Spring Sports Update...and 'Prayers for Rem'

Another school year is winding down and with it, the spring sports season. Tourney draws were held last weekend for baseball and softball, conference tourney for tennis was yesterday and this week for track.

Read below for a brief update on each....and for an update on longtime Orrville teacher/coach Rick Remenaric who is battling some pretty serious health issues.

Good Luck Riders! - Final Four Edition

Not much to say that will change much, but I'll try...I can only offer my sincere "thank you" on behalf of Rider Nation for the ride the girls team has taken us on so far and an even more sincere "good luck" to the Orrville girls basketball team as they prepare to take on the Anna Rockets tomorrow at Value City Arena in Columbus in the state Division 3 Final Four.

They're 2 wins away from finishing the "Unfinished Business" of bringing a state title back to Orrville..and if there's any group that has put in the work, that has played as one, and done it the right way, it's this team. There's 4 teams saying the very same thing right now, so nothing will be given to us, it will have to be earned, any state title should be that way.

I'm not good with inspirational speeches...but here's a few that I think do the trick. (email subscribers wont be able to see the video and will need to click on each link)

First...from the hockey movie "Miracle."


I love the quote at the beginning..."great moments are born of great opportunity." The Riders have earned the opportunity to play on Ohio's biggest stage, and will get an opportunity to make great moments on that stage.

Next up...one of my favorites...the "Perfect" speech from 'Friday Night Lights.'


I love this clip, because it's not about winning & losing, it's about being there for your teammate, and giving your all, and knowing that you did all you could.  The line at the end always gets me..."put each other in your hearts forever, because forever is about to happen."

Some, and maybe every girl on this team, may never experience a moment like this ever again in their time as an athlete.  It will be something that binds this group together forever.  The next time we send a team to state, we'll remember this team.  I don't pretend to know a lot about this team, but I do know chemistry when I see it, and this team gets along, they play for each other and this town...and that's something we can all get behind.

Last but not least...some 'Hoosiers' love.


Short and to the point....again..not about winning & losing, but putting your best effort forth. And the slow clap at the end...who doesn't love a slow clap?

That's all I got....so proud of this team & how well they have represented their school and town....just hope they can get a shot to play for the gold trophy on Saturday.  I know this because I've heard it said...this team is not just happy to be there.  They want the whole thing...and I think they can do it.

This has been such a special season, so many moments, so many records broken, it would be fitting to be back in Bob Knight Gymnasium one more time on Sunday for one last state title celebration.

Let's Go Riders!! Leave it all on the floor one more time (and then again on Saturday).

Beat the Rockets!!

Orrville Girls Win Regionals. FINAL FOUR BOUND!!

For the first time since 1993, the Orrville girls basketball team has captured a regional championship and will head to Columbus looking to win the program's first state championship.

In convincing fashion, the Riders steamrolled Beachwood 75-48 to punch their ticket to the Division  3 Final Four where they will face the Anna Rockets, who defeated Middletown Madison 61-42 today.

The Riders started hot today against the Bison, scoring the first 9 points of the game and never looked back in leaving little doubt as to who was the better team on this day.

Orrville Girls Capture District Title!

The team & coaching staff pose with their new hardware. Thanks to Mike Guster for the picture.

These are the best kinds of posts...victorious Red Riders, all smiles...and CHAMPIONS!!

Win over CCC
The Orrville girls basketball team captured the district title with a hard fought win over Canton Central Catholic, 58-51 at Triway High School.  The win earned them a spot in the Cuyahoga Falls regional where they will face the winner of the Mineral Ridge district, the Hanoverton United Local Eagles.

The Riders led most of the way against Canton CC, including a 27-18 halftime lead.  The Crusaders closed the gap and actually took a 33-32 lead in the 3rd quarter, but the Riders went on a 10-0 run to stretch the lead back to 9 in the 4th quarter.  Right there told me something about the heart and desire of this team.  They've been battle tested.  Several key members of this team were also members of the Final 4 volleyball last fall, so pressure is nothing new to this group, and they play that way.

The Riders made their free throws down the stretch and forced some Crusader turnovers in the final minutes to hold on & capture their 2nd district crown in the past three years.

More Broken Records
Along with the win came plenty of history as it was Orrville coach Mark Alberts' 100th win as Rider coach.  It was his 543rd win in his coaching career, spanning 33 seasons as a coach of boys programs (Danville, Fredericktown and of course Wooster) and 5 seasons here at Orrville.

The win was the Riders 24th of the season, which is also a new school record, breaking the old mark set in the 1983-84 season.

As a program, girls basketball now has 597 all-time wins (597-310 since 1966-67, 47 years).  Three more wins to be one of roughly 25 programs in the state with 600+ wins according to the OHSAA.

Plybon tops 2,000
Last but not least, today will also be remembered as the day that Orrville senior Hannah Plybon crossed the 2,000 career point mark.  With an "and-1" in the first quarter, she became the first Wayne Co. basketball player (boy or girl) to hit 2,000 career points..and only the 3rd all-time in the Wayne/Holmes county area.

She entered the game today with 1,991 points and tallied 28 on the day, giving her a career total of 2,019 career points...putting her in the top 50 all-time in Ohio girls history.  With 23 more points, she'll pass Christa Wells of West Holmes (1987-91) for 2nd in area history.  She wont catch West Holmes Lisa Cline (2,958 points and 3rd all-time in Ohio history) but that's pretty rare company to be in.

On the season Hannah has now scored 639 points which is just 34 points behind Kevin Summers school record 671 points (1990-91).  700 career points is not out of the question for Hannah....but it's all just numbers at this point.  I'm sure she and the Red Riders would trade every individual statistic in exchange for 4 more wins and the program's first state championship.

Regional Matchup
Orrville and United Local will face off this coming Wednesday at 8:15pm, following the first semi-final between Mogadore (who defeated #1 seed Elyria Catholic) and Beachwood (who defeated #1 seed Gilmour Academy).  All games will be played at Cuyahoga Falls High School.

United Local will be making their 2nd straight appearance in regionals...last season they lost to Smithville in the regional semifinal.

I fully expected Gilmour Academy to be one of the teams in this regional...their absence really opens things up.  At this point, it's anyone's region to win.  Going to depend on matchups and what team can put together 2 more quality outings to punch their ticket to Columbus.  Here's the Sweet 16 bracket view.  Keep an eye on that Lexington bracket and the team from Columbus Africentric. Likely they make another appearance in the final 4.

Both the Red Riders and Eagles will be sporting big win streaks coming into the game.  The Eagles have won 17 in a row (24-2 overall), while the Red Riders have tied a school record with 13 straight wins (also 24-2 overall).

Great day to be a Red Rider!!!  Proud of the crowd that turned out and was noisy from tip to when we cut the nets down.  Make sure to buy your tickets at the school this week, as prices for the regional round jump to $8 for adults. Presale prices will be $6.

Winter Sports Update

A super busy weekend of Red Rider sports is in the books and post-season tournaments are in full swing.  There's plenty to talk about, so let's get right to it.

Closing the Gym
It was great being part of one last night in the gym.  It felt like old times with a packed house and a buzz in the air.  It probably won't hit me until I see a game in the new gym.  It was also great to see players and coaches from some of Orrville's great teams come back to the gym that they helped make so many great memories.  Diane Shanklin and Erica Short represented the volleyball program, Dennis Hochstetler represented the wrestling program, Hannah Plybon and Stacie Howard represented the girls basketball program and Kevin Summers and Marcell Denson represented the boys basketball program.  Here are some pictures courtesy of former basketball player & current track coach Andy Vernon:

Pre-game ceremony

Panorama before National Anthem

The final jump ball

Final points scored by Luke Smith

The final points in the gym were scored by freshman Luke Smith, the grandson of Orrville coaching legend Steve Smith.  Amazing that in a gym Smitty made so famous, his grandson would be the one to close it down with a 3-pointer.

Girls Basketball
The girls breezed their way into the district rounds, notching easy wins over Rittman (72-19) and Loudonville (75-46).  Counting their last regular season game against Clear Fork, the Lady Riders have won their last 3 games by an average of 42 points per game.  Next up is Northwestern this Thursday.  They defeated the Huskies by a 79-38 score just a few weeks ago but tough to beat a team twice in a season.  Guessing they'll try to slow down the pace, but if we're hitting shots like we've been, it may not matter.  That would set up a district final between either Canton Central Catholic or undefeated Smithville on Saturday at 2pm at Triway for a trip to the sweet 16.

Senior Hannah Plybon is sitting at 1,974 points in her career.  She needs just 26 points to be just the 3rd in area history to score 2,000 career points.  That would put in the top 50 all-time in Ohio girls history in points scored.

She also needs just 6 points to top 600 points on the season, something no girl at Orrville has ever done and only 3 boys at OHS have done (Kevin Summers twice, Ron Wachtel and Chris Royer).

The ladies team is now 22-2 on the season, needing 1 more win to tie the record for wins in a season.  The district final could be the game they break that record, and if they win that game, it would be Coach Alberts' 100th win as Orrville girls coach in just his 5th season.  He's never won LESS than 18 games in his 5 years at Orrville...that's pretty impressive.

Boys Basketball
The boys team ended the season with a 5-17 record but will again seek to string together 4 wins and capture a 4th straight district crown.  They dispatched of Black River 53-32 in the sectional opener.  The win was only the 4th win in the last 3 seasons that have been by 20 or more points.  Three of those wins have come in tournament play (2011 & 2012 vs. Chippewa).

The win was the Riders 15th straight tournament win at Wooster High School dating back to 1995 when the school opened.  The Riders have never lost on that floor in a tournament game, but that will be tested this Friday night at they take on #2 seed Oberlin.

The team has played hard all year and seem to be playing some pretty good ball right now.  I'd say don't count them out, but it seems to motivate them when that happens...so continue to count them out I guess.

Wrestling
For the 7th straight year, a Red Rider will travel down I-71 to Columbus for the state wrestling tournament, and this year it's senior Brad Potter at the 152 lb. weight class.  He finished 2nd to Norwayne's Kollin Moore at districts and will seek to become the school's 33rd state placer.  OHS has now had 59 state qualifiers according to AD Kent Smith.  Since 1999 (15 seasons), Orrville has sent at least 1 wrestler to state in 12 of those years.

Potter is 42-5 on the season and will take on Tyler Williamson of Cin. Madiera in the first round of the Division 3, 152 lb. bracket.  The full list of brackets for Division 3 is here.  Basically it takes 4 wins to place in the top 8...and 4 straight wins to finish as state champ.

What is interesting about this year is that a wrestler from Dalton will also be making the trip with the Orrville contingent.  Dalton senior Drew Everett qualified for state at the 145 lb. weight class.  Dalton's wrestling program was disbanded earlier this year due to low numbers so Drew became sort of an adopted son of the Orrville program, practicing and traveling with the Orrville team.  He will still represent Dalton High School, but will have the support of Red Rider Nation behind him....even spawning these t-shirts from downtown Orrville business Expert T's.


Sports Hall of Fame Applications Due
Only a few days left to get your nomination in for the OHS Sports Hall of Fame.  Induction will be this September.  Here's a link to the application.  Once filled out, they can be mailed to the high school to the attention of the Athletic Office.

Just get the nomination form in...doesn't have to be pages and pages.

Last but not least, be sure to check out Rod Dilyard's pictures for purchase.  He does great work and puts in a lot of hours and miles providing this service.  Some really great shots of the final game in the gym.

Go Riders!!!

Favorite Orrville Gym Memories

We're coming up on the final game ever to be played in the current Orrville High School gym.  On Friday February 22nd against Lexington, the curtain will open and close one final time on a gym that's seen so many greats since the gym was first used in 1955, when Bobby Knight was a sophomore.

For the past several years, it's been Bob Knight Gymnasium...not sure if it had an official name prior to that (maybe just OHS Gymnasium), but what I am sure of is that it's been the scene of so many memorable moments, memorable teams and competitors and certainly some memorable coaches.

Before the start of the boys varsity game with Lexington on the 22nd, a brief tribute to the gym will be held...current and former coaches and players of the teams who played in the gym (volleyball, wrestling and boys & girls basketball) will be honored as representatives of the sport they played in the gym.

The point of this post is to gather some of your memories of our hallowed gym.  Can be as a fan, parent, grandparent, player, coach, pep band member, student, referee or whatever relationship you had with the gym.

I'll start...and for me, it's one memory only that rises above the rest...the boys basketball game against Akron Firestone in February of 1992.  Firestone came into the game with an 11-0 record, #1 ranked in Division 1 and boasting the trio of All-American Quentin Brooks, Andre Smith (son of Cleveland Cavs legend Bingo Smith) and Kenny Lane.  They were as big and athletic of a team that I've ever seen....and in the typical fashion of a Steve Smith coached team, the Riders simply took the fight to them, defeating the Falcons 68-54.

Here's the newspaper clipping from that game...it didn't give much detail about the game...guessing the game was up against a newspaper deadline for the Courier so all they had room for was the basics.

It was one the most highly anticipated games in school history and tickets were sold out long before the day of the game.  An overflow crowd watched via closed circuit TV in the auditorium.  I was lucky enough to get a seat in the gym and if you have a copy of the game on tape...I'm the kid (a freshman at the time) standing up and blocking the view of the camera...so I have video evidence that I was in the building that night.  Mr. Coppa wasn't too happy with me, but I wasn't going to sit on my hands all night.

I've never heard a "buzz" in the gym louder than that night, and never has a crowd of barely 1,000 been so loud.  Everyone knew who was coming to "our" gym..a big D-1 school with an All-American..and we wanted to prove that we not only belonged but that we were better.  No offense to the crowds of today...but crowds back then were loud...I know it's hard to believe, but even the adults in the reserved seats were standing and cheering...we didn't wait until the 4th quarter to make noise, the cheering started before the opening tip.  We stood and cheered as Orrville players were introduced even.  Hard to believe isn't it?

Firestone ended the regular season ranked #4 in Division 1 and advanced to the state final four while Orrville finished the year #2 in Division 3 in the AP poll, but won 8 straight tourney games to win the school's first team state championship. 

I'm sure this game would be #1 on a lot people's list..but there have been plenty of other highlights as well.  Those years in the early to mid 1990's were so amazing from a memories standpoint.  From the 1991-92 season through the 1995-96 season Orrville boys basketball won 115 games (average of 23 wins per season), 3 state titles, an AP poll title in 1996 and had an amazing 29-2 record in the post-season in those 5 seasons.


It doesn't have to be games either...some of the "welcome home" celebrations from our 3 state championship teams were memorable as well.  Our girls teams have clinched OCC titles on that court, and we've seen some great wrestlers compete in that gym...guys like Shane Hartzler and the late Jack Leeder.  And even some sad memories as well, most notably Coach Smith's memorial service that was held in the gym in 2005...a gym where he helped make so many good memories was the gym where the town said goodbye.

Not looking for anything specific, just your memories of the gym....could be memories of games or practices, players, coaches or fans.  Just leave a comment below...anonymously or leave your name.

Hopefully you can make it to the game on the 22nd...one last time to sit in those cramped bleachers and remember the glory years, the three state title teams, the 1980 and 2009 teams that went to the final four, the countless great teams that made us so proud season after season. 

The gym where coaches taught and kids learned...how to win, how to lose..and most importantly, how to be Red Riders.