Ohio High March 2007

Editor in Chief Steve Helwagen Managing Editor Eric Frantz Recruiting Editor Duane Long Assistant Editors Matt Natali, Dave Biddle Staff Writers Gary Housteau, Kirk Larrabee, Glenn Forbes

Contributors Paul Boggs, Jeff Wuerth Photography Gary Housteau, Nick Falzerano, Stephanie Porter, Laura Almond, Brian Swartz, Mike Ullery, Jeff Brehm

Printing Miami Valley Sports Magazine (MVP) miamivalleysports.com

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Ohio High Magazine is published bi-monthly, six times a year. Ohio High is an independent source of news and features relating to Ohio high school sports. Ohio High strives to report information based on fact, but assumes no responsability for any inaccuracies that may appear within the pages. Ohio High is not authorized, sponsored or sanctioned by any university, athletic conference or athletic governing body.

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Single copy price is $6.95 each. c Copyright 2006, Ohio High Magazine and MVP Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved.

COVER PHOTOS: Gary Housteau and Nick Falzerano

Welcome to the 17th edition of Ohio High magazine!

We wrapped up this issue in early February, just after national signing day for football and just prior to the start of the OHSAA tournaments for wrestling and boys and girls basketball.

As always, we provide a complete of national letter-of-intent signing day with football. We look at where Ohio’s top 101 prospects for 2007 signed. You can check that out beginning on page 4. We also have a look at where the nation’s top 100 prospects went.

We also take a look toward 2008 and 2009 as recruiting editor Duane Long provides an update on the top juniors and sophomores in Ohio high school football.

Matt Natali has a feature on longtime Cincinnati Colerain coach Kerry Coombs, who took a big leap in December by joining the staff of new University of Cincinnati head coach Kevin Kelly. Check that out – along with a look at other Ohio football coaching changes – on page 17.

We also have a feature on Cincinnati LaSalle defensive end Ben Martin, the state’s top prospect for 2007. Martin stunned a number of observers by verbaling to Tennessee during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 6. Check that out on page 20.

Gary Housteau provides features as well on two more of Ohio’s top athletes in Massillon Washington running back/defensive back Brian Gamble (page 23) and Warren JFK football/basketball standout Desmar Jackson (page 26).

Obviously, with the calendar turning to March, the focus is on the OHSAA state championships in wrestling and boys and girls basketball. Beginning on page 29, we examine some of the key contenders in each of Ohio’s four division in boys basketball. The girls preview is on page 38 and the wrestling preview is on page 47.

Contributor Glenn Forbes has a nice feature on Toledo Libbey junior basketball standout William Buford. Buford has already made a verbal commitment to Ohio State. Check that out on page 36.

Natali also has a feature on Findlay girls basketball standout Carlee Roethlisberger, the sister of Pittsburgh Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger (page 45).

Kirk Larrabee has a feature on Millersburg West Holmes wrestler Colt Sponseller, who is considered one of the nation’s top 160-pound wrestlers (page 49).

Natali has articles on a pair of topics involving the OHSAA. First, he looks at the plan – which was eventually scuttled – to change the classification system for postseason tournaments (page 52). And, he also has a look at the addition of bowling as an OHSAA sport (page 54).

Contributor Paul Boggs adds a story on South Gallia football coach Justy Burleson (page 57).

One exciting aspect about Ohio High is the fact we are able to “bundle” it with subscriptions to our popular JJHuddle.com web site.

The best deal on the board is purchasing a one-year premium subscription to the JJHuddle.com web site for $59.95. That subscription comes with a free one-year subscription to Ohio High.

However, for a limited time, we are allowing new subscribers to purchase one-year (six-issue) subscriptions for just the magazine for the old five-issue price of $29.95.

All told, that one-year subscription for the package of JJHuddle.com and Ohio High magazine represents a savings over the course of a year of over $50 from the monthly JJHuddle.com subscription charge ($6.95 per month) and a separate charge for Ohio High.

Nobody has ever attempted to produce a magazine that contains coverage of Ohio high school athletics and recruiting. We’re pretty proud of how this magazine has grown over the past couple of years and we look forward to the year ahead.

Going forward, here are general topics that will be covered in each edition of Ohio High magazine: * May (Due out April 15) – Basketball and wrestling tournament recaps, basketball recruit rankings updated, Duane Long’s new top 100 for the seniors-to-be unveiled. * July (Due out June 15) – Football preview issue, 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) – Football playoff and fall sports recap, top 100 senior prospect bios updated.

Check 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 at www.jjhuddle.com Thanks again for your patronage of Ohio High magazine!

Steve Helwagen Editor in Chief Ohio High

Frantz joins Ohio High as Managing Editor

Eric Frantz, 31, is an award winning writer who has spent the last 10 years covering prep sports at the Centerville-Bellbrook Times, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette and Dayton Daily News. He is also the co-founder of MVP Magazine (miamivalleysports.com).

A Bellbrook High School graduate, Frantz has won numerous Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association awards, including the Sportswriter of the Year honor in 2002. Frantz is a graduate of Ashland University where he played football and majored in sports communications.

5

Signing Day Recap

Ohio football seniors manage impressive haul of scholarships

13

Duane Long’s Top Juniors

15

Duane Long’s Top Sophomores

20

Ben Martin chooses Tennessee

29

Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

39

Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

48

Wrestling Tournament Preview

Dublin Coffman’s Mike Adams headlines up and coming class

5 Photo by Gary Housteau

Find out who Ohio’s top football underclassmen are

Ohio’s top recruit headed to Southeastern Conference

Who will survive a stacked D-II field? Who will win D-I, III and IV?

13

Can River View repeat? Can Berlin Hiland three-peat?

Photo by Nick Falzerano

Lakewood St. Ed’s and Graham ready to continue win streaks

56

Bowling

The OHSAA welcomes a new championship sport

60 Larry Larson

Well known media figure nicknamed “Mr. High School Sports”

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Also...

9 17 23 26 36 44 52 55 58

National Top 100 Football

Former Colerain football coach Kerry Combs

48 Photo by Nick Falzerano

Massillon Washington’s Brian Gamble Warren JFK’s Desmar Jackson Toledo Libbey’s William Buford

Findlay’s Carlee Roethlisberger West Holmes’ Colt Sponseller OHSAA Divisional Changes

South Gallia’s Justy Burleson

56 Photo by Briam Swartz

Photo by Mike Ullery/miamivalleyphotography.com

4

Photo by Brian Swartz

Ohio’s top senior football stars make college choices JJHUDDLE.COM

JJ H u dd le’s O h io High

Photo by Gary Housteau

Photo by Nick Falzerano

STORY BY DUANE LONG

Photo by Nick Falzerano

Ink Spot

Ohio athletes had a lucrative signing day. Amongst those signing letters of intent were (from top left to right): Piqua’s Brandon Saine (Ohio State), Jafe Pitcock and Pete Rolf (Ball State); Northmont’s Clay Belton (Miami); Lakewood St. Eds Nate Oliver (Ohio State); Centerville’s Tyler Replogle (Indiana) and Will Johnson (West Virginia); and Trotwood’s Michael Sawyer, Shawn Knight and Marcus English (Eastern Michigan, Tyson Patrick (Toledo), Michael Page (Kent State), Carson Byrd (Hampton) and C.J. Peake (Louisville).

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

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W

Signing Day Round-Up

e get excited about classes early on but when it is all said and done it comes down to how it finishes. The top players that are identified early on you hope they take their games to another level as seniors. You also want to see some seniors come on and make themselves Division I prospects.

I would say this class finished with more of a whimper than a bang. Some of the seniors really stepped up their game but not in the numbers you hope for. We did not see anyone really push themselves up the board and earn offers from the big boys late in the recruiting season.

Going in, I was really excited about this class.

I thought it was an underrated class. As time went on I became less excited about it and now I am saying it is an above average class at best.

For starters, there was no quarterback. There was no national receiver in this class. The best offensive lineman did not receive an offer from any of the Midwest’s Big Four (Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Notre Dame).

The strength of the class was on defense.

Cincinnati LaSalle’s Ben Martin, headed to Tennessee, was the best defensive end I have seen in Ohio high school football. West Chester Lakota West’s Solomon Thomas, who signed with Ohio State, was the second best I have seen in the state since I started doing this.

It was a class heavy in safeties with eight players committed to Big Ten schools, including three committed to Big Four schools, as I write this. Grades had a tremendous impact on this class. It was feast or famine. You had National Honor Society members like Ohio State cornerback verbal Donnie Evege of Huber Heights Wayne. But there were three national caliber recruits that many schools in the Big Ten would not even bother to recruit because there was really no point in it.

They were not going to make it. That is a situation that always leaves me frustrated. I speak with young men every day that would crawl across broken glass for the opportunity to get a scholarship anywhere. They have the grades that could qualify them for any school in the country. But they are not going to get the opportunity to go anywhere while these extremely talented young men who often could pick any school in the country, let this coveted opportunity waste away. Some have waited too long.

They did not fully understand that they needed to take care of their grades from the time they entered ninth grade. It is over for them. The ones that really get to me are the ones that can still salvage a chance at college football and a free education, an education that can change their lives, but they still will not do what is neces-

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sary to make it happen.

We saw Ohio solidify its position as the most important recruiting state for the Big Ten as aggressive coaching staffs in Iowa and Northwestern continued to make border raids with excellent success. Wisconsin has made slow but steady progress in the state of Ohio.

Mark Dantonio took the helm at Michigan State and immediately landed national defensive tackle Antonio Jeremiah of Hilliard Darby. Another lineman, John Hughes from Gahanna had already committed to the Spartans. Dantonio could not have deeper roots in Ohio. He is highly respected around this state. He will continue to have a major impact. When Michigan State was at its best it had as many Ohio players as any school outside of Ohio State.

Illinois coach Ron Zook hit the state harder than any but his schools home state. He has landed the next best crop of Ohio talent outside of Ohio State. Speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes landed every Ohio player offered but one, Ben Martin.

Piqua’s Brandon Saine was the one player that despite being a target every game he still managed to produce big numbers. He was a worthy winner of Ohio High’s Mr. Football award. There has been so much talk about whether he would be a receiver or a back at Ohio State. As the year went on, it became clear the power that he will be a back, at least at the start. He showed such power, balance and determination in addition to the speed.

The big surprise was Martin choosing Tennessee. All the smart money was on Ohio State, but nobody would have been surprised if he went to Notre Dame with the family connection and his mother rumored to long have been enamored of the Fighting Irish. Florida was considered a long shot. That he ended up at Tennessee left everyone shocked. There could be a family connection involved here. This was a big blow to Ohio State and Notre Dame. You see these kinds of defensive ends coming out of the south. Having one right here in there own backyard and not being able to keep him home is a real blow for both programs.

Jeremiah committing to Michigan State is a big win for MSU and Dantonio. I saw some senior film of Jeremiah. If there is a better big body in the country I need to see it. He is going to make a great tackle on one side of the ball or the other. Grades played a major role in Jeremiahs recruitment. As I write this, Jeremiah is coming off an impressive showing at a major wrestling tournament, pinning three of his four opponents from an impressive heavyweight class. His best is in front of him.

Illinois came in late and made a run at underrated strong safety Erique Robertson. He would

have been a name fans would know more about if not for the likes of Eugene Clifford and Nate Oliver. Robertson verballed the Illini in early December.

One of the better athletes in the class is David Arnold from Copley. He signed with Northwestern.

Diauntae Morrow, a strong safety from Lakewood St. Edward, signed with Iowa. I thought he was leaning toward Wisconsin but in the end he really loved Iowa. One college coach I spoke to said he has a better upside than teammate Nate Oliver, an Ohio State commit.

Vince Harris, a linebacker from Cincinnati LaSalle, signed with West Virginia. He would have been more widely recruited had his grades been in order sooner but it is still good to see a young man realize what was possible and do what was necessary to make it happen.

Speaking Of Schools

Ten of Ohio State’s 15 signees this year were from the state of Ohio. That group included nine of Ohio’s top 50 prospects and seven of the top 10. Those top-10 signees included Cincinnati Colerain DB Eugene Clifford (No. 2), Piqua RB Brandon Saine (3), Canton South CB Devon Torrence (4), Lakota West DL Solomon Thomas (5), Cleveland Glenville LB Jermale Hines (6), Lakewood St. Edward DB Nate Oliver (9) and Toledo Central Catholic WR Dane Sanzenbacher (10).

Michigan State nailed down four of Ohio High’s top 50 prospects, including Hilliard Darby DT Antonio Jeremiah (8) and Cincinnati Moeller LB Greg Jones (32).

Four schools bagged three Ohio High top-50 prospects. Illinois’ haul included Massillon DB Brian Gamble (7) and Cincinnati Withrow DL Daryle Ballew (17). Indiana’s class included West Milton Milton-Union QB Mitchell Evans (20) and Centerville LB Tyler Replogle (35).

West Virginia’s class included Warren Harding DB Sidney Glover (29) and Centerville RB William Johnson (31). Cincinnati, with new coach Brian Kelley leading the way, also got three top-50 prospects, including Moeller LB Frank Becker (37).

Three schools were able to sign two Ohio High top-50 prospects. They include Miami (Ohio), Northwestern and Toledo. Miami signed Chillicothe WR Chris Givens (13) and Clayton Northmont QB Clay Belton (27). Northwestern bagged Lisbon David Anderson DL Vincent Browne (15) and Macedonia Nordonia DB Jordan Mabin (41). Toledo signed a pair of top50 prospects from Canton McKinley in Morgan Williams (16) and LB Disi Alexander (43). — OH

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

Signing Day Round-Up

Ohio’s Top 100 Players 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13

14 15

16 17

18 19 20

21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Ben Martin Cincinnati LaSalle Eugene Clifford Cincinnati Colerain Brandon Saine Piqua Devon Torrence Canton South Solomon Thomas W. C. Lakota West Jermale Hines Cleveland Glenville Brian Gamble Massillon Washington Antonio Jeremiah Hilliard Darby Nate Oliver Lakewood St. Edward Dane Sanzenbacher To. Central Catholic Daniel Herron Warren G. Harding Kyle Hubbard Lakewood St. Edward Chris Givens Chillicothe David Arnold Copley Vincent Browne Lisbon David Anderson Morgan Williams Canton McKinley Daryle Ballew Cincinnati Withrow Vince Harris Cincinnati LaSalle C.J. Peake Trotwood-Madison Mitchell Evans Milton-Union Andrew Dailey Massillon Washington Kyle Jefferson Cleveland Glenville Nick Schepis Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit Diauntae Morrow Lakewood St. Edward Skylar Jones Middletown Charlie Hatcher Hamilton Clay Belton Clayton Northmont Chris Smith South Point Sidney Glover Warren G. Harding Donnie Evege Huber Heights Wayne William Johnson Centerville Greg Jones Cincinnati Moeller Ryan Gillum Youngstown Liberty George Tabron Canton McKinley Tyler Replogle Centerville Erique Robertson Maple Heights Frank Becker Cincinnati Moeller Kendall Washington Louis. St. Thomas Aquinas Pete Rolf Piqua Joey D'Andrea Upper Arlington Jordan Mabin Macedonia Nordonia Eric Thomas Cleveland Glenville Disi Alexander Canton McKinley Derrick Sherman Cincinnati Withrow Ricardo ThompsonCincinnati Withrow B.J. Cunningham Westerville South Chazz Anderson Pickerington Central Charles Brown Maple Heights Chris Rucker Warren G. Harding Phil Collier Piqua

JJ Hu d d l e ’ s O h io H i g h

DE Tennessee S Ohio State RB Ohio State ATH Ohio State DE Ohio State LB/S Ohio State DB Illinois DT/OL Mich. State S Ohio State WR Ohio State TB Ohio State WR/TE Pittsburgh S/WR Miami (Ohio) S/WR Northwestern ATH Northwestern RB Toledo DT Illinois LB West Virginia S Louisville QB Indiana LB Penn State WR Wisconsin OL/DL Boston College S/LB Iowa QB Wake Forest DE/OL Duke QB Miami (Ohio) QB Marshall DB/RB West Virginia DB Ohio State RB/DB West Virginia LB Mich. State ATH Syracuse LB LB Indiana S/LB Illinois DT Cincinnati WR/S West Virginia LB/DE Ball State DE/DT Ashland TB/CB Northwestern OL/TE Indiana LB Toledo WR Purdue LB Cincinnati WR Mich. State QB Cincinnati WR North Carolina WR/DB Mich. State CB/WR

51 52 53

54 55 56 57 58

59 60 61 62

63 64 65

66 67 68

69 70

71 72 73

74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

100

Julian Miller LeBron Daniel Zak Crum Sean Baker Danny Noble Rob Trigg Marlon Parker Carson Byrd B.J. Reed Frank Edmonds Dave Rogers Chris Walder Tony Jackson Mark Wetterer Kendrick Bruton Jerome Royal Mark Wooldridge Jaa'Rome Williams Derrick Henry Brian Peters Dusty Snyder Jason Williams Rob Reiland Ben Davis Andy Wersel Jafe Pitcock Mike Page Shawn Sailor Sean Fobbs John Hokavar Rocco Pentello Jeff Spikes Gary Pride Kevin Koncelik Ben Burkett Jon Wells Mike Madsen Josh Herron Terrence White Ishmaa'ily Kitchen Garrett Celek J'Keem Waters Alex Kaufman Fred Hale Charles Babb Bryant Thomas Patrick McClellan Ryan Travis Clay Beeler Dan Ifft

Where they went Columbus Beechcroft Cleveland Glenville Westerville South Canfield Elyria Day. Chaminade-Julienne Warren G. Harding Trotwood-Madison Wapakoneta Lakewood St. Edward Kent Roosevelt Trotwood-Madison Galloway Westland Cincinnati Anderson Miamisburg Cleveland Heights Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit Elyria Worthington Kilbourne Pickerington Central Piqua Miamisburg Massillon Jackson Piqua Cincinnati Moeller Piqua Trotwood-Madison Maple Heights Miamisburg Perry Westerville South Painesville Harvey Cincinnati Colerain Cleveland St. Ignatius Toledo St. John's Youngstown Liberty Youngstown Mooney Lemon-Monroe Pickerington Central Youngstown Mooney Cincinnati LaSalle Canton South W.C. Lakota West Mentor Alliance Cincinnati Withrow Cincinnati Moeller Massillon Tuslaw Chillicothe Dover

DE/TE DE/OLB C S DE/TE DE LB DE TE/OL RB QB DE/TE LB/RB OT DE/TE WR TB/DB TB ATH S DE QB DE/TE OL DE/OLB DT DT/OL OL LB/S DE ATH OT ATH OG OL CB OL ATH WR/CB OL OT FB LB DE/LB ATH QB/WR ATH RB/LB LB WR

West Virginia Iowa Toledo Ball State Cincinnati Toledo Hampton Ashland Ball State Y’town State Louisville Miami (Ohio) Akron BGSU Ball State Northwestern E. Michigan Miami (Ohio) W. Michigan Ball State Kent State Akron Ohio State Kansas Akron Miami (Oh.) Northwestern Miami (Oh.) Miami (Oh.) Kent State Mich. State Miami (Oh.) Colgate Cincinnati W. Liberty St. W. Liberty St. Ball State

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Florida takes recruiting title

National Top 100

STORY BY STEVE HELWAGEN

Y

Ohio State nabs 4 of state’s 5 top-100 prospects

Photo by Nick Falzerano

ou can’t get recruiting analysts to agree on much. But everybody agreed in early February that it was reigning national champion Florida that had won the mythical recruiting title with the best football class of 2007.

The Gators, led by third-year coach Urban Meyer, came off their national title game win over Ohio State and kept the momentum going to bag the nation’s top class. Florida ended up signing 12 of the nation’s top 100 players, according to Scout.com.

That haul included Florida DT Torrey Davis (No. 16 overall), Florida WR Deonte Thompson (No. 23) and Arizona OL Kris O’Dowd (No. 24).

Next in line was Florida’s SEC rival LSU, which inked seven national top-100 picks including Texas WR Terrance Toliver (No. 10) and in-state DB Chad Jones (No. 11).

USC finished third in the recruiting derby, although the Trojans matched Florida’s haul of 12 top-100 picks. USC ended up with four of the nation’s top 10 prospects in Arizona DE Everson Griffen (No. 1 overall), Louisiana RB Joe McKnight (No. 2), California RB Marc Tyler (No. 6) and California MLB Chris Galippo (No. 9).

Lakeland (Fla.) senior John Brown is headed to Rounding out the top 10 the University of Florida. in the Scout.com rankings were perennial recruiting powerhouse Texas, Tennessee, Auburn, South Carolina, Oregon, Pittsburgh and Michigan.

Schools in this region that also fared well included Notre Dame (11th), Ohio State (16th), Penn State (18th), Illinois (21st) and West Virginia (25th).

Within Ohio, five players were deemed as national top-100 picks. Leading that contingent was Cincinnati LaSalle defensive end Ben Martin. Martin, ranked 21st nationally, signed with Tennessee over Notre Dame, Florida and Ohio State.

Ohio State did score with the state’s four other top-100 picks.

They were Cincinnati Colerain DB Eugene Clifford (No. 25), Lakewood St. Edward DB Nate Oliver (No. 77), Canton South DB Devon Torrence (No. 81) and Piqua RB Brandon Saine (No. 88). The list over this page and next shows where the nation’s top prospects signed on national signing day Feb. 7. — OH

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

National Top 20 1

DE

Everson Griffen

(Agua Fria Union HS)

2

RB

Joe McKnight

(John Curtis Christian)

3

DT

Marvin Austin

(Ballou HS)

4

QB

Jimmy Clausen

(Oaks Christian HS)

5

QB

6

RB

7

CB

8

OG

9

Avondale, AZ

River Ridge, LA Washington, DC

6-4/265/4.55

Committed to USC

5-11/193/4.40

Committed to USC

6-3/300/4.90

Committed to N.C.

Westlake Village, CA 6-3/195

Committed to Notre Dame

Texarkana, TX

Committed to Michigan

Ryan Mallett

(Texas HS)

Marc Tyler

(Oaks Christian HS)

6-6/220/5.13

Westlake Village, CA 6-0/215/4.55

Committed to USC

Fairburn, GA

Committed to Tennessee

Eric Berry

(Creekside HS)

Tray Allen

(So. Grand Prairie HS)

MLB

Chris Galippo

(Servite)

10

WR

Terrance Toliver

(Hempstead HS)

11

S

12

WR

13

CB

14

CB

15

RB

16

DT

17

OT

18

QB

19

RB

20

OT

6-0/194/4.35

Grand Prairie, TX 6-4.5/290/5.35

Committed to Texas

Anaheim, CA

6-2/230

Committed to USC

6-4.5/195/4.50

Committed to LSU

Hempstead, TX Chad Jones

(Southern University Lab School)

Arrelious Benn

(Dunbar HS)

Baton Rouge, LA 6-3/232/4.50

Committed to LSU

Washington, DC

6-2/205/4.50

Committed to Illinois

6-0/185/4.40

Committed to USC

6-0/175/4.40

Committed to Texas

5-8/170/4.35

Undecided

6-4/285/4.90

Committed to Florida

6-8/312/5.30

Committed to Wisc.

6-4/185/4.65

Committed to USC

5-11/196/4.46

Committed to Georgia

6-5.5/330/5.30

Committed to Rutgers

Ronald Johnson (Muskegon HS)

Muskegon, MI Curtis Brown Gilmer, TX

Noel Devine

N Ft. Myers, FL

(Gilmer HS)

(North Fort Myers HS)

Torrey Davis

(Armwood HS)

Josh Oglesby

(St. Francis HS)

Seffner, FL

Saint Francis, WI Aaron Corp

Orange, CA

(Lutheran HS - Orange County)

Caleb King

(Greater Atlanta Christian School)

Anthony Davis

(Piscataway Township HS)

Norcross, GA

Piscataway, NJ

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National Top 100

Numbers 21-100...Where they are headed 21

DE

23

WR

22 24

25 26 27

28 29

CB C S

OT

QB DE

SLB

30

DT

32

OG

31 33

34 35 36

37 38 39

40

WR DE

DE TE

DT S

OG DT

WLB

41

DE

43

S

42 44

QB DT

45

RB

47

SLB

46

DE

48

QB

50

DT

49 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

OT

DE

OT

QB

OG

TE

S

WR

S

DE

WR

Ben Martin Cincinnati, OH Donovan Warren Long Beach, CA Deonte Thompson Belle Glade, FL Kristofer O'Dowd Tucson, AZ Eugene Clifford Cincinnati, OH Ryan Miller Littleton, CO Tyrod Taylor Hampton, VA Martez Wilson Chicago, IL J'Courtney Williams Christchurch, VA Andre Jones El Paso, TX John Chiles Arlington, TX James Wilson St Augustine, FL Justin Trattou Ramsey, NJ Carlos Dunlap North Charleston, SC Aaron Hernandez Bristol, CT Joseph Barksdale Detroit, MI Marshall Jones Westlake Village, CA Chris Jacobson Pittsburgh, PA John Brown Lakeland, FL Lorenzo Edwards Orlando, FL Cliff Matthews Cheraw, SC Kodi Burns Fort Smith, AR Major Wright Fort Lauderdale, FL Da'John Harris Gardena, CA Chris Rainey Lakeland, FL Allen Bailey Darien, GA Chris Donald Huntingdon, TN Pat Bostick Lancaster, PA Martin Coleman Huntington Beach, CA Brian Price Los Angeles, CA Ryan Van Bergen Whitehall, MI Lee Ziemba Rogers, AR John Brantley Ocala, FL John Elliott East Meadow, NY Mike Ragone Cherry Hill, NJ Michael Williams Ventura, CA Ron Brooks Irving, TX Mark Barnes Columbia, SC Richetti Jones Dallas, TX DeAngelo Benton Bastrop, LA

(La Salle HS ) 6-5/225/4.65 Committed to Tenn.

(Polytechnic HS) 6-1/176/4.40 Committed to Michigan (Glades Central HS) 5-11.5/186/4.28 Committed to Florida (Salpointe Catholic HS) 6-4/312/5.00 Committed to USC (Colerain HS) 6-2/190/4.45 Committed to Ohio State (Columbine HS) 6-8/280/5.10 Committed to Colorado (Hampton HS) 6-2/185/4.55 Committed to Va. Tech (Simeon Vocational HS) 6-4/228/4.50 Committed to Illinois (Christchurch School) 6-3/220/4.68 Committed to Virginia (Andress HS) 6-4/305/5.37 Committed to Texas (Mansfield Summit HS) 6-1/192/4.39 Committed to Texas (Nease HS) 6-5/305/4.90 Committed to Florida (Don Bosco Prep School) 6-4/250/4.70 Committed to Florida (Fort Dorchester HS) 6-6/240/4.70 Committed to Florida (Bristol Central HS) 6-4/235/4.57 Committed to Florida (Cass Technical HS) 6-5.5/315/4.90 Committed to LSU (Oaks Christian HS) 6-1/190/4.50 Committed to USC (Keystone Oaks HS) 6-3/275/5.00 Committed to Pittsburgh (Lakeland Senior HS) 6-1/285/4.90 Committed to Florida (Edgewater HS) 6-2/221/4.72 Committed to Florida (Cheraw HS) 6-5/230 Committed to S. Carolina (Northside HS) 6-2/190 Committed to Auburn (St. Thomas Aquinas HS) 6-1/204/4.55 Committed to Florida (Junipero Serra HS) 6-4/260/4.85 Committed to USC (Lakeland Senior HS) 5-9/156/4.37 Committed to Florida (McIntosh County Academy) 6-3/260/4.80 Committed to Miami (Fl) (Huntingdon HS) 6-3/220/4.50 Committed to Tenn.

(Manheim Twp HS) 6-3.5/220/4.80 Committed to Pittsburgh (Edison HS) 6-6/290 Committed to USC (Crenshaw Senior HS) 6-3/270/5.00 Committed to UCLA (Whitehall Senior HS) 6-5/250/4.90 Committed to Michigan (Rogers HS) 6-7/295/5.20 Committed to Auburn (Trinity Catholic) 6-3/195 Committed to Florida (East Meadow HS) 6-5/290/5.20 Committed to B. College (Camden Catholic) 6-5/230/4.45 Committed to N. Dame (St. Bonaventure HS) 5-10.5/187/4.50 Committed to Michigan (MacArthur HS) 6-0/170/4.50 Committed to LSU (Richland Northeast HS) 6-3/190/4.45 Committed to S. Carolina (Lincoln HS) 6-3/225/4.85 Committed to Ok. State (Bastrop HS) 6-3/195/4.50 Committed to LSU

10 J J H U D D L E . C O M

61 62

63 64

S

QB

WR

TE

65

RB

67

WR

66

CB

68

WR

70

S

69

TE

71

S

73

CB

72 74 75

76

RB S

WR

QB

77

S

79

DE

78

WR

80

RB

82

DE

81 83 84 85 86

S

SLB

DE

DT

SLB

87

WR

89

WLB

88 90

RB DT

91

CB

93

DE

92 94 95 96 97 98 99

100

RB DT

RB

CB C

WR

DE

OG

Austin Box Enid, OK Willy Korn Duncan, SC Duval Kamara Hoboken, NJ Rob Gronkowski Pittsburgh, PA Robert Elliott Okolona, MS Dionte Allen Orchard Lake, MI Ahmad Paige Sterlington, LA Toney Clemons New Kensington, PA Chris Izbicki Kirkland, WA Stefoin Francois Reserve, LA Jerimy Finch Indianapolis, IN Robert Hughes Chicago, IL Gary Gray Columbia, SC Nick Sukay Greensburg, PA Gerald Jones Oklahoma City, OK Josh Nesbitt Greensboro, GA Nate Oliver Lakewood, OH Greg Little Durham, NC Christian Ballard Lawrence, KS Lennon Creer Tatum, TX Devon Torrence Canton, OH Russell Carter Houston, TX Chris Strong Batesville, MS Luther Davis West Monroe, LA Simi Fili Salt Lake City, UT Derrick Stephens Houston, TX Dez Bryant Lufkin, TX Brandon Saine Piqua, OH Manny Abreu Union City, NJ D'Angelo McCray Jacksonville, FL Marcus Gilchrist High Point, NC Broderick Green Little Rock, AR Akeem Ayers Los Angeles, CA Tydreke Powell Ahoskie, NC Jonathan Dwyer Marietta, GA John Williams Breaux Bridge, LA Ryan Pugh Hoover, AL Rashad Mason Nashville, TN Michael Reardon Orange, CA Stefen Wisniewski Pittsburgh, PA

(Enid HS) 6-3/215/4.60 Committed to Oklahoma (James F Byrnes HS) 6-2/200/4.62 Committed to Clemson (Hoboken HS) 6-3/190 Committed to Notre Dame (Woodland Hills SHS) 6-6/250/4.65 Committed to Arizona (Okolona HS) 6-1/195/4.47 Committed to Miss.State (St. Mary Preparatory School) 6-0/170/4.40 Committed to Fl. State (Sterlington HS) 6-2/165/4.40 Committed to Tennessee (Valley SHS) 6-3/195/4.45 Committed to Michigan (Lake Washington HS) 6-4/240/4.70 Committed to Washington (East Saint John HS) 6-0/190/4.50 Committed to LSU (Warren Central HS) 6-2/200/4.60 Committed to Florida (Hubbard HS) 5-11/228/4.60 Committed to Notre Dame (Richland Northeast HS) 5-11/165/4.55 Committed to Notre Dame (Greensburg Central Catholic HS) 6-3/205/4.49 Committed to Penn State (Millwood HS) 6-1/190/4.49 Committed to Tennessee (Greene County HS) 6-1/200/4.55 Committed to Georgia Tech (St. Edward HS) 6-0/195/4.55 Committed to Ohio State (Hillside HS) 6-3/205/4.50 Committed to North Carolina (Lawrence Free State HS) 6-4/275/4.76 Committed to Iowa (Tatum HS) 6-1/190/4.50 Committed to Tennessee (Canton South HS) 6-1/190/4.40 Committed to Ohio State (Westbury HS) 6-3/230/4.60 Committed to Texas (South Panola HS) 6-3/260/4.65 Committed to Mississippi (West Monroe HS) 6-4/255/4.80 Committed to Alabama (Cottonwood HS) 6-4/315/5.80 Committed to Oregon (Cypress Falls HS) 6-3/220 Committed to Texas A&M (Lufkin HS) 6-1/203/4.60 Committed to Okla. State (Piqua HS) 6-1/205 Committed to Ohio State (Union Hill HS) 6-2/235 Committed to Rutgers (Andrew Jackson HS) 6-4/290/4.85 Committed to Illinois (T Wingate Andrews HS) 5-11/170/4.45 Committed to Clemson (Pulaski Academy) 6-1/230/4.60 Committed to USC (Verbum Dei HS) 6-3/220/4.70 Committed to UCLA (Hertford County HS) 6-3/283 Committed to North Carolina (Kell HS) 6-0/205/4.59 Committed to Georgia Tech (Breaux Bridge HS) 5-10/175/4.50 Committed to LSU (Hoover HS) 6-3/275/5.20 Committed to Auburn (Pearl-Cohn HS) 6-5/215/4.50 Committed to North Carolina (Lutheran HS - Orange County) 6-6/260/4.80 Committed to USC (Central Catholic HS) 6-3.5/275/5.10 Committed to Penn State

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

STORY BY DUANE LONG

Duane Long’s Top Juniors

Miami Trace junior Nathan Williams Submitted Photo

JJ Hu d d l e ’ s O h io H i g h

J J H U D D L E . C O M 11

T

Duane Long’s Top Juniors

he Class of 2008 has some similarities to the Class of 2007. It is a very position-specific class. The Class of 2007 sent eight safeties to Big Ten schools. We could see the same with the linebacker Class of 2008.

I think we have three players standing out. Canton South’s DeVoe Torrence is looking like a better prospect than his brother, Devon Torrence, an Ohio State verbal as a cornerback. He is a difference maker at linebacker but I also have to mention that he is an impressive running back. He has the size that Big Ten teams like in a running back. He has played more than a little at wide receiver on offense so he has not had a lot of reps as a running back. It will be interesting to watch his development next year as he will likely see the ball more as a back. He has offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Akron and Mississippi.

As a junior, Torrence helped lead Canton South to an 8-4 record and the second round of the Division III playoffs.

At running back, he had 981 yards rushing, 645 yards receiving and scored 17 TDs. On defense, he had 127 tackles, 1 INT, three fumbles recovered and six sacks.

The other two might be a bit of a surprise. Nathan Williams from Washington C.H. Miami Trace dominates the field even more than DeVoe Torrence does. I think the only question about him is where he will play. I watch him at middle linebacker and see a very special talent. I like a really big guy at the “Mike” and Williams is definitely big. He has run under 4.7.

Williams rushed for nearly 10 yards a carry as a fullback. He had 149 tackles (67 solos), 23 TFLs and five sacks as a junior on defense. He could very easily grow into a defensive end, but until he does that I will list him as a linebacker. I think anyone that signs him gives him a shot at linebacker first. He is another player that will likely accept on the spot an offer from Ohio State, but Notre Dame is a real player here. Both schools are playing a lot of attention to him.

The other is the fastest rising prospect in Ohio. Frank Staples from Lakewood St. Edward is the prototype for a high school linebacker prospect. He is legit 6-3 and about 220 pounds. He can really run.

12 J J H U D D L E . C O M

Recently, a couple of other names have had good performances. Jamiihr Williams made the all-combine team at the national junior combine in Texas the first weekend of January. At the semester break in January, Williams transferred from Lima Senior to Trotwood-Madison.

Youngstown Cardinal Mooney’s Brandon Beachum, a running back and linebacker, may have been the single most impressive player in any of the state championship games this past season.

There are any number of others that make this as impressive a list of players as we saw in the Class of 2007 at safety.

The other position is offensive line.

Dublin Coffman’s Mike Adams is a special Photo by Nick Falzerano

Running back Michael Shaw, who helped Alter to the D-III title game, recently transferred to TrotwoodMadison. player. I will go out on a limb and say he is a better prospect as the same stage than former St. Edward star and current Ohio State starter Alex Boone. He is now to the point where it is a matter of if he is going to be better than Korey Stringer and Orlando Pace.

Adams needs to work on his run blocking more than his pass blocking. He is doing some things that high school offensive lineman rarely do in the fact that he is not just a big athletic guy. He is really technically advanced.

Clayton Northmont’s Zebrie Sanders is

more raw than Adams but has tremendous physical tools. He is not as big and will need more work than Adams before he is ready but he has an impressive offer list already. He has long arms, something I think is essential for an offensive tackle, and a long body to fill out.

I think we could see a very good receiver class but long time subscribers have heard that before. We see all kinds of good athletes it seems every year but they get on the stopwatch and fail that most important test. I think we are seeing the 40-yard time become less important for so many other positions but for receivers and corners it is still the benchmark as far as measurables go.

One that is really coming on is Cleveland Glenville’s Cordale Scott. He has size and is highly productive. He is coming off an impressive showing at the national junior combine.

Another that there is no question about is Strongsville’s D.J. Woods. He recently broke off three 40-yard times of 4.35, 4.37 and 4.43 seconds. That is going to have a major impact on his recruitment. He had a fine junior year. He has good size, shows fine athleticism and has decent size.

There does not seem to be an elite back in this class at this early stage. I doubt we will find one unless DeVoe Torrence steps into the role.

Trotwood-Madison’s Dominique Britt made huge strides at quarterback. He was an athlete playing quarterback but under new offensive coordinator Jeremy Beckham he became a quarterback. Britt completed 151 of 282 passes for 2,572 yards with 21 TDs and 13 INTs during the regular season in 2006.

Injuries had an impact on this class with super athlete John Adams from Akron Buchtel having a nagging heel problem all year. Akron Hoban’s Steve Yoak really impressed last year at combines, but had a season ending knee injury. Recruiters will be looking to see how that knee is coming along.

On the next page you will find a list of 50 top players in the class of 2008. It is a very early list. There is so much tape to look at over the next couple of months.

This list could look entirely different by the May issue, when we will unveil our first top 100 list with bios. That is why I am only ranking the top 25. — OH

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

Duane Long’s Top Juniors

Also keep an eye on...

In no particular order

Roy Roundtree Eric Simmons Walt Stewart Justin Brown Jeff White Daren Youngberg Marc Kanetsky Eric Magnacca Teddy Robb Matt Wakulchik Christian Hanna Isaac Anderson

6-2 6-3 6-5 6-4 5-9 6-1 6-0 5-10 6-1 6-1 6-3 6-4

160 275 210 210 185 175 175 172 175 175 237 290

WR/S OG DE DE RB S QB WR WR WR/DB TE/DE OG

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Pos. OL LB/RB TE S DE/LB ATH LB LB/RB LB DT/OL OL WR TE TE/WR QB Ath CB/WR TE OL DE/LB LB WR LB OL RB

Trotwood-Madison Cleveland Glenville Col. Franklin Heights Youngstown Ursuline Alliance Clayton Northmont Hubbard Massillon Perry Canal Fulton Northwest North Canton Hoover Cleveland Benedictine Upper Sandusky

School Dublin Coffman Canton South Trotwood-Madison Yʼtown Cardinal Mooney Miami Trace Cleveland Glenville Lakewood St. Edward Yʼtown Cardinal Mooney Lima Senior Cleveland Glenville Clayton Northmont Strongsville Mansfield Madison Dublin Coffman Trotwood-Madison Eastmoor Academy Akron Buchtel Cincinnati Elder Youngstown Ursuline Yʼtown Cardinal Mooney Yʼtown Cardinal Mooney Cincinnati LaSalle Akron Hoban Troy Centerville

Zach Brown Jared Emerson Fred Craig Brandon Williams Darius Ashley Trey Fairchild Will Fleming Phllip Barnett Matt Mihalik Nick Scott Marc Stevens Ben Buchanan T. J. White Michael Shaw Salvador Battles

6-2 6-5 6-1 5-9 5-9 5-10 6-4 6-1 6-7 6-5 6-6 5-11 6-3 5-11 6-0

285 275 190 180 170 175 190 175 270 265 295 170 240 185 205

OG OL LB CB TB WR WR WR OT OL OL K ATH RB/CB TB/QB

Mike Adams

GH

Wt. 305 215 230 180 235 200 220 220 220 350 265 175 220 215 190 175 170 210 290 215 210 180 210 260 195

Salvador Battles

GH

Ht. 6-8 6-2 6-6 6-0 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-1 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-0 6-5 6-5 6-5 5-11 5-11 6-6 6-2 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-2 6-4 5-11

Zebrie Sanders

GH

Player 1. Mike Adams 2. DeVoe Torrence 3. Brandon Moore 4. Dan McCarthy 5. Nathan Williams 6. Cordale Scott 7. Justin Staples 8. Brandon Beachum 9. Jamiihr Williams 10. Shawntel Rowell 11. Zebrie Sanders 12. D.J. Woods 13. Nic DiLillo 14. Jake Stoneburner 15. Dominique Britt 16. Isaiah Pead 17. Johnny Adams 18. Kyle Rudolph 19. Harold Coats 20. Taylor Hill 21. Michael Zordich 22. DeVier Posey 23. Steve Yoak 24. Jake Current 25. Tanereus Collins

GH

Top 25 players in Class of 2008

Brandon Beachum

Canal Winchester Yʼtown Mooney Cincinnati St. Xavier Lakewood St. Edward Cincinnati St. Xavier Dublin Coffman Akron Hoban Middletown Gilmour Academy Bedford Lexington Westerville Central Troy Trotwood-Madison Youngstown Rayen

J J H U D D L E . C O M 13

STORY BY DUANE LONG

Duane Long’s Top Sophomores Photo by Gary Housteau

I

always get excited about the sophomore class. This is all about potential. When I see a good number of players stepping up and making an impact when they are sophomores, it is a sign of a deep class.

Chris Fields 6-0 170 WR/CB Painesville Harvey A game breaker on offense that may be an even better cornerback. Ran 4.35 twice at Akron camp as a freshman. Can dunk a basketball.

Storm Klein 6-3 225 RB Newark Licking Valley Rushed for better than 1,000 yards as a freshman. He clocked a 4.25-shuttle at Ohio State camp. He had 1,752 yards and 27 TDs during the regular season in 2006. Could get looks at linebacker.

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Newark Licking Valley sophomore Storm Klein is one of the state’s top underclassmen. He’s rushed for over 2,800 yards in two seasons.

J J H U D D L E . C O M 15

Duane Long’s Top Sophomores * Justin Turner 6-3 190 Ath Massillon Washington The one player in the class that is already leaving observers bug-eyed.

6-1 210 WR/S * Daryl Mason Youngstown Ursuline OK, one other player in the class that is leaving observers bug-eyed. * Joey Parris 6-1 175 WR Cleveland St. Ignatius If he keeps growing, will be a carbon copy of older brother Rob but with better speed. * Ricky Harris 6-4 280 OL Westerville South He has a chance to be at the top of this list. Big kid that really moves well. * Desmar Jackson 6-3 185 WR Warren JFK He has the genes. This son of Omar Provitt could be better than his father. * Willie Seawright 5-10 160 CB Lakewood St. Edward Seawright could be a wide receiver, too. * Adam Homan 6-1 233 LB/FB Coldwater The brother of Ohio State linebacker Ross Homan. * Chris Freeman 6-7 270 OL Trotwood-Madison It seems Freeman has given up football, but I am leaving him on here in case he comes to his senses and realizes he has a tackles body not a power forwards. * Tyler Dummermuth 6-2 190 WR New Philadelphia Won a best receiver award at Ohio State camp. * Mike McKinney 6-0 210 LB Canton South Playmaker and impact player. * Nate Cadogan 6-6 235 DE Portsmouth The brother of Penn State offensive lineman Greg Cadogan.

Coach Clifford thinks he can be special. * John Simon 6-2 250 DT/OL Youngstown Mooney A real load in the middle of the line. Tough, strong and explosive. * T. J. Rush 6-4 255 OL Levitsburg LeBrae * Denicos Allen 6-0 185 Ath Hamilton Ran 10.9 in the 100 as a freshman. All-league as a freshman.

3.4 GPA. Great character kid. * Andrew Holland 6-1 190 QB Cleveland St. Ignatius * Micah Hyde QB Fostoria * Marcus Hall 6-5 270 OL Cleveland Glenville * Julias Ferrell 6-2 210 LB Youngstown Liberty

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* Dominic Goodwin 5-9 180 RB/CB Lakewood St. Edward Possibly the fastest player in the class. * Maalik Bomar 6-2 185 DE/OLB Cincinnati Winton Woods * Pat McShane 6-5 260 OT Walsh Jesuit * Ben Birch 6-4 250 DT Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary * Josh Richardson 6-4 180 WR Dublin Scioto School record holder in the high jump. Brother of Ohio State DE Jay Richardson. * Justin Jamison 6-6 ½ 195 QB Cleveland Bendictine Remember you saw the name here first. * Chris Williams 5-11 175 DB Cincinnati Winton Woods * Fitzgerald Edwards 5-10 175 RB Youngstown Liberty Ran 10.7 100 meters as a freshman. Size will determine how highly he is recruited. * Durrell White 6-6 370 OL Dayton Dunbar * Victor Graham 5-11 155 CB Franklin Heights Graham showed well at the Louisville Scout combine. * Connor Ryan 6-0 165 WR Cleveland St. Ignatius * C.J. Barnett 5-11 165 CB Clayton Northmont * Harvey Tuck 5-11 250 FB Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary * Kevin Ringer 5-11 220 FB Clayton Northmont * Patrick Nicely 6-3 195 QB Willoughby South Nicely was a three-sport starter as a freshman. * Melvin Fellows 6-4 220 DE Garfield Heights * Rhys Edwards 6-2 189 TE Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary * Roman Lawson 6-0 215 LB Shaker Heights * David Lee 5-10 170 WR Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary * Mike Clark 6-0 180 QB Akron Hoban * Dan Fox 6-1 205 DE/TE Cleveland St. Ignatius High motor player with good edge speed. If he fills out he is going to be a good one. * Delion Freeman 5-9 190 RB Alliance * Rob McEvoy 6-1 225 LB Cleveland St. Ignatius * Nick Yako K Cleveland St. Ignatius Has already kicked 60 yards.

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

T

here will be something noticeably different on the Colerain sideline when the Cardinals take the field for the 2007 season.

There will be a new head coach calling plays for the first time in 16 seasons.

After a successful tenure as both head football coach and assistant principal, Kerry Coombs, arguably the most recognizable figure in the Colerain community, made the decision in December to close the playbook on his coaching career at Colerain to become the defensive backs coach at the University of Cincinnati.

In his 16 seasons at the helm, Coombs led Colerain to a 161-34 record. The 2004 team finished a perfect 15-0 claiming the first state title in school history with a 50-10 win over Canton McKinley, setting the mark for largest margin of victory in a championship game.

“I remember when I first got the (Colerain) job, I talked to Lloyd Carr – he was the defensive coordinator at Michigan at the time – and he told me that if I wanted to have a successful program, tradition is critical,” explained Coombs.

“He said, ‘If you don’t have it, get it. And if you do have it, use it.’

“So, we went about business right then and there to establish some traditions at Colerain from the daily routine to trying to play at a high level. We changed our schedule right away and tried to play bigger and better teams. It took a couple of years to get it going.

“Over time, I think what has developed is that the entire community has bought into what we are doing. There are so many people for which Friday nights are such a special occasion for them.

They look forward to it all week long and people look forward to the season all year long. That is one of the things that has enabled

JJ Hu d d l e ’ s O h io H i g h

Coombs celebrates the Cards 2004 Division I state championship.

Photo by Gary Housteau

Kerry Coombs

STORY BY MATT NATALI

J J H U D D L E . C O M 17

Kerry Coombs

18 J J H U D D L E . C O M

“I don’t know that any high school football coach has ever had a more special relationship with the community that I’ve been able to enjoy at Colerain High School. Every single person was completely involved in what we were trying to do. And I was completely involved in what they were trying to do. It was an unbelievably mutual, positive relationship the last 16 years, so it leaves a void in your life when you walk away from that.”

Former Colerain coach Kerry Coombs

Photo by Gary Housteau

Colerain as a public school to be competitive year in and year out.”

One unique tradition in particular that has grown into a team and community event occurs after every Colerain victory – a post game pep rally led by Coombs right on the field.

“It was something that just kind of evolved,” Coombs said. “I would always talk to our team on the field and people would continue to gather on the field more and more. When we played in the bigger games and the bigger stadiums, we’d just go them when they wouldn’t let them come on the field.

“One of the primary reasons we were successful was we were all in it together and you don’t want to exclude people at any point in time,” he added. “We never had a closed practice as long as I was there. People in the community would come by all the time and we would try to encourage them to be as big a participant as they could in everything that we were doing.

“So, I don’t know how it evolved, it just got bigger and bigger and it is something we certainly enjoyed over the 16 years and particularly the last seven.”

In the last seven years under Coombs, Colerain went 86-8 and claimed the Greater Miami Conference championship each of those seven seasons.

The 2004 state championship was perhaps the crowning achievement for Coombs, a Colerain alumnus, but he is quick to acknowledge and credit all those involved in the program and the community.

“For me, you can’t imagine anything more gratifying than taking your alma mater to a place where they have not been – to be a part of that and building that program,” Coombs said in regard to the state title. “And then to be there with my son (Brayden Coombs) on the team – if you could only win it one time, that would be the way to do it.”

Family is a critical part of the Colerain program that has carried on from generation to generation. Coombs feels privileged to have been able to coach not only his son, a DB for the Miami University RedHawks, but the sons of other former players as well.

“One of the greatest things is when we are able to coach sons of former players

because the fathers, and even the mothers who are Colerain grads, understand the nature of the beast at Colerain High School and the commitment that is involved,” said Coombs.

The bond that Coombs had with the Colerain community while he was at the helm of the football program is perhaps unmatched.

“I don’t know that any high school football coach has ever had a more special relationship with the community that I’ve been able to enjoy at Colerain High School,” he said. “Every single person was completely involved in what we were trying to do. And I was completely involved in what they were trying to do. It was an unbelievably mutual, positive relationship the last 16 years, so it leaves a void in your life when you walk away from that. But it is certainly a huge, huge

part of my existence.”

Soon after the Colerain football season ended with a 10-6 loss to eventual state champion Hilliard Davidson in the state semifinals, word began to spread that Coombs had decided to leave his post for a position at the University of Cincinnati. Newly hired Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly made a push to land Coombs and he was successful in doing so hiring him to coach the defensive backs on Dec. 18 Kelly took over for Mark Dantonio, who left to become the new coach at Michigan State.

“I would say mixed emotions would be a good way to put it,” said Colerain Athletic Director Dan Moody. “We were shocked, but at the same time we’re excited for Kerry. As a participant of athletics, you are always looking to raise the bar and that’s what Kerry feels he is doing with his career. It is a great opportunity for him. And it’s a feather in our cap so to speak that he’s going to a university here in town that plays in the Big East and will have opportunities to go to BCS bowls.”

Coombs said coaching at the college level had always been a dream of his but he wouldn’t leave Colerain unless the right opportunity presented itself.

“It came really fast and it didn’t really come as a result of a mission I was on,” he said. “I had a great job and I was very happy in my job and I was very happy in the Colerain community in every facet of what I was doing. I wasn’t really looking for a new job but when the conversation began and the opportunity presented itself, it became something that was very interesting to me.

“I’ve been able to go to a BCS school in the Big East Conference as an assistant football coach where many other people have had to work years and not been able to achieve that status in the coaching profession. So, I was fortunate.”

Continuing to coach in the same city, be it at the college level, was appealing to Coombs and his family.

“I didn’t have to move my family, I didn’t have to change my address and I didn’t have to do anything different other than turn my car left instead of right when I came out of the driveway in the morning.

JJ H u ddle ’s O h io Hi gh

Kerry Coombs “That is an amazing thing and it really is a gift. I don’t think I would have gone anywhere else.”

Though Coombs has only been on the Cincinnati staff a short time, he has greatly enjoyed the experience thus far.

“This opportunity is so great and this university is so great. The facilities here are second to none and the kids here are great kids. So, I’m getting an opportunity to coach and have a chance to participate in, what I believe, can be one of the nation’s finest programs. That’s really, really special coming from any job. It doesn’t matter if it was a high school football coach or a coach at another college.”

Obviously, there are a lot of differences between coaching at the high school and college levels and Coombs reflected on some of those.

“The main difference for me is I am responsible for one position group,” Coombs said.

“That was a real big difference – walking out on the practice field and not being worried about what all 22 positions were doing or what was going on with every part of practice. I’m much more concerned and focused on what my guys have to do and their responsibilities. I found that to be refreshing. I didn’t know how I would feel about that when I went out there for practice.

“I’ve learned that game plan, strategy and preparation are different. Primarily because the way we prepared at Colerain was the other team was going to have 11 or 12 players that were going to play on offense and the same for defense. But at the college level, teams are using 19 or 20 guys in multiple personnel groupings. So, that is a different way of approaching the game and preparing.

“We worked extremely hard at Colerain and spent a lot of time with our kids but work here is more focused on specific areas of the game everyday. I find that to be something I enjoy.”

As a college coach, Coombs is also now responsible for recruiting players out of high school.

“Recruiting is different for me,” he said.

“I’m going into high schools instead of having guys come into my high school.

Those are things that take me out of my

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

Notable Coaching Changes Akron North

Ken Johnson

Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary

Dan Boarman

Austintown-Fitch

Phil Annarella

Barberton

Brian Staats

Bay Village Bay

Mike Peregord

Bellaire

Greg Bonar

Caledonia River Valley

Jason Lynch

Canal Winchester

Phil Mauro

Cincinnati Colerain

Tom Bolden

Cleveland Heights

Jeff Rotsky

Columbus St. Francis DeSales

Ryan Wiggins

Copley

Don Wilson

East Palestine

Jeff Sharkey

Findlay Liberty-Benton

Tim Nichols

Hamilton Township

Bob Jacoby

Hanoverton United

Ed Ridgeway

Hubbard

Brian Hoffman

Maple Heights

Tom Bruney

Marion Harding

John Slusser

Mason

Dave Sedmak

Massillon Jackson

Thom McDaniels

Miamisburg

Zach Cline

Miller

Anthony Riley

Minford

Brent Daniels

Notre Dame Cathedral Latin

Byron Morgan

Roger Bacon

John Rodenberg

Warren G. Harding

Dan Dota III

Wellsville

Dave Skinner

Youngstown Chaney

John Protopapa

Youngstown East

Brian Shaner

comfort zone, to be honest with you. But those are things that I am learning and that I am excited about it. We’ve had great success in our recruiting so far and I think it is something I am going to enjoy doing.”

While he adjusts to the new position at Cincinnati, Coombs finds himself building on his experiences at Colerain and putting those lessons into action at the collegiate level.

“The Colerain community had a tremendous impact on the performance of the football team and the football team had a tremendous impact on the way the community felt about itself and the school system. I think that is something that would be great to expand in the entire Cincinnati area. This is the University for this city and hopefully the entire community will feel and adopt that

the same way things happened at Colerain. Not because I’m here but because I think it is just the way things should happen as a nature of course.

So, hopefully that’s what is going to take place here and it will be very exciting when it does.”

Coombs and the new coaching staff gave Cincinnati plenty to be proud of in January after passing their first major test. The Bearcats topped Western Michigan 27-24 in the International Bowl and DBs Mike Mickens and John Bowie each had an interception in Coombs’ secondary.

In late January, Colerain hired former offensive coordinator Tom Bolden to take the reins of the Cardinal program. Like, Coombs, Bolden is a Colerain alumnus as well and played quarterback for the Cardinals before graduating in 1988.

Bolden, 37, began coaching at Colerain in 2002 after eight years as an assistant for Cincinnati Northwest.

Prior to Bolden’s hire, Coombs offered some advice to his eventual successor.

“First, I would say they need to fearlessly be themselves,” he said. “They cannot walk into that position and be anything other than what they are. If they’re fortunate enough to get that job, which I consider to be one of the greatest jobs in the country, and they make sure that they realize they got it because of their own abilities and talents and special gifts.

“Secondly, I would tell them to limit how many things change initially.

Certainly, there is a phenomenal coaching staff in place that has been there a long time and that has a lot of good experience. There’s a great facility, there’s great community support and there are tremendous players, so I think as little as you can change things to upset those things while still putting your stamp on the program, you just increased your chances for success.

“I think everything is in place for Colerain to be one of the top programs in the country for many, many years and I would be disappointed if they were not able to achieve that. I am very hopeful and very confident they’re going to be able to continue and maybe even improve on what we’ve been able to do there in the past,” Coombs said. — OH

J J H U D D L E . C O M 19

Ben Martin

STORY BY STEVE HELWAGEN

LaSalle senior Ben Martin also made official visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame and Florida.

20 J J H U D D L E . C O M

Photo by Gary Housteau

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

Ben Martin

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

Tennessee. They hit it off real well. I think that was one reason.

“Another reason is he believes he has a chance to go in there and play right away.

The third reason is he just felt really comfortable there. We asked him, ‘What does your gut tell you?’ And he said he just felt that was the place for him. He enjoyed their hospitality. It wasn’t that everybody else didn’t go out of their way to make him feel welcome. It was just that was special.

“All four schools are great schools with great traditions. Those are the four schools he should have been looking at all along.”

Martin began making a name for himself as a sophomore at LaSalle. He quickly moved to the top of the class in Ohio for 2007.

As a junior, he tallied 71 tackles with 10 sacks and 16 tackles-for-loss as a defensive end at LaSalle.

But, going into this past season, Grippa

“First of all, I was shocked, too. I thought it might be Ohio State or Notre Dame. With those two, I told Ben he couldn’t miss. Those are two great institutions with great programs and great coaches. Tennessee did come in late. They were the last visit they took. Sometimes, the last impression can mean the most” LaSalle football coach Tom Grippa

Photo by Matt Natali

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or the longest time, it appeared that Cincinnati LaSalle defensive standout Ben Martin would sign with either Ohio State or Notre Dame.

But the 6-5, 230-pound Martin, judged as Ohio’s top prospect by Ohio High, shocked a lot of people by announcing his intention to play for Tennessee. Martin made the surprise announcement on Jan. 6 as part of NBC’s live coverage of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

Martin, who made official visits to OSU, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Florida, discussed how he arrived at his decision to play for the Vols.

“All of my schools were great schools,” Martin said. “It was mainly where my heart told me to go and that was Tennessee.

That’s where I felt the most comfortable and that’s what I went with.

“I talked with my mother and my family. I took four visits and that was it for me. I just felt Tennessee was the right place to be. I went with my gut feeling and I prayed on it, and I went with Tennessee. It is just how I felt on campus.”

Martin talked about how he rated his top schools.

“It was not that hard of a decision to stay in-state,” Martin began. “My final two were actually Tennessee and Notre Dame. I like Ohio State, but Tennessee and Notre Dame were probably the top two best schools for me.

“There is a chance I can go in there (to Tennessee) and play early, but who knows?

I need to go in there and see how hard I work. (Assistant coach David) Cutcliffe recruited me for Tennessee and he’s a great guy.”

LaSalle head coach Tom Grippa has sent a number of top players to the college ranks in his time as a varsity coach.

But Martin’s decision to spurn two of the Midwest’s top schools even threw him for a slight loop.

“First of all, I was shocked, too,” Grippa said. “I thought it might be Ohio State or Notre Dame. With those two, I told Ben he couldn’t miss. Those are two great institutions with great programs and great coaches. Tennessee did come in late. They were the last visit they took. Sometimes, the last impression can mean the most.”

Grippa cited several reasons why Martin may have settled on Tennessee.

“He met a kid named Chris Donald from Huntingdon, Tenn,” Grippa said. “He is also going there. He met him on his Notre Dame visit and also met him down there at

and his coaches decided they could get more out of Martin if he moved to linebacker.

“He had an outstanding football career here,” Grippa said. “He was a three-year starter and he really played three different positions. He did very well in all three. He had a very good senior year. We moved him. He had a very good junior year, too, playing defensive end in our 34 defense.

When he slanted inside, he made the tackle almost every time. Teams were kind of afraid to run to his side because he was so dominating.

“Then, we moved him to linebacker to try and get him to run from sideline to sideline and to try and keep teams from cutting him.

At the end of his junior year, teams started cutting him. One of the teams we played that wasn’t very good, they cut Ben and he sprained his ankle. Then, for the next three weeks against GCL teams, he’s limping because he got cut.”

Grippa said Martin accepted the move as he split time between middle linebacker and outside linebacker as a senior.

“It was not a hard sell because Ben was a team player,” Grippa said. “He had some great games on his feet. He kind of liked the idea that he never got cut. He liked the fact he could play outside and rush. He felt more comfortable as a down player because that’s what he had done as a freshman and a sophomore and as a junior. I am sure there was an adjustment for him.

“It was an easy sell because Ben is a team player, he’s unselfish and he’s a great kid.”

Martin discussed his move to linebacker.

“It took me a while to understand exactly what was going on,” he said. “Once I got the hang of it, I just started rolling with it and it came natural.”

The experiment worked as Martin piled up 112 tackles, seven sacks, 14 tackles-for-loss and three fumbles caused. He earned firstteam All-Ohio honors from The Associated Press and was also a member of the 25man Ohio High/Ohio News Network AllOhio team.

“We thought by moving him it would eliminate teams that want to cut block him and run away from him,” Grippa said. “He was pretty good as an inside linebacker. He was great as an outside linebacker. We played him at both, depending on who we were facing. As an outside linebacker, he was dominating again.

“I think in college he will be a defensive end in a 4-3 defense. That’s what

J J H U D D L E . C O M 21

Ben Martin Tennessee runs. He’s been the most highly recruited kid for LaSalle. He gave us national exposure and he was an All-American.”

Martin is looking forward to getting back to his more natural end position at the college level.

“I was recruited to play defensive end and that’s all right with me,” Martin said. “I think I do a good job of getting off blocks and rushing the passer.”

Martin got a taste of what the competition at the college level might be like by playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. (He and Cincinnati Colerain’s Eugene Clifford were the only Ohio players in the nation’s

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most prestigious high school all-star game.)

“That was a great experience. It was a lot of fun for me. I got to see a little bit about what college might be like by going up against some of the best talent in the country right there.”

Martin has all of the intangibles college recruiters are looking for. For starters, he boasts a 3.4 GPA in the classroom.

“I’m going to be enrolling in school this summer,” he said. “I’m going to major in Spanish or education. I don’t know yet.”

His measurable are also strong as he runs a 4.65-second 40-yard time. Plus, he bench presses 325 pounds and squats 450.

Martin lived with his brother in Cincinnati this past year after his mother moved out of state. He credits his family and coaches at LaSalle for looking out for his best interests.

“When I first started going to LaSalle, I was living with my mother and my brother,” he said. “She just thought it was the best place for me. It’s where I would have the best opportunity to learn and get into college. She was right and everything worked out for me.

“They took very good care of me and did a lot of great things for me. I did some great things for them. I think it worked out well for both of us.” — OH

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

STORY BY GARY HOUSTEAU

Brian Gamble Gamble choose Illinois because he “felt like I was family there.” He also visited Ohio State, Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Kentucky.

or whatever the reasons are, Ohio State simply can’t get all of the best prep football talent in Ohio to enroll at their school in any given year.

Brian Gamble from Massillon Washington High School is one of the few top gridiron prospects in Ohio to leave the state this year and cast his lot with the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois.

Gamble, who’s had numerous big games for the Tigers over the past three seasons, was the MVP in the Kirk Herbstreit Challenge in a game that pitted Massillon against Chandler (Ariz.)

Hamilton this past September. He’s also had a couple of stellar, game-changing performances against schools such as Cleveland St. Ignatius and Lakewood St. Edward in his junior season, among a few other big-time performances throughout his high school career.

Although his name might not have been as well-known as some of the other top prospects in Ohio, Gamble was arguably one of the top performers in the state over the past two seasons.

“He’s meant a lot to our program,” said Massillon head coach Tom Stacy. “He’s been a three-year starter here and he really helped get us to the state championship game two years ago. He’s been a two-year captain which is very unusual at Massillon and we think he’s going to have a fine career at Illinois. He’s an outstanding person and a really good football player and we’re really going to miss him.”

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Photo by Gary Housteau

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

J J H U D D L E . C O M 23

Brian Gamble On national signing day, Gamble made about 195 (pounds) and play safety and a better GPA, they’re going to take a it official when he inked his signature to chance on that guy,” he said. “So I defiI could be playing as a freshman,” a University of Illinois letter-of-intent. nitely think that my grade-point average, Gamble said. “I’m coming into a good “I went on an official visit there on the not being where it should have been, situation.”

19th (of January) and I think it just really In hindsight, Gamble, who was labeled had a big part in it. But I’m just happy fits me,” Gamble said. “I love the people where I’m at now.” early on in the recruiting process as an there. Coach (Ron ) Zook is a great guy, Stacy, however, thinks that Gamble academic risk, wouldn’t want his recruitCoach (Curt) Mallory is my position could have been one of the state’s top ment to go any other way. coach and Coach (Jim) Pry is recruiting recruits from the very beginning if he had “It was a funny process for me,” me. It’s just a good fit for me.” his academic house in order early on.

Gamble said. “You have teams that love Before deciding on Illinois, Gamble “Ohio State was very interested in him you one day and then you don’t hear had been on unofficial visits to other and Michigan was very interested in him from them for a month. I think where I schools like Ohio State, Tennessee, ended up is definitely where I want to be but he had some work to do academicalPittsburgh and Kentucky. ly,” said Stacy, who mentioned that because Illinois stayed persistent on me “I’ve seen a lot of different schools, but and never gave up on me when other Gamble recently recorded a 22 on his I think Illinois just attracted me,” he said. people didn’t think I was going to make it ACT. “I give Illinois and Ron Zook a lot of “I felt like I was family there.” credit. They stayed with him and to their or I wouldn’t get a high enough test And now Gamble’s a part of a starcredit they’re getting an outstanding footscore. Illinois just stayed with me and studded recruiting class that has been ball player now.” believed in me.” assembled by Zook for this year.

In all, it’s been a great high school Gamble, who said he was a fan of the Arrelious Benn from Washington, D.C., journey for Gamble at Massillon.

Miami Hurricanes growing up, did admit Martez Wilson from Chicago and “It went by so fast,” he said. “It seemed that his academic standing at one time D’Angelo McCray from Jacksonville, Fla., was probably the main reason why other like just yesterday I was competing just are a few of the national big-time players schools veered away from him. to get a spot on the field as a sophothat are a part of Illinois’ recruiting haul more and now it’s already over and I’m “You only can give so many scholarof 2007. about to graduate and go on to college. ships a year so if there is somebody out “They have a very good recruiting “I don’t regret anything about my time there with just as much talent as me with class this year,” said Gamble in Massillon. I love Massillon footwho is one of five Ohioans in ball, it’s the best there is in the the group. “Last year, I think country. My coaches really looked Gamble helped was a real good class and, with out for me and believed in me lead Massillon us being a good class, I think and I think it just all worked out Washington to we’re really building up to be a real good.

I loved being a part of the Division I very good team in the future.

Massillon football. I’ll never forget state final his We just have to be good peoit and I’ll always come back to junior year. ple, too. We have the athletes support Massillon.”

The Tigers now and I think we can be pretOne of Gamble’s fondest memlost to St. ty good.” ories at Massillon is also one of Xavier 24-17.

Gamble credits Zook for being his most painful of memories. able to amass the type of talent Cincinnati St. Xavier beat the that he’s brought to Champaign Tigers 24-17 at Canton’s Fawcett in the last two recruiting classStadium to win Ohio’s big-school es. state championship in his junior “He’s just a great guy,” said season.

Gamble who was measured at “I don’t even like to talk about it 6-0 and 191 pounds on his visit but a lot of people can’t even say to Illinois. that they got there, though,” he “The first time you meet him said. “It felt pretty good to get he makes you feel so comfortthere, but we would have definiteable. I think that’s what it is. ly loved to have won it.”

He’s just connecting with a lot Gamble started out his varsity of good athletes and we have a playing career as a sophomore at lot of potential I think.” linebacker for Rick Shepas at The Illinois staff has big plans Massillon. for Gamble when he gets on “I had 90 tackles that year. I campus. was 170 pounds and I played Photo by Gary Housteau “They want me to go there at linebacker for Coach Shepas,”

24 J J H U D D L E . C O M

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

Brian Gamble Gamble said. “About, I think, the (seventh) week of the season we played St. Ed’s and it was my first time starting and I had 19 tackles. I think that really opened his eyes and I’ve been starting ever since then.”

Of Gamble’s many individual highlights during his gridiron career at Massillon, his unbelievable performance against St. Edward in his junior season has to be right up there near the very top of his list. In that state semifinal match-up with the Eagles, Gamble almost single-handedly led Massillon to a thrilling comefrom-behind 21-17 victory that earned the Tigers the right to play in that disappointing state title game against the Bombers.

“There’s a lot of games that everybody does good in but, for me, I think St. Ed’s was the most important,” Gamble said.

“Looking back on it, it felt great.”

Gamble actually went from nearly being a potential goat to being the hero, all in a matter of one quarter to help Massillon secure the victory.

“It felt like a dream, honestly,” said Gamble whose fumble in the fourth quarter led to an Eagle score that put them up 17-7 with just five minutes left. “It was really good to put together those two scoring drives, back-to-back, and play solid defense.”

Of course, Gamble had a hand in both of those drives. One of the biggest offensive plays made by Gamble in the comeback was a third-and-30 reception that kept that first touchdown-scoring drive alive.

“I caught a little dig about 10 yards across the field and then I just turned it into something,” said Gamble, who was also all over the field and made big plays for the Tigers on defense in that game.

“As it turned out, I scored both of those last two touchdowns. I’ll never forget the feeling I had after the game.”

Stacy thought that Gamble was just terrific in that particular contest.

“In the St. Ed’s game, we were going to put the ball in his hands, especially at the end of the game,” he said. “The third-and-30 play was just a great individual play by him. He just makes things happen in crunch time and we’re certainly going to miss that element in our program next year. Hopefully, someone can

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

step up and do that but it’s going to be awful difficult.”

Like he was in that game against St. Edward, Gamble was a virtual standout on both sides of the ball over the past two years at Massillon. But even he can’t tell you what side of the ball he was better on.

“I really don’t know. I just play football,” he said. “I think my skills are probably better at safety than running back because I’m definitely not the biggest of them all. I just like to hit. I have more of a defensive mentality.”

According to Stacy, Gamble’s a unique talent for sure.

“If you think about it, and this doesn’t happen very often in Ohio high school

“If you think about it, and this doesn’t happen very often in Ohio high school football, he was firstteam all-state as a junior at running back and he was first-team all-state as a senior as a defensive back. I felt he was maybe the top twoway player in the state of Ohio the last two years.”

Massillon football coach Tom Stacy

football, he was first-team all-state as a junior at running back and he was firstteam all-state as a senior as a defensive back. I felt he was maybe the top twoway player in the state of Ohio the last two years,” he said. “That’s a testament of his ability right there.”

More than anything, however, Stacy thinks that Gamble, who also averages 19 points a game for the school’s hoop team, has so much to offer Illinois.

“He’s a great competitor, first and foremost,” the coach said. “He’s a really competitive guy and he’s a physical player. I think those are probably his two best qualities and I think that’s a big reason why he’s going to Illinois.”

That attributes should serve Gamble well when he begins his career on the defensive side of the ball for the Illini.

“He’s going to be a safety up there.

Whether he’s a free safety or a strong safety, they’re going to play him at that position,” Stacy said. “He’ll be a guy that they can drop down in the box and help against the run. And again, they really look at him as a physical type of player. I think they compare him a lot to Bob Sanders from Iowa that’s playing in the NFL right now for the Colts. That type of a football player.”

Gamble has a lot to be proud of during his career as a Tiger.

“Definitely the tradition of Massillon is one of the things that I will cherish the most and carry with me going forward,” Gamble said. “How to be a good player and how to gain respect from people is what it’s all about. It’s all team unity and respect.”

Gamble has definitely earned the respect of his high school coach.

“In 25 years of coaching he’s the best I’ve ever been around as far as being a high school football player,” Stacy said.

“Probably the best individual player that I’ve ever coached is Charlie Frye but he was at the college level. But the best high school player that I’ve ever been around is Brian Gamble. He’s one of the top guys as far as total yardage in Massillon history and he’s just had an outstanding career.”

And Stacy thinks that Gamble’s better days on the gridiron and in life are definitely ahead of him.

“He’s an individual that I think has grown up a lot over the last three years,” he said. “He had some personal problems three year ago and he has that corrected and I think Brian Gamble is one of the most respected student athletes in our school now. I think he’ll be a really good example for a lot of our young kids coming up.”

Although he won’t be playing for Ohio State at the college level, Gamble has a chance to be a great ambassador of Ohio high school football when he plays for Illinois at the collegiate level like he did when he played against the high school team from Arizona.

“I get to show them what Ohio football is all about,” he said. — OH

J J H U D D L E . C O M 25

Warren JFK’s Desmar Jackson excels on gridiron, hardwood J

Desmar jackson

STORY BY GARY HOUSTEAU

Photos by Gary Housteau

26 J J H U D D L E . C O M

ust a little past the halfway mark of the high school basketball season, sophomore Desmar Jackson out of Warren John F. Kennedy High School was averaging right around 21 points per game.

That was a substantial improvement, to say the least, over the 10 ppg that he averaged during his freshman season for the Eagles. But scoring is just one aspect of Jackson’s young hoops career that has been overhauled this season.

“He’s been our floor leader this year and that’s a rare quality for a sophomore,” said Kennedy head basketball coach Shawn Pompelia. “I like his confidence coming into games this year and he’s hitting the outside jumper now which was a weakness to his game last year. He’s really picked that part of his game up on the offensive end. Now obviously as a sophomore there’s still a tremendous amount of room for him to grow but I like the stage that he’s at and the steps that he’s made to better that part of his game.”

Despite the significant progress that he’s made in just one season, Jackson is still just a youngster even though he doesn’t play like one when he’s out on the hardwood.

“I think the biggest asset that Desmar brings to the team is that he’s willing to share the basketball. And when you have a highprofile player, or a player of his ability that you see on a national level, they typically dominate the ball,” Pompelia said. “And one thing Desmar has done, and he’s very proud of it, he distributes the ball to his teammates.”

And from watching him perform on the court, it’s very easy to see that Jackson is obviously blessed with a ton of natural athletic ability.

“He’s got tremendous quickness and he has tremendous length with his arm-span and he covers the floor very well with his quickness,” Pompelia said. “He’s just a tremendous athlete and I think, as he progresses, he’ll be one of the best, if not thee best athlete, to ever come out of Kennedy High School. But with that, he’s still just 16 years old and I don’t want to put any expectations on him that he can’t live up to. He’s his own person and how well that he wants to get or become is really within his own mind and heart.”

But despite the success that he has athletically, Jackson has a particularly interesting quirk -- if you can call it that -- to his personality.

“The one thing I admire about Desmar, and it’s sometimes frustrating, is that he lacks emotion,” Pompelia said. “He’ll pop a kid

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

Desmar jackson as a defensive back and get up and go back in the huddle. You wouldn’t even know that he hit him the way he did. Most kids would be screaming and hollering. Their demeanor is different than Desmar’s. And when Desmar makes a great play on the basketball floor his face is expressionless. He just does not show emotion. It’s actually quite interesting.”

It just makes for another potential area that Jackson has yet to develop and improve on as an athlete going forward.

“I think any gifted athlete at 16 knows that he has the world in front of him if he wants to put the work ethic in. I think Desmar knows that he has the potential to go to another level both on the football field and on the basketball court,” Pompelia said. “But he’s not one that you get in his face and scream and holler at.

He’s the one that you have to sit down and explain things to and show him the pros and cons of what you’re teaching him. And really until he puts it in his mind, he’s not going to get to that next level.”

For now, Jackson himself knows that he still has a lot of room for improvement in his hoop game, even before the postseason tournament gets under way.

“I still need to kick it up more to take my game to the next level,” he said. “During the games I get lazy sometimes but I need to kick it up a notch now. I’m scoring a little bit more to help my team out a lot more this year because I had to. A whole bunch of seniors had left so J.J. (Townsend) and I had to step up this year.”

At 6-4 and 170 pounds, Jackson was also a standout on his Eagle football team that made it all the way to the state finals and finished the campaign with a 14-1 mark this past season. A wide receiver who’s shown flashes of having unlimited potential in just his first season playing football for his school, Jackson just happens to be the son of Omar Provitt, who prepped at Warren Harding and was a star on the Raiders team that won a state football championship in 1990.

An almost legendary figure in the Youngstown-Warren area for his amazing exploits on the gridiron during his high school career, Provitt never accomplished anything in football beyond his days a Raider partially because he never got it done in the classroom. According to Pompelia, however, Provitt doesn’t want his son to follow in his same underachieving footsteps.

“The interesting story about that is when Desmar was in the eighth grade, his father called me and asked me about my basketball program,” the coach said. “I talked to his father for 59 minutes about education and one minute about sports. And a few months later, he called me and he told me that he loved the fact that academics come first. And after talking with Valerie Jackson, his mother, and Omar Provitt, his father, over the past year and a half, their main concern is to make sure that their son gets a quality education.”

Provitt obviously has a lot of wisdom to offer his son, in terms of what he should and shouldn’t do, from his past experiences.

“I admire Omar for the fact that the lessons that he’s learned, and some are very hard knocks, he does not want that for his son,” Pompelia said. “So he’s trying to put his son in the best situation possible so that he doesn’t have to suffer through some of the same things that he’s gone through in his life.”

And thus far, through more than one-and-a-half basketball sea-

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

Jackson is a legitimate NCAA Division I recruit in both football and basketball.

J J H U D D L E . C O M 27

Desmar Jackson sons now, Provitt, who is still fighting the good fight in his own life in Warren to some degree, has been a model parent in terms of the athletic aspect of his son’s career. The way Pompelia tells it, Provitt has kept a very low profile when it comes to the way his son is being used on the hardwood.

“I do see him at games, but for him to pick up the phone and call me about the way we utilize his son (on the court) has never happened,” the coach said. “There’s never been a conflict of any sort with his mother or father because I truly believe that they know that Desmar is loved. We care about him and we’re trying to do the best for him as a student-athlete and as a person. We want him to grow up to be a great man, a great citizen in society and then whatever athletically that comes after that, so be it.”

Jackson seems to be handling all of the attention and all of the acclaim that has already come his way, because of his athletic prowess in both sports, quite well.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve seen incredible growth from this young man on the basketball floor but, more importantly, with how he’s handling himself in life situations,” Pompelia said.

“There have been some situations that I couldn’t have been more proud of him for the way he’s handled those particular situations than what he’s done athletically.”

If early results of his individual success in both football and basketball are any indication, Jackson, who’s also a standout on the AAU circuit, seems destined for greatness in at least one, if not both, sports at the high school level and even beyond. But helping Kennedy win a state championship, in either sport actually, would be the ultimate indicator of greatness.

“We’re starving for championships here at Kennedy,” Pompelia said. “We’re trying to achieve great things at Kennedy on the basketball floor as well. We want to emulate what the football team does, there’s no doubt about that. Coach (Tony) Napolet does a great job with the football program. Will Desmar take us there? We’ll have that answer in two years.”

It’s safe to say that Jackson, who’s pretty good on the hardwood right now, is only going to continue to get better.

“I’m feeling very confident right now. If a defender is on me, one-on-one, I feel like he can’t stop me. I’m just real confident with my game,” Jackson said. “It’s a big difference from last year.

I played a role as a freshman and I wouldn’t try to do too much but this year it’s different. I have to play good in every game. I have to feel like I’m the best player on the court and I have to play like it.”

And whether his personality allows it or not, Jackson needs to step up and become his team’s leader. The team’s success in the post-season almost depends on it.

“Well, I should be a leader but I haven’t really put myself in that position yet,” he said. “I should feel that way and I do feel that way but I just don’t show it.”

But whether or not Kennedy actually makes it to the state tournament in Columbus for basketball and wins a championship this year or in the near future, Pompelia already feels like winner because of the special relationship he’s developed with Jackson.

“He’s just an enjoyable person to be around,” Pompelia said.

“I’ve got to spend some quality time with him away from sports and he’s a quiet young man and it’s taken time for him to trust in me. But everything I’ve ever told him has come to reality and I

28 J J H U D D L E . C O M

think he will tell you that, in the last year-and-a-half, our relationship has grown and it’s going to get stronger.”

That relationship will be particularly important the closer it gets to the time for Jackson to pick a school to attend at the next level.

“He’s already been invited to basketball games at Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Cincinnati and Xavier but it’s just a matter of balance,” Pompelia said. “Our schedule is really tight as far as playing Friday and Saturday games so to drive to one of those schools on a week night when he has class the next day can be overwhelming. So we really have to balance what he’s doing on the floor with what these colleges have to offer and go from there.”

And whether Jackson actually pursues a future career on the hardwood instead of one on the gridiron is still something that hasn’t officially been determined. But basketball would seem to be the obvious choice for him to make at this time.

“I like basketball right now, but I’m starting to like football a lot so I don’t really know yet,” said Jackson, who caught 15 passes for 312 yards and scored seven touchdowns during the regular season for the Eagles. “I like scoring touchdowns and being a big part of the football team. The state championship game was real exciting and I never had that feeling before. My friends and I talk about me playing football here and there but it’s all just basketball right now.”

Even Pompelia doesn’t know for certain which sport Jackson, who had five catches for 50 yards in a 28-7 loss to St. Henry in the D-V state title game, will ultimately pursue at the next level.

“In my opinion I think he loves the hardwood a great deal. I really think he enjoys playing basketball,” said Pompelia of Jackson who has been playing point guard since he was in the seventh grade. “But, with him being a 16-year-old (he turns 17 in August), for me to tell you whether he wants to play football in college or basketball in college, I can’t answer that. But my guess right now is that he would want to further his academic and athletic career in basketball.”

So just how good can Jackson actually be if he eventually opts for playing basketball over football?

“He does things right now that a 16-year-old should not be doing in my opinion,” Pompelia said. “He has tools and great gifts that make it exciting when he’s out on the floor. At any moment he can make a special play. He’s really a special player and a special person. From the day he walked in the door at Kennedy to where he is today, he’s matured so much as a young man and that’s the biggest thing that I’m proud of him for. I love having him at Kennedy and I love him as a person and it’s a lot of fun watching him grow up.”

Jackson is indeed excited about his future, even if he doesn’t show it on the outside. Like any other 16-year-old in high school, Jackson has big dreams about his future.

“I dream about going to a big college someday. I dream about that kind of stuff,” said Jackson who has a 2.7 GPA. “I’m just trying to keep my head on straight so I can go to a major college right now. But it is a dream of mine to get the NBA.” And he obviously has a much-better chance of making it to the NBA than most 16-year-olds do right now. That's if he doesn’t make it to the NFL instead. — OH

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

STORY BY JEFF WUERTH

Boys Basketball Tournament Preview

Box Out

Photo by Gary Housteau

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

Trotwood-Madison senior Chris Wright (left) and Lancaster senior Brett McKnight battle for a rebound during last year’s Division I semifinals. Wright is headed to Dayton, while McKnight will play at Akron.

J J H U D D L E . C O M 29

Boys Basketball Tournament Preview nlike last year when Canton McKinley (Division I), Dayton Dunbar (D-II) and Cincinnati North College Hill (D-III) were prohibitive favorites to win state titles in their respective divisions, and all three did, this season is completely different.

You can throw all the teams in a hopper and pull out any number of teams in each division that are capable of winning a state championship. This year’s state tournament is scheduled for March 22-24 at Ohio State’s Value City Arena in Columbus.

There is no powerhouse program this year in Ohio, with Division I Lakewood St. Edward the only Ohio team currently ranked nationally by USA Today, holding the 11th spot as of midFebruary. Fellow D-I school Cincinnati Moeller has been in the Midwest regional rankings most of the season. But that is about as good as it gets, and there doesn’t seem to be one team who looks unbeatable.

Due to the fact that there are no clear cut favorites, McKinley, Dunbar and North College Hill all return teams that could make a run at returning to the final four and defending their titles. Last year’s Division IV champion, South Webster, is unlikely to return as they sat at 7-9 through 16 games. McKinley and NCH are in rarified air, with both schools aiming for their third straight titles. Last year, McKinley became the first school in Ohio’s bigschool division to repeat as champion since Cincinnati Elder in 1973-74.

Here is a division-by-division look at some of the contenders for the state championships this season in Ohio high school basketball:

U

Division I

While McKinley is the two-time defending state champion and was 12-4 through 16 games, the class of D-I this season looks to be Lakewood St. Edward, led by 6-8 junior forward Delvon Roe. Roe, who was averaging nearly 22 points a game, has offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and North Carolina, among others. St. Edward was unbeaten through 16 games and the state’s top-ranked team.

The road won’t be easy for St. Edward though. Coming out of the Northwest District is Toledo power, Libbey, who could mount a serious challenge to the Eagles.

Libbey is led by 6-5 junior William Buford, an Ohio State verbal commitment, who was averaging around 27 points per game.

30 J J H U D D L E . C O M

Libbey had just one loss through 15 games.

Buford is an athletic swingman who can take over games, but he also has a very good supporting cast.

Besides McKinley, Canton-area schools GlenOak and North Canton Hoover could make some noise come tournament time.

GlenOak’s 7-2 Kosta Koufos, arguably the state’s top player and an Ohio State signee, will be a handful for any team.

Koufos was averaging right around 28 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocks a game. In a late-season game against Hoover, a one-point win for GlenOak, Koufos tallied 33 points, a career-high 30 rebounds and nine blocked shots. It was just the second loss of the year for Hoover.

From the Cleveland area, Solon, led by 69 Ohio State signee Dallas Lauderdale, is one of a few teams capable of making a

run. Lauderdale leads the Comets with close to 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks per game. Bedford and Garfield Heights will also be dangerous teams to face on the road to Columbus out of Cleveland.

But like it is many years, the toughest region in the state in Division I is the Southwest District.

This year is no different as the Southwest District features three of the top teams in the state including last year’s state runnerup Trotwood-Madison, and GCL South powers Cincinnati Elder and Cincinnati Moeller.

Trotwood is led by University of Dayton signee and athlete-extraordinaire Chris Wright. Elder is led by 6-7 junior Kyle Rudolph, who was averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. Moeller is paced by Wright State signee Troy Tabler (13.5 ppg, 4.3 assists per game), the son of former Major League Baseball star Pat Tabler.

Trotwood had one loss through 16 games, losing to national power Oak Hill Academy (Va.), while Elder and Moeller each had two losses heading down the stretch.

One of the more interesting subplots to the Southwest District each year is how one of the district champions heads out of the area to a different regional due to the large number of D-I teams in the district.

As the top seed in Cincinnati, Moeller chose the Columbus regional to stay away from teams like Elder, Trotwood, and Cincinnati schools St. Xavier and LaSalle.

And for good reason, Moeller’s two losses were to Elder and LaSalle, while Elder’s two losses were to Moeller and St. Xavier.

By heading to a different regional, Moeller and Elder could meet up for a third time this season, a rubber-match in the state final.

With Moeller heading to the Columbus regional, three Columbus-area schools will face an uphill battle in their quest to reach VCA. Northland, Dublin Scioto and Newark are all ranked in the top 10 in the state but will most likely have to go through the Crusaders to get there.

Also Keep an Eye On: Cincinnati Princeton, Hamilton, Mason, Beavercreek, Centerville, Toledo Scott, Toledo St. John’s, Warren Harding, Cleveland Heights, Akron Firestone, Strongsville, Mansfield Madison, Findlay and Lancaster State Championship Pick: Lakewood St. Edward over Trotwood-Madison.

JJ H u dd le’s O h io High

Boys Basketball Tournament Preview Photo by Gary Housteau

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

Jolly Green Giant

Canton GlenOak’s 7-foot-2 senior Kosta Koufos looks to lead the Golden Eagles deep into the postseason. Koufos, who has committed to Ohio State, is averaging 28 points, 17 rebounds and eight blocks. In a win over Canton Hoover earlier this year, Koufus had 33 points, 30 rebounds and nine blocks.

J J H U D D L E . C O M 31

Boys Basketball Tournament Preview Photo by Nick Falzerano

Power Rangers

New Knoxville is a serious threat to make the Division IV state semifinals and vie for a state title. The Rangers were undefeated through 18 games and ranked No. 2 in the state. Junior Ross Steinecker (left) is the teams leading scorer (19 ppg). New Knoxville is a member of the Midwest Athletic Conference and hasn’t been to the state tournament since 1947 (finished second).

32 J J H U D D L E . C O M

JJ H u dd le’s O h io High

Division II While highly unlikely, it is possible to see the same four teams in the state tournament as last year in Division II. Defending champion Dayton Dunbar, runner-up Wooster Triway, Columbus DeSales and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary had combined for a 50-15 record three-quarters of the way through the season.

But the leading candidates to make their way to Columbus are Greenfield McClain, Kettering Alter, Copley, Tipp City Tippecanoe, Zanesville and Sandusky Perkins. Those six teams have been ranked highly in the state throughout the year and had just two losses among them as the regular season winds down.

McClain is led by Xavier signee Dante Jackson. Jackson (averaging nearly 26 ppg) and his teammates have been impressive this season, including an impressive win over D-II rival Upper Sandusky. Jackson threw in 41 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the 29-point win.

Upper Sandusky would love to get another shot at McClain and was 13-3 through 16 games this season. Jon Diebler, an Ohio State signee, is the engine that makes the Rams run, averaging right around 42 points a game and 14 rebounds a contest. Diebler is also closing in on one of the state’s most prestigious records, the all-time career scoring record of 2,958 held by former Buckeye great Jay Burson. He figured to break that mark either in his final regular season game or first tournament game.

Just like their cohorts in the GCL South, GCL North power Kettering Alter is no stranger to the state tournament and this season could be no different. Alter was 15-1 through 16 games, with their lone blemish a nine-point loss to Moeller. Alter has already defeated St. Xavier and LaSalle and faces Elder the last regular season game of the year.

Dunbar lost a lot of talent from last year’s team but still has plenty of weapons. Their squad is led by guard Norris Cole and burly 6-9 senior Aaron Pogue.

DeSales had just three loses through 17 games is powered by seniors Elijah Allen and 6-7 Alex Kellogg. The Stallions have also been buoyed by freshman guard Nick Kellogg, Alex’s younger brother.

Copley opened the year with 17 wins and

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

Boys Basketball Tournament Preview could be a team to watch in Northeast Ohio.

The Indians are led by the high scoring tandem of Andrew Moss (18 points per game) and Matt Warren (16.2 ppg).

Also Keep an Eye On: Akron Buchtel, Cincinnati Wyoming, Dover, Van Wert, Olmsted Falls, Cincinnati Woodward, Cincinnati Taft, Toledo Central Catholic, Bellevue, Columbus Eastmoor Academy, New Albany and Lima Shawnee.

State Championship Pick: Kettering Alter over Copley

Division III

With O.J. Mayo and Billy Walker gone, the Division III tournament is no longer North College Hill and then everybody else -- the way it has been the past two years.

The two-time defending state champion Trojans aren’t the favorite by any means this season, but they could still find themselves in Columbus come late March. Junior point guard Damon Butler (19.3 ppg, 6.9 apg) leads a guard-oriented team at more than 18 points per game, while three other teammates also average double-digit points.

NCH was just 9-6 through 15 games but have only lost to top D-I and D-II teams while playing a schedule made with Mayo and Walker in mind. Mayo transferred to Huntington, W.Va., high for his senior season, while Walker was ruled ineligible by the OHSAA for his senior season. He subsequently graduated early from NCH and enrolled at Kansas State for this season.

State runner-up Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph could also see themselves back in Columbus this year. The Vikings also play a challenging schedule and were 10-4 after 14 contests.

Fellow state final four participants from last year, Archbold and Wheelersburg, are both ranked in the top 10 in the state and could again make runs to the state tournament.

Findlay Liberty-Benton was the state’s topranked team as of early February with a 140 record.

Other teams ranked in the state who could also make their way to VCA include Rocky River Lutheran West, Sugarcreek Garaway, West Muskingum, Youngstown Ursuline and Utica.

Cincinnati Purcell Marian, Dayton Oakwood, Dayton Jefferson and Bloom Carroll are the favorites, along with NCH, to

head to Columbus out of the Southwest District.

Also Keep an Eye On: Bedford St. Peter Chanel, Lima Central Catholic, Andover Pymatuning Valley, Warren JFK, West Salem Northwestern, Convoy Crestview, Defiance Ayersville, Columbus Hartley, Columbus Africentric, River Valley, Elgin, Dayton Stivers, St. Henry, Campbell Memorial, Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian and Delphos Jefferson State Championship Pick: Findlay Liberty-Benton over Sugarcreek Garaway

Division IV

Three-quarters of the way through the season there were still six teams that were unbeaten in Division IV, and none of the six were final four participants last year.

Leading the way is the state’s top-ranked team, Russia.

Russia was 17-0 in early February and was the overwhelming choice as the No. 1ranked team in D-IV. The other five unbeaten teams included New Knoxville, Toledo Christian, Columbus Harvest Prep, McDonald and Georgetown.

All but Georgetown were ranked in the top 10 in the state.

Other teams ranked in the state that have a chance to end up in Columbus are Van Buren, Continental, Berlin Hiland and Worthington Christian.

Many of those teams are very familiar with making trips to the final four.

Three of the four state participants last year could make a run at getting back to Columbus. Cincinnati Lockland was 13-4 through 17 games and the No. 2 seed out of Cincinnati behind Georgetown.

Windham could also be a dangerous team come tournament time and Columbus Grove was a No. 1 seed in its district.

Also Keep an Eye On: Newton, Lehman, Berlin Center Western Reserve, Lake Center Christian School, Malvern, Canton Heritage Christian School, Columbus Academy, Wellington, Summit Country Day, Ada, Minster, Columbus Grove, Cardinal Stritch, Arlington, Lincolnview, Lima Perry, South Gallia, Western Latham, Southeastern, White Oak and Ottoville.

State Championship Pick: Russia over Toledo Christian — OH

J J H U D D L E . C O M 33

William Buford Photos by Steve Helwagen

Buford is the No. 2 ranked junior in the state of Ohio.

STORY BY GLENN FORBES

Toledo-area standout, OSU verbal shines in junior year

W

36 J J H U D D L E . C O M

illiam Buford is sitting on the bench. The Toledo Libbey junior is in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar position.

He is parked on a chair, watching his teammates play in the second quarter of a close game against Chillicothe. He is not injured, and he is not sitting for disciplinary reasons. This is not the way Buford, an Ohio State verbal, wanted to make his debut at the Schottenstein Center, his future home floor.

During a four-game, high school basketball showcase that featured Ohio State recruits Kosta Koufos, Dallas Lauderdale, and Jon Diebler, Buford was benched after a rough first quarter. With the crowd waiting for Buford to dazzle them and prove he is worthy of a scholarship from Ohio State, the standout is reduced to cheerleader. Rather than pout, Buford focuses on the game, and supports his fellow Cowboys.

“It was pretty tough sitting,” Buford said. “But I believe in my teammates. I just wanted them to play well and get back out there and join them.”

Buford went to the locker room for halftime with two points.

Chillicothe was able to stay with Libbey during Bufordʼs absence, trailing by six. In the third quarter, Buford exploded.

He would not resemble the player he was in the first half.

“I think he was trying to be impressive and he was forcing a lot of shots,” Libbey coach Leroy Bates said. “Thatʼs the stage that he wants to perform on. I told him at halftime ʻjust play man, have fun.ʼ ” In the third quarter, Buford scored the first nine points for the Cowboys, three on a thunderous dunk where he was fouled and converted the free throw. Throwing in several assists, blocked shots and rebounds, Buford and Libbey blitzed Chillicothe and led 56-36 after three quarters. The junior everyone wanted to see gave the crowd reason to believe Buckeyes coach Thad Matta struck recruiting gold again.

Buford recorded 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 73-56 victory, with a 21-point second half explosion that left Chillicothe wondering what happened to Buford during halftime.

The 6-5 Buford is a highly touted junior recruit who spurned offers from several other Big Ten schools and gave a verbal

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

William Buford commitment to Ohio State. Buford is a versatile forward who over the top teams in the state, a championship appears to be joins B.J. Mullens, Noopy Crater and Walter Offutt as early a realistic expectation.

2008 recruits for the Buckeyes. Buford is ranked second “William is a very gifted player,” Bates said. “He has the among juniors in Ohio by Ohio High magazine and No. 11 physical attributes, but he also sees the game. He has a very nationally by scouthoops.com high basketball IQ and he adjusts to the defense. I think thatʼs “Michigan State came after him hard, so did Michigan,” his best asset. Heʼs a rare talent, and I consider him a comBates said. “Kansas came in. (Kansas coach) Bill Self came in plete player.” personally. We had an assistant from Florida in as well. But Buford agrees with Bates assessment of his basketball intelwhat it came down to was, he wanted to play in the state of ligence and feels that gives him an edge over his opposition.

Ohio, so we narrowed it from there.”

When asked about his biggest strength as a player, however, Buford discussed his top choices.

Buford has a different answer.

“Michigan State was probably the closest other than Ohio “Being a scorer, thatʼs what I do best,” Buford said. “I feel State,” Buford said. “I didnʼt really consider going anywhere like I can go inside and outside and do a little bit of everything. else. I just felt like Ohio State was the best decision for me I think maybe I am a little more of a slasher though.” and my family. I like the coaches and the players they have Bates and Buford also share common goals when it comes now. Theyʼre cool people, really down-toto the juniorsʼ improvement before arriving earth.” in Columbus Bates believes the recruiting pitch from “I think physical strength is the most “Michigan State was probably Matta and assistant John Groce was a important thing,” Bates said “He needs to key factor in Bufordʼs decision. get in the weight room and get stronger. the closest other than Ohio State.

“Thad Matta and John Groce did a fabHe can work on his long range jump shot I didn’t really consider going anyulous presentation for William and his as well. He has the dedication, heʼs a family,” Bates said. “With Ohio State, gym rat. Itʼs just a matter of maturity.” where else. I just felt like Ohio recruiting wasnʼt a paper trail. It was up Buford differed slightly in his response, State was the best decision for close and personal.” but the first thing he wants to improve will Currently, Bufordʼs focus is on the endear him to Matta and the Ohio State me and my family. I like the coachCowboysʼ season. As of press time, staff. es and the players they have now.

Libbey had raced out to a 12-1 record “I want to improve my defense the and they were 7-0 in the Toledo City most,” Buford said. “And Iʼm going to hit They’re cool people, really downLeague. the weight room and improve strengthto-earth.”

On Jan. 20th, the Cowboys recorded a wise.” quality win over two-time defending state As a sophomore, Buford averaged 22.7 champion Canton McKinley. Buford points per game and was a first-team allToledo Libbey junior achieved his second double-double in as district pick in Division I. Last summer, William Buford many nights, dropping 31 points and Buford showed well at the ABCD Camp snatching 10 rebounds against the and then helped the D-One Greyhounds Bulldogs. team win the 16-and-under AAU national The wild contest featured two comebacks. Libbey erased a title.

13-point deficit and stormed to a 14-point advantage. McKinley On the subject of education and eligibility, there is not much battled back, but Libbey junior Brad Sandridge scored the concern from Bates or Buford. But it is too early to be sure.

Cowboysʼ final eight points, including a put back with three “He carries a 2.5 grade point average, so he should qualify,” seconds left. Libbey secured a steal to ice the 81-79 victory Bates said. “He has not scheduled his test yet, but weʼre over one of Ohioʼs best. focusing on meeting the criteria for eligibility. We should have The triumph and continued success of Libbey is even more a better idea after his test.” impressive because of the loss of starter Julius Wells to a torn Buford has decided he will take the ACT, likely in the spring. meniscus in his right knee. Wells suffered the injury in the He has not determined what educational interests he would Cowboysʼ only loss to Saginaw Arthur Hill. like to pursue at Ohio State.

“Julius is a big factor for us in the post,” Buford said. “Heʼs a What Buford does know is that his first experience at the great rebounder, so weʼre just trying to grab every rebound we Schottenstein Center did not start the way he planned. It can when heʼs not in there.” ended, however, with Buford reassuring fans in Columbus that The Cowboys were ranked fourth in the state for the week of he will make a positive impact for the Buckeyes in 2008. He hopes his early nerves from the game against Chillicothe are a Jan. 31. Bufordʼs goals are the same as the majority of high distant memory. school players.

“I had some jitters that game, it was my first time playing “Weʼre a young team, trying to come together,” said Buford, there and I was a little nervous,” Buford said. who was averaging 26.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game “In the second half I just played my game and let everything as a junior. “And weʼre looking to win the state title.” come to me.” — OH With Buford and Sandridge leading the Cowboys to victory

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J J H U D D L E . C O M 37

STORY BY MATT NATALI & DAVE BIDDLE

Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

CAT ATTACK

Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame appearred in its third straight Division-I final last season and captured its second title.

The Cougars were ranked No. 10 in the final D-I AP poll this year.

Photo by Gary Housteau

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J J H U D D L E . C O M 39

Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

T

he Ohio high school girls basketball landscape for the 2006-07 season is an even mix of teams that were expected to do well coming into the season as well as some new surprises among the state’s top teams.

The traditional powers in each division will be major players in the tournament, including Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, Wadsworth, West Chester Lakota West, Warsaw River View, South Euclid Regina, Fort Recovery and Berlin Hiland to name a few.

There are few new faces on the block that have been a nice surprise while others have risen back to the top of the ranks like Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, Kettering Alter, Dublin Scioto, Delphos St. John’s and Columbus Africentric.

Three of the four defending state champions are in legitimate contention to defend their titles with aforementioned Mount Notre Dame, Warsaw River View and Berlin Hiland all mainstays in the top 10 of their respective divisional polls throughout the regular season.

Last season’s Division III state champion Plain City Jonathan Alder has fallen off the pace after taking a heavy hit from graduation.

Here is a division-by-division look at some of the contenders for the state championships this season in Ohio high school girls basketball:

Division I

Mount Notre Dame has won two of the last three Division I state championships (2004, 2006) and finished as the state runner-up in 2005.

In the five seasons under head coach Scott Rogers leading up to this year, the Cougars are 115-19 including a perfect 28-0 season in 2004.

This year, long-time assistant Dante Harlan took on the “co-head coach” duties as Rogers took a step back from his head coaching role.

Despite the minor coaching shake up and the loss of some key players, Mount Notre Dame has to be considered a top contender in the division. The Cougars picked up huge wins in the regular season over West Chester Lakota West, Columbus Eastmoor Academy and Notre Dame Prep (Mass.).

In northern Ohio, Wadsworth topped the polls throughout the regular season behind four returning starters including two fouryear starters in 6-2 Jen Uhl (Bowling Green)

40 J J H U D D L E . C O M

and 5-9 Cassie Shrock. The Lady Vikings dropped their season opener to North Canton Hoover 64-62 but rebounded to win 16 consecutive games with a week left in the regular season.

Wadsworth also had nice wins over StowMunroe Falls and Youngstown Boardman.

Speaking of North Canton Hoover, with a week left in the regular season, two of the Lady Vikings’ three losses came to teams ranked in the top five in USA Today’s national rankings and the third was to Division III powerhouse South Euclid Regina.

The Lady Vikings have looked to the leadership of four returning starters in senior point guard Steph Gibson, junior power forward Brittany Orban, junior guard/forward Jackie Nicodemo and senior forward Giavana DiPietro.

Dublin Scioto returned all five starters this season and the Irish rode an undefeated record into the last week of the regular season. Behind 6-0 forward and Bowling Green recruit Crystal Murdough, Scioto claimed big

wins over Pickerington Central, Pickerington North, Reynoldsburg and Brookhaven.

The Irish shared the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division championship with Pickerington Central.

Youngstown Boardman only returned one starter this season but the Lady Spartans have lurked at the top of the state poll all season as well.

Forward Courtney Schiffauer is rated as the No. 17 junior in the state by The PlayGround Report and has led a Spartans team that starts two freshmen.

Going into the last week of the regular season, Boardman’s only loss came to West Chester Lakota West in the Classic in the Country after defeating the Firebirds last season in the event.

Boardman had big regular season wins over 2006 state runner-up Solon, Canton McKinley and North Canton Hoover.

Lakota West, which finished 19-5 last season, faced a tough regular season but fared well with two wins over Cincinnati Princeton and wins over Brentwood (Tenn.), Scott County (Ky.) and Youngstown Boardman.

Power forward Amber Gray, who is rated as the No. 3 player in the country at her position by the College Girls Basketball Report, led the Greater Miami Conference in points per game (20.7), rebounds (8.6) and blocks (1.5).

Pickerington Central reached the state tournament last year and could make a bid to return with the talent the Lady Tigers have put on the court.

Forward and Boston College recruit Veronica Wilson is a four-year starter and has provided scoring ability and rebounding skills.

Sophomore forward Emilee Harmon has complemented Wilson nicely in the frontcourt while senior forward Kathleen Williams and junior guard Kristin Stevens have provided the ability to score and rebound as well.

Pickerington Central’s biggest wins this season came again South Euclid Regina, Lancaster and Mount Notre Dame.

Also Keep an Eye On: Toledo Waite, Trotwood-Madison, Findlay, Cincinnati Oak Hills, Pickerington North, Marion Harding, Canfield Kettering Fairmont and Vandalia Butler.

State Championship Pick: Wadsworth over Mount Notre Dame

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

First place votes in parenthesis

DIVISION I 1. Dublin Scioto (8) 19-0 2. Wadsworth (13) 18-1 3. Toledo Waite (1) 16-1 4, Lakota West 17-2 5. Pickerington Central 17-3 6. Noth Canton Hoover (2) 17-3 7. Findlay 16-2 8. Cin. Oak Hills 18-2 9. Youngstown Boardman 14-3 10. Cin. Mt. Notre Dame 15-4 Others: 11. Pickerington North 20

DIVISION II 1. Indian Lake (8) 19-1 2. Warsaw River View (9) 19-1 3. Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit (4) 18-1 4. Circleville (1) 19-1 5. Shelby (1) 17-1 6. Alter (2) 18-2 7. Little Miami 16-3 8. Sandusky Perkins 15-3 9. Miami Trace 17-2 10. Cols. Eastmoor 14-4 Others: 11 (tie), Warren Howland (1), Zanesville W. Muskingum 21.

235 221 178 167 138 95 93 82 64 63

218 214 196 163 135 115 79 60 59 33

228 223 187 178 128 109 101 71 52 25

DIVISION IV 1. Cols. Africentric (16) 19-1 2. Bas, Hopewell-Loudon (7) 19-0 3. Toledo Ottawa Hills 16-0 4. Berlin Hiland (1) 16-4 5. Kirtland (1) 16-1 6. Fort Recovery (1) 17-2 7. East Canton 16-3 8, Fremont St. Joseph 16-2 9, Fostoria St. Wendelin 16-2 10, Ottoville 14-4 Others: 11, New Knoxville 24.

228 227 161 143 133 132 112 71 52 30

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Free for All

Division II poll champion Indian Lake is led by seniors Jenna Smith and Erin Nelson (above). Keep an eye out for Tippecanoe, led by Lauren Sharpe (right) and defending state champ River View (bottom).

Photo by Gary Housteau

DIVISION III 1. South Euclid Regina (16) 18-1 2. Anna (4) 20-0 3. Cle. Central Catholic 17-1 4. Delphos St. John's (3) 18-0 5. Atwater Waterloo 18-1 6. Zanesville Maysville (1) 19-1 7. Old Wash. Buckeye Trail (1) 19-0 8. Mt. Blanchard Riverdale 17-1 9. Sugarcreek Garaway 16-3 10. Versailles 17-3 Others: 11. Brookfield (1) 18.

Photo by Nick Falzerano

FINAL AP POLLS

Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

Photo by Mike Ullery/miamivalleyphotography.com

J J H U D D L E . C O M 41

Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

Division II

Warsaw River View, the defending champion in Division II, continued right where the Lady Bears left off last year. Senior Kristin Daugherty, who was the Division II co-player of the year last year and is a University of Dayton recruit, has led River View with sophomore sister Kari in the paint.

The Lady Bears saw a 37-game winning streak come to an end with a 60-48 loss to Columbus Africentric in the Classic in the Country. But much like the season-opening loss to Millersburg West Holmes last season, the loss to Africentric could be the wake-up call that carries River View back to the state tournament.

After claiming the Division II state title in the 2004-05 season, Walsh Jesuit finds itself at the top of the division again this year. The Lady Warriors got big wins over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Shaker Heights, Columbus St. Francis DeSales and Akron Hoban. Walsh Jesuit’s first loss came in the last week of the season with 60-48 loss to South Euclid Regina. Both schools were ranked No. 1 in their respective Divisions going into the game. Junior Brianna Segerson has been the go-to player Walsh Jesuit all season.

Morrow Little Miami reached its first state tournament last season and could make serious bid to return this year. With six players from the nine player rotation last year including senior guard Kelly Hicks, Brook Sowards and twins Stacey and Kelly Goode at guard and forward, respectively, the Lady Panthers will be a threat in the tournament.

Little Miami hit a stretch in early January, losing three of four games. But tournament experience from last year will be invaluable for the Lady Panthers. Hicks leads the Fort Ancient Valley Conference in field goal percentage (54.1).

Another team out of southwest Ohio that is primed to make a run in the tournament is Kettering Alter despite graduating five seniors off last year’s team, including three starters.

Three-year starter Louise VandenBosh (10.3 ppg), sophomore guard Courtney Chihio (6.3 ppg), Megan Waterman (7.9 ppg) and Sarah Tahy (6.8 ppg) have all stepped up in the wake of the players lost.

Alter scored two big wins over rival Chaminade-Julienne in the regular season

42 J J H U D D L E . C O M

and also had notable wins over Kettering Fairmont, Dayton Carroll, TrotwoodMadison and Centerville.

Lewistown Indian Lake is a newcomer to the top teams in Division II. The Lady Lakers first loss came in early February to Central Buckeye Conference rival Tipp City Tippecanoe 60-45 two months to the day after topping the Lady Red Devils 63-60.

Erin Nelson averaged 17.8 ppg and Jenna Smith was good for 16.8 per contest in the regular season.

In Central Ohio, Circleville looked strong at the end of the regular season with its only notch in the loss column coming against Washington C.H. Miami Trace. With senior leadership behind Dava Betts, Molly Highfill, Katelyn Kalinoski, Lacey Reedy and Susan Stanley, Circleville is looking to improve upon its 20-4 regional semifinals finish last year.

Also Keep an Eye On: Washington C.H. Miami Trace, Shelby, Morrow Little Miami, Sandusky Perkins, Ravenna Southeast, Columbus Eastmoor Academy, Warren Howland, Tipp City Tippecanoe, Defiance, Kenton Ridge.

State Championship Pick: Warsaw River View over Walsh Jesuit

Division III

South Euclid Regina is back as the team to beat in Division III. Regina, which took a one-year hiatus from the state final four last year, was ranked No. 1 in the state in D-III by the Associated Press at press time with a 17-1 record (the lone loss coming against Shaker Heights, 65-64).

The Royals are led by one of the top overall players in the state in 5-9 junior guard Shay Selby who is averaging over 20 points per game. Selby, who is a Duke recruit, averaged 22 points as a sophomore and was named second-team all-state.

But it’s not a one-girl show as senior center Lauren Gray is also having a solid season for Regina offensively, defensive and on the boards.

Regina has captured four state championships recently (2001-03, 2005) and this year could be no different.

But don’t tell that to Anna High School, which was undefeated (17-0) and ranked No. 2 in the state at press time.

The powerful Anna team is led by 6-1 senior center Sarah Schulze, who aver-

aged 23 points per game and was named first-team All-Ohio last year.

Anna is ranked as the No. 1 Division III team in the Miami Valley by the Dayton Daily News.

Another team to watch is Cleveland Central Catholic, which was 15-1 and ranked No. 3 in the state at press time. The Lady Ironmen are led by one of the favorites for Ohio’s Ms. Basketball award, 6-4 senior center Jantel Lavender.

Lavender, who signed with Ohio State in the fall, averages over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

She was one of the top recruits in the nation and picked the Buckeyes over Connecticut. One of Lavender’s best games this season came in a 51-44 win over a solid Bedford Chanel team, when she had 29 points.

CCC’s lone loss thus far came at the hands of Division III Columbus Eastmoor, 51-46. Lavender’s supporting cast includes Candyce Flynn and Angela Bryant, a pair of capable scorers.

Ranked No. 4 in the state at press time was undefeated (17-0) Delphos St. John’s.

The Jays are led by Brittany Pohlman and their biggest win to date was a 46-44 thriller at Fort Recovery, the No. 3-ranked team in the state in Division IV. The win clinched the MAC championship for St. John’s.

Sugarcreek Garaway, a state semifinalist last year, is led by junior guard Laura Bardall, who was a second-team all-state selection last year.

The Lady Pirates will be a team to watch come tournament time.

Defending D-III state champion Jonathan Alder was 10-6 and unranked at press time. The Pioneers returned just one starter this season, but it was star senior Lauren Prochaska. She is averaging around 25 points again this season, but her supporting cast hasn’t stepped up.

However, Alder still had a good chance at press time at winning a district title, but they would likely have to get past AmandaClearcreek and then Marion Pleasant.

Also Keep an Eye On: Atwater Waterloo, Zanesville Maysville, Versailles, Mt. Blanchard Riverdale, Castalia Margaretta, Brookfield, Columbus Bishop Ready Marion Pleasant and Old Washington Buckeye Trail.

State Championship Pick: South Euclid Regina over Sugarcreek Garaway

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Girls Basketball Tournament Preview

Division IV

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THREE-PEAT?

Berlin Hiland senior Lydia Miller (left) is looking to help lead the Hawks to their third straight D-IV crown. Miller has committed to Cedarville University.

Photo by Jeff Brehm

Columbus Africentric appears to be the team to beat in Division IV. The Nubians were 17-1 and ranked No. 1 in the state by the AP at press time.

Africentric is led by 5-8 junior guard Tyeasha Moss who averages 20 points per game. Last year, Moss averaged 17.9 points per game last year and was named second-team All-Ohio.

Right on the Nubians’ heels is Bascom Hopewell-Loudon, which was 19-0 and ranked No. 2 in the state at press time.

The Chieftains are led by Courtney Ritzler and Kim Hohman who each average double-figures in scoring.

As mentioned in the D-III preview, the No. 3 D-IV team in the state is Fort Recovery (14-2). It is led by Holly Stein (who went over 1,000 points for her career earlier this season) and Tiffany Gaerke.

And lurking at the No. 4 spot is twotime defending state champion Berlin Hiland (13-3).

Hiland is led by high-scoring 5-8 junior guard Jana Stutzman, 5-8 senior guard Lydia Miller (a Cedarville University commitment) and 6-1 junior center Kristy Yoder.

A trio of freshmen (Hilary Weaver, Jessica Stutzman and Mykelia Mast) also provide a spark for the Hawks. In the preseason, Hiland coach Dave Schlabach was asked if he thought a three-peat was realistic.

“Yeah, we think we can compete for the state championship again, but we’re a long way away from that,” he said.

“We’ve got very good skilled players back, but we lost most of our power and strength from last year. I think this year’s team has good shooters and ball-handlers, but finding that post presence and that rebounding presence is what I’m most concerned about.”

East Canton was the 2006 runner-up and the Wizards are led by high-scoring junior guard Caitlin Sharp.

Also Keep an Eye On: Toledo Ottawa Hills, Kirtland, Ottoville, Fremont St. Joseph, New Knoxville, Minster and Fostoria St. Wendelin.

State Championship Pick: Columbus Africentric over East Canton. — OH

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Carlee Roethlisberger

STORY BY MATT NATALI

hat exactly is in a name?

If that name is Roethlisberger, it usually means athletic success and the accolades that follow.

Of course, Ben Roethlisberger, a 2000 Findlay High School graduate, set three OHSAA state passing records his senior season for the Trojans, had an illustrious career quarterbacking the Miami RedHawks setting nine school passing records and then went on to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl XL championship in the 2005-06 NFL season.

But it is his younger sister Carlee Roethlisberger who has taken the reins from her brother to become the next great athlete to come out of Findlay.

Whether she was collecting kills and digs on the volleyball court or finding the bottom of the bucket on the hardwood, Roethlisberger has etched her name in Findlay history as both a star volleyball and basketball player.

But it is her talent as a hoopster that is paving the way for her to continue in the success of the family name.

Ranked No. 52 in the country by the Blue Star Report among the top players in the Class of 2007, Roethlisberger holds school records for points in a game (40), points in a season (490), free throws made in a game (12), free throws made in a season, free throws made in a career, three-point field goal percentage in a season (46 percent) and was on the verge of breaking the schools scoring record of 1,607 points held by Amy Jaurert at press time.

The 6-1 forward earned first-team All-Ohio honors last season as a junior and was the Greater Buckeye Conference Player of the Year. She was also named to the AAU Nationals Under-17 All-American first team in 2006. As a sophomore, she was named to the All-Ohio second team.

“You expect leaders to inflate the people around them and she does that,” said Findlay head coach Connie Lyon. “She’s one that brings her teammates along with her. She doesn’t leave them behind and gives them the credit that they deserve. She is the first to compliment them and the things they do well. But she will also be the first one to say ‘I have to do a better job.’ To me, that shows signs of a good leader.

“Obviously, through the course of a season there are going to be some ups and downs. Those intangibles that Carlee has are going to help carry you through those times. That’s valu-

Photo by Laura Almond

Carlee Roethlisberger proves “Big Ben” isn’t the only athlete in the family

W

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Findlay senior Carlee Roethlisberger has committed to the University of Oklahoma.

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Carlee Roethlisberger able to her as a leader with the younger respectful. That has always been the players on the team who expect her to be number one thing. You’ve got to show “You expect leaders to inflate the that primary player or the athlete or comrespect and where I am today can be people around them and she does petitor. So, they look for that from her and attributed to my parents and the way they that. She’s one that brings her team- brought me up.” they need that. So those things are valumates along with her. She doesn’t able, especially because of the youth Her older brother Ben has had a major around her.” on her as she has come up influence leave them behind and gives them Through her junior year, Findlay won through the high school ranks in dealing the credit that they deserve. She is three GBC titles going a perfect 30-0 in with the demanding schedule of classes, the first to compliment them and the athletics and the recruiting process. conference play. The Lady Trojans things they do well. But she will also reached the Division I Sweet 16 her soph“He has always told me to just keep my be the first one to say ‘I have to do omore year finishing 22-3 and the Elite head,” she said. “He’s kind of far away so Eight last season finishing 20-4. This we don’t have that much time to talk, but a better job.’ To me, that shows year, they are aiming at an appearance in he just tells me to keep my head and to signs of a good leader.” the state tournament in hopes of bringing go out there and play my best. He says I home a title. don’t need to impress anybody; I just Findlay basketball coach “The season started off all right and need to go out there, play my game and Connie Lyon then we lost our first GBC game in four show them what I can do.” years,” said Roethlisberger in reference to What Roethlisberger can do is impress the 32-31 loss to Marion Harding in early on the basketball court. And many colJanuary. “That was kind of a tough loss. leges took notice until Oklahoma became The girls have stepped up this year with shooting and our interested and she decided to become a Sooner last June. defensive game has been awesome. I’ve been really “The first time I met one of the assistant coaches from impressed with a lot of the girls and how well they’ve done.

Oklahoma, they had misplaced one of my tapes and they We still have a lot to improve on and everyone still has a lot to decided they needed to come see me play after Coach Connie work on but I think we are doing pretty well. had followed up with them (about the tape),” Roethlisberger “As always, we want to win the GBC in addition to (accomsaid. “So one of the coaches got on the next flight and came plishing) the personal goals everyone has. We also want to do to the Fremont Ross game and he got a really good impresbetter than we did last year. I think we have a team that, as sion. So, they decided to keep in touch. long as everyone keeps working hard, state is a goal we might “The first time I talked with Coach (Sherri) Coale, we talked be able to (achieve) this year.” for quite a while. She was genuinely interested in me. They Roethlisberger brings a lot to the court each and every day, didn’t know about my brother and there wasn’t anything about which landed her a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, that. When I first met them, it was like family. When I went and Lyon described what sets her apart from other players. down for my first visit, we spent the whole day with Courtney “I believe her main strength is her athleticism,” she said. and Ashley Paris. Those girls are big-time, so I was a little “That creates opportunities in various positions, obviously, that nervous. But they treated me as an equal. It was awesome.” she has played for us whether it be a (guard), which she Lyon believes Oklahoma is great fit for Roethlisberger. played her freshman year, or (center) her junior year. She’s “Her versatility is going to present a lot of opportunities for been able to make those transitions because of her athleticism the coaches at Oklahoma,” she said. “I think the first and foreand her ability to adjust. She has the ability to play facing the most thing, regardless of what her role will be, is that she is a basket or with her back to the basket and that versatility is an team player. Just as she has done at Findlay High, she wants advantage that Carlee has. to be there at Oklahoma to be a competitor and to help the “Carlee plays with passion. She just loves the game and team in any way she can. For her, it’s a great situation. It is a plays with so much heart and passion. That’s what makes her great coaching staff that is family-oriented and they have a so unique, but it is not just that. Her family values and her great system that Carlee will fit into well.” upbringing have made her into a wonderful young lady who is Roethlisberger is just one of several recruits and current strong in character and is passionate about what she does and players for Oklahoma that come from bloodlines of talented cares about others. It is difficult to pinpoint one thing because athletes. The Paris twins are daughters of former San there are so many great qualities that she brings. When you Francisco 49ers All-Pro lineman Bubba Paris, while Sooners couple that with being a humble player – that’s pretty unique, I freshman Abi Olajuwon is the daughter on NBA great Hakeem think.”

Olajuwon.

Roethlisberger credits her success to her family as well.

Roethlisberger seemed to be a Texas Tech lean for a period “Ever since I was little, we have always been a close family,” of time, but a coaching change in Lubbock had her looking she said. “With what my brother has gone through and the way elsewhere. he’s handled it and the way my parents have helped him han“Carlee Roethlisberger is just a great kid,” Coale said in an dle things, I think that has been a great influence on me. I’ve interview following the early signing period last November. seen how I need to act and they have always taught me to be “She has tremendous leadership ability at the ripe old age of

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J J H U D D L E . C O M 45

Carlee Roethlisberger 18. I have seen it first hand when I have watched her play vol- in basketball or volleyball – I decided (playing both sports) leyball and basketball. She has that quality that people rally probably wasn’t going to happen,” she said. around. One of my favorite things about Carlee was watching Once at Oklahoma, Roethlisberger plans on majoring in her during the summer AAU circuit and how obvious it was that sports management. she loved to play. When I saw that, I thought it was an early “A lot of (my interest in sports management) is attributed to indicator that she would love our team and our program.” my brother,” she said. “He has a great staff working for him Not only did some of the top basketball programs want to with his agent and his financial advisers. Just seeing the peoget Roethlisberger on their rosters, but some of the top volleyple that you get to meet are interesting and I always have ball programs were courting her as well. She was a first-team loved to travel and always been interested in professional athAll-Ohio selection last fall and earned third-team honors as a letes and sports.” junior.

But before Roethlisberger heads to Norman, Oklahoma, she “It’s definitely going to be tough giving up volleyball,” she will try to lead the Lady Trojans through the OHSAA tournasaid. “Ever since middle school, ment to a state title – a title she it has been tough to choose wants to win not only for her between both sports. One thing team, but for the entire Findlay (volleyball) has helped me with community. is developing different aspects “I’m very lucky to be part of of my (basketball) game. With Findlay athletics and being JUNIOR: 490 points (20.4 ppg), 170 basketball, it is running up and involved in more than one sport,” rebounds (7.1 rpg), 64 assists (2.7 apg), down the floor but volleyball has she said.

58 steals, 57 blocks helped my vertical and my jump“The great thing about being a ing. So switching back and forth Findlay Trojan is you go places SOPHOMORE: 448 points (18 ppg), 175 between sports has helped me and when you hear somebody rebounds (7 rpg), 49 assists (2 apg), 40 steals, hone in on different aspects of say ‘Findlay,’ there is just a good 22 blocks my game.” air about it. We have great fans, Roethlisberger had more great support from the communiFRESHMAN: 152 points (7.2 ppg), 91 rebounds (4.3 rpg), 32 assists (1.8 apg), schools interested in her for volty and great sportsmanship in 33 steals, 8 blocks leyball than basketball, including every sport.” top programs like Minnesota, Roethlisberger’s freshman Nebraska and Ohio State. But year was Lyon’s first at the helm she couldn’t pass up the chance of the Lady Trojan program, and of playing college basketball. as the shot clock winds down on “Basketball is my number one her high school career, both love,” she said. “The way I have developed a tremendous Roethlisberger looked at it was which sport amount of respect for each other. earned Division within the next four years, if I “Coach Connie came in my I first team was sitting there watching a first year, so we were both new All-Ohio honors team in the national champito the program my freshman last season. onship, would I wish I was year. She always had confidence there? And I decided that if I in me and she has been a great were to play volleyball and I saw coach to play under,” said the Final Four or the national Roethlisberger. championship game for basket“I can’t even imagine that she ball, I would be dying to be is getting ready to graduate,” there.”

Lyon added.

Roethlisberger contemplated “She brings a lot of class and playing both sports at the collecharacter to the program. You giate level early in the recruiting hate to see someone like that process, but that soon faded. graduate, but at the same time “In the beginning, (playing you also know she has left an both sports) was something I imprint on those around her and kind of hoped for,” she said. “But hopefully they can carry those as I talked to more and more qualities as well. people at the level I wanted to “That legacy is important. I think we all leave a legacy and go to – and I wanted to go to a she’s going to leave a positive school I could win a national Photo by Laura Almond one behind,” she said. — OH championship at whether it was

Carlee Roethlisberger’s stats through junior season:

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Wrestling Tournament Preview

STORY BY KIRK LARRABEE

Photo by Nick Falzerano

Graham’s Brian Stephens, a state placer for Piqua last year, will look to give the Falcons a D-II title at 125 pounds.

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Y

Wrestling Tournament Preview

ou won’t find a high school sporting event in the state of Ohio quite like the state wrestling championships. Fans of dozens of different high schools from across the state will pack Ohio State’s Value City Arena in Columbus on March 1-3 to cheer on their wrestlers as they take on the state’s best.

Here is a quick rundown of what to watch for in this year’s OHSAA state wrestling championships, based on projections by multiple analysts.

Heights. * 125: The name to remember at 125 is Lakewood St. Edward sophomore Collin Palmer, a returning state champion who is expected to cruise through this weight class for his second title in two years. Those gunning for Palmer include Miamisburg senior Jordan McGuire, Shaker Heights senior Aaron Reese, and Oregon Clay senior Kyle Sutter. * 130: The 130-pound class seems fairly open. Those who stand out include Lakewood St. Edward junior Neil Birt, Holland Springfield senior Matt Dennis (third place at 125 in 2005), Lodi Division I Cloverleaf’s Kurt Wentink and Marysville’s Josh Palivoda.

As usual, Lakewood St. Edward should run the show in this * 135: The 135-pound class is top heavy, featuring two-time year’s Division I tournament. The Eagles have a superior roster of state champion Tony Jameson of Austintown-Fitch and 2005 130wrestlers, boasting as many as seven projected state champions. pound champ Richie Spicel of Brunswick. Also in this class is a The question does not seem to be whether or not St. Edward will state runner-up Marcel Clopton of Shaker Heights, and watch for win, but what kind of records they may set in doing so. Massillon sophomore Andrew Glasber of Lakewood St. Edward and freshPerry, Cincinnati Moeller and Brecksville are among the other man David Habat of Cleveland St. Ignatius. Jameson is expected teams expected to put in a strong showing. by many to capture title No. 3. Michael Lybarger of Mount Vernon, * 103: Ohio is home to some truly outstanding wrestlers in the a runner-up at 125 last year, is a wild card here as it was still 103-pound weight class, particularly in Division I. Two wrestlers – unknown as of press time whether he will wrestle at 135 or 140. freshman Jamie Clark of Lakewood St. Edward and sophomore * 140: Nationally-ranked senior Shawn Harris of Lakewood St. Sam White of Massillon Perry – have been ranked in the top 10 Edward, a state champion at 103 as a sophomore, is the name nationally at the 103-pound class by wrestling411usa.com. But many expect to see at the top here. But senior Germaine Lindsey many expect Clark to take the title as a freshman. Another freshof Cincinnati Moeller (third place at 135 in 2005) has shown to be man, Jerome Robinson of Cleveland St. Ignatius, will have a say Harris’ equal and will provide stiff competition, as will Lybarger if in things as well. he winds up at 140. * 112: There’s plenty of talent at the 112 class. Senior Bo Touris * 145: Two-time state champion Kevin Hardy of Solon is expectof West Chester Lakota West and sophomore Kyle Lang of ed to end his high school career with a third state title. His main Brecksville-Broadview Heights have each appeared in national top competition may come from the same person he defeated in the 10 rankings at 112. The two met in last year’s third place finals at finals at 130 last year, senior Dan Gonsor of Lakewood St. 103 pounds, with Touris getting the better of Lang. Juniors Steve Edward.

Mitcheff of Elyria and Dan Genetin of Massillon Perry are at 112 *152: This weight class finds another defending state champion this year after capturing first and second place respectively at 103 as the man to beat, national top-10 Massillon Perry senior last year. Also factoring in will be freshman Nick Sulzer of Thomas Straughn. He seems to be a solid favorite, with seniors Lakewood St. Edward and junior Kyle Cicarello of Lyndhurst Muhammad Abdur-Rahman (third place at 145 in 2005) of Brush, who was last year’s fifth-place finisher at 103.

Cincinnati Princeton and Cincinnati Moeller’s Tommy Weinkam * 119: This could be the year that junior and two-time state run(fourth at 140) appearing to be the main competition. * 160: St. Edward senior ner-up Ryan Fields of West and two-time champ Sean Chester Lakota West Photo by Brockway Sports Nemec, who has been breaks through. Freshman ranked as high as No. 1 standout Brad Squire of nationally this season, is Wadsworth has also had the favorite at this weight an outstanding season and class.

He is expected to could find himself at the top have one last face-off with of the winner’s stand. Last senior Derek Foore of year’s runner-up at 119, Wadsworth, whom Nemec senior Dante Rini of has defeated in two conMassillon Jackson, will be secutive finals matches. a big factor if he can over* 171: The main attraccome health issues. Also tion here will be a very watch for junior Tommy intriguing potential rematch Pretty of Cincinnati Elder, between 2005 171 champ freshman Pierce Harger of Dustin Kilgore of Berea Cincinnati Moeller, and and runner-up Brian Roddy Lakewood St. Edward is going for its 11th straight senior Pat Zamaria of of St. Edward. Dean Gaier Division I state title and 23rd overall.

Brecksville-Broadview of Cincinnati Moeller and

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Wrestling Tournament Preview Angelo Mauro of Centerville are also wrestlers to watch in this class, but neither Kilgore nor Roddy is expected to get knocked off before the finals. * 189: Nationally-ranked senior Chris Honeycutt appears to be a strong favorite here and is expected to give Lakewood St. Edward another championship. Others to watch include Chris Iammarino of Lyndurst Brush and Mike Pushpak of Brecksville. * 215: The favorite this year at 215 is senior and 2005 thirdplace finisher Justin Powell of Youngstown Boardman. Powell has had a fine season and has found himself climbing up the national rankings. Adam Cogar of Barberton, Tyler Rasho of Uniontown Lake, and Cody Smith of Beavercreek are other names to watch. * 285: The heavyweight class in Ohio features three possible repeat champions. Westerville Central senior Brendan Barlow captured last year’s Division I crown and could do it again. He will face some strong competition from Reynoldsburg’s Andy Hartshorn, Hilliard Darby’s Antonio Jeremiah, Cincinnati Sycamore’s Caleb Lipsey, and Cincinnati Moeller’s Frank Becker.

(seventh at 119), Chris Romero of Mentor Lake Catholic, Isaiah Vaughan of Columbus DeSales and Isaiah Chapman of Akron Kenmore. * 130: As of press time, the top of this weight class had not been sorted out yet. The favorite in 130 seems to be junior Chase Skonieczny of Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, but his competition had not totally been decided. The class could boast a two-time second-place finisher, senior Jeff Pelton of Bellevue, as well as a third-place finisher in senior Jeremy Espinoza of Rossford. Also watch for senior Ben Fondale of New Lexington, a third-place finisher in 2005. * 135: The clear favorite in 135 is nationally ranked two-time state champion Ben Jordan, a junior from St. Paris Graham. The wrestlers who could have been Jordan’s toughest competitors were appearing to move away from 135. * 140: Another division where the winner seems to be an open issue, watch for senior two-time state runner-up Chris Andrews of New Albany as well as senior Lawrence Cavello of Willard (third at 140 in 2005), senior Matt Reedy of Ravenna, senior Joe Newland Division II of St. Paris Graham, and Matt McGovern of Columbus DeSales.

As with Division I, the team results in Division II are expected to * 145: Nationally-ranked junior Coby Boyd took third at 130 as a stay the same, at least at the top. St. Paris Graham is gunning for sophomore and is a solid favorite at 145. His main competition is their seventh straight Division II title, and anything else would be expected to come from Oak Harbor junior Kirk Tank, a fourth-place considered an upset. Other teams expected to be near the top finisher last year. include Pemberville Eastwood, Oak Harbor and Columbus * 152: The wrestler with the highest 2006 finish, senior James DeSales.

Myers of Wintersville Indian Creek (second at 140), is actually not * 103: The 103-pound weight class in Division II is all about one the favorite here. Many feel as if juniors Eric Cubberly of name – sophomore David Taylor of St. Paris Graham. Thought by Pemberville Eastwood and Jared Kusar of Cuyahoga Valley many to be the top wrestler in his weight class in America, Taylor Christian Academy, each third place finishers in 2005, could be the will most likely roll to his second consecutive title. James Ingraham ones to beat. of Hunting Valley University School and Alex Minnard of Lancaster * 160: As with 103 and 135, there exists a clear, overwhelming Fairfield Union are others to watch here. favorite at this weight class – senior Colt Sponseller of Millersburg * 112: Most eyes will be on Jefferson Area junior Kyle Gilchrist, West Holmes. One of the nation’s best wrestlers at the 160 class, who finished as a runner-up at 103 last year. Other challengers Sponseller is expected to capture his third state championship include Uhrichsville Claymont freshman Cody Garbrant, St. Paris without much difficulty. Others to watch here include Nick Mills of Graham’s Zach Neibert and Aurora’s Johnny Papesh.

University School and Phil Dukes of Ravenna. * 119: The top competitors here seem to be Chesterland West * 171: Junior Cody Magrum, the defending champion at 171, is Geauga senior Dominic Cribari, Pemberville Eastwood’s Justin a solid favorite here. Also in competition will be three-time placer Flores, St. Paris Graham David Thompson of St. senior Cordell Paris Graham and junior Photo by Nick Falzerano Longstreath, and Hunting Jeremy Foster of Valley University School Pemberville Eastwood. freshman Brad Wukie. * 189: Despite battling Multiple prognosticators some health problems earlifeel Longstreath could be er in the year, Cuyahoga the one to beat.

Valley Christian Academy * 125: A seemingly open senior John Weakley, rated class, there are a handful as one of the nation’s top of competitors to watch at wrestlers at 189, is the 125: sophomore Brian clear favorite to repeat as Stephens of St. Paris state champion. Other canGraham (sixth at 112 in didates include Matt Fisher Division I in 2005), senior of Sandusky Perkins (fourth Brian Dean of Akron St. in 2005), Tristan Stoll of Vincent-St. Mary (fourth at Milan Edison and Mitch Delta’s Derrick Yant is a threat to claim a D-III state 119), senior Jan Ulinski of Knapp of McConnelsville title at 160 pounds. Yant was eighth last year.

Pemberville Eastwood Morgan.

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Wrestling Tournament Preview * 215: Senior Jamey Srock (second to Weakley at 189 in 2005) of Akron SVSM appears to get a nod over the rest of the group, which includes returning qualifiers Robby Weisenberger of Urbana and Matt Clum of Galion. * 285: The heavyweight class appears to be up for grabs. Key candidates are returning champion senior Nathan Sharp of Beloit West Branch, junior John Hiles of Columbus DeSales (third in 2005), senior John Nicolozakes of Cambridge (fifth in 2005), sophomore Adam Walls of St. Paris Graham (sixth in 2005), and senior Matt Walker of Alliance.

Jenkins of Burton Berkshire, Cody Toney of Mechanicsburg and Brad Hartnett of Brookfield, all former placers. * 140: Senior Josh Falk of Bluffton, a state champion in 2005 and a runner-up in 2006, is the favorite in what looks to be a strong weight class. Also here is junior Zach Nelson of London Madison Plains, an undefeated champion at 130 in 2006. Other competitors include senior Dustin Hermes of Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic, sophomore Zach Toal of Troy Christian, and senior Kyle Gardella of Bedford St. Peter Chanel, all former state placers. * 145: Chris Burns of Troy Christian and three-time state placer Division III Trever Davis of Marion Pleasant head a competitive field. Others A changing of the guard is expected at the top of Division III this to watch include Kevin Cloran of Maderia, Jake Fose of year as Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic is not projected to Middletown Madison and Joe Skaggs of North Jackson Jacksonwin their sixth consecutive team title. Instead, Troy Christian and Milton.

Marion Pleasant are expected to duke it out for the top spot. * 152: The favorite at 152 is junior Jedd Moore of Marion * 103: As with the other two divisions, Division III is home to a Pleasant, who moved down to Division III after finishing second at special talent at the 103-pound class. Freshman Logan Stieber of 140 in Division I for Mt. Vernon last year. Competitors to Moore Monroeville has the look of a great as he is already rated among will be former placers Eric Reer of Collins Western Reserve the top competitors in the country at his weight class. The division Academy and Robel Campbell of Troy Christian and two-time also includes returning qualifiers in juniors Jimmy Householder of state-qualifier Ryan Thatcher of Loudonville.

West Jefferson and Zach Tinch of Mt. Gilead. * 160: Another Marion Pleasant wrestler, junior Steve Wilson, is * 112: In what should be an intriguing battle to the finish, juniors the favorite in what looks like a competitive group. Senior Ross Troy Opfer of Sandusky SMCC, Ben Sergent of Troy Christian Tice of Brookfield, junior Collin Heasley of Worthington Christian, and Zach Pope of Marion Pleasant will be aiming for the title in and junior Derrick Yant of Delta are among the other names to 112. Both Opfer and Sergent captured second place finishes last watch. year. * 171: Topping the list at 171 are two wrestlers who picked up * 119: The favorite is senior Pat Harrington, who scored a state second-place finishes in 2006: seniors Hunter Reed of Ashland title win over Sergent at 103 last year. The main competition Crestview and Kurt Wolff of Genoa Area. The two are expected to appears to be seniors Matt Reynolds of Marion Pleasant (fourth at face off in the finals, although former qualifiers Blaine Klaus of 112 in 2005) and Jase Hall of Massillon Tuslaw (third at 103).

Mechanicsburg and Caleb Kennedy of Manchester are definitely * 125: Junior Daniel Kolodzik of Dayton Miami Valley School, a ones to watch. first-place finisher at 103 as a freshman and a fourth-place finish* 189: Senior Nick Purdue of Genoa Area, the champ at 171 in er at 119 last year, gets the nod as the favorite at this class. Also 2006, is favored to capture another title here although others such worth watching here is 119 runner-up senior Tristan Thompson of as senior Alek Hughes of Attica Seneca East, who took home a Brookfield, Zac Hancock of Troy Christian and Tony Lawler of third-place finish last year, will be tough challengers.

West Jefferson. * 215: Former placers Nick Hooper of Akron Manchester and * 130: This should be an interesting class, with a former state Brian Hunt of Tiffin Calvert are the favorites to make a run in 215, champion in Casstown along with qualifier Spencer Miami East junior Ryan Hershey of West Salem Photo by Nick Falzerano Gambill, a three-time placNorthwestern. er in Bedford St. Peter * 285: It will likely be Chanel senior Darrin Cameron Wade-Jesse Boing, a sixth-place finishCampbell part three in the er in sophomore Jordan heavyweight division. Wade Thome, and a fifth-place has captured the last two finisher in junior Lee Division III heavyweight Schumaker of Arcadia all titles despite losing to expected to be in conCampbell twice in the posttention for the top spot. season each of the last two * 135: Senior Casey years.

Thome of Troy Christian, Wade has been ranked who has a third-place and among the top wrestlers in a second-place finish to America at the heavyweight his credit, is the favorite at division and carries the nod 2005 state champ Ryan Gambill (Miami East) is look135. His main competition as the favorite to win again ing to climb atop the podium in D-III at 130 pounds. will come from Joel this year. — OH

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

J J H U D D L E . C O M 51

Colt Sponseller

STORY BY KIRK LARRABEE

Photo by Sara Sponseller-Uhl

West Holmes senior Colt Sponseller (right) won a D-II state title at 152 pounds last season.

Millersburg West Holmes senior Colt Sponseller has a motor that outruns the competition

hen 160-pound senior Colt Sponseller of Millersburg West Holmes defeated the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight class in December, Lakewood St. Edward senior Sean Nemec, he celebrated by running sprints.

Sponseller left no doubt on that day as to who was the better wrestler, defeating Nemec in the finals of the Medina Invitational, 12-6. But a decisive victory over a powerhouse opponent did not leave Sponseller completely satisfied.

“I wasn’t disappointed in how the

W

52 J J H U D D L E . C O M

match went,” Sponseller said. “I was very happy about that. I was a little winded, and I know I usually don’t get that tired. I wasn’t very happy with myself I was getting a little bit tired. My goal is not to get tired in a match.

When that happened to me, I was like ‘Well, I don’t want that to happen again,’ so I ran some sprints.”

Twenty of them, to be exact. But such is the style of Colt Sponseller, a two-time state champion who prides himself on outworking the competition.

“In his years prior to this, and even this year, he’s just outworked all his competitors, and that’s one thing that kind of sticks in my mind as a coach,”

said Sponseller’s head coach Jeff Woods. “He’s working out every morning before school. He’s working out after practice. He does the extra things that if you get to that point, I think a lot of kids miss out on. They put in their two hours and call it good. That’s how you get ahead of people, and Colt definitely will go through a practice full speed for two hours and then he’ll want to keep working out. I think that’s his biggest asset.”

For Sponseller, outlasting the opponent is not just a part of the strategy but a point of pride.

“I’m big into conditioning,” Sponseller said. “I’m big into endurance. I like to

JJ H u dd le’s O h io High

Colt Sponseller really push the match, so I really pride myself on how – on my gas tank I call it – I don’t get tired as fast as most kids do. I really push myself in practice to make sure I have that extra effort when it comes to second and third period when the guy’s sucking wind and I’m still just as fresh as I was in the first period.”

Sponseller has ridden his talent and work ethic to great heights. A two-time state champion, Sponseller soared to the No. 3 ranking in America at wrestling411.com in January as he cruised undefeated towards a run at a third state title.

Woods calls Sponseller the best he’s had a chance to coach.

“He’s probably on top,” Woods said.

“I don’t like to make comparisons year to year, but as far as accolades and things like that go, he’s definitely headand-shoulders above some of the kids that we’ve had in the past that have placed high in the state tournament.

Actually, Colt’s our first state champ here. We haven’t had one before him, so he would probably be the best as far as I can see.”

Like many wrestlers of his caliber, Sponseller has been brought up with the sport of wrestling. He has a brother who is currently wrestling at Kent State and has been a fixture in the West Holmes wrestling scene since a very young age.

“My dad wrestled in high school, so he was around it and he helped build West Holmes’ junior high program and high school program, so I was always around it,” he said. “I started rolling around on the mats when I was four years old. We had a little biddy program and just really started up from there.”

Woods has been around to see it happen, watching Sponseller grow as a wrestler over the years.

“I can remember him out in the hallways playing with his trophies that he won at open tournament like they were Army men or something,” he said.

“Winning trophies wasn’t something – he wanted to do that, but it was fun for him more than it was a chore or a task, even at a young age. I’ve known Colt most of his life, and that’s what’s kind

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

“I was the first (state champion), and it was a great feeling. It really hit me just for all the people that came before me and all the ones that should have been state champions that didn’t have that chance. I felt a great honor from that. All those guys, the past West Holmes wrestlers, really thanked me, and I thanked them because they really helped me get there. That was a big part of my success as a wrestler.”

West Holmes senior Colt Sponseller

of neat too – having a kid that’s come all the way up through your program.”

Sponseller has definitely grown to appreciate being a part of the West Holmes program as well. He appreciates the support the community has given him and credits a lot of his success to the past wrestlers of the West Holmes program.

“I was the first (state champion), and it was a great feeling,” he said. “It really hit me just for all the people that came before me and all the ones that should have been state champions that didn’t have that chance. I felt a great honor from that. All those guys, the past West Holmes wrestlers, really thanked me, and I thanked them because they really helped me get there. That was a big part of my success as a wrestler.”

Time has passed, and Sponseller is now in the final days of his career at West Holmes. He’s doing what has been expected out of him as a senior, but it hasn’t come easy.

“There’s a lot more pressure,” Sponseller said. “It’s my senior year, and I’d like to go out (on top). It’s hard.

It gets harder after every match you go

out there and wrestle because you’re expected to produce and you’re expected to do good.”

So far, however, Sponseller seems generally pleased with the results.

“The season has been going really well as an individual and as a team,” he said.

“I’m undefeated right now and I’m looking all right – not quite where I want to be. But as a team, we’re doing pretty good. We’ve won some tournaments and placed higher than where we usually do in those tournaments and have a really good team, so there’s high expectations this year.”

For most wrestlers, an unbeaten record and a top three national ranking would be a dream come true, but Sponseller isn’t quite satisfied.

“That’s just something I feel where I’m wanting to be at a higher level and always wanting to push myself,” he said. “That’s just something I have in my head.”

The rankings don’t mean a great deal to Sponseller, either.

“I don’t try to pay as much attention to it,” he said. “People talk about it. It’s not that big of a deal because they’re just rankings. Anybody can beat you any given day. They’re nice to have for people to look at, but I really don’t much care about them.”

The match with Nemec, one of the most anticipated matches of the Ohio season, will certainly go down as one of the high points of Sponseller’s year.

The two faced off as sophomores, with Nemec winning the decision 3-1.

Sponseller remembered the outcome and wanted to change things this time around.

“It was a close match, but I thought he really controlled me that match,” Sponseller said of their sophomore showdown. “I really wanted to come at him this year. We’re good friends and everything, but I wanted to come out and wrestle how I wrestle. I wrestled my match and I thought it went really well for me.”

The strategy was for Sponseller to use his conditioning to his advantage, and even though Nemec had the edge in size and strength, the match went according to how Sponseller and

J J H U D D L E . C O M 53

Colt Sponseller schools, and that’s been our problem. I Woods planned. don’t think we’re going to have that “The match was close all the way up problem anymore.” to the third period, and he just has a Sponseller plans on adding some habit of wearing kids down,” Woods bulk before becoming truly ready for said. “We thought we could do that college competition, but the expectawith Nemec as well, and he did. He tions remain as high as they did in went out, didn’t get flustered. He got high school. taken down first and I think that jump“You know what, I’m pretty sure the started him, got him going, but it was pretty much scripted how we wanted to stars are the limit,” Woods said. “He’s got the right mentality, the right work wrestle that match and he did a great ethic. I don’t even want to set a goal job at it.” for him, but I think he’s been under Nemec and Sponseller will not be facing off again in the state tournament pressure for the last three years from every newspaper around, and he’s as they wrestle in different divisions.

They will, in fact, be seeing each other handled everything great and handled schoolwork great. I think he’s on the again quite a bit on the college level, right track to becoming an Allbut not in competition. The two are American and getting up there to be a part of a dynamite recruiting class for national champ, that type of thing. I’m Ohio State and new head coach Tom pretty sure that’s what he’s looking at.”

Ryan.

Indeed, a championship is what The Buckeyes won the recruiting batSponseller is aiming to achieve. tle for Sponseller over Iowa State, “My number one goal is to be a Minnesota and Kent State. national champion and to help the “The coaching staff there is just unbelievable,” Sponseller said.

“They’ve got a whole new Photo by Sara Sponseller-Uhl coaching staff that’s probably the best in the nation. That just excited me. On top of that, at Ohio State the tradition’s great. The kids on the team are great kids, and the recruiting class they have coming in is a really great class.”

Also joining Sponseller and Nemec as part of that recruiting class will be Jon Weakley of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and Bo Touris of West Chester Lakota West as well as California standout Nikko Triggas. Sponseller feels that his class will be a building block for future success.

“Ohio should be the best,” he said. “We have some of the best high school wrestlers in the country. Why not be the best college team in Sponseller will wrestling? We have the ability wrestle at Ohio to in the state; it’s just been State next season. bringing the Ohio kids to Ohio

54 J J H U D D L E . C O M

team to win a national title,” Sponseller said. “I think that’s everybody’s goal.”

Away from the mat, Sponseller plans on exploring criminology and business as fields of study.

“I’m kind of split between jobs,” he said. “My grandpa’s a businessman, so I’ve kind of been asking questions about that, and I’ve always had kind of a thing for being a like in a government agency, like a U.S. Marshal.”

Regardless of the outcome of the remainder of Sponseller’s season, he has already left his mark on Ohio wrestling and West Holmes sports. He will be very missed – well, except for one thing.

“I know my body won’t miss him,” Woods laughed. “I’m getting old, and my senior class is the same way – they’re just starting to beat me up. I always said I’d get out of this when that started happening.

“Probably what I’ll miss the most is just that he grew up through the program, and his brothers as well.

Any open tournament or anything wrestling that had to do with West Holmes, they were there. So I guess I’ll miss the presence of him being in the room, I’ll miss the presence of the matches and you come down to a dual meet and you know you need a win, that was almost like it was in the bank.

That takes a while to get used to, not having that.”

Woods admits though that there isn’t much left for Sponseller to do at the high school level. The time has indeed come for him to take the next step.

“He’s ready,” Woods said. “He needs to go on. You can almost see in some of the matches he gets kind of bored. I think he’s ready to get this year under his belt and move on to bigger and better things.

“As a coach, you hate to see him go but you also don’t want to hold him back. I look forward to seeing him in the NCAA’s.” — OH

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

STORY BY MATT NATALI

A

Information provided at OHSAA.org

fter approving a proposal last June that would have changed the assignment of teams to various divisions for Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned tournaments, the Board of Control withdrew the proposal in early January.

The OHSAA will maintain its current tournament regulation which assigns a nearly equal number of schools to each division of OHSAA tournaments which have multiple divisions.

“After consulting with the OHSAA Board and staff members, along with hearing feedback from the OHSAA membership, the feeling is that, while we tried to create fairness for one division, perhaps we were creating unfairness in other divisions,” said president of the OHSAA Board of Control Jerry Snodgrass in an official news release.

Under the proposal, a smaller amount of schools would have been assigned to Division I hypothetically creating a more even playing field since schools would thus be assigned to divisions that have more similar enrollment figures.

The following is how the proposed formula would have worked for sports with multiple divisions (from the OHSAA website): a.) In football, Division I will be comprised of the top 10 percent of schools participating in the football tournaments each biennium. The bottom two percent of the remaining schools will be taken out of the count. The remaining number will be divided equally between the bottom five divisions, with the two percent previously taken out being added back to Division VI. b.) In sports with four divisions (boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball), Division I shall be comprised of the top 22 percent of schools participating in the respective tournaments, while Divisions II, III and IV shall each be comprised of 26 percent of the schools participating in the respective tournaments. c.) In sports with three divisions (boys cross country, girls cross country, boys golf, boys soccer, boys track & field, girls

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

OHSAA Division Changes track & field and wrestling), Division I shall be comprised of the top 28 percent of the schools participating in the respective tournaments, while Division II and III shall each be comprised of 36 percent of the schools participating in the respective tournaments. d.) In sports with two divisions (girls soccer, girls swimming & diving, boys tennis and girls tennis), Division I shall be comprised of the top 45 percent of the schools participating in the respective tournaments, while Division II shall be comprised of 55 percent of the schools participating in the respective tournaments.

“The modification in the way schools will be assigned to divisions is an attempt to create a fairer way to conduct our tournaments,” OHSAA commissioner Dan Ross said after the proposal was approved last June. “When you are in Division I and are competing against schools that have eight or nine hundred “We particularly heard from the more students than football community, which was conyou, you certainly cerned that we were making it easwant to looks for ier for Division I schools to qualify ways to make the for the tournaments while at the tournaments more same time making it more difficult equitable. I comfor qualification in the other five mend the subcomdivisions. While football is unique in mittee for developing that a limited number of schools this proposal, and I qualify for our tournaments, the know our Board of Board felt that, after studying the Control is anxious to proposal in more detail, the plan see how this works would not have significantly out.” improved our tournament formats The proposal for any of our sports and, thus, the would have also decision was made to reverse the allowed schools the plans for change.” option to move up to Division I on a sportOHSAA Board of Control Member by-sport basis for a Jerry Snodgrass minimum of two years.

“We particularly heard from the football community, which was concerned that we were making it easier for Division I schools to qualify for the tournaments while at the same time making it more difficult for qualification in the other five divisions,” Snodgrass, who is also the athletic administrator at Findlay High School, said. “While football is unique in that a limited number of schools qualify for our tournaments, the Board felt that, after studying the proposal in more detail, the plan would not have significantly improved our tournament formats for any of our sports and, thus, the decision was made to reverse the plans for change.”

The June proposal was made by an OHSAA subcommittee comprised of OHSAA staff and district athletic board members, superintendents, principals and athletic administrators from across the state. — OH

J J H U D D L E . C O M 55

Bowling

STORY BY MATT NATALI

Photo by Brian Swartz

T

here is a new high school sport on the landscape in Ohio this school year and if you haven’t heard about it, just listen for the cracking of the pins at your local bowling alley.

Last April, the Ohio High School Athletic Association increased its number of officially sanctioned sports from 22 to 24 by approving a proposal to recognize boys and girls bowling beginning with the 2006-07 school year.

The OHSAA Board of Control unanimously approved the proposal 6-0.

“The members of the subcommittee and those who work with Ohio High School Bowling (OHSB) did an outstanding job in their presentation and have

56 J J H U D D L E . C O M

Centerville’s Jimbo Lovett

done a tremendous job the last several years promoting the sport statewide,” OHSAA Commissioner Dan Ross said following the approval last year. “In voting unanimously to adopt bowling, the Board of Control has shown that it strongly believes this will be a tremendous opportunity for many students across the state to participate in a school-sponsored activity for the first time, will help their parents become more connected to the schools and that the participants will reap the benefits of involvement in educational athletics, meaning they will learn lessons that will last a lifetime. I am thrilled that the Board has approved the recommenda-

tion.”

In actuality, bowling is not new to the Ohio high school sports scene as Ohio High School Bowling has been organizing competition, which included a state tournament, since the 2000-01 school year. But up until the current school year, bowling was not sanctioned by the OHSAA, thus making it a club sport.

For a sport to become officially sanctioned by the OHSAA, there has to be a minimum of 150 school-sponsored teams. At the time of the approval last year, there were approximately 160 boys teams and 160 girls teams statewide.

“The reason we (the bowling proprietors) pushed to become a recognized

JJ Hu ddle’ s O h io Hi gh

Bowling sport, was for the recognition – official score games. all year are going to be stronger than recognition,” said OHSB director and Schools that have decided to compete in those that don’t. So, I would look at it more Centerville head coach Greg Coulles. “We bowling are allowed two scrimmages per from a school-by-school standpoint than a have about as many teams participating season and 22 matches by the OHSAA. district standpoint. last year this year. But there has been a Following the regular season, there are “Austintown-Fitch, Struthers, drastic increase of school saying, ‘OK, sectional and district state tournaments fol(Youngstown) Boardman and Chaney are bowling is now a varsity sport in our lowed by the state tournament. teams that have traditionally done well. school.’”

There are also no divisional break Ravenna, Westerville South, Westerville Interestingly, it is up to the schools on an Central, Centerville, Kettering Fairmont downs in the sport. individual basis to deem bowling an official and Elder are a few that come to mind this “Bowling doesn’t need divisions. It is one varsity sport even though the OHSAA has of those sports where the bigger schools year but there are numerous teams in the sanctioned the sport. don’t necessarily have a distinct advantage southwest that are going to be real com“We have teams in the state that are over the smaller schools,” Coulles said. petitive.” participating in conferences that are not The OHSAA adopted the rules of the In its six seasons as a club sport, boys going to go to the state tournament United State Bowling Congress and moditeam state champions have included because they decided they’re not going to fied them according to Bylaws and Sports Chillicothe Zane Trace (2005-06), (recognize bowling as a varsity sport),” Wapakoneta (2004-05), Cincinnati Oak Regulations. A minimum of three and a Coulles said. “Now, we’ve had other Hills (2003-04), Austintown-Fitch (2002-03, maximum of five bowlers are allowed per schools elevate bowling to a varsity sport 2001-02) and Fostoria (2000-01). Girls team to participate during matches and because the OHSAA has recognized it. tournaments with a maximum of eight state champions have included Fairborn “The principals and athletic directors run players on the roster for postseason tour(2005-06), Cincinnati Seton (2004-05), all sports and the OHSAA simply facilitates Fairfield (2003-04), Austintown-Fitch naments. their wishes. It was a case of working from (2002-03), Centerville (2001-02) and With the sanctioning of bowling as an the top down as well as case of working official OHSAA sport, Coulles has noticed Columbus St. Francis DeSales (2000-01). from the bottom up. When they approved it an increase in the number of students Individual state champions will be last April unanimously, they just followed wanting to get involved as well schools crowned as well based on individual high the trend that is going on across the state. He said it is relnationally.” atively easy for anyone to get Photo by Nick Falzaerano Ohio became the 19th involved especially because state to sanction bowling as there is little to cost involved for an official sport. the students or the schools.

“Bowling is the fastest “The (students) that end up on growing high school sport, the varsity teams are your better period,” Coulles said. bowlers. That’s not a secret,” he With the official season said. getting underway in “There are certainly new November, certain areas of bowlers involved, especially with the state and specific teams new teams. are starting to emerge as “(Bowling) is a financial barthe favorites for the earlygain for the schools,” he added.

March state tournament.

“They don’t have to buy any “The southwest is very equipment, they don’t have to strong,” said Coulles. “The pay for any referees and in northeast has a lot of teams terms of renting bowling faciliand they certainly have certies, proprietors have bent over tain teams that are very backwards to make it either free strong. But it is pretty much or hardly at any cost.” a school-by-school thing.

The last sport to be officially Fairborn High There is no question that the sanctioned by the OHSAA prior School won schools that have been in it to bowling was girls golf in 1993. the girls state the longest are the Before that, girls soccer became bowling strongest. There are a lot of officially recognized in 1985 and championship first-year teams this year boys soccer in 1976. last season. and it takes a while to develThe number of OHSAA-sancop a program. The schools tioned boys and girls sports is that have coaches that work split equally between the 24 real hard at it and work at it total. — OH

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

J J H U D D L E . C O M 57

Justy Burleson

L

ike any football coach, Justy Burleson had a game plan.

But, like any plan, the key was sticking to it.

And, as a result, that plan is now paying dividends.

That’s because the South Gallia Rebels, under the direction of the fouryear head coach Burleson, are making their mark as one of the top Division VI programs in all of Southeastern Ohio.

South Gallia, located in southern Gallia County, is only in its 10th year as a school district. Furthermore, after many seasons of struggle on the gridiron, the Rebels have made good on their cause with back-to-back appearances in the Region 23 playoffs.

Burleson has been the leader of that rebellion, going 20-21 in four seasons with back-to-back berths in the postseason.

Last year, South Gallia posted an 8-3 record, as Burleson captured his second straight honor as the Associated Press Southeast District Division VI Coach of the Year.

But Burleson knows that the uprising of the Rebels has been the by-product of a blueprint.

“When I became the head coach, I already had a plan in mind,” said Burleson.

“If we were going to be successful, we had to have an idea of how to do things and keep with it.”

The Rebel program, under Burleson’s

58 J J H U D D L E . C O M

STORY BY PAUL BOGGS

direction, has done just that.

He said he took a page from his experience at the University of Tennessee under then-head coach Johnny Majors.

“Johnny Majors was one of my greatest influences in the game of football,” said Burleson.” The staff was a who’s who of coaches, but they weren’t all about Xs and Os. They preached that in order to be successful at anything, you had to be organized and have a carefully laid-out plan.”

That staff consisted of – among others – Jon Gruden, Phil Fulmer and Walt Harris. Fulmer and Harris have already been Division I college head coaches, while Gruden is currently the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. “The football knowledge was incredible,” he added.

The 1987 Southwestern High School graduate played for two years with the Volunteers before transferring to East Tennessee State for his final two seasons of eligibility.

A decade after graduating from ETSU, Burleson came to South Gallia as an assistant coach under secondyear mentor Donnie Saunders.

Meanwhile, South Gallia had been formed as a third high school in Gallia County, and was created to alleviate the lengthy travel of students to either Gallia Academy or River Valley.

River Valley was formed in 1992, and

is the consolidation of four county high schools – Kyger Creek, Hannan Trace, Southwestern and North Gallia.

“There was a strong push to open another school at the lower end of the county,” explained Burleson. “Some of those kids have a pretty long drive, or they were on a bus for two hours during the day just getting to and from school. It was costing a lot of kids a lot of money just to be in a vehicle.

Economics played a big role in the creation of South Gallia.”

The Rebels’ first football season was in 1996, one in which they went 4-4-1 with a varsity record of 1-2.

They were winless in 1997 and 1998, and only won one game in 1999.

Saunders took over for Jack James in 2000, and posted back-to-back 2-8 records before a 3-7 mark in 2002.

Burleson served as an assistant to Saunders for two seasons, then became the head coach in 2003.

However, he already had a plan in place. It began with overhauling the school’s weight room and weightlifting program.

“I don’t like to dwell on the past, but the first time I saw that weight room, it looked like a bomb had gone off,” he said. “All they had were a bench (press) and a couple of other machines that were no good. I wish I had a picture for you of what it looked like. The first night I was there, I backed my truck up, loaded up 90-percent of what

JJ H u ddle ’s O h io Hi gh

Justy Burleson

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

“I don’t like to dwell on the past, but the first time I saw that weight room, it looked like a bomb had gone off. All they had were a bench (press) and a couple of other machines that were no good. I wish I had a picture for you of what it looked like. The first night I was there, I backed my truck up, loaded up 90-percent of what was in there and took it to the scrap yard. The weight room was the first thing I wanted to change.”

South Gallia coach Justy Burleson

Photo by Times Journal Sports

was in there and took it to the scrap yard. The weight room was the first thing I wanted to change.

“We started over. We had new equipment and just worked to improve the whole weightlifting program.”

The Rebels went 5-5 in his first season but, in retrospect, “should have won two games we lost and been in the playoffs that year.”

“That season should have been our first playoff appearance,” said Burleson. “We had 12 seniors that year and had built so many things up until that point. And Jack James (first SGHS head coach) and Donnie Saunders had done a lot of that before me.”

The next year, the Rebels began a junior varsity program, giving those younger players more game experience, albeit against larger schools.

However, Burleson said the JV program – even in only three years – has served its purpose.

“When you have a group of kids playing JV against Division IV or V schools, they’re ready to go come Division VI varsity,” he said. “That’s been the crux of our success.”

In the junior varsity’s first season, the Rebel varsity only went 1-8. Still, Burleson “told a couple of people that we were going to the playoffs the next year (2005).”

“I’m sure if that had gotten out to more people, they would have had us committed,” he said.

But Burleson and his staff were not crazy after all.

The Rebels finished 6-5 in 2005 and landed the eighth and final playoff spot in Division VI, Region 23. Last year, they placed sixth in the same region, losing to playoff regular Danville in the quarterfinal round.

They were also road warriors last season, playing only three games at home.

“We’ve definitely gotten better,” he said. “We’ve had a really good group of kids coming through here.”

As for next season, the Rebels only lost seven seniors, but did lose, according to Burleson, “their entire secondary and a lot of speed.”

Still, the South Gallia program has experienced a decade on the incline,

not the decline.

“We’re hoping we can build a tradition here with what we’ve done in the past few seasons,” he said. “It’s been incredible just to be a part of it. I’ll never forget a few years ago when I saw a young man who was on the football team after one of the film sessions.

“He was telling me how hard it was that people made fun of us (football team) all the time for losing. He said he couldn’t go anywhere without enduring

that. That’s when it hit hard for me. I told him that things were going to change.”

Burleson said he thought about that conversation during the team’s threehour bus trip to Hannibal River for the Region 23 quarterfinals. That was the day of their first playoff game.

“I sat in the first seat of that bus thinking where this program used to be,” he said. “We’ve gone from one end of the spectrum to the other. If we weren’t the worst football team in the state, we were close to it. It’s done a 180-degree turn.”

Burleson also explained that community support has played a key role.

“One year we went to Miller (in Perry County) and I bet there weren’t 12 people in the stands (from South Gallia),” he said.

“When we went to Danville this year and even River last year for the playoffs, there had to be 1,000 people from Gallia County up there or maybe more.”

Of course, if the team wins, then the bandwagon grows. “Winning cures a lot of ills,” Burleson said.

“A few years ago, we were in financial trouble, the athletic budget was just a ridiculous amount. I was often asked ‘What are we going to do?’ I said ‘we’re going to win.’ There was all this talk about fundraisers, but the best fundraiser is a winning team.”

Now the question involves a winning program.

“Division VI might be the hardest level to build a tradition at because of the number of kids,” he said. “Division I, II, III and IV, they have more kids and when those kids graduate, they really don’t lose a lot. With Division VI, if you lose a lot of kids to graduation or to injury, that can really impact your program pretty quickly.”

Burleson hopes the opposite holds true in Rebel country.

“We still have a long ways to go, but we want to be a good and competitive Division VI program year in and year out. At one time, we weren’t striving for excellence here. We are now.”

Perhaps that’s just another part of Justy’s gameplan at South Gallia. — OH

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Larry Larson

Larry Larson is one of the most well-known media figures in the state

H

e’s known around Columbus – and all over the state – as “Mr. High School Sports.”

Larry Larson is a longtime and extremely well-known radio personality in Central Ohio who covers Ohio State University, the Columbus Blue Jackets and of course all things on the prep level. But before he got involved with media, he was a teacher and a coach.

And long before that, he was a simple kid growing up in the shadow of Ohio State who really had no clue what he wanted to do with his life.

“Yeah, I’m from Columbus and the interesting thing from the standpoint of covering Ohio State athletics is I grew up a half-block from Ohio State University,” Larson said. “I grew up on 13th Avenue, one half-block from High Street.

“I went to two high schools. I went to Columbus Central High School and I went to Columbus University High School. And they closed both schools. And they tore the hospital down that I was born in. So, they tried to erase everything about me (laughing).”

Larson was a three-sport varsity athlete in high school. He wasn’t a star in any of them, but he just loved the competition and everything about athletics.

“Yeah, the three standards: I played football, basketball and baseball,” Larson said.

Despite his close proximity to OSU, Larson never dreamed about going to school there, or at any other college for that matter.

“When I was a little kid, I grew up going over there to OSU’s campus because we had a dog and my grandfather who partially raised me would go over there almost every day for a walk,” Larson said. “So, I grew up hanging around Ohio State and going to Ohio State games and I ended up going to Ohio State as a student and graduated twice from Ohio State.

“My first degree was in education – phys ed – and that was in 1965. And I got my master’s in guidance in 1970. I was in education for 32 years as a teacher, coach and athletic director. The bulk of that was at Grandview High School – I was there 28 years. I was there as head football coach for seven years (1976-82) and I was the athletic director from 1978 until I left there in 1994.”

Larson recalled a coach from his high school days that really took him under his wing and gave him direction in life.

“I was never a particularly good student in high school and I did-

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STORY BY DAVE BIDDLE

n’t have any interest in going to college. None,” Larson said.

“When I was a senior, we had a coach at University High School (Bob White) and the only way to describe him was he was a tough, hard-nosed coach. This guy somehow saw something in me and he got me into a program when I was a senior where I was going down to the elementary school once a week and was teaching the little kids phys ed. He got me into this program and showed me – and I had no idea what he saw in me – but the girl I was dating at the time was also in the program and he got me involved with teaching physical education and I thought that was really cool. So, I decided to give it a try at Ohio State.

“But the big break was, this same coach who went on to Wisconsin-Oshkosh a year later, the reserve basketball coach at University High School got drafted into the military in 1961. (White) asked me to come over to the school while I was a freshman at Ohio State and work with the reserve basketball team. I went over, I was 18 years old and I worked with them for three days and he brought me in and asked, ‘Do you want the job? I’ll hire you if you do.’ And I stayed there four years. Every year of my undergrad at Ohio State, I was also coaching. It was a great experience. And once I got into that coaching and teaching thing, I loved it, and there was nothing else I wanted to do.”

Oh, but there would be much more that he would do. Larson explained how he entered the media world and how he worked his way up in the business.

“As far as media, in 1970, I was hired by the Columbus Citizen Journal to write high school sports on the weekend part-time,” he said. “I wrote for them until 1976. My focus was all high school sports. And then in ’76, I got hired as the head football coach at Grandview and had to stop working at the Citizen Journal. The day after I stopped at the Citizen-Journal, the Associated Press picked me up to do Ohio State football and basketball. That wasn’t a conflict with my job as a high school coach, so I took it.

“And in 1979, when I had an undefeated football season, WBNS – which wasn’t ‘The Fan’ at the time – but 1460 asked me if I would come down once a week and talk on the radio about high school sports. And it just so happened that they picked the year where my high school team was unbeaten, so we had a lot of fun with that. I was at WBNS from 1979-82. So, that began my career in radio.”

As for the “Mr. High School Sports” tag, Larson enjoys it very much. However, it’s not a true reflection of all the work he does in the sports world.

“Yeah, it’s fun. It’s something that associates me with one of my passions,” Larson said. “Sometimes because I cover the Blue Jackets and I cover Ohio State and I cover a lot of different sports, it kind of pigeon holes me because I feel I have a vast under-

JJ H u dd le’ s O h io High

Larry Larson standing of all sports, not just high school sports.

“But, you know what it is, it’s given me a chance to represent all those high school kids that I get on the air. It gives me a chance to represent all those high school coaches that work so hard.”

Larson was given the nickname by some co-workers at WTVNAM (610) in Columbus.

“In 1991 is where it all changed,” Larson said. “George Lehner from WTVN called me and said they had a show with John Corby called ‘Team Talk’ that was on every day in the early evening. They had started this thing with calling people ‘Mr. Whatever.’ One guy was Mr. Golf. One guy who was all into hunting and outdoors was Mr. Deer. And they asked me if I would come down a couple times a week and talk about high school football and basketball. And they started calling me Mr. High School Sports.

“I was still teaching, not coaching, but teaching, and I said sure.

Because anything I can do to promote high school sports, I’m all for it because that’s my passion. And then they hired me full-time in 1996 to do sports.”

Larson’s boss at WTVN is now Matt McCoy, the sports director at the station (and the public address announcer for OSU men’s basketball at Value City Arena).

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

“He is never in a bad mood,” McCoy said of Larson. “He is always giving 100 percent, no matter how you feel about life or what is bothering you. To always see him and he’s always upbeat is just a great feeling. How you see and hear him on the air with Mr. High School Sports and the excitement he delivers, that’s how he lives his life. He doesn’t skip a day. He’s 100 percent, he’s positive and you can’t help but be drawn to him and be raised up actually by him.

“He technically, I guess you could say, works for me, but I get a lot more out of working with him than he gets out of working with me, I’m sure.”

As for Larson’s favorite moment as a coach or media member, it’s easy: The undefeated 1979 football season that he mentioned when he was the head coach at Grandview.

“We were 0-9 my first year and we lost the first two games of the second year,” Larson said. “Then in the next 27 games, we lost four total. And going undefeated in 1979 was a very special thing for me, the staff and the players.”

However, Grandview didn’t even make the playoffs that season.

“They only took two teams per region and we weren’t even close,” Larson said. — OH

J J H U D D L E . C O M 61

Photo by Steve Helwagen

Photo by Gary Housteau

Boys CC: Aaron Melhorn, Navarre Fairless

Assisted by coach Doug Geckeler

Boys Golf: Bo Hoag, Upper Arlington

Girls Soccer: Chrissy Butler, Hathaway Brown

Photo by Gary Housteau

Photo by Gary Housteau

Boys Soccer: Michael Nanchoff, Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit

Field Hockey: Lena Grote, Cin. St. Ursula

Photo by Matt Natali

Photo by Gary Housteau

Girls CC: Emily Infeld, Cleveland Beaumont

Volleyball: Katie Dull, Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit

Photo by Gary Housteau

Fall POY Award Photos

JJ H u d d l e ’ s O h i o H i g h

J J H U D D L E . C O M 63

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