Orrville Red Rider Sports Blog

Another OCC "All-Sports" Title for Lexington, Orrville 5th

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:25:00 +0000

I wrote about this last year and it's something I try to follow each season. With the completion of another school year of sports, the Ohio Cardinal Conference has released the final tallies for their "All-Sports" Championship, a combination of points scored based on order of finish for all boys & girls sports.

And the more things change, the more they stay the same.

For the 8th straight year, Lexington captures the crown, amassing a total of 100 points, just 1.5 points more than 2nd place Ashland who finished with 98.5 points. Only Wooster in 2003-04 has won an All-Sports title other than the Minutemen.

Wooster finished 3rd this year with 77 points, West Holmes was 4th with 76.5 and Orrville checked in at 5th with 70 points.

I thought with the well-rounded year the Red Riders might sneak into the top 3, but like I mentioned in last year's blog post, Orrville doesn't offer all the sports that bigger schools like Ashland and Lexington do, and therefore, can't score points in those sports' categories.
Orrville was 6th heading into spring sports, but a strong spring in Softball & boys and girls track allowed the Riders to jump to 5th by year's end.

Schools like Ashland, Lex and Wooster are just too deep across lots of sports and it will probably those 3 at the top of the All-Sports race for the foreseeable future.

In researching this, I stumbled across the Ohio Cardinal Conference Wikipedia page, which does a great job of summarizing the various conference champions in sports since the conference's beginnings in 2003.

I added some more info and created the "All-Sports" section, but if anyone else can fill in the blanks, feel free, that's what Wikipedia is all about.

A Season of Champions at OHS

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:27:00 +0000

We sometimes (all the time?) take success for granted at Orrville. But this needs to be appreciated. Can you remember a more successful season than 2011-12 in terms of the number of OHS athletic teams that have had successful and sometime history-making seasons?

Let's review....
Fall Sports
The football team made the playoffs (regionals) for the 22nd time.

The boys and girls cross country teams each advanced a runner to regionals.

The soccer team won their first tournament match ever.

Winter Sports
The boys basketball team won their third straight district title and advanced to regionals.

The girls basketball team advanced to the district finals.

The wrestling team advanced two wrestlers to the state tournament.

The swimming program was again represented at the state swim meet.

Spring Sports
The softball team won their first OCC title and had the best season in school history.

The baseball team won districts for the first time since 2000 and advanced to regionals.

The boys track team won numerous invitationals, another district title and advanced to regionals this weekend at Lexington.

The girls track team won the OCC for the 2nd time and also advanced to regionals as a team.

***********
Wow. Let that soak in. For a school our size to have that kind of success across all seasons, I think is just amazing.

That's 5 teams (football, boys basketball, baseball, boys track and girls track) that have advanced to regionals, with four of them being boys teams. That's impressive in itself.

Can't recall a year where we sent 5 teams to regionals in any combination. In 1994-95, we had football, boys basketball and baseball make regionals, which is rare enough...but to have four boys sports make regionals in one season is almost unheard of.

The Wayne/Holmes County area has seen it's share of success this year with Norwayne winning a state football title, Waynedale winning a state wrestling title and Hiland winning a state basketball. Hiland baseball and West Holmes baseball are still alive and Orrville boys & girls track and Triway girls track are still making noise in spring sports so more success at the state level is possible.

Enjoy the pictures below of some of our champion teams this year.

Track: Midview Division 2 District Info

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:33:00 +0000

Here's all you ever needed to know about this weekend's district track meet at Midview High School in Grafton. This is the first year in a long time that the district will not be hosted at Orrville.

Because of the condition of our own track and the ongoing construction of the new high school, it was decided to move the district to a new location.

Here's the tournament information page courtesy of Baumspage.com and here's the schedule of events and here's the entrants in each event and their seed times.

I think the Orrville boys and girls have good shots to finish high in the team standings, and in doing so, send a lot of athletes on to regionals and hopefully the state meet. The boys regional will be held at Lexington while the girls will travel to Bedford. This is the first time in a long time that the boys and girls teams will be split up at the regional round.

Good luck to the Orrville athletes and here's to continuing a great tradition that is the Orrville Track & Field Program.

If you're looking for updates from the track weekend, make sure you like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Pretty sure you don't need to sign up for either service just to view my posts/tweets, so don't be scared of it. I'll be posting updates there as I get them.

OCC Meet
This is a belated congratulations but wanted to recognize the boys and girls track teams for their performance at last week's OCC meet in Lexington. The OHS girls team (pictured above) won the meet and the boys finished 2nd to Lexington. It was the 2nd time the girls had won the OCC in track, with 2008 being the first. Congrats Coach Ayers & Coach Mosley and their staff for all their hard work.

That brings Orrville's total of OCC team titles to 9 (I think), and the breakdown is as follows:
Football: 1 (2005)
Volleyball: 3 (2003, 2004, 2009)
Girls Basketball: 2
Softball: 1 (2012)
Girls Track: 2 (2008, 2012)

Amazing to me, that 8 of our 9 OCC team titles have been won by girls teams. Our "go-to" boys sports over the years of football, basketball and track have amassed a total of 1 OCC title.

Orrville Baseball Wins District Title!!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:05:00 +0000

It's been a dozen years since the Orrville baseball program won a district title. That streak ended last night at Norwayne High School as the Red Riders rode the backs of dominant pitching and defeated Tuslaw by a 4-1 score.

They will advance to the Massillon Regional next Thursday May 24th to face Orwell Grand Valley (the #1 seed from the Euclid District. Grand Valley was also the #2 team in all of Division 3 according to the final OHSBCA Coaches Poll. The game will start at 2pm in the afternoon. The field in Massillon is right behind the football stadium (click here for a map).

The other regional semifinal will pit Youngstown Ursuline against LaGrange Keystone. The winners will meet Friday May 25th at 5pm for a trip to Huntington Park in Columbus and the State Final Four.

Back to the Riders run to a district title. Pretty impressive that the Riders two starting pitchers in the district round gave up a TOTAL of TWO HITS in both games combined. Juniors Trevor Kerr and Stuart Schley tossed matching 1-hitters against Norwayne and Tuslaw respectively to punch the Riders' ticket to regionals.
I don't know anything about Grand Valley, but I do know you can go a long way with good pitching, and it sounds like we have that. Our offense has been grinding out timely hits too, and you need that too.

The last time Orrville won a district title in baseball was the year 2000. They also won districts in 1995, 1996 and 1998. Their best finish ever as a program was in 1976 when then finished as Runner Up.

The last time Orrville's football, basketball & baseball teams all made regionals in the same year was the 1995-96 school year. The football team went to the state semifinals, the basketball team won state and the baseball team made the regional semis.

Sort of hard to believe this team is two wins away from a trip to the final four. Keep it up Riders. Congrats to Coach Marshall and his team on putting Red Rider baseball back on the map.

Reminder: OHS Sports Hall of Fame Golf Outing is June 9th

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:49:00 +0000

We're just about a month away from the OHS Sports Hall of Fame's largest (and only) fundraiser of the year.

This year marks the 22nd annual 18-hole golf scramble at Riceland Country Club. This year's event will take place on Sunday June 9th with registration beginning at 7:30am & a shotgun start at 8am.

Click here for all the info on the event. The funds raised from this event help go towards funding two $1,000 scholarships to a deserving male and female OHS senior at the Senior Assembly in May. Contact AD Kent Smith for registration (see the flyer for contact info).

As another reminder, the next biennial OHS Sports Hall of Fame induction is set for September 14, 2013. It's never too early to consider nominating someone for induction. Here is a link for the nomination form.

I mention this every year, but I'll repeat myself again...if someone isn't nominated, they can't be inducted. If you know of a classmate, friend or family member who is deserving of induction, take the first step of nominating them. You don't need to have a complete list of every accomplishment during their high school career, just some basic information. The more information the better, obviously, but at least get the form in and get them on the list for consideration.

For a complete list of inductees, including the class most recently inducted in 2011, click here.

Both the induction form and the list of inductees can be found under the 'Booster Club' tab at the top of the page.

Hope to see a big group of golfers at Riceland on June 9th supporting the preservation of Orrville High School's rich athletic history.

Orrville Softball Clinches OCC Title!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:11:00 +0000

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.

Stats
In the 12 OCC games this year, the Riders have outscored opponents by a combined score of 128-15.

Just look at thest results:
Mansfield Senior: 30-3 and 24-1
Mansfield Madison: 5-0 and 5-2
West Holmes: 9-0 and 15-2
Clear Fork: 11-1 and 3-2
Lexington: 1-0 and 8-2
Wooster: 8-0 and 9-2

They have two games with 2nd place Ashland next week standing in their way of a perfect run through the OCC....and they have a shot at scoring 200 runs this season. I have them at 190 runs scored through 21 games (9 runs per game average).

To the victor go the spoils
And now for some politicking...it would be a real shame of head coach Craig Johnson didn't win OCC Coach of the Year and Daily Record Coach of the Year. He should get some consideration at the district and state levels as well in my opinion.

I'm sure plenty of players will garner some postseason honors and they deserve every last one of them.

District Bracket
Hard to believe this team was only good enough to nab a 4 seed at the upcoming Creston district, but that's all the respect they received. Here's the district bracket. The Riders will open tournament play on May 10th at 4:30pm against the Dalton/Hillsdale winner. The game will be played at Orr Park.

Congrats again to the Riders, their coaches and fans on a real big accomplishment. Here's to a clean sweep of the OCC and a deep tournament run.

In this 2011-12 school year of so many area teams winning state titles (Norwayne in football, Waynedale in wrestling and Hiland in basketball), wouldn't it be sweet for an Orrville team to add their name to the list....in softball of all sports?

Orrville Spring Sports Demanding Respect

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:59:00 +0000

It's not meant as a slight to the spring sport athletes of Orrville High School, their coaches or fans, but it just seems when basketball/wrestling season ends in March, the town begins the countdown to another football season in the fall.

And if you've been a long-time reader of this site, you'll see that my activity dips a little (or a lot) during the spring months. Again, it's no slight, just typically my down time after a busy fall & winter sports season.

But this spring sports season seems a little different, and the combined success of the spring teams has a lot to do with it. You could argue that never before has the baseball, softball and track programs, combined, gotten off to the successful start that they have this year....and people (and bloggers) are starting to take notice.

Softball
The Red Rider softball team is off to a 14-2 start and a perfect 8-0 in OCC play. They have what any good team has..balance, talent and timely hitting. Their top pitcher is senior Emily Miller (7-1, 1.08 ERA) who transferred to Orrville this year from Central Christian. She's the younger sister of Orrville alum and Kent State football player Sam Miller. Freshman Bree Kauf is 5-0 from the circle with a 1.31 ERA. So Kauf and Miller have a combined 12-1 record and an ERA of 1.16. Look no further than that for the reason behind the team's success this year.

This is the first year that the OHSAA adopted a rule that moved back the pitchers mound from 40 feet to 43 feet (college distance). It was thought that this move would decrease pitching's effect on the game, or at least improve the batter's chances of success.

But just as important has been the Riders ability to hit the ball and score runs. There are currently 5 Riders hitting better than .400 on the season, led by Miller at a torrid .579 clip. Mallory Pertee checks in at .515 and Maggie Johnson at .469 with a team-high 21 RBI and 3 home runs.

Their path to an OCC conference title (would be the first for softball, and just the 2nd for all spring sports since joining the OCC..girls track won the OCC in '08) includes two games this week against Lexington, two the following week with Wooster and two the final week of the season with Ashland. They lead Ashland in conference play by 2 games, so nothing is locked up yet, but the way they've been handling their business, it looks promising.

I can't remember a time when softball has been this solid, perhaps Coach Johnson knows for sure but this has to be one of the finer teams the softball program has ever seen.

Baseball
After a red-hot start, the Red Rider baseball team went 2-2 this past week, with both losses coming to conference foe Clear Fork. Their two wins however, were quite impressive, a 9-0 win over state-ranked Tuslaw and a 9-5 win over state-ranked and defending Division 3 state champ Canton Central Catholic.

Their record sits at 9-4 on the season and 5-3 in the OCC. The next two weeks will really define their season. They have 2 with Lexington and a non-league game at Triway this week, then home with Central Christian and then two with Wooster next week.

Trevor Kerr has been leading the way for the Riders on the mound with a 1.72 ERA and 3 wins. Kerr also leads the Rider hit parade, batting an even .400 on the season, followed closely by Stuart Schley at .394. Senior AJ Perez leads the team with 12 RBI.

The tournament draw is this Sunday the 29th. The Riders are most likely looking at a top-4 seed along with Canton Central, Norwayne and Tuslaw.

It's been a while since the Riders have made noise in the post-season and that will ultimately be the measuring stick. I recall the program making regionals 3 times in the mid 90's but I don't believe they've made it to that level since then. The program's only state appearance was in 1976 when they finished as runners-up.

Track
Of all the spring sports, the one with the most tradition lately has been track...and this season has been no different with the boys team winning every one of the four invitationals they've participated in (Fairless, McCay, Orrville and Triway Invites).

They'll participate in 2 more invites this season before the OCC meet at Lexington. This week they'll travel to Richfield for the Revere Relays and then the Jackson Twilight Invite. Both meets will pit the Riders against schools much bigger than Orrville, and that's on purpose to get our students athletes to begin peaking for the conference meet and the districts and onward towards the state meet in Columbus.

It was a lot of fun working the Orrville Invite two weekends ago. It was miserable weather for the coaches and athletes, and for the kids to stay focused on doing their best in tough weather, really spoke to me about the dedication it takes to participate in track.

The boys and girls team both have some really talented athletes. The boys are being led by senior Drew Brenner who runs both the 110 & 300m hurdles, as well as relays. Senior Stew Turner has been hampered by injury, but is still excelling in the long jump and will be a key piece of any deep tournament run by our relay teams. Sophomore Joel Zook has been dominant this year in the 200m run and the 3 relays he runs. Junior Tyrone White has also been very impressive, as have juniors Brandon Johnson, Chase Infield and senior Cody Weaver. Weaver and Infield are both running track for the first time this season.

It will be fun to watch the relay teams round into form. If there's one area we have depth, it's there. Anyone from Brenner, Zook, Turner, Weaver, White Brandon Johnson, Elijah Coleman, Matt Kohler and Martavius Dyson can step in and contribute. It will be up to the coaches to put the best 4 together and work on mechanics, hand-offs and pace.

The girls track team should be getting back to full strength in the next week or so, as several girls have missed meets due to participation in JO Volleyball. The Jarrett sisters (senior Lexie and sophomore Maddie) will both be in the running in pole vault in districts and beyond and hurdler Nicole Greegor will look to make a return trip to Columbus.

Both the boys and girls will participate in the district tournament at Midview High School in Grafton. Traditionally, this meet was held at Orrville, but due to the construction of the new high school, it was decided to move the tournament. It is hoped that once the school is completed and the track resurfaced, the district meet will return to OHS.

Good luck to all the spring sports teams as they wind down their regular seasons and compete in tournament play.

Hannah Plybon commits to Univ. of Akron

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:39:00 +0000

A quick congratulations to Hannah Plybon & her family, as yesterday Hannah made a verbal commitment to accept a scholarship from the University of Akron basketball program.

The Orrville junior is currently the 2nd leading scorer in Orrville girls history (1380 points) and is also a THREE-TIME All-Ohioan. She was a 3rd team selection as a freshman and has earned first-team honors each of the last 2 seasons. No Orrville girls player (and maybe boys, too) has earned 3 All-Ohio honors in a high school basketball career, let alone 4. Hannah has that chance next year. That in itself is a pretty amazing feat.

The Zips were 14-18 last year and 7-9 in MAC play under head coach Jodi Kest.

Hannah will join big sister Hillary (Volleyball at Austin Peay) as a Div. 1 scholarship athlete.

I believe she will be the 7th lady Red Rider to play basketball at the Division 1 level joining Libby Ladrach (Robert Morris), Dawn Woodruff (Liberty), Keri Simmons (Marshall), Rhonda Winters & Stacie Howard (both played at Ohio State) & Nancy Shie (Ohio U.). Of that group, I believe only Simmons, Woodruff & Howard played more than 1 season at their respective school.

Congrats Hannah & the entire Plybon family. What an accomplishment to celebrate.

(Photo Courtesy of The Daily Record)

All-Time Wayne/Holmes County Boys Basketball Scoring Leaders

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:57:00 +0000

This isn't so much an Orrville post as it is a historical reference post.

With Hiland winning another state title, and being led by senior standout and D-IV Player of the Year Dylan Kauffman, I began wondering about his all-time points scored. He's a rare 4-year starter and has made deep tournament runs every year.

I listened to the Hiland games on WQKT (great job as usual!) and caught them saying that Kauffman had 1,698 points coming in to the semifinal game on Thursday. He scored 20 in that win and then 17 more in the championship game, putting his all-time points scored at 1,735.

His teammate Seger Bonifant finished his career (2 years at Strasburg & 2 at Hiland) with 1,456 points.

Both point totals are good enough to crack the top 20 in Dauily Record area history.

Below is the list of all-time leading scorers in Wayne/Holmes Co. (and Hillsdale) basketball history.

The original information was posted by The Daily Record back in 2011. At the time, Northwestern's Brennan McKean and Orrville's Zach Wasson were still playing games & scoring points. I've updated both of their numbers with their final career tallies, added Kauffman & Bonifant & highlighted the Orrville players in red.

1. Ryan Berg, Dalton, 1,945 ('96)

2. Roy Welty, Chester, 1,818 ('51)

3. Erich Riebe, Waynedale, 1,795 ('88)

4. Bob Troyer, Walnut Creek, 1,793 ('51)

5. Dylan Kauffman, Hiland, 1,735 ('12)

6. Jerry Galehouse, Doylestown, 1,728 ('57)

7. Marcell Denson, Orrville, 1,722 ('96)

8. Kevin Summers, Orrville, 1,681 ('92)

9. Ben Swisher, Triway, 1,650 ('92)

10. Junior Raber, Hiland, 1,635 ('92)

11. Dan Thomas, Dalton, 1,619 ('56)

12. Nate Gaubatz, Northwestern, 1,599 ('97)

13. Boyd Breece, Rittman, 1,583 ('73)

14. Brennan McKean, Northwestern, 1,570 ('11)

15. Zach Wasson, Orrville, 1,532 ('11)

16. Seger Bonifant, Hiland, 1,456 ('12)

17. Doug Cline, Northwestern, 1,422 ('90)

18. Keith Troyer, Hiland, 1,421 ('86)

19. Dean Chance, Northwestern, 1,378 ('59)

20. Danny Peters, Wooster, 1,369 ('02)

21. Renauld Ray, Orrville, 1,360 ('96)

22. Jason Workman, Central Christian, 1,353 ('92)

23. Ryan Lent, Triway, 1,350 ('97)

24. Mark Alberts Jr., Wooster, 1,348 ('88)

T25. Fitz Hurd, Norwayne, 1,313 ('80)

T25. Don Welty, Chester, 1,313 ('49)

26. Larry Benning, Triway 1,308 ('88)

Some real great names on this list.

What's neat about this list is that all but 3 schools (Smithville, Hillsdale & West Holmes) are represented. So also from this list, you can figure out who the career leading scorers are for most schools in the area as well.

I did find out through this link that Smithville's Kenny Kornowski is their leading scorer with 1,215 career points. Also found that Mike Cline is West Holmes All-time leading scorer from this link, with 1,201 career points.

Current West Holmes sophomore Brady Arnold is almost certain to break Cline's record if he can put together 2 more good seasons as a Knight. He has 718 points according to this link after 2 seasons, so he's within 500 points with 2 years to go. Might even happen next year.

Other than Arnold, there's not a real threat to any school records that currently stand. Maybe Smithville senior-to-be Alex Bates (756 points through junior season), but he'd have to average 20 pts. per game next year to pass Kenny Kornowski's 1,215.

One other to watch is Wooster freshman Cam Daugherty. He scored 234 points this season as a freshman, and would need about 1150 over his next 3 years to surpass Danny Peters record of 1,369.

Can't find any info on Hillsdale's all-time leading scorer, so that remains the only mystery. They've had some good teams recently so wondering if it's someone that's recently graduated? If anyone has info on Hillsdale's leading scorer, please let me know either by email or just leave it in the comments section.

This list, along with each school's leading scorer can be found at the top of the page under the "Records & Champions" tab for future reference.

What is interesting about the all-time points scored list is that beginning with the 2012-13 season, the regular season will now be 22 games instead of 20. So a 4 year starter going forward will now have 8 additional games in which to increase his career points. That might result in anywhere from 100-200 points and could really alter the numbers over time.

In case you're wondering about girls records...the list begins with West Holmes' Lisa Cline and her 2,958 career points (including a state best 76 in a game back in 1985). Just amazing. She had 1,924 points COMING IN TO HER SENIOR YEAR!! Then she tacked on a measly 1,034 points in her senior year alone (average of nearly 40 points per game that year). 1,000 points for a career is quite an accomplishment, and she did it in one year.

Orrville senior-to-be Hannah Plybon stands at 1,380 career points with 1 season left, which puts her 2nd on the all-time Orrville career scoring list. She needs just 90 points to become Orrville's all-time leading scorer and should get that by the 4th or 5th game of the 2012-13 season. She's got an outside shot at 2,000 career points, but would need to average right around 25 points per game to reach that goal.

Red Rider Spring Sports Schedules

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:35:00 +0000

Practices have been going on for a few weeks now, but tomorrow officially begins the spring sports season for track, baseball, softball and boy's tennis.

And there's no easing in to the season...the baseball team has four games this week alone, softball has three and tennis has four matches scheduled.

Mother Nature has always proved to be a thorn in the side of the spring sports teams, but hopefully this year's trend of weather continues and the seasons can get rolling with minimal interruption.

Here are the schedules for each sport (these will also be posted at the top of the page for quick reference)...

Baseball

Track

Softball

Tennis

The big track event (now that we're not hosting districts for the next 2 years) is the Orrville Invite on April 14th. I've been asked to fire up the new scoreboard for this event and will give it a shot. Should be fun.

Good luck to all spring sport athletes, coaches and fans. Takes a special kind of fan to sit out in the cold & rain during ball games, tennis matches and track meets.

Go Riders!

History Lesson: Orrville's Twelve District Basketball Titles

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:37:00 +0000

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...

1979-80: This was the first ever district title (and trip to the state final four) for an Orrville basketball team. Riders went 16-4 in the regular season, beat Hoban and Akron South in sectional, beat Canton CC 74-42 and Fairless 69-58 in 2 overtimes to capture the district title. They beat Chagrin Falls (17-6) 59-57 and undefeated Warren JFK 73-71 in regionals to punch their ticket to Columbus. They lost to Hamilton Ross (24-2) in state semifinals 67-57. Ross then beat Portsmouth 45-44 in finals.

1980-81: Went 16-4 in the regular season. Beat Canton CC and Woodridge in sectionals, beat Coventry 77-57 and Northwest 55-45 in to capture a 2nd district title in as many years. Lost to Warren JFK (22-2) 48-45 in the regional semifinals.

1984-85: Went 19-1 in the regular season, then beat Loudonville and Copley in Canton Class AA sectionals, beat St.Thomas Aquinas in the district semifinals 72-56 and then the most memorable game to date, beat defending state champ St.Vincent-St.Mary on St. Patricks Day in the district finals. This was the famed Tom Bolyard vs Jerome Lane (this Jerome Lane) game that prompted Lane to say afterwards that he had never seen a white athlete with as much athletic ability as Bolyard had. It was a huge compliment coming from someone as athletic as Lane was.

Anyway, the final was 54-50 in favor of the Riders, a game that Orrville's Skibo Sims had the game of his career. The Riders couldn't keep the mojo rolling & regional semifinals to Youngstown Rayen 72-51 on a cold shooting night. The loss to Rayen also snapped a 21-game winning streak stopped by Rayen, who would go on to win state the following weekend. It would be Bolyard's final season as a Red Rider, but he would return to the Canton Fieldhouse after the season to win a slam dunk competition at the North-South All-Star game. It capped a season where he was named MVP of the All-Ohio League and named first-team All-Ohio by both the AP & UPI.

1985-86: The Riders lost game 1 of the 85-86 season to Wadsworth, 57-56, then won the next 23 in a row, winning another Canton district title (beat Loudonville 84-24, Norwayne 71-61, Coventry 62-61 & then Akron Hoban, 49-42 in the finals). In the regional semifinals the 23-game win streak ended with a loss to Gates Mills Hawken 45-44. Both losses that season were by 1 point.

(This was one of my earliest memories of Orrville tournament basketball. I remember being a heartbroken 8-year old that MY Red Riders had lost. I guess things haven't changed that much over the years.)

1988-89: This was just the 2nd year of the 4 division format. Only had 18 regular season games, but won all 18, including a 119-75 win over Rittman, still the highest scoring game by any Red Rider team. We were in D-II and played at the Fieldhouse sectional with wins over Louisville 81-33 and Northwest 61-36. In districts we had wins over Marlington, 63-46 and a district title win over Canton South 61-57. Our only loss of the season came in the Regional semifinals against Dover at the Canton Civic Center, 66-52. We shot horribly that night. Current assistant coaches Jason Haley and Rocky Smith were on that team, and Kevin Summers was a freshman on that team & saw time late in the game.

1991-92: The Riders entered the district in Smithville with a 19-1 record, and waltzed their way through districts, beating Tuslaw 73-54 in the finals and advancing to the Division 3 regional in Canton. They would advance to the regional finals where they would encounter an old foe, the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish. The Irish had ended the season for the Red Riders in both 1990 and 1991. Both of those Orrville teams were 19-1 heading into tournament play, and probably had Final Four potential, but the Irish proved too tall a task each time. With St. V. moved out of the Smithville district, it pushed back the annual Orrville/St. V matchup to regionals. The Riders finally toppled the mighty Irish 74-70 in overtime..a game many Orrville consider one of the greatest ever. Senior standout Kevin Summers had 32 points in that game. It was the proverbial "hump" win over a private school that propelled the Riders to Columbus on a wave of momentum.

From there, Orrville only needed to beat Sparta Highland (led by 7'2" Division 3 Player of the Year Jason Terry), which they did 68-55...and then capped a state title season by defeating Patrick Henry 78-65.

1992-93: This was supposed to be the year that the Riders came back down off the mountain. After losing Kevin Summers, Anthony Durden, Dee Simpson and others from the 27-1 state title team, not many thought the Riders would be in a position to be back in Columbus...but they almost did. First up was defending their district title, and they did that, beating Rittman 69-57. They advanced to the regionals finals where they lost by one point, 55-54 to the Campbell Memorial Red Devils. Some may remember the name Michael Farrington. He was their standout. They would cruise to two more wins and a state title...making many in Orrville ponder the loss even more, thinking another state title was in reach had we won that game...and looking forward, a never-to-be FOUR state titles in a FIVE YEAR stretch. What could have been. (Here's an article written a few years ago catching up with Farrington. Notice how he fondly remember the Orrville win...not the state games. Thought that was interesting.)

1994-95: This was the first district tournament held at the new Wooster High School, the Riders advanced to the finals to face Norwayne, the team that defeated them in the 1993-94 district final 68-51. Because of local interest in the game, it was decided to move the game to the Canton Fieldhouse. The Riders pulled away from a tough Bobcat team to win the game 63-54. The Riders would take out Newton Falls in the regional semifinals and then Youngstown Mooney in the regional finals...then defeated Ontario 68-65 in the state semifinals and then defeated Wheelersburg 79-50 to give the Riders their 2nd state title in 4 years.

1995-96: Moving up to Division 2, the Riders would play districts at the famed Canton Fieldhouse. Moving up a division seemed to present no challenge to the Riders as they cruised through the Canton district, beating Canton South 79-43 to advance to regionals at the James A Rhodes arena on the campus of the University of Akron. They would defeat Poland Seminary in the regional semifinals, before topping Villa-Angela St. Joseph in the regional final. They would defeat Kettering Alter 65-49 in the semifinals, and then squeak by Ottawa-Glandorf 60-59 to capture the Division 2 crown.

2009-10: The Riders made their return to the Division 3 Wooster District a memorable one..topping Triway 69-65 at the College of Wooster. It was the Riders first district title in 14 years. The Riders would win two more games at regionals, beating Cleveland Central Catholic 65-59 and the Newton Falls 67-56 to punch their ticket to Columbus. They would shock Columbus Ready in the semifinals 50-48 before falling just short to Lima CC, 60-57.

2010-11: Orrville beat Triway for the 2nd straight year in the district final, this time by a 67-57 score. Both teams entered the tourney with identical 7-13 records. Zach Wasson led Orrville with 24 points on the night. Orrville would fall in their regional semifinal game against Youngstown Ursuline, 66-58.

2011-12: Obviously the one that everyone will remember is the most recent..Riders beat Wellington, 61-51. Drew Brenner poured in a career-high 30 points to lead the Riders to their 3rd straight district title.

So there you go...12 district titles..all special in their own unique way. If anyone has memories of any of these games and/or tournament runs, please feel free to share in the comments.

District Champs Again. Fieldhouse Bound!!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 05:41:00 +0000

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.

Canton Region (Full Bracket)
The other half of the Canton region won't be set until tomorrow night, as Bedford St. Peter Chanel (20-3) will take on Beachwood (14-8) with the winner advancing to play New Middletown Springfield (21-2).

Chanel is ranked 14th in the Cleveland.com High School poll, so I'd be surprised if they weren't waiting in the regional final for either Orrville or Berkshire.

Three-peat
When this tournament started, I thought the 6-seed was fair, but still a slap in the face considered the level of talent we faced during the season. My thought was that if our schedule did indeed set us apart from the other 13 teams in the district, then it should matter what we were seeded...and turns out, it didn't.

After dispatching of Chippewa, the Riders beat #4 seed 17-win Loudonville, #2 seed 17-win Hillsdale and #3 seed 19-win Wellington. That's 3 wins over 3 of the top 4 seeds with 53 combined wins. That's why we say "scheduling matters"....because it does. No team played the kind of in and out-of conference that we did, and it showed.

This is the payoff for when the season started so roughly. Remember, we started 1-8. Since then we're 10-5 and district champs.

I'm pretty certain that at no time in the history of Orrville basketball has a team won three straight district titles. We've won two a few times, but not even in our dominants years in the 80's & 90's can any coach or team claim what Coach Slaughter and the Riders of the last 3 years can claim. It's quite an accomplishment when you think about it.

Speaking of Coach Sly...he asked me after the game if there has ever been a Red Rider who can say they won 3 district titles during their years at Orrville. I think I know that nobody except this years seniors (Drew, Devon, AJ & Jordan) can say they were part of 3 in a row...but has there been others who can say they won 3 in their years at OHS? If there are, it's maybe one or two.

The two names mentioned as a possibility were Ron Wachtel and Ralph Winters. Wachtel led his team in scoring in 1977-78, 1978-79 and 1979-80 and but the 1978-79 team was 18-3 that year, only 21 games. Even if they only played 19 games like they did in the 70's, I can't see that being a district title season.

Ralph Winters was close. He was on the 1979-80 team that went to state, and then led the team in scoring in 1980-81 and 1981-82, with the 80-81 team winning districts, but the 81-82 team lost to Akron St. V. in the district final.

UPDATE: I'm not sure why I didn't think of this last night, but there are 2 names that obviously won 3 district titles....Marcell Denson & Renauld Ray. Both played as freshmen in 1992-93 when the Riders won districts and advanced to the regional finals & both were obviously the key players in the back to back title teams in 1994-95 & 95-96. It wasn't 3 straight, but it was 3 total.

Thanks to a commenter for pointing that out.

So unless I'm told different, we need to congratulate Drew Brenner, Devon Winters, AJ Perez and Jordan Ray for being the first 4 Red Riders to win 3 straight district titles. Great accomplishment guys. That same group of 4 has also been part of 16 tournament games in the last 3 years, with 14 of those being wins.

Unbeaten @ Wooster HS
I've mentioned this on twitter a few times (Have I mentioned Twitter before?), but in tournament play, Orrville is unbeaten on the floor of Wooster High School. We first started playing there in 1994-95 when the school opened, and won the first 2 games of the tournament that year. The district final that year (against Norwayne) was moved to the Canton Fieldhouse. The in 1995-96, we moved up to Division 2 where we stayed until returning to Division 3 in 2009-10. We won 2 more games at WHS that year, again with the district final against Triway being moved to the College of Wooster. Then last year we won all 4 tournament games at WHS, claiming our 2nd straight district title, then 4 more at WHS this year.

So that's 12-0 on the floor of Wooster High School in tournament play. Again...impressive.

Drew Brenner
Before the next to last home game of the season, I spoke with Drew's dad Tom Brenner. I asked if Drew was looking forward to track season and getting back to state in the hurdles. I wasn't necessarily writing off basketball season, just asking about track...Tom's response to me was "Yeah, he's looking forward to track, but he thinks we've got a deep run to make in basketball first."

I'd say this counts as a deep run...and his 30-point performance against Wellington was Drew doing what Drew does, but also doing what a senior captain does. When we had some early frustration, there was Drew settling down his teammates, when a big bucket was needed, there he was....and when crucial foul shots were needed, Drew (and the rest of the team) knocked them down. Again, it's just what a senior does, but he and the rest of his senior teammates are making another run for the memory books.

Coach Slaughter
What more can you say about Coach Slaughter & his staff. They keep these kids working hard and have them playing their best ball at exactly the right time. I like the rotation of guys and bringing Joel Zook and Stu Turner off the bench to amp up the pressure on defense has been near perfect. Zook is locking down the opponents best player and making them work for every shot and point, and he's finding more than his share of offensive rebounds and putbacks on offense.

It's just all clicking right now, and a lot of that credit goes to Coach Sly & his staff...they never stopped working with this group. Winning is contagious and I thought every guy on the team played their role extremely well tonight. Excited to see this team give it all they have at the Fieldhouse.

Go Red Go!!

Great weekend to be a Red Rider!!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:29:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:53:00 +0000

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.

Here's that Bob Knight/ESPN video filmed in Orrville

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:31:00 +0000

Orrville never looked so good, huh?

If you missed it, here it is. Orrville's own Bob Knight, former Indiana University head basketball coach, former Texas Tech head basketball coach, current ESPN college basketball analyst and forever a Red Rider, comes back to his hometown with an ESPN camera crew to talk about growing up in Jellytown.

Click 'play' above to play the clip. Readers who get their updates via email will probably have to click here to see the clip.

I had heard he made stops at Buehler's and the Orrville Public Library along with what was shown in the clip at the Orr Park basketball courts and at the high school.

The piece of him helping the Orrville boys team at practice is classic Coach Knight. Forever a teacher. Say what you will about his methods, but you don't win the games and championships he has without being an excellent teacher of the game.

What a thrill for Coach Slaughter, his staff and the team to experience this.

The end of the clip was what I took away the most from the segment..."Learning to win, and learning how to win is very important." Amen. In a society that is increasingly becoming anti-competitive, and everyone wanting the same result regardless of the effort they put in, that's a refreshing quote from Coach Knight

Hard work & competition pays off...and it paid off for Coach Knight while he was a player at OHS and Ohio State, and in his coaching career and to this day at ESPN.

Booster Club Car Raffle Drawing is Feb. 18th

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:13:00 +0000

The final push is on for sales of $10 raffle tickets to benefit the Orrville Booster Club. The drawing will be held at halftime of the boys basketball game vs. Wadsworth on February 18th. This is also senior night for winter sports athletes, so there will be plenty going on that night.

Just to review, first prize is a red (of course) 2012 Chevrolet Cruze, like the one seen here, courtesy of Serpentini Chevrolet. It was on display during football season and is a very nice car.

Second prize is a 46" Flat Screen HDTV from Bennet's Appliance Store and 3rd prize is a recliner courtesy of Brown's Furniture.

In speaking to officers of the Booster Club, they're telling me that sales haven't been a swift as they'd have liked and only approximately a few thousand tickets have been sold. It's hard to get a true number of tickets sold since a lot were handed out for folks to sell.

The car raffle was done in 2010 and was just sold during football home games. The thought was that extending the sales through the basketball season would increase sales. I think the effect was that there was no sense of urgency to buy a ticket during football season so everyone just put it off, and attendance during basketball season isn't what it is during football season so sales have been slow.

One thing is for sure, your odds may never be better to win a 2012 Chevy Cruze or a Flat screen TV or a recliner.

These are all Orrville businesses donating in the neighborhood of $20,000 worth of goods to be raffled off in support of Orrville High School athletics. This is something that deserves to be supported or it could go away and with it, a major source of revenue. Funds are always in need for our athletic teams for equipment & uniforms and the Booster Club exists for just that reason...to support ALL athletic teams at OHS.

I don't want to say that fans should choose one over another, but maybe instead of buying a 50/50 ticket at the next home game, you consider buying a raffle ticket or two. Inquire about taking a stack & selling them at your place of employment and encourage your friends to buy a ticket. Worry about what you'd do with a new car AFTER you win it. Support the Booster Club first.

I'm in for a ticket...who else? To buy a ticket, call or stop in to Crown Investment Services on West High Street and see Tom Brenner or see Kent Smith in the OHS Athletic Department office. Tickets are $10 each.

Is Orrville looking to leave the OCC?

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:35:00 +0000

I typically don't like to dabble in speculation, but this is one of those cases where I've heard this from several different sources and right now the noise of this is just too loud to ignore.

It depends on who you talk to and what version of the story you're hearing, but the result in each case seems to be the same....Orrville is seeking to exit the Ohio Cardinal Conference and either join an existing league, or form a new one....possibly as soon as a year or two from now.

I'll review what I've heard and where I think our ENTIRE athletic program would fit the best.

For the record: The Daily Record's Aaron Dorksen wrote about this very topic in today's edition. What you'll read below is 100% my original thoughts, research and opinions and was actually completed yesterday before Aaron's article was read. Just don't want anyone thinking I'm reacting to his article or pulling information from the work he puts in.

Rumor #1
The first I had heard of this was just before Christmas...the rumor was that Orrville and Northwest would join the Principals Athletic Conference, currently made up of Tuslaw, Fairless, Manchester, Triway, Timken, CVCA, Indian Valley and Tusky Valley.

This rumor had the PAC kicking out CVCA and Indian Valley and adding Orrville and Northwest, making it basically a Stark County (Timken, Fairless, Tuslaw, Northwest) league with Manchester (Summit County), Tusky Valley (Tusc. County) and Orrville & Triway (Wayne County).

My initial thought on this proposal was that it was a little too much like the old All-Ohio league with Northwest, Triway, Fairless and Manchester being members of that, now defunct league.

My second thought about this proposal was "What about Wooster?" With them no longer a conference opponent, they'd now take up a spot on our non-conference schedule in football. We'd play weeks 1 and 2 against non-conference schools, play 7 weeks of conference games, and then have Wooster still in week 10. To do this, we'd have to have another school in the conference agree to play us in week 3. That, or Wooster would be played in week 3, before the 7 conference games...and that would just be weird.

Not to view this through the prism of football, but that's kind of how we do it in Orrville...but I think this would be good for football. Manchester & Northwest have been strong as of late, and Triway and Tuslaw have had good years lately too. I think we'd be among the top 3 favorites year in and year out, and it would be competitive among all teams most years.

Rumor #2
This isn't so much an additional rumor as it is other teams that are being tossed around as teams that Orrville may want to form a new conference with. Teams I've heard were Dover, Cloverleaf & New Philadelphia to go along with us, Wooster, Timken, Triway & Northwest. Interesting group of schools in that list, but I'm not sure it solves the travel problem. A drive from Cloverleaf to New Philadelphia doesn't sound fun at all.

Why leave the OCC?
I think the big dissatisfaction with the OCC is the travel times and competitiveness across all sports. Orrville will probably never win a conference wrestling crown. Same with soccer, tennis (girls & boys), golf or baseball. Not a slam on those teams, but the OCC is primarily a Division 2 conference and we just don't have the numbers across all sports to compete in that conference.

I didn't mention basketball or football, but we've only ever tied for a conference title in football and have never won a conference title in boys basketball. Girls volleyball has had some success, but will always have Madison, West Holmes and Wooster to worry about.

Travel times are just a headache and let's face it, a big expense. When you have teams traveling to Clear Fork or Lexington on school nights and not getting back until 8:30pm, that gets old real quick....and remember, our teams from 7th grade up make these trips all school year long. So parents with multiple kids in multiple grades get to make several trips per week. It adds up the miles on buses, and costs a lot in terms of fuel and labor costs for a bus driver.

OCC expanding West?
The following article was brought to my attention just this past week. The website is called SwankOnSports and appears to cover the Mansfield/Ashland area high schools. His recent blog post is below, and gives more credence to the OCC expanding to the west, and possibly giving rise to both Orrville and West Holmes jumping ship.

Here's the entire text to the blog post......

The “OCC” to Fold?

          Like a ten-point lead against Mansfield Senior on the basketball floor, the Ohio Cardinal Conference may cease to exist if the rumors are true anyway.

          The word is out that the Mansfield area schools (Mansfield Senior, Mansfield Madison, Lexington, Clear Fork and Ashland) are looking to perhaps sever their relationship with Orrville and West Holmes, and maybe Wooster. The group would then join with a combination to possibly include Ontario, Shelby , Galion or Willard. Ontario and Galion are currently members of the North Central Conference that will suspend operations after the 2013 and Willard and Shelby are with the Northern Ohio League.

          An administrator within the Ohio Cardinal Conference told Swankonsports.com that Orrville was seeking to form a league toward Stark County to reduce travel expenses. “If that happens I wouldn’t mind cutting lose Wooster and West Holmes and picking up Galion, Ontario and Shelby,” said that administrator. He said he looks for Orrville to leave the league within two years.

          Meanwhile, a coach in the “OCC” told Swankonsports.com that he understood that “OCC” was considering expansion with the addition of Ontario and Galion, but if that were the case the schools in the eastern part of the league, especially Orrville and West Holmes, would strongly consider dropping out due to the increased travel associated with adding two schools west of Mansfield. This source says the Mansfield area schools want to keep Wooster and the practicality of any new group may hinge on Wooster staying as part of the mix.

          Sources within the Northern Ohio League, currently with only six members, but adding Vermillion, say they have not been invited to any meeting to discuss any future affiliation outside of the “NOL.” Willard, last fall, held a press conference to announce its intension to stay as part of the “NOL” long term and Shelby has consistently said they want to keep the “NOL” going.

          Upper Sandusky, also out once the “NCC” closes shop, has been accepted by the Mid-Ohio Athletic conference and still another source has told Swankonsports.com that Ontario and Galion are considering entering that league, which would take it to 16 teams.

          Depending on who you talk to a meeting may, or may not, be held this week to discuss options regarding the Ohio Cardinal Conference."

I'd say take all of the above with a grain of salt, but it may be more proof that something is up...and it all appears to point to Orrville leaving the OCC.

What about the WCAL?
The simplest answer is also probably the one that has the least chance of happening. The WCAL would likely never vote Orrville into the league, and Orrville fans wouldn't like it either. Even after losing to Norwayne in the football playoffs, we still have a bit of a superiority complex and going to the WCAL would seem like a step down to many. I think across all sports, this would be a competitive fit and the travel would be great...but I just don't see it.

What would be interesting is if the WCAL expanded to 12 teams (adding Cloverleaf, Wooster, Orrville and Triway) and going to two divisions. One division being a "Big School" division made up of Wooster, Orrville, Norwayne, Triway, Cloverleaf and Chippewa...the biggest 6 schools in the area. The "Small School" division would be Smithville, Waynedale, Dalton, Rittman, Hillsdale and Northwestern.

An interesting proposal, but that's a lot of teams, and it would be a scheduling nightmare.

My Thoughts
I know we all like the competitiveness that the OCC provides. I think we'd all agree that it helps prepare us for post-season in sports like football and basketball...but I don't think that across all sports, it's the right fit. Too many miles and we're just not competitive enough. Orrville and Clear Fork are the two smallest schools in the conference, and in most sports, it shows.

I think a change is needed, but not just to make a change...it needs to be the right change. Here's my suggestion for teams to be in a conference with if I could just pick and choose from local teams.

1. Wooster (Div. 2) - Natural rival across all sports.
2. West Holmes (Div. 3) - Lots of history, competitive games in both boys and girls sports.
3. Dover (Div. 3) - Bigger school, but one that we've competed with well over the years.
4. Triway (Div. 4) - Backyard rival.
5. New Philadelphia (Div. 2) - Dover's rival, think they'd need to be part of any league that includes Dover.
6. Northwest (Div. 3) - Close to home, good programs across all sports.
7. Timken (Div. 2) - Get to play at Fawcett every other year, and once/year at the Fieldhouse for basketball.

Longest drive in that list would be New Philly, but that's only once per season and would be much better than a drive to Mansfield twice a year (for Senior and Madison) and to Clear Fork and Lexington too.

This imaginary league would still be one in which we were one of the smallest schools along with Triway, but it seems (on paper) to be one where we could compete for league titles year in and year out across lots of sports.

So what does Red Rider Nation think of this? Do you like the OCC (travel, competitiveness, etc.?) and think we should stay? Or do you think options should be explored for a new conference alignment? I'd love to hear some comments.

Looking Back on Signing Day

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:20:00 +0000

Sorry for the big gap in posting. Been a busy time in life lately.

My wife & I are expecting our 3rd child in May and our other two kids are busy in their own activities. I love doing the blog, but family comes first.

That being said, there's a lot going on in the world of Orrville sports, and I'm going to try and catch up one subject at a time.

First up is a recap of college signing day. We'll hit winter sports and a few other topics in the coming days, but now we'll focus on another great day for Red Rider Nation.

The first Wednesday in February used to mean hearing about Ohio State's latest recruiting class, and it's still that...but it's now becoming an annual tradition to hear about the next wave of OHS athletes to sign with Division 1 schools. This year was no different as 3 Orrville football players signed their name on the dotted line to continue their playing days at big-time colleges.

Mason Monheim signed his letter of intent to Illinois, Stewart Turner to Ball State, and Drew Brenner to Ashland. I think all three have a chance to be impact players and see their field very early in the college careers.

Here's a video from The Daily Record of the 3 Red Riders signing their letters and also some words from Orrville AD Kent Smith and head football coach Doug Davault. Email subscribers click here to see the video.

Mason
What's interesting about Mason's deal with Illinois is that it appears that Illinois is now offering 4-year scholarships, which the NCAA just allowed schools to do this past October.

In the past scholarships were just a one-year deal that had to be renewed by the school each year, pending a student-athlete meeting on and off-field requirements. This is a ton of extra security for Mason.

Illinois seemed to do a real nice job giving their recruits lots of press, both at the university and in the local media around the campus in Champaign. Mason was a phone guest on ESPN 1050 AM out of Decatur, IL and on the Tay and J show out of Champaign. The archive of that boradcast is here (start the podcast playing and skip ahead to the 29 minute mark). This is a really good interview.

Mason said in that interview that he's up closer to 230 lbs. now and I think he has a shot to play special teams as a true freshman and possibly work his way into the two-deep at inside linebacker by the end of the season. He's got all the work ethic in the world and I'd be shocked if he wasn't seeing regular playing time at LB sooner than later.

In another bit of related news, Mason has also been chosen to play for the Ohio team in the annual Big33 game held in Hershey, PA. The game will be held June 16th and will pit the Ohio All-Stars vs. the Pennsylvania All-Stars. Chase Hoobler & Sam Miller also played in this game in 2009. There's no mention of any Ohio players on the Big33 website, but trust me...he'll be there.

Drew
Here's an article released by Ashland University with bios on all their recruits, including Drew. Notice all the kids from Ashland High School and Norwayne's QB Adam Wallace on the list, and at the bottom of the list, notice Alex Winters from Massillon. He is the son of Orrville grad Reggie Winters.

I think Drew has a shot to play right away, and someone who can help Ashland win games.

Stewart
Lastly, here's a rundown of the Ball State recruits, including Stewart. He clearly has the talent and speed to make an impact at Ball State, just a matter of getting an opportunity and grabbing that chance and showing coaches that he's too valuable to not be on the field.

This makes 3 years in a row now that Orrville has sent at least 1 player to the BigTen. In 2010 it was Chase Hoobler signing up to be a Hoosie, then Max Pirman in 2011 signing up to be a Nebraska Cornhusker and now Mason. Not sure too many Division 4 schools in the state can boast that...if any.

This brings the total number of Division 1 football players from Orrville to six. Mason, Stew plus Rhyne Ladrach at Akron, Sam Miller at Kent State,Chase Hoobler at Indiana and Max Pirman at Nebraska.

Having three alums in the MAC and three alums in the BigTen (or whatever it's called now) creates some potential for head-to-head matchups. The one I know of is Saturday October 27th when Indiana & Chase Hoobler will travel to Illinois.

Unfortunately for Orrville fans, that's the same night at the Wooster game, which will again be on a Saturday this year.

I'm sure there will be other chances to see these Riders play, and I'd be first on the bus (or RV...) to watch any of them.

Congrats to all three and best of luck at the next level.

"The Shot" going viral

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:47:00 +0000

I think we've got a viral video on our hands....it's even got it's own nickname (The Shot).

Not even three days after being posted on YouTube, Drew Brenner's full court swish against West Holmes has garnered more than 6,000 hits on YouTube and has created a Twitter buzz among local sports fans and in workplaces like nothing I've seen before.

As far as this site goes, the day the video was posted generated the 2nd most hits this website has ever had...only the day of the 100th Orrville-Wooster football game in 2010 had more hits.....and after today, that record may fall.

Just this afternoon, Steve Montoya (@SMontoyaMP on Twitter) at MaxPreps (@MaxPreps on Twitter) picked up Drew's shot (after being told be a little birdie) and are now featuring the shot on their national blog.

Here's the picture proof....

...and here's the link to the actual blog post.

Awesome stuff...and more proof of the power of social media. It's how a video from little Orrville ends up on a national website, and how amateur athletes are discovered and recruited.

Congrats again to Drew.

Here's that full-court shot by Drew Brenner

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Not much more needs said. Orrville senior Drew Brenner threw up a 90-foot prayer and had it answered just before halftime of last night's game with West Holmes.

Email subscribers will have to click here to see the video.

NOTHING. BUT. NET. Thanks to John Fleming for getting this on tape and to student videographer Dylan Tanner for getting this uploaded to YouTube.

If this had been a Harlem Globetrotters game, that would have been worth more than 3 points.

Just as important was that it was pretty much the difference in the game as the Red Riders won their 2nd game of the year, 66-64 over the Knights.

He could do that 100 times in practice today and be lucky to hit the rim or backboarad a few times.

Congrats to Drew on the shot of his life...and just in case anyone cares...he's also a pretty good football player that has yet to make his mind up on a college.

Found on YouTube: 1997 Boys Basketball Games

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Always love to find old Orrville sports videos on YouTube. The following three videos were from the 1997 boys basketball season and certainly don't disappoint.

The '96-'97 Red Riders were fresh off a back-to-back run of state titles in 1995 and 1996 and finished the season 16-5.

They were led in scoring that year by junior Brian McDaniel (#12). Other members of the team were Emmanuel Stone (#40), Cedric Simpson (#25), Aaron Dotson (#10), DK McDonald (#14), Dru Robinson (#20) and of course...Coach Smitty on the sidelines.

The first two clips were from the Damon's Classic that pitted Canton McKinley and Orrville against each other in the championship game. The Riders won the Classic the year before and repeated this season.

Here's Part 1...

Here's Part 2...

The final clip is from a home game that season against Mansfield Madison. I love seeing the gym the way it used to be...wood bleachers, old floor, packed stands. A REAL home court advantage. I know that period of time was special and may never happen again, but I feel like our home court advantage isn't near what it used to be.

The announcer in all three of these videos is Bob McGuire.

Whoever uploaded the videos (guessing YouTube user Adef101 is an Orrville grad)...thanks so much and keep the videos coming.

Here's that Scoreboard Video from Football Season

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Call it an early Christmas present.

I feel bad for not getting this ready in time for the football banquet a few weeks ago, but I just didn't have the time to dedicate to it.

But it's done now, and I hope you enjoy. It's not the EXACT version, but it's the same song and the 90% of the pictures are the same too.

The video is embedded below.

..if you're an email subscriber, and can't see the video, click here to view the video.

If you'd like the file emailed to you to burn to a CD or just have on your hard drive so you don't have to log on to YouTube, just shoot me an email and I'll send you the file.

I know the season didn't end like any of us wanted, but this video brought back some good memories. Orrville Football is still Orrville Football and I think we've got some good years coming...and isn't that what RTR is about? Carrying on the tradition.

Merry Christmas to all my readers and followers. It's been a privelige to meet some of you in person and to hear your positive comments towards what I do.

Remember the Reason for the Season this Christmas. Blessings from my family to yours.

Mason Monheim verbals to Illinois

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:31:00 +0000

Will have more on this later, but just got the word & wanted to share it with Red Rider Nation.

Mason Monheim, the 2-time OCC defensive player of the year and 2-time 1st team All-Ohioan, gave his verbal commitment to the University of Illinois and new coach Tim Beckman today.

Congrats to Mason & his family on a well deserved honor. Couldn't happen to a nicer young man. Illinois is getting a winner with a great work ethic and attitude.

This is now the 3rd Red Riders in 3 years to commit to a Big10 school. Chase Hoobler was the first (to Indiana) in 2009, then Max Pirman (to Nebraska) in 2010, and now Mason.

All happen to be linebackers...a credit to LB coach Jason Haley and a credit to head coach Doug Davault for the continued exposure he brings to the football program.

Thanks to the Monheim family for keeping me in the loop all through the recruiting process & to Mason himself for letting me know the news of his verbal.

Some Catching Up To Do...

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:15:00 +0000

Apologize for the absence lately, but I kind of needed a battery recharge. I'm going to do as much catching up as I can in one post. Winter Sports Season is in the early stages, the Smitty Classic is this weekend, and there's been some turnover among the ranks of the Ohio Cardinal Conference football coaching fraternity.

So let's hit it...

Oh, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you. Another great year of being a Red Rider!!

Girls Basketball
The Lady Riders are off to a quick 4-0 start and are looking like a nice team capable of another run to regionals. Junior Hannah Plybon is leading the team in scoring just like she's done the past two season, but teammates Maggie Davault, Ciera McCreary and Jacque Ray are stepping up as well.

I've got Hannah at 968 points for her career, which puts her in 7th place all-time, and just 15 points away from 5th place. If she averages 20 points per game for another 20 games this season, she'll have 1368 points, exactly tied with Rhonda Winters for 2nd all-time and 103 points away from Stacie Howard's all-time scoring record of 1470.

Boys Basketball
The boys are off to an 0-2 start and still feeling there way it seems. I don't think it's another season of trying to find the right mix all the way up to tournament time. I think there are some changes we'll see very soon until the right mix is found. In my opinion, the right mix should be irregardless of class. The best 5 need to start or at least see significant minutes.

A matchup with defending state champ Hiland is looming this Saturday at the Smitty Classic. The Riders were ran off the court in last year's Smitty by Hillsdale...hopefully a repeat of that won't happen.

Smitty Classic
Speaking of the Smitty. It's time for another classic day of basketball. Hard to believe it's already the 8th year for this showcase, and seems to get better every year. Here's a historical list of every game played in the Smitty Classic. The schedule this year is as follows.

12:00 pm Triway vs. Newark Catholic
1:45 pm Northwestern vs. Lutheran East
3:30 pm Norwayne vs. West Holmes
5:15 pm Hillsdale vs. Norwalk
7:00 pm Wooster vs. North Canton Hoover
8:45 pm Orrville vs. Hiland

Tickets can be bought at the OHS athletic office in advance ($6 adults/$4 students) or at the gate ($8 adults, $6 students). Not a better value anywhere to watch up to 6 games of basketball.

Orrville is 5-1 in Smitty Classics, losing last year to Hillsdale.

OCC Football Coaching Changes
Tis the season for coaches resigning I guess. On Monday it was Wooster Coach Mike McCreary (I had the scoop a few hours before anyone else.) and just yesterday it was Lexington coach BJ Payne who resigned.

I think in both cases, the school and the former coach will be better off in the long run, and wish both coaches luck in the future.

With this turnover, it now means that Orrville coach Doug Davault is the 2nd most tenured OCC coach behind Ashland's Scott Valentine.

Survey
Still taking responses to the survey I put together back at the end of November. Here's the link. Have gotten some great feedback so far.

PS - I promise a college Rider update is coming...hopefully by the weekend.

2011 Post-Season Football Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:09:00 +0000

Time to pass out some post-season football awards. Here's everything from All-OCC all the way up to the All-Ohio team that was just released yesterday.

Congrats to all the honorees.

All-Ohio Cardinal Conference
Defensive Player of the Year - Mason Monheim
Special Teams Player of the Year - Drew Brenner
1st Team - Stewart Turner, Dylan Lemon, Ronnie Lehtomaki, Trevor White, Trevor Summers
2nd Team - Lareece Woods, Zane Vierheller, Cody Weaver, Alex Samson, Nick Graber
Honorable Mention - Dakota Herrington, Kyle Lichti, Brandon Johnson
NOTE: This is the 2nd year in a row Mason was the OCC's Defensive Player of the Year honor and the 4th year in a row that the honor went to an Orrville linebacker. Chase Hoobler shared the award in 2008 and won it outright in 2009.

All-Daily Record
1st Team Offense - Stewart Turner
1st Team Defense - Mason Monheim, Dylan Lemon
1st Team Punter - Drew Brenner
2nd Team Offense - Ronnie Lehtomaki
2nd Team Defense - Lareece Woods, Trevor Summers
Honorable Mention - Kyle Lichti, Cody Weaver, Zane Vierheller, Joel Zook, Alex Samson, Dylan Tanner, Matt Davis, Nick Graber

Division 4 Northeast Inland District(Full list here courtesy of The Daily Record's blog WoosterSports.com)
Defensive Player of the Year - Mason Monheim (2nd year in a row)
1st Team Offense - Stewart Turner
1st Team Defense - Trevor White, Dylan Lemon, Mason Monheim
1st Team Punter - Drew Brenner
Honorable Mention - Trevor Summers, Ronnie Lehtomaki, Joel Zook

Division 4 All-Ohio(Full list here courtest of WoosterSports.com)
1st Team Offense - Stewart Turner (2nd All-Ohio honor)
1st Team Defense - Mason Monheim (2nd year in a row as a 1st teamer)
1st Team Punter - Drew Brenner
2nd Team Defense - Trevor White
Special Mention - Dylan Lemon

This marks the 4th year in a row that Orrville has had at least one first team All-Ohioan and the 8th time in the last 9 years that's happened. This also marks the just the 2nd time in school history that we've placed 3 players on the first team. First time was in 1995 when Marcell Denson, Renauld Ray and Dan Stultz all made the first team.

I'm in the process of working on an all-time All-Ohio list and should have that done in the next few days.