District Brackets Set, Plybon at Akron, College Signees

The girls and boys basketball brackets are set after today's boys seeding.  It's a great time of year if you're a basketball fan. 

Orrville Fall Sports Update # 2

The Fall Sports season is coming to a close, with some sports already done for the season. Seems like just yesterday we were getting ready for another football season, and now we're 2 weeks away from the Orrville-Wooster game.

Here's what's going on....

Catching up....

Orrville track athletes (L to R) Hannah Plybon, Abrea Gibson, Kiauna McDuffie, Elijah Coleman, Tyrone White, Rylee Scott, Noel Hartmann & Jessica Eby at the State Track Meet at Jesse Owens Stadium. (Photo Courtesy of Andy Vernon)

Was out of town last week and have had a real busy past six weeks...time to get caught up.

Read below for a wrap up of the spring sports season, changes to the OHSAA football structure, the final OCC All-Sports standings, and more!

Spring Sports Recap
A big congrats to the 3 Red Rider track athletes who finished "on the podium" at the state track meet last weekend.  Freshman Jessica Eby surprised the entire area by finishing 5th in the 300m Hurdles, Senior Tyrone White finished 7th in the 800m run and junior Elijah Coleman finished 3rd in the 400m run.  All 3 earned All-Ohio honors by finishing in the top 8.

While all of the Orrville runners put up excellent times at state, none of the 3 were able to break school records in the process....and that says so much about how high the bar is at Orrville when it comes to track.  Putting 3 kids on the podium in one weekend would be a tremendous achievement at any other school in the area, but it's sort of ho-hum at Orrville, where track success is simply expected.

The baseball team fell short of their first trip to Columbus since 1976 when they fell to Youngstown Ursuline in the regional final by a 4-1 score.  Record-wise, it wasn't the most impressive year, but the OCC schedule was again a meat grinder and prepared the Riders well for tournament play, capturing a 2nd straight district title and advancing one game farther than last year.

OHS Football..Welcome to Division 5
Ever since the state announced they would add a 7th division in football a year ago, it was anticipated that Orrville would drop to division 5...and last week it was made official as Orrville has been officially placed in Division 5 with 185 boys in grades 9, 10 & 11.

Looking back at my own site, I see we were at 211 boys when the count was done in 2008 and 214 boys in 2011.  A drop in 2013 to 185 means we've dropped about 15% in enrollment in just the last 2 years.

The girls numbers are down as well, from 182 in 2008 to 174 now, but not as dramatically.

If the state still had the 6 division alignment for football, the Red Riders would still be in Division 4, but just barely. The cutoff for division 4 in 2011 was 177 boys, meaning we'd be one of the smallest Division 4 schools in the state.

We're joined in division 5 by county schools (Northwestern, Norwayne, Chippewa, Waynedale) and other locals Canton CC, Tuslaw, Fairless & Loudonville.  We will be playing for 1 of 8 playoff spots in the Northwest region and the 5 Wayne County teams will be the easternmost teams in the region.  Any playoff appearance by any of the 5 will likely result in some longer trips to playoff games.

With the addition of a 7th division, it will also mean that the state championship weekend in Massillon & Canton will have an extra game on Thursday night in addition to the 3 games on Friday & 3 on Saturday.  This year will also be the last for the games to be in Massillon/Canton.  Starting in 2014, games will be played at Ohio Stadium.

All-Time Football Record Correction
There's been slight correct to our all-time football record, and it involves a game played almost 100 years ago.  My records from 1915 show a 25-7 win over Massillon in the first week of the season.  But this link doesn't show the game as part of Massillon's schedule that year.  Here's the text from an article about an Orrville/Massillon game from 1916, and it clearly notes the game as a scrimmage:

Massillon high school's orange and black football squad ran rough shod over Orrville high Saturday afternoon at Orrville, smothering the Wayne county warriors under a 63 to 0 score. It was just as advertised, a practice game for Coach Snavely's gridders.

The game enabled the local tutor to get a line on the ability of the men seeking varsity positions. The season opens next Saturday with Uhrichsville here.

I just love the way newspapers used to write.  Anyway, I'm 100% certain that the game from 1915 was a scrimmage, and therefore should not count in our all-time win total.

Before this revelation, I had our win total at 597...this would back us up 1 win to 596 heading into the 2013 season, and make our new all-time record 596-364-41

OCC All-Sports Trophy
Lexington won another OCC All-Sports title in 2012-13, their 9th straight in 10 years the league has given the award.  Orrville finished 6th.  I'm not sure we've ever finished in the top 4 of the all-sports points.

It's just amazing to me that we've been in the OCC for a decade now, and have very few conference titles to our name.  Other than a shared football title in 2005, boys sports have ZERO OCC titles.

Girls sports have fared a little better, boasting 3 in basketball, 3 in volleyball, 1 in softball and 2 in track....9 total.

That's 10 total OCC titles in 10 years in the league...or an OCC title in 1 sport per year on average.  To compare, Lexington won SEVEN OCC titles in this past school year alone.

I know the OCC prepares us for post-season play, but too many of our sports have no chance to ever compete for an OCC title.  The conference is simply too big for us.  We could double our enrollment and still not be in the top half of the league in terms of size.

Three District Champions in One Week!!

The Orrville boys & girls track teams pose with their district title trophies on the track at Midview High School. (Photo courtesy of Andy Vernon)

It was a pretty solid week for spring sports as Red Rider teams captured not one, not two, but THREE district crowns.

The baseball team beat Chippewa 6-5 to capture their 2nd straight district title while the boys and girls track team both took 1st place at the Midview district, making it a clean sweep.

• The girls track team only won 3 of the 17 events, but placed in all but 1 event, accumulating 127 points on the day, beating 2nd place Triway (115 pts.) and 3rd place Keystone (100 pts.).  They improved on their 2012 district showing (85 pts. and 3rd place).  They will move on to the Bedford regional this week.

• The boys track team netted 100 points on the day, besting 2nd place Northwestern (94 pts.) and 3rd place Norwayne (83 pts.) to win the Midview district for a 2nd year in a row.  They will move on to the Lexington regional this week.

• For up-to-date track results this weekend, check out Baumspage.com.  The link for boys results is here and girls results here. Good luck to both teams this weekend as they seek to continue the annual tradition of sending multiple athletes to Columbus for the state meet.

• The baseball team captured their 2nd straight district title this past week by defeating Chippewa, 6-5.  The Riders difficult OCC regular season schedule no doubt helped to prepare them for tournament play (as is the case in most sports).  The Riders will head to Massillon's Ducky Schroeder Field this Thursday to take on Wickliffe Thursday at 5pm.  If they win, they'll return to Massillon Friday to take on the winner of Youngstown Ursuline and Keystone.

• The baseball team now has 7 regional appearances in program history.  First was in 1976, then 1979, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2012 and now 2013.  Only the 1976 team made it out of regionals.  That team ended as state runner ups. 

And finally, it appears that from this link on the Orrville schools website that Orrville AD Kent Smith has submitted his intent to retire as a teacher in the district.  Not sure what this means, and not sure a final decision has been made, about his position as athletic director.  Pretty sure this means he will no longer be teaching, but may return as AD if an agreement can be reached, but that seems up in the air as well.  I've heard several other names already within the district who would take over the AD position in addition to their existing duties...but none of this is confirmed and seems to be changing on a daily basis.

The two failures of the levy certainly played a huge part in this as the athletic department secretary position was first reduced after the first levy failed, then eliminated totally after the levy failure earlier this month, and I believe additional duties were to be added to Kent's already full plate as teacher, AD and tennis coach.  I'm sure every teacher and administrator in the district will see their duties and responsibilities increase as a result of trying to provide the same level of service to our students will fewer staff on hand, and the AD role was no different.

Whatever the outcome is, Kent should be commended for his years of service to the school and community.  He's "first class" all the way and does things the right way.  It's unfortunate to lose someone with such tireless "Red Rider" spirit and I hope in some capacity he can still be involved with the school.  I have heard he will still be tennis coach, but as I mentioned above, this seems to be changing daily, so I guess we'll all find out together.

With the uncertain financial picture in the district right now, tough decisions like this have to be made, and the end result will be that good people will no longer be involved in the lives of our young people. This isn't just a "sports" thing either.  That's the unfortunate reality of levy failure.

Good luck to the track teams and the baseball team as they seek to punch their tickets to Columbus!!

Go Riders!!

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.

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.

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!!!

Winter Sports Schedules, Car Raffle, Flag Football & More

Lots going on in this post...grab a cup of coffee.

Winter Sports
Hard to believe that the winter sports season is upon us with all winter sports regular seasons beginning this week.

Courtesy of the Orrville Booster Club Website, here are the links to the boys basketball, girls basketball and wrestling schedules.

A new wrinkle in both boys and girls basketball is that the regular seasons will now be 22 games instead of 20. Not sure why the change was made. I'd think it will lead to more weeknight games and back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. I can't think coaches are too keen on either situation...especially if winter weather forces some rescheduling. Teams could be playing a weeknight game AND a Friday and Saturday game.

For the boys, their two extra games will be at Smithville on December 15th and against Carrollton in the Timken Mercy Classic in North Canton, on Sunday Jan. 20th. It's been since 1994 that an Orrville boys team has played in Smithville's Berkey Fieldhouse..but that was a tournament game (a loss) against Norwayne. Wonder how long it's been since we played Smithville at their gym? Decades for sure. That will be an interesting evening of basketball.

The boys will again participate in the WQKT Steve Smith Holiday Hoops Classic at the College of Wooster. They'll be the final game of the evening at 8:45 and will face the Northwest Indians. Here's a great link to WQKT showing the lineup for this year and for all games since the Classic's inception in 2004.  Orrville has lost the last 2 games in the Classic, to Hillsdale and Hiland, after winning the first 5 beginning in 2005.

The girls will be a part of the Classic in the Country at Hiland HS, this year against Reedsville Eastern at 10am on the first day of the classic, Saturday January 19th.  Reedsville made regionals last season in Division 4 and this past fall in volleyball...so guessing they're primed for another strong run in basketball.

Plybon Points
One of the more interesting storylines this basketball season will be senior (and University of Akron commit) Hannah Plybon's pursuit of the all-time girls scoring record.  By my count, she has 1,380 points heading into the season.  Stacie Howard has the current record of 1,480, so Hannah is exactly 100 points away from the record.  If she maintains her roughly 20 points per game average, she should get the record in game 4 (at Lexington, Thursday Dec. 13th) or at home against West Holmes on Saturday December 15th.

Just for fun, the all-time boys record is Marcell Denson's 1,722, and that record could be in danger as well if Hannah averages 20 points per game over 20+ games.  She's got an outside shot at 2,000 points, something that no Wayne County player has ever done according to the OHSAA. I'd love to know Wooster grad Marcie Alberts' career total (EDIT: Her career total is 1695 per this link), but no other Wayne County girl comes to mind that could have broken the 2,000 point barrier.  Chippewa's Tonya Smoot holds the career scoring mark among county schools with 1,745.  Fellow Lady Chipps Charbea Haller & Sue Porter have 1,723 & 1,533 respectively.  Smithville's Jenna Pew had 1,679.

To get to 2,000, she'd have to average around 25 points per game and the team would have to make a deep run to at least the regional final.

House That 'Smitty' Built
This will also be the final season for winter sports in the current gym.  Next season, events will be held in the new gym currently being built.  Boys basketball season ticket holders this year will get first crack at season tickets in the new gym next year.  The date to remember is Tuesday December 11th at 6pm, that's when first time season ticket holders can get seats, or existing season ticket holders can change their current seats for new ones.

I've been told that the "Bob Knight Gymnasium" name will follow the move to the new gym, and that's fine, but a bigger part of me says that there needs to some sort of recognition of Smitty, the coach who put Orrville basketball on the map and hung 3 state title banners in the 1990's.

What about "Steve Smith Court at Bob Knight Gymnasium?"  I know that's a little wordy, but I don't think anyone would mind.  Would be a great honor to a great coach.  At least some sort of recognition in the gym for his accomplishments, maybe on a banner listing his time at Orrville, his wins, league titles, district titles, regional titles and of course the 3 state titles.

Whatever is done, I sure hope we see banners like this at one end of the gym...and it needs to recognize ALL sports, not just winter sports.  Recognize league titles, district titles, regional titles, final four appearances and state titles of all sports...and have another banner listing individual state champs in golf, cross country, wrestling, etc.  We're all proud of our tradition, so lets put it where people can see it and be proud of it. 

Car Raffle
One more reminder about the Booster Club raffle.  The drawing for the new Chevy Cruze courtesy of Serpentini Chevrolet will be held on Friday December 28th at halftime of the boys basketball game against Clear Fork.  2nd prize is a 47" LG brand TV from Bennet's Appliance and 3rd prize is a recliner from Browns Furniture.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from any Booster Club officer or at Tom Brenner's Crown Investments office on West High St.

Alumni Game
This past Friday, 21 Orrville football alumni gathered on the turf at Heartland Field for a friendly game of flag football.  Each player tossed in $10 to benefit the turf replacement fund.  This is just one more event that could not have been held on a grass field.  The red team beat the white team 34-28.  It is hoped that this tradition will continue and grow next year.  Thanks to Stephen Carozza, Mike McMorrow and Tommy Brenner for organizing this event.

Turf Picture
Speaking of turf, here's a real nice panorama of the turf field that was taken last week.  Looks like there was some frost on the field so it must have been early in the morning.  Looks great, especially with everything around it (trees, grass) dying off for the season.  Feel free to download and view offline as the file is 6 MB big and shows some great detail if you zoom in.

That's all for now...good luck to the winter sports teams.  Go Riders!!

Wooster Week & Fall Sports Tournament Update

Sorry for the absence lately...life got in the way, and as I've mentioned before, that's first for me. I apologize for missing the last few weeks of football game previews (first ones I've missed in 4 years of doing this site).

What better time to rev things back up again...because it's Wooster Week and several fall sports teams are still alive in tournament play, so let's get it started.

State Track Recap: 7 Red Riders named All-Ohio

Wanted to recognize the Orrville track program on another successful showing at the OHSAA State meet in Columbus.  The Red Riders sent down competitors in 7 events and placed in the top 8 in 5 of the 7.  A top 8 finish earns All-Ohio honors.

Leading the way were field events where senior Lexi Jarrett finished 2nd in the Div. 2 Pole Vault with a jump of 11'6". That breaks her own school record and establishes a new Wayne County record. (the county record is 11'8" set by Chelsea Detweiler of Dalton in 2008).  The area record of 12'0" set by Stephanie Foster of Cloverleaf in 2010 still stands.  Jarrett finished 5th in last year's pole vault, making her 2nd place finish this year her 2nd straight All-Ohio finish in pole vault.

Fellow senior Stewart Turner Jr. finished 2nd in the boys long jump with a jump of 22' 11 3/4".  The winning jump was 22' even, meaning Stewart was just 1/4" from tying for first, and just 1/2" away from a state title.

On the girls side, senior Nicole Greegor capped an excellent career at Orrville with a 4th place finish in the girls 100m hurdles. This was her 3rd appearance at the state meet. She qualified for the 100 hurdles as a sophomore, junior and senior, and the 300 hurdles her junior year.

Also a senior, Drew Brenner finished 7th in the 300m hurdles.

Brenner also anchored the 4x200m relay team also consisting of Joel Zook, Elijah Coleman and Cody Weaver that finished 7th. 

So that's 7 Red Riders to leave Columbus with All-Ohio honors, with Brenner being a 2-time All-Ohioan.  All were seniors except for sophomores Joel Zook and Elijah Coleman.

Brenner capped a great senior season in which he earned All-Ohio honors in football and basketball as well as today's 2-time All-Ohio performance in track.  Pretty rare feat to be named a 4-time All-Ohioan in 3 sports in a single school season.  Guessing maybe Brent Steiner may be the only other recent graduate to be an All-Ohioan in 3 different sports in a single season. (Sam Reusser was a 3 sport All-Ohioan in 2010-11 in football, wrestling & track. Thanks to Coach Ayers for the reminder)  Add in his All-Ohio honor from this past football season and also his 2 All-Ohio honors last year in track and he's a 6-time All-Ohioan at Orrville.  Ashland U. sure has a good one coming their way.

I also want to mention Stewart Turner...he was a 3-time All-Ohioan last season in track, and made All-Ohio in both his junior and senior season in football at Orrville.  Add in this year's All-Ohio in the long jump, and he's also a 6-time All-Ohioan over the past 2 years.  So he was a 4-time All-Ohioan last year and Brenner did it this year.  Quite the accomplishment by both young men.

That's a wrap on another sports season at OHS.  The start of football practice is about 2 months away....won't be long.

Orrville Softball Clinches OCC Title!

The Orrville Red Rider softball team put a wrap on their first ever OCC title tonight, beating rival Wooster 9-2 in front of a packed Mizer Field. They improved to 12-0 in conference play and 18-3 overall.

It's only the 2nd OCC title for any Orrville spring sport (girls track won the OCC in 2008) and one of just a handful of team conference titles since joining the league in 2003. I know football has shared an OCC title and we've won at least one in girls basketball and volleyball each.  But it's been slim pickings other than that.

Thanks to softball parent Lisa Kauf for the great photo. 

History Lesson: Orrville's Twelve District Basketball Titles

Thought it might be fun, on the heels of another district title to revisit each.  I'm relying heavily on others memory for the ones in the early to late 80's.  Thanks to the OhioChatter gang of Orrville posters (they know who they are) for helping out with this.

Before I get to the detail of each, I think it's pretty impressive that we can boast 12 district titles and 5 regional titles, in addition to our state runner-up finish in 2010 and our 3 state titles in 1992, 1995 & 1996.  And that's just boys basketball.  I sure hope when this new gym gets built there's a plan to have banners for each sport like they do in Wooster.

It would be neat to have a banner per sport, like this...and then a banner (or two) listing all the team state championships we've won...like this. With a new gym, it's the perfect "blank template" to do this right.  Keeping them in the gym also keeps them out of the elements, so they'll age well.

If I'm getting greedy, I'd love to see the state title banners lit at all times, even when the gym is dark and not in use.  Like this. Sort of gives an "aura" of greatness.

Ok, enough dreaming (I haven't done that in a while so you'll have to forgive me).  On to the district titles...

District Champs Again. Fieldhouse Bound!!

Thanks to Mike Guster for the picture.  Great work, Mike.

Well, here we are again. District Champs for the 3rd straight year after a 61-51 win over the Wellington Dukes.

The Riders advance to play the Burton Berkshire Badgers in a regional semifinal game at the famed Canton Memorial Fieldhouse this coming Wednesday at 8:00pm.

If you can believe it...the Red Riders are one win away from playing for a return trip to Columbus.  I'd say it defies logic, but we've seen this exact same scenario for 3 years in a row...and the last 2 years have seen the Riders finish the regular season with an identical 7-13 record only to prove that scheduling matters...a lot...and fight their way through districts.

Let's talk about how we got here, and look ahead to what's next.

Great weekend to be a Red Rider!!

Some great accomplishments for Red Rider athletes & Red Rider alums over the weekend. It's tournament time, and that's apparently when Red Riders shine their brightest.

Swimming
Orrville junior Madison Monheim turned in two All-Ohio performances in her 2nd consecutive trip to the state finals in Canton.  She placed 10th in the 200yd. freestyle in a personal best time of 1:55.37.  I noticed that 6 of the 9 swimmers who finished ahead of her were seniors, so I'd like to think her chances of finishing in the top 5 next year are excellent.

She also finished 12th in the 500yd. freestyle event, also in a personal best time of 5:11.46.

Congrats Madison.  Now a 3-time All-Ohioan.  I hope she's getting some attention from colleges.

Wrestling
Orrville will again send wrestlers to the state meet in Columbus this coming weekend, as seniors Trevor White (2nd) and Ronnie Lehtomaki (3rd) both punched their tickets by finishing in the top 4 of their weight classes.  Both are making their first appearance at state.  With 3-time state champ Felipe Martinez (Genoa) withdrawing from districts due to a family obligation, the 170 lb. class seems to be wide open.  Ronnie upset the #7 and #8 ranked wrestlers in the 2012 Brakeman Report to punch his ticket to Columbus, and then beat the #14 ranked wrestler for 3rd place just for good measure.

Congrats to both and to Coach Hamsher & his staff.  It's now been 6 straight years that Orrville has sent at least 1 wrestler to state.  Impressive.

In the college ranks, an Orrville grad made some noise over the weekend.  Wabash College junior Jake Strasbaugh competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional that was held at Cleveland State University.  From Wabash's article...

Strausbaugh entered the tournament as the top seed at 149 pounds. He dominated the early rounds, winning 12-3 in his opener followed by a pin at the 1:55 mark in his next match. A 7-3 victory sent him to the finals against Cameryn Brady. Strausbaugh battled throughout the contest, fighting to a 1-1 tie late in the match after trailing 1-0. Brady was able to hold on and score the final point to win 2-1. A 3-1 loss to Olivet's Gage Pederson in the "true second" bout eliminated Strausbaugh from alternate consideration. Strausbaugh finished the year with a record of 45-6. He entered the regional tied for second in the nation in total wins this season, and completes his junior year with a career mark of 131-26, placing him third on the all-time Wabash wins list behind Healy and Rhoads.

Tough way to end for Jake.  That "True Second" match is interesting.  In high school wrestling, the loser of the championship match is automatically awarded 2nd place, but in college, the loser of the championship match must face the winner of the consolation bracket to establish the "true second" finisher.  Gives hope to a wrestler who loses a match that they can still earn 2nd place, but makes it double tough on the loser of the championship match to put that loss behind them and wrestle against an opponent who has won a few matches in a row.

Girls Basketball
The Lady Riders earned a sectional championship by beating Loudonville 62-42 and have advanced to the district semifinals against Dalton on March 1st at 8pm.  That game will follow Smithville/Canton CC.  Both games will be played at Triway HS.

Orrville junior Hannah Plybon ended the season with 396 points, and with 13 in the tourney opener against Tuslaw, has surpassed the 400 point mark for the 2nd straight season.  Her current career points total is 1332 (437 for the season), which puts her in 3rd place all-time, just 36 points behind Rhonda Winters' total of 1368, and just 138 points shy of Stacie Howard's all-time record of 1470.

Boys Basketball
The Riders boys ended the season at 7-13 (for the second straight season) and will open tourney play against Chippewa on 2/29 at 6pm at Wooster High School.  If they win, they would most likely play Loudonville on Saturday night at 7:30pm.

This is a wide open district that any of 5 or 6 teams could win it, so it will come down to which team is playing the best over the next 2 weeks.  We've seen glimpses of what this team is capable of, it's just a matter of going out and executing.

I don't mean to make this a point of bragging, but I don't think an Orrville team has lost a district tournament game on the floor of the new Wooster HS.  The school opened up in 1994, so the first district held there was in 1995, and we won that district on our way to state.  In 1996, we moved up to division 2 and didn't play districts there, and I'm pretty sure we were division 2 ever since, up until 2009-10 when we dropped back down to Division 3, and we've won the last 6 tournament games on that court.

The 1995 district final win over Norwayne was held at the Canton Fieldhouse, so technically only 2 wins that year were at Wooster.  And in 2010, the district final was held at the College of Wooster. So by my count, that's still an 8-0 record in tournament games played at Wooster HS since it first held a district tournament in 1995.

Bolyard shines at UNOH
It wasn't the best season for The University of Nortwestern Ohio men's basketball team, but it was an impressively good season for their leading scorer and Orrville grad, Jake Bolyard.  Just a 7-23 record for the Racers, but Bolyard averaged a school record 22.4 points per game and was recently named 2nd Team All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) for his efforts.  His scoring average was 3rd best in all of NAIA Division 2, and he ranked in the top 16 of eight different offensive categories among WHAC players.

Makes you wonder what a guy has to do to make the first team?  Congrats Jake!!
College Riders
I mentioned to of our alumni excelling in college, but I'm always interested in hearing about others.  Please check out my "College Riders" section and let me know if I've left anyone out.  I just reviewed the list and had some new additions and removed some too.

Bob Knight Special
If you missed the premiere of the full 30 minute special of Coach Bob Knight coming back to Orrville, be sure to catch it.  Excellently done.  It will re-air Monday 2/27 at 6:30pm and Wednesday 2/29 at 6pm on ESPNU.

Winter Sports Tournament Update

Boys Basketball
Division 3 Wooster Bracket - Canton Region Bracket - Division 3 - All Divisions

The Orrville boys team drew the 6 seed in what appears to be a wide open district.  Orrville opens with Chippewa on 2/29 (leap day) at 6pm and if they're able to win that game, it's possible they may not face another Wayne County team the entire tournament. 

Number one seed Norwayne was just defeated by Wellington (Lorain County) in regular season play, who according to OhioBasketball.net is 17-2 on the season.  Any team from out of the area will be an unknown to area fans, but 17 wins is 17 wins.

It's also possible that no Wayne County teams will meet in the finals...something that hasn't happened since Loudonville (Ashland County) beat Manchester (Summit County) in 2004.  The only legit district finalist possibilities from Wayne County are Norwayne and Orrville.  No disrespect to Smithville, but I don't see them stringing together 3 wins over Clearview, then Hillsdale, and then probably Orrville or Loudonville to get there.

Elyria Catholic and Orrville play the toughest schedules in the district, and both will come in with losing records.  Will those tough schedules pay off?

Should be a great tournament as always, but something will be missing with Triway moving up to Division 2 and playing their district at the Fieldhouse over in Canton.

Girls Basketball
Division 3 Triway Bracket - Cuyahoga Falls Region Bracket - Division 3 - All Divisions

The Lady Riders ended the regular season 15-5 but lost 2 of their final 3.  Their 5 losses were all to good teams (twice each to West Holmes and Wooster, and once to Canton Central Catholic) so no shame in those, but somewhere along the tournament trail, they're going to meet good teams and they have to figure out how to win those games.

They open tourney play on Weds. 2/22 at 7:45 vs. Chippewa and then play Loudonville on the 25th.  I think they win both of those games handily and their first real test will be against (assuming) Dalton in the district semifinals.

The winner of the CCC/Smithville game will most likely be waiting in the district finals and the Riders would love a chance to defend their district title.

Wrestling
Garfield Heights District Pairings (Orrville Wrestlers in 106, 152, 170 & 285 weight classes).
Four Orrville wrestlers will look to advance to the state tournament this weekend in Garfield Heights.  Alex Tschiegg (106), Brad Potter (152), Trevor White (170) and Ronnie Lehtomaki (285) will all be looking to secure the 6th straight berth in the state tournament by a Rider grappler.

Results should be posted here starting Friday.

Swimming
Last but not least, OHS junior Madison Monheim made it back-to-back appearances in the state swimming meet as she qualified for the 200 yd. freestyle by finishing 4th at districts and also the 500 yd. freestyle where she finished 6th at districts.

She is seeded 12th in the 200 and 16th in the 500.  She will swim in Canton's Branin Natatorium this Thursday at 5pm (prelims) and in the finals on Friday also at 5pm.  Keep an eye on my Twitter page Thursday and Friday for results as I get them.

This is the 4th straight year that Orrville has sent at least 1 swimmer to the state meet.  Quite an accomplishment.

Orrville vs. Norwayne - Ten Things You Need to Know

Thought I'd share some facts/stats and helpful hints for this Saturday's Regional Semifinal game between Orrville and Norwayne...I posted thoughts on the game itself earlier...but wanted to focus on all the extra "stuff" associated with this matchup.

Week 12: Orrville Red Riders vs. Norwayne Bobcats

Who: Orrville Red Riders (#2 seed, 8-3) vs. Norwayne Bobcats (#3 seed, 10-1)
What: An OHSAA Division 4 Regional Semifinal
Where: Medina High School's Ken Dukes Stadium
When: Saturday November 12, 2011, 7pm

Last Week: Orrville beat LaBrae 53-14, Norwayne beat Brookfield 42-7
Series: 3rd Meeting, Orrville leads 2-0 (1958 - Orrville won 46-0, 1981 Orrville won 29-0)

Radio/TV: Game will be live on 104.5 WQKT and also streamed at www.wqkt.com
Updates: I'll be sending updates through Qwixcore, a service of the high school website MaxPreps.com, click here to follow along online.  I'll post the link on Saturday where you can follow along.

Coaches: Doug Davault for Orrville (50-21 in his 6th season, 8-3 playoff record) and Joe Harbour for Norwayne (19-4 in his 2nd season, 2-1 playoff record).
Playoff History: Orrville is making their 22nd appearance and have a 29-20 playoff record.  Norwayne is making their 4th playoff appearance and is 2-3 all time.

Well...the talk is pretty much over, time to see this matchup actually happen.  This is what playoff football is all about.  Two good teams from supportive communities who will lay it all on the line to be one step closer to a state championship.  I'll talk briefly about what each team needs to do well and give my thoughts on how I think this one plays out.

Vikings Vanquished...Bobcats Next

Another chapter in Red Rider Football playoff history is in the books, and what a night it was.  An action packed 53-14 win over LaBrae and Orrville is back in familiar territory, week 12...something only 16 teams in Division 4 can say at this moment. 

The win was the 29th win in the history of Orrville playoffs, the 596th overall and the 50th for head coach Doug Davault.

Let's look back on the win and look ahead to the much anticipated week 12 matchup with the Nor-what? Norwayne Bobcats.

Pics courtesy of Rod Dilyard.  Full Gallery here.  Thanks Rod!

Week 11 - LaBrae Vikings at Orrville Red Riders

Who: Leavittsburg LaBrae Vikings (6-4, #7 seed) at Orrville Red Riders (7-3, #2 seed)

What: OHSAA Division 4, Region 13 Quarterfinal

Where: Red Rider Stadium, Orrville

When: Saturday November 5, 2011, 7pm

Series: First Meeting

Last Week: Orrville beat Wooster 35-7, LaBrae beat Steubenville Central Catholic 27-13

Coaches: Doug Davault for Orrville (49-21, 6th season, 7-3 in 3 playoff appearances) - Bill Bohren for LaBrae (287-153-6, 46th season, 8th year at LaBrae, 0-1 in 1 playoff appearance at LaBrae)

Radio/TV: Game will be broadcast on Wooster's AM 960 and also streamed at www.wqkt.com

Playoff Appearances: Orrville - 22nd appearance (28-20 Record), Labrae - 3rd Appearance (1-2 Record)

Conference Affiliation: Orrville is a member of the Ohio Cardinal Conference while LaBrae is a member of the All-American Conference, Blue Division

Points per Game/Allowed: Orrville - 25.2 scored, 15.2 allowed....LaBrae - 24.18 scored, 18.1 allowed

Looking back on Wooster, ahead to playoffs

It's November 1st, leaves and temperatures are falling, Orrville just beat Wooster and helmets are full of skulls....yep...it's playoff time.

For the 22nd time in the 39 year history of the OHSAA state football playoffs, the Orrville Red Riders will once again be playing in week 11 (and hopefully beyond).

Some quick notes about the Wooster game, and we'll look ahead to the 2nd season.