead, Kenton Ridge finished 3-7, suffering just its second losing season in head coach Joel Marratta’s first season seasons.
To be fair, everyone knew the Cougars were rebuilding in 2008. They had lost the entire defense and eight starters on offense from the 2007 team that finished 6-4.
This year, many of the players from 2008 do return, including Kevin Johnson, the team’s top rusher and receiver. Leadership from players like Johnson and running back/linebacker Jacob Kelly is important.
“They’ve got varsity experience, and they know what it takes to play at the Friday Night level,” Marratta said. “Hopefully, that filters down to the younger kids. They need to be coaches on the field. When things go poorly at times, we need to regroup and play every down like it’s our last and not hang our heads and try to get the job done.”
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Training Camp Insider: Urbana
Of all the speeches I’ve seen in the last two weeks by area football coaches, Geron Stokes might have given the best. It was so good you would have thought he had written it down and was reading from cue cards, but it seemed to be improvised.
In the speech last week, Stokes ran through the early part of the Urbana’s schedule, warning his players they were going to lose each game if they didn’t start working hard in practice.
If the players weren’t motivated by the speech, they at least know who they’re playing in the first four weeks of the season.
All the new young coaches I’ve met this season — a list that so far includes Stokes at Urbana, Brian Stevens at Northwestern, Nic Black at Graham, Isaac Seevers at Greeneview and Austin Steward at Cedarville — have impressed me with their energy and enthusiasm.
Of all those coaches, Stokes probably walks into the best situation. Urbana is a consistent winner with six playoff appearances in the last eight years under Dave Carroll, and Stokes knows the program and the community well. He is a 2003 Urbana graduate and was an assistant coach the last three seasons.
Urbana should be a hungry team. It was one of only a handful of 9-1 teams in Ohio to not make the playoffs in 2008.
As for the new coach, he doesn’t plan any major changes to the playbook.
“We’re going to try to run the football a lot and play our tough disciplined defense,” Stokes said. “Nothing really has changed. I’ve put my own little twist on the program, and our kids have transitioned into it really well.”
Urbana’s new quarterback this year will be senior Seth Young. Last year’s starter, Nate Reisinger, who graduated, did a good job preparing Young for this season, Stokes said, and continues to help the new starter in practice this August.
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Football preview: Tecumseh has plenty back
After a 10-0 regular season and 11-1 overall record in 2008, the Tecumseh football team returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense.
That’s too many players to name here, so check out these stats instead: The Arrows led the Central Buckeye Conference with 382.7 yards per game. They allowed a tiny 190.1.
The Arrows bring back their top tacklers (Kyle Sanning and Zeke Eier) and top rushers (Dustin Holmes, Jeremy Strahan and Sanning).
Every coach I’ve spoken with said Tecumseh is the team to beat in the Kenton Trail Division. Yet the teams that finished behind them are stacked this year: Bellefontaine, Tippecanoe, Shawnee and Kenton Ridge.
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Training Camp Insider: Tecumseh
You don’t go 10-0 without wind sprints. On the day I was at practice last week, the Tecumseh football team wore out the grass on their practice field with a series of sprints in the August sun.
Head coach Kent Massie pushed them the whole way, yelling out reminders of their goals. Hosting a playoff game, beating Tippecanoe again, etc. The players had to hear him, even over the drumbeat of their feet hitting the ground again and again.
Here’s a little more of what they heard:
“All the way through!”
“Every time now!”
“That’s better.”
“Push it!”
“Get up there!”
“Let’s go. Let’s go get Tipp right here.”
The Arrows went 10-0 last year and lost in the second round of the playoffs. Duplicating that season would be quite a feat, but the Arrows have enough returning players to make that a realistic goal.
Tecumseh lost six starters, but it returns most of the guys who touch in the ball in the backfield: quarterback and three-year starter Riley Gault and running backs Dustin Holmes, Kyle Sanning and Jeremy Strahan. Those four players were the team’s top four rushing yard gainers in 2008.
“We have some pretty good depth in the back field,” Massie said. “Those guys are physical guys, and they run well.”
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Remembering Jonathan Glass
Former South High School athlete Jonathan Glass died in a car accident on Friday, Aug. 7.
Here is a story the News-Sun published on him in 2002.
GLASS REFLECTING FAMILY SUCCESS
UNCLE VICTOR TEACHES SOUTH TRACK STAR HOW TO BE A WINNER
By KEVIN VAN BRIMMER
News-Sun Sports Writer
Jonathan Glass knows Springfield at 4 a.m. better than most people. He could tell you where every street light in his neighborhood is at and which ones need to be replaced.
Getting up nearly two hours before his school mates and running through town for 45 minutes may not sound like the ideal way to start the morning, but the South senior isn’t complaining.
He wants to win a state track title and this is how his uncle tells him it can be done. And his uncle, Victor Glass, knows a thing or two about winning a state title.
“He ran track and his worst place was second in the state from his freshman to his senior year,” Jonathan says. “So he knows what he is talking about.”
Victor won eight state championships from 1990-93 for Yellow Springs High School, including one individual in the 200 dash and seven relay team titles. The Bulldogs won the team title his freshman year. His worst finish was actually fifth, in the 100 dash his senior year.
Last year Jonathan got a glimpse at the glory he could realize this spring when he finished fifth in the state in the 300 meter hurdles. Glass is also a standout in the 110 hurdles and starts the Wildcats’ 4x400 relay team.
“He’s just a natural athlete,” said South coach Dix Firestone. “He might be the best athlete in the area. I wish I could use him in seven or eight events.”
As it is, Glass is limited to four events per meet, with the high jump rounding out his lineup card. Glass’ athletic ability is apparent in his domination of hurdle races, but the high jump showcases it — he hurdles the bar up to 5 foot, 6 inches.
But hurdles and relays are his bread-and-butter. And those are the events he is eyeing to win at states.
“He has the strides most great track runners have,” Victor said. “The way he’s talking and seeing him run, I can see him winning the 300 hurdles.”
But a year ago, Glass was ready to turn in his spikes. After finishing a very disappointing third in the 300 hurdles in the Western Ohio League meet, the kid who hates to lose was ready to quit.
“I didn’t think I had what it takes to get to states and was ready to give up,” Glass said. “Then my uncle told me to keep my head up and just focus. He started working with me for districts and I stayed in it. The outcome (at states) was OK, but I’m not satisfied with it.”
“He’s like my little brother,” Victor said. “I tell him to believe in himself. The more and more I’ve been working with him, he’s started to tell that he can do it. All it boils down to is his dedication and the want to do better.”
Jonathan, who also starred for the Wildcats on the football field, has become a good student for his uncle, allowing him to push him to his physical limits. And whenever he gets discouraged, he need go no farther than Victor for inspiration.
“I’m trying to be better than him,” Jonathan said.
But individual goals are just part of what drives the younger Glass. He wants a shot at a team title _ another desire nurtured by Victor’s stories.
“He said I need to get my team members to work harder and strive to be great so we can win as a team,” Glass said. “He said there’s nothing like having your friends and teammates (at states) with you.”
And Victor knows his nephew has taken his words to heart.
“I can tell, I see it in him,” Victor said. “He’s trying to get the team together and do things together. I’ve really noticed that this year.”
So Glass will continue counting the street lights of Springfield, knowing that each morning he finds another one burned out takes him a step closer to a shot at state glory.
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Engle will provide punch for Shawnee golf
The Shawnee High School boys golf team lost a few key players to graduation this season, but incoming freshman Clark Engle will provide a massive punch for the Braves this season.
“He’s the best freshman I’ve ever had hands down,” said Braves head coach Steve Tincher.
Engle has played on the Plantations Junior Golf Tour since 2006, and was named the Southern Ohio PGA Junior Tour Player of the Year in the 12 to 13-year-old age group.
Tincher said he’s consistently shooting 36 in practice at Reid North.
“When we hit some of these other courses, he’ll be able to shoot sub par,” Tincher said.
Tincher said Engle doesn’t hit the ball very far, but understands how to manage the course and has a great short game.
“He knows how to score,” Tincher said.
Michael Hogan, Derek Tincher and Hall will also see action in the Braves’ top-4.
“We’ve got three kids who are pretty close to each other,” Tincher said.
The Braves hope to challenge for the league title, but Tincher knows they’ll also be some youthful growing pains along the way.
“We’ll have nights where we’ll look great, but they’ll be other nights where we struggle,” Tincher said.
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Training Camp Insider: Mechanicsburg
Last season will never be far from the minds of Mechanicsburg’s players as they prepare for the 2009 campaign.
In their locker room up the hill from the football stadium, the coaches have posted the box score from their lone loss in 2008, 28-13 to Sidney Lehman Catholic in the regional final. Above the box score, it reads, “Do You Remember?”
Below that is another box score, this from a loss to West Jefferson in the 2007 season opener. The Indians again open with West Jefferson this season, on Aug. 28.
If those games aren’t motivation enough, the coaches have also posted a list of the team’s goals in 2009:
“Be the more physical team in every game we play!”
“Beat West Jefferson!”
“Win the OHC!”
“Make the playoffs!”
“Win the region!”
The goals are simple enough. Achieving them will be something else. The Indians lost a number of key players from the 2008 squad that went 12-1. Among those was graduated senior quarterback Andy Huffman, who led the area’s top-scoring offense last season.
Replacing him will be senior Joe Webb, Huffman’s top target at receiver last fall, and junior Alex Huffman.
“Both of those guys are competing and doing a great job throwing the ball,” Mechanicsburg coach Chris Kosiorek said. “We’ve had a very successful summer at 7-on-7s.”
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Football preview: Kenton Ridge
Speaking with Kenton Ridge head coach Joel Marratta today, and I couldn’t help but feel his enthusiasm.
Marratta kept using words like, “coachable” and “self-motivated” when describing his team. Strong groups of seniors, juniors and sophomores.
The optimism springs from plenty of returners, including 10 of 11 starters on defense. Some will be in new spots this season, including senior Jake Kelly. Kelly will move to outside linebacker. The move will put him in a better position to make plays, Marratta said.
The Cougars needed to make some changes this season, especially on defense. They allowed 333 points last season, and 40 or more points five times.
On offense, Kevin Johnson is a senior and three-year starter. He can also bend a defender’s ankle’s with the best of them. He compiled over 1,154 receiving and rushing yards last season. Look for him to be strong again.
In 2008 the Cougars won three games and lost two games by a combined nine points. So they were a couple bounces away from going 5-5. There’s plenty to build on at KR. Let the optimism ensue.
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Arm injuries on the rise for youth baseball players
From NewYorkTimes.com:
About a dozen years ago Andrews noticed a trend — the number of teenage patients seeing him for shoulder and elbow injuries had begun to rise. In 2001 and 2002, he performed a total of 13 shoulder operations on teenagers. Over the next six years, he did 241 such operations. The surge in the number of Tommy John elbow operations was every bit as drastic: 9 from 1995 to 1998, 65 over the next four years, 224 from 2003 to 2008. Colleagues across the nation reported similar increases. “An epidemic” is how Andrews described the phenomenon to me. Alden’s Tommy John surgery, while successful, left a sour taste in his mouth. “The operation was designed for older, professional athletes,” Andrews said. “Now it’s just the opposite.” In 1996, he decided he wanted to do something about it.
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Levy failure in Columbus affects area teams
The failure of the South-Western School District’s levy in Columbus last week could make things tougher for several area teams. Four high schools — Grove City, Westland, Central Crossing and Franklin Heights — won’t field football teams this season, and many of the players from those schools are transferring to other high schools.
London High School, for example, which plays Urbana in Week 1 and Northeastern in Week 3, has accepted 23 students from the South-Western District, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Some of them will play football for London.
West Jefferson, which plays at Mechanicsburg in Week 1, has also accepted students from the district.
Failed levy may bring students to county
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Training Camp Insider: Catholic Central
Patrick Sheehan and Devon Halloran won’t have a lot of company on Senior Night. They are the only two seniors on Catholic Central’s football team in 2009.
“Me and Pat have some big roles to fill,” said Halloran, an offensive lineman and linebacker. “We have to step up and be senior leaders.”
Just two years ago, the Irish had 14 seniors, and that team won the regional championship.
“It hasn’t been the same since in terms of experience,” coach Steve DeWitt said, “so we’re trying to rebuild that experience.”
Though they are a small class, Sheehan and Halloran have a lot to brag about. In their first three seasons, the Irish have posted a total record of 31-7 (10-2, 13-1, 8-4). The class that graduated in 2006 went 36-12 in their four seasons.
Sheehan, a wide receiver and safety, has been contributing since his freshman season. He kicked a 26-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to beat Sidney Lehman Catholic in the first round of the playoffs in 2006.
Speaking of playoff success, the Irish’s top player from the 2007 regional champion team, Brian Wagner, should see his first collegiate action this season. Wagner redshirted last season as a freshman at the University of Akron. Here’s a link to his bio on Akron’s Web site.
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Tecumseh boys golf has experience, depth
Matt Ehlinger’s happy to get a full offseason with his Tecumseh High School golf team.
That wasn’t the case last season, as he took over the squad right before the season started. The Arrows still managed to finish second in the CBC Kenton Trail Division.
They’ve got even bigger expectations this fall.
“We’ve been working hard all spring and summer,” Ehlinger said. “I’ve seen a lot of improvement. There’s a lot of healthy competition going on for spots. We’re hoping to have a pretty good season.”
The Arrows return its four top players, including Kyle Furlong, Scott Rogers, Zach Rapp and Kyle Jeffers.
Ehlinger said consistentcy will be key for his squad this season.
“We need to go out and have each guy focusing on what they can do and not do too much,” Ehlinger said. “We just need to take one shot at a time and see what happens.
“Everybody’s excited,” Ehlinger continued. “Hopefully all the hard work we put in will pay off.”
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Fall sports practices underway today
While three varsity sports — football, boys golf and girls golf — are already underway, the remaining slate off fall sports — boys soccer, girls soccer, boys cross country, girls cross country, girls tennis and volleyball — begin practice, today, Monday, Aug. 10.
Here’s a quick look back at 2008 with a short glimpse into the 2009 season:
Girls Soccer: Greenon’s girls team completed its second straight unbeaten regular season, finishing 14-0-2 in 2008. They won their second straight CBC Mad River Division title before falling to Waynesville in a D-II district final match. The Knights will look to reload this season after losing six seniors, including News-Sun All-Area Player of the Year LeeAnn Shaffer.
Girls Tennis: The area’s top girls tennis player, Catholic Central’s Leah Ann Miller, returns for her senior season this fall after earning three News-Sun All-Player of the Year honors (she shared the award with Northwestern senior Megan Asterino last year). She’ll also get some help from Frannie Trempe, an Irish senior who went 19-3 at second singles last year. Both will have designs on getting to state tournament in 2009.
Boys Cross Country: All five boys who competed at the state cross country meet — Northwestern’s Ben Jones, Greenon’s Gareth Graver, Kenton Ridge’s Chris Lykins and Yellow Springs’ Jake and Brock GunderKline —Â have graduated, leaving a big hole to fill around the area. Graham, Northeastern and Kenton Ridge all return strong squads in 2009.
Girls Cross Country: The Northwestern girls cross country team finished eighth at the state cross country meet in 2008, up one spot from their ninth-place finish in 2007. The Warriors graduated just one senior, Kasey Hosier, who competed in four straight state cross country meets. The Warriors will likely return their entire squad in 2009 and will be a state contender once again.
Volleyball: Springfield’s Lindsey Butterfield, the 2008 News-Sun All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year, returns for her senior season after 3.5 kills, 1.3 digs, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 aces per game last season for the 18-5 Wildcats, who return a boatload of talent this fall. West Liberty-Salem, Southeastern and Urbana also return strong squads in 2009.
Boys Soccer: The Catholic Central boys soccer squad, who won the D-III state title in 2007, finished 12-4-2 in 2008, falling to Yellow Springs in a sectional final match. This year, the Irish return a ton of talent, including playmakers Calum Latham and Joe Halula, and have big hopes heading into 2009. Greenon won the Mad River Division title in 2008 and hopes to defend its title. Tecumseh and Kenton Ridge also return strong squads.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Catholic Central High School, Greater Western Ohio Conference, Greenon High School, High School Cross Country, High School Soccer, High School Volleyball, Kenton Ridge High School, Northeastern High School, Northwestern High School, Ohio Heritage Conference, Southeastern High School, Springfield High School, West Liberty-Salem High School, Yellow Springs High School
A leg up on the competition
Today, Aug. 10 marks the first day of practice for several fall sports, including volleyball.
One coach near Youngstown wanted to make sure his team was the first team in uniform:
HUBBARD — The Hubbard High volleyball team wants to be one of the last teams practicing in Ohio this fall. The Eagles are certain to be the first. Hubbard will celebrate “Midnight Madness” tonight, opening this season’s practice at 12:01 a.m. — the first minute allowed by the Ohio High School Athletic Association. “We have a pretty good team coming back,” said Eagles coach Chuck Montgomery, whose squad went 24-2 last year. “With almost everybody coming back, people are looking for big things. This is just a good way to start the season. Something different, something new.”
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Sine wins 2009 Clark County Matchplay title
It’s been a long nine days of golf for Malone College junior Kyle Sine, but it culminated in the 2009 Clark County Matchplay Championship title.
Sine, a Shawnee High School grad, beat defending champion Andy Birch 3&1 in the 36-hole championship match on the North Course at Reid Park Golf Course on Sunday, Aug. 9.
“It was a really big win for me,” Sine said. “I haven’t won any big tournament like that before.”
Sine played in the first two rounds of the Matchplay last weekend, then played in the four-day Ohio Public Golf Association Ohio Publinx tournament, where he finished tied for ninth, at Cooks Creek Golf Club in Asheville, Ohio during the week.
On Saturday, Sine beat Steve Petticrew 1-up in the quarterfinals, then beat Joe Earley 2&1 in the semifinals.
“I just came back and played really well the last few days,” Sine said. “I really grinded out those matches.”
In the championship match, Sine led 3-up after 28 holes, but Birch mounted a comeback on the back nine.
“It wasn’t easy,” Sine said. “Birch is a great player. He came back well, Neither of us played our best golf, but we hung in there and I was able to pull it out.”
Sine has been among the leaders heading into the final round of the City Am the last two years, but hasn’t been able to bring home a title.
“It feels really good to get a victory after being so close so many times,” Sine said.
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KR’s Harris named to ESPNU Top 100 Watch List
Kenton Ridge sophomore guard Mariah Harris is getting noticed for her prowess on the basketball court.
Harris was recently named to the ESPNU HoopGurlz Watch List for the class of 2010.
Here’s what the scouts had to say about Harris:
Kenton Ridge freshman guard Mariah Harris may be coming along at the right time. Just as there seems to be a movement looking for “power guards” the Lady Cougars may have one already in uniform. To say that Harris attacks might be an understatement, but her aggressive play creates opportunities and puts defenders on their heels. She has a more solid build and isn’t someone you want to take a charge from, but she gets to the rim. Shot selection gets interesting at times for her but she’s young and with the quality coaching at Kenton Ridge she’ll get that under control.
Harris averaged 12.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.2 blocks per gae as a freshman for the Cougars last season. She was also named to the News-Sun All-Area Girls Basketball First Team.
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MU’s Purnell earns preseason honor
Mount Union senior Luke Purnell, a Catholic Central graduate, was named to the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason Honorable Mention squad by the Ohio College Football Magazine. Purnell, a 6-3, 287-pound offensive lineman, played in 12 games last season for the NCAA Division III National Champions.
The Purple Raiders were ranked the preseason No. 1 squad in D-III by D3football.com.
They’ll begin their title defense at St. John Fisher on Sept. 5.
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Training Camp Insider: Springfield
Every practice looks the same after a while. I’ve been to six different schools this week: Triad, West Liberty-Salem, Springfield, Catholic Central, Mechanicsburg and Tecumseh.
There are subtle differences sure, but every day, I’ve seen coaches yelling, players stretching (lunges, leg kicks, etc.) and teams gelling.
This is where it all begins, which is easy to forget on freezing Fridays in November.
At Springfield on Wednesday, the players trudged over from the high school to the practice field at 8:30 a.m. First the coaches lined them all up in one vertical line, dividing them into groups of 10 for the first stretches of the day. After that, they rotated through a series of agility drills, jumping over pads, shuffling through them and bouncing their way through the ropes.
At this time last year, coach Rick Robertson was trying to turn two teams (North and South) into one, and his Wildcats rewarded him with some big moments last fall, including a 7-0 upset of Centerville.
Springfield finished 4-6 and 2-3 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference Central Division, tying for fourth in the six-team race.
The defense was dominant at times last year, and it’s the offense where Springfield needs to show the most improvement this year. Quarterback George Walker, a sophomore, will lead the offense.
“It’s nice we don’t have a revolving door,” Robertson said. “George started the last eight games last year, and every day he matured. He’s still just a sophomore, so he does sophomore things every now and then, but he had a pretty good summer, especially throwing the ball in our 7-on-7s.”
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OHC boys golf changes title format
Last year, the Ohio Heritage Conference tournament decided both the league champion, and how players earned All-Conference honors.
That won’t be the case in 2009.
The OHC has adopted a points system, similar to the one used in the CBC.
The CBC plays 10 regular matches with each team earning one point for a victory. Those points then carry on to the league tournament, where teams get two points for every team they beat. Those points are then tallied and the team with the most points in each division win their respective titles.
“I’m in favor of it,” said West Liberty-Salem coach Darrin Leichty. “I’ve been an advocate of it since I started coaching. The kids who average well over the course of the season have a better chance to make All-Conference. It gives you a better chance overall.”
Tidbits
- After spending 27 years coaching at both Catholic Central and North, Mike Ulliman returns to the greens to coach Springfield High School this fall.
He hasn’t coached since he left North after the 1999 season.
“I enjoy (coaching),” Ulliman said. “I’m retired now. I did it for so many years. I had a lot of good players over the years. It’ll be a fun year and hopefully they learn a lot. We’re learning a lot about etiquette and course management.”
- Derek Cobb will be the No. 1 player at Urbana this fall. The Hillclimbers finished 0-14 last season, but Coach Jay Keely is optimistic his team can bounce back this fall.
“We’re going to be better based on two factors: We got a lot of experience last season and the other teams lost a lot to graduation,” Keely said. “At the end of last year, we were getting three low scores every match. The key will be getting some other low scores to go with them. I’m pleased with what I see so far.”
- Mechanicsburg returns four of its top six golfers, but lost No. 1 Allan Swords to graduation. Garrett McMahill and Jacob DeLay will provide a one-two punch at the top for the Indians.
“We’re hoping to continue to make improvements and our goal is to finish above .500 and in the top half of the OHC,” said fourth-year coach Curt Cunningham.
- Freshman Jordan Reese will be the No. 1 man at Cedarville this fall. Cedarville coach Todd Shuttleworth said Reese has been shooting under 40 in practice.
“He’s going to be a good one,” Shuttleworth said.
Freshman Mitchell Grimone will be the top player at Catholic Central this fall, when he’s not playing football.
Emmanuel Christian will join Yellow Springs in the Metro Buckeye Conference this fall.
Yellow Springs’ top player, Carl Weiner, returns this fall.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Catholic Central High School, Cedarville High School, Central Buckeye Conference, Emmanuel Christian High School, Mechanicsburg High School, Ohio Heritage Conference, Prep Golf, Springfield High School, Urbana High School, West Liberty-Salem High School, Yellow Springs High School
Greenon boys golf ready for big 2009
2008 was a big year for the Greenon High School golf team.
The Knights won their first-ever Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Divsion title, completed their first unbeaten regular season and qualified to the D-II Districts for the first time in school history.
“It was a year of firsts,” said eighth-year coach Steve Norris.
Greenon is hoping for even bigger things this season, returning five of their top six golfers from last year, including Dylan Anderson (38.5 stroke average), Zach Gerlach (39.6) and Chad Gerlach (40.3).
The Knights have ramped up their schedule this season with hopes of performing well in both the CBC and Clark County tournament.
“We want to win our division, but we want to be one of the top teams in the county,” Norris said. “We want to win the County tournament. Even though we’re in the small division, we can compete with the big schools.”
This year, they’ll face both Tippecanoe and Tecumseh in CBC crossover division dual matches. Norris also said Kenton Ridge, Shawnee and Northeastern will be tough in Clark County.
“It’s a strong county when it comes to high school golf,” Norris said.
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KR boys golf looks to repeat on success
The Kenton Ridge High School boys golf team won the CBC title last season, thanks to strong performances from its senior class.
Chris Reed, Randon McNeil, Jeff Nickels and Kyle Hickman lead the Cougars on the course, but all four graduated in the spring.
“We lost a lot of talent,” said KR coach Chris White.
But that won’t stop White from having big expectations for this fall.
“I expect to be right where we were last year,” White said. “The guys I’ve got coming back have put in a lot of work to carry on the momentum we had last year. These guys were part of that and they want to continue it and be a part of their own team. We’ve got a real good chance.”
Seniors Zach Zink, Tony Delledonne and Chris Via and sophomores Clay Portz and Luke Schlicher should be in the Cougars’ top-five players.
Juniors Kyle Powell and Meric Curlis, sophomores Ben Perkins and Hunter Clark and freshmen Dylan Mason and Brandon McDuffie are also members of the Cougars’ squad.
White said the top-6 positions will be decided on a match-to-match basis.
“I’ve got 6 and I’ll let those six decide who they want to play with,” White said. “I get better results from them if I’ve got a twosome that likes to play together and help each other.”
That doesn’t mean there won’t be pressure on his entire team to perform. The Cougars’ junior varsity squad hasn’t lost in four years, tallying a 48-match win streak.
“That’s evident by how good the varsity has become since we’ve been here,” White said. “It’s those guys getting better each year and moving up.”
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KR grad Downs featured on cover of Eastern Michigan football media guide
Kenton Ridge High School graduate Brandon Downs has been featured on the cover of the Eastern Michigan University football media guide for 2009.
Downs, a 6-1, 246-pound defensive lineman, (No. 17, far right in picture) played in all 12 games last season, earning 11 starts. He tallied 15 solo tackles and 15 assisted tackles for 30 on the year. His best game came against Akron on Oct. 18, where he recorded six tackles.
Downs began his career as a tight end and moved to the defensive side of the ball in 2007.
The Eagles went 3-9 and 2-6 in the Mid-American Conference last season, but have a new coach in Ron English.
They’ll face a tough non-conference in 2009 with trips to Big Ten foes Northwestern (Sept. 12) and Michigan (Sept. 19), and Southeastern Conference opponent Arkansas (Oct. 31).
Eastern Michigan opens the season on Sept. 5 at home against Army.
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Training Camp Insider: West Liberty-Salem
It’s easy to see that Toby Smith knows the importance of captains. The last two years I’ve traveled to West Liberty-Salem to film the Tigers’ practice for SpringfieldNewsSun.com, the Tigers’ head coach has sent all of his captains over to me.
On Tuesday morning, I interviewed seniors Collin Link, Austin Wilson, Jarred Merrick and Zach Culley.
These four and a host of returning players give West Liberty a good chance to win the Ohio Heritage Conference championship in 2009. They started 9-0 last season, but lost 10-7 to Mechanicsburg in Week 10.
The Tigers still made the playoffs for the third straight year and the fourth time in five seasons. This year’s seniors have made the playoffs every season in their careers.
This year’s team has 11 seniors.
“We’re hoping these guys step up and take the bull by the horns and lead us to the place where we believe we should be, which is in a position to be in the conference race and compete for a playoff berth,” Smith said.
With the graduation of Brice Baumgardner, the Tigers will have a new QB this year. Senior Zach Woodruff and junior Ben Coleman are competing for the job.
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Northeastern boys golf has depth and a new target on its back in 2009
With success on the golf course, come big expectations and a target on your back.
That’s exactly what the Northeastern High School boys golf team is facing this season.
Last year, the Jets won their first conference title since 1968 (a drought longer than coach Lee Morris has been alive) and qualified for the D-II Districts, finishing 12th.
“It’s going to be a little different for us,” Morris said. “We’ve never been targeted before. For them to have to play with a bull’s eye on their back will be different, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The Jets return five of their top-6 players from last year, including Ohio Heritage Conference medalist senior Cameron Thomas. Seniors Ben Justice and Brandon Williams and juniors Mark Schwitzgable and Ryan Malone will round out the team’s top-5, in any order.
Seniors Chris Precek and Michael Bury and freshman Andrew Williams will battle for the team’s sixth varsity spot.
Morris said his team will have to face the mental challenge of putting a bad hole behind them.
“They have to find the ability to grind out a solid nine-hole score,” Morris said. “They can shoot low numbers and high numbers, but we need them to shoot average or above average golf.”
The Jets will be tested early, facing Tecumseh, Wayne and Fairbanks at Sugar Isle next Tuesday.
“Our schedule is going to test us early,” Morris said.
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Northwestern golf team will be competitive
Under third-year head coach Tim Grieser, Northwestern is hoping to be a factor in the CBC Mad River Division golf race this season.
The Warriors finished second in the division last year behind champion Greenon, but lost both Dylan Stephenson and Billy Jones, the team’s top golfers, to graduation.
The Warriors have a strong crew of upperclassmen in seniors Michael Ray, Matt Gorby and Ryan Pearson, as well as junior Stephanie Wilson, as well as sophomores Alex Snyder, Tyler Marton, Cally Jones, Ken Snyder and Jordan Brewer.
Last year, Stephenson advanced to the D-II Regionals. Grieser said he should have a few golfers battling for regionals bids this season, but it won’t come without hard work.
“They’ve got to put in the time to get there,” Grieser said. “It’s not just a two month seaosn. If the weather’s nice, you’ve got to be out there playing.”
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Training Camp Insider: Triad
Payton Printz gives his Triad football players popsicle breaks almost every day. To be more exact, they are Freeze Pops, and the Cardinals scored big points with this sports writer when one of the players offered me one Tuesday morning.
He offered me a green one. Then he offered me an orange one. Then he said to take both. I took only the orange one in the end.
A few of the players worried that it wouldn’t look as if they were working if I filmed them eating Freeze Pops, but rest assured, Triad is working as hard as anyone.
The Cardinals are coming off a 7-3 season that saw them lose to the Ohio Heritage Conference’s top three teams by eight points or less (14-6 at West Liberty-Salem; 25-17 to Catholic Central; and 35-28 to Mechanicsburg).
The 2008 season marked a big step back after a 1-9 record in 2007.
Their success in 2008 can be attributed in part to the installation of a new spread offense. Triad lit up the scoreboard, especially in their first four games, all wins, in which they averaged 46 points per game.
Triad lost its two biggest weapons to graduation: quarterback Ethan James and wide receiver Austin Dixon. But coach Payton Printz is sticking to the spread, and his players are confident after a year of running the offense.
“Our staff, last year we didn’t know what we were doing, I’ll be honest with you,” Printz said. “It was new to us. We were learning as the season went on. A lot of the mistakes we made last year, we hope to not make this year. We know we’re going to make new ones, but hopefully those mistakes from last year will be fixed. I think we’ve fixed them.”
Here are some other interesting tidbits I picked up on Tuesday:
Printz said someone is making new goalposts for the football field. The uprights on the current ones are shorter than most and are rusting. This should help the team’s talented kicker, Daniel Kaffenbarger. Printz said he’s capable of hitting from 50 yards.
The team has a freshman named Derick Bird, who plays with a prosthetic leg. Printz said he’s a great kid who’s amazing to watch, and he said he will get on the field this year. He has an identical twin brother on the team.
Senior linebacker Gregg Reed has written a book, a coming-of-age novel that he hopes to get published. He said he’s worked on it for more than two years.
One of Printz’s assistant coaches joked that Printz gets more text messages than a teen-aged girl, and many of them are from former players. Printz keeps in touch with many former players and is especially proud of the ones who are in the military. One of those players, a Navy Seal, has given the team Seal workouts to follow in practice.
Every year before the season, the team goes to see a movie together. Last year, it was The Dark Knight. This year, they saw Aliens in the Attic in Marysville on Saturday. The players thought it was a movie more suited to a younger crowd.
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DePriest has several major college offers
I just came back from Springfield High School’s football practice. Team looks good, but the numbers are down a bit.
While I was there I spoke with Springfield junior linebacker Trey DePriest, and learned he’s had scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Michigan, West Virginia, and Central Michigan.
DePriest is a tremendous athlete (6-foot-1, 220 pounds) and every time I talk with him he seems laid-back. But when we were talking about his future, he was very professional in his answers to my questions.
It’s refreshing to see a 16-year-old who cares about his future, and how people perceive him. No, he hasn’t made a decision yet (at least not one he would reveal to me) and yes he’s got plenty of time to make that decision.
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Witt football receives votes in top 25 poll
From D3Football.com:
Division III football preseason rankings don’t usually break much new ground in the No. 1 spot. Now that Street & Smith’s has gone by the wayside, there’s nearly no surprises at all.
So when we tell you that Mount Union is No. 1 in the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 and UW-Whitewater is No. 2, we’re sure you won’t be shocked. We’ll even throw No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor into that mix as well. Those three teams have been the nearly undisputable class of Division III for two years running.
(Wittenberg received four points in voting. The Tigers went 6-4 last season. Defending North Coast Athletic Conference champion Wabash is ranked 16th.)
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