2011 Football...In Review

Saturday's playoff didn't end like anyone wanted...or even thought it would.

The 34-19 loss to the Bobcats was a tough loss, no getting around it. It was one of those nights that nothing went right for us and everything went right for Norwayne.

I'm not going to spend time delving on what could have and should have happened....just going to say congratulations to the Bobcats and good luck the rest of the way.

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.
 

Orrville Playoff Ticket Information

Here are the details related to the sale of presale tickets for the Labrae/Orrville playoff game this Saturday at 7pm at Red Rider Stadium.


Tuesday- Beginning at 7:00 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. in the OHS lobby tickets to current reserved season ticket holders will be sold. Season ticket holders will be able to purchase the same reserved seats in which they had during the fall. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. through 8:00 p.m. general admission tickets and all other reserved seats will be available.

Wednesday - Friday- Tickets will be sold out of all 3 Orrville school buildings during school hours. They will also be sold during business hours at Carmichael Sports and Expert T's in Orrville.

Saturday- Tickets will be sold at Carmichael Sports & Expert T's from 9:00 a.m.- Noon


ALL presale tickets are $7.00. ALL tickets at the gate are $9.00. Fans are encouraged to purchase presale because Orrville gets a percentage of the presale and nothing that is sold at the gate.

Crunching the Playoff Numbers

The unofficial computer points standings are out on the indispensable Joe Eitel's website..and the Orrville Red Riders are now officially in the playoffs for a 22nd time.

Here is the snapshot of Region 13 after 9 weeks, showing the Riders in 2nd place. So now that we can officially say "we're in," let's talk about who we might play in week 11. It's not mathematically certain, but it might as well be so I'll just say it....Orrville WILL host a week 11 home game regardless of the outcome against Wooster. Even if we received no 2nd level points from teams we've already beaten, I think we drop no further that 4th place, still earning us a week 11 home game.

Football: Playoffs a 99% Certainty

According to statistics guru Drew Pastuer (http://www.fantastic50.net), the Orrville football team could actually lose their last two games and still have a 99% chance of making the OHSAA state playoffs. As of now, he says we have a 91% chance of hosting a home first-round game.

So it leads me to assume that a win over Clear Fork this Friday will lock up a first-round home playoff game regardless of the outcome of the Wooster game. Read below for more playoff talk, including my projections of where we'll end up in the region, and what team may be making the trip to Orrville in week 11.

Week 7 Preview: Ashland Arrows at Orrville Red Riders

Who: Ashland Arrows (2-4, 2-1 in OCC) at Orrville Red Riders (4-2, 2-1)
When: Friday October 7th
Where: Red Rider Stadium (Ashland Fans: Click here for Directions)

Series: Ashland leads 12-8, there was 1 tie (Click Here for Detail)
Last Year: Ashland won 42-28
Last Week: Orrville beat West Holmes 28-21, Ashland beat Mansfield Senior 38-6

Radio/TV: WQKT 104.5 will boradcast the game on the radio and also at http://www.wqkt.com
Coaches: Orrville's Doug Davault is 46-20 in his 6th season, Ashland's Scott Valentine is77-33 in his 10th season with the Arrows

Computer Points:  Orrville sits 5th in Region 13 while Ashland sits 17th in Region 7.

Week 7 already? Really?? Unbelievable. Week 7 also means you can smell the playoffs right around the corner. It's fall, weather is cooler, leaves are falling, it just feels like football weather now.

It's also officially cruunch-time in Rider country. This is where the destiny of our team and many others across the state begins to take shape. The Riders simply control their own destiny...win out and win the OCC and host a first-round playoff game. It sounds so simple doesn't it? Unfortunately, there's 16 quarters (at least) of football in between us and raising an OCC title at midfield of Red Rider Stadium after a 7th straight win over Wooster. I'll guarantee nobody but me is looking past Ashland though.

After Week 6...More Big Games to Come

Friday's 28-21 win over West Holmes was just gutsy. No other way around it. Riders made plays and stopped the Knights from doing the same. It was a game we had to have, and we got it. Give the kids and coaches credit for steadying the ship and to the seniors for speaking through their words and actions in what might have been a season-saving win (#592 in school history).

Let's talk about it all...but not until we look at the pictures from the game courtesy of Rod Dilyard. Rod does great work and is very dedicated to Orrville sports.

2011 Week 6 - Orrville Red Riders at West Holmes Knights

Who: Orrville Red Riders (3-2, 1-1) at West Holmes Knights (4-1, 2-0)
Where: Knights Stadium in Millersburg (Directions Here)
When: Friday September 30, 2011
Last Week: Orrville lost to Mansfield Senior 21-14, West Holmes beat Ashland 35-31.

Series History: Orrville leads 26-12 (click here for detail)
Last Year: Orrville won 38-6.

Coaches: Orrville coach Doug Davault is 45-20 in his 6th year. Kevin Maltarich is 5-10 in his 2nd season with the Knights.

Radio/TV: 104.5 WQKT will provide updates. The game will be streamed online at The Voice of Holmes County. Click here for directions on how to listen to the game through your cell phone.

Computer Points: Both Orrville (Region 13) and West Holmes (Region 11) both sit in 8th place in the latest computer point standings. West Holmes region is stacked with perennial powers Steubenville, Mooney and Dover...as well as Stark County powers Minerva, Northwest and Marlington.

Overview: Last week could not have went any differently for the Riders and Knights. Orrville dropped a game they were heavily favored to win to Mansfield Senior, and West Holmes completed a comeback dubbed the 'Millersburg Miracle,' beating Ashland for the first time in program history, 35-31.

Orrville has won 6 of the last 8 meetings (outscoring the Knights 80-6 in the last 2 meetings), but the 2 Knight wins in that stretch (2007 and 2008) kept the Riders from the postseason each year.

2011 Week 5 Preview - Orrville Red Riders at Mansfield Senior Tygers

Who: Orrville Red Riders (3-1, 1-0) at Mansfield Senior Tygers (1-3, 0-1)
Where: Mansfield's Arlin Field (Directions Here)
When: Friday September 23, 2011
Last Week: Orrville beat Lexington 35-12, Senior lost to Clear Fork 35-28.

Series History: Orrville leads 9-5 (click here for detail)
Last Year: Orrville beat Senior 28-14.

Coaches: Orrville coach Doug Davault is 45-19 in his 6th year. Chioke Bradley is 7-7 in his 2nd season as Tyger head coach.
Radio/TV: The game will be broadcast on WRGM AM1440/97.3 FM starting at 6:45pm. It will also be streaming online...click here Friday evening to stream the game on your computer.

Overview: Two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions will meet up Friday night in Mansfield at the beautifully renovated Arlin Field.  The Tygers are 1-3, losers of three straight games, and last week lost the focal point of their offense in senior running back Terrell Dorsey to a season ending leg injury.  Orrville is fresh off a 35-12 drubbing of Lexington and is looking to stay perfect in the Ohio Cardinal Conference behind a quick-strike offense and a defense that has allowed the fewest total points (59) of any OCC team through 4 weeks.  Orrville has won the last 5 meetings between the schools.

After Week 4: Football and Everything Else

Well, Friday night after Week 4 sure felt better than Friday night after week 3 didn't it? A nice bounce back performance by the Riders. Doesn't it seem when this program is counted out or doubted that they always respond? Not just sometimes...ALWAYS. Again....TRADITION.

Let's review the game, the rest of the OCC, some Region 13 chatter and a little bit of volleyball, golf and Tim Hiller sprinkled in for good measure.

Pics, as always, courtesy of Rod Dilyard. Lexington gallery here. Thanks Rod.

Week 2 Review & Upcoming Schedule

Week 2 of football season is in the books...a nice 52-7 thumping over Triway. Again, can't complain about the points this offense has put up and the play of the defense either. But still lots to work on, but that's a good thing. No reason to peak in week 2. Seems that through history, Coach Davault's team hit their stride late in the season and are playing their best ball late in the season.

I'll hit the high points of the win over Triway, look ahead to week 3 vs. Copley and look at the upcoming week for all the fall sports teams.

Orrville Football: 2011 Season Preview

Here is my season preview football article that will also appear in this Friday's (8/26) OrrViews. I know a lot of my readers are out of the area, so I figured I'd post it here to reach those not in or around Orrville.

Enjoy.  Oh, here's a roster, schedule and a Region 13 map for your reference.

Now enjoy....

OHSAA Enrollment for 2011-2013..and the "Orrville Impact"

It was a simple tweet from the awesomely awesome OHSAA twitter feed, but it made my day..

“Now on OHSAA.org - OHSAA releases enrollment numbers for 2011-12 & 2012-13 school years.”

Numbers geeks and high school sports fans all over Ohio know exactly what this means…it’s time to redraw the divisions for all OHSAA sports based on enrollment numbers. This applies to all sports, but especially football, where not only are divisions re-drawn, but it sets in motion realignment of the state’s 24 regions, which can change the landscape of high school football in Ohio more than anything else.

Continue reading for what impact this may have on the coming football season.

Week 14 Preview - Orrville Red Riders vs Chagrin Falls Tigers

Who: Orrville Red Riders (10-3) vs Chagrin Falls Tigers (12-1)
What: An OHSAA Division IV State Semifinal
When: Friday November 26th, 2010
Where: Medina High School's Ken Dukes Stadium (Map here)
All-Time Meeting: This is the first meeting between the schools

Coaches:  Doug Davault is 42-17 in his 5th season at Orrville.  He has a 7-2 career playoff record in three appearances.  This is his first appearance in the state semifinals.  Mark Iammarino is in his 16th year as Tigers coach.  His career record is 108-58, including 10-6 in the playoffs.  He has guided the Tigers to 7 of their 8 playoff appearances in school history.

Playoff History:  Orrville is making their 21st appearance in the state playoffs, their all-time record is 28-19.  Chagrin Falls is making their 8th all-time playoff appearance with an all-time record of 11-7.  They are 7-1 in the playoffs over the last two seasons.

How They Got Here: Chagrin Falls defeated Garretsville Garfield (22-7), Cortland Lakeview (54-28) and Manchester (37-14).  Orrville defeated Triway (27-25), Elyria Catholic (22-14) and Genoa Area (16-6).

Radio: WQKT 104.5 FM will broadcast on-air and on-line at WQKT.com.  Akron's WZIP 88.1 FM will also carry the game, online too.

After Week 13...Final Four edition

What a night that was. What a great all-around game by the entire team. This team is peaking at the right time, our defense is playing awesome. Last night was the 9th regional title in school history, and first since 1999. Now it's on to the state FINAL FOUR and a date with the Chagrin Falls Tigers this Friday at Medina.

This team has a look....a legitimate look at the state title. No one's getting ahead of themselves, but this team has a real chance to be the last team standing. Who'd have thought that at the beginning of the year? We have the talent on offense, a strong defense, and capable special teams.  We're also battle tested.  The scary part is we can still get better.

Let's talk about the Genoa game and all the lovely, lovely details of another playoff victory against an undefeated Comet team.

After Week 12 - Panthers caged...Comets on the horizon

How about them Riders?  What can you say about the effort that was put forth by the ENTIRE TEAM?  I know it was only an 8-point win, but it was very convincing to me.  I said it in the preview that we'd need to be excellent across the board to win.  And that's pretty much what happened.

Let's discuss it all and look forward to the regional final versus those pesky Comets from Genoa.

Picture from the Lorain Morning Journal.  Article and more pics here. 

Full gallery of game pics here, courtesy of Rod Dilyard Photography.