ohio high march 2008

Editor in ChiefSteve Helwagen

PrintingMiami Valley Sports Magazine (MVP)

miamivalleysports.com

PhotographyGary Housteau, Nick Falzerano, Mike Ullery,Stephanie Porter, John Ritter, Brad Morris,

Alice Carter, Johanna Kremer

ContributorsPaul Boggs, TonyMaluso, Tom Jenkins, RobbHemmelgarn, Doug Donnelly, Todd Stumpf

Staff WritersKirk Larrabee, Jeff Rapp,

Dave Biddle

Assistant EditorMatt Natali

Recruiting EditorDuane Long

Managing EditorEric Frantz

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Letters to Editor

few weeks ago I posted a thread on JJHuddle.com about a picture of Shay Selbydunking a basketball. I thought the shot of the South Euclid Regina senior andDuke basketball recruit was something you don’t see everyday and wanted others

to view.The response the thread garnered wasn’t what I was expecting.Some 58 replies and 3,000 views later, the thread had become a private versus public

school debate. That’s something that’s not new in the Buckeye State.For years people have been gripping about private schools

having an unfair advantage when it comes to sports because oftheir ability more or less to “attract” athletes. When I was in highschool, I felt the same way. But that’s because my basketballteammates and I were excused from the state basketball tourna-ment – twice in the district finals and once in the regionals – byCincinnati McNicholas. I have since moved on and others should,too. My question is why would someone want to be known as apublic school champion instead of a true state champion?I ran some quick numbers and consider:Over the past three years in three of Ohio’s most marquee

sports – football, boys basketball and girls basketball – there have been 42 titles handedout between all divisions. Of those, public schools have won 29 championships, while pri-vate schools have won 13.At the same time, 54 public schools have played in the state title games, while 30 pri-

vate schools have done so.How about head-to-head? In that category, public schools hold a 13-9 edge. Makes

you wonder who really has an advantage – if there is one at all.

ADVANTAGEREADERAs far as immediate advantages go, readers of this issue of Ohio High Magazine will

have a leg up on the competition. This is the deepest, most informative issue yet.Included in the 22 articles inside are:* Complete coverage of the high school football signing day, including where Ohio’s

top 100 and ESPN.com’s top 150 seniors signed*A look ahead to the top football players in the classes of 2009 and 2010* Complete state tournament previews for boys and girls basketball*A feature on St. Paris Graham’s wrestling team reaching No. 1 in the national poll*And a look at Canal Winchester senior and Ohio State recruit B.J. Mullens, who is

making a strong push for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball award.Other articles include pieces on Sidney Lehman girls basketball players Sarah Freytag

and Jessica Slagle, Richfield Revere girls cager Casey Nance, Beavercreek girls basket-ball head coach Ed Zink, Canfield center and Pittsburgh recruit Kate Popovec, CardinalMooney super junior and Buckeye football recruit John Simon, Beavercreek senior grid-der Zach Domicone, Moeller’s newly named head football coach John Rodenberg,Westerville Central’sAll-American kicker Ben Buchanan, Toledo Bowsher boys basket-ball coach John Rice andWaynesfield-Goshen’s super athlete Gray Horn.And since we’re talking about it, public schools claimed the story-count championship

in this issue of Ohio High. The score was 11-3. That wasn’t by design, unlike our unparal-leled statewide coverage of Ohio high school athletics. Enjoy.

Eric FrantzManaging Editor

Ohio High Magazine is published bi-monthly, six times ayear. Ohio High is an independent source of news and fea-tures relating to Ohio high school sports. Ohio High strivesto report information based on fact, but assumes noresponsability for any inaccuracies that may appear withinthe pages. Ohio High is not authorized, sponsored or sanc-tioned by any university, athletic conference or athletic gov-erning body.Subscriptions are available for $29.95 andmay be purchasedonline at jjhuddle.com.Single copy price is $6.95 each.Copyright 2008, Ohio HighMagazine andMVPMagazine, LLC.

All rights reserved.COVERPHOTOS:JohnRitter (MND),BradMorris (BJM)

c

Going forward, here are general topics that will be covered in each edition of Ohio High:* May (Due out April 15) – Recap of winter sports state tournaments and first top 100

football recruit bios for class of 2009* July (Due out June 15) – H.S. football preview, spring sports recap* September (Due out Aug. 15) – Top 100 senior prospect bios updated* November (Due out Oct. 15) – Basketball preview issue, football playoff preview* January (Due out Dec. 15) – Fall sports and football reecap, Top 100 seniors bios

updatedCheck out JJHuddle.com every day for season previews and daily coverage of Ohio

high school athletics. For subscription information on Ohio High, check the Internet atwww.jjhuddle.com

Upcoming Issues

A

Volume 5 Issue 5

Eric Frantz

JJHUD

DLE.COM

56

62

40

7Photo by Nick Falzerano

Photo by Todd Stumpf

Photo by Brian Swartz

Photo by Alice Carter

Also...

A look at where Ohio’s top H.S. football recruits committed

Football Signing Day Recap7

Beavercreek’s Zach Domicone headed to Ohio State26Cardinal Mooney junior John Simon commits to Ohio State22

Boys Basketball Tourney Preview

John Rodenberg takes over at Cincinnati Moeller20

Where the Class of 2008 Top 100 is going9ESPN’s National Top 15012Duane Long’s Top Players in the Class of 200915Duane Long’s Top Players in the Class of 201018

A division-by-division breakdown of teams that should challengefor trips to Columbus and state hardware

32

OSU recruit making bid for Mr. Basketball awardCanal Winchester’s B.J. Mullens37

Girls Basketball Tourney PreviewOhio continues to be a hotbed for girls basketball players andteams; This year’s state tournament offers plenty of talent

44

Falcons earn nation’s No. 1 ranking, wins over St. EdwardSt. Paris GrahamWrestling56

Malvern’s boys basketball team has three 1,000-point scorers40Waverly’s Rusty Wright has Tigers headed in right direction30Westerville Central’s Ben Buchanan caps steller kicking career28

Canfield’s Kate Popovec one of state’s best post players50Beavercreek’s Ed Zink wins 600th girls basketball game48Ohio native John Rice resurfaces at Toledo Bowsher42

Waynesfield-Goshen’s Gray Horn earns scholarship to Florida62Revere’s Casey Nance follows in father Larry’s footsteps54Sidney Lehman duo reaches 1,000-point milestone52

J JHUDDLE .COM 7JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High

Nat ional Signing DaySTORY BY DUANE LONG

t was another bumper crop of foot-ball talent in Ohio in 2008.That has become expected.

Ohio has always been one of thefive most heavily recruited states inthe country along with Florida,Texas, California and Georgia. Butover the last five or six years, Ohiohas taken it up another notch.

The Class of 2008 has a strong argumentfor the best in recent years because of itsdepth. It had as many elite players as anyrecent class, but what makes it stand out isthe fact that at one time I had more than 120players that I thought belonged in the top100. Most years I get down to the high 60s’or low 70’s and think that I could really cut itoff right there. That is where what I call thebest in Ohio usually finds its bottom.This year, I did not have a single one-star

player in the Ohio High top 100. ColumbusBrookhaven’s Rodney Stewart was No. 84 inthe final rankings, but ended up at Colorado.Likewise, Cincinnati St. Xavier’s DariusAshley was No. 90, but he signed withLouisville.Translation: It was very easy to do my job

this past year. I did not have to dig to find tal-ent.Ohio State always cleans up in-state. This

year was no different. The Buckeyes only lostfive recruiting battles over instate players.The big one was wide receiver/defensiveback Cordale Scott choosing Illinois overOhio State. It marks the first time Jim Tresselhas lost a Cleveland Glenville player that theBuckeyes have offered.Notre Dame received an early verbal from

top-rated Cincinnati Elder tight end KyleRudolph and he stuck with that verbal.Family connections played a big role in the

battles the Buckeyes lost. Athlete DannyMcCarthy from Youngstown Mooney choseNotre Dame. His brother is a defensive backwith the Fighting Irish. Kevin Koger camedown to the last minute before deciding onMichigan over Ohio State. The athletic defen-sive end/tight end from Toledo Whitmer had afamily connection to Michigan. YoungtownMooney linebacker/fullback Mike Zordichchose Penn State, the alma mater of hisfather and his mother. His dad played line-backer for Joe Paterno.But nobody should feel too bad for the

Buckeyes. After all, they ended up with thenation’s seventh-best recruiting class,according to ESPN.com. That class has nineOhio prospects, including four top-10prospects and the state’s top three overallprospects.OSU’s top-10 Ohio signees included

Dublin Coffman offensive lineman MikeAdams (No. 1 overall), Cincinnati LaSallewide receiver DeVier Posey (No. 2), Coffmanwide receiver Jake Stoneburner (No. 3) andWashington C.H. Miami Trace defensiveend/linebacker (No. 7).Adams had an outstanding senior year and

solidified himself as the number one player inthe class. You will notice I used the wordreceiver with Stoneburner instead of widereceiver or tight end. I don’t think anyoneknows where he is going to end up. He isgetting bigger, but seems to be just as fast.No matter where he lines up he is going tobe a match-up problem.Posey was as impressive as any receiver I

saw in the country this year, and in my opin-ion it was a great year nationally forreceivers. As deep as the Buckeyes are atreceiver I think he is a player that can force

Trotwood-Madison head coach MauriceDouglass (left) poses with the Ram trio of

Roy Roundtree, Brandon Moore and MichaelShaw. All three are headed to Michigan.

Photo by Nick Falzerano

I

J JHUDDLE .COM8 JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High

Nat ional Signing Day

himself into the lineup next fall. He is thatgood.Williams, I think, is going to be a big sur-

prise to Buckeye fans. He could develop intoan impact defensive end as his collegecareer continues, perhaps in the Mike Kudlamold.Ohio State had an early verbal commit-

ment from running back DeVoe Torrence,who rushed for over 1,000 yards as a seniorat Massillon Washington after transferringfrom Canton South. But Torrence, rated asthe state’s No. 5 overall prospect (and a for-mer co-No. 1 with Adams), did not sign withOSU or any other school on national signingday due to off-the-field issues.Illinois did a great job in the state of Ohio

again this year. No staff is being moreaggressive in the state than the Illini staff.Glenville’s Scott was the big prize, but coachRon Zook added several players that theBuckeyes looked at but decided not to offer.Whitney Mercilius from Akron Garfield, JustinStaples from Lakewood St. Edward andAshante Williams from Mayfield bring a cou-ple of things to the table that stand out. Theybring speed and athleticism. That is some-thing that I have seen from Zook since hetook over at Illinois. He is bringing speed andathleticism to a roster that had little of either.Iowa has developed a relationship with

Cleveland Glenville and coach Ted Ginn Sr.This year, Kirk Ferentz brought in cornerbackWilliam Lowe. He also landed a couple ofplayers who were running under the radar inCleveland St. Ignatius linebacker StephenBigach, and Mentor Lake Catholic defensiveend Joe Gaglione. After the season I had acouple of Ohio coaches tell me that theywondered why Gaglione had not receivedmore recruiting attention. He comes from aschool that Iowa has recruited successfullybefore.Michigan renewed its presence in Ohio in a

big way this year. I think there is a correlationbetween the misfortunes of the programsince the Wolverines won the 1997 nationalchampionship and the fact that the haulsfrom Ohio had gone down. This year, theyonly won one recruiting battle with theBuckeyes in Ohio, but the state was so wellstocked that Michigan harvested their bestrecruiting crop in recent memory.Trotwood-Madison sent three players to

Ann Arbor. Tight end Brandon Moore pledgedlast summer. He was joined on signing dayby teammates Roy Roundtree, originallypledged to Purdue, and Michael Shaw, origi-nally committed to Penn State.Another player who changed his commit-

ment to Michigan was Youngstown Mooneylinebacker Taylor Hill. He was originally ver-balled to Oklahoma, but as time went on he

became increasingly uncomfortable goingthat far away from home. When the offerfrom Michigan came, he accepted.Another top-15 player in Ohio High that

chose Michigan is Waseon offensive linemanElliott Mealer. He is one of the top offensivelinemen in the Midwest. Ohio is key to BigTen recruiting. This is the kind of crop fromOhio that Michigan needs. New head coachRich Rodriguez knows that. His first twoassistant hires have Ohio roots.No coach in the Big Ten knows Ohio better

than former Buckeye assistant MarkDantonio. The Spartans took six Ohio play-ers. Akron Buchtel playmaker Johnny Adamsleads the Ohio contingent. Southwest Ohiowas very good to Michigan State. Athletic

linebacker Jamiihr Williams from Trotwood-Madison was a good get.Defensive tackle Jerel Worthy from Huber

Heights Wayne is from that part of the state,as is Piqua’s David Rolf. He is just a fine ath-lete that could play any skill position butquarterback and running back. He couldgrow into a defensive end. Drew Stevensfrom Lewis Center Olentangy is a player thatwas running under the radar, but Dantoniocame in early on him. That usually means astaff thinks they have stolen one.Penn State had a small recruiting class.

The Nittany Lions ended up getting only twoOhioans, Zordich and his YoungstownMooney teammate Brandon Beachum.Beachum lost some of his recruiting momen-tum over the summer when everyone, includ-ing myself, had him locked in at linebacker.When everyone remembered that he was arunning back, and quite a good one with over1,000 yards in his team’s 14-1 run to theDivision I state title game, his stock wentback up.Indiana, Wisconsin and Northwestern had

been doing a great job recently in Ohio. Thisyear, they only managed to sign one OhioHigh top 100 player each. Wisconsin landedunderrated offensive lineman Jake Currentfrom Troy, while Northwestern received a let-ter-of-intent from athlete Jeremy Ebert fromHilliard Darby. I saw him play several timesthis year. If I gave out regional honors, Ebertwould have been the central Ohio player ofthe year. He is likely going to be a slotreceiver for the Wildcats. Larry Black was a

standout lineman for Cincinnati Wyoming. Heis the lone recruit from Ohio for Indiana thisyear, but he is a fine get for that program.I have always said that recruiting, like poli-

tics, is local. Most players are going to stayin-state and the vast majority are going tostay in region. Some do leave. ClaytonNorthmont offensive tackle Zebrie Sandersalways seemed to be looking south. Sanderslooked at Georgia and Florida, but signedwith Florida State.Dublin Coffman receiver Trey Fairchild

pledged Syracuse early and signed with theOrangemen. St. Xavier linebacker Fred Craigsigned with Stanford. Another Trotwood-Madison player, linebacker Doug Rippy sur-prised everyone by originally verbaling toNebraska. But after coach Bill Callahan’sdeparture, Rippy signed with Colorado. He isa diamond in the rough and a great get forthe Buffaloes.Another top linebacker is Hilliard Darby’s

B.J. Machen. He signed with Georgia Tech.Both Machen and Rippy are top-30 playersso those are great gets for those programs.Maybe the biggest surprise was Hunting

Valley University School’s Jake Stoller wholooked to be headed to Wisconsin, got a lookfrom Ohio State, but signed with Yale of theIvy League.Glenville’s Donnie Fletcher became a hot

commodity over the summer after lookingreally good on the Ted Ginn bus tour. Hechose Boston College.Cincinnati did a spectacular job in Ohio.

Dantonio and his staff laid the groundworkand new coach Brian Kelly did not miss abeat. The Midwest’s Big Four, Ohio State,Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State, aregoing to take their pick in the state of Ohio.Since Dantonio took over at UC in 2004,Cincinnati has battled the other Big Tenteams for the sizable pool of talent that is left.Coach Brian Kelly has picked up that strat-

egy. One time Nebraska and West Virginiaverbal D.J. Woods from Strongsville is aBearcat. Nick Truesdell, a wide receiver fromCincinnati Anderson that got a look from OhioState late, signed with Cincinnati. I thoughtTravis Kelce, a super athlete from ClevelandHeights, would be a Big Ten player. He is aBearcat. One of the players that I think hasas good an upside as any player in the class,Walt Stewart from Ashville Teays Valley,signed with Cincinnati.The Big East is going to have to take

notice of the Cincinnati Bearcats. Brian Kellyis bringing Big Ten talent to the Queen City.The graphic with this story looks at where

the state’s top 100 prospects ended up. Wewill reveal the first top 100 – complete withbios – of the Class of 2009 in the May 2008edition, due out in mid-April. — OH

Who is Going Where?

For a look at where Ohio’s top footballplayers are headed, visit JJHuddle.com and

enter the following link:

http://www.jjhuddle.com/pages/?pg=2008FootballCommits


Nat ional Signing Day

RRaannkk NNaammee HHtt.. WWtt.. PPooss.. SScchhooooll//VVeerrbbaall

1. Mike Adams 6-8 305 OL Dublin Coffman/Ohio State

2. DeVier Posey 6-3 180 WR Cincinnati LaSalle/Ohio State

3. Jake Stoneburner 6-6 223 TE/WR Dublin Coffman/Ohio State

4. Cordale Scott 6-4 200 ATH Cleveland Glenville/Illinois

5. DeVoe Torrence 6-2 215 RB Massillon Washington/Unsigned

6. Kyle Rudolph 6-7 220 TE Cincinnati Elder/Notre Dame

7. Nathan Williams 6-4 235 DE/LB WCH Miami Trace/Ohio State

8. Brandon Moore 6-6 230 TE Trotwood-Madison/Michigan

9. Dan McCarthy 6-1 190 S Youngstown Mooney/Notre Dame

10. Kevin Koger 6-4 235 DE/TE Toledo Whitmer/Michigan

11. Zebrie Sanders 6-6 273 OL Clayton Northmont/Florida State

12. Isaiah Pead 5-11 175 ATH Cols. Eastmoor Acad./Cincinnati

13. Elliott Mealer 6-6 280 OL Wauseon/Michigan

14. Greg Scruggs 6-5 225 DE Cincinnati St. Xavier/Louisville

15. Brandon Beachum 5-11 220 LB/RB Youngstown Mooney/Penn State

16. Nick Truesdell 6-7 215 WR/TE Cincinnati Anderson/Cincinnati

17. Anthony Allen 6-1 185 RB Toledo Whitmer/Unsigned

18. Shawntel Rowell 6-4 320 DT Cleveland Glenville/Ohio State

19. Salvador Battles 5-11 205 ATH Youngstown East/Kent State

20. Phillip Barnett 6-2 180 WR Middletown/Toledo

21. Nic DiLillo 6-5 220 TE Madison/Ohio State

22. Taylor Hill 6-2 200 DE/LB Youngstown Mooney/Michigan

23. Michael Zordich 6-1 210 LB Youngstown Mooney/Penn State

24. Kenny Stafford 6-3 175 WR Columbus DeSales/Toledo

25. Roy Roundtree 6-2 170 WR Trotwood-Madison/Michigan

26. Whitley Mercilus 6-3 225 DE Akron Garfield/Illinois

27. Domonick Britt 6-5 190 QB Trotwood-Madison/Jackson State

28. Johnny Adams 5-11 170 CB/WR Akron Buchtel/Michigan State

29. B.J. Machen 6-1 210 LB Hilliard Darby/Georgia Tech

30. Douglas Rippy 6-2 215 OLB Trotwood-Madison/Colorado

31. Michael Shaw 5-11 185 Ath Trotwood-Madison/Michigan

32. Fred Craig 6-2 210 LB Cincinnati St. Xavier/Stanford

33. Jamiihr Williams 6-2½ 230 LB Trotwood-Madison/Michigan State

34. Joe Pachuta 6-7 285 OL New Concord John Glenn/Akron

35. Zac Dysert 6-4 190 QB Ada/Miami (Ohio)

36. Aaron Van Kuiken 6-7 285 OL Cincinnati Turpin/Virginia

37. Trevor Walls 6-6 225 QB/TE Waverly/New Mexico State

38. Justin Staples 6-3 220 LB Lakewood St. Edward/Illinois

39. Jeremy Ebert 6-0 170 ATH Hilliard Darby/Northwestern

40. Donnie Fletcher 6-0 170 CB Cleveland Glenville/Boston College

41. Jake Current 6-3 270 OL Troy/Wisconsin

42. Jake Stoller 6-4 250 DT Hunting Vall. Univ. School/Yale

43. Walt Stewart 6-5 210 DE Ashville Teays Valley/Cincinnati

44. Dawawn Whitner 6-2 245 DT Cleveland Glenville/Unsigned

45. D.J. Woods 6-0 175 WR Strongsville/Cincinnati

46. Darius Reeves 5-11 185 CB Gahanna Lincoln/Toledo

47. Juandez Brown 6-3 190 QB Cincinnati Withrow/Eastern Michigan

Class of 2008 Top 100: Where They Signed

Mike Adams

GH

DeVier Posey

GH

Jake Stoneburner

GH

Cordale Scott

GH

Kyle Rudolph

Sub

Nathan Williams

GH

Brandon Moore

NF

Kevin Koger

GH

Zebrie Sanders

NF

Isaiah Pead

AB


Nat ional S igning Day

48. Ashante Williams 5-11 200 ATH Mayfield/Illinois

49. Derek Wolfe 6-5 260 DL Lisbon Beaver Local/Cincinnati

50. Evan Klepac 6-4 245 DE Youngstown Boardman/Miami (Ohio)

51. Bakari Bussey 6-3 190 WR West Chester Lakota West/Ohio U.

52. Steve Greer 6-1 220 LB Solon/Virginia

53. Casey Williams 5-11 175 WR Waverly/Unsigned

54. Jerel Worthy 6-2 290 DT Huber Heights Wayne/Michigan State

55. Andrew Radakovich 6-6 280 OL Steubenville/Unsigned

56. Bruce Parker 6-3 230 DE Sandusky/Unsigned

57. Zack Stoudt 6-4 200 QB Dublin Coffman/Louisville

58. Demicus Brown 6-5 320 OL Hamilton/Fort Scott (Kan.) JUCO

59. Kenny Annunike 6-5 215 ATH Lewis Center Olentangy/Duke

60. Steve Yoak 6-2 210 LB Akron Hoban/Robert Morris

61. Kenny Veal 5-11 175 CB Hamilton/Toledo

62. Trey Fairchild 5-11 175 WR Dublin Coffman/Syracuse

63. Steve Gardiner 6-1 210 LB Dublin Coffman/Michigan State

64. Adam Bice 6-4 270 OL/DT Dresden Tri-Valley/Akron

65. Blaec Walker 6-4 290 OL Middletown/Bowling Green

68. Lamonte Lattimore 5-11 190 CB Cincinnati Winton Woods/Charleston

69. Joe Madsen 6-4 270 OL Chardon/West Virginia

70. Chad Hounshell 6-6 300 OL Mentor Lake Catholic/Central Florida

71. Patrick Omameh 6-4 250 OL Columbus DeSales/Michigan

72. Chip Robinson 6-7 340 OL Middletown/Bowling Green

73. Will Fleming 6-4 205 ATH Akron Hoban/Akron

74. Nate Schuler 6-1 208 ATH New Middletown Springfield/Akron

75. Justin Brown 6-4 255 DT/OL Youngstown Ursuline/Unsigned

76. T.J. White 6-3 265 ATH Troy/Wofford

77. Nate Wilburn-Ogletree 6-3 190 WR Clayton Northmont/Unsigned

78. Phillip Manley 6-4 305 OL Hamilton/Toledo

79. Joshua Smith 6-2 170 ATH Cincinnati Withrow/Ball State

80. Travis Kelce 6-5 230 QB Cleveland Heights/Cincinnati

81. Jordan Bright 6-6 225 DE Cincinnati Wyoming/Indiana State

82. Brad Bednar 6-5 230 OL Mentor/Miami (Ohio)

83. Ben Buchanan 6-0 197 K Westerville Central/Ohio State

84. Rodney Stewart 5-7 170 ATH Cols. Brookhaven/Colorado

85. Da'Jouir Cornnielies 5-10 220 LB Middletown/Campbellsville (Ky.)

86. Jordan Graham 6-1 250 DL/OL Canfield/Unsigned

87. Sean Egler 5-10 185 RB Bellefontaine/Findlay

88. Tyler Wilson 5-10 210 LB W.Milton Milton-Union/Unsigned

89. Andy Cruse 6-4 210 WR Cincinnati Turpin/Miami (Ohio)

90. Darius Ashley 5-9 170 TB Cincinnati St. Xavier/Louisville

91. Doug Reynolds 6-2 190 S/QB Colerain/Eastern Illinois

92. Hank Keighley 6-4 215 LB/DE Kettering Alter/Toledo

93. Isaac Washington 6-2 270 DE/DT Trotwood-Madison/Kent State

94. Branden Williams 5-10 175 CB Lakewood St. Edward/Edinboro

95. Bart Tanski 6-2 190 QB Mentor/Bolwing Green (Preferred Walk-On)

96. Nathan Cope 5-11 185 S/RB Warren Howland/Unsigned

97. Chandler Burden 6-6 272 OL/DL Cincinnati LaSalle/Kentucky

98. Briggs Orsbon 6-1 185 ATH Conroy Crestview/Ball State

99. Luther Nicholas 6-0 200 RB Columbus Independence/Unsigned

100. Chris Brown 6-3 285 DT Canal Winchester/Unsigned

Elliott Mealer

GH

Greg Scruggs

GH

Brandon Beachum

GH

Nic DiLillo

GH

Michael Zordich

GH

Trevor Walls

JR

Justin Staples

GH

Jerel Worthy

NF

Nick Truesdell

GH

Jake Current

NFH


ESPN Nat ional Top 150

Jeanette (Pa.) quarter-back Terrelle Pryor (left)

is the lone unsignedplayer in ESPN’s Top 50.

Photos by Gary Housteau



n examining the final ESPN.com football recruit-ing class ratings for 2008, it was apparent thatschools that needed a big class to reverse theirfortunes were rewarded.At Miami (Fla.), Randy Shannon endured a

rough first season as the ‘Canes head coach.But on signing day, Shannon and Miami came upbig. Miami ended up with ESPN.com’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class.The ‘Canes bagged 12 ESPN.com national

top-150 prospects. Miami bagged a pair of bluechip linebackers in Kansas’ Arthur Brown (No. 6overall) and Florida’s Sean Spence (No. 21). On

signing day, Miami also brought home Florida cornerback BrandonHarris (No. 28) and they got Florida linebacker Ramon Buchanan(No. 53) to switch his commitment from Florida to Miami.Next on ESPN.com’s list of top classes was Clemson as embat-

tled coach Tommy Bowden closed big down the stretch. The Tigerssigned 10 national top-150 prospects, led by the nation’s top over-all prospect in South Carolina defensive end DaQuan Bowers.Clemson also got three top-150 prospects to choose the Tigers onsigning day, including Florida running back Jamie Harper (No. 12overall), Alabama offensive tackle Antoine McClain (No. 78) andNorth Carolina tight end Dwayne Allen (No. 83). Allen switched hiscommitment from Georgia to Clemson on signing day.Alabama signed seven top-150 prospects in coach Nick Saban’s

first full year on the job with the Crimson Tide. Saban’s haul includ-ed the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect in Alabama running backJulio Jones. The Tide also scored nicely with in-state athleteprospect Burton Scott (No. 19).Rounding out the rest of the ESPN.com top 10 were Florida (11

top-150 signees), Georgia (seven top-150), USC (eight top-150),Ohio State (seven top-150), Oklahoma (eight top-150), Notre Dame(10 top-150) and Texas (nine top-150).As of press time, Ohio State was one of several schools that

were still holding out hope they could sign Pennsylvania quarter-back Terrelle Pryor (No. 4 overall). Pryor had visited OSU andMichigan prior to signing day. But, because he had not had achance to visit Penn State or Oregon, he was delaying his deci-sion.OSU’s seven national top-150 prospects included Florida line-

backer Etienne Sabino (No. 18), Florida offensive lineman MichaelBrewster (No. 41), Pennsylvania linebacker Andrew Sweat (No.48), Texas offensive lineman J.B. Shugarts (No. 56), Ohio offensivetackle Mike Adams (No. 88), Ohio wide receiver Jake Stoneburner(No. 107) and Florida cornerback Travis Howard (No. 133).Schools in this region that also fared well included Michigan

(13th), Illinois (16th), Pittsburgh (21st) and Minnesota (23rd). It wasalso notable that ESPN.com rated Cincinnati’s class as the fourth-best in the Big East for coach Brian Kelly. That UC class includes,among others, Ohio wide receiver D.J. Woods and New Jerseywide receiver Lynell Payne.Within Ohio, five players were deemed as national top-150 picks.

Leading that contingent was Massillon Washington running backDeVoe Torrence (No. 64). Torrence committed to Ohio State lastsummer, but he did not sign with the Buckeyes due to off-the-fieldconcerns.Other Ohio top-150 prospects include Dublin Coffman’s Adams

(No. 88), Cincinnati Elder tight end Kyle Rudolph (No. 105, NotreDame signee), Dublin Coffman’s Stoneburner (No. 107) andTrotwood-Madison tight end Brandon Moore (No. 114, Michigan).The list over these pages shows where ESPN.com’s national top

150 prospects signed on national signing day Feb. 6. — OH

Rank Name Pos. State Grade Verbal1 DaQuan Bowers DE SC 95 Clemson 2 Julio Jones WR AL 95 Alabama3 Will Hill S NJ 94 Florida 4 Terrelle Pryor QB PA 93 None 5 A.J. Green WR SC 91 Georgia 6 Arthur Brown OLB KS 90 Miami (FL) 7 Jermie Calhoun RB TX 90 Oklahoma 8 Patrick Johnson CB FL 90 LSU 9 Darrell Scott RB CA 89 Colorado10 Dee Finley S AL 88 Florida 11 R.J. Washington DE TX 87 Oklahoma 12 Jamie Harper RB FL 86 Clemson13 Josh Jarboe WR GA 86 Oklahoma 14 Chancey Aghayere DE TX 86 LSU 15 Brice Butler WR GA 86 USC 16 D.J. Grant WR TX 85 Texas 17 Dan Buckner WR TX 85 Texas 18 Etienne Sabino ILB FL 85 Ohio State 19 Burton Scott ATH AL 84 Alabama 20 Blake Ayles TE CA 84 USC 21 Sean Spence OLB FL 84 Miami (FL) 22 Dayne Crist QB CA 84 Notre Dame 23 Deandre Brown WR MS 84 Southern Miss 24 T.J. Bryant CB FL 83 USC25 Jonathan Baldwin WR PA 83 Pittsburgh 26 Ryan Williams RB VA 83 Virginia Tech 27 Marcus Forston DT FL 83 Miami (FL) 28 Brandon Harris CB FL 83 Miami (FL)29 Mike Floyd WR MN 83 Notre Dame 30 Courtney Upshaw DE AL 83 Alabama 31 Janoris Jenkins CB FL 83 Florida 32 Mike Glennon QB VA 83 N.C. State 33 Tyler Love OT AL 83 Alabama 34 Kyle Parker QB FL 83 Clemson 35 Richard Samuel RB GA 83 Georgia 36 Terrance Parks CB GA 83 Florida State 37 Omar Hunter DT GA 83 Florida 38 Blaine Gabbert QB MO 83 Missouri 39 Brandon Thompson DT GA 83 Clemson 40 Spencer Adams S NC 83 Clemson 41 Michael Brewster OT FL 83 Ohio State 42 Joe Adams ATH AR 83 Arkansas43 William Green DE AL 83 Florida44 Andre Ellington RB SC 83 Clemson 45 Deangelo Tyson DT GA 83 Georgia 46 Aundre Dean RB TX 83 UCLA 47 Jermaine Thomas ATH FL 83 Florida State 48 Andrew Sweat ILB PA 83 Ohio State 49 T.J. Lawrence WR FL 82 Florida50 Carlton Thomas RB FL 82 Georgia

Nos. 51-150 on next page (NOTE: Ohio players in Red)

STORY BY STEVE HELWAGEN

I



51 Chris Tolliver WR LA 82 LSU 52 E.J. Manuel QB VA 82 Florida State 53 Ramon Buchanan OLB FL 82 Miami (FL)54 Charles Whitlock CB SC 82 South Carolina 55 Jeff Demps ATH FL 82 Florida 56 J.B. Shugarts OT TX 82 Ohio State 57 Cyrus Gray RB TX 82 Texas A&M 58 Michael Mauti ILB LA 82 Penn State 59 D.J. Shoemate ATH CA 82 USC 60 Nigel Bradham ILB FL 82 Florida State 61 Andrew Luck QB TX 82 Stanford 62 Kavario Middleton TE WA 82 Washington 63 Aldarius Johnson WR FL 82 Miami (FL) 64 DeVoe Torrence ATH OH 82 None 65 Xavier Brewer CB FL 82 Clemson 66 Jarvis Humphrey DT TX 82 Texas 67 Davon Johnson WR FL 82 Miami (FL) 68 Khaled Holmes OG CA 82 USC 69 Dann O'Neill OT MI 82 Michigan 70 Karnell Hatcher S FL 82 LSU71 Darryl Stonum WR TX 82 Michigan 72 Jameel Owens WR OK 82 Oklahoma 73 Matt Kalil OT CA 82 USC 74 Nigel Carr OLB FL 82 Florida State 75 Antoine Hicks ATH TX 82 Texas 76 De'Anthony Curtis RB AR 82 Arkansas 77 Jordan Futch OLB FL 82 Miami (FL) 78 Antoine McClain OT AL 82 Clemson 79 David Snow OG TX 82 Texas 80 Lerentee McCray OLB FL 82 Florida 81 Tyler Wilson QB AR 82 Arkansas 82 Ethan Johnson DE OR 82 Notre Dame 83 Dwayne Allen TE NC 82 Clemson84 Stephen Good OT TX 82 Oklahoma 85 Brandon Barnes ATH NC 82 N.C. State 86 Jamoris Slaughter S GA 82 Notre Dame 87 Rod Wilks WR TN 82 Tennessee 88 Mike Adams OT OH 82 Ohio State 89 Jonas Gray RB MI 82 Notre Dame 90 Marcus Robinson OLB FL 81 Miami (FL) 91 Derrick Hall ATH TX 81 Texas A&M 92 Daniel Franklin ILB GA 81 Oklahoma 93 Charles Mitchell ATH MS 81 Miss. State94 Darius Fleming DE IL 81 Notre Dame 95 DeSean Hales WR TX 81 Texas 96 Uona Kaveinga ILB CA 81 USC97 Chris Harper ATH KS 81 Oregon 98 Jon Major ILB CO 81 Colorado 99 Jerrell Harris OLB AL 81 Alabama 100 Emmanuel Acho OLB TX 81 Texas

101 Shayne Hale ILB PA 81 Pittsburgh 102 E.J. Woods S CA 81 UCLA 103 Deion Walker WR VA 81 Notre Dame 104 C.J. Holton S FL 81 Miami (FL) 105 Kyle Rudolph TE OH 81 Notre Dame 106 Jordan Fields CB TX 81 None107 Jake Stoneburner TE OH 81 Ohio State 108 Taylor Cook QB TX 81 Miami (FL) 109 Chris Burns RB PA 81 Pittsburgh 110 Christian Wilson OLB PA 81 North Carolina 111 Nick Crissman QB CA 81 UCLA 112 Matt Meyer OT CA 81 USC 113 Nolan Brewster OLB CO 81 Texas 114 Brandon Moore TE OH 81 Michigan 115 Steve Filer ILB IL 81 Notre Dame 116 Kye Staley RB OK 81 Oklahoma St. 117 Kendall Wright ATH TX 81 Baylor118 Baker Steinkuhler OT NE 81 Nebraska 119 Gerell Robinson ATH AZ 81 Arizona State 120 Matthew Patchan OT FL 81 Florida 121 Landry Jones QB NM 81 Oklahoma 122 Kyle Long OT VA 81 FSU (Baseball) 123 Luke Nix OT PA 81 Pittsburgh 124 Justin Johnson RB TX 81 Oklahoma 125 Braxston Cave OC IN 81 Notre Dame 126 Tyron Smith OT CA 81 USC 127 Patrick Nixon CB FL 81 Illinois 128 Keanon Cooper OLB TX 81 Minnesota 129 Toby Jackson DE GA 81 Georgia 130 A.J. Harmon OG GA 81 Georgia 131 Brendan Beal ILB PA 81 Florida 132 Kenny Tate WR MD 81 Maryland133 Travis Howard CB FL 81 Ohio State 134 Neiko Lipscomb CB GA 81 Auburn135 Anthony Dye CB CA 81 UCLA 136 Tyler Edwards TE LA 80 LSU 137 Dravannti Johnson OLB TX 80 Texas 138 Kerry Boykins WR VA 80 Maryland 139 Benjamin Jones OC AL 80 Georgia 140 J.B. Fitzgerald OLB NJ 80 Michigan 141 Jeremy Brown CB FL 80 Florida 142 Rodrick Davis DT TX 80 Texas A&M 143 Chris Jackson ATH GA 80 Alabama 144 Travis Benjamin WR FL 80 Miami (FL) 145 Tavarres King WR GA 80 Georgia 146 Eric Smith RB FL 80 Auburn 147 Tyler Westphal DE WI 80 Wisconsin 148 Ricky Barnum OG FL 80 Florida 149 Tarik Rollins OLB FL 80 Clemson 150 Lynn Katoa OLB UT 80 Colorado


Duane Long ’s Top JuniorsSTORY BY DUANE LONG

he run of outstandingrecruiting classes contin-ues in Ohio with theClass of 2009.What I really like about

this class is the diversity.The last two classeshave been outstanding

but they have been narrowly focused on afew positions. This class only has a couple ofpositions where there are no elite players,and even at those positions, there are possi-ble elite players.At tight end, one of the elite athletes in the

state is Cincinnati Winton Woods’ AnthonyTolbert. The question is, is he better at tightend or defensive end? Speaking of athlete,there are so many in this class that I decidedto add an “athlete” category for this year. Imay not do that again in the future, as I havealways maintained that “athlete” is not a posi-tion on the football field, but this class has anumber of players that I cannot absolutelysay they are better at one position or another.For those players I have listed what I

believe are their best positions, in order. Thatlist is led by outstanding Massillon athleteJustin Turner. He did not play much runningback this year with DeVoe Torrence comingover from Canton South, but I still believethat I would give him a shot at running backfirst. That seems to be a minority position as

most are recruiting him as a safety or evencornerback. Turner is one of those can’t-misssuper athletes. He had several early MACoffers, but Ohio State, Illinois and Michiganwere all interested.The other that stands out to me is

Cincinnati Princeton’s Patrick Tucker. He is alegit 6-4 and 200 pounds and can he run.Everyone wants to find bigger safeties so Iam sure he will get a shot as a safety first buthis body may take him to linebacker.Another strong athlete prospect is

Cincinnati Sycamore’s Bud Golden (6-0,190), who had early offers from Cincinnati,Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State, among oth-ers.The one position that is looking a little short

is defensive end. One unquestioned super-star is Melvin Fellows from Garfield Heights,who may be the best overall prospect in theclass. Fellows (6-4, 245) made an early com-mitment to Illinois, but Michigan and OhioState were definitely involved as well.Besides Fellows, it is a class still looking

for those edge players that are so coveted.There are several players who could improvethe position in the state as there are someoutstanding and underrated high school

Phot

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Ste

phan

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TMassillon Washingtonjunior Justin Turneris one of Ohio’s topathletes in the classof 2009.

Continued on Page 17


Duane Long ’s Top Juniors

QuarterbacksDevontae Payne (6-6, 220, QB; Cleveland South)Jack Dawson (6-2, 200, QB; South Range)Ryan OʼRourke (6-2, 190, QB; Avon)Terrence Owens (6-2, 160, QB; Clev. Glenville)Austin Boucher (6-1, 190, QB; Kettering Alter)Mike Clark (6-1, 180, QB; Massillon Washington)Bo Cordell (6-1, 185, QB; Cin. Indian Hills)Kurt Hess (6-3, 225, QB; Dayton Chaminade-Julienne)Andrew Holland (6-1, 190, QB; Cleveland St. Ignatius)Micah Hyde (6-0, 160, QB; Fostoria)Jon Mason (6-4, 200, QB; West Milton Milton-Union)Patrick Nicely (6-3, 200, QB; Willoughby South)

Running BacksDarrell Mason (6-1, 210, RB; Youngstown Ursuline)Bud Golden (6-0, 190, RB; Cincinnati Sycamore)Sylvestry Gibbs (6-0, 170, RB; Austintown-Fitch)Adam Homan (6-3, 233, FB; Coldwater)Fitzgerald Toussiant (5-10, 175, RB; Youngstown Liberty)Dante Marsch (5-11, 185, RB, Warren Howland)Zach Boren (6-0, 240, FB; Pickerington Central)Mike Marrow (6-2, 230, FB; New Albany)Marquel Smith (5-9, 205, RB; Youngstown Chaney)Dan Banna (5-11, 215, FB; Canfield)Delion Freeman (5-9, 190, RB; Alliance)Nicholas Gramke (5-11, 185, RB; Cincinnati Elder)Dominic Goodwin (5-9, 180, RB/CB; Lakewood St. Edward)Marquis Harrell (6-0, 200, RB; Avon)Kevin Ringer (5-10, 185, FB; Clayton Northmont)Harvey Tuck (5-11, 250, FB; Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary)

Wide ReceiversChris Fields (6-0, 180, WR/CB; Painesville Harvey)Lamar Passmore (6-4, 190, WR; Cincinnati Sycamore)Perez Ashford (5-11, 175, WR; Shaker Heights)Jeff Walker (6-4, 190, WR; Akron Coventry)Josh Jones (6-3, 200, WR; Cincinnati Elder)Jamil Jarvey (5-9, 160, WR; Painesville Harvey)Deron Brown (6-3, 180, WR; Akron Garfield)Zack Burks (6-3, 175, ATH; Springfield South)Jeff Duckworth (6-1, 170, WR; Cincinnati Princeton)Tyler Dummermuth (6-2, 190, WR; New Philadelphia)Jordan Hopgood (6-0, 170, WR; Cincinnati Princeton)Desmar Jackson (6-3, 185, WR; Warren Harding)David Lee (5-10, 170, WR; Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary)Logan McCormick (6-2, 180, WR/DB; Clarksville Clinton-Massie)Joey Parris (6-1, 175, WR; Cleveland St. Ignatius)Josh Richardson (6-4, 180, WR; Dublin Scioto)Connor Ryan (6-0, 165, WR; Cleveland St. Ignatius)

Offensive LinemanMarcus Hall (6-5, 280, OL; Cleveland Glenville)Ricky Harris (6-4, 280, OL; Westerville South)Ryan Spiker (6-3, 265, OG; Dresden Tri-Valley)Nate Cadogan (6-6, 265, DE/OL; Portsmouth)Chris Freeman (6-8, 285, OL; Trotwood-Madison)Jack Mewhort (6-5, 275, C; Toledo St. Johnʼs)Corey Linsley (6-4, 275, OG; Youngstown Boardman)Jake Feldmeyer (6-2, 260, OL; Centerville)Nate Klatt (6-4, 270, C; Canal Fulton Northwest)Henry Conway (6-6, 300, OL; Shaker Heights)Dannell Smith (6-4, 290, OT; Newark)John Taylor (6-5, 260, Ath; North Olmsted)Sam Longo (6-5 260, OL/DT; Bellbrook)

Other Juniors To Watch

Photos by Stephanie Porter

Tight EndsAnthony Tolbert (6-5, 220, TE/DE; Cincinnati Winton Woods)Brian Slack (6-5, 215, TE; Akron Hoban)Brian Wozniak (6-5, 225, TE/LB; Cincinnati Loveland)

AthletesJustin Turner (6-3, 190, RB/S/CB; Massillon Washington)Patrick Tucker (6-4, 200, DB/LB, Cincinnati Princeton)Jamie Wood (6-1, 190, DB/WR; Pickerington Central)D.J. Hunter (5-11, 190, DB; Middletown)Aunre Davis (6-0, 180, WR/CB; Warren Harding)Ben Moody (6-2, 175, WR/DB; Lakeview)Justin Kollie (6-0, 190, DB/LB; Cleveland Benedictine)

John Anevski (6-4, 280, OT; Cincinnati Elder)Pat McShane 6-5, 285, OL; Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit)Matt Cash (6-1, 300, OL; Warren Howland)Clay Cooper (6-2, 260, OL; Warren Howland)Jeremy Johnson (6-4, 300, OL; Springfield South)Zack Laird (6-4, 270, OL; Olmstead Falls)Allen Matthews (6-4, 280, OL; Xenia)Rob Yakimow (6-5, 280, OT; Cincinnati LaSalle)

Defensive EndsMelvin Fellows (6-4, 245, DE/DT; Garfield Heights)Victor Rodriguez (6-2, 220, DE; Cols. Eastmoor Academy)Julius Ferrell (6-1, 245, LB/DE; Youngstown Liberty)Cornelius Carradine (6-5, 215, DE; Cincinnati Taft)DeJuan Hill (6-5, 210, DE; Cleveland Benedictine)Vince German (6-2, 230, DE; Newark Licking Valley)Xavier Hines (6-3, 240, DE; Cleveland Glenville)

LinebackersStorm Klein (6-3, 225, LB; Newark Licking Valley)Will Studlien (6-2, 220, LB; Big Walnut)Branko Busik (6-1, 210, LB; Steubenville)Tyler Scott (6-3, 230, LB; Warren Howland)Chris Snook (6-2, 215, LB; Medina Highland)Dwayne Woods (6-0, 200, LB; Cincinnati Princeton)Dillon Voss (6-1, 220, LB; Garfield Heights)Roman Lawson (6-0, 215, LB; Shaker Heights)Jacob Green (6-3, 225, LB; Cincinnati Wyoming)Danny Gress (6-0, 205, LB; Clayton Northmont)Maalik Bomar (6-2, 185, LB; Cincinnati Winton Woods)Rhys Edwards (6-2, 189, LB/TE; Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary)Dan Fox (6-1, 205, DE/TE; Cleveland St. Ignatius)Tyler Houska (6-3, 210, LB; Medina Highland)Rob McEvoy (6-1, 225, LB; Cleveland St. Ignatius)Mike McKinney (6-0, 210, LB; Canton South)

CornerbacksC.J. Barnett (6-1, 175, CB; Clayton Northmont)Patrick White (6-0, 175, CB/WR; Pickerington Central)Derrell Peterman (5-11, 175, CB/WR; Youngstown Ursuline)Rickey Steele (5-11, 175, CB; Cincinnati LaSalle)Stephen Houston (5-11, 170, CB; West Chester Lakota West)Travis Freeman (5-11, 185, DB; Cleveland Glenville)Victor Graham (5-10, 155, CB; Columbus Africentric)DeShawn Harris (5-11, 165, DB; Cincinnati Wyoming)Mark Mays (5-10, 170, CB; Clayton Northmont)Willie Seawright (5-10, 160, CB; Lakewood St. Edward)

Denicos Allen (6-0, 185, S; Hamilton)Isaiah Bell (6-0, 200, S; Youngstown Liberty)RonCarlos Hilton (5-11, 185, SS; Youngstown East)Jamon Wagner (6-2, 190, S; Youngstown Liberty)Steve Hull (6-1, 190, S; Cincinnati Sycamore)Storm Timson (5-9, 175, S; Pataskala Licking Heights)Michael Robinson (6-0, 170, S; Cincinnati Princeton)Justin Austin (5-11, 180, S; Youngstown Ursuline)Paris Bruner (5-11,180, Athlete; Warren Harding)Gannon Hulea (6-1, 190, S; Poland Seminary)Doug McCowan (5-10, 195, SS; Springfield South)Dominic Rich (5-11, 185, DB; Canfield)Kyle Stadelmeyer (6-0, 200, ATH; Girard)Anthony Urbania (6-0, 195, S; Cleveland Benedictine)Trent Vallinger (5-11, 185, ATH; Poland)Chris Williams (5-11, 175, DB; Cincinnati Winton Woods)

Defensive TacklesJohn Simon (6-2, 250, DT; Youngstown Mooney)Adam Bellamy (6-4, 270, DT/OT; Aurora)Pat Muldoon (6-4, 240, DT; Cincinnati St. Xavier) Cody Pettit (6-4, 230, DL/OL; Patrick Henry)Zac Costlow (6-3, 235, DE/DT; Steubenville Cent. Cath.)Trae Tiller (6-2, 235, DE/DT; Canal Win. Harvest Prep)Ben Birch (6-4, 250, DT; Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary)Chauncey Clemons (6-4, 275, DT; Akron Garfield)Theo Traczyk (6-3, 255, DT; Strongsville)

Safeties

StormKlein,LickingValley

AndrewHolland,St. Ignatius

MarcusHall,Glenville


Duane Long ’s Top Juniors

defensive ends that I project moving down totackle.Aurora’s Adam Bellamy, Patrick Henry’s

Cody Petit, Cincinnati Xavier’s Pat Muldoon,Steubenville Central Catholic’s Zac Costlowand Canal Winchester Harvest Prep’s TraeTiller could show the speed this summer thatcould keep them at defensive end. Everyonewants to be bigger at defensive end if they donot have to sacrifice speed.Again, the word athlete comes into play at

running back. I think Youngstown Ursuline’sDarrell Mason can be a special running back,but there are people whose opinion I respectstill think he is a better defensive player. Ithink we all need to wait until the knee injurythat he played through as a junior heals, andwe see him on the field fully healthy beforewe can say for sure. But for now, in my mind,he is the kind of big back that every Big Tenteam can build an offense around.At quarterback it all revolves around

Cleveland South’s Devontae Payne. He hasbeen an invitee to Ohio State and NotreDame. He is the best quarterback prospect Ihave seen in Ohio since Justin Zwick andTroy Smith came out. Bowling Green was thefirst known to offer the 6-6, 220-pound Payne.

At the linebacker position, Ohio Statealready had verbals from Newark LickingValley’s Storm Klein and Coldwater’s AdamHoman, although Homan could end up at full-back. Will Studlien, who helped lead SunburyBig Walnut to the Division III state title, hadearly offers from Illinois and Cincinnati. OhioState was also interested.Cornerback is another strong position with

Clayton Northmont’s C.J. Barnett following inthe footsteps of a former Northmont alum,Kurt Coleman, by committing to Ohio Statebefore his senior year starts.Another elite cornerback is Pickerington

North’s Patrick White, who can claim an OhioState connection himself as his father, Terry,played for the Buckeyes in the mid-1980s. Hecould be a receiver, too. He has great speedand shows tremendous hands but he has adefensive player’s mind-set.As receivers go I see one elite player in

Painesville Harvey’s Chris Fields. He is a top-10 player in this class. Fields boasted earlyoffers from Akron, Illinois and Iowa, but heverbaled to Ohio State on Feb. 19. His team-mate, Jamil Jarvey is another speed player inthis class. If some of the big receivers in thisclass show speed it can be a special class as

Sycamore’s Lamar Passmore, AkronCoventry’s Jeff Walker and Cincinnati Elder’sJosh Jones have great size, athleticism andhands. The offensive line has some stellar per-

formers and could be a strength of the classagain this year. Marcus Hall from Glenville isa likely top-10 national offensive lineman. Hehad early offers from Ohio State, Illinois andIowa.Ohio State has already received a verbal

commitment from Toledo St. John’s centerJack Mewhort. He has the frame of a tacklebut natural centers are hard to find.One more offensive lineman to watch is

Trotwood-Madison’s Chris Freeman (6-8,285), who had early offers from Kentucky,Nebraska and Penn State. Another key nameis Westerville South’s Ricky Harris, whoboasted an early Illinois offer.We will unveil our first top 100 list and bios

with the May edition of Ohio High, due out inmid-April.In this edition, we have a list of key

prospects at each position. The first list ofnames under each position group are playerscurrently considered for the top 50 overall list.— OH


Duane Long ’s Top Sophomores

he read option is the hot offense sweeping across college foot-ball. Any coach that is thinking about running that offense needsto get to Ohio and take a look at the Class of 2010 quarter-backs.

There are a number of undersized signal callers in Ohio that do notfit the tradition pro-set offense but are perfect for the read option.They have arm strength but do not have the size most schools arelooking for. Instead they have speed and athleticism.Dwight Macon at Steubenville and Spencer Ware at Cincinnati

Princeton top the list, and there are several others. The good newsabout offering athletes like these is that if they do not fit at quarter-back, they will fit at other positions.The 2010 class is looking like a really good offensive line class

again with three players showing early. Offensive linemen steppingup this early in their development is a good sign. Offensive linemenusually mature later.As intriguing as the quarterbacks are, the players at the top of the

list are a pair of edge players, Youngstown Ursuline’s Jamel Turnerand Warren Harding’s O’Neal Brown. Turner looks like a youngLawrence Taylor. He is such an athlete and has a non-stop motor.Whether he is a linebacker or grows into a defensive end is the onlyquestion about him. Brown is a sure defensive end, but he is athleticenough to cover slot receivers right now. I don’t like to get out this early with rankings but there are some

players I have seen enough of to put a top 20 together. This list islikely to change a lot over the next two years as players mature andothers will show that they have peaked.I am sure there are players that I simply have not seen yet, so this

list could change by the time we put out the next issue. It is lookinglike another strong class in Ohio for 2010.

1. Jamel Turner (6-3, 215, LB/DE; Youngstown Ursuline)If I could take any player in Ohio regardless of class it would be

Turner.

2. O’Neal Brown (6-6, 210, DE/LB; Warren Harding)If Jamel Turner is not the next great defensive end from Ohio then

Brown certainly is.

3. Jordan Hicks (6-2, 200, LB; West Chester Lakota West)Already has an offer from Cincinnati and will be a guest of Ohio

State.

4. Matt James (6-7, 260, OT; Cincinnati St. Xavier) A regular at St. X as a sophomore says it all. Ideal feet and frame.

5. Andrew Norwell (6-6, 255, OT/DT; Cincinnati Anderson)Caught my attention in the state championship game. Looks a lot

like Alex Boone.

6. John Ballard (6-3, 200, QB; Austintown-Fitch)Good arm and a fine athlete. Could be a receiver if he doesn’t pan

out at quarterback.

7. Taylor Miller (6-5, 285, OL; Trenton Edgewood)Already an invitee to Ohio State games.

8. Nick Galvin (6-0, 200, LB; Cincinnati Moeller)Such great instincts. Made plays all over the field when I saw him.

9. Mark Myers (6-6, 200, QB; Cleveland St. Ignatius)Replaced an injured Andrew Holland, a D-1 recruit himself. I like

Myers better.

10. D.J. Williamson (6-1; 180, WR/CB; Warren Harding)Looks like the best receiver from Harding since Mario

Manningham. Speed to spare.

11. Dwight Macon (5-11,180, QB/ATH; Steubenville)With the read option coming into vogue maybe Macon stays at

quarterback.

12. J.T. Moore (6-3, 230, DL; Youngstown Boardman)A physical specimen that cannot be ignored.

13. Spencer Ware (5-10, 200, QB/ATH; Cincinnati Princeton)Another undersized quarterback with tremendous skills that might

get a shot at QB first.

14. DeAndre Harris (5-11, 185, CB; Youngstown Ursuline)A tough, hard-nosed corner with ball skills. Worth a scholarship as

a return man.

15. Desmond McCown (6-3, 230, DT/DE; Springfield South)DE now but will grown into a DT. Work ethic is second to none.

16. Deron Brown (6-3,185,WR; Akron Garfield)Coach Bob Sax says he is going to be special. He would know. He

coached Chris Wells.

17. Ray Vinopal (5-11, 175, Ath; Youngstown Mooney)One of the best athletes in the class. Hard nosed defensive player

despite his size.

18. Christian Bryant (5-10, 170, WR; Cleveland Glenville)Looking like the next Glenville great one until injuries took a toll.

19. Antonio Banks (5-10, 200, TB; Middletown)At this early stage he is looking like the best back in the class.

20. Allen Edwards (6-1, 185; LB/SS; Austintown Fitch)Fast, physical high-motor playmaker.

T


Duane Long ’s Top SophomoresSTORY BY DUANE LONG


Youngstown Ursuline sophomore Jamel Turner (left) helped theIrish make the Division V state championship game where theylost Maria Stein Marion Local 20-14.


Cincinnat i Moel ler ’s John Rodenberg

hen John Rodenberg was announced as CincinnatiArchbishop Moeller’s fifth football coach in school historyin December, he was introduced at a press conference byformer Crusaders baseball coach Mike Cameron – a leg-end in the Moeller community.And if Rodenberg is even half as successful as

Cameron at Moeller, who won four state titles in his 39-year career, the football Crusaders could be in store for a

return to glory days from the 1970s and 1980s. Moeller won seven state titles and two USA Today national titles in

that span.“It has certainly been a goal of mine to coach in the (Greater Catholic

League) South and to be at a place like Moeller is a great honor,”Rodenberg said. “I am certainly aware of the tradition. I played againstMoeller and coached against Moeller but I think the big thing is I can’tget caught up in that. I’ve got to coach the way that I coach.“I think the biggest thing I told the players is we need to keep the tra-

dition going. Instead of reverting to the past andliving in the past, they need to go forward andcreate something new that will add to the tradi-tion.” A Cincinnati LaSalle alumnus, Rodenberg was

the defensive coordinator for the Lancers beforetaking the head coaching job at CincinnatiMcNicholas where he was at the helm for 11years. In 2005, Rodenberg took over traditionalKentucky power Covington Catholic, winning theClass AAA state championship in 2006. Lastseason, Rodenberg coached St. Bernard RogerBacon to a 2-8 record before being hired atMoeller.Familiar with the landscape of Cincinnati area

football, particularly the strength of the GCL,Rodenberg is looking forward to facing top com-petition week in and week out.“I have been on the field coaching against

(those teams), I was on the field as a player andI certainly know all the coaches in the league –they’re all great guys,” he said. “They are fun tocoach with and fun to talk to and I think that iswhat creates the great atmosphere in the GCL.

The coaches all respect each other and being familiar with it is going togive me a little bit of a step in the right direction. I am looking forward togoing up against these guys and it will be a great experience.” Rodenberg brings an 84-70 career record to Moeller and likens the

opportunity to his stint at Covington Catholic and is aiming for the samesuccess – a state championship.“When you go into a program like (Covington Catholic), the kids have

an expectation to win. It is something that is created through years andyears tradition building,” he said. “I think CovCath and Moeller are simi-lar in their expectations to win and willing to put the work in to win.CovCath is a great school and I had a great experience there. The statechampionship is something that will help me prepare for Moeller. I thinkthere are a lot of similarities in the pursuit of excellence both schoolshave.”Rodenberg has also drawn guidance from his close friend and former

Moeller head coach Steve Klonne. Klonne coached the Crusaders from1982-2000 compiling a 168-48 record and state and national titles in1982 and 1985. Klonne was an assistant under Rodenberg atMcNicholas.“Certainly, when the chance for the Moeller job opened, I spoke with

(Klonne) and had the opportunity to speak with (former Moeller headcoach Gerry Faust) and he has been very gracious getting me up tospeed on things he did as a Moeller coach,” Rodenberg said. “Coach Klonne has been great. We’re great friends and certainly talk

more than just the Moeller job but that certainly comes up. He’s beenthere, he’s been successful there and he is a great resource. BetweenCoach Faust and Coach Klonne, I understand the program better and I

am excited about taking over.”Rodenberg will finish the school year teach-

ing at Roger Bacon, but has already assem-bled a coaching staff and is working with theplayers in an off-season workout program.“The first thing is I have been getting over to

the weight room four days a week,” he said.“We’ve got our weight program implementedand we hired a staff that included a strengthcoach.“My goal was to blend the Moeller staff. I

thought Moeller has been well-coached lastcouple years and the guys that wanted to stayand really had a passion for Moeller I decidedto keep and to blend them in with some of theguys I coached with. So, I brought some guysin and left some in place based on what theywanted to do and their goals.”Rodenberg is working hard to become as

familiar with the players, program and traditionof Moeller before taking the field next fall.“It is a lot bigger program (than what I am

used to) so getting to know names is difficultbecause I am only there four days a week in

MMooeelllleerr FFoooottbbaallll CCooaacchhiinnggTThhrroouugghh TThhee YYeeaarrss

John Rodenberg becomes Moeller’s fifth

head football coach in the Crusaders’ rich,

46-year history. Expectations are high for

Rodenberg as the men before him set the

bar high establishing a winning tradition.

11996633--11998800:: Gerry Faust (174-17-2); State

Championships: 1975-1977, 1979, 1980;

National Championships: 1976-1977, 1979-1980

11998811:: Ted Bacigalupo (12-1)

11998822--22000000:: Steve Klonne (169-48); State

Championships: 1982, 1985; National

Championships: 1982, 1985

22000011--22000077:: Bob Crable (48-30)

22000088:: John Rodenberg (Career record: 84-70)

Rodenberg takes reinsat famed CincinnatiMoeller High School

W

Cincinnat i Moel ler ’s John Rodenberg


STORY BY MATT NATAL I

the afternoon,” he explained. “But I am watching (the players) lift and Iam real impressed with their dedication and hard work and great atti-tudes. “From day one when I came in, they just got after it. You tell them to

line up and they are ready to go and get something accomplished. Theydon’t want to waste any time, they want to get bigger, they want to getstronger and they want to make 2008 a great season.”And Rodenberg wants to make 2008 a great season as well both on

the field and off. “The one thing I told the parents and players was that when you walk

out of Moeller after your four years, did you love your experience? If Ican add to those guys loving their experience both as a student and anathlete, then I think we’ve succeed,” he said. “The wins will come andwhen you do things right and doing things on a high, intense level with alot of spirit the wins will kick in.” With his coaching philosophy in place, Rodenberg is aiming for a

rebirth of the Moeller program.

“The outline I follow is that you have to work as a team. I know it issaid a lot and I know it is a cliché but I noticed when we won the statechampionship in Kentucky that all the players really bonded well,” hesaid. “They had a passion for winning but also had a passion for doingthings as a team. “The one thing I noticed about the state championship team in

Kentucky is that we didn’t have any players that were out there seekingto be superstars. We had players that were very good but they wereplayers that wanted to win it for each other. When you look at winningand you look at the great teams, I think that is what ends up happening– everybody sacrifices for one common goal. If I can get that across tothe players at Moeller, I think we can be successful.” Moeller finished 7-4 last season under seventh-year head coach Bob

Crable, but his contract was not renewed after the season. Moeller’s best season under Crable was in 2004 as the Crusaders

finished 10-3. In Crable’s tenure, Moeller had a 3-5 playoff record. —OH

Photo by Johanna KremerJohn Rodenberg addresses the media at apress conference where he was announcedthe new football coach at Cincinnati Moeller.Rodenberg has also coached at McNicholas,Covington Catholic (Ky.) and Roger Bacon.


Cardinal Mooney ’s John S imon

n making their fourth state championship appearance in fourconsecutive years, one that resulted in a losing effort toColdwater this past season, Youngstown Cardinal Mooneywas loaded with top-end talent led by the “Big Four” andJohnny Simon. The “Big Four” consisted of seniors Danny McCarthy, who

verbally committed to Notre Dame; Michael Zordich andBrandon Beachum, who verbally committed to Penn State; and TaylorHill, who initially gave a verbal commitment to Oklahoma before hechanged his mind and committed to Michigan.But it just might be Simon, the lone junior of the “Fab Five,” who is

arguably the most coveted recruiting prize of them all.And on Dec. 26, Simon gave Ohio State a huge belated Christmas

present when he verbally committed to Jim Heacock and Jim Tresseland became the first player from Mooney, during their impressive four-year state championship run, to state his official allegiance to theBuckeyes.“When I went to Ohio State’s bowl practice, I was really impressed

with how they trained, how they got into it at practice and how intensethey were,” said Simon, who attended a Saturday workout session atthe WHAC with his father on Dec. 15. “And I was also really impressed with all of the history and tradition

that goes on there.”

Simon knew, right then and there, that Ohio State was the bestplace for him.“I was really going to wait until after signing day for the seniors but

once I left there I really knew that’s where I was comfortable,” he said.“I didn’t want to waste any more coaches’ time where they could berecruiting other kids so I thought it was fair to everyone that I commit.”But even then, Simon wanted to make sure he was making the right

decision before he actually committed.“I wanted to make sure so I waited about a week,” Simon said. “My

family and I discussed it and we waited about a week just to makesure the feeling wouldn’t change and it didn’t change at all. So Ithought after Christmas I would give Coach Heacock a call and hewas real excited.”Simon became the third junior, at the time, to verbally commit to the

Ohio State recruiting class of 2009.“Coach Heacock welcomed me into the family and he handed the

phone over to Coach Tressel and Coach Tressel was real excited,”Simon said. “It was just great.”That December trip to Columbus wasn’t the first time that Simon

was ever on OSU’s campus.“I was there for the one-day senior camp (in June) which I was real-

ly impressed with. There was great competition there,” said Simon

I

Photo by Gary Housteau



who was informed that he would be getting a Sept. 1 offer from OhioState at that camp. “And I was down there for the Ohio State-Akrongame and I went to the spring game also.”Simon thinks he’ll fit in perfectly at Ohio State.“I see an extremely hard-working group of guys there, both the

players and coaching staff,” he said. “They’re always working, they’realways thinking and they’re real intense which is perfect for me. Andthe facilities are state of the art and there’s nowhere else where youcan get better training and the coaching staff is there completely tohelp you.”Ohio State was actually an easy decision for Simon to make when

it came right down to it. “I always knew, right off the bat, that

Ohio State was one of my top teams,” hesaid. “So it was a great relief and I had agreat time doing it, committing to OhioState, and it really let me start to focuson the off-season and training with myteammates.”His sister Brittany is already a

Buckeye. She’s currently a freshman atOhio State.“She was real good about it. We get

along real well but she wanted me to gowhere I was most comfortable,” Simonsaid. “But I think she’s glad now. Shewanted me to be a Buckeye.”And life’s been good for Simon since

he gave his verbal commitment to OhioState and unofficially became a Buckeye.“Everything’s been great,” Simon said.

“I’ve been wearing a little bit more red orscarlet and gray, I should say, and I cancome out and say that I’m a Buckeyenow. But it really let me start being withmy teammates more and focus on theoff-season.”Simon apparently hasn’t let any of the

extra attention or limelight that comeswith being a top recruit and an OhioState commit effect him adversely in anyway.“I still think people look at me as the

same old John Simon, which I’m gladabout,” Simon said. “I don’t want to beknown as anyone different. I just want tobe myself. It’s a great honor to be in theposition that I am but I owe it to my team-mates now to get ready for next season.They’re great guys and they’ll do any-thing for me and I’ll do anything for them.We’ve still got one more year of highschool.”That one-point loss to Coldwater in the

Division IV state championship game stillhasn’t set very well with Simon.“I don’t know if I’ve really recovered

from it yet,” Simon said. “It’s just beenfuel to my fire. I’ve been training as hardas I can and myself and my teammatesare ready to go. We have a lot of lead-ers this year and we’re pumped up.”The expectations were sky high for the

Cardinals going into the 2007 season after claiming their school’ssixth state championship in 2006, Simon’s sophomore campaign.Mooney went 14-0 in Simon’s first year as a starter on the defensiveline that season, and they seemingly had a great chance to not onlygo 15-0 but also win back-to-back state championships. Both accom-plishments would have been firsts in the illustrious history of theirschool.“It was very disappointing actually to come up short at the end,

especially when we had the lead,” Simon said. “It was a tough lossbut that’s just motivation for us this year to come back and win a statetitle.”As a junior, Simon was named to the ONN/Ohio High All-Ohio team.

He amassed 87 tackles, 16-1/2 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks. Following theseason, he was rated as Ohio’s No. 3overall prospect for 2009. He is also con-sidered an early candidate for nationaltop-100 prospect lists for 2009.Simon’s determined to make another

run at a state championship appearancenext season.“People might think that we’re the

underdogs right now but we know we’reworking hard and we’re going to do anylittle possible extra thing we can and thensome to be champions again,” he said.“We’re definitely working hard this yearalready and we’re not going to let any-thing stop us.”Individually, Simon had another stellar

season after starting his year out under acloud of uncertainty. Simon suffered alower vertebrae injury during the presea-son and he wasn’t certain, at one point, ifhe’d even be able to play at all in his jun-ior season.“The injury wasn’t serious at all and it’s

fully healed,” said Simon who wascleared by the doctors in time to play inthe season-opening win over Mentor. “Iwent through the season with no prob-lems and I’m fine now. Everything is greatand I’m working hard with my team fornext season. We’re having a lot of fun.”The fun actually starts for Mooney at 6

a.m. with team workouts four times aweek.“It’s just a blast and it builds cama-

raderie,” Simon said. “You get reallyclose with your teammates and it’s agreat thing. I wish it was seven days aweek.”It’s that kind of attitude along with an

incredible work ethic that helps makeSimon really special. “I try to work myself as hard as I can

and try to push myself to the limit andexpend all of my energy to make myselfbetter,” Simon said. “I don’t want to cheatmyself or my team from anything that wecould have done where it was my fault.”He strictly follows a vigorous year-

round workout regimen to complement

Phot

o by

Gar

y Hou

steau

“I try to work myself as hard as I can and tryto push myself to the limit and expend all of myenergy to make myself better. I don’t want tocheat myself or my team from anything that we

could have done where it was my fault.”

Cardinal Mooney junior and Ohio State commitJohn Simon

Ohio State’s 2009 CommitmentsIn addition to Simon, Ohio State has also receivedverbal commitments from the following athletes:

Adam Homan, RB/LB, Coldwater, 6-2, 230

Storm Klein, RB/LB, Newark Licking Valley, 6-2, 225

Jack Mewhort, OL, Toledo St. John’s, 6-6, 283

Jordan Whiting, LB, Louisville (Ky.) Trinity, 6-1, 226

C.J. Barnett, DB, Clayton Northmont, 6-1, 175

Chris Fields, WR, Painesville Harvey, 6-0, 180

STORY BY GARY HOUSTEAU



anything else that he does with the team.“I have heavy days and light days in the weight room so we keep it

mixed up and keep it fresh so I can stay really enthusiastic about it,”said Simon, who repped 225 pounds 38 times last winter. “And I dolots of cardio. I’m big on running hills and running steps. I go up toFitch High School a lot and run the steps and do a lot of sprints. AndI attend Jump Stretch (workouts) for injury prevention and flexibility.It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy it a lot.”And with a scholarship to Ohio State already secured, Simon just

wants his team to have another monster season.“What’s really important to me now is being with my teammates

and working hard. We really want to get back to the state title gameagain,” Simon said. “We’re full-out serious about it. We’re going todo everything we can to go the extra mile and go out of the way to doanything that will make us better.”And along the way, Simon will do his small part in helping to make

his recruiting class better as well.“I don’t like to recruit players like some of the guys do,” Simon said.

“I just like to let the guys be comfortable and keep their space. I justlike to talk to them and get comfortable with them and just be goodfriends and hang out.”His friendship with Storm Klein, an OSU 2009 verbal from Newark

(Ohio) Licking Valley, sort of started out that way and has evolvedsince then.“I probably talk to him once a week. We’re both Steeler fans so we

usually talk at halftime of the Steeler games,” Simon said. “I don’teven know what we talk about really, we’re so comfortable talking toeach other, we just talk. But I talk to Storm the most and I’ve talkedto (Adam) Homan a couple of times.”

Adam Homan was a member of that Coldwater team that cameback from a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit to knock off Mooney in theDivision IV state championship game is Massillon, 28-27. That lossleft an indelible impression on Simon and it’s not something he wantsto experience again.“I want to accomplish (winning) a state championship in my last

year as a senior at Cardinal Mooney,” Simon said. “After looking atthe faces of the seniors last year I really just want to do anything thatI can to improve myself.”First things first for Simon who has no intention of enrolling early at

Ohio State so he can enjoy his entire senior season.“I’m really looking forward to college but I want to enjoy high

school,” said Simon, who turned 17 on Oct. 14. “I’m just going totake it a day at a time right now with my training to get ready foranother year of high school football.”It sounds like a pretty simple world for my Simon right now who still

manages to sport a 3.7 GPA in the classroom.“It’s all football and lifting. I’m stronger than ever and in the best

shape of my life but I want to keep training and improving myself,” hesaid. “I just like training and being with my teammates.”And he likes being a Buckeye. His commitment to Ohio State

couldn’t be any firmer.“It’s 100 percent Ohio State,” Simon said. “No exceptions. I’m defi-

nitely a Buckeye and nothing else. And I couldn’t be any happierabout it.” — OH

This story was reprinted with permission from the February editionof Bucknuts The Magazine.


or a football player from Beavercreek, Ohio, beinga scholarship member of a Mid-AmericanConference team would be quite an accomplish-ment.And that’s exactly the path Zach Domicone –

who eventually signed with his dream school OhioState – expected to take once his senior seasonended in 2007.Domicone (6-3, 215, 4.47) was a three-year

starter at quarterback and led Beavercreek to itsfirst winning season in 16 years in 2007 with a 6-4record. Despite missing two games with an injuryas a senior, he had 1,111 rushing yards, 600 pass-ing yards and 14 total touchdowns (nine rushing,

five passing). He really came on strong at the end of the sea-son and piled up over 200 rushing yards in each of theBeavers’ final three games.At the conclusion of the season, Domicone had offers from

the U.S. Air Force Academy and Ohio University who eachwanted him as a safety. He was intrigued with the idea ofbeing an officer and serving his country, but decided he wouldlikely attend OU and play for head coach Frank Solich. Heliked the idea of playing close to home and thought the MACwas a solid conference. However, then a wild recruiting ride started – one unlike any

we have seen in our time covering recruiting at Ohio High.“A couple days before Christmas, Zach got an offer from

Connecticut,” Beavercreek head coach Scott Clodfelter said.“We went from the MAC to the Big East in the span of a fewdays. Akron also offered around that time.“Then, right after Christmas, absolutely out of nowhere from

our perspective at the time, Nebraska came into the pictureand offered Zach a scholarship. We were flabbergasted. Itwas really exciting that a big-time program like that wantedhim and we were pretty sure he was going to commit toNebraska. (New head coach) Bo Pelini called me and we setup a visit for (Jan.) 17th.”After thinking about it for a while, Clodfelter realized the

offer from the Huskers didn’t exactly come out of the blue.“What I think happened, Carl Pelini was the D-line coach at

(Ohio University) and he left for Nebraska when his brothertook the head coaching job at Nebraska. So, I think Carl toldhim about Zach, they saw some film and offered him. I’m notexactly sure that’s what happened, but I sent film to everyDivision I school in the country on Zach. But we didn’t hearfrom Nebraska until the coaching change.”However, the roller coaster ride was just beginning for

Domicone and Clodfelter. Suddenly, another Big 12 schoolwas interested. And it was a program that would get anyone’sattention.“(Oklahoma head coach) Bob Stoops calls me out of

nowhere on Jan. 9 and says, ‘We love Zach’s film and wewant him to come here for a visit,’ ” Clodfelter said. “And theywanted him to come right away for a visit – the next day. Theywanted him there before he could go to Nebraska to try andkind of steal him from Nebraska. That’s just my opinion, notwhat they said. We told them he couldn’t come tomorrow, buthe could make a visit on Saturday (Jan. 12). The whole thingwas amazing.”At this point, Ohio State was still not in the picture for

Domicone. In fact, the Buckeyes weren’t even in the samealbum. But all of a sudden, on Fri., Jan. 11, everythingchanged.

FPhoto by Nick Falzerano

Beavercreek ’s Zach Domicone

Beavercreek ’s Zach Domicone


“(On Jan. 10), I called the football office atOhio State to ask about the coaching clinic,”Clodfelter recalled. “And then I said, ‘You knowwhat, I’m going to call (OSU recruiting coordi-nator/tight ends coach) John Peterson onemore time to let them know about theNebraska offer and that Oklahoma was alsointerested.’“I know they don’t like seeing Ohio kids go

to big-time schools outside of the state. So, Icalled Coach Peterson Thursday night and lefta message for him. “Friday morning (Jan. 11) around 10 o’clock

he returned my call and told me they hadinterest in Zach. That was the first time we hadever heard from Ohio State. I told himNebraska had already offered and Oklahomawas probably about to and he said, ‘What?’ Atthat point, people only knew he had offersfrom Ohio U., Air Force, Akron andConnecticut. “Coach Peterson told me that (OSU head

coach Jim) Tressel would be back in townSaturday morning from a convention and thathe was aware of the situation and they wouldget back to me. But they didn’t want him to goto Oklahoma – because I know they have areputation of being very pushy with recruits onvisits – and Coach Peterson called back aboutan hour later and said, ‘What can we do?’“I said, ‘Offer him a scholarship. He wants to

be a Buckeye and has always wanted to be aBuckeye.’ Like most Ohio kids who play foot-ball, that was always Zach’s dream and wewere up front to Ohio State’s coaches aboutthat. So, we got off the phone and CoachPeterson told me to expect a call later thatday.“At 3:30 on Friday, Coach Tressel called me

and said, ‘I’d like you to be the first to knowthat we’re offering Zach Domicone a full schol-arship.’ I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’ Andthe funny thing was that we were in the weightroom and the cell reception was really bad.But finally Zach got on the phone with CoachTressel and of course accepted. It was a pret-ty incredible experience. At 10 on Friday morn-ing was our first contact with Ohio State andfive-and-a-half hours later at 3:30 in the after-noon he had been offered and accepted ascholarship.“And, honestly, I think Nebraska pushed the

whole thing.”Domicone admitted he was shocked at first

that OSU stepped up with a scholarship offer.The entire ordeal felt surreal to him. However,once the dust started to settle, he simply feltlike he landed where he belonged. “At first it was kind of crazy and hard to

believe, but it started to sink in pretty fast,”Domicone told Ohio High on national signingday (Feb. 6). “I think I deserve it and I think Ihave the ability to play at that level. Today,

though, to finally sign those papers felt good.”

Sticking It OutA standout football player throughout his

early years, Domicone nearly transferred to aschool better known for football prior to thebeginning of his high school career. There areprograms with a bad history in football andthen there’s Beavercreek. The Beavers havelong been a doormat for the big-school subur-ban powers in the Dayton area like Centervilleand Huber Heights Wayne. “Yeah, before my freshman year I thought

about transferring,” Domicone said. “But wegot a coaching change and my dad and I metwith Coach Clodfelter and we liked what hewas talking about doing and what he wasdoing during the off-season, so we decided tostay. Our first two years weren’t real success-ful, but it was nice to help turn around the pro-gram and I ended up where I wanted to be.

So, I think that was a good move.”Domicone was able to win the starting quar-

terback job as a sophomore in 2005, never aneasy accomplishment at the Division I level,no matter the school. However, his seasonabruptly ended with an injury in the first regu-lar season game of the season.“I had a battle all off-season with a quarter-

back who was a year ahead of me,” Domiconesaid. “And I ended up winning it after our firstscrimmage. And then going into our secondscrimmage, I took all the snaps, and aboutmidway through the second quarter, I tore mymeniscus. So, I rehabbed it, got it ready forour first game against a big rival, againstCarroll. And then I went out, it was right beforehalftime, and I was running out of bounds tostop the clock, it was a wet, rainy day and thefield was wet and I went to stop after runningout of bounds and I just twisted my knee a lit-tle bit and ended up tearing my ACL and thatwas it from there.”

As a junior in 2006, Domicone and theBeavers started slow, but showed a sign ofthings to come in the latter portion of the sea-son.“My junior year, I only played quarterback – I

didn’t play any defensive back. It was my firstyear back from my knee injury and it took mea few games to get acclimated to playingagain and the speed of everything. But I cameon strong and our team came on strong andwe ended up winning our last five (to finish 5-5). And just to get back out there to show peo-ple what I could do and my knee was fine andit was strong again was a good feeling. I wasplaying fast and I was real happy with my jun-ior year.”In 2007, Domicone enjoyed an outstanding

senior campaign, despite missing two gamesdue to an injury. Not only did he achieve hispersonal goals and earn scholarship offers, hehelped turn around a program that had longbeen in hibernation. Tressel mentioned onsigning day that “several coaches in theDayton area told me he was a one-manwrecking crew at Beavercreek.”“I was definitely excited to come into my

senior year,” Domicone said. “We were tryingto raise up Beavercreek and get a winningrecord on the board and I was excited to showpeople what I could do. I really felt like it wasmy first year back at full strength the wholeseason. We started off slow as an offense –we had some offensive line things that weneeded to work out and move people arounda little bit. And then I got hurt and missed twogames. “But after that we came on strong. I think I

finished my last three games with 200-plusrushing in each game. And defensively at thebeginning of the year I played almost everysnap. Didn’t see much action on my side, theykind of stayed away – I was out playing cor-ner. But at the end of the year, I just played inpassing situations. “But I was very happy with my year and the

way I performed. Obviously it’s getting me towhere I want to be. And I was very happy forour team and what we were able to accom-plish together.”Domicone is a humble young man, but has

a quiet confidence about him. Although he did-n’t play safety in high school – and just a littlebit of cornerback – he thinks he will do justfine at Ohio State.“I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to make that

jump,” Domicone said.“I played safety in seventh, eighth and ninth

grade. And in camps all last summer, I playedsafety. I actually went to 10 different campsover the summer and played safety. I workedevery day in practice with the safeties duringour defensive time. So, I’m pretty confident Ican make that transition.” — OH

“It was a pretty incredible experi-ence. At 10 a.m. on Friday morningwas our first contact with Ohio State

and five-and-a-half hours later at 3:30 in the afternoon he

had been offered and accepted ascholarship.”

Beavercreek Football CoachScott Clodfelter

STORY BY DAVE B IDDLE


Westerv i l le Central ’s Ben Buchanan

Ben Buchanan set astate record this seasonwith five field goals (57,46, 44, 41 and 29 yards)in one game.

Photo by Gary Housteau

en Buchanan will leave WestervilleCentral as one of the most prolifickicker/punter combinations in thehistory of Ohio high school football.

Buchanan (6-0, 195) was a three-timeAll-Ohio selection for the Warhawks andwas a complete football player who alsolined up at defensive back and wide receiv-er. However, it was as a specialist wherehe made his long-lasting mark.

During his four-year varsity career,Buchanan was 32 of 45 in field goals,including a long of 57 yards. He never hadan extra point blocked (68 of 70 careerPATs) and was known for always gettinggood lift on his kicks. As a punter, Buchanan averaged just

around 40 yards per boot during his career,including a 41.2-yard average as a senior.Many of his punts were of the directional

variety where he pinned the oppositiondown inside their 20-yard line.Already regarded as one of the best kick-

ers/punters in the nation entering his finalprep season, Buchanan certainly went outwith a bang. As a senior in 2007, he turnedin arguably the best year for a kicker instate history. He was a perfect 13-of-13 onfield goals inside the 50-yard line and was14-of-19 overall in field goals. His five miss-

B

Westerv i l le Central ’s Ben Buchanan


es came from 63, 60, 60, 53 and 50 yards.Buchanan was 9 of 9 between 40 and 50yards. NFL kickers should be so fortunate tohave a season like that.Buchanan also set a state record with five

made field goals in one game. Those camefrom 57, 46, 44, 41 and 29 yards.He also consistently boomed the ball near

the goal line or into or out of the end zone onhis kickoffs. On more than one occasion,Buchanan sent kickoffs through the uprights.“I was blessed during my high school

career to play on good teams, win an OCCchampionship as a senior and set some per-sonal records,” Buchanan said.When it came time to pick a college,

Buchanan didn’t need long to decide. Severalof the top SEC schools were after him earlyin the process, but he became the first mem-ber of Ohio State’s 2008 recruiting class witha verbal commitment in March 2007. Hemade it official on Feb. 6, when he signed hisNational Letter of Intent during a ceremony atWesterville Central.“Signing with Ohio State is amazing and

I’m really excited to spend the next four orfive years there,” Buchanan said. “It is theculmination of a lot of hard work and to beable to share this with my family, friends andteammates makes it even extra special.”Buchanan will likely redshirt for Ohio State

in 2008. The Buckeyes return their startingkicker (Ryan Pretorius) and starting punter(A.J. Trapasso) who will each be seniors.Backup kicker Aaron Pettrey, a junior in2008, also returns.“That’s what the plan is right now,”

Buchanan said of redshirting. “I am going tocome in ready to contribute if they need me,but I’m excited to learn from A.J. and Ryan. Ifeel like I will be learning under some of thebest.”When asked if he feels like he’s a better

kicker or punter at this stage of his career,Buchanan said: “I really don’t know. I’vealways done all three (including kickoffs) andI hope to continue doing all three at OhioState and do as well as I can. I just want tobe the best in each area that I can be for theBuckeyes.”Ohio State has developed an impressive

lineage of standout kickers in recent seasonswith former All-American Mike Nugent at thetop of the list. But Buchanan says he doesn’tfeel any pressure in terms of living up to thehigh expectations that Buckeye fans nowhave when it comes to OSU’s specialists.“No, I look at pressure as a privilege,”

Buchanan said. “To be able to play at a placelike Ohio State is a blessing and it’s a prettytight-knit group of kickers and punters there.I’ve kicked with Nuge and Dan Stultz andpunted with (Andy) Groom. It’s great that

Ohio State has a fraternity like that with itskickers and punters. We’re all a family.”On signing day, Ohio State head coach

Jim Tressel gushed about what Buchananwill be able to bring to the Buckeyes. Youwon’t find a college coach who works harderon special teams. Tressel has often said thatthe punt is the “most important play in foot-

ball” due to the amount of yardageexchanged.“We talk a lot about special units,” Tressel

said. “We’re lucky to have an outstandingyoung guy in Ben Buchanan, great field goal,extra point man, great punter. You can seethe ball get up there in a hurry (showing ahighlight video). That was a 60-yard punt andhe can really hit the ball. And Ben is an out-standing student (3.7 GPA). He never had aPAT blocked and does a great job getting theball up in the air. He’s an outstanding kickerand punter.”Even more good news for the Buckeyes is

that Buchanan might be able to save them ascholarship down the line. Tressel enjoyscarrying up to five kickers/punters on fullrides – which is a rarity in the era of 85scholarships – but Buchanan can fill severalroles.“I want to do all three: kick field goals and

extra points, punt and kickoff,” Buchanansaid. “I can maybe help save a scholarshipfor them that way.”Currently, the Buckeyes have two scholar-

ship kickers (Pretorius and Pettrey), twoscholarship punters (Trapasso and JonThoma) and several walk-ons. Tressel wasasked point-blank on signing day if Buchananwill allow OSU to carry one less specialist onscholarship in future seasons.“We’re always going to have multiple

scholarships out on specialists becausethey’re critical,” Tressel said. “We’re going tohave multiple kickers. So, if a guy can do twothings, instead of having five guys on schol-arship we’ll have four, that kind of thing. Benis an unusual guy that did both so well soconsistently, but he’s really a focused guy. Heworks at it and he’ll come in and he’ll com-

pete, and I think that will make everyone elsebetter and we’ll see if he can step in and takeover or step up and push and that type ofthing, but just an outstanding guy, andunusual. “I had one, Jeff Wilkins (at Youngstown

State), who I had 14 years ago and he’s stillplaying in the NFL and only doing one ofthem there (kicking). But he did both, and hewas extraordinary. But it is unusual.”Following his senior season, Buchanan

was named to the ONN/Ohio High All-Ohioteam. He was also selected as the first-teamAll-USA punter by USA Today and wasselected to play in the Army All-AmericanBowl in San Antonio.Buchanan suffered a stress fracture in his

left foot (plant foot) just before arriving in SanAntonio and was unable to kick. He was limit-ed to just punting duties. However, he saidhe is fully healthy now.“My foot is fine,” he said. “I injured my left

foot before the Army All-American Bowl, butit’s all healed up now and I’ve already startedkicking again. They just wanted me to rest itfor a little bit.”Buchanan will wear the No. 17 at Ohio

State and will enroll early this summer. Adiehard Buckeye fan for as long as he canremember, Buchanan explained what imme-diately comes to mind when he thinks ofOSU.“I think of an unbelievable winning tradi-

tion,” he said. “Script Ohio also comes tomind. Mike Nugent’s 55 yard game winneragainst Marshall (in 2004) and especially the2002 national championship game (whenOSU beat Miami 31-24 in double overtime). Iwent to the game with my father (Tim) andcousin Dan.”Buchanan is a talented all-around athlete

who might have had a chance to play collegebaseball if he didn’t take the football path.But entering his college career, he explainedwhat he believes are his strengths and weak-nesses as a kicker/punter.“My strengths are my focus, technique,

consistency and power,” he said. “As a base-ball pitcher, I learned early on how to staycool and focus under pressure with the gameon the line. “I still need work on improving my tech-

nique as a punter and a kicker and I stillneed to get as strong and fast as I can.”Buchanan is a religious young man and

never goes very far in an interview withoutmentioning his Christian background.“When I am done playing football, I hope

that I will be remembered as a great personand a Godly man, a leader and a friend,”Buchanan said. “I hope to be someone whomade a difference in many people’s lives andwas always there to help.” — OH

STORY BY DAVE B IDDLE

“I want to do all three: kick field goals andextra points, punt and kickoff.

I can maybe help save a scholarship for (Ohio State) that way.”

Westerville Central SeniorBen Buchanan


Waverly ’s Rust y Wright

he Waverly High School football program is headed in theright direction.In part, because the “Wright” man is in charge.And, although head coach Rusty Wright is reluctant to

accept the credit, the Waverly Tigers — in such a shortamount of time — have emerged as one of the top footballprograms in all of southeast Ohio.

In the past two seasons, the Tigers have combined for a record of21-3, and have enjoyed back-to-back berths in the state football play-offs.While Wright has been the head coach for the past four seasons,

the longtime assistant to the legendary EdBolin is quick to credit his coaching staff andthe community of Waverly.After all, the saying in Waverly is indeed

“Tiger Pride runs citywide.”“We’ve had tremendous support the past

few years,” Wright said. “Both fan supportand parental support have made us what weare. Waverly football is a community product.Our practices are open. People come towatch us practice. Every Friday night in thefall, the town of Waverly shuts down for ahigh school football game. We’re pushingcrowds of 4,000, 5,000 or even 6,000 peopleevery Friday night. It’s special and I’m proudto be a part of something like it. There is a lotof excitement.”Wright admits that Waverly wasn’t always a

football town.He spent 20 years as an assistant at the school before being hired

on Feb. 11, 2004.“It used to be mainly a basketball town, and football was just some-

thing that you played 10 games and that was it,” said Wright.The Tigers qualified for the Region 15 playoffs in 2002, but went

just 1-9 the following season.Wright then took over the head coaching job, and spoke highly of

the freshmen and junior high classes at that time.After 5-5 and 6-4 seasons in his first two years, the Tigers have

reaped the benefits of those classes the past two campaigns.Two years ago, the Tigers experienced an undefeated regular sea-

son for the first time in 36 years, and captured their first SouthernOhio Conference championship since 1988.The Orange and Black ended that season at 11-1, and hosted their

first ever playoff game before losing to Columbus DeSales in theDivision III regional semifinals.Last season, the Tigers followed with a 10-2 mark, and once again

advanced to the second round of the state playoffs. They fell toWestfall in the Division IV regional semifinals.The back-to-back quarterfinal triumphs are the only two of their

kind in school history.The senior class, spearheaded by first-team all-Ohio quarterback

Trevor Walls, were freshmen when Wright took over. Waverly gradu-ated 21 seniors this past season.“The goal of every program is to get to the state playoffs,” said

Wright. “To make it to the first round of the playoffs is the biggestachievement I think, because only 32 of you in each division of sixget to do it. Every Friday night is essentially a playoff game. Yourweek two game is just as important as your week 10 game.”The Tigers are getting used to playing more than 10 games. And,

Wright said his Tigers have succeeded because “they sacrifice indi-vidual glory.”Whether it was a fullback switching to

offensive guard, or an offensive stalwart mov-ing to defense, “our guys do what needs tobe done to help the team.”“We stress the team first here,” Wright said.

“I can’t tell you of how many examples wherewe had players do whatever was necessaryto help the team win. For example, theycame to us and asked to switch positions. Wedidn’t go to them and ask them.”There are individual stars, however.Wright, a disciple of the late Bolin, prefers

to throw the football, operating out of the I-formation with a blend of the option as well.“Coach Bolin was legendary with his offen-

sive mind, and what we do on offense is whatEd Bolin put in place here,” said Wright. “Ed

Bolin was throwing the football before people began to throw the foot-ball.”Wright’s quarterback for the past three seasons, Walls, is a two-

time first-team All-Southeast District signal-caller. He was SpecialMention all-district as a sophomore. Walls, as a senior, was namedco-Offensive Player of the Year in the district. That landed him first-team all-Ohio honors.In his senior season, Walls threw for an estimated 2,500 yards, on

top of the 2,300 yards as a junior and 1,482 as a 10th-grader. Healso completed 62-percent of his career passes, 67 of which went fortouchdowns.On Feb. 6, Walls signed a national letter-of-intent to play college

football at New Mexico State University. The Aggies are a member ofthe Western Athletic Conference.“There is a lot of pressure being the quarterback at Waverly, but

Trevor (Walls) was outstanding under that pressure,” said Wright. “Inour scheme, the quarterback has to make reads, has to be able toset down and throw the ball and put it where it needs to be. Trevorhas tremendous work ethic and he’s a very coachable kid.”Wright also praised Walls’ work with Mike Roback and D.R.

Robinson, two Waverly assistants who were Division I-A college quar-

T“When we put our staff in place, it was like the

Blues Brothers getting back together. I don’tknow of another staff that has the experiencelevel or knowledge of the game like they do.We’re all friends and we’re friends first, then

we’re a coaching staff.”

Waverly Football CoachRusty Wright


Waverly ’s Rust y WrightSTORY BY PAUL BOGGS

terbacks. Both Roback and Robinson played for Bolin, who Wrightcredits as building the quarterback position and legacy at Waverly.Wright also said his coaching staff “makes his job as the head

coach much easier.”Among his assistants are Robinson, offensive coordinator Roback,

defensive coordinator Chris Crabtee, John Knight and D.J. Owens.“When we put our staff in place, it was like the Blues Brothers get-

ting back together,” said Wright. “I don’t know of another staff that hasthe experience level or knowledge of the game like they do. We’re allfriends and we’re friends first, then we’re a coaching staff.”While Wright quickly credits his assistants and players, he also

described the role of the youth programs in Waverly.“Every year, more and more kids are coming out for football in

Waverly,” he said. “Our numbers are up in the junior high levels, andour numbers are up at the lower levels.”Waverly has a flourishing flag football program, which allows chil-

dren to begin the game in the third grade. There is also a city youthfootball league.

“The numbers keep growing at the youth level,” said Wright. “Atnoon on a Saturday, there will be 160 kids or so.”Those high numbers have carried over to the high school program.“For all four years I’ve been the head coach, our numbers have

stayed at 60 or just above,” said Wright. “And a lot of kids who didn’tplay football before now come out. Every year, more and more peoplewant to be a part of this.”With highly-touted younger classes and increasing numbers, Wright

only sees a bright future for Waverly football.“I’m very excited about the future here,” he said. “We’ve got great

people and things in place from the top down, from our assistantcoaches to our youth programs and our younger classes coming.”And, Wright hopes to be the “Wright” man in charge, overseeing a

program that is headed in the right direction.“You always dream of being the person who gets to lead a program

and take it in the direction you want,” he said. “You remember whatother coaches taught you, and you want to take that program in adirection that is good for the program and great for the kids.” — OH

Submitted Photo

Waverly coach Rusty Wright hasled the Tigers to back-to-back

first round playoff wins.


Boys Basketbal l S tate Tournament Preview

Chillicothe senior Anthony Hitchens and theCavaliers are one of many teams with planson taking home the Division II state champi-onship.

Photo by Brad Morris


Boys Basketbal l S tate Tournament Prev iewSTORY BY STEVE HELWAGEN & JEFF RAPP

2008 BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

However, it’s been tougher sledding forother prep superpowers such as LakewoodSt. Edward, which in one swift blow wentfrom the Division I frontrunner to a possiblepretender with the loss of star forwardDelvon Roe, who adorned the Ohio Highcover prior to the season. Other programs ofhigh repute such as Canton McKinley, Solon,Upper Sandusky, Canton GlenOak andTrotwood-Madison have struggled to grasptheir past dominance after sending standoutplayers to major colleges in recent years.But that’s the way the ball bounces in the

ever-increasing competitiveness of prep bas-ketball. Plus, some of the state’s most suc-cessful combatants of recent years seem tobe enjoying their new position just below theradar – teams such as Mansfield Senior,Toledo St. John’s and Cincinnati NorthCollege Hill. And then there are always theLittle Engines That Could, schools such astiny Ada, which has not made an appear-ance in the state tournament since 1923 butjust might be on a mission to advance toColumbus in Division IV after a 16-2 regularseason.

At time of print, the postseason was in itsopening stages and the teams to beat, atleast according to the final regular-seasonstate poll, were Moeller in Division I, PolandSeminary in Division II, Findlay Liberty-Benton in Division III and New Knoxville inDivision IV. Will any or all them prove thechalk right and advance to the state tourna-ment March 13-15 at Ohio State’s Value CityArena? We shall see.The following is a division-by-division look

at some of the contenders for the statechampionship this season in Ohio highschool basketball:

Division IAll discussion here has to begin with

Cincinnati Moeller since the Crusaders arethe defending state champions and theyhave carried their elite status into the 2007-08 season.The big question regarding Moeller head-

ing into the tournament was the status ofleading scorer Quinn McDowell, a 6-5 wingwho was shelved in January because of astress fracture in his right foot. Moeller won

its last eight regular-season games withoutMcDowell, who had a team-leading scoringaverage of 15.1 points per game, but coachCarl Kremer was hoping to get him backafter doctors conducted an MRI in mid-February.Kremer, of course, knows what it takes to

move a team through high waters – he notonly has multiple state titles under his belt,he also led Moeller to a perfect run throughthe brutal Greater Catholic League. That wasclinched when the Crusaders, who posted a19-1 record in the regular season, knockedoff rival St. Xavier for the second time Feb. 8in a classic low-scoring GCL war, 41-32.St. X, though, should not be slighted sim-

ply because both of its losses were toMoeller as they headed into the postseason18-2. X features one of the state’s best vet-eran duos in guard Brad Loesing and for-ward Walt Gibler, a 6-6 warrior who wasaveraging right around 17 points and sevenrebounds per game. Loesing was just under14 ppg. They could carry their team all theway back to the state final, where X lost toMoeller last year.Plus, Moeller has one very prominent

potential obstacle after choosing once againto try to navigate its way to the states via theColumbus regional. Also in that bracket andmaybe the scariest team in the state at timeof print was Columbus Northland, whichdestroyed Columbus Eastmoor Academy inthe City League championship game tomove to 19-0.Northland has one of the state’s top inside

players in 6-8 sophomore Jared Sullinger,who is already committed to Ohio State, oneof the best scoring and distributing guards in6-4 senior Devon Moore, and one of themost exciting young talents around in sopho-more J.D. Weatherspoon, a 6-6 high riser.Satch Sullinger’s team also is blessed withoutside shooters such as 5-10 guard IanNixson and hard-nosed defenders such a 6-5 forward Javon Cornley. Sullinger averaged20.5 points and 12.4 rebounds during theregular season.Moeller was expected to cruise to a district

title but was staring at possible regionalsemifinal opponents such as Zanesville,Newark and Gahanna Lincoln. Zanesville,owner of 19 regular-season wins, is led by 6-4 senior wing forward Logan Aronholt.Newark also has a star senior in 6-3 guardGreg Avery. Gahanna features 20-point scor-er Rob Taylor and his brother, Stevie, one ofthe state’s top freshmen.A Moeller-Northland battle is worth mark-

hile analysts agree that the talent level for boysbasketball in Ohio remains on the upswing andthe state is loaded with formidable teams, thepostseason that already is upon us promises tobe rife with fantastic match-ups and unforgettablemoments of drama.That’s nothing new in the Buckeye State, where

the excitement from the gridiron simply carries over to the hardwood andsome of the fiercest rivalries in the Midwest are at play.What is a bit different is the absence of some of the most recognizableprograms from the championship discussion, leading to the possibledawn of a new era.Yes, traditional powers such as Cincinnati Moeller, Cincinnati St.Xavier, Dayton Dunbar, Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph andWheelersburg all entered their brackets poised to make yet another runto the state final four. Plus, several teams that splashed onto the scenelast year and returned much of the roster maintained their lofty status –outfits like Cincinnati Withrow, Columbus Northland, Chillicothe, GarfieldHeights, Columbus DeSales, Sugarcreek Garaway and CanalWinchester World Harvest Prep.

W



ing the calendar. If that regional final takesplace it will be March 8 at the FairgroundsColiseum in Columbus with the winner head-ed down the street to Ohio State. Northlandalready played at VCA this season and rout-ed neighborhood rival Columbus DeSales,one of the top Division II teams in the state.The Cincinnati regional has the potential

to produce St. Xavier and fellow areaschools Withrow, Princeton and Elder as dis-trict champions. Elder, another rough-and-tumble GCL squad, is led by 6-6 power for-ward Kyle Rudolph, who wants to do somemore damage on the basketball court beforeplaying tight end at Notre Dame. Rudolphentered the second week of February withaverages of 14.8 ppg and 8.6 rpg.Princeton was no lock to emerge from the

Dayton 2 district with experiencedCenterville and Cincinnati Aiken also onboard. Aiken was getting big-time productionfrom 6-7 freshman forward Chane Behanan(right on 20 ppg) as well as 6-4 junior wingDarren Goodson (19 ppg).And St. X knows that Withrow is gunning

for revenge should those teams rematch inthe regional final March 8 at XavierUniversity. Gibler’s press-beating pass thatled to a layup cinched a 51-48 win in lastyear’s match-up with a ticket to the statefinal four on the line.Withrow, like Northland, is loaded with tal-

ent up and down the roster and has a promi-nent big man in 6-9 power forward YancyGates, who is signed to play at theUniversity of Cincinnati next season. Gateswas producing about 21 points and 11rebounds per game and point guard AnthonyMcBride was among the area leaders inassists with more than six per contest.The Akron and Cleveland regionals are

not as power heavy as in years past but stillare the home of hopeful teams. In the Akronregional, for example, which now includesteams from the Toledo area, Perrysburg, 19-0 going into the postseason, was on courseto face Mansfield Senior in the BowlingGreen district championship. Meanwhile,Toledo St. John’s Jesuit was the on-paperfavorite in the Toledo district while theCopley district looked like a grab bag.The always competitive Canton district

featured teams of past glory such asMcKinley and GlenOak as well as CantonTimken and Massillon Perry, which is led by7-0 center Kenny Frease, a Xavier signee.Timken appears to be ahead of schedule.Young but talented, Timken won its first 18games and is getting better-than-expectedproduction from players like Johnie Davis,who was averaging a team-high 18.6 ppg.The Cleveland regional has a new fron-

trunner now in the form of Garfield Heights,

which started 17-0 and has one of the mostbalanced rosters in the state. The backcourt is experienced and athletic

with 6-5 Robert Wilson, a Wisconsin signee,and 5-11 Carl Jones, who can go off at anytime. The front line features 6-5 PaulMcQueen. Heights, though, is in the samedistrict as Warren Harding, which wasranked sixth in the final regular-season statepoll with a record of 17-1.Harding boasts the junior backcourt duo of

6-2 shooting guard Sheldon Brogdon and 6-4 point guard Desmar Jackson, the top-ranked 2009 prospect in the state. Brogdonwas among the area leaders in scoring (19.5ppg) and three-point percentage (43.0). Thefront line is big and imposing, led by 6-7senior Damian Eargle, who was among thearea leaders in scoring (14.5 ppg), rebounds(11.9) and field-goal percentage (65.0).You want a sleeper pick from the

Cleveland area? Look no farther thanCleveland Glenville. The uptempoTarblooders are rife with scoring with 6-4guard Rayshawn Goins popping for about 26ppg and Kendall Holt and Maurice Catneyright around 17 ppg. Goins also was secondin the area at 13.6 rpg while Holt topped itwith 7.6 assists per game.Also Keep An Eye On: Columbus

Brookhaven, Akron Firestone, Elyria,Cincinnati Winton Woods, Dublin Scioto.State Championship Pick: Cincinnati

Moeller over Cincinnati St. Xavier in a

rematch of last year.

Division IIThe power teams in Division II lived up to

billing and the potential showdowns at theback end of the bracket could be as excitingand well played as any of the four divisions.Prior to the season, Ohio High highlighted

five “Teams To Watch” and all five of them –Canal Winchester, Chillicothe, ColumbusDeSales, Dayton Dunbar and Toledo Libbey– looked every bit as capable entering thepostseason as they did on paper before theball even went up in the air. They are joinedin the top 10 of the final regular-season statepoll by a couple teams that put togetherundefeated regular seasons – PolandSeminary (18-0) and surprising St. ParisGraham (20-0) – as well as Fostoria (18-1),Eastmoor Academy (17-2) and Dover (18-2).While the possibilities for entertaining

games along the way seem endless, it’s diffi-cult not to fantasize about a state semifinalscenario where Libbey is facing eitherDunbar or Canal Winchester and Chillicotheis matched against either Poland Seminaryor Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.A Libbey-Canal semi would pair arguably

the top two players in the state and twofuture Ohio State teammates on their collegefloor – 6-5 senior guard/forward WilliamBuford of Libbey and 7-1 senior center B.J.Mullens of Canal Winchester. If they can lead their teams to the states

they would face each other March 13 atValue City Arena. The day prior, TheAssociated Press is expected to announcethe winner of the coveted “Mr. Basketball”award, which figures to go to either Bufordor Mullens – unless Gates or someone elseemerges as the winner.Mullens, who had a 62-point game recent-

ly, put together a regular season in which heaveraged 26.2 ppg and led central Ohio with14.6 rpg and a field-goal percentage of 70.2.More important, he led the Indians to an 18-2 record and belief that they, with the guidinghand of longtime coach Kent Riggs, canmake a run at a state championship. Mullensis surrounded by solid ball handlers andshooters, most notably guard RemonNelson.CW should cruise to the district title but

has a tough draw thereafter, especially withDunbar lurking on the other side of theFairborn regional bracket.The two-time defending state champs in

Division II, the Wolverines posted an 18-2regular season despite a fierce schedule andhave a top big man in their own right in 6-10center Josh Benson, who is signed to play atthe University of Dayton next year.

TThhuurrssddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 1133 -- SSeemmiiffiinnaallss10:45 a.m. - Division II Game #12:00 p.m. - Division II Game #25:15 p.m. - Division IV Game #18:30 p.m. - Division IV Game #2

FFrriiddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 1144 -- SSeemmiiffiinnaallss10:45 a.m. - Division III Game #12:00 p.m. - Division III Game #25:15 p.m. - Division I Game #18:30 p.m. - Division I Game #2

SSaattuurrddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 1155 -- FFiinnaallss10:45 a.m. - Division II2:00 p.m. - Division IV5:15 p.m. - Division III8:30 p.m. - Division I

2008 BOYS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT


Boys Basketbal l S tate Tournament Prev iew

Benson started his season with a 48-pointoutburst and has been dominating eversince. Benson gets help inside from 6-6power forward Derion Brandon and battle-tested guards Keith Rakestraw and HarveyStewart.Libbey looks to have an easier path but

could have to face Columbus DeSales orEastmoor Academy in the Bowling Greenregional semis and possibly Fostoria in theregional final. Senior guard Antonio Bumpusturned in a terrific senior season with 21.7ppg and 8.7 rpg Center Raymond Woods, a6-3 widebody, pulled down 11.7 rpg.DeSales, which advanced all the way to thestate finals last season, centers its attackaround 6-2 sophomore point guard NickKellogg, 6-3 junior wing Nick Goff and 7-1senior center Sean Hobbs. Kellogg doubledhis scoring output of a year ago to average22.1 ppg during the Stallions’ 17-3 regularseason. He also averaged 4.9 assists perouting. Hobbs made 62.5 percent of hisfield-goal attempts.Still, Libbey is the pick here, especially

with the regional tournament at BowlingGreen State University. Buford not onlyscores about 23 ppg, he also sees the floorwell, finds teammates and makes clutch bas-kets and grabs key rebounds. He’s got helpin the form of classmates Julius Wells, a 6-5forward, and 6-3 guard Brad Sandridge, whodesperately want to lead the Cowboys overthe hump and to the state tourney.The Athens regional appears to be

Chillicothe’s for the taking. Behind 5-10 pointguard Anthony Hitchens and 6-7 center RayChambers, who does yeoman work inside,Chilly is the class of the area. The Cavalierslost their season opener to ColumbusBrookhaven but won 18 of their next 19including a 59-58 survival against Division Ipower Zanesville and a 104-40 drumming ofJackson late in the campaign to head intothe postseason with supreme confidence.The Canton regional is filled with possibili-

ty, although Seminary should be able to winthe Youngstown district and SVSM, whichwas trying to shake off some late-seasoninjuries, appears to be the class of theCanton district. A team to watch is Cleveland Benedictine,

which was written off as a pretender early inthe season but, at time or print, appeared tohave a favorable draw in the Stow district.Benedictine is led by the young and dynamicbackcourt of Derek Jackson (16.7 ppg) andCameron Wright, an explosive 6-5 sopho-more who averaged 18.0 ppg during the reg-ular season after committing to Ohio State.Also Keep An Eye On: Cincinnati Taft,

Parma Holy Name, Kettering Alter,Painesville Harvey, West Muskingum.

State Championship Pick: DaytonDunbar over Chillicothe, giving theWolverines a three-peat.

Division IIIA year ago, Findlay Liberty Benton won its

first 26 games before falling to North CollegeHill 50-45 in the Division III state champi-onship game.Once again this year, Liberty Benton was

unbeaten at press time. The Eagles wontheir first 19 games of the season.Sophomore Eric Craft, a 6-0 guard, was theonly returning starter from that state runner-up squad. It will be interesting to see ifLiberty Benton, the division’s only unbeatenand the No. 1-ranked team, can again makea prolonged tournament run and make itback to Columbus.It looked to be a rough road to the state

final four for Liberty Benton, which was tick-eted for the Bowling Green regional and theElida district. Just within the district, suchtough competition as St. Henry, Ottawa-Glandorf and Maria Stein Marion Localloomed.In the Athens regional, the top candidate

could be Chillicothe Huntington, whichended the regular season 18-2. Huntingtonwas led by 6-1 senior guard Josh Kellough,who went over the 1,200-point mark to setthe school’s career scoring record late in theseason.Wheelersburg is also a contender in the

southeast portion of the state. The Piratesadvanced to the state final four last yearbefore losing to North College Hill in over-time in a state semifinal game.Wheelersburg had two starters back in 6-5senior Drew Spradlin and 5-8 senior MattJenkins.South Point was also in the running in the

Athens regional. Sophomore Todd Mayo, thebrother of former North College Hill and cur-rent USC star O.J. Mayo, was averaging 24points per game for the Pointers.Another team to watch in the Athens

regional is Sugarcreek Garaway, led by 5-9senior guard Tyler Gerber and 6-8 freshmanpower forward Paul Honigford. Garawayended the regular season 17-3.Perhaps the top team in the Canton

regional was longtime state fixture ClevelandVilla Angela-St. Joseph, the 2006 state run-ner-up. VASJ was back in the hunt behindthe play of 5-9 senior guard Nate Barnesand 6-7 senior center Klein Harper. Barneswas averaging over 15 points and fourassists a game, while Harper was averagingnearly a double-double in scoring andrebounding.Another team to watch in northeast Ohio is

Toledo Libbey senior andOhio State recruit WilliamBuford will try to lead theCowboys to a Division II

state title.

Photo by Steve Helwagen



Andover Pymatuning Valley, led by the highscoring senior duo of Steve Savel (averag-ing 25 points per game) and Corey Shontz(20 points per game).Looking at top teams in the Fairborn

regional, Anna won 17 of its first 18 gamesduring the regular season. The Rocketsboast a balanced attack, led by 6-2 sopho-more Wesley Hunsucker (11 points pergame) and 6-0 senior Joel Naseman (12points per game).Cincinnati Deer Park posted an 18-2 regu-

lar season mark. Deer Park is led by one ofthe division’s top players in 6-4 senior for-ward Ori Harrison, who averaged 20.7points and 12.5 rebounds per game in theregular season. Ethan Carey, a 5-11 senior,adds 13 points per game for Deer Park.It would be foolish to count out North

College Hill. The Trojans, 13-7 in the regularseason, have won three straight state titles.But they lack some of the star power fromtheir past state title runs. Still, senior guardDamon Butler (averaging 21 points andnearly eight assists per game) will try andmake his fourth straight trip to Columbus.Columbus Academy is led by 5-11 senior

guard Jake Beatley, who is averaging over21 points per game.Also Keep an Eye On: London Madison

Plains, New Lebanon Dixie, Cardington,Archbold, Mansfield Ontario, BucyrusWynford, Ottawa-Glandorf, St. Henry. State Championship Pick: Findlay

Liberty-Benton over Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

Division IVA year ago, Georgetown went 28-0 and

claimed the Division IV state title with a 75-66 win over Canal Winchester WorldHarvest Prep. The G-Men brought back twostarters from that squad and had posted a17-2 mark, as of press time. The two losseswere to Ripley (40-36) in the season openerand to conference rival ClermontNortheastern (54-40).Georgetown is led by 6-3 sophomore for-

ward Jess Chadwell (17.7 points per game),5-8 senior guard Marc Gray (11.5 ppg) and6-4 senior forward Dylan Kattine (11.1 ppg). The G-Men will be challenged, though, in

their quest to get out of the tough Daytonregional. Cincinnati Seven Hills loomed as adistrict-level opponent for the defendingstate champions. Seven Hills was 19-1 dur-ing the regular season with wins over D-IIIcontender Cincinnati Deer Park and fellowD-IV power Lockland (54-40). Seven Hills’lone loss was in the season opener todefending D-III state champion NorthCollege Hill (89-71).

Seven Hills is led by 6-3 senior guardDrew Kohn (21.5 ppg) and 6-4 sophomoreforward Jake Davis (18.7 ppg, 11.2rebounds per game).As noted, Lockland is another team to

watch in the Dayton regional. Lockland was19-1 at the end of the regular season.New Knoxville, coming out of the

Wapakoneta district in the Dayton regional,earned the No. 1 ranking in the finalAssociated Press poll as it was 19-0 in theregular season. New Knoxville went 20-0last year in the regular season before fallingto Georgetown 60-57 in a regional final.Four Rangers are averaging double digit

scoring, led by 6-7 junior Brad Piehl, who isaveraging for nearly 13 points per game.Tony Meyer, a 5-11 senior guard, is averag-ing in 12 points and six assists, while hittingnearly 59 percent of his three-pointattempts. One of the top teams in the Bowling

Green regional figures to be ToledoChristian, which had won 16 of its first 17games. Kyle Whitlow (14 ppg) and GrantSims (11 ppg) lead Toledo Christian.There are several teams to watch in the

Columbus regional, led by WorthingtonChristian. WC was 19-1 in the regular sea-son and was led by Brian Hecker (22 ppg)and Brady Beals (12 ppg, 10 rpg).Canal Winchester World Harvest Prep

again figures to be in the running from cen-tral Ohio. Harvest Prep was 19-1 as wellduring the regular season. The Warriorshave excelled behind three returnees fromlast year’s state runner-up team. They areled by 6-2 senior guard Dane Givner, 6-1senior guard Quintin Aden and 6-0 juniorswingman Nehemiah Trotter. Givner is aver-aging 14 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.3assists, Aden 11.3 points and Trotter 10.6points and 3.4 rebounds.Two top teams in the Canton regional

could square off in the Byesville district withMalvern (20-0 regular season) and Wellsville(18-1). Malvern is led by three 1,000-pointcareer scorers in junior Tyler Tucci and sen-iors Zak Kapron and Trever Halter. Thisyear, Kapron leads the way at 20.1 pointsper game, while Halter is averaging 18.2and Tucci is at 17.5. Kapron also averages10.9 rebounds per game, while Tucci andHalter each average over six boards percontest.Also Keep an Eye On: Ada, Defiance

Ayersville, Holgate, Pandora-Gilboa,Haviland Wayne-Trace, Tiffin Calvert,Sandusky St. Mary, Oak Hill, LancasterFisher Catholic, Columbus Tree of Life.State Championship Pick: Malvern over

Georgetown — OH

Centervillejunior MattKavanaughand theElks willtry to sur-vive therugged D-ICincinnatiregional.



Canal Winchester ’s B . J . Mul lensSTORY BY STEVE HELWAGEN

Canal Winchester sen-ior B.J. Mullens hashad a successful sen-ior season. An OhioState recruit, Mullenshad back-to-backgames of 46 and 62points in January. Photo by Nick Falzerano


“Since I first committed to Ohio State threeyears ago, I have always been a Buckeye,”Mullens said. “Now that I have signed, I amproud to be a Buckeye.”Mullens spent two seasons at World Harvest

Prep before transferring to nearby CanalWinchester High School in the spring of 2006.He made his varsity debut at World HarvestPrep in 2004-05, averaging 11.3 points pergame as a freshman. He then averaged 17.6points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.0 blocked shotsper game as a sophomore before making themove to Canal Winchester.Longtime Canal Winchester coach Kent

Riggs was initially concerned about howMullens would fit in at the school. After all,Mullens’ GPA hovered in the 2.0 range at thetime and he needed work – both on the courtand off – to realize his full potential.“The good part of it is when he came here,

we told him he would not be treated any differ-ently than anybody else,” Riggs said. “We havegreat staff and faculty who are willing to workwith students. But they have to meet ushalfway. He’s been great with that.“He did not walk in here and think he was

going to get special treatment. If you asked thestaff members who have had him as a student,they would be proud of him today for what hehas worked on and accomplished.”Mullens heeded Riggs’ advice and made big

strides on the court and in the classroom. Hisgrades have improved dramatically and, as ajunior, he averaged 26.4 points, 14.1 reboundsand 4.4 blocked shots a game. Among all play-ers in Ohio in Division II, Mullens’ scoring aver-age was second only to Ohio career scoringleader Jon Diebler. But Mullens was somehowleft off the All-Ohio Division II first team.Still, Mullens spent his spring and summer

on the AAU and camp circuit. He participated inevents with the adidas Nation program as well.One web site declared that Mullens, because ofhis size and skill, was the early favorite to be

the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.But through it all, Riggs has been glad to see

that Mullens has kept the acclaim in perspec-tive.“You always worry about kids when every-

body in the public tells them how good they areand what’s ahead of them,” Riggs said. “Wehave tried to stress with him that ‘You’ve got todo these things first. If you don’t do thesethings, then the things in the future won’t cometo you.’“We have not had to fight that battle at all,

which is good. That was the battle I thought wemight have to fight. It has not been like that.“What I have tried to stress to him is he has

a lot of ability and a lot of potential just in thetype of athlete he is. A lot of times those ratingsare based on potential. Your performance iswhat you will be gauged on. Some doors will be

opened up because of the potential you have.But you have to be able to perform, and I thinkhe understands that.”As his senior year was winding down,

Mullens was making a push to be Ohio’s topprospect and the Mr. Basketball award winner.Prior to the season, Chris Johnson ofHoopScoopOnline.com declared that Mullensand Toledo Libbey standout William Buford,also an Ohio State recruit, were tied as the

state’s top prospects.Mullens helped Canal Winchester post an

18-2 mark during the regular season. He aver-aged 26.2 points and 14.6 rebounds and hit70.2 percent of his shots from the floor.As a result, Mullens has been chosen to play

in the McDonald’s All-American Game March26 at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. He will bejoined there by fellow OSU signee Buford.“He has worked hard. He wants to be a good

player,” Riggs said. “With his ability and his sizeat the high school level, a guy could have atendency to take things easy. But he workshard on his game. He has improved.”The Indians’ two losses were to Newark and

Cincinnati Withrow. Mullens scratched the sur-face of his ability when he matched the schoolrecord of 46 points in a Jan. 19 win over Mid-State League rival Lancaster Fairfield Union.But that was just a warm-up for what came

on Jan. 22. Playing against Centereach (N.Y.)Our Savior New American at the Flyin’ to theHoop event in Kettering, Ohio, Mullens brokeloose for 62 points and 21 rebounds in a 79-69win. He had 36 of his team’s 38 points in thefirst half. He ended up 28 of 34 from the floor(82 percent).“The kids are looking at him more because of

his size and he is so good down low,” Riggssaid following that game. “He is real quick andagile for a big boy," Riggs said. "He is just soathletic for a big kid.”Just days earlier, Mullens missed a game

due to dizziness. He made up for lost timeagainst Fairfield Union and Our Savior.“I had to miss a game not long ago with a

health problem and I don’t like basketball get-ting taken at anytime and I think that has put alittle flame in me,” Mullens said. The 58-57 loss to Withrow was a tough one

to swallow as Withrow, led by 6-9 Cincinnatisignee Yancy Gates, scored the winning basketat the buzzer. That game was played at OSU’sValue City Arena, the site of the state champi-

ith his full ride to Ohio State assured before he ever played a varsity highschool basketball game, B.J. Mullens certainly could have coasted.The 7-1 Mullens was picked out of the crowd by newly hired Ohio State headcoach Thad Matta at a basketball camp in the summer of 2004. Matta, it wouldseem, was impressed with the skill level of the tall youngster.He was surprised to learn that Mullens was just enrolling that fall as a highschool freshman. He was even more surprised to learn he was from CanalWinchester, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.

Things moved quickly – very quickly – after that as Matta and his staff decided to offer Mullens ascholarship. In the weeks before his varsity debut at World Harvest Prep, Mullens accepted that offer.It would be three years later before Mullens – now rated as one of the country’s top 15 seniors (No.12 overall) by ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. – would sign his letter-of-intent to play college basketball at OSU.

WCanal Winchester ’s B . J . Mul lens

“Since I first committed to Ohio State three years ago, I have always been aBuckeye. Now that I have signed, I am

proud to be a Buckeye.”

Canal Winchester SeniorB.J. Mullens


Canal Winchester ’s B . J . Mul lens

onships in March. A year ago, CanalWinchester’s dreams were dashed with a dis-trict final game loss to Columbus Beechcroft.“We'll definitely be here back in March,”

Mullens said after the Withrow loss. “I'll makesure of that. I'll make my teammates better. I'mused to playing out here every summer. I comedown here every once in a while every time Iget the chance to.“For us, it was important for us to come

together this year as a family. I am pretty sureeveryone on my team wants to win that statechampionship.”Mullens talked about areas where he needs

to continue to improve.“I know I need to work on my strength and

conditioning,” he said. “I have been playingagainst college guys ever since I committed. Ihave a good feel for their strength and they arestrong. That is the next level.“I think I am ready for the college level. I

know Coach Matta will get me in shape forwhat he wants me to do.”Mullens said it was an easy decision to com-

mit early to Ohio State, his hometown team.“Coach Matta and his staff are great,” he

said. “I love them. I have been a part of thefamily with them for the last three years. We

talk every week. I go up there and talk to them.It has been good to get to know them before Igo up there and play.”During the early signing period, Mullens was

joined by Buford as well as guards AnthonyCrater and Walter Offutt in signing with theBuckeyes. All have been considered nationaltop-100 prospects during their respective prepcareers. Nevada standout Luke Babbitt initiallycommitted as well before opting to stay homeand play at Nevada.“I think we fit in good,” Mullens said. “We

have a lot of guards in this class and I am theonly big man. We have two seniors leavinginside. I think I have a chance to go in and fit inwell.“The class is real good. We will miss Luke. I

support him all the way. I understand he wantsto stay home and be close to his family. But therest – Walter, William and Anthony Crater – wehave had a few chances to play together. Wewere roommates at a camp in Virginia. It’sgoing to be a good class.”Mullens has the potential to play alongside 7-

0 center Kosta Koufos, currently a freshman forthe Buckeyes.“To actually sign a letter of intent to be a

Buckeye, it felt good,” Mullens said. “I know thesupporting cast that is coming in with me.Knowing the players that have been there, Ihave big shoes to fill with guys like Greg Odenand Kosta Koufos. Hopefully, Kosta and I willget to play together next year. It’s great thatOhio State fans are supporting me already.”While other schools tried to sway Mullens, he

stayed true to his commitment all the waythrough his high school career.“When you give your word to the school, you

have to stay with that commitment,” he said. “Iliked Coach Matta and I loved the school. Idon’t have to move away. I can stay near myfamily.“It’s going to be good. To play in front of

18,000 in the home games, it will be great. It’sjust going to feel good. Going on the road, theBig Ten is one of the toughest conferences.”Mullens spends time lecturing youngsters in

central Ohio. Because of his experiences, hehas plenty of good advice.“The first thing that is important in high school

is your grades,” he said. “No matter how manysports you want to play, if your grades aren’tright you aren’t going to play. You have to becommitted and work out every day if you wantto get better.”And, with his high school career running

down, Mullens talked about the areas that haveclicked for him as a senior.“I'd say timing on my game, you know, letting

the game come to me,” he said. “Just boxingout, getting offensive rebounds, gettingrebounds. I'd say that’s the most improved.” —OH

Mullens commitedto Ohio State priorto his freshmanyear at WorldHarvest Prep. Hetransferred toCanal Winchesterbefore his juniorseason.



Malvern Boys Basketbal l

here’s a town like Malvern in every county in Ohio. A traf-fic light, a McDonald’s, a mom-and-pop grocery store anda miniscule population of people who all know eachother’s name and who are kind to visitors they’ve neverseen before nor will again.Located on the border of Stark and Carroll Counties,

15 miles southeast of Canton, Malvern has a populationof 1,200, fewer than 100 of whom are boys at MalvernHigh School. Based on those numbers, an already

bizarre statistical anomaly takes on an even more unusual twist. In thespan of ten January days, three members of Malvern’s boys basketballteam surpassed the 1,000 mark in career points. Some schools havenever had a 1,000-point scorer. The Hornets having three at the sametime is, well, unreal.“It didn’t hit me until after all of us did it,” said senior Trevor Halter, the

second of the trio to reach the milestone. “I was like, ‘Wow, not a lot ofteams have probably accomplished that.’ It’s pretty special to be part ofthis.”Not a lot is a championship-level understatement. Nobody’s certain if

a boys team ever had three 1,000-point scorers simultaneously.Everybody, however, is certain it’s rare, if it’s happened at all. Factor inthe added oddity of the proximity of the trio reaching the mark, and itbecomes sublime.The first to reach four figures is the youngest of the three. Tyler Tucci,

son of Malvern coach Dennis Tucci, hit 1,000 on Jan. 15 against BerlinHiland. Five days later, Halter reached a grand against CampbellMemorial. Senior Zak Kapron made it a trio in a Jan. 25 game againstGaraway.

The timing shouldn’t be surprising. The trio has played three years ofvarsity basketball together as teammates. Halter and Kapron played ayear of junior varsity ball; Tucci started as a freshman. After 21 gamesthis season and 66 career games overall, the three were within 95career points of one another. Tucci led with 1,210, followed by Halter’s1145 and Kapron’s 1,115. Each has been the team’s leading scoreronce. Halter led the way in 2005-06; Tucci the following year. Kapron ledthe team in scoring this year.“They seriously and sincerely don’t care who gets the points,” Dennis

Tucci said. “If they turn down shots, then I get mad. Everybody says it,but these kids live it. They really don’t care. They just want to win.”They have won, too, a bit more each year. The Hornets were 9-11 two

years ago, then 17-3 last season. This year they ran the regular-seasontable and earned a No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Poll. It was thekind of thing you didn’t hear much about in Malvern basketball lore. Thebanner on the gymnasium wall lists the years teams have won Inter-Valley Conference championships. Neither the boys nor girls team hadever won one before this season.“Our main goal this year was to get a banner up on the wall. It’s our

first title ever,” Kapron said.The trio grew up together, but for a couple years looked like they

might not wind up playing together. When Dennis Tucci took the coach-ing job at Marlington High in Alliance, Tyler went with him. The team-mates, who played youth basketball together, were separated for thefirst time. Dennis Tucci got the Malvern job before his son’s freshmanyear and they moved back. The band was reunited.“You’re sad to leave,” Tyler Tucci said. “But it was good to come back

here too because I knew we were going to be good.”

Photo by Todd StumpfMalvern junior Tyler

Tucci (left) and seniors Zak Kapron(middle) and TrevorHalter (right) helpedthe Hornets to an

undefeated regularseason.

T


Malvern Boys Basketbal l

He was right. But nobody could foreseehow good. Certainly nobody looked at thetrio three years ago and saw 3,500 points,an eventual unbeaten season or a teamcapable of one day winning a state cham-pionship. But the three grew – literally,and as players.Kapron has always been tall, but his

skills needed to catch up to his 6-foot-6frame. As recently as a year ago he wasshooting 47 percent from the foul line.This season that mark was near 70 per-cent. Always athletic, he was never com-fortable with his back to the basket, butcountless hours working on his postmoves made him the player who shot bet-ter than 61 percent from the field thisyear.“It’s like he got a tattoo on his arm and

became a man,” Dennis Tucci said.Halter’s change from two years ago is

frightening. A 6-foot-5 swingman, he usedto camp on the perimeter. As a sopho-more he made 76 3-pointers. He made 59more as a junior. He once made 10threes in one game. This year, it took him half a season to make thatmany.Halter learned there were easier ways to score. Taking his game

inside, he shot 58 percent from the field this year. More importantly, hegot to the foul line about four times again. As a junior he shot 47 freethrows in 24 games. Simply put, he found that lay-ups and free throwswere worth more than missed 3-pointers, no matter how much funbombing away might have been. He also found the weight room.“We begged him as a sophomore to get in the weight room,” Dennis

Tucci said. “He got in there, but didn’t do much. Then finally last yearabout halfway through the season it kicked in. We can say it all we want,but until he believes it …”The weight work paid dividends on both ends. As a junior Halter aver-

aged just 4.5 rebounds – “and those were ones that just fell to him,”Dennis Tucci says. This year that number increased by nearly two pergame.Then there’s Tucci, the quintessential coach’s son. He does a little bit

of everything. Offensively, he runs the show, averaging more than sevenassists a game to go with his 17 points per night. Defensively, he pullsdown nearly eight rebounds – from a guard spot – and nets about threesteals per contest. When Dennis Tucci raves, it’s as much as a coach asa Dad.“He just does it all for us,” the proud papa said. “If you see us play,

he’s the engine. He plays at a whole different level out on the floor. Ifthere’s a loose ball it’s his, no question. He goes after the ball likenobody I’ve ever coached.”The productivity of the threesome involves a good bit of unselfish-

ness, not only from themselves, but the other players on the Malvernsquad. Fellow starters Adam Wackerly and Jamar Stephens do a lot ofdirty work and get far fewer headlines. Both are quality players in theirown right.Wackerly averaged seven points and four assists this season. He shot

42 percent from behind the arc, making him the team’s best outsidethreat. In a situation where a team didn’t have two skilled big men, he’dhave gotten many more touches and the numbers that go with them.Just a sophomore, he’ll get that chance.The Hornets’ stopper, Stephens’ job was simple: lock onto other

teams’ top offensive player. Despite his limited offensive role, the senior

still managed to average 5.4 points. Hecan knock down a shot or two when calledupon.“Once in a while they’ll be our leading

scorers when teams are trying to stop usthree,” Halter said. “They can hit a lot ofthrees and they both pass really well.”All of the Hornets’ big three are multi-

sport athletes. They don’t have the luxuryof working on basketball year round. Tucciand Kapron play football and baseball inaddition to basketball. Halter plays golf andhas dabbled in track in the past. “You’ve got to share them,” Dennis Tucci

said. “And we’re happy to.”But their future seems to be in basket-

ball. Perhaps because they play in DivisionIV for a team that until this year was largelyunknown, neither Kapron nor Halter hadgotten a ton of looks. Dennis Tucci believesthe pair can play at least in Division II. “Somebody’s going to get a steal,” he

said. “Once Zak concentrates on one sport,he’s going to take a giant leap. Trevor’s gota great ceiling because he’s just now

becoming a basketball player. His whole life he’s been just a shooter.And Tyler? I know some guys that have gone Division I that he’s betterthan. But we’ll see.”Until those decisions are made, the trio will enjoy their time in

Malvern, hanging out at McDonalds and rehashing memories, still fresh,but which will linger in this little town long after Kapron, Halter and Tuccihave left for bigger, if not better, places.They can recall the time Tucci scored 37 points as a freshman against

Mogadore. Or maybe Kapron’s 35 against Hiland. They’ll rememberdreams as little boys of going to a state tournament as more than spec-tators. Townsfolk, meanwhile, will not likely forget the magnificent triowhich accomplished something few in any town have seen.Dennis Tucci has coached a quarter-century and he’s not seen any-

thing like it. The closest he’s come was as a girls coach long ago, whenhe had a 2,000-point scorer and another player with more than 1,000.“They were incredible, obviously,” the Hornets coach said. “But they

were just two kids. This is three. It is crazy.”With that pair of prolific players, Tucci coached his way to a state

championship, something for which his current stars would sacrifice all3,500 of its points. The Hornets seemed well on their way last yearbefore the most stunning of losses derailed them. A shot from mid-courtby Hiland’s Joel Gause as time expired gave the Hawks the ByesvilleDivision IV District championship and the Hornets a year-long case ofthe what-ifs. Hiland rolled through the Canton Regional with ease, thenlost in the state semifinals to eventual champ Georgetown – by a singlepoint.“That could have been us,” Kapron said. “I think we could have han-

dled regionals and probably even the team Hiland played (Georgetown)at state.”To a man, the three players say they and their Malvern teammates

have been motivated by the loss to Hiland ever since Gause’s shot set-tled through the net last March 10. And why not? Once-in-a-lifetimeteams are called that for a reason. The Hornets had one a year ago.This year, it just happens, the three principles from that squad returned.“I’m still ticked off about it,” Dennis Tucci said of the loss, nearly a

year after the fact. “But I hear the kids talk about that. We don’t want tolet another season end like last year. They haven’t lost since. They’retaking it pretty seriously.” — OH

STORY BY TODD STUMPF

Sharp Shooters

*2007-08 totals through 21 games

2005-06: 346 points2006-07: 4072007-08: 392

2005-06: 2782006-07: 4022007-08: 425

2005-06: 3442006-07: 4772007-08: 359

Tyler Tucci

Zak Kapron

Trevor Halter


Toledo Bowsher ’s John R ice

ohn Rice likes to have his basketball team practice.It might be Sundays. It might be snow days. Whatever the occasion,

during basketball season, if there is no game, chances are Rice will bein the gymnasium anyway.

For more than three decades, he decided when his team would practice.Coaching at Whiteford in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, Rice had a key to theschool and if school was canceled he’d call his players and they’d practiceanyway, say, around noon.These days, life is slightly different for the 62-year-old Ohio native.

Instead of coaching in one of the smallest schools in southeast Michigan,he’s the head coach at Toledo Bowsher. It’s a Division I school in the ToledoCity League, a loop that boasts some of the most talented high school bas-ketball in the state and the Midwest.

J

After 33 seasons coaching high school basketball in Michigan, Ohionative John Rice returned to the Buckeye State this winter to takeover at Toledo Bowsher.

Phot

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Dou

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Toledo Bowsher ’s John R ice

“I wanted to have practice, but the janitorsare only there until noon,” Rice said about arecent day when Toledo Public Schools can-celed classes due to snow. “The janitorscame in for a while to turn the heat on in thebuilding. When they leave, we had to beout.”Yes, life is different for Rice, but he’s not

complaining. He’s still living his dream.Rice is a native of Bladensburg, Ohio,

where he was an honorable mention choiceon the 1961 Ohio Associated Press All-Ohioteam. He became a head basketball coachat age 23 at Danville High School, where heled two teams to winning records. When hedecided to go back to college to get his mas-ter’s degree, he got the job at Mount VernonBible College. He would coach during theweek, then carpool with other coaches toXavier University in Cincinnati on Saturdaysfor class.He left Mount Vernon after two years to

become head coach at Whiteford, justacross the Michigan state line on U.S. Route23. His Bobcats won their first district crownin his third season, their first-ever Tri-CountyConference title in his seventh season andhe was named the Michigan Class DAssociated Press Coach of the Year in 1982,his ninth season at Whiteford. His Bobcatteams won 410 games, reached one region-al final and had 24 winning seasons. Morethan of dozen of his players achieved somesort of all-state honors, including five first-teamers.“When I arrived at Whiteford, someone

told me this was a football school,” Ricesaid.It wasn’t for long. He built the program

from the ground up, taking a team with onlya handful of winning seasons in its historyand turning it into a team that regularlyreceived state recognition in the 1980s and1990s. He’s the second-winningest coach inthe history of Michigan’s Monroe County.With all of his success at Whiteford, he

occasionally had thoughts of moving else-where. He applied for a few other jobs overthe years and says he had opportunities toleave Whiteford. He decided to stay eachtime and continued building his resume.“I had several opportunities,” he said. “I

applied for a couple of jobs, but, financially, Icouldn’t make the move. Plus, Whitefordwas a good place to be.”His final season with Whiteford, 2002-03,

was his best. The Bobcats won the first 23games of the season and were ranked No. 7in the state before the curtain came down.His star player that season was a 5-6 wizardnamed Anthony Miracola.Miracola had come to Whiteford after two

seasons of mostly uneventful basketball in

the Toledo City League. At Whiteford, heblossomed into a superstar, averaging 23points and six assists a game and dominat-ing the TCC with his ball handling skills.Miracola wasn’t the first Rice-coached

player to have a connection to the CityLeague. In the 1970s, two players trans-ferred to Whiteford – Jerome Pierce and RonNowak – and helped the Bobcats set aschool record for wins. Pierce returned to Toledo Scott the next

year while Nowak stayed at Whiteford. In1984, Rice was on the other end of a trans-fer when 1,000-point scorer Gary Carter leftMichigan for Scott and was a starter his sen-ior season when the Bulldogs made theClass AAA semifinals.The taste of City League basketball was

always itching at Rice.“It was always an ambition of mine to

coach in the City League,” he said.It’s been a trying first season at Bowsher –

which won only four of its first 17 games –but Rice is optimistic. He’s always beensomewhat of an optimist about the futureand a pessimist about the present.

Since his first days of practice taking overthis Rebel team, Rice has been looking for-ward to next season. He kept a freshman and a couple sopho-

mores on the varsity to help bridge the gapto the future. It’s an old, tried-and-truemethod he used at Whiteford, Ann ArborGabriel Richard and Flat Rock, the othercoaching stops in his career.“You have to create an atmosphere that

the kids feel comfortable in. I think we’vedone that,” Rice said about his first fewmonths on the job.Now that he’s coaching in one of the

biggest conferences in Ohio, he’s adjustingto the players, the coaching styles andeverything else that comes with running alarge-school program. The game is fasterand the players are quicker, he said.“In the City League, I’m playing against

players 6-8, 6-9, 6-6 every night,” Rice said.“In my games, there’s an average of four orfive dunks a game. At Whiteford, I couldcount the number of players I had dunk in 30years on one hand.“The game in the City League is played at

the rim. The rebounds are taken off the rim.It’s a better caliber of athletes.”Still, Rice said, basketball is basketball.“Now that I’m doing it, I have found there

is no difference in coaching in the Tri-CountyConference or the City League,” he said.“You still have the same discipline problems,the same challenges. The athletes might bebetter, but it’s still the same issues.“The X’s and O’s are still the same. The

biggest difference is in the athletes.”Bowsher is best known for players like

Terry McLean (Tulane), Dennis Hopson(Ohio State and the NBA) and Keith Triplett(Toledo). The school had most of its successunder Dick Crowell but still has had only ahandful of winning seasons in recent years. Rice is hoping to change that and build anew tradition with the Rebels.One big difference that Rice is adjusting to

is the choices players have. Sometimesplayers will move from one school to anotherin the city – something that was rare at arural school like Whiteford. The key to making a school like Bowsher

successful in the future, the coach says, is tokeep his players home. That hasn’t alwaysbeen the case with the Rebels, but, Ricesays, he’s hoping to change the attitude andget commitment from his current crop ofplayers to build a bright basketball future.“You’ve got to keep them at home,” Rice

said. “In order to install a program, you muststart keeping the athletes you have togeth-er,” he said. “If we can do that, we’ll build theprogram. It’s not going to happen overnightthough.” — OH

STORY BY DOUG DONNELLY

John Rice career snapshotDDaannvviillllee ((OOhhiioo))Seasons: 2Record: 27-12Best: 15-5

WWhhiitteeffoorrdd ((OOttttaawwaa LLaakkee,, MMII))Seasons: 30Record: 410-247Best: 23-1

AAnnnn AArrbboorr RRiicchhaarrdd ((AAnnnn AArrbboorr,, MMII))Seasons: 2Record: 13-28

FFllaatt RRoocckk ((MMiicchhiiggaann))Seasons: 1Record: 4-17

BBoowwsshheerr ((TToolleeddoo))Seasons: 1Record: 4-13 (through Feb. 8)

CCaarreeeerr rreeccoorrdd:: 458-317 (.591)


Gir ls Basketbal l S tate Tournament Preview

Tennessee recruit andWest Chester LakotaWest senior Amber Grayhas the Firebirds eyeing atrip to the Division I statetournament. Photo by John Ritter


Gir ls Basketbal l S tate Tournament Prev iewSTORY BY TOM JENK INS

Division IIf the OHSAA re-seeded after the district tour-

naments, there would be three teams fromsouthwest Ohio in the final four. It is just thatstrong. It has been five years since the statechampion has come from a region other thanthe southwest. It was in 2002 when NorthCanton Hoover from northeast Ohio went thedistance. With West Chester Lakota West and Dayton

Chaminade-Julienne opting to go in theHarrison 5 bracket (and then through theWesterville regional), defending state championCincinnati Mount Notre Dame and its five NCAADivision I college prospects is the clear favoriteto come out of the Fairborn regional. MountNotre Dame, led by second-year head coachDante Harlan, has been to the title game fourconsecutive years with three state titles in thatspan.Mount Notre Dame is led by seniors

Channing Hillman (UTEP, 12.4 points per game)and Tia McBride (Georgetown, 15. 4 ppg) andjuniors Ashley Fowler, Kendall Hackney (11.4ppg) and Gabby Smith (11.8 ppg).Cincinnati Winton Woods, with the best

three-guard combination in the state in CourtneyLumpkin (Morehead State, 10.6 ppg), juniorDayeesha Hollins (11.5 ppg) and junior JasmineShaw (13.1 ppg), is a favorite to fill another ofthe four slots in the southwest (Fairborn) region-al. Beavercreek, Cincinnati Oak Hills orCincinnati Princeton and Kettering Fairmont,Springboro or Vandalia Butler all have a legitshot at rounding out the field for the Fairbornregional. In the central Ohio at the Westerville regional,

the winner of the Harrison 5 District (likelyLakota West or Chaminade-Julienne) will be thefavorite to advance. No team in the country hasa one-two punch the caliber of Lakota West with

Tennessee-bound and WBCA All-AmericanAmber Gray (17.7 ppg, 7.7 rebounds per game)and Alexis Rogers (11.7 ppg). Most teams lackthe inside/outside depth of the Firebirds either. No team in central Ohio puts five D-I college

prospects on the floor like C-J does as well. TheEagles starting five of Rachel Chandler (CentralConnecticut State), Tiera Stephen (Louisville),India Warfield (St. Louis), junior Shene Flemingand sophomore Samarie Walker is talented. Dublin Coffman finished undefeated through

the regular season and was the AssociatedPress state poll champion. But that is the veryreason the AP has only had 15 out of a possible80 AP champions who actually won state cham-pionships. Every central Ohio team that hasstepped outside of its boundaries and played ateam from southwest Ohio this year has comeup on the short end, including PickeringtonCentral (losing to Mount Notre Dame),Pickerington North (falling to Lakota West) andReynoldsburg (losing to Winton Woods).Pickerington Central was a state final four teamlast year.Led by Northwestern-bound Brittany Orban

and Akron-bound Kyle Baumgartner, NorthCanton Hoover is eyeing a return trip toColumbus. The Vikings haven’t been to thestate final four since winning it all in 2002. Youngstown Boardman, led by Michigan

State-bound Courtney Schiffauer and DarryceMoore, and Canton McKinley also led by afuture Michigan State Spartan, Porshe Poole,are the biggest obstacles for Hoover in winningits district. However, Hoover derailed Boardmanin the Federal League Championship by 20-pluspoints.Everyone else in the northeast has just beat-

en up on each other all year long particularly inthe Suburban League with Green, Copley andWadsworth. The sleeper in the Canton regional

is Twinsburg but as good a year as it is having,is still a year away. Stow, which advanced to thestate title game a year ago, was also in the run-ning.There are many exceptional players in the

Norwalk regional this year. However, in this dayand age it takes three “go-to” impact players towin a “big school” state championship. Marion Harding has senior Jessica Jenkins

(19.5 ppg) and sophomore Shawnta Dyer (16.7pgg); Anthony Wayne has Allison Papafuss;North Royalton has junior Jessie Tamerlano(17.5 ppg); Solon has senior Erin Wisner(Miami, Ohio; 16.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg), Toledo Waitehas sophomore Natasha Howard; ToledoBowsher has sophomore Tiffani Blackman;Westlake has freshman Kalpana Beach (16.0ppg); Sylvania Northview has freshman KatelynMcCoy; and Toledo Start has freshmanMaleeka Kynard. Findlay reached the state final four out of that

regional a year ago and also bears watching.Who’s missing? Toledo Central CatholicThe Lady Irish returned all five starters includ-

ing Oakland-bound Sharise Calhoun and juniorBrianna Jones from last year’s regional finalistteam. They are the slight favorites this year tocome out of the Norwalk regional. ToledoCentral may be the favorite to come out of theNorwalk regional but they dropped two to south-west Ohio teams at this year’s Classic in theCountry (Lakota West and Princeton).Mark my word here and now, next year

Toledo Start will be the clear cut favorite out ofthis region.

Division IIDivision II is the most spread out, balanced

division in the state this year. Each region has acouple of “pick ‘em” teams to get to the FinalFour in Columbus. However, the Ontario region-al in the northwest and the Barberton regional inthe northeast are the favorites to produce thisdivision’s state champion.In the Barberton regional, Canfield and

Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown are the “pick‘ems.” Canfield led by Pitt-bound Kate Popovecand the Halfhill sisters (Bryanne and Jillian) arethe slight favorites having beat down Princeton-bound Angela Groves and Hathaway Brown by16 back in December.But super sophomore Amy Scullion and

Salem got Canfield by five and HathawayBrown got a quality win over Division IV north-east favorite Lutheran East. Hathaway Brownfell to Warsaw River View in last year’s state titlegame. Then there is Ravenna Southeast lurkingin the shadows. Take your pick or pick your poi-son.

2008 GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEWhe 33rd annual Ohio High School state tournament has it all.It has the sure fire “lead pipe locks”, it has many “pick ‘ems”,and it has the “one game on any given day” teams. With the postseason tournament under way, we take a lookat how the next few weeks could play out and what teamsyou should/could expect to see in Columbus. The statechampionships are set for March 6-8 at Ohio State’s Value

City Arena. By the way weren’t the New England Patriots a sure fire “lead pipelock” in Super Bowl XLII?

T



Versailles seniorJustine Ratermanhelped the the Tigersrecord a perfect 20-0regular season and gainthe No. 1 ranking in thefinal Division III statepoll. Versailles won 18of 20 regular seasongames by double-digits.


In the Ontario regiona, Sandusky Perkinssports the big three of 6-5 Florida State-boundand WBCA All-American Cierra Bravard,Bucknell-bound Trisha Krewson and juniorBethany Caudill have to be everyone’s No. 1choice. Right on their heels to choose from arethe Mauk twins (Stephanie and Rachel) andLima Bath, Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit led byBrianna Segerson (Yale) and Revere led byCasey Nance (Dayton) and Khadijah Young. The Vandalia regional in southwest Ohio mir-

rors the Barberton regional in that there are twofrontrunners and several others who have alegit shot at getting to Columbus. DaytonCarroll, led by Iowa-bound Shante Jones andBrogan Berry (Harvard) and Kettering Alter areslight favorites. But you cannot discount SakaraHouse (St. Peter’s, NJ) and Kenton Ridge norColumbus Eastmoor with WBCA All-Americanand LSU-bound Ayana “YaYa” Dunning (18.3ppg, 12.4 rpg).While the Barberton and Vandalia regionals

mirror each other, so do the Ontario andZanesville regionals. The only difference is theZanesville regional has no No. 1 choice likeSandusky Perkins. Pick one, pick five … some-body has to win the lottery. Two-time defendingstate champion Warsaw River View is the sur-prise in Division II this year, with two of the threeDaugherty’s back (head coach Caroline andjunior daughter Kari), and could challenge foryet another trip to Columbus. Coach Troy Taylor’s Columbus Mifflin

Punchers are a threat in the Zanesville regionas is West Holmes with sophomore NoelleYoder and junior Sarah Hammond. The Knightshanded River View its only defeat this year.Cambridge with Wright State-bound TamikkaSnoody and West Muskingum with longtimecoach Jack Van Reeth are also teams to watch.

Division IIIJust like Tiger Woods, it is South Euclid

Regina and the field. Only five teams in the state can start five

Division I college prospects and Regina is oneof those five. The other four are Africentric,Chaminade-Julienne, Mount Notre Dame andLakota West. The complimenting backcourt ofDuke-bound and WBCA All-American ShaySelby (24.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 7.1 assists per game)and sophomore Tay’ler Mingo (4.8 apg) may bethe best backcourt in the state. The Royalshave good size and talent inside with 6-1 seniorMercedes Mitchell (12.5 ppg, 11.4 rpg) and 6-2freshman Therany Dunnigan.Regina figures to dominate play in the

Cuyahoga Falls regional. Regina coach PatDiulus led the Royals to an unprecedented fourstraight state titles from 2000-03 and they lastwon the state title in 2005.Other contenders in the Cuyahoga Falls



regional include Cortland Maplewood,Columbiana and Canton Central Catholic.Looking across the state, only Justine

Raterman (Dayton) and Versailles out of theVandalia regional has a shot in a “one game onone day” scenario against Regina. It is onegame on one day -- it is not two out of three, notthree out of five and not four out of seven. It isone game on any given day. Versailles was astate final four team a year ago.Also in the Vandalia regional, keep an eye on

Casstown Miami East and Cincinnati HillsChristian Academy.Three teams to watch in the Lexington region-

al include Marion Pleasant, Fredericktown andBloomdale Elmwood. Pleasant is led by 6-1sophomore wing Amy Daniels (16.7 ppg).Fredericktown is paced by 6-0 senior wingWhitney Levering (15.5 ppg).Two teams to watch in the Lancaster regional

are Sugarcreek Garaway and Albany Alexander,which reached the state final four last year.

Division IVAs in Division III, it is defending state champi-

on Columbus Africentric and everyone else. Asstated above, Africentric is one of five teams thatcan put five D-I prospects on the floor and theydo in their skilled and athletic starting line-up ofAlesia Howard (Massachusetts), Tyeasha Moss(Xavier), junior Ashar Harris, junior ShardaiFountain and freshman Raven Ferguson.Once Africentric gets by South Webster and

Waterford in the Pickerington regional, only twoteams have a shot against them in one game

on any given day.Both of those teams are in the Massillon

regional this year in Cleveland Heights LutheranEast and the Jen Stutzman (Kent State)-ledLady Hawks of Berlin Hiland. But both of thosechallengers have to get by perennial Division IVpowers East Canton and Bedford Chanel, which

advanced to the state final four a year ago.McDonald and Bellaire St. John were also in themix in the Massillon regional.Lutheran East with sophomore Latisha

Walker and junior Destiny Sims can match upathletically with Africentric. But in one game onany given day if anybody in the state can beprepared to beat Africentric give me BerlinHiland. Hoosiers anyone?The Elida regional was wide open with vari-

ous contenders, including Mansfield St. Peter’s,Fostoria St. Wendelin and Stryker.The Vandalia regional also figured to be any-

body’s race, although the Van Wert district win-ner – possibly Delphos St. John’s or Ottoville (astate final four team last year) – figured to bethe favorite. New Knoxville, the runner-up toAfricentric last year, was also in the Van Wertdistrict race. — OH

About the Author: Tom Jenkins has over 40years of coaching and evaluating experienceassociated with the game of girls basketball. Heis devoted solely to the promotion of the gameof Ohio girls basketball through his publication,Ohio Girls Basketball Report and the promotionof the players of the game through his services.Ohio Girls Basketball Report started 10 yearsago has been voted for the last 7 years the No.1 single-state scouting service in America byNCAA D-I Head Coaches. Currently there are198 colleges across America that subscribe toOhio Girls Basketball Report and rely on theinformation provided by Jenkins in evaluatingplayers from Ohio.

TThhuurrssddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 66 -- SSeemmiiffiinnaallss

1:00 p.m. - Division II Game #13:00 p.m. - Division II Game #2 6:00 p.m. - Division IV Game #18:00 p.m. - Division IV Game #2

FFrriiddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 77 -- SSeemmiiffiinnaallss

1:00 p.m. - Division III Game #1 3:00 p.m. - Division III Game #26:00 p.m. - Division I Game #18:00 p.m. - Division I Game #2

SSaattuurrddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 88 -- FFiinnaallss

10:45 a.m. - Division II 2:00 p.m. - Division IV 5:15 p.m. - Division III 8:30 p.m. - Division I

2008 GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT


Beavercreek ’s Ed Z ink

he element of successfor the Beavercreekgirls basketball teamover the last threedecades has beenZink.Head coach Ed

Zink, that is. In his 33rd season

at the helm of the Beavers, Zink notched his600th career win in late December with a 54-29decision over Fairfield. Zink ranks second all-time in Ohio High School Athletic Association his-tory for most career wins by a girls basketballcoach. “It’s got as much to do with longevity than any-

thing. When you do something long enoughyou’re going to hit some milestones,” Zink said.“Starting back in the mid-1970’s I never thought Iwould be doing this for this long.”Following a 65-48 win over Piqua in late

January for win No. 608, Zink was surprised witha ceremony in which the BeavercreekFieldhouse was dedicated in his honor andrenamed as the Ed Zink Fieldhouse.“At the time, I was kind of embarrassed and I

am very appreciative of it,” Zink said humbly. “Atthe same time, I don’t think it honestly needed tobe done. I appreciate it and it was a humblingexperience. But it all comes back to the kids youhave coached over the years and the time andeffort they have put in and the parents andadministration. I think this is a great place towork and I think it is the best job in the state.” Zink, who is the current Beavercreek athletic

director, began his career with the Beavers as astudent-athlete graduating in 1970. He went onto letter three seasons at the University ofDayton as a running back for the football Flyersand was captain his senior season in 1974. Aftercollege, Zink was right back at Beavercreekwhere it all started. “When I graduated from (Dayton) I came back

to Beavercreek and my goal was to become thehead football coach,” he recalled. “That first year,I was an assistant (football coach) and midwaythrough the season the sophomore boys basket-ball job opened and the girls basketball job

opened. I applied for both because I played bas-ketball in high school and really liked the game. Ireally enjoyed basketball but football was mylove at the time.” Rex Warner, Beavercreek’s athletic director at

the time, approached Zink about taking the girlscoaching job. Zink said he preferred the boys jobbut it had already been filled. “I said I would take the girls and I figured I

would do it for a year or two. I started doing itand I started to enjoy it. We weren’t winning a lotbut we had some neat kids,” Zink said.Beavercreek struggled in Zink’s first three sea-

sons with a combined 11-37 record, including adismal 1-19 mark in his third season.“After going 1-19, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to

keep doing this,” he said. “But we had a bunchof sophomore kids that year and they were neatkids. They wanted to learn and worked hard. Ididn’t want to let those kids down so I cameback and we went 12-7 the next year and thenwe went 17-6 and it took off from there.”Zink righted the ship at Beavercreek by stay-

ing on course with his philosophy. “You can’t come in and just turn something

around in a year. But if you’re doing what youbelieve in and what you think is right then youkeep doing it,” he said. “If we had another yearor two like (the 1-19 season) I probably wouldn’tbe here.”Beavercreek reached the state tournament for

the first time in 1991 falling in the state semifinalsand three straight years between 1994 and 1996claiming the first of three Division I state titles in1995. The Beavers also won state champi-onships in 2001 and 2003. “Obviously, the years that you win the state

title really stick out. We’ve had some great runs,”Zink reminisced. “The first time we got there in1991 – as a coach that is what you dream about.And to get there three years in a row was a pret-ty neat experience. You’ve also got to be lucky.You’re going to play a bad game or two alongthe road there and you just hope you can sur-vive.”The 2003 team, which featured star center

and current WNBA player Alison Bales, finishedthe season a perfect 28-0 and ranked No. 1 inthe country in several national polls.“We shouldn’t have even got there,” Zink said

about the 2003 championship team. “We wonthe regional semifinals in overtime. So, we weregood but we were lucky, too. Sometimes thebest doesn’t always win it all.”Beavercreek is in the hunt for a its first state

tournament appearance since the 2002-03 sea-son and, according to Zink, it is much harderreturning to the show than getting there the

Beavercreek girls basketball coach Ed Zink nets win No. 600; Coach has three state titles in 33 years

“Every kid we have had here has meant the world to me as a coach and I think

that is why you get into coaching – for the kids.”

Beavercreek CoachEd Zink

TJunior forward Mikaela Ruef (right) is thelatest in a long line of big-time collegeprospects under Zink. Ruef has an offerfrom Ohio State among others.



Beavercreek ’s Ed Z ink

first time.“Basketball – girls basketball in general – has

gotten better over the years and it has gottenmore competitive and more balanced than 20years ago,” he said. “Game-in and game-out youbetter be ready to play. So, it makes it harder toget back there but that is what makes it fun.”The Beavers finished the regular season 19-1

and Greater Western Ohio Conference CentralDivision champions. Led by senior guard JaclynKlaus and junior center Mikaela Ruef,Beavercreek is aiming to get out of region thatincludes traditional power and two-time defend-ing state champion Cincinnati Mount NotreDame. “I think we’re very good. I am not so sure

we’re there yet but I would like to think were get-ting close again,” said Zink. “You’ve got to be good but you’ve got to be

lucky and that is what makes it neat about thetournament. Everybody gets in and it is one-and-done. Hopefully you survive in the dance andyou move on.” But win or lose, Zink has kept his coaching

career in perspective and has taken more fromhis three-plus decades at Beavercreek than justtrophies, championships, awards and accolades.“You do it for the kids. If we didn’t have the

kids and you didn’t enjoy being around them andtheir great parents, you couldn’t do it for 30years,” he said. “Sometimes the kids may notunderstand how much they mean to you butthey mean the world. Every kid we have hadhere has meant the world to me as a coach andI think that is why you get into coaching – for thekids.”And Zink recognized the sacrifices he and his

family have made over the years for his dedica-tion to the Beavercreek program.“Sometimes you feel bad for your family

because you might spend more time with thesekids than maybe your own,” he said. “I have togive credit to my wife because when I was herecoaching she was raising our four kids and thatis not easy to do. She did it so I could do what Ienjoy and sometimes you don’t thank your fami-ly enough.“But it has been a great 30 some years,” he

added, “and it all comes back to the kids thatyou coach and how much they mean to youbecause you spend so much time with them.”What the future holds for Beavercreek this

season remains to be determined, but what isfor certain is Zink is a coaching legend inBeavercreek and has put his imprint on Ohiogirls basketball. Another guarantee, after 33years, is Zink cannot coach forever.“Now, I am just taking it year-by-year but there

aren’t too many years left, trust me on that,” helaughed. “I think 30 some years is probably plen-ty. There won’t be too many more years but I willlook at it a year at a time and see what hap-pens.”— OH

Zink led the Beavers to state titles in 1995, 2001 and 2003. His 2003 club alsofinished 28-0 and was ranked No. 1 nationally by several publications.



Canf ie ld ’s Kate Popovec

J JHUDDLE .COM JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High50

Popovec is Canfield’scareer leader in

rebounds and blocks.

Photo by Stephanie Porter

he is already one of the top girls basketball players in thestate, but on a cold February afternoon Kate Popovec wasat Canfield High School working on her game hoursbefore practice on a day when bad weather cancelledschool.“I am just working on keeping fresh and keeping in

shape. I am working on keeping my level of game up to where itcan be at its best,” Popovec said. According to Canfield head coach Pat Pavlansky, this is not out

of the ordinary for the senior.“I think she is still improving as a player,” Pavlansky said. “She

works so hard and just improves everyday she is on the court. Herbest basketball days are ahead of her. That is because she worksso hard at her craft. She loves the game and loves preparing to dowell.”The 6-4 standout has made an impact since her freshman sea-

son at Canfield. In addition to averaging 15.7 points per game for her career,

Popovec is the Canfield career leader in rebounds, rebounds pergame (12.1), career blocked shots and blocked shots per game(4). In four years, she has recorded over 1,000 points and pulleddown over 1,000 rebounds.

S

Canf ie ld ’s Kate Popovec



Popovec was named a Sporting NewsHonorable Mention All-American prior to hersenior season and is a three-time All-Ohioselection. She is a four-time All-Metro AthleticConference first team honoree and a three-time MAC Player of the Year“I never thought I would accomplish that

many things,” she said. “I just really workedhard and I focused on doing the little thingsand getting things done.”And as far back as she can remember

Popovec wanted to suit up for the Cardinals.“The reason I became interested in basket-

ball was my older sister (Michelle),” sherecounted. “She is 10 years older than meand she played basketball. I remember goingto her games and thinking that I wanted to beher and I wanted to go out there and I want-ed to play basketball for Canfield. That wasalways my goal since I was sitting in thestands watching her play.”A McDonalds All-American nominee as

well, Popovec obviously achieved andexceeded that goal. “My goal as a freshman was to eventually

play varsity basketball. I just came in focus-ing on that and once I got that I raised thebar a little bit,” she said. “But I never focusedon my statistics. I just tried to do what I need-ed to do to make my team better to get somewins. So, by scoring and getting reboundsthat is the way my team is going to get bet-ter.”And the Cardinals have gotten better,

claiming four straight MAC titles “We have been very successful throughout

Kate’s career and this whole senior class’scareer,” Pavlansky said. “When you haveanybody like that, obviously your team isgoing to have a lot of chances for success.”Finishing the season No. 6 in the final Division II Associated Press

state poll, Popovec has reveled in Canfield’s success this season.“We’ve been really focused this year,” she said. “We’ve had a couple

of downs with a couple losses but we are mentally persevering throughthose everyday to get better in hopes of achieving our goals in thepostseason.”Pavlansky points to Popovec’s leadership on and off the court for the

success the Cardinals have had this season.“With her vocal leadership, it is not so much on the court as it is off

the court with encouragement,” he explained. “She encourages them tobe better players and to me that is just a great, positive leadership thatshe has – more so than a ‘rah, rah’ type of person.” Said Popovec, “I always focus on leading by example, first and fore-

most, just because if there isn’t merit on the court to what you’re say-ing, the girls aren’t going to respect you as a player. But I am very for-tunate to have three other great seniors along with me that are all vocaland lead by example. It makes your job a whole lot easier when youhave great teammates to back you up and you have players thatrespect you and respect the people that surround you. I am just reallylucky to be surrounded by a great team and a great group of girls.”From an X’s and O’s standpoint, Popovec is mentioned in the same

breath with the top centers in Ohio this year, according to Tom Jenkinsof the Ohio Girls Basketball Report.

“In any other class in Ohio, Kate would be theNo. 1 center,” said Jenkins. “However, this yearOhio also produces 6-foot-5 Cierra Bravard(Sandusky Perkins/Florida State) and AyanaDunning (Columbus Eastmoor Academy/LSU).“She is big, strong and has great hands, which

is a starting point for any high major center. Ashard as she plays and as hard as she competes,Kate will be the anchor on both ends of the floorfor Pittsburgh for years to come.”Popovec committed to the Panthers in

November of her junior year and stood strong byher decision despite making her pledge so earlyin the recruiting process. “Pitt was the only school where I took a visit,”

Popovec said. “I just walked on campus and youknow when you are on the right campus andyou’re in the right place. They just expressed alot of interest in me early and told me I was oneof their top recruits and they really wanted me tobe part of their program. “I committed and I was strong with my commit-

ment just because I knew Pitt was the place Iwas going to be happiest. I never secondguessed where I was going because I wasstrong and determined about where I was goingand I was excited about my decision. “It wasn’t always just about the basketball,

either. Obviously, it is a great basketball program,but it is really important for me to be close to myfamily and it is a great staff, great group of girlsand great education. That is what I was lookingfor.” The feeling appears to be mutual.“We are so excited about signing Kate,”

Pittsburgh head coach Angus Berenato toldcstv.com on signing day last November. “She is agreat student-athlete as well as a presence in thepaint. She knows the game and has done very

well competing in a strong basketball environment against some of thetop teams in the nation. We are thrilled to sign our first Ohio recruit in abasketball-rich area.”Popovec is looking forward to donning the Blue and Gold once the

final whistle has blown on her high school career. And much like sheapproached her high school career, Popovec has some lofty goals setforth for her college career.“Once I get to Pitt, I want to just try and make an impact on the team

whether it is coming off the bench or being a starter – I am not surewhere I will stand,” she said. “But I just want to be able to help them onthe floor and give them quality minutes when I get there. “I am really excited about it and am looking forward to it but right

now I’m focused still on my high school season.”And according to Jenkins, Canfield could very well be the team to

beat coming out of the northeast region in the Division II tournament.But whether a state title is in the cards for Canfield or not this season,Popovec has not only left her mark on the program’s record book butalso the Canfield community. “Her play speaks for itself. If you get 1,000 points and 1,000

rebounds in your career, you definitely gain a lot of respect,” saidPavlansky. “Both on and off the court I think she has tons of respectfrom her teammates and the adults on the faculty because she is sucha fine representation of our school. She is a wonderful, young lady.” —OH

“She works so hard and just improves every-day she is on the court. Her best basketballdays are ahead of her. That is because she

works so hard at her craft.”

Canfield CoachPat Pavlansky

Popovec committed to Pitt duringNovember of her junior year. This seasonshe helped the Cardinals finish No. 6 inthe final D-II state poll.

Phot

o by

Ste

phan

ie Po

rter


Lehman Cathol ic G i r ls Basketbal l

Lehman Catholic seniorsJessica Slagle and SarahFreytag both reached the

1,000-point plateau againstBotkins in November.Photos by Mike Ullery/Piqua Daily Call


Lehman Cathol ic G i r ls Basketbal lSTORY BY ROBB HEMMELGARN

idney Lehman girls basketball coach Greg Noftz just can’thelp but smile a little more these days.The veteran coach of nearly 30 years, who physically

resembles more of an Army drill sergeant than a molder ofteenage girls, is eagerly looking forward to his LadyCavaliers taking the Division IV tournament by storm.

Most casual fans across the state though likely haven’t even heardof Sidney Lehman this season despite their posting a 17-3 record andaveraging nearly 60 points per game. For whatever reason, theAssociated Press voters gave Noftz and his crew the RodneyDangerfield treatment all season long.During the course of their rigorous schedule, the Cavaliers suf-

fered setbacks to Versailles (20-0, Division III poll champions), LimaBath (19-1, No. 4 in Division II) and Troy Christian (17-3).Lehman boasts a superb record as well as one of the most danger-

ous one-two punches around in Sarah Freytag and Jessica Slagle.Their season-long snub in the polls makes about as much sense astrigonometry. Surprisingly however, that is alljust fine with Noftz and Co.“It really doesn’t bother us too much that

we aren’t ranked,” assured Freytag, whoended the regular season averaging just over20 points and eight rebounds per contest.“Actually we sort of prefer it that way,because then in tournament if we play teamsfrom farther away, they tend to take us a littlelighter because we of the fact that we aren’tranked.”Her running mate and the other side of

Lehman’s double-edged sword, Slagle, could-n’t agree more.“We know how good we can be, so we

really don’t need rankings to remind us,”Slagle said. “We just have to go out and wingames. Really the only thing that matters ishow we finish the season, not where we were ranked before tourna-ment. We played a very tough schedule this season, and the teamswe lost to were very solid. We feel that this will only help us cometournament time to prepare for whatever opponents and whatever sit-uations lie ahead.”How their campaign concludes likely rests on the shoulders of

Freytag and Slagle, who have shared a basketball court in one wayor another since the fourth grade. While the duo are fierce and no-nonsense competitors from tip off to the final buzzer, they’re all-smiles and carefree outside the gym doors.“Back when we were little kids, my mom and Sarah’s dad began a

league for us and we played for them until the sixth grade when wejoined the same AAU team,” said Slagle said, who averaged just over16 points and six assists per game this season and will attendBowling Green State University on a basketball scholarship next win-ter.“A lot has definitely changed since then though, because back then

Sarah was actually the taller one. Over the years, we have just gottenso used to one another, and that makes it much easier. Playing withsomeone like Sarah will definitely help me at the next level becauseshe is an outstanding player and she does so many things right onthe floor.”Earlier this year, the Cavaliers entertained the Botkins Trojans and

quickly sent them packing with a 76-37 defeat. Lehman’s triumphdidn’t come without a little excitement though – both good and not sogood. Midway through the third period of the foreseen blowout,Freytag took a feed from her freshman sister, Christie, and banked itthrough the hoop for her 18th point of the game – it was also her

1,000th point of her career.Later in the contest, Slagle still roamed the floor, and much to the

dismay of the Botkins coaching staff, was still scoring. Her 27th pointof the night also gave her 1,000 for her career, allowing both girls tocapture the milestone on the same night.“We discussed it with the opposing coaches prior to the game,”

defended Noftz. “We knew both of them were getting close and wewanted them to both hit it on the same night in front of the homecrowd.”Controversy aside, the Cavaliers continued to roll with their two All-

Ohioans leading the charge.“I’ve coached 26 seasons at both the boys and girls levels of bas-

ketball and these two girls are hands-down the best I have evercoached. They are both unique in their own way and they make ourteam that much better,” said Noftz. “When I arrived here, these girlswere very young. You could just see the potential, and it is hard tobelieve they are seniors already. Hopefully, the younger girls see the

example that they have set in all aspects andthis senior class can be looked at as one whoreally helped turned the basketball programaround here.”In a 73-38 victory over county rival

Jackson Center in the second-to-last game ofthe regular season, Freytag situated herselfon the top of the heap as Sidney Lehman’sall-time leading scorer for both boys and girls.In the process, she bypassed arguably herbiggest fan – her dad, John.“Everyone in my family was very excited

about the scoring record,” the youngerFreytag explained. “Especially my dad, buthe is always quick to remind me that hescored his all of his points before there wassuch thing as a three-point line. That’s sort offunny in itself though, because I rarely shoot

three-pointers anyway.“Seriously, dad and the rest of my family have always been out-

standing supporters for my entire career and I owe them a lot foreverything.”Following high school the two girls will move on to college, where

one of them is certain to play basketball, while the other is still work-ing on the fine details to do the same. Slagle plans to major in educa-tion at Bowling Green, where she also hopes to make an immediateimpact on the court for coach Curt Miller’s team as a freshman.Freytag, who scored a 31 on her ACT, is undecided between Ohio

State, Case Western Reserve and Johns Hopkins, but plans to majorin pre-medicine at whichever school she chooses to attend. While she is uncertain on whether her hoops career will continue,

Coach Noftz is still lobbying for her to different coaches and pro-grams.“Sarah is what college coaches refer to as a ‘tweener’,” he pointed

out. “She is too small to play down low, but she isn’t quite fastenough to play a one or two. That being said, she would make awonderful addition to a school and can definitely play at that level. Ithink what I am most disappointed in is that some of the small, localcolleges aren’t expressing the interest – she will be a real steal forsomeone.”While the future will be bright for both girls no matter what path

they choose over the next few years, they are busy enjoying flourish-ing in the present moment. For now, the rest of Division IV will haveto brace for the fury the Cavaliers plan to unleash in the next coupleof weeks. And all those left in their wake will have no one to blamebut the poll voters. — OH

S

“I’ve coached 26 seasons at both the boys and girls levels of basketball and

these two girls are hands-down the best Ihave ever coached. They are both unique

in their own way and they make our team that much better.”

Lehman Girls Basketball CoachGreg Noftz


Richf ie ld Revere ’s Casey Nance

he Richfield Revere girls basketball team experiencedsuccess in the 2007-08 season that the program has notseen in quite a while.Only six years ago, Revere realized the worst of strug-

gles going 1-19. Now, Revere is back to being men-tioned among the better girls basketball programs inNortheast Ohio. Revere finished the regular season witha 16-4 record. They were in contention for a SuburbanLeague title on the season’s final day, a feat previously

unimaginable for a program that hasn’t won a league title since 1978. This season is the culmination of a rebuilding effort that began

when Kory Malkus took over as head coach five years ago, and theswan song for a talented group of five seniors, headlined by 6-4 cen-ter Casey Nance, who is the daughter of former Cleveland CavalierLarry Nance. To perform this type of turnaround, it takes a specialgroup of determined players with special team leader, one that canlead by example on and off the floor. This is a role that Nance per-fectly fills.Although Nance is the centerpiece of this team, like all great team

leaders, she cares about more then pure individual numbers, butrather the performance of the team. Nance thrives on doing every-thing she can to elevate her teammates.“She’s a tremendous leader and has a great work ethic,” said

Malkus. “She’s so unselfish and I think that’s where she stands out.She’s not just the focal point and she knows that. She’d rather giveup the ball then shoot.” Nance is not only a gifted scorer, but she leads the team in multi-

ple stat categories. Her unselfishness on the court also has her asone of the team assist leaders.“We battle at times cause sometimes I want her to shoot a little bit

more,” said Malkus. “She wants to block shots and rebound morethen she wants to score. She’s really stepped up though from herjunior to senior year knowing that she has to score, but if she’s dou-ble or triple teamed she looks to pass and is happy helping herteammates score.”

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Richf ie ld Revere ’s Casey Nance

As she closes out her senior year at Revere, Nance’s enhancedscoring ability has helped her further etch her place in the Reverehistory books. On Jan. 24, Nance reached one of the top individualmilestones in high school basketball when she scored her 1,000thpoint.Nance came into a home game against Medina Highland 33 points

shy of reaching the milestone. With a road game next on the sched-ule, Nance wanted to make sure she got the mark in front of thehome crowd. It took nearly the entire game but finally with under aminute to play in the game, Nance hit two free throws to put her atexactly 1,000 points at game’s end. Although reaching the milestone is special, Nance feels there are

greater things to come for both her and Revere.“It was a big accomplishment for me personally, but I much rather

have our team accomplish more,” said Nance. “I think our team is sospecial, we have the opportunity to do something really great. I’drather have a team accomplishment over individual accomplishment.”It takes a special player to reach

1,000 career points, but only a selectfew get to accomplish the feat during adream season. Without the help of thefour other seniors on Revere, KellyRohrich, Michelle McCauley, AllieKnorzer, and Allison McDaniel, themoment and the journey wouldn’t meanas much to Nance.“I definitely couldn’t have done it with-

out my teammates and if we weren’tdoing so hot, then it really wouldn’thave been a big deal cause the teamcomes first,” said Nance. “The successof the team is really more importantthen that.“We’ve all been together for a really

long time. We’ve worked the hardest,put in a lot of time. We know eachother’s tendencies. On and off thecourt we’re best friends, it’s just a greatsenior class.”The journey to Nance’s 1,000th point,

and Revere’s dream season didn’tcome as naturally as you might think forthe daughter of a local basketball leg-end. More of a soccer star in heryounger years, Nance didn’t begin play-ing basketball until eighth grade. Although her father served as in inspiration to finally pick up the

basketball, the elder Nance let her daughter choose for herself butthe influences were everywhere for Casey. “Everyone was saying, ‘Casey you should play basketball’ so I said

‘OK, fine,’ ” said Nance. “I pretty much gave into peer pressure andthat’s why I started, but now I realize I really have a natural gift frommy dad so I might as well take advantage of it.”When Nance began playing in eighth grade, Malkus, then in her

first year on the job, noticed a very raw talent. To help turn Nanceinto the player she has become today, it took more then just relyingon genetics.“When she started playing she was so raw, and roots help, but also

hard work,” Malkus said. “She’s worked so hard and every yearshe’s just improved tremendously.”As a junior, Nance averaged 15 points, 14 rebounds and four

blocked shots per game. Her team finished 15-7 and she earnedhonorable mention All-Ohio honors.

Having a former NBA star living in-house, can only help a player’sdevelopment. Larry Nance has been instrumental in the growth ofhis daughter.“He’s really had a lot to do with my development ever since I decid-

ed to start playing,” Nance said of her father, who was a college starat Clemson before playing 13 years in the NBA in stints with Phoenixand Cleveland. “Ever since then he’s been helping me. We work hardin the summer, he’s at practice every once in a while to help out.He’s definitely had a huge share in my success and I’m glad to shareit with him.”Casey hasn’t been the only one that’s benefited from Larry’s vast

experience. Larry is a frequent visitor to Revere’s practices and hasworked with Malkus in making the entire team better. “He’s definitely in the background, but he loves to be in the gym

and be a part of it and wants to help the team out,” Malkus said. “Ilook at that as a tremendous resource. I’m always trying to pick hisbrain about different things we can do to improve. He comes into my

classroom and we’ll write plays up.”“He calls her on the phone and they’ll

be working on plays and showing herstuff,” said Casey of the relationshipbetween her coach and her father.“They’re really close and they reallywork well together.”The same description can also be

used when it comes to both father anddaughter. “Every day he tells me how proud he

is of me and how I’ve improved,” saysCasey. “I really do appreciate it,because it’s been a lot of hard work butwe’ve come a really long way.”It has taken an entire team effort

from the players, the coach staff, andthe parents to bring Revere to the levelthey are currently at, and everyoneshares in the pride of what they aredoing for the Revere program. “It’s awesome,” Malkus said. “I’m a

Revere alum, so to come home andbring the team back, I believe in Revereand it’s so great. They’ve worked hard,I’ve worked hard, and it’s nice to beable to have the rewards now.”“We’re really proud of our accom-

plishment and we’re really glad we’re leading the team to the bestrecord we’ve had ever,” says Casey. The accomplishment’s and pride that Nance, Malkus and the rest

of the Revere girls basketball team have made and brought to theschool and community to this point have been great, but the programhas only just begun their climb back to the top.This year, Revere fell one game shy of a league title, but the pro-

gram is in good hands for the future. Although next year, Nance willbe off playing basketball for the University of Dayton, she and her fel-low seniors have put Revere on the right track towards ending theirtitle drought.They are making sure the underclassmen that will be taking their

place are ready to step up. Over the course of the year, Nance hasbeen making sure to work with the underclassmen to get them readyfor when they get their moments. Although she won’t be with the team anymore, Casey Nance’s

work ethic and spirit will continue to remain a part of the Revere pro-gram. — OH

STORY BY TONY MALUSO

Richfield Revere senior Casey Nance scored 33 pointsin a win over Medina Highland on Jan. 24 to reach1,000 career points.

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St . Par is Graham Wrest l ing

he argument can be madethat the 2007-08 St. ParisGraham High Schoolwrestling team is one of thegreatest teams, regardless ofsport, in the history of Ohiohigh school athletics.At the very least, the

Falcons are the best team inthe country this season.Ranked No. 1 in the nation

by the Amateur Wrestling News, Grahamenters the Division II state tournament look-ing for its eighth straight state title and 10thoverall, which would move it into a secondplace tie with Maple Heights for the mostever. A victory would also likely lock up theschool’s first national championship.As for the “greatest” tag, that can be rein-

forced by a standout performance at thestate tournament where Graham is a seriousthreat to qualify in all 14 weight classes andshatter the all divisional points record of 229set by Lakewood St. Edward last year.The Falcons also have the potential to

break one of the most hallowed records instate tournament history – Cleveland West’ssix individual state titles in 1951. Accordingto the famed Brakeman Report, 12 of 14Graham wrestlers are ranked in the top fourof their respective weight classes headinginto the postseason. Five are projected win-ners. Last year, the Falcons had seven guysin the finals.Doubters can’t question Graham’s validity

as the best team in the state regardless ofdivision this season either. St. Ed, arguablythe most storied wrestling program in thecountry, may very well win its record 12thstraight state title in D-I and 24th overall. Butthe Eagles will take a back seat to theFalcons – finally.Graham beat St. Ed the first week of the

season at the fabled Walsh Ironman

Invitational in Cuyahoga Falls and followedthat with a victory on the Eagles home floorin the finals of the Super Eight Duals a weeklater. That loss was the first suffered by theEagles to an Ohio team since a defeat toCuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit in 1997.One other ghost was conquered at the

Ironman when Graham also beat NewJersey prep power Blair Academy.“It’s always been our goal to make a run

at the mythical national championship and todo that we knew we had to beat St. Ed andBlair Academy and we did that the first weekof the season,” Graham coach Jeff Jordansaid. “The second week, we beat St. Edagain in a dual meet. This team has accom-plished what no other team in Graham histo-ry has accomplished. And right now, unlesswe have some major mishap we should be

getting that national title.”After the first seven days of the season,

Graham was a solid No. 1 in the nationalrankings. It hasn’t budged since.

Starting Out StrongThe high school wrestling season in Ohio

is comparable to NASCAR in regards to hav-ing a marquee event at the beginning of theyear. The season-opening Walsh Ironmanwrestling invitational is the Daytona 500 forthose who wear a singlet. The tournament isone of the nation’s top high school wrestlingevents and often referred to as it’s toughest.Never in the 13-year history of the tourna-

ment had a public school won the title andno one other than St. Ed or Blair had won itfor 12 years. Graham changed that.“That to me is the best tournament any

team from Graham has ever wrestled,”Jordan said. “What made it special is we had12 of 14 guys place. I didn’t know if we weregoing to make a run at winning it or getfourth or fifth or sixth, but after day one thisteam said, ‘We can do it.’“We won so many tight matches and we

won like five overtime matches. When youwin an overtime match, that’s just heart andguts.”Only one Graham wrestler won a title, but

in doing so junior David Taylor (112 pounds)positioned himself for another first. A three-time Ironman winner now, Taylor, regardedas one of the best overall wrestlers in thecountry regardless of weight, has the chanceto become the first four-time champ inIronman history next season. He beat St.Ed’s Jamie Clark in the final 11-10.“The difference is our team actually

believes we can compete with the bestteams in the country,” Taylor said. “In thepast, we’ve always had good teams butwe’ve come up a little short when we’re

T“It’s always been our goal to make a runat the mythical national championship andto do that we knew we had to beat St.Ed and Blair Academy and we did thatthe first week of the season. The second

week, we beat St. Ed again in a dualmeet. This team has accomplished what noother team in Graham history has accom-

plished. And right now, unless we havesome major mishap we should be getting

that national title.”

Graham Wrestling CoachJeff Jordan


St . Par is Graham Wrest l ingSTORY BY ER IC FRANTZ

With another Division II state title thisseason, head coach Jeff Jordan willmove into a fourth place tie with BillBarger on the all-time state title list

with eight championships.




dmittedly, head coach Brook Cupps doesn’t expect his St.Paris Graham High School boys basketball team to generatefear in opponents. Not like the school's powerful wrestlingprogram has. At first glance, the Falcons – from rural

Champaign County – may even produce a chuckle.“If you look at our team picture we don’t really look like were very

good, and sometimes we’re not,” Cupps said. “We’re not big. Andthat’s the knock on us. That’s our weakness.”Graham is proof looks can be deceiving. Get over the un-daunt-

ing team photo and the Falcons other credentials are scary. With a sweep of Benjamin Logan and Dayton Stebbins on the

final weekend of the regular season,Graham recorded the first undefeatedseason in school history (20-0) andwon the Central Buckeye ConferenceMad River Division title. Ranked No. 5in the AP state poll, the Falconsclimbed as high as third earlier thisseason. That is the highest mark everachieved by the program.Graham earned the No. 1 seed in

the Division II Troy sectional tourna-ment.“You never know,” Cupps said. “I don’t know if you ever expect to

go 20-0, but coming in I thought we’d be competitive with every-one.”In 2006, the Falcons went 15-9 with two freshman starters. Last

year they were even younger en route to a 14-9 finish.“Our best two players were sophomores,” Cupps said. “By end of

last year we were playing four freshman and two sophomores mostof the time. We took some hits, but guys started figuring out how toplay.”That education was accelerated over the summer and presea-

son.Playing “70-80” summer league games according to Cupps, the

Falcons warmed up for this season against some of the state’s toptalent. Scrimmages against Cincinnati St. Xavier, Trotwood-Madison, Dayton Dunbar, Huber Heights Wayne and New Knoxvillewere primers that helped the Falcons prosper.“We scrimmaged all those teams in the preseason and played

with them and I think that more than anything convinced our kidsthey can compete with those kind of teams,” Cupps said. “Thescrimmage at Dunbar this year was a great experience in particularfor our guys. We go out to play and we got like nine guys and we’re

just shooting lay-ups. Dunbar has like 18 guys and they’re all dunk-ing. But to our kids credit they believed they could play and wewent out and they beat us by two. We played a half.”Graham has showed up for all four quarters more often than not.

The Falcons won 14 of their 20 regular season games by double-digits and showed a penchant for winning close contests when itmattered with key wins over Tecumseh (73-67), Piqua (50-45) andNorthwestern (58-54).The turning point came early on with a victory at Tippecanoe on

Dec. 1. The Red Devils were riding a 42-game regular season winstreak before falling to the Falcons at home 60-48.Tipp ended Graham’s season each of the past two years in the

sectional tournament.“It was a big win, especially early,” Cupps said. “They hadn’t

been beaten at their place for a long time. It was good for our kidsto go in there and win and solidify that they can play with that cal-iber of club. Tipp’s not the team it has been the last couple yearsbut it’s still Tipp and a lot of teams still lose to them because of whoTipp was. It was good for our kids and the fact that it was there waseven better for us.”The play of Josh Schuler has been good for the Falcons as well.

A starter since his freshman season, Schuler is a 6-2 junior guardand one of the Miami Valley’s top frontcourt players. Schuler aver-ages a team-high 20 points per game.“He sees just about everything,” Cupps said. “His biggest advan-

tage is his understanding of the game. He has played so much thathe understands more than the usual player. We play him whereverwe need him.”Schuler’s big games this season have come against Springfield

Shawnee (32 points), Urbana (30), Springfield Kenton Ridge (29),Vandalia-Butler (29) and Tecumseh (27). He hit six threes againstUrbana and Enon Greenon. Sophomore post Ethan Ward is the team’s second leading scorer

(10.5 ppg) and its tallest player (6-4). Junior guard Austin Jones, athree-year starter, averages 10 ppg, while junior point guard BenRosenberger adds 7.5 and a team-high 5.5 assists.Senior Travis Crooks and sophomore Casey Crable make signifi-

cant contributions as well.“We play seven or eight guys and we have two seniors in our top

eight,” Cupps said. “Our junior and sophomore classes are prettymuch where the majority of our players are. Next year we’ll havefive of our top six scorers back.”This year, Graham’s road to Columbus is lined with potential

match-ups against Canal Winchester (regional semifinals) andDunbar (regional final). A trip to the state final four seems difficult.But then again, so was an undefeated season in November.“We can’t play like Dunbar or Wayne,” Cupps said. “We have to

play a certain way. If we play the way we can, we’re capable ofcompeting with anyone. Whether or not we win I don’t know. “But our kids now believe.” – OH

GRAHAM BOYS BASKETBALL

Falcons record first undefeated seasonGraham captures CBC Mad River title, D-II Troy sectional No. 1 seed and

No. 5 state ranking

by Eric Frantz

A

wrestling the best. This year, we put it alltogether. Not only did we beat St. Ed, but webeat Blair. We’d never beaten Blair before,either.”That fact didn’t go unnoticed by Blair

coach Jeff Buxton whose team finished sec-

ond with 207.5 points. Graham scored 249.5“Was there a difference? Absolutely,” said

Buxton in an interview with WIN-Magazine.com. “(Graham) won all the close matches.

When they were in matches where you’d

pick the other guy to win, they came throughwith one-point wins. They have one of thoseteams that is very technically sound. But thething they’ve added is that they’re reallymentally tough and they haven’t comethrough before in those kinds of situations.



They wrestled with a lot of tenacity. Theywrestled with a lot of toughness. Some peo-ple have thought before that they were goingto win the Ironman or that they were going tohandle St. Edward in a dual meet or theywere going to do well against Blair in a dualmeet and they always came up short.“I think they have made a big step mental-

ly in showing they’re worthy of being one ofthe best teams in the country. They’ve gotthe horses up and down the line, but theyreacted well to the pressure, and stood up toit and they did a great job.”Added Lombard (Ill.) Montini coach Mike

Bukovsky, whose team finished ninth: “I thinkthey have been building to this level for a fewyears, and all of those ‘little things’ are start-ing to make the difference.”Graham separated themselves even far-

ther six days later by winning the Super EightDuals at St. Ed.The turning point was registered by

Graham freshman Matt Stephens who ralliedfrom an 8-3 deficit entering the third period tobeat senior Neil Birt in overtime. The victory sparked the Falcons to six

straight wins and ultimately led to a 47-13victory.“This team actually believed we could beat

St. Ed,” Jordan said. “That’s the hardestthing. Winning state titles is hard enough, buttrying to be the best team in Ohio is harder.Trying to beat that ‘Green Monster’ as I call itis difficult. They’ve won 11 straight state titlesand like eight national titles and I just thinkprevious teams here didn’t think we couldconquer that monster. This year, the teamsaid they could do it, and not only did wewin, we kicked their butt. That has been thetoughest thing for any Graham team.“We had to go up there and look around

and see all their state and national championbanners and their wrestling room is fourtimes bigger than ours. They have a runningtrack above it and they have like 15 bikes.They have every state champ’s wall bracketand picture. You go up there and see thatand it’s intimidating. But our little hillbillyschool from St. Paris, Ohio, here in the corn-fields, went up there and beat them.”Said Taylor: “We beat those teams up (at

the Super Eight), including St. Ed, which hasalways been a personal and team goal for along time. And beating them at home and ina dual meet was better (than at the Ironman)because we’ve never beaten them in a dual.St. Ed’s is a very hostile environment and itfelt good to come out of there on top. A dualmeet has a lot more emotion involved and wegot on a roll.”Senior Ben Jordan, Jeff’s nephew and a

two-time state champion, agreed: “I’ve beenlooking forward to beating St. Ed since my

freshman year. We’ve been hammered bythem in the past.”St. Ed has since earned itself a No. 5 rank-

ing nationally. The Eagles are No. 1 in D-I inOhio.“It was pretty rough out there,” St. Edward

coach Greg Urbas told the Plain Dealer fol-lowing the loss to Graham. “They have areally great team and they proved it againtonight.”

Domination ContinuesSince the convincing win over St. Ed on

Dec. 15, Graham has continued itsonslaught.At the Greater Miami Valley Wrestling

Association Holiday Tournament (Dec. 28-29), the Falcons won their third straight titleand outdistanced second place Miamisburg404.5-166. Graham had 10 champions andtwo runners-up.At the Division II Duals on Jan. 6, Graham

won the title with wins over ColumbusDeSales (59-12), University School (54-10)and Oak Harbor (54-18). The Falcons cap-tured the team title at the 41-team Top Guntournament in Alliance on Jan. 18-19 with316 points. University School was secondwith 151.5.Graham also won its own Best of the

Southwest tournament on Feb.2 with 329.5points to Troy Christian’s 229. Lakota Westand Pickerington were third and fourth.In dual meets the Falcons have beaten

Cincinnati Moeller, Mason, Troy Christian,Marion Pleasant and Miamisburg.Heading into the postseason, Graham

turned is final tune up into another milestone. At the Central Buckeye Conference meet

on Feb. 9, the Falcons won all 14 weightclasses and scored 439 points. Their champi-onship roster read two freshman, three soph-omores, six juniors and three seniors.“To make a run at the national title, you

have to have no holes in your line-up andnext year we’ll have six seniors,” Jordan said.“Next year, we’ll be really tough, too, andthen after that we might take a step back. Idon’t know. I think we’re going to be makingruns at state titles for a lot of years. And aslong as we’re doing that we’re going to be apower to reckon with.”

Plenty Of DepthGraham has been strong for a long time

and producing state champions since 1979when Jim Jordan – Jeff’s brother and currentU.S. Congressman – won the first of his fourtitles. Jeff followed with four of his own start-ing a year later.In all, Graham has had at least one state

champion 12 of the last 15 years (since

GRAHAM INDIVIDUAL STATE WRESTLINGCHAMPIONS

1979 Jim Jordan 98 lbs1980 Jeff Jordan 98 lbs1980 Jim Jordan 105 lbs1981 Jeff Jordan 105 lbs1981 Jim Jordan 119 lbs1982 Jeff Jordan 112 lbs1982 Jim Jordan 126 lbs1983 Jeff Jordan 126 lbs1993 Brett Henderson 140 lbs1995 Dan Bair 189 lbs1996 Ty Morgan 135 lbs1996 Avery Zerkle 189 lbs1998 Doug Hess 130 lbs1998 Ty Morgan 140 lbs1999 Josh Wooton 103 lbs2001 Kyle Ott 119 lbs2001 Josh Wooton 125 lbs2002 Dustin Schlatter 112 lbs2002 C.P. Schlatter 135 lbs2002 Bryce Markley 145 lbs2003 Cameron Doggett 119 lbs2003 Dustin Schlatter 125 lbs2003 C.P. Schlatter 152 lbs2004 Aaron Hart 103 lbs2004 Canneron Doggettt 125 lbs2004 Jacob Frerichs 145 lbs2004 David Erwin 160 lbs2004 Joe Dennis 215 lbs2005 Ben Jordan 119 lbs2005 Cameron Doggett 125 lbs2005 David Erwin 160 lbs2005 Jason Marshall 215 lbs2006 David Taylor 103 lbs2006 Aaron Hart 119 lbs2006 Ben Jordan 125 lbs2006 Jake Kyle 140 lbs2007 David Taylor 103 lbs2007 Cordell Longstreath 119 lbs2007 Coby Boyd 145 lbs

GRAHAM TEAM STATE WRESTLINGCHAMPIONSHIPS

Class AA State Team Champions 1982 Division II State Team Champions 1998Division II State Team Champions 2001Division II State Team Champions 2002Division II State Team Champions 2003Division II State Team Champions 2004Division II State Team Champions 2005Division II State Team Champions 2006Division II State Team Champions 2007

* Graham has also won the Ohio Duals D-IIchampionship in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005,2007 and 2008

Source: www.customliningsofohio.com/grahampage.htm



2007-08 GRAHAM WRESTLING ROSTER *starters in bold

Kyle Ryan 160 (9) 2 Time Jr. High State ChampionMMaatttt SStteepphheennss 113355--114400 ((99)) Jr. High State ChampionNNiicckk BBrraasscceettttaa 110033 ((99)) MMaarrkk MMeeyyeerr 113355--114400 ((99)) Jr. High State PlacerJonathan Bouffioux 152 (9) Devin McKeever 112 (9) Cole Bovey 112 (9) TTuucckkeerr AArrmmssttrroonngg 125 (10) 2006 Jr. High State Champion 2007 State QualifierLucas Williams 215 (10) MMaaxx TThhoommmmuusssseeiitt 116600--118899 ((1100)) 2006 Jr. High State Placer 2007 Division II 7th PlaceJosh Rowe 130-135 (10) 2006 Jr. High QualifierBryce Faulk 103 (10) Joe Martinez 140 (10) 2006 Jr. High State ChampionLLooggaann WWhhiittee 221155 ((1100)) 2006 Jr. High State Placer 2007 District QualifierShelden Kegley 112 (10) 2006 Jr. High State PlacerAAddaamm WWaallllss HHWWTT ((1111)) 2005 Jr. High State Champion @ 230 lbs.

2006 Ohio Division II 6th @ 285 lbs.2007 Ohio Division II 4th @ 285 lbs.

ZZaacchh NNiieebbeerrtt 111199 ((1111)) 2006 Division II 6th. 2007 Division II 2nd.JJaammeess MMaannnniieerr 116600--118899 ((1111)) 2006 State Qualifier 2007 State QualifierDDyyllaann BBaaiirr 114400 ((1111))Jacob Welty 189 (11) DDaavviidd TTaayylloorr 111122 ((1111)) 2005 Cadet Nationals Champion @91 lbs. FS

2005 Cadet National 2nd @ 91 lbs. GR2006 Division II State Champion @ 103 lbs. 2006 Cadet Nationals Champion @ 103 lbs.2007 Division II State Champion @ 103 lbs. 2007 Junior National Champion @ 105 lbs. 2007 FILA World All-American @ 110 lbs.

Jordan Bair 125 (11) Brandon Diel HWT (11) BBrriiaann SStteepphheennss 130 (11) 2006 Ohio Division I 6th @ 125 lbs. 2007 Division II 3rd.Alan Marrs HWT (11) CCoobbyy BBooyydd 115522 ((1122)) 2005 Ohio Division II 6th @ 130

2006 Cadet Nationals Champion @ 127.5 lbs. 2006 Ohio Division II 3rd @ 130 lbs.2007 Ohio Division II Champion @ 130 lbs.

BBeenn JJoorrddaann 114455 ((1122)) 2005 Ohio Division II Champion @ 119 lbs.2006 Ohio Division II Champion @ 125 lbs. 2007 Ohio State Division II 2nd @ 125 lbs.

ZZaacc TThhoommmmuusssseeiitt 117711 ((1122)) 2005 Division II 6th. 2007 Division II 4th.Cameron McKinley 160 (12) Dalton Schantz 119 (12)

Source: www.customliningsofohio.com/grahampage.htm

WWgghhtt NNaammee GGdd RReeccoorrdd BBrraakkeemmaann FFoorreeccaasstt RRaannkkiinngg103 Nick Brascetta 9 29- 7 No. 4112 David Taylor 11 33- 0 Champion119 Zach Neibert 11 33- 2 No. 2125 Tucker Armstrong 10 27- 6 No. 2130 Brian Stephens 11 32- 4 Champion135 Dylan Bair 11 8- 3 No. 11 (shares spot with Mark Meyer)140 Matt Stephens 9 29- 7 No. 3145 Ben Jordan 12 28- 2 Champion (Headed to Wisconsin)152 Coby Boyd 12 22- 2 Champion (Headed to Michigan)160 James Mannier 11 32- 5 No. 2171 Zac Thomusseit 12 30- 1 Champion189 Max Thomusseit 10 27- 7 No. 4215 Logan White 10 26- 9 No. 10285 Adam Walls 11 27- 4 No. 2

2007-08 GRAHAM LINE UP & RECORD (heading into the postseason)

1993). That success and Jordan, himself,are big draws for the program. Jordan hasreferred to this year’s team as his deepestand most talented ever.“Our JV team goes to varsity tournaments

and they are a threat to win them,” Jordansaid. “They are just that tough. I have fiveguys on the JV squad that have placed atthe state tournament. And a lot of guys say‘Man that’s a great problem to have,’ but tobe honest with you I hate having that prob-lem. It’s great that if someone goes downwe’d have a good fill-in, but it’s almost tragicthat that next guy in line could go right nextdoor (to another school) and place at thestate tournament.”The Graham “Black” team (reserve) com-

peted in four varsity events this winter andfinished first at the West Liberty-SalemInvitational. The Black team also placedfourth at the Troy and Miami Trace invitesand fifth at the Best of the Southwest, finish-ing ahead of varsity teams from ClevelandSt. Ignatius, Tecumseh, West Carrollton,Bluffton and Mechanicsburg.How tough is Graham’s wrestling room?

At the Best of the Southwest, Graham Blackwrestler Kyle Ryan, a two-time junior highstate champ, beat Graham’s varsity wrestler,James Mannier, in the 160 final. Mannier, ajunior, is a two-time state placer. Ryan is afreshman.“That depth has helped us get better

throughout the year,” Taylor said. “Not onlydo we have our varsity guys to go against,but we have JV guys that are as good as thevarsity guys we wrestle in meets.”“I think it’s all because they just want to be

a part of that something special,” Jordansaid. “They just want to be a part of thatnational championship or that state champi-onship team. Wrestling is a different sportlike that. It’s often about the unsung heroesand we have a lot of those.“We have a lot of wrestlers who have

wrestled for me for four years who havebeen just a cat-whisker away from makingthe team. The difference sometimes is sosmall on whether or not they are or theyaren’t going to make the team. And that canbe the difference between getting a scholar-ship and not getting a scholarship. But that’sjust the way life is sometimes.”Graham athletic director and boys basket-

ball coach Brook Cupps has his own take.“I think a lot of kids come out because

they want to be a part of something that suc-cessful,” Cupps said. “And people can saywhat they want, but no one outworks thosekids. I mean nobody does.“And we’ve tried to carry that work ethic

into our (boys basketball) program as welland make that one of our cornerstones. We


St . Par is Graham Wrest l ing(Top to Botto

m): S

enior B

en Jordan (145), ju

nior D

avid Taylor (1

12), ju

nior A

dam Walls (285) and senior Z

ac Thomusseit (1

71) are all th

reats to win state title

sin their re

spective

weight classes. Taylor and Jordan are both tw

o-tim

e state champs, w

hile Walls and Thomusseit a

re tw

o-tim

e state placers.

Photos by Brian Swartzwant to make the amount of work we put inand our effort something we’re proud of aswell.”This year the Graham boys basketball

team has done a good job of shadowing thewrestlers. The Falcons finished their firstregular season in school history (20-0) andwere ranked No. 5 in the final D-II state pollheading into the Tippecanoe sectional wherethey were the No. 1 seed (see story, page58). “I’ve tried to use the wrestling program as

a positive,” Cupps said. “I mean that’s thelevel everyone is trying to get to.”

Going to WorkIt’s somewhat humorous that Graham

trains in a small, old, ugly building behindthe school, because for the most part theFalcons take opponents out behind thewoodshed.That being said, there’s nothing funny

about what happens inside those walls.Many observers have commented on theferocity and speed with which Jordan con-ducts practice and his athletes train.Words don’t do the routine justice.

Perhaps the only proper reflection of howtough a Graham practice is is the shine fromthe state medals it produces.“There is no room like this,” Ben Jordan

said. “The intensity in here is better than most

college rooms. And it’s very competitive likethat all year long.”Said Taylor: “I’ve been to a lot of places

and there aren’t as many that are asintense. You walk into those doors and youbetter be ready to have a good practice oryou might have a bad day. You might getbeat up. “You walk in that room and I don’t know if

it’s the air or what, but once you put yourshoes on you better be ready to wrestle.There’s no joking around. Just get in thereand get the job done.”Jordan takes pride in his practice scheme

as he should. It gets results.“I had a college guy who came back at

Christmas and was wrestling for a Big Tenteam and said our practices were harderthan theirs,” Jordan said. “We just workhard. There is no magical ingredient besideswhat we’re doing out there. “We just come in and go to war.”This year that fight has led to the ultimate

honor. And a potential place in history.“We finally got over the edge,” Taylor said.

“We’ve always been second, third and nowwe’re on top. Everyone’s trying to beat usnow. Everyone is trying to catch us.“That’s motivation.”As if Graham needed any more. — OH


Waynesf ie ld-Goshen ’s Gray Horn

Despite coming from a small school district with 675 total people (including faculty, staff and students) in grades K-12, Hornscored a scholarship to Florida after also considering Ohio State, Louisville, Penn State, Wisconsin and Auburn.



Waynesf ie ld-Goshen ’s Gray HornSTORY BY ER IC FRANTZ

ntroduced to the sport by his grandfa-ther at age 10, Gray Horn has estab-lished a new standard at W-G by earn-ing a track scholarship to the Universityof Florida. When he heads to

Gainesville this summer, Horn will become

just the third W-G athlete to compete at theNCAA Division I level since his father starredat Air Force. He is the first W-G athlete tohead to the SEC.The 6-4, 195-pound Horn will compete in

the decathlon and pole vault.

“I think it’s a feather in the cap of the entirecommunity,” W-G track coach Jim Epperlysaid. “As a community, as a school and as afamily as a whole it’s something that every-one can be proud of. Everyone around himhas had a part in this.”

“He’s a special kid and a special athlete. You always knew his talents were going to take him somewhere and you knew early too that track was a good sport for him to pursue.

Waynesfield-Goshen football coach Gary Spencer

ray Horn recently stole the bragging rights in his family. Andanyone in tiny Waynesfield or rural Auglaize County knowsthat’s quite a feat.Consider:* Horn’s father Jon set the Air Force Academy indoor highjump record with a leap of 6-10 in 1985.* Horn’s mother Kitt still owns the Waynesfield-Goshen HighSchool high jump record with a mark of 5-4 set in 1983.* Horn’s younger

twin sisters – Morgan and Ivy –already own the W-G junior highrecords in the high jump and100- and 200-meter dashes,respectively. The duo is ineighth-grade.* And then there is Horn’sgrandfather Joe R. Horn, whocarries a lengthy resume. Theeldest Horn was an All-Americanin football and lacrosse atOberlin College and was recentlyhonored for over 40-plus yearsof coaching by the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches.Horn, who received the Fred Dafler Career Coaching Award, started instruct-ing track at W-G in 1960.On Feb 6, Grandpa Horn’s prized pupil moved to the head of the class.

Waynesfield-Goshen senior Gray Horn signs his letter of intent to attendthe University of Forida on a track scholarship. Horn is flanked by his fami-ly and track coach Jim Epperly (far left).

I




Horn agreed.“Everything that I’ve done is based on a

system of people,” Horn said. “You can’t do italone.”Most would think one couldn’t do it at all

coming from Waynesfield. An unlikely placefor a Southeastern Conference school torecruit a track athlete, let alone a decathlete,Waynesfield has one school building thathouses all 12 grades. Including the facultyand staff, there are 675 people in the entirecomplex. Graduating classes often hoveraround 30.That’s also about the amount of points a

team needs to win the state track title, whichis something W-G did in 2006. That springwas also the turning point for Horn.Making the Division III state meet in four

events, Horn helped the Tigers to theschool’s first state track title. Individually Hornwon the pole vault (15-3) and teamed withcousin Joe Horn, Kellen Fetter and JesseNorris to set a meet record in winning the800 relay (1:29.62). Horn also finished eighthin the long jump and competed in the 110hurdles.“I’d always been a football player and foot-

ball was my thing, but then I started thrivingin track,” Horn said. “The more I got into itthe harder I worked and that’s when I fell inlove with it.“To be honest I didn’t know what track was

when I was 10 years old. I thought you ran incircles. Football was always my thing. Iwatched the NFL.”Horn is still pretty good on the gridiron. A

four year starter at defensive end and tightend, Horn helped the Tigers earn a DivisionVI playoff berth this season. W-G lost itsregional quarterfinal game to SpringfieldCentral Catholic 28-6. The Tigers also madethe postseason in 2005. Horn earned All-Ohio recognition as a receiver.“He was such a threat on the football field

and teams paid so much attention to him,”W-G football coach Gary Spencer said.“Because of his physical nature people wereworried about him and rightfully so. With hissize and speed he’s a tremendous athlete. “You set your offense up according to the

personnel you have and I’ll be doing some-thing different with the tight ends next year.They’ll be blocking.”Horn has no plans on pursuing football at

Florida.“You know I could walk on and be third

team on the scout team and get poundedevery day,” Horn said. “I think that I’ll stickwith track. I think I have a chance for great-ness there and hopefully my dreams cancome true.”One already has.Perhaps the most important criteria for

Horn in selecting a school was coaching, andthat more than anything may have lead himto Florida. Although he says he was soldwhen he saw palm trees lining the back-stretch of the Gators practice facility, Hornwas also swayed by assistant coach RanaReider.Reider is a renowned field events coach

with collegiate and international experienceand currently instructs 2005 World Champand 2004 Olympic silver medalist Brian Clay.Clay is moving to Florida and will be trainingat UF with the Gator track team.Horn calls Clay his “hero.”“I’ll get to train with him every day,” Horn

said. “That made the decision a little easier,too.”Horn was hounded with interest. On the

first day recruiters were allowed to make con-tact, Horn received letters from Ohio State,Wisconsin, Auburn, Kent State and PennState. Six days later, the letter came fromFlorida.Horn also strongly considered Louisville

but said when assistant coach MellaneeWelty left there for Florida that sealed thedeal. Well, that and the palm trees.“I would say that’s when it hit me and I

said, ‘That’s it, this is where I want to go,’ ”Horn joked. “But the guys on the team hadgreat personalities, too. They have fun butthey also win and that’s my attitude.”Horn has been winning since his start in

track and field.Once his grandfather got him going, Horn

took off. He says he remembers winning thehigh jump at “like 3-feet or something” atyouth events in Lima and enjoying the rush.As an eighth-grader he cleared 13-3 in thepole vault, which at the time was the W-Gvarsity record. At the 2004 state meet, Hornfinished third in the pole vault as a freshman(14-6).“He’s a special kid and a special athlete,”

Spencer said. “You always knew his talentswere going to take him somewhere and youknew early too that track was a good sportfor him to pursue. I’m sure if he didn’t gosomewhere for track, though, he could havegone in a couple other sports if he wouldhave put his mind to it. That’s the kind of kidhe is.”Epperly added other laurels.“He’s a very good young man and he

works very hard fostering relationships,”Epperly said. “I have gotten lots of positivefeedback from people who have encounteredhim. People who he would have no reason totreat well he treats well. A hall of fame guy –Pat Wagner at Liberty-Benton – said to melast week ‘The thing I like about (Gray) ishe’s there at the vault and he’s a 15-footvaulter, and he’s high-fiving kids who clear 9-6.’ To root on other competitors is prettyclassy.”So is being gracious in defeat, which is

something Horn was at last year’s statemeet. Despite his two state titles as a sopho-more, Horn was shut out in 2007. In fact, hefinished second in three different events: the110 hurdles, high jump and pole vault. Thosefinishes add to the drive.“Last year, he fell short of some goals he

had and this year he has some very definitegoals he wants to accomplish this spring,”Epperly said. “He had a target on his back last year and

I think it might actually be less this yearbecause of the three seconds.”Said Horn: “This is my last chance to go

out in front of my home state and show themwhat I can accomplish. I’m going to put it allout on the line.”Horn’s stiffest competition is expected to

come from Columbus Grove senior HeathNickles, an Ohio State signee. Nickles beatHorn in the pole vault last year and also wonthe 300-meter hurdles.“I’ve been a Buckeye fan my whole life,”

Horn said. “I remember how disappointed Iwas when Ohio State lost to Florida, but Idon’t know how disappointed I’d be right now.I’ve been to two Florida football games thisseason and watched nearly all of them onTV. You can’t beat the level of competitiondown there.”Or here in rural Ohio, among the Horn

family. — OH

“You know I could walk on and be thirdteam on the scout team and get poundedevery day. I think that I’ll stick with track. Ithink I have a chance for greatness thereand hopefully my dreams can come true.”

Waynesfield-Goshen seniorGray Horn

“As a community, as a school and as afamily as a whole it’s something thateveryone can be proud of. Everyone

around him has had a part in this.”

Waynesfield-Goshen Track CoachJim Epperly



Waynesfield-Goshen senior Gray Horn will graduate withfour varsity letters in each football and track and field. Hehelped the Tigers reach the Division VI football playoffs in2005 and 2007 and was a big reason W-G won the 2006 D-III state track title.


ohio high march 2008

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