Red Rider Playoffs: 1994 (Part 1)

Back at it....hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Football season is right around the corner, and it's time to knock the rust off this site. What better way to get back in the groove than to dust off the Red Rider Football Playoff History series?

Next up on the docket, the 1994 playoff run.  This one was fun...and it just happened to be my senior year, so the memories run thick and deep.  Get ready for tons of minutiae.

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.

My Top 10 of 2010 - #5 and #4

This is my Top 10 Red Rider Sports Blog Moments of 2010. See the full list of posts here. 

We're getting closer, and that means the choices are much harder to make. Every one of these top 10 are moments to be proud of as Orrville citizens, students & alumni.

I think this one might cause some people to question my thought process.  I'll try to explain the best I can.

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.

One blog post....Supersized. - Genoa Video, Stats, Thoughts, Awards, Basketball & Volleyball

Trying to combine everything into one post. Short week and family gatherings mean less time for blog reading/writing. This one and the game preview will be about all I have time for before Friday. I do want to send a HUGE thank you to all the readers/followers of the site. It's a broken record and I apologize for constantly repeating it, but I'm just blown away at the latest readership numbers.

Since the Monday of Wooster Week (October 25th) through this past Sunday (November 21st), there have been over 8,000 site visits and over 20,000 page views. That's roughly double the visitors & page views from the same time period last year.

November is already the biggest month in site history, and we still have at least one more week of football to go.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all those who contribute ideas, suggestions, comments and even criticisms. All are a part of making this site special.

My fellow Rider fan and OrrViews colleague Ned Hostetler mentioned in his latest article that his drive to keep doing his historical looks-backs for OrrViews stemmed from all the positive comments he received, and the fact that people anticipate his next article.  I couldn't have put it any better. I've said before that I'd still run this site even if nobody read it, but it's nice to know that folks appreciate the site.

It's always been my drive to give you informative, accurate & even-handed content that represents the knowledge and passion that so many of you demonstrate. The fact that so many of you are faithful readers is terribly humbling. It didn't take me long to figure out that my words have impact, and I will continue to take that responsibility very seriously.

Enough about me....let's get to the good stuff.

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.

Week 13 Preview - Genoa Area Comets vs Orrville Red Riders

Who: #3 Orrville Red Riders (9-3) vs #4 Genoa Area Comets (12-0)
What: The Division IV, Region 14 Championship
Where: Avon Lake Memorial Stadium, Avon Lake, OH - (Map & Directions here, I've been told this is the best way to go)
When: Friday, November 19, 2010 - 7:30pm kickoff

All-Time Series: Orrville leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Orrville beat Genoa in a 2009 Region 14 semifinal, 36-35.

Coaches: Doug Davault is 41-17 in his 5th year for Orrville.  His playoff record is 6-2 in three appearances.  Genoa coach Mike Vicars is 46-4 in just his 4th year as Comet coach, including a 7-3 record in four playoff appearances.  He's 146-97 in his coaching career with an all-time playoff record of 12-10 (11 appearances).

How they got here:  Genoa beat #5 seed Ottawa-Glandorf 7-6 in the first round and upset #1 seed Clear Fork, 38-29 in round two.  Orrville beat #6 seed Triway in the first round (27-25) and upset #2 seed Elyria Catholic last week by a 22-14 score.

Radio:  WQKT 104.5 FM will broadcast the game over the air and also online at wqkt.com. 

Playoff History: This is Orrville's 21st all-time playoff appearance, their all-time playoff record is 27-19 with one state title (1998).  They have won regional titles 8 times.  Genoa is making their 4th appearance, with an all-time record of 7 wins and 3 losses.  Their only regional title was won in 2008.

Week 13 Site.....Avon Lake High School

Well, I thought it was a lock for Huron or Tiffin (so did Genoa's AD)...but one thing is certain, never set it in stone when the OHSAA is involved. The site for the regional final between Orrville and Genoa has been announced. It will be held at Memorial Stadium on the campus of Avon Lake High School.

According to this link, it's a 4500-seat capacity stadium that has been completely renovated. Updates were made to the seating, concessions, restrooms, locker rooms and (most importantly) a brand new artificial turf playing surface. Here's a gallery of pictures from their renovation which was completed just before the 2010 season opened.

Genoa will be the home team (Orrville is the higher seed, but we're on the bottom of the bracket, so we're the visitor).  More seats on the home side, but there will be plenty of room for the Orrville contingent.  Genoa needs the extra room for their air horns (and inflated egos) anyway.

Google Maps says it's just shy of a 90-minute drive from Orrville....and just over 90 minutes from Genoa. So pretty equal in terms of drive. What has the potential to stink is dealing with what will amount to rush hour traffic in the Cleveland area. Looks like the best way to go is up Rt. 71 North to 90 West to the Route 83 North exit.

Stadium is less than a mile away from Lake Erie....so dress warm.

Here's a map & directions.

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.

Week 12 Preview - Orrvile Red Riders vs Elyria Catholic Panthers

Who:  #2 Elyria Catholic Panthers (10-1) vs #3 Orrville Red Riders (8-3)
What:  An OHSAA Division IV, Region 14 Semifinal
Where:  Medina High School - Ken Dukes Stadium (map here, they will be charging $2 for parking also)
When:  Friday November 12, 2010, 7:30pm

All-Time Series:  Elyria Catholic leads 1-0
Last Meeting:  Elyria Catholic 14, Orrville 13.  1984 Division III State Semifinal.  My 1984 playoff lookback including the original game article is here.

Playoff History:  Orrville has qualified for the state playoffs 21 times.  Their playoff record is 26-19 with one state championship (1998).  Elyria Catholic has 14 appearances, their record is 16-10 with 3 state titles (1976, 1983, 1984).

Coaches: Ben Malbasa is in his 4th season as Panther coach, this is his 2nd playoff appearance. His record is 31-11, including a 1-1 record in the playoffs. Doug Davault is 40-17 in his 5th year as Orrville head coach. He's 5-2 in 3 playoff appearances.

Radio: Wooster's 104.5 WQKT will broadcast the game on-air and online at WQKT.com. WEOL 930 AM will also carry the game. Their website is here, can't really tell if they'll be webcasting, but I'm guessing so.

Other Region 14 Game: In the other semifinal, #4 Genoa takes on #1 Clear Fork at Tiffin. Both teams run the ball almost exclusively so this game should take about 90 minutes to play. It may be over by the time the Orrville game is at halftime.

In a rematch from the 1984 Division 3 playoffs...two of northeast Ohio's most accomplished programs will meet on the field for only the second time.  The winner gets a berth in the regional title game.  It's preview time...and for this week, I've asked a special guest to handle the Elyria Catholic side of things.  Read on for all the wonderment. 

After Week 11 - Great effort ,Titans & Bring on the Panthers

Another playoff game...another heartburn inducing, down-to-the-wire finish. In the end, Orrville survives and advances. Let's talk about the game, the great performance turned in by Stewart Turner, the gutsy effort from the Titans and plenty of other topics. I know it wasn't the cleanest performance ever, but a win is a win.

Think of it this way, Orrville is one of 16 teams in division 4 (and 1 of 96 in the state) that aren't cleaning out their lockers and turning in their uniforms this week.  This is a good thing.

Pictured at right...the 2010 Elyria Catholic Panthers.  Numbers-wise, they're about the same as Orrville.

Week 11 Preview - Div. 4 Regional Quarterfinal - Orrville vs Triway

Who: #3 Orrville Red Riders (7-3, 5-2 in OCC) vs. #6 Triway Titans (8-2, 6-1 in PAC)
Where: Red Rider Stadium - Orrville, OH (Map & Directions)
When: Friday November 5, 2010, 7:30pm

All Time Series: Orrville leads 32-6 (detail here)
Last Meeting: Week 2, 2010 (Orrville won 41-18)
Last Week: Orrville beat Wooster 42-17, Triway beat Canton Timken 41-0.

Playoff History: Orrville is making their 21st and second consecutive playoff appearance, their all-time playoff record is 25-19. Triway is making their 5th appearance, and is 2-4 all-time in the playoffs.  Triway is making their 3rd straight trip to the playoffs.  Their last playoff win came in 2003 over Manchester (21-14) in round 1.

Coaches: Doug Davault is 39-17 in his 5th year as Orrville coach, he's 4-2 in playoff games. Tony Lee is 16-5 in his 2nd season as Triway coach, he's 0-1 in the playoffs.

Radio/TV: Options aplenty...WQKT 104.5 FM out of Wooster will be doing the game, naturally. Also, 95.3 WKLM out of Millersburg and WZIP 88.1 FM out of Akron will be broadcasting as well. So depending on where you are, you could possibly listen to the game on three different FM radio stations at the same time.

Both WQKT and WZIP have live streams on their website, I know for sure that WQKT will be streaming the game at wqkt.com, I imagine Z88 will stream the game as well, here.

Oh yeah, Clear Picture cable out of Wooster will also be doing the game....and Fox8's SkyFox will be there too. The load limit of that pressbox will be tested Friday night.

I'll be sending updates to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Don't bother checking both, it's the same update, just sent to both services. Or just stay here on the blog homepage and keep an eye on the Twitter gadget on the right hand side of the page. Refresh every 20 minutes or so for the latest.

Other Region 14 Games:  #8 Ontario travels to #1 Clear Fork, #7 Huron travels to #2 Elyria Catholic & #5 Ottawa-Glandorf travels to #4 Genoa Area.  The entire D-4 bracket is here.

After Week 10...Ho-hum...another Wooster win & playoff talk

'Woo Who?' Indeed. 42-17.  Sixth straight win is very nice.  But don't let anyone fool you....it was a nervous week.

A week after being shutout by Clear Fork, I don't think I was alone in NOT knowing what to expect from this team, and that was concerning after nine weeks. All I, and everyone else, knew was that two straight losses to end the year would have been bad. And late Friday night it became more clear that if we lost to Wooster, we'd be traveling to Ottawa-Glandorf for the first round of the playoffs. Nobody wanted that.

But nobody really knew which Orrville team would show up. Would we get the team we saw in week 2 that dismantled Triway, or would we get the inconsistent team that was prone to penalties & turnovers? In a distracted week of special events like the Senior Assembly, Bonfire, captains lunch, no school on Friday and all the pre-game activities on a Saturday night in Wooster, it just had all the makings of a tough night for the Riders.

I got confident when I saw all those Red Rider alums form the tunnel for this years Rider team to run past. At that moment, it was like all the good vibes, all the hard earned victories, all the sacrifice and all of what encompasses 'Red Rider Tradition' was passed from past decades of Red Riders to this years team. It was then I knew that it was just a matter of playing Rider football.

We weren't losing this game, and we didn't.

For the 24th time in the last 34 rivalry games, the red, White & black came out the winners....and Wooster's all-time lead is down to single digits (50-41-9).  That hasn't happened since WAY back in 1935 when Wooster held a 16-7-3 edge over the Riders.

On to the minute details....PS - photos by Rod Dilyard. Full gallery here.

Volleyball & Football Ticket Info...and Rosey!!!

I'm sorry if you've already got this info from the Booster Club via e-mail....just doing my part to get the word out.

Below is ticket info for Thrusday's volleyball match with Gilmour Academy, Friday's football playoff game versus Triway....and info on Orrville senior Nathan Rosenbaum running in the state cross country meet.

Thanks to Kent Smith and Deb Goudy in the athletic office for getting this info out to the masses.

If anyone is planning to attend all three (and possibly four if the girls win on Thursday), give me a shout.  Got an idea for a little road-trip assignment.

Football Playoff Scenarios....

I wouldn't risk jinxing the playoffs coming off a real bad loss and 7-win Wooster waiting on us...but the numbers are all but official. The Red Riders are a playoff team, no matter how much we DON'T look like one right now.

So let's look at some of the potential week 11 matchups by projecting the week 10 games that will impact the region.

After Week 8.......

We'll save the football stuff for last. I'd rather highlight the positive first.  Let's talk Orrville Cross Country & Volleyball before we get to the ugliness that was Friday night against Clear Fork.

OHSAA Harbin Computer Points.....A Tutorial.

I got asked on Twitter about explaining how Ohio's system of ranking teams via computer points works. I never thought twice about taking time to explain how they're calculated, for that I apologize.

I'll give it my best shot. I would however recommend that you take this information and file it away. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to track computer points for Orrville's or any other region. It will consume you. You will not sleep. Trust me. I tried it in the 2008 season....never again.

On a personal note, I remember tracking computer points during study halls spent in Mr. Phil Young's room (loved those blue 'get out of study hall' passes). I'd input the teams and points on a bar graph, it was nothing more than a graphical representation of what you read in the paper, but it LOOKED like work, so I was golden.

Let's get geeky.

Week 7 Preview: Orrville at Ashland

Who: Orrville Red Riders (5-1, 3-0) vs. Ashland Arrows (5-1, 3-0)
Where: Ashland Community Stadium (Click Here for Map & Directions)
When: Friday October 8th, 7:00pm

All Time Series: Ashland leads 11-8, there has been 1 tie. (Click here for detail)
Last Meeting: 2009 (Ashland won 14-13)
Last Week: Orrville beat West Holmes 38-6, Ashland beat Mansfield Senior 49-20

Coaches: Scott Valentine is 70-27 in his 9th season as Ashland head coach.  Doug Davault is 37-15 in his 6th season as Orrville coach.
Radio:  WQKT travels West into Ashland County for this one.  Also will stream at WQKT.com.
Computer Points:  Orrville sits at #3 in Division 4, Region 14, Ashland sits in 7th in Division 2, Region 5.

Let's be honest, the minute we beat Lexington back in week 4, everyone's eyes turned to the Ashland game as the next roadblock on our schedule. Both teams come into the game with a 5-1 record and an unblemished 3-0 OCC record. The winner will take one big step towards an OCC title and help their playoff chances immensely.

Thoughts after Week 6.

Orrville has now won 3 straight, and are sitting pretty in the OCC race.  A big test against Ashland awaits.  Let's look back at the 38-6 win over West Holmes and talk about Region 14, penalties, the rest of the OCC...and some interesting comments from a certain conference team down in the valley.

Pic as always from Rod Dilyard.  Derek Graber and Matt Davis chase down West Holmes QB Gabe Snyder.  Check out his full gallery, available for viewing and purchase here.

Thoughts after Week 5...The "We'll take it" edition

Another week in the books and the 2010 regular season is half over. The Riders are 4-1 (2-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference)....but far from where they want to be in terms of a playoff-ready team.  Let's talk about the 28-14 win over Mansfield Senior and another dominating performance by the "Red Curtain" defense.  We'll also address the sputtering of the offense over the last few weeks.