Twitter Updates

Monday, January 26, 2009

Site Enhancements

Because I'm all about making your time here more enjoyable and productive, here are a few additions to the site that I'm sure you'll find useful. Both can be found in the margin on the right.

1. What's Popular. Actually a combination of what really is popular, and what I think should be popular. I'll use this to keep older but still relevant posts on the front page.

2. A Search button. If I need to explain this, I'm amazed you found the site in the first place. Use this to find that long lost post buried in the archives. As the site gets bigger and better (bigger for sure, I can only hope to make it better), searching might be more fruitful than wading through all past posts.

-Staff.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

All Work and Mo play.....


The article below was originally published in 2009.  Coach Tipton passed away in November of 2011 and is greatly missed by his family, fellow coaches, the hundreds of players he coached and all of Red Rider nation.
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Now that I'm through the 1987 season in my playoff lookback series, I thought it would be a good time to sum up the accomplishments by former Coach Morris Madison Tipton, more affectionately known (and easier to type) as "Mo." He was the head coach at Orrville from 1965 through the 1987 season.

Mo continued the winning tradition established by his predecessor, Bill Shunkwiler, and established Orrville football as one of the most respected public football schools in the state. He compiled an impressive 168-69-6 record in his 23 seasons at the helm, an average of 7+ wins per season, had only 3 losing seasons over that span, and ended his tenure at Orrville with 13 straight seasons of at least 5 wins or more.

Regular Season. Mo's teams went undefeated in the regular seasons seven times, won or shared 13 league titles (9 AOC/AOL titles and 4 Chippewa Conference titles). His overall regular season record was 160-61-6 (70%). His regular season record in the 1980's was an amazing 67-12 (85%).

Postseason. 6 playoff appearances, 8 playoff wins, 4 regional championships and 2 state runner-up finishes. Four of the six playoff losses were to the eventual state champions. I'll go out on a limb and say that had it not been for the unfair advantage that parochial schools had (and still have to some extent), Orrville would have won at least 1 state title in the 80's.

Individual Accomplishments. Coached 31 All-Ohioans (including all 3 sons, Scot, Eric and Clay), 4 multiple year All-Ohioans (Scot Tipton, Mark Griggs, Tom Bolyard and James Bradley) and 1 Parade Magazine All-American (Tom Bolyard).

He was named Class AA Coach of the Year in 1980 (AP) & 1984 (UPI) and is a member of the Akron Ellet, Orrville and Wayne County Sports Halls of Fame. He was named the Wayne County Coach of the Year three times by the Akron Beacon Journal (1969, 1980, 1984)

He coached several players who made it to the NFL, including Tom Bolyard (punted for the Browns in a preseason game), James Bradley (7th round pick by the Colts in 1991), and current Pittsburgh Steeler and NFL Defensive MVP James Harrison (when Mo coached at Coventry).

He also coached Bob Houmard, who went to star at Ohio U. (still has some all-time scoring records), was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970 NFL Draft (1969, 342nd pick overall) and spent a few seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Glaring Omission. Other than a state title, one accolade that has not yet been bestowed on Coach Mo is that of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association's (OHSFCA) Hall of Fame. Here's their current list of enshrinees, and I dare say that Mo has just as good of a resume as any coach currently in the Hall. A nomination form is here. I'm curious as to if he's already been nominated and turned down, or if the step to even nominate him have ever been taken. Someone needs to take up the cause. Anyone? 200+ career wins and a coach in 4 different decades should be enough to get him in. UPDATE:  As of June 2010, Mo is a member of the OHSFCA.  Read here.

Other Interests. Mo seemed to enjoy life's finer things, or at least the finer things that come from being a high school football coach in a small town.

Everything from enjoying the "bird under glass" with the team at The Silver Pheasant (more on that later) to taking charter buses (instead of school buses) to playoff games....it was carte blanche.

Joking aside, Mo was first and foremost a dedicated family man, coach and educator.

Mo dabbled in politics, once running for County Commissioner in the 80's. I'd like to assume that Mo wanted to blaze the trail for future athletes & coaches wishing to make the jump from the sideline into politics (it worked for Tom Osborne, JC Watts, Steve Largent and someday Jim Tressel). Add pioneer to Mo's biography. I'm guessing the silent majority (read: Wooster fans) was the only roadblock that prevented him from political stardom.

He is also a fan of country and bluegrass music....as anyone that played under Mo can attest.

Through the Years. Like a dominant running game and a stalwart defense, Mo stuck with what worked. Cowboy Hat, Facial Hair (mustache in the early days, goatee or full-on beard in the latter days) & coach-issued shirt (like this beaut) usually did the trick....but sometimes he'd get a little frisky and sport a big collar (see above) and even model an XPresley jacket from time to time (can't refuse those freebies). Tried and True.

Of all the pictures of Mo, this one simply DEFINES Orrville football....am I right, people?

He was not only a great coach, but also a walking caricature. Similar to how Steve Smith defined Orrville basketball, Mo Tipton defined Orrville football.

Other Quick Facts....

First Win - 1965 vs Northwest, 58-0
First Playoff Win - 1980 vs. Fostoria 27-0
First Wooster Win - 1972, 13-0 (Mo was 0-4-3 in his first 7 Wooster games, amazingly.)
Last Orrville Win - 1987 vs Wooster, 21-10
Longest Unbeaten Streak - 23 games (1975-77)
Longest Losing Streak - 10 games (1965-66)
Consecutive Winning Seasons - 8 (1980-87)
Consecutive Wins over Wooster - 4 (twice, 1975-78 & 1982-85)
Shutouts @ Orrville - 85 (over half of his wins at Orrville were shutouts...that's dominance)

After Orrville. Mo took a few years off after stepping down at Orrville, but took the head coach job at Archbishop Hoban in June of 1992 (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess), replacing Mike Schmitz. He posted a 10-10 record in 2 seasons with the Knights (identical 5-5 seasons). He then ended his coaching career at Akron Coventry, coaching the Comets from 1994-96. Here's a team picture from 1996, Mo is easy to spot, James Harrison is #16, top row.
His teams went 8-2 in 1994 and 1995, and 9-1 in 1996, but never made the playoffs. The 1994 season record of 8-2 was Coventry's first winning season in nearlly a quarter century.

His 3 year record at Coventry was 25-5, and that puts him first in all-time wins by a Coventry coach....simply amazing. Not too many coaches currently hold all-time wins record at 2 schools at the same time. In the 2 years after Mo left Coventry, they went 1-9 and 0-10.

In 28 seasons, Mo's final coaching record was 203-84-6 (71%).

The BB Gun Incident. This may have been the low point of Mo's coaching career, and eventually it would mark the end of an otherwise respectful coaching career.

An allegation surfaced after the 1996 season that a coach and Coventry player shot two other players with a BB gun after practice. After an investigation by the Coventry board and Summit County Sheriff, it was determined that Assistant coach Leon Hartman and two-way standout (and current Pittsburgh Steeler and NFL Defensive Player of the Year) James Harrison committed the act.

Harrison had a rocky tenure at Coventry, getting suspended on 3 separate occasions, one for team rules violations, once for making an obscene gesture and once for an in-game ejection that resulted in a suspension. Harrison was clearly THE reason for the Comets success after transferring from Hoban, but in the end, his actions may have led to the resignation of 3 Coventry coaches, including Mo Tipton.

Harrison and Hartman were charged at the end of February 1997 (read more here), and by mid March, Tipton and coordinators Leonard Hartman (brother of Leon Hartman) and Mike Hallet (another Orrville alum) resigned (read more here).

Mo contested his resignation as a teacher, and wanted to settle for a cash sum and a golf cart (I'm totally serious, here's the article). The article mentions that the cart was a donation from Turkeyfoot Golf Course. I'm very curious as to whether it was painted in a Coventry Comet scheme.

I'm not sure how this turned out, if it fell on deaf ears or was settled quietly, but I am curious as to the status of the golf cart.

Not that Mo had any direct involvement in the BB gun incident, but the fact that it happened under his watch probably  reflected poorly. Coupled with issues on and off the field by his players (namely Harrison), and it just seemed like chaos ruled the Coventry football program during the Mo years. It still reads like a bad novel, over a decade later.  The Mo years were some of the most successful in Coventry history so it wasn't all bad.

After Coaching. Mo has worked for the past decade as a real estate and land developer. He returned to the Orrville sidelines to help mark the 100 year anniversary of the first Orrville and Wooster game, but other than that, has enjoyed his retirement away from the spotlight.

His mark on Orrville football is still felt, and no matter the successes of current or future coaches, Red Rider Football will be known as the program that Mo built.

...............and I'm spent. A lot of meat on this one.

Comment section is wide open for anyone wanting to make a comment or share a favorite "Mo Story." There's probably a million of them out there....a few have been discussed on this site already, and I know there are plenty of readers of this site that played for Mo...so let's hear it.

Also, if anyone has any more info on the Hall of Fame issue, BB-Gate, or anything else please contact me.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Info: New Email


Due to the success of the site my boredom, I've found it necessary to setup a dedicated email for questions and comments concerning the blog.

New email is redridersports AT zoominternet dot net, or you can just click here.


Update your rolodex accordingly (does anyone use those anymore?).

If you enjoy what you read here, hate the blog and everything it stands for, have factual corrections, or even topics you'd like to see covered, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.
-Staff

All Things Basketball

A loss to Madison, A win over Triway. And someone is closing in on 500 points. Let's break it all down....TOGETHER!!

Jekyll & Riders. What to make of the Riders so far....it's been some good, some bad. Flashes of a dangerous team, flashes of a "1 and done" team. A team that jumps to double digit leads, and then does not look too sure of how to play with a lead.

^^This is the same paragraph that was published a few weeks ago, I still think it applies.

The Riders sit at 5-4 (3-2 in the OCC), losing a close OT game to Madison (our 3rd OT game of the season) and then posting a big home win over Triway. The Triway win snapped a 3 game losing streak (our longest losing streak since 2005-06).

Riders travel to Lexington on Friday and then are home for a make-up game with Clear Fork on Saturday.

Canton District.
Here's how the Canton district sits after games through January 18th. It's about the halfway point of the season and teams are starting to sort themselves out. I think it's a five or six team race. Tourney draw date is Sunday Feb. 8th.

Teams listed by order of winning percentage.

Minerva Lions (11-0)
Alliance Aviators (8-1)
Akron Buchtel Griffins (6-2)
Akron St Vincent-St Mary Fighting Irish (8-3)
Orrville Red Riders (5-4)
Akron Springfield Spartans (5-4)
Louisville Leopards (6-5)
Marlington Dukes (6-5)
Canton South Wildcats (4-6)
Fairless Falcons (3-7)
Akron Hoban Knights (2-7)
Northwest Indians (2-8)
Norton Panthers (2-8)
Akron Coventry Comets (1-9)

Here's a detailed breakdown of each team and their results so far. I'll put this link on the right hand side of the page for quick access.

And here's my top 5...

5. Orrville
4. Alliance
3. Minerva
2. St V.
1. Buchtel

Minerva is the districts only undefeated team at 11-0, but I don't think the NBC will prepare them enough to play teams like Buchtel and St V.

Wasson Watch.

The Wasson Watch

Season Points to Date: 140

Career Points to Date: 429

Season PPG: 15.5 ppg

Career PPG: 13.8 ppg

Points from 500: 71 (projected date of 500th point....Jan 30, 2009 @ Ashland. I'm sticking with this date but Zach will have to average nearly 25 ppg over the next 3 games for it to happen....might get it on the next night at West Holmes.)

Bonus Points: Zach has also crossed 200 rebounds for his career. School record for rebounds in a career is 782 by Marcel Denson (1992-96). Marcel's school records in points and rebounds will be real tough for any player to top, he played the equivalent of a season's worth of tournament games over his OHS career, basically an additional 20+ games of stats.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Found on YouTube: 1994 D4 Title Game - Part 2

Here's part 2 of the Germantown Valley View Game, score at half was 28-3 in favor of the Spartans. I promise, there's more Rider highlights than Spartan highlights this half....just not enough.

2nd Half - Clip 1
In this clip: Riders find the endzone for the first time...45 yd TD run by Tom Reusser, key block by #33 Chris Hostetler (Coach Mac and McGrew agree). Long pass play by Valley View gets brought back by a holding call....Renauld Ray (just subbed in) intercepts the next pass.


2nd Half - Clip 2
In this clip: The Riders take a turnover and produce one of their own. Bad throw into double coverage. Leads to another Valley View TD....a potential 28-17 deficit turns into 34-10. That may have been the final nail in the coffin.



2nd Half - Clip 3
In this clip: Riders have to punt at midfield (not sure about a run on 3rd and 5)..and Valley View chews up clock with a long drive.



2nd Half - Clip 4
In this clip: Spartans continue to eat clock into the 4th quarter...even the most loyal fan had to wonder if we were just going to run out of time. Jon Haley picks off a Spartan pass setting up another long run by Tom Reusser, this time from 38 yds.



2nd Half - Clip 5
In this clip: 2 pt conversion is good (nice grab Tommy!), score is 34-18. But a 40 yd run on 3rd down by Valley View kills the Riders....the defense just can't get off the field as the clock nears 6 minutes.



2nd Half - Clip 6
In this clip: Riders finally hit the big pass play...Justin Zwick hooks up with Marcel Denson on a 64 yd bomb. The 2-pt conversion was no good (looked open, but only for a few seconds). That kept the game at 2 scores. If they'd have converted, it would have brought them within 8. 34-24 Spartans. Just noticed #56 in that clip, I think that's Eric Sauers.



2nd Half - Clip 7
In this clip: Riders make one more drive, but it, and the season ends on a tipped pass that gets picked off, I think that was the 5th turnover in the game for the Riders, 3 of those were in Spartan territory. Final: Germantown Valley View 34 - Orrville 24.



2nd Half - Clip 8
In this clip: Post game awards, this is a tough one to watch, a lot of dejection on the sidelines, the guys wanted no part of that runner-up trophy and who can blame them.....had to be a tough time for the guys. I and a lot of others thought that after we throttled Benedictine (54-27) that there wasn't a team in the state in D4 that was going to beat us...except maybe ourselves. But Valley View made the big palys and kept our offense off the field, they did enough to win.



On a personal note, I know a lot of the guys that were on this team, and as a group, they deserved a much better outcome, they worked hard to get to this point, and while there can only be one winner, they did the town and the school proud. They were only the 2nd Rider team to win 12 games in a season, and the wins over Wauseon and Benedictine were two of the most memorable Orrville playoff wins in the school's history.

I hope you enjoyed the look back, even though it's still painful (at times) to watch.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Found on YouTube: 1994 State Title Game

Awesome find on YouTube.....the 1994 Div. 4 state title game between Orrville and the Spartans of Germantown Valley View. Click below to view the entire post, along with video clips.

Grab a snack and your Rider cow bell.

The '94 Riders were a well balanced team, strong on both sides of the ball and had a great mix of talent and skill. A lot was made of the junior class that season, and they were definately talented, but both lines were dominated by seniors, in my opinion the 2 classes complimented each other very nicely. They went 9-1 in the regular season, losing only to CCC (a DIII playoff team, by 7), and notched the first Orrville win at Wooster's Follis Field, 40-0.

The Riders finished 2nd in Div. 4, Region 14, behind only Wauseon.

Playoff wins over Clear Fork (at Wooster), Wauseon (at Findlay, snapping Wauseon's 25 game win streak) and Cleveland Benedictine (at Uniontown Lake) set up this state title match up with AP poll champion Germantown Valley View. It would be Orrville's 3rd appearance (and loss) in the state finals.

The Riders were coached by Bill McMillan, while the Spartans were led by Jay Niswonger.

The video's were posted by Brandon Bowman, a senior guard on offense and lineman on defense....the clips are in high quality, so unless you have a real fast connection, may want to start the videos loading (hit the play button twice) and walk away for a few minutes. Trust me, the high quality is worth the wait.

Part 1
In this clip: It's a lot of band stuff...but notice the intro screen, they couldn't even spell our name right. The old one "R" spelling of Orrville. Also, notice the size of our band. Quite amazing compared to the current numbers.
Lastly, notice the Massillon Turf...how many times has that been replaced since 1994? Has to be at least 3...maybe 4 times. No money in Massillon unless the football team has a need, then it grows on trees.


Part 2
In this Clip:
#41 Jon Haley, #3 Kevin Maag, #14 Dan Stultz, #42 Marcel Denson, #65 Brandon Bowman, #22 Cory Wilson, #24 Bill George, #54 Chuck Brandon, #74 Tom Troyer, #78 Mike Moore.


Part 3
In this Clip:
#25 Shane Hartzler, #7 Rhmeal Coleman, #23 Tom Reusser, #26 Renauld Ray, #12 Jared Zwick, #80 Jeremy Nawyn, #33 Chris Hostetler, #57 Brent Teague (not sure, but pretty sure), #64 Sean Ewing.


Part 4
In this clip:Not much going on here, Riders get their 2nd turnover and are looking pretty good. (Is there an "alternate ending" to this game that I'm not aware of?)


Part 5
In this Clip: Riders get on the board with a 42 yd field goal by Dan Stultz. Do you see how far that ball travels? It landed 5 rows from the top of the bleachers. Easily good from 50 yards....maybe more. Riders seem to be on the verge of a big play on offense or a big stop on defense numerous times, but just can't get the bounces....I guess that's the kind of day it would turn out to be.


Part 6
In this clip:
Spartans score to go up 6-3. Nice shot of the Orrville sideline....who's that redhead? Matt Hamsher? A 2nd Rider turnover (and 2nd in Valley View territory) caps off the clip.


Part 7
In this Clip: Another Rider turnover (that's 3 for the half)...this time, the dreaded pick-6. Valley View's DB read it perfectly. 14-3 Spartans.


Part 8
In this clip:
Mac riles up the troops. Are those wind pants or dress pants? Riders again turn the ball over, 4th time in the half. This time on a halfback pass by Tom Reusser. I know Tom wishes he could have that one back. He was one of the best (maybe the best) passing back we ever had, but Valley View had that scouted.

Part 9
In this clip: Another score by the Spartans puts the Riders down 21-3. Riders punt and Valley View tacks on one more, going 62 yds in :45 seconds, 28-3 Spartans. That one was big...21-3 was doable, but 28-3 against a team that knows how to run the ball, was going to be near impossible.


That's basically the 1st half, why don't we let this one sit for a few days. I'll get to the 2nd half in a few days.

Oh, here's the Marching Band of Style's halftime show (about 1:40 into the clip). Still can't get over the size of our band a mere 15 years ago.

Continued....


More to come.......

Monday, January 5, 2009

Rider Hoops...Canton District...Wasson Watch

Well the holidays are over, it's been a few weeks, let's talk hoops.

Jekyll & Riders. What to make of the Riders so far....it's been some good, some bad. Flashes of a dangerous team, flashes of a "1 and done" team. A team that jumps to double digit leads, and then does not look too sure of how to play with a lead.

The Riders sit at 4-2 (3-1 in the OCC), coming off their first on-court loss over the weekend to Mansfield Senior. The Riders held a 16 point lead early, but couldn't put away the athletic Tygers, losing 64-62. 28 Orrville turnovers (not a typo) helped the Tygers in their comeback.

The Riders jump back into action at Akron East tomorrow, then host Clear Fork on Friday 1/9.

Canton District. Here's how the Canton district sits after games on January 3rd. Teams listed by order of record.

Minerva Lions (7-0)
Alliance Aviators (6-1)
Akron Buchtel Griffins (3-1)
Louisville Leopards (5-2)
Akron St Vincent-St Mary Fighting Irish (5-3)
Orrville Red Riders (4-2)
Akron Springfield Spartans (3-3)
Canton South Wildcats (3-4)
Marlington Dukes (3-4)
Akron Hoban Knights (2-4)
Fairless Falcons (2-5)
Norton Panthers (1-5)
Akron Coventry Comets (1-6)
Northwest Indians (1-6)

Here's a detailed breakdown of each team and their results so far.

And here's my top 5...

5b. Louisville
5a. Orrville
4. Alliance
3. Minerva
2. St V.
1. Buchtel

Although both Buchtel and St. V have taken some losses, each team's schedule is very tough and will do more to prepare them for March than any other team in the district.

Wasson Watch.

The Wasson Watch

Season Points to Date: 83

Career Points to Date: 372

Season PPG: 13.8 ppg

Career PPG: 13.2 ppg

Points from 500: 128 (projected date of 500th point....Jan 30, 2009 @ Ashland. I'm sticking with this date but Zach will have to have a few big games for it to happen.)