Orrville Red Rider Sports Blog

Three District Champions in One Week!!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:41:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go Riders!!

Announcing the 2013 Orrville High School Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:51:00 +0000

The 12th biennial induction class of the Orrville High School Sports Hall of Fame has been nominated and this year's class of 8, set to be inducted this September, is very impressive.

Without further ado...here is the 2013 induction class:

Tommy Brenner (Class of 2005)

Football captain in 2004, 2-time All-Ohio, 2nd most receiving yards in school history
Played football on scholarship at Ashland University. Was leading tackler in 2008 as well as All-GLIAC selection

Mike Burkholder (Coach)

18 years as track and football coach at OHS as well as science teacher.
Head coach of 1999 Boys track team that won a state title. Had 2 runner-up finishes at state as well as a 3rd place finish. Coached numerous state title winners and placers.
Longtime football defensive coordinator.

Marcell Denson (Class of 1996)

Three year letterwinner in football. 1st team all-state
Four year letterwinner in basketball. 1996 Div. 2 Player of the Year and State Tournament MVP.
All-time leading scorer and rebounder in Orrville boys basketball history.
One of OHS all-time greatest all-around athletes.
Played in state football final in 1994 and won 2 state titles in basketball.

Tim Hiller (Class of 2005)

All-time leading passer in school football history with over 7,000 career yards
OCC basketball player of the year
Record setting QB at Western Michigan University, throwing for over 11,000 career yards.
Received prestigeous Wuerffel Award in 2009. Given to college athlete who best displays community service, athletic and academic achievement.

Renauld Ray (Class of 1996)

1995 1st Team All-Ohio & Beacon Journal Football Player of the Year
2-time All-Ohio in basketball. 3rd All-time in school history in points scored, 2nd in assists and 5th in rebounds. Feature member of back to back basketball championship teams.
All-Ohio in track
Played WR at Youngstown State and was member of 1997 Division I-AA National Championship team.

Chris Royer (Class of 1990)

4 year letterwinner in basketball. 1000 career point scorer, 1st team All-Ohio in 1990 and MVP of Wilbur Berkey Classic.
Played on scholarship at Ashland University where he also scored over 1,000 career points and was co-captain his junior and senior years.

Doug Steiner (Class of 1994)

Total of 11 letters at OHS (3 football, 4 wrestling, 3 baseball, 1 track).
Team captain at Grove City College where he rushed for 2,700+ yards and 40 career touchdowns.
Inducted into Grove City College Hall of Fame in 2011.

Bob Weltlich (Class of 1962)

Played basketball at OHS
Graduate of Ohio State
Total of 30 years coaching college basketball. Head coach for 21 seasons, assistant coach at Indiana and Army. Head coach at Mississippi, Texas, Florida International and South Alabama.
7-time conference coach of the year
Author of the book "Crooked Zebra."

Also to be honored on this night will be the 1995 and 1996 boys basketball state championship teams.

A very solid class if you ask me. Very accomplished while at OHS and beyond. Counting these 8, there are now 98 members of the OHSHOF, dating back to the first class inducted in 1991. A list of prior inductees can be found here.

Once again allow me to remind my readers as to how the process works. First and foremost, the OHSHOF Committee DOES NOT select nominees. Nominations must be submitted by the general public. Committee members cannot nominate anyone either. This is done to preserve the integrity of the organization.

All nominations are voted on and the top 20 vote getters move on to the final voting round. All committee members must then vote for 10 of the 20. Of that top 20, all who receive a majority vote of present committee members (if there are 15 committee members present, a majority would be 8 votes) are selected for induction, with no more than 10 members per class being selected. Inductees must accept the honor and be able to attend an induction ceremony.

There have been alumni who have turned down the honor...and there are deserving alums who have never been nominated. There are some in this years class that have been on the nomination list since 1992 and are just now getting in and some that were just nominated a few years ago.

Success at Orrville is important, but success beyond Orrville is considered as well. The mission of the committee reflects that:

"To select people who have distinguished themselves in one or more sports at Orrville High School, any college or university or other area of amateur and professional athletics or who have made meritorious efforts on behlaf of athletic programs in Orrville, Ohio."

Induction Ceremony
This year's induction will be held on Saturday September 14th at the high school. The induction portion of the evening will take place in the newly renovated auditorium. Very excited for that as it will be the first chance for many to see what I've heard is a beautiful space. Tickets are $25.00 per person and that includes a meal. More information will be forthcoming as we get closer to September.

OHSHOF Scholarships
The committee was again proud to present two $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors at last week's Senior Assembly. This year's recipients were Kevin Weber and Tatiana Bullard. Funds raised from the induction dinner and the annual golf outing fund these scholarship efforts.

Golf Outing
The annual OHSHOF Golf Scramble is in two weeks (June 8th) at Riceland. Cost per player is $40 or $160 per 4-person team. This is our one major fundraiser of the year and helps us continue to provide two $1,000 scholarships to graduating OHS seniors. Click here for an information sheet as well as a hole sponsorship form. Holes can be sponsored by individuals, businesses, graduating classes, etc.

Spring Sports Update...and 'Prayers for Rem'

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sun, 12 May 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Another school year is winding down and with it, the spring sports season. Tourney draws were held last weekend for baseball and softball, conference tourney for tennis was yesterday and this week for track.

Read below for a brief update on each....and for an update on longtime Orrville teacher/coach Rick Remenaric who is battling some pretty serious health issues.
Baseball
It's been quite an up-and-down season for baseball. They've done well against non-conference opponents, but have struggled in OCC play, currently sitting in 7th place with a 5-7 league record and 12-9 overall. They've dropped 3 of their last 4 conference games, were shut out in all 3, but have pounded non-league teams like Barberton, Willard & Northwestern in the last few weeks as well. Speaks to the strength of the OCC, but still is disappointing considering the amount of returning talent on this year's team.

They close out conference play this week against Wooster and then begin tourney play. They received the #4 seed in the Creston district and will face the winner of the St. Thomas Aquinas/Waynedale game. Full district bracket is here.

Softball
Also an up-and-down season for the softball team after an OCC championship last season. They're 12-9 on the year and 6-6 in OCC play. One milestone was this past week as the Riders beat Dover 2-1. It was coach Craig Johnson's 100th win as head coach. Really an accomplishment when you consider that a good year is winning 15 games. 100 wins means a few things...he's been consistent and produces winning teams. The girls seem to enjoy playing for him too.

The softball team opens tourney play at home on the 16th against Dalton. Full bracket here.

Tennis
The tennis team has a 7-7 dual meet record and 3-3 in the OCC (we don't play Wooster for some reason). They finished 4th yesterday at the OCC tournament, won by Lexington...as always.
Sectional tournament is this week at the College of Wooster.

Track
This has really been an excellent year for both girls and boys track teams. The boys are undefeated in duals/tri meets and the girls' only loss was to West Holmes. Both have won or finished 2nd in every invite up until this past weekends Jackson meet, which is used as more of a training meet for our athletes against D-1 level talent as a way to begin preparing for OCC's and distrcits/regionals.

This Friday, Red Rider Stadium will be the host for the OCC championships, which both boys and girls should be one of the favorites to win. The conference meet was originally scheduled to be held at Wooster, but was changed to Orrville due to the deteriorating condition of Wooster's track surface.
With the recent renovations to the stadium (new track/turf), it's become a really beautiful facility for track meets. And it's been used plenty, hosting a junior high meet, a freshman/sophomore meet as well as 2 varsity invites...plus this week's OCC meet.

There's some real impressive talent on both squads and I wouldn't be surprised to see either team bring home the OCC title and continue building momentum to the post-season. There's real potential for both teams to make noise on a regional level...and the more kids you can send to Columbus, the better chances are for a strong performance there. We've always had strong track talent, but this is one of those rare years that there's depth across most events that help with team scoring.

School Sports Site
If you've noticed the links I've been sharing have been coming from the school's website...can't be happier that results and news is starting to appear on a school site. As my time to dedicate to this site becomes harder and harder to come by, it's nice that there's a resource at the school that is keeping everyone updated. Whoever is doing it...keep up the good work. Here's the page in case you want to bookmark it.

Coach Rem
Many of you are aware, but some of my out-of-town readers may not be...longtime Orrville Phys. Ed. teacher & former OHS baseball coach Rick Remenaric was recently diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. He's in the middle of an intensive chemotherapy treatment and his family is keeping everyone updated via a website (http://www.HealingRem.com). This past week they posted an awesome picture...

... that's Coach Rem with the jersey he wore during his coaching days, signed by the current OHS baseball team. What a great gesture by Coach Marshall and the Rider baseball team. I'm sure it brought a smile to Rem's face. Keep him & his family in your prayers and check the website for updates as he keeps up the fight.

Good Luck Riders! - Final Four Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 02:58:00 +0000

Not much to say that will change much, but I'll try...I can only offer my sincere "thank you" on behalf of Rider Nation for the ride the girls team has taken us on so far and an even more sincere "good luck" to the Orrville girls basketball team as they prepare to take on the Anna Rockets tomorrow at Value City Arena in Columbus in the state Division 3 Final Four.

They're 2 wins away from finishing the "Unfinished Business" of bringing a state title back to Orrville..and if there's any group that has put in the work, that has played as one, and done it the right way, it's this team. There's 4 teams saying the very same thing right now, so nothing will be given to us, it will have to be earned, any state title should be that way.

I'm not good with inspirational speeches...but here's a few that I think do the trick. (email subscribers wont be able to see the video and will need to click on each link)

First...from the hockey movie "Miracle."

I love the quote at the beginning..."great moments are born of great opportunity." The Riders have earned the opportunity to play on Ohio's biggest stage, and will get an opportunity to make great moments on that stage.

Next up...one of my favorites...the "Perfect" speech from 'Friday Night Lights.'

I love this clip, because it's not about winning & losing, it's about being there for your teammate, and giving your all, and knowing that you did all you could. The line at the end always gets me..."put each other in your hearts forever, because forever is about to happen."

Some, and maybe every girl on this team, may never experience a moment like this ever again in their time as an athlete. It will be something that binds this group together forever. The next time we send a team to state, we'll remember this team. I don't pretend to know a lot about this team, but I do know chemistry when I see it, and this team gets along, they play for each other and this town...and that's something we can all get behind.

Last but not least...some 'Hoosiers' love.

Short and to the point....again..not about winning & losing, but putting your best effort forth. And the slow clap at the end...who doesn't love a slow clap?

That's all I got....so proud of this team & how well they have represented their school and town....just hope they can get a shot to play for the gold trophy on Saturday. I know this because I've heard it said...this team is not just happy to be there. They want the whole thing...and I think they can do it.

This has been such a special season, so many moments, so many records broken, it would be fitting to be back in Bob Knight Gymnasium one more time on Sunday for one last state title celebration.

Let's Go Riders!! Leave it all on the floor one more time (and then again on Saturday).

Beat the Rockets!!

Orrville Girls Win Regionals. FINAL FOUR BOUND!!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 04:59:00 +0000

For the first time since 1993, the Orrville girls basketball team has captured a regional championship and will head to Columbus looking to win the program's first state championship.

In convincing fashion, the Riders steamrolled Beachwood 75-48 to punch their ticket to the Division 3 Final Four where they will face the Anna Rockets, who defeated Middletown Madison 61-42 today.

The Riders started hot today against the Bison, scoring the first 9 points of the game and never looked back in leaving little doubt as to who was the better team on this day.

Leading the way for Orrville, as she has all year, was senior Hannah Plybon. She had one of the greatest post-season efforts of any Orrville athlete, tallying a school record 42 points and adding another 15 rebounds. Her effort broke the record of 40 points set by Stacie Howard in the 1988-89 season. Many of Hannah's points came at the foul line as the Bison had no answer on defense against Hannah, resulting in lots of fouls that Hannah turned into points at the charity stripe.

The Bison closed the gap to 6 points in the 3rd quarter, but the Riders stretched the lead back to double digits, leading 50-37 after three quarters and ballooned to 60-42 with 4 minutes left. It was just a matter of running the clock to 0:00 and the Riders would be headed back to Columbus.

Plybon Points Update
Just really amazed at the effort Hannah put forth today..to play that big, in a regional final, just speaks to her experience and her ability to rise to the occasion. As has been custom in the last month or so, today also saw some more records fall. Aside from setting the single game scoring mark of 42, she also eclipsed the single season scoring record of Rider great Kevin Summers. Coming into the game, she had 657 points on the season, with Summers record of 673 within striking distance. Her 42 points now gives her 699 on the season, a new OHS record...and with her first point in Columbus this Thursday, she'll cross 700 points on the season. That's a solid career for any HS basketball player...and Hannah has done that in one season.

And she just doesn't score points either. She'll finish in the top 5 of career rebounds and in the top 2 for assists. She's the complete player...and why she should win Division 3's Player of the Year award hands down. Heck, at this point, let's throw her name in the conversation for Ohio's Ms. Basketball honor. That honor seems to go to a player at a D-1 school, but show me anyone in the state with the numbers she's put up this year. She'll get a third straight 1st team All-Ohio honor in the coming week, giving her 4 All-Ohio honors in her 4 years of high school.

Hannah now ranks 2nd all-time in Wayne/Holmes county history (boys or girls) with 2079 career points.

Davault nears 1,000
Sort of flying under the radar is the fact that senior Maggie Davault is nearing an impressive scoring mark of her own. She's 9 points shy of 1,000 for her career which would be a great accomplishment for her...and would give the team two 1,000 point scorers. The last time we had this, it was on the boys side as Jake Bolyard and Zach Wasson who both achieved the mark in the 2009-2010 season.

I said it the other day on twitter...if heart and hustle added to a players height, Maggie would be 9 feet tall. She's the soul of this team and a huge reason why they're 26-2 on the year and headed to Columbus.

Alberts get his Final 4
So glad to see Coach Alberts earn his first final 4 berth after 38 years in coaching. He's coached in 831 games in his career (545-286 record)...and this Thursday he'll coach on Ohio's biggest stage for the first time. Hopefully he gets to coach 2 more this season and it ends with a state title.

Year of the Girls
No disrespect at all to the boys, but this has been quite a run the girls sports teams have been on lately. Going back 12 months, we've had the softball program win the OCC, the girls track program win the OCC, the girls cross country team qualified for regionals, the girls volleyball team made the final 4, the girls swimming team sent 2 relay teams to districts and now the girls basketball team is off to the final 4. That's quite a run.

And looking back at the teams who made the volleyball final 4 in 2012 and who have made the basketball final 4 this year, only 1...out of 700+ high schools in Ohio...have made both final fours this year...and that's us.

It's the first time both the girls volleyball and girls basketball programs have made the final 4 in the same year. A great accomplishment for sure.

Final 4 Info
The Riders will play Anna this Thursday at 3pm at Value City arena on the campus of Ohio State University. In the other semifinal, Columbus Africentric will play Fort Frye at 1pm. There's plenty of state tournament history here as everyone but Fort Frye has made a Final 4 and Africentric has won 2 state titles and is making their 5th final four appearance. Anna won the state title in 2011 and is making their 3rd straight appearance in the final 4 and has 5 appearances total, also winning a state title in 1981. This is Orrville's 3rd final four appearance with 1 runner up finish.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Africentric waiting for the Orrville/Anna winner. I'd really like to see our girls matchup against them. They beat Archbold 60-42 today, and did so despite committing 25 turnovers. They do it with athleticism and pressure defense.

This is also the 28th time an Orrville team has made the final 4 or finished 4th or higher in the state (in sports like track & wrestling). Looks like I need to update this list. It was 26 Final Four's, but I found out that the OHS golf team finished 4th in the state in 1975...so adding that and today's win by the girls gives us 28.

As seems to be the norm, the Wayne/Holmes county area will again be well represented as both West Holmes (D-2) and Hiland (D-4) are in the final 4 also. How neat would that be if D-2, D-3 and D-4 all went to the locals?

Tickets
Per OHS AD Kent Smith, here is how tickets will be distributed:

Monday- 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Students and players families only out of the Orrville High School Athletic Office.

Monday- 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Open to the public for sale. They will be sold from the Orrville High School front lobby.

Tuesday & Wednesday- Tickets will be sold from the Orrville High School Athletic Office from 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Tickets will also be sold from Expert T’s in                                              downtown Orrville from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

·         There will be NO ticket sales on Thursday.
·         All presale tickets are $8.00. Tickets at the gate will be $10.00 or $12.00 depending on seat location.
·         All tickets are reserved seats.
·         The parking fee is included in the price of a ticket.
·         Maps and additional information sheets will be available when purchasing your tickets.

I'm told that 1 ticket is good for both games, so fans can show up early and catch the first game.

Don't forget your SWAG!
Courtesy of Expert T's, here's your Final 4 T-shirt design & order form. If you want a shirt in time for the game, get your order in on Monday. Click here to print out a form.

So...just two more wins and this team that has accomplished so much and broken so many records, can call themselves state champions. It certainly wont be easy, but I think this is a special group at a special time...so we've got a shot. This group really deserves it and it would only be fitting that this would be the team to bring home the gold trophy....they play hard, play as a team, and support each other. Their motto all season has been "Unfinished Business," and they're 2 wins from finishing. I know there can only be 1 champion...but I really hope it's us...and I think we've got just as good a shot as anyone else.

Another Great Day to be a Red Rider!!

Orrville Girls Capture District Title!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:08:00 +0000


The team & coaching staff pose with their new hardware. Thanks to Mike Guster for the picture.

These are the best kinds of posts...victorious Red Riders, all smiles...and CHAMPIONS!!

Win over CCC
The Orrville girls basketball team captured the district title with a hard fought win over Canton Central Catholic, 58-51 at Triway High School. The win earned them a spot in the Cuyahoga Falls regional where they will face the winner of the Mineral Ridge district, the Hanoverton United Local Eagles.

The Riders led most of the way against Canton CC, including a 27-18 halftime lead. The Crusaders closed the gap and actually took a 33-32 lead in the 3rd quarter, but the Riders went on a 10-0 run to stretch the lead back to 9 in the 4th quarter. Right there told me something about the heart and desire of this team. They've been battle tested. Several key members of this team were also members of the Final 4 volleyball last fall, so pressure is nothing new to this group, and they play that way.

The Riders made their free throws down the stretch and forced some Crusader turnovers in the final minutes to hold on & capture their 2nd district crown in the past three years.

More Broken Records
Along with the win came plenty of history as it was Orrville coach Mark Alberts' 100th win as Rider coach. It was his 543rd win in his coaching career, spanning 33 seasons as a coach of boys programs (Danville, Fredericktown and of course Wooster) and 5 seasons here at Orrville.

The win was the Riders 24th of the season, which is also a new school record, breaking the old mark set in the 1983-84 season.

As a program, girls basketball now has 597 all-time wins (597-310 since 1966-67, 47 years). Three more wins to be one of roughly 25 programs in the state with 600+ wins according to the OHSAA.

Plybon tops 2,000
Last but not least, today will also be remembered as the day that Orrville senior Hannah Plybon crossed the 2,000 career point mark. With an "and-1" in the first quarter, she became the first Wayne Co. basketball player (boy or girl) to hit 2,000 career points..and only the 3rd all-time in the Wayne/Holmes county area.

She entered the game today with 1,991 points and tallied 28 on the day, giving her a career total of 2,019 career points...putting her in the top 50 all-time in Ohio girls history. With 23 more points, she'll pass Christa Wells of West Holmes (1987-91) for 2nd in area history. She wont catch West Holmes Lisa Cline (2,958 points and 3rd all-time in Ohio history) but that's pretty rare company to be in.

On the season Hannah has now scored 639 points which is just 34 points behind Kevin Summers school record 671 points (1990-91). 700 career points is not out of the question for Hannah....but it's all just numbers at this point. I'm sure she and the Red Riders would trade every individual statistic in exchange for 4 more wins and the program's first state championship.

Regional Matchup
Orrville and United Local will face off this coming Wednesday at 8:15pm, following the first semi-final between Mogadore (who defeated #1 seed Elyria Catholic) and Beachwood (who defeated #1 seed Gilmour Academy). All games will be played at Cuyahoga Falls High School.

United Local will be making their 2nd straight appearance in regionals...last season they lost to Smithville in the regional semifinal.

I fully expected Gilmour Academy to be one of the teams in this regional...their absence really opens things up. At this point, it's anyone's region to win. Going to depend on matchups and what team can put together 2 more quality outings to punch their ticket to Columbus. Here's the Sweet 16 bracket view. Keep an eye on that Lexington bracket and the team from Columbus Africentric. Likely they make another appearance in the final 4.

Both the Red Riders and Eagles will be sporting big win streaks coming into the game. The Eagles have won 17 in a row (24-2 overall), while the Red Riders have tied a school record with 13 straight wins (also 24-2 overall).

Great day to be a Red Rider!!! Proud of the crowd that turned out and was noisy from tip to when we cut the nets down. Make sure to buy your tickets at the school this week, as prices for the regional round jump to $8 for adults. Presale prices will be $6.

Winter Sports Update

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 04:17:00 +0000

A super busy weekend of Red Rider sports is in the books and post-season tournaments are in full swing. There's plenty to talk about, so let's get right to it.

Closing the Gym
It was great being part of one last night in the gym. It felt like old times with a packed house and a buzz in the air. It probably won't hit me until I see a game in the new gym. It was also great to see players and coaches from some of Orrville's great teams come back to the gym that they helped make so many great memories. Diane Shanklin and Erica Short represented the volleyball program, Dennis Hochstetler represented the wrestling program, Hannah Plybon and Stacie Howard represented the girls basketball program and Kevin Summers and Marcell Denson represented the boys basketball program. Here are some pictures courtesy of former basketball player & current track coach Andy Vernon:

Pre-game ceremony

Panorama before National Anthem

The final jump ball

Final points scored by Luke Smith

The final points in the gym were scored by freshman Luke Smith, the grandson of Orrville coaching legend Steve Smith. Amazing that in a gym Smitty made so famous, his grandson would be the one to close it down with a 3-pointer.

Girls Basketball
The girls breezed their way into the district rounds, notching easy wins over Rittman (72-19) and Loudonville (75-46). Counting their last regular season game against Clear Fork, the Lady Riders have won their last 3 games by an average of 42 points per game. Next up is Northwestern this Thursday. They defeated the Huskies by a 79-38 score just a few weeks ago but tough to beat a team twice in a season. Guessing they'll try to slow down the pace, but if we're hitting shots like we've been, it may not matter. That would set up a district final between either Canton Central Catholic or undefeated Smithville on Saturday at 2pm at Triway for a trip to the sweet 16.

Senior Hannah Plybon is sitting at 1,974 points in her career. She needs just 26 points to be just the 3rd in area history to score 2,000 career points. That would put in the top 50 all-time in Ohio girls history in points scored.

She also needs just 6 points to top 600 points on the season, something no girl at Orrville has ever done and only 3 boys at OHS have done (Kevin Summers twice, Ron Wachtel and Chris Royer).

The ladies team is now 22-2 on the season, needing 1 more win to tie the record for wins in a season. The district final could be the game they break that record, and if they win that game, it would be Coach Alberts' 100th win as Orrville girls coach in just his 5th season. He's never won LESS than 18 games in his 5 years at Orrville...that's pretty impressive.

Boys Basketball
The boys team ended the season with a 5-17 record but will again seek to string together 4 wins and capture a 4th straight district crown. They dispatched of Black River 53-32 in the sectional opener. The win was only the 4th win in the last 3 seasons that have been by 20 or more points. Three of those wins have come in tournament play (2011 & 2012 vs. Chippewa).

The win was the Riders 15th straight tournament win at Wooster High School dating back to 1995 when the school opened. The Riders have never lost on that floor in a tournament game, but that will be tested this Friday night at they take on #2 seed Oberlin.

The team has played hard all year and seem to be playing some pretty good ball right now. I'd say don't count them out, but it seems to motivate them when that happens...so continue to count them out I guess.

Wrestling
For the 7th straight year, a Red Rider will travel down I-71 to Columbus for the state wrestling tournament, and this year it's senior Brad Potter at the 152 lb. weight class. He finished 2nd to Norwayne's Kollin Moore at districts and will seek to become the school's 33rd state placer. OHS has now had 59 state qualifiers according to AD Kent Smith. Since 1999 (15 seasons), Orrville has sent at least 1 wrestler to state in 12 of those years.

Potter is 42-5 on the season and will take on Tyler Williamson of Cin. Madiera in the first round of the Division 3, 152 lb. bracket. The full list of brackets for Division 3 is here. Basically it takes 4 wins to place in the top 8...and 4 straight wins to finish as state champ.

What is interesting about this year is that a wrestler from Dalton will also be making the trip with the Orrville contingent. Dalton senior Drew Everett qualified for state at the 145 lb. weight class. Dalton's wrestling program was disbanded earlier this year due to low numbers so Drew became sort of an adopted son of the Orrville program, practicing and traveling with the Orrville team. He will still represent Dalton High School, but will have the support of Red Rider Nation behind him....even spawning these t-shirts from downtown Orrville business Expert T's.

Sports Hall of Fame Applications Due
Only a few days left to get your nomination in for the OHS Sports Hall of Fame. Induction will be this September. Here's a link to the application. Once filled out, they can be mailed to the high school to the attention of the Athletic Office.

Just get the nomination form in...doesn't have to be pages and pages.

Last but not least, be sure to check out Rod Dilyard's pictures for purchase. He does great work and puts in a lot of hours and miles providing this service. Some really great shots of the final game in the gym.

Go Riders!!!

Favorite Orrville Gym Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 02:38:00 +0000

We're coming up on the final game ever to be played in the current Orrville High School gym. On Friday February 22nd against Lexington, the curtain will open and close one final time on a gym that's seen so many greats since the gym was first used in 1955, when Bobby Knight was a sophomore.

For the past several years, it's been Bob Knight Gymnasium...not sure if it had an official name prior to that (maybe just OHS Gymnasium), but what I am sure of is that it's been the scene of so many memorable moments, memorable teams and competitors and certainly some memorable coaches.

Before the start of the boys varsity game with Lexington on the 22nd, a brief tribute to the gym will be held...current and former coaches and players of the teams who played in the gym (volleyball, wrestling and boys & girls basketball) will be honored as representatives of the sport they played in the gym.

The point of this post is to gather some of your memories of our hallowed gym. Can be as a fan, parent, grandparent, player, coach, pep band member, student, referee or whatever relationship you had with the gym.

I'll start...and for me, it's one memory only that rises above the rest...the boys basketball game against Akron Firestone in February of 1992. Firestone came into the game with an 11-0 record, #1 ranked in Division 1 and boasting the trio of All-American Quentin Brooks, Andre Smith (son of Cleveland Cavs legend Bingo Smith) and Kenny Lane. They were as big and athletic of a team that I've ever seen....and in the typical fashion of a Steve Smith coached team, the Riders simply took the fight to them, defeating the Falcons 68-54.

Here's the newspaper clipping from that game...it didn't give much detail about the game...guessing the game was up against a newspaper deadline for the Courier so all they had room for was the basics.

It was one the most highly anticipated games in school history and tickets were sold out long before the day of the game. An overflow crowd watched via closed circuit TV in the auditorium. I was lucky enough to get a seat in the gym and if you have a copy of the game on tape...I'm the kid (a freshman at the time) standing up and blocking the view of the camera...so I have video evidence that I was in the building that night. Mr. Coppa wasn't too happy with me, but I wasn't going to sit on my hands all night.

I've never heard a "buzz" in the gym louder than that night, and never has a crowd of barely 1,000 been so loud. Everyone knew who was coming to "our" gym..a big D-1 school with an All-American..and we wanted to prove that we not only belonged but that we were better. No offense to the crowds of today...but crowds back then were loud...I know it's hard to believe, but even the adults in the reserved seats were standing and cheering...we didn't wait until the 4th quarter to make noise, the cheering started before the opening tip. We stood and cheered as Orrville players were introduced even. Hard to believe isn't it?

Firestone ended the regular season ranked #4 in Division 1 and advanced to the state final four while Orrville finished the year #2 in Division 3 in the AP poll, but won 8 straight tourney games to win the school's first team state championship.

I'm sure this game would be #1 on a lot people's list..but there have been plenty of other highlights as well. Those years in the early to mid 1990's were so amazing from a memories standpoint. From the 1991-92 season through the 1995-96 season Orrville boys basketball won 115 games (average of 23 wins per season), 3 state titles, an AP poll title in 1996 and had an amazing 29-2 record in the post-season in those 5 seasons.

It doesn't have to be games either...some of the "welcome home" celebrations from our 3 state championship teams were memorable as well. Our girls teams have clinched OCC titles on that court, and we've seen some great wrestlers compete in that gym...guys like Shane Hartzler and the late Jack Leeder. And even some sad memories as well, most notably Coach Smith's memorial service that was held in the gym in 2005...a gym where he helped make so many good memories was the gym where the town said goodbye.

Not looking for anything specific, just your memories of the gym....could be memories of games or practices, players, coaches or fans. Just leave a comment below...anonymously or leave your name.

Hopefully you can make it to the game on the 22nd...one last time to sit in those cramped bleachers and remember the glory years, the three state title teams, the 1980 and 2009 teams that went to the final four, the countless great teams that made us so proud season after season.

The gym where coaches taught and kids learned...how to win, how to lose..and most importantly, how to be Red Riders.

History Lesson: All 26 of Orrville's Final Four Appearances

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 03:17:00 +0000

I had the following list sent to me by Orrville AD Kent Smith. It's a detailed list of every one of our 26 final four appearances by our sports teams. I took some time to fill in details of each team's result at the final four (scores, who they beat or lost to, etc.) and added each team's coach as well.

The end result of this list is two-fold. One is to compile this information for the sake of history...and two...I'm hearing the plan is to recognize every one of the 26 appearances with a banner on the wall of the new gym when it opens for business. Each final four appearance would get it's own separate banner, resulting in a gym wall's worth of athletic achievement in our program since the baseball team notched the school's first final four in 1976.
First of all, what a great idea. We talk a lot about our proud athletic tradition, and rightfully so, but it's a great reminder to see that "on paper." We sometimes get called cocky and arrogant by other schools in the area when we discuss our athletic success, but I think we sometimes go out of our way to diminish our achievement rather than celebrate them. Why relegate these achievements to the archives and dusty trophy cases? They should be displayed for all to see....and doing this in a brand new gym is the perfect time to do so.

Other schools sure do it...loud and proud, and so should we. I've seen BIG banners in other gyms for conference championships and AP Poll Rankings...big patches on their letter jackets for playoff appearances...not wins...appearances. So why can't we be proud of our final fours and state titles just the same? I know, I know...academics over athletics. I agree 100%....but what's wrong with touting our achievements in both?

Below is the link to the list. It will open in a new window. Feel free to print and share.

Orrville High School Final Four Appearances - 1976 to Present

To review...that's 9 football final four appearances, 7 basketball final fours (5 boys and 2 girls), 3 volleyball final fours, 1 baseball final four and the 6 times our boys and girls track team finished in the top 4 at the state track meet. Show me another area school that has the depth and breadth of our achievements. Anyone? And that's not going back to the 40's and 50's either. That's 26 final fours just since 1976.

This list DOES NOT include any of our individual state champs...of which there are 24 more. So there are 50 combined individual state titles & team final fours. That's pretty impressive.

Secondly, I would have never guessed 26 as the number of total final four appearances. Football and boys basketball make up 14 of the 26, but I still probably wouldn't have guessed more than 20.

Lastly, some good (and bad) memories come back when looking over this list. Some great teams, coaches and wins...some heartbreaking losses too. Try to look at this list and NOT play the "woulda, shoulda, coulda" game....I say it's impossible.

A couple of interesting notes from this list.
1.) Two people at OHS have played on a final four team and coached a team to a final four. Sly Slaughter is one, he played on the 1992 state champion basketball team and coached the 2009 basketball team to state runner up finish. The other is Doug Davault....he played on the 1976 baseball team that finished state runner up and has also coached the 2010 football team to a final four.

2.) One of the most impressive runs on the list was the volleyball team's back to back final four runs in 2003 and 2004. The '03 team won it all while the '04 team bowed out in the semifinals. The combined record of those two teams was an unreal 55-3.

3.) Another great run was the football team's three straight final fours from 1983 to 1985. Two of those resulted in runner up finishes. Still would like to have a time machine and play the '84 and '85 games over again. Those three teams won a combined 32 games...which is tied for the most wins in a 3-year run.

3.) The 1999 state champion track team was simply dominant. That team sent athletes to state in 12 different events. I think there's only 16 events in a typical track meet.

4.) Diane Shanklin is the only coach to take teams in two different sports to the final four, doing it in 1981 with the girls track team and then with the volleyball team in 2003 and 2004.

Enjoy looking over the list...I'll put a link to this list in the "Records & Champions" tab at the top of the page for easy reference.

Orrville Girls Get #2 Seed in District Draw

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:30:00 +0000

It's almost tournament time for boys and girls basketball. Best time of the season is close upon us.

The girls district draw was this past Sunday and our Red Riders, sporting a nice 17-2 record, were rewarded with the #2 seed in the upcoming Wooster District tournament to be played at Triway High School.

Considering that Smithville, the undefeated and #1 ranked team in Division 3, shares the district with the Red Riders, a 2-seed is about the best we could have hoped for. The argument of who plays a tougher schedule (certainly Orrville) and who might actually be the better team (also Orrville in my opinion) doesn't really matter. If each team takes care of business, the two squads will have a chance to prove that on the court....but both will have to win 3 tourney games first before that discussion can even take place...and the distrcit will be a tough one, so no guarantees at all.

The Riders will open tourney play on Wednesday February 20th against Rittman at 6pm at Triway. If they win, they'll face Loudonville on Saturday February 23rd at 4pm.

The full district bracket is here and the region bracket is here. Both will be at the top of the page for easy access throughout tourney play.

What was interesting about the way the draw shook out was that the #3 (Canton CC) and #4 seeds (Chippewa) both chose the top half of the bracket...away from Orrville. That says volumes about who those teams don't want to play..and that they'd rather take their chances with the #1 team in Division 3 (Smithville).

Points Update
After Monday's 59-51 win over Canton CC, Orrville seniors Hannah Plybon and Maggie Davault are closing in on scoring milestones. Hannah came into the Canton CC game with 1,796 points and erupted for 35 points against the Crusaders, tying her career high and increasing her career total to 1,831. She's already the all-time leading scorer in Wayne Co. girls history, and is a little over 100 points away from eclipsing the boys record of 1,945 set by Dalton's Ryan Berg back in the early 1990's. To get to 2,000, she needs 169 more points. It would likely take the Riders making it to regionals (at least) for Hannah to get to 2,000. Very possible, but the focus in tourney play will be on winning games, not scoring points..and the deeper the Riders go, the tougher the teams they'll play.

Davault currently sits at 880 points after the Canton CC game, needing just 120 more to become just the 5th Red Rider girl to score 1,000 points. She's the proverbial straw that stirs the drink on this team...her hustle and heart simply can't be measured in a box score. Some college would be wise to take a look at Maggie...she'll never be the tallest girl on the court, but she's a gamer that plays much taller than she is and with a ton of heart.

Doubleheader with Northwestern
This Saturday will be a unique one at Orrville HS as Northwestern will bring their boys and girls team to Bob Knight Gym for a doubleheader. The day will start with the girls JV game, then the boys JV game. Both games will be free to watch. After the boys JV game is done, the gym will be cleared, and those wishing to watch the girls varsity followed by the boys varsity games will have to pay admission.

The action starts at 3pm. Only a few chances left to watch a game in the "old" gym. Don't miss out.

Nomination for 2013 Orrville Sports Hall of Fame Induction Due March 1st

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:04:00 +0000

It's that time again....the biennial induction to the Orrville High School Sports Hall of Fame will take place this year on September 14th at Orrville High School. The class of 2013 will be the 12th induction class since the first class was enshrined in 1991.

The induction will be held in the newly refurbished OHS auditorium. It may be the first chance for the general public to see the completely renovated space, and will surely add a special touch to the evening.

As always, the Sports Hall of Fame committee needs your help in recognizing the great in OHS athletic history. No person can be inducted without first being nominated and nominations are not made by the committee. That last part bears repeating....THE COMMITTEE DOES NOT MAKE NOMINATIONS.

Nominations typically come from a family member, friend, classmate, parent, child, grandchild or member of the Orrville community.

A nominee must be at least 25 years old. Nominees can be coaches that weren't graduates of OHS, but coached at OHS. Athletic success at OHS is an obvious requirement, but many inductees and nominees saw greater success at the college level, and that can sometimes strengthen a nominees chances for induction. In short, it's not just what someone did while at OHS...it's sometimes what they do AFTER the leave OHS that can set them apart.

Once nominations are received, all nominees accomplishments are discussed and the list is trimmed down to 20 finalists, and from that 20, a maximum of 10 nominees are selected, by majority vote of the committee, for induction.

Nominations for the 2013 induction class are due by March 1st, so now is the time to get someone you believe is worthy of induction on the list of nominees.

A nomination form is here...and if I can make a suggestion...just nominate the person...you don't need to have pages and pages of newspaper clippings and awards. Just the basic info on someone will do to get them nominated. Members of the HOF committee know Orrville greats from back in the 30's and 40's. If they were an accomplished athlete at Orrville, someone on the committee will know of them.

Here is the list of current inductees. I know there has been discussion in the past as to why an individual hasn't been inducted and usually it's two reasons....they were selected for induction but turned down the honor, or they have never been nominated. Sometimes though there are a lot of deserving nominees and some get in and some fall a vote or two short. It's a process and certainly not one taken lightly.

The OHS Sports Hall of Fame also provides two $1,000 scholarships to a male and female OHS senior at the Senior Assembly in May. Funds for that scholarship are raised from the annual golf outing held at Riceland Golf Course. This year's outing is set for Saturday June 8th...more info on that will be coming later.

Hannah Plybon Breaks All-Time Orrville Basketball Scoring Record

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:52:00 +0000

Another record fell tonight at the hands of Orrville senior Hannah Plybon. Already the girls all-time leading scorer, Hannah is now the all-time leading scorer in Orrville basketball history...boys or girls.

She tallied 29 points tonight in a 67-64 win over Mansfield Senior, and in doing so, passed Orrville great Marcell Denson's boys scoring record of 1,722 points.

She entered the game with 1,705 points, and her 29 tonight gives her 1,734 for her career.

Really incredible when you stop and think how great Denson was during our glory years in the mid 90's. He scored A LOT of points..and for Hannah to top that, speaks to how special of a talent she is.

Another record may fall this Saturday when the Riders host Triway...the Wayne Co. Girls scoring record. Currently held by Chippewa's Tonya Smoot, the record is 1,745 points. Hannah needs 12 points to own that record too. Likely that she gets it Saturday.

One other individual record is out there...and that's 2,000 career points. Hannah needs 266 points in her final games as a Red Rider to become the first Wayne County basketball player (boy or girl) to score 2,000 points, and just the 3rd in Wayne/Holmes county history.

I opined on twitter that she'd trade all of her points for a shot at a state title, and I was not surprised at her response: "I would, absolutely, without a doubt."

That's what I like to see in our student-athletes...a realization that individual awards are nice, but team goals come first. And only through the success of the team, does an individual get a chance to shine.

Congrats Hannah and congrats Lady Riders. Thirteen wins, two close losses to one of the best teams in the state...and a true shot at returning to Columbus for the first time since 1993. Tournament time should be a fun ride.

Winter Sports Update & Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 04:21:00 +0000

Wanted to update the happenings with the Red Rider winter sports teams, but first let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Thanks so much for all your positive comments and for following me on Facebook on Twitter, which are great mediums to get out quick blasts of news. I do a lot more posting there, than here on the blog. Score updates and links are much easier to share via social media rather than here.

With only 54 posts this year, 2012 was the slowest year for me doing the blog....and it continues to be tough to find the time and energy to put into the site like I did back in 2008 & 2009 when I first started the site.

Not sure what 2013 will bring as far as this site will be concerned, but I'll do my best to keep it up and running. It may evolve into more of a reference site, with less focus on the week to week happenings. I still plan to continue the Football Playoffs series, and have a few other things of a historical nature that you'll enjoy reading.

On to the update....

Girls Basketball
The girls hoops squad is off to a fast 5-1 start, counting tonight's win over Mansfield Senior. Their only loss was to undefeated West Holmes. Senior Hannah Plybon became the school's all-time leading scorer last week against Lexington. Plybon's career points stand at 1,496 points through the West Holmes game, and for her record breaking effort, she was nominated for the JJHuddle/Ohio National Guard Player of the Week honor, and in a voting poll, won the award with over 80% of the vote. Likely the first of many awards she will receive this year, including a very impressive 4th consecutive All-Ohio honor.

The girls will travel to Danville this Saturday (2pm, varsity only), take on Madison at home next Thursday and then travel to North Canton to play Norton in the Lady Vikes Classic on Saturday the 29th.

Boys Basketball
The boys team is off to a tough start, dropping their first four games, two being OCC contests. They travel to Wooster this Friday and then face Northwest in the annual WQKT Smitty Classic over at the College of Wooster on Saturday. They will then face Clear Fork at home on Friday Dec. 28th, which is also the night for the Booster Club car raffle. Tickets are $10 ea. or 3 for $20 and make great stocking stuffers. On sale at Serpentini's, Crown Investments and out of the OHS Athletic office. Assuming they'll be sold the night of the drawing in the high school lobby.

(Click here for an info sheet for the Smitty and the Lady Vikes Classic, including game times and ticket prices)

Wrestling/Swimming
On Thursday Dec. 27th, the wrestling team will participate in the Manchester Invitational and on Saturday Dec. 29th the swim team will participate in the Cloverleaf Invite at Wooster High School.

Moment of the Year?
Not going to run down a top 10 like I did a few years ago...but a few events in Red Rider sports in 2012 stick out as special. In no particular order...the baseball team going to regionals, the softball team dominating and winning the OCC, the turf project at Red Rider Stadium, another district title for boys basketball, the volleyball team making the final 4, Hannah Plybon breaking the school scoring record. I think out of all those, the turf project and the volleyball final 4 run stick out as the two big stories of the year. All were great accomplishments though.

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas!!

Plybon Breaks Career Scoring Record

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 04:39:00 +0000

Big congrats to Red Rider senior Hannah Plybon as tonight she broke the all-time girls basketball scoring record at Lexington High School.

First...and most importantly, the Riders won the game 62-32 to improve to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the OCC.

Coming into the game Hannah's career mark stood at 1,458 points, needing just 12 to tie Stacie Howard's career mark of 1,470. Her 18 points in the first half captured the record, and her 25 points for the game put her at 1,483 points...and counting for the University of Akron commit.

Howard set the prior record in 1990, so the record stood for nearly 23 years...quite a record considering some of the excellent players that have come through the program since then.

Hannah needs just 17 points to become the first Red Rider to eclipse 1,500 career points and that could come as early as Saturday against undefeated West Holmes at Bob Knight Gymnasium.

The career Wayne Co. scoring mark is held by Chippewa alum Tonya Smoot with 1,745 points. As of right now, Hannah is 263 points away from beating that mark...and with at least 16 more regular season games, she'd need to average 16.5 points per game to hold the county scoring mark all to herself...and that's not counting any tournament games. If she averaged 25 points over her final 16 regular season games, plus 5 tournament games, she'd hit 2,000 for her career, and join West Holmes' Lisa Cline as the only area players to hit 2,000. That one will be tougher, but you never know.

Congrats Hannah, her coaches, teammates and family. Great night for them..and for Red Riders everywhere. I hope a moment is taken prior to the tip of the West Holmes game Saturday to give Hannah a moment of recognition in front of the home fans.

For the record...here's the top 10 Orrville girls basketball career scorers.

1. Hannah Plybon - 1,483 points (active)
2. Stacie Howard - 1,470 points
3. Rhonda Winters - 1,368 points
4. Dawn Woodruff - 1,105 points
5. Erica Short - 982 points
6. TaNeisha Winters - 965 points
7. Jenny Carter - 940 points
8. DeVonne Howard - 874 points
9. Kim Winters - 837 points
10. Libby Ladrach - 800 points

Winter Sports Schedules, Car Raffle, Flag Football & More

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 03:03:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two More Red Riders Sign College Offers & Fall Sports Honors

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:11:00 +0000

Orrville seniors Rylee Scott (L) and Hannah Plybon sign their college letters of intent on Wednesday.

Congrats to Orrville seniors Hannah Plybon and Rylee Scott on inking their college letters of intent on Wednesday.

Plybon will play basketball on a full ride at The University of Akron and Scott will receive a full tuition and books scholarship to Ashland University to play volleyball.

Plybon has led the girls basketball program in scoring each of the last 3 seasons and (by my count) is exactly 100 points away from being the all-time leading scorer in school history. She is also seeking a rare 4th All-Ohio honor and another 1st team All-Ohio honor this season would make 3 straight..another super rare feat.

Scott, a 2-time All-OCC honoree, was recently named 2nd Team All-Ohio Division 3 and was a key part of the Red Riders Final Four run.

Congrats to Rylee and Hannah. Continuing the tradition of Red Riders excelling at the college level.

I won't add them to my "College Riders" list until their days at Orrville are finished, but wanted to ask everyone to review the list and please let me know if I'm missing anyone else. By my count we have over 30 alums playing sports at the collegiate level.

Football Honors
Congrats to Orrville senior Zane Vierheller for being named to the OCC first team and also Honorable Mention All-Northeast Inland District. Junior Trevor Summers was named 2nd team All-OCC and Honorable Mention All-Northeast Inland District while fellow junior Joel Zook was named Honorable Mention in both the OCC and the Northeast Inland District. Harrison Brown and Chase Infield were also selected as Honorable Mention OCC.
Volleyball Honors
Congrats to Hannah Plybon and Rylee Scott for being named All-OCC first team, Maggie Davault (2nd team) and Raegan Renner and Triniti Hall (Hon. Mention). Also, pictures from the Final 4 game against Bishop Ready are available for purchase here.

Golf Honors
Congrats to juniors Chad Harrison and Layne Scheufler for being named to the Northeast Ohio Golf Coaches Association Division Two 2nd team.

Monheim named Big10 Frosh of Week
For the 2nd time this season, Mason Monheim has been named the Big10 Freshman of the Week for his 15 tackle performance against Purdue last weekend. He leads his team in tackles and is 14th in the entire conference in tackles and the only freshman in the top 50 in the conference in tackles. His 74 tackles put him 7th among all freshmen in the country and tied for 4th among freshmen linebackers.

Orrville Volleyball: Final Four Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:58:00 +0000

Wanted to send out best wishes to the Orrville volleyball team and staff as they prepare to play in the Divison 3 Final Four tomorrow in Dayton at the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University.

It's the Riders 3rd trip to the final four since 2003 when they won the Division 3 state title by beating Versailles in two games.

Orrville will take on Columbus Bishop Ready at 6pm. If the Ready name sounds familiar, it should. The Silver Knights defeated Orrville for the 1983 Division 4 football title. It was also the school that the Orrville boys basketball team defeated in the state semifinals in 2009.

Back to volleyball, the other Division 3 semifinal pits Casstown Miami East (27-1), the defending D-3 state champs and #1 ranked team in D-3, against Bloom Carrol (24-3).

The winners will meet for the D-3 state title Saturday at 5pm. That game will be broadcast on SportsTimeOhio on SUNDAY (not live) at 9pm. So if the Riders win Friday, we'll all have a chance to watch the finals on TV on Sunday evening.

The Riders are playing their best ball when it counts the most...taking 36 of their last 37 sets, dating back to the 3rd set of their game with Canton Hoover back on 9/29. They were down 2 sets to 0 in that game....won the next 3 to win the game, and have only dropped 1 set since. That's pretty ~~impressive~~ dominant.

Safe travels to all heading down this weekend. I'll send updates via twitter/facebook as much as I'm able. Hoping to report on 2 more wins and a 2nd state title for the volleyball program.

As best I can tell, there is no radio broadcast of the game. Some games are being broadcast by radio stations that have teams from their area playing, but not Orrville. If Miami East and Orrville meet in the finals, it's likely that the game will be broadcast here. Again.....it would be so neat if we had our own capabilities to broadcast over the web. Wouldn't have to count on WQKT or anyone else to broadcast our games.

We look through the prism of football (maybe a little too much) in this town...but the volleyball team's run has been such a good distraction after a tough football season. It's also been great to see the support of a lively student section. They're showing that you can be a supportive and loud cheering section without having to be disrespectful...a lost art in student sections anymore. Keep it up students!

Good luck & GO RIDERS!!! Also a "good luck" to the Central Christian Comets as they seek a state title in Division 4. They play Friday at noon against Beaver Eastern.

Wooster Week & Fall Sports Tournament Update

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:47:00 +0000

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

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

Football
No sugar coating things...2012 has been a tough year for the football team, but it shouldn't reflect poorly on the kids or the coaches as they continue to work hard and do all they know how to do...work hard and prepare to the best of their ability. I've seen flashes of good things the last 3 weeks and I'm hoping that it culminates in 8 weeks of bad luck and bad breaks turning around against Wooster and we can get that 8th straight win against our rival.

It was tough watching the seniors take one last walk up and down the turf at Heartland Field after suffering their 5th home loss....tough seeing the kids get emotional knowing their playing days on their home field were done. Wins aren't deserved, they're earned...but this team and group of seniors especially deserve a win in their final game as Red Riders. No playoffs this year, so this is our state championship. I hope to see an inspired bunch of Red Riders this Saturday at Follis Field.

Wooster Week
The bonfire is Friday night and will kick off with a parade at 7pm at the north end of the stadium (by Mineral Spring Street). The Wooster dummy will be retrieved and brought back to the stadium where Coach Davault and the seniors will speak before the bonfire.

After the bonfire, adults are invited to Senor Panchos for the Adult Rally starting at 9pm. Always a good time full of Red Rider Spirit. This event is sponsored by the Booster Club.

The 102nd version of the Orrville-Wooster game will be Saturday night at 7pm. Hope to see a good turnout for the last game of the year. We're used to the Wooster game sort of kicking off the "second season," but it wasn't to be this year....so week 10 is it. Come out and support these young men who have put many hours and sacrificed to be part of this team. If you can't make it, the game will be broadcast on AM960 and also webcast at www.wqkt.com.

Here's some past writing I did on some of the great Wooster Week games. Always nice to go back and read those. No matter if we're 9-0 or 1-8...it's still a BIG deal to beat Wooster.

Rivalries in Ohio
According to this page on Wikipedia, Orrville/Wooster is the 6th longest running rivalry in Ohio. Massillon/McKinley is the oldest, with the first game being played in 1894, then Sandusky/Fremont Ross (1895), Dover/New Philly (1896), Piqua/Troy (1899), Ironton/Portsmouth (1902) and then Orrville/Wooster. The full game-by-game breakdown of the Orrville/Wooster series is compiled here.

Turf Project Wrap Up
Obviously the first season on turf didn't go so great for the football team, but the sheer use of the facility was very impressive as the 7th, 8th, freshman & JV football teams played on it, the JV & Varsity soccer teams & also the OABGC tackle football teams were able to play on it as well. There was even a Saturday where a JV football game was played on the turf in the morning and then a soccer match in the afternoon.

This simply would not have been able to be done on grass....and I'm hearing rumblings about Wooster getting turf for 2013 and that Clear Fork is also exploring forming a fundraising committee. If Wooster does get turf, then this years Orrville/Wooster game could be the last game played on grass for the foreseeable future.

One finishing touch to the stadium was the installation of the donor board recognizing the many who gave to the turf project. I think the final number ended up being in the neighborhood of $685,000.

Thank you again to all those that helped make it happen.

Playoff Game at Heartland Field?
The school has filed paperwork with the OHSAA to be considered for hosting a playoff game or games this post-season. It would most likely be a Division 4, 5 or 6 game as our facility isn't big enough to host some of the upper division games that would draw big crowds. One appealing potential matchup would be between Norwayne and Northwestern. It's possible that those 2 could meet in the 2nd round of the Division 4 playoffs, and what better venue to host than ours?

Volleyball
Good luck to the Red Rider volleyball team as they seek their 2nd district title in 3 years as they take on WCAL champ Dalton at 7pm at Smithville. The winner will advance to the Barberton regional to take on Canfield South Range next Thursday at 6pm. The regional bracket is here.

Cross Country
Good luck to the girls cross country team as they compete in the Boardman Regional this Saturday. The girls placed 5 runners in the top 35 at the Malone District and finished 4th as a team to advance to regionals. Haley Woodruff paced the Rider runners with a 4th place overall finish. Good luck ladies!!

Booster Club Car Raffle
The drawing for the Chevy Cruze donated by Serpentini Chevrolet will be held on December 28th at halftime of the boys basketball game. 2nd prize is a TV from Bennett's and 3rd prize is a recliner from Brown's Furniture. Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $20. Would make great stocking stuffers if you're starting to think about Christmas.

Week 7 Preview - Orrville at Ashland

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:33:00 +0000

Note: I apologize to my email subscribers who wont be reading this until Saturday morning (after the game has been played). Been very busy lately and just did not have time to get this posted.

Who: Orrville Red Riders (1-5, 0-3 in OCC) at Ashland Arrows (3-3, 1-2 in OCC)

When: Friday October 7th

Where: Community Stadium in Ashland

Series: Ashland leads 13-8, there was 1 tie.

Last Year: Ashland won 14-0

Last Week: Orrville lost West Holmes 41-0, Ashland lost Mansfield Senior 29-15

Radio/TV: Ashland's 1340 AM will broadcast the game. Click here.

Coaches: Orrville's Doug Davault is 51-28 in his 7th season, Ashland's Scott Valentine is 84-37 in his 11th season with the Arrows

Both teams come into this game in uncharted waters, Ashland has lost 2 straight OCC games for the first time since 2008, and Orrville's 5 straight losses are the most consecutive losses since 2002 when they lost 7 in a row.

Beating the Arrows is something that hasn't come easy for the Red Riders, as the Arrows have won 4 of the last 6, but the 2 Rider wins have come at Ashland (in 2006 & 2008).

I've heard rumblings of some different offensive looks from the Riders this week, possibly to emphasize a focus on the run game, and it's probably overdue as the Riders total of 20 points scored in the last 3 weeks just isn't going to win many ball games. Have to find a way to keep the offense on the field and to score points when we do. If we struggle again on offense, it's going to be a repeat of the past few weeks where the defense can't get off the field and we wear down late in the game.

Ashland will throw it around the field, providing a good test to our DB's, but also an opportunity to create some turnovers, which we haven't done much this year.

Both teams are currently on the outside looking in at the playoffs right now. Ashland sits 12th in region 7 while Orrville sits 27th in region 13. Even if the Riders win out, it probably won't be enough to capture a spot in the top 8, but stranger things have happened.

I don't think the playoffs should even be looked at right now...a lead and a win would be a good starting point...we haven't had either since week 1.

Hoping to see a spark from this team...losing is tough, losing bad is even tougher. Win or lose, play with Rider Pride and keep fighting.

Go Riders!!

Week 6 - West Holmes at Orrville

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 04:29:00 +0000

Who: West Holmes Knights (5-0, 2-0 in OCC) vs. Orrville Red Riders (1-4, 0-2 in OCC)
Where: Heartland Field at Red Rider Stadium
When: Friday September 28, 2012, 7pm
All-Time Series: Orrville leads 26-12, including the last 3 in a row and 10 of the last 13.

Coaches: Kevin Maltarich, 11-14 in his 3rd year at West Holmes. Doug Davault, 51-27 in his 7th year at Orrville.
Last Week: West Holmes beat Ashland 41-36, Orrville lost to Mansfield Senior, 35-12.
Last Year: Orrville beat West Holmes 28-21.

Radio: Live webcast courtesy of The Voice of Holmes County. Broadcast begins at 6:30pm

Orrville and West Holmes will meet for the 40th time since the rivalry began in 1967 and for the 88th time if you count the games between Orrville and Millersburg High.

The Riders have won 11 of the 13 meetings between the schools since 1993, but will be decided underdogs to the undefeated and state-ranked Knights. Fresh off a big win over Ashland last week, the Knights will look to begin the 2nd half of the season the same way they ended the first half..with a win..and they can think of no better venue to continue their winning ways than the new turf at Red Rider Stadium against a Red Rider team having it's share of struggles.

They will bring a stable of running backs to the turf at Heartland Field and will run the ball 85% of the time, but will also have athletes to catch the ball as well.

The Riders are struggling to find their way on offense, scoring a total of just 20 points over their last 2 games, while the defense has given up 32.5 points over those same 2 games. In the Riders 4 losses, they've allowed 29, 34, 30 and 35 points (128 total) while scoring just 70.

To have a shot at a win, the Riders must create turnovers and turn those into points. On offense, they must sustain drives and on defense they have to get off the field on 3rd down. They cannot be on the field for long Knight drives of 10+ plays. The Knights attack will simply wear our defense down unless the Riders can get stops & turnovers.

Stranger things have happened, and perhaps the Knights, who have big contests looming with Mansfield Senior and Lexington will be looking past the Riders...but I doubt it. The Knight faithful know all too well of the Red Rider Tradition and I'm guessing won't be looking past anyone on their way to a likely playoff appearance.

Amazingly enough, if the Riders are able to pull out a win, a bevy of computer points will come their way, possibly enough to crack the top 15 in the region. It would be the needed first step to even begin discussing a playoff spot.

Play for pride, Riders!! Let's win one on the turf.

Week 5 - Mansfield Senior at Orrville

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:53:00 +0000

Who: Mansfield Senior Tygers (3-1, 1-0 in OCC) vs. Orrville Red Riders (1-3, 0-1 in OCC).
When: Friday September 21, 2012
Where: Heartland Field at Red Rider Stadium.
All-Time Series: Orrville leads 9-6, including 5 of the last 6. Senior has not won at Orrville since 2002.
Last Year: The Tygers won 21-14.
Last Week: Orrville lost to Lexington 30-8, Senior beat Clear Fork 35-7
Coaches: Chioke Bradley is in his 3rd season as Tyger head coach with a 12-12 record. Doug Davault is 51-25 in his 7th season as Orrville head coach.
Radio/TV: None.

Well...this is certainly uncharted territory for Red Rider fans..and players/coaches too. We've not lost 3 games in a row since 2002 & it's only happened 3 times since 1990. And never had an Orrville team lost 3 in a row in a season and gone on to make the playoffs.....but enough of the negative, that's not what this site is about and that's not what this team is about.

I have a real good feeling about this matchup with the Tygers. They've won 3 of their first 4 and are averaging 40 points per game over the past two weeks. Our offense struggled to put points on the board last week at Lexington, but had several drives stall in Lex territory & our defense fell victim to the big play.

Senior will bring maybe their most talented and athletic team (and new helmets) they've had in a long time to Orrville so the Riders will have to play their most complete game of the season to break the losing streak and get all-time win #598. Senior has not won at Orrville since 2002 so they'll have plenty of their own motivation. A week after breaking a 7-year drought against Clear Fork last week, Senior is out to put another losing streak to bed, and position themselves nicely in the OCC and possibly a playoff appearance.

With West Holmes coming to town next week and a trip to Ashland after that, the Riders are running out of time to get back in the hunt. Another OCC loss probably means another season without a OCC title and will dig us a deep hole in the hunt for playoff appearance #23.

I think the Riders come out with something to prove. I'm encouraged to hear that the kids are keeping their heads up and continuing to work hard to get better. I think it's a matter of hitting some big plays early. Playing with a lead is imperative this week...as Senior seems to be a team that gets more confident as the game wears on. It's time our defense creates some turnovers and some big plays of their own....let's get an early lead and make the Tygers play catch up.

The Riders haven't killed themselves with penalties so far this season, it's just a matter of finishing drives. When we get inside the 20, we have to find a way to put points on the board.

Call it a hunch, but I think the Riders get the win and ride some momentum into week 6. Our backs haven't been against the wall in week 5 in a very long time...and if there's one thing fans should know by now is that we seem to play our best ball when our backs are against the wall & everyone doubts us.

Week 4 Preview - Orrville at Lexington

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 04:17:00 +0000

Who: Orrville Red Riders (1-2, 0-0) vs. Lexington Minutemen (2-1, 0-0)
Where: Lexington Stadium
When: Friday September 14th, 7:00pm

All Time Series: Orrville leads 8-5.
Last Meeting: 2011 (Orrville won 35-12)
Last Week: Orrville lost to Copley 34-28, Lexington lost Olentangy 35-21.

Coaches: Dan Studer takes over Minutemen football after BJ Payne resigned at the end of last season. Studer is a Massillon graduate and one of the featured subjects in the film 'Go Tigers.' Doug Davault is in his 7th season at Orrville, with an overall record of 51-24.

Radio/TV: None.

This isn't territory an Orrville football team is accustomed to. The last time an Orrville football team lost 2 straight games was in 2009 when they dropped the first 2 games of the season to Northwest and Triway. The Riders under Doug Davault have never lost 3 games in a row. A 3-game losing streak hasn't happened since the 2002 season that saw them go 2-8.

The Riders will seek to avoid a 3-game losing streak when they travel to Lexington Friday night in the opening week of OCC play. Lexington is coming off their first loss of the season last week so both teams will be looking to right the ship.

I hate to look any farther than this week, but if the Riders are to make a run at their 4th straight playoff appearance, this game is as "must win" as any week 4 game can be. A 1-3 record with Mansfield Senior, West Holmes and Ashland looming on the schedule would not bode well for the Riders playoff chances. But a win over the Minutemen Friday would give the Riders a much-needed jolt of confidence heading into 2 straight home games.

The Riders will look to build on last week's positive effort against Copley. They fought back from down 28-7 to make it a 1 touchdown game. If not for the effort of Copley's Aregeros Turner, the Riders might have pulled that game out.

For the 2nd straight week, the game won't be on TV or radio, which is a bit disappointing, as a drive to Lexington is nearly an hour. This would be where a web radio broadcast specifically for Orrville games would come in real handy....someone should work on that.

Here's hoping for a Rider win. Let's get this thing back on track.

Week 3 - Orrville at Copley

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:19:00 +0000

Who: Orrville Red Riders (1-1) vs. Copley Indians (2-0)
Where: Infocision Field at Copley Stadium
When: Friday September 7, 2012
All Time Series: Orrville leads 24-14. Copley has won the last two matchups, 34-33 in double overtime in 2010 and 14-13 in overtime last year. Orrville is 3-2 at Copley since the rivalry renewed in 2001.

Last Meeting: Copley won 14-13 in overtime last season.
Last Week: Orrville lost to Triway 29-20, Copley beat Akron Firestone 34-27.
Coaches: Doug Davault is 51-23 in his 7th year as Orrville coach, Ron Viscounte is 27-26 in his 6th year for Copley.
Radio/TV: None that I know of.

Looking Back
Let's get this out of the way right now...last week's loss to Triway wasn't fun. Imagine it wasn't fun for the players or the coaches. Here's hoping the right things were corrected and this week's effort will be much improved.

Looking Ahead
Copley is off to a 2-0 start for the 4th straight year and will look to lean heavily on senior running back Aregeros Turner. He will run the ball primarily but is also a pass catching threat as well. He currently holds 4 scholarship offers from D-1 schools (Illinois, Tennessee, Washington and Toledo). The Orrville defense held him under 75 yards last season and the Akron Firestone defense did the same last week. The Rider defense will have to slow him down first and foremost, but also need to guard against Copley's other talented athletes, led by junior Will Thomas who returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown last week. Copley was hit hard by graduation, most notably losing signal caller Lou Gigliotti. He was the glue that held that offense together. The Orrville defense will need to play their "A" game to slow the Indians down and give the Rider offense a chance to score some points.

Speaking of the offense, they need to play better, simple as that. The running game had over 250 yards rushing last week, led by Kyle Lichti (89 yards) and Martavius Dyson (88 yards), but the passing game was not good, plagued by bad snaps, bad throws and bad drops. I've heard good things about kids putting in extra work and working hard to be better in week 3 than they were in week 2.

Copley will be bigger than Triway so to expect the run game to put up 250 more yards rushing might be wishful thinking, which is all the more reason for the passing game to clicking on all cylinders. I have confidence that the kids will be motivated to rinse last week's taste from their mouths.

Any win at Copley is a big win...and it would be huge with a young team heading into OCC play.

Looking towards 2013
I bring up 2013 because this game with Copley will be the last with the Indians for the foreseeable future as they have chosen to drop us from their schedule starting in 2013. This has been a great series between these two schools, with the first game played all the way back in 1954.

This year's edition will be the 39th meeting, making it the 6th oldest rivalry in Orrville history behind Wooster (101 meetings and counting), West Holmes (87 and counting), Wadsworth (77), Mansfield Madison (42 and counting) & Triway (41 and counting).

The end of this rivalry will alter Orrville's schedule starting in 2013. Cleveland Lincoln West will replace Copley on the schedule but that game will be played in week 1, with traditional week 1 opponent Northwest moving to week 3. The Lincoln West game will be a home game every year, so beginning next year, Orrville will still have 5 home games but in 2014, we will have 6 home games. We haven't had more than 5 home games in a season since 1998 when we had 7.

In 2014, we'll have 8 games on turf, the 6 home games, plus away contests with Ashland and Wooster, who I hear may have turf as early as a year from now.

Week 2 Preview - Triway at Orrville

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:45:00 +0000

Who: Orrville Red Riders (1-0) vs. Triway Titans (0-1)

Where: Heartland Field at Red Rider Stadium

When: Friday August 31, 2012, 7pm - GATES OPEN AT 5:45pm

Radio: Updates on WQKT 104.5

All Time Series: Orrville leads 34-6. The Riders have won 7 of the last 8 in the series. Last Triway win was in 2009, 28-14.

Last Meeting: Week 2 of 2011 (Orrville won 52-7)

Last Week: Orrville beat Northwest 24-20, Triway lost to West Holmes 41-22.

Coaches: Doug Davault is 51-22 in his 7th year as Orrville coach, Tony Lee is 18-15 in his 4th season as Triway coach.

Should be a great atmosphere on Friday night as the Titans looks for only their 2nd win at Orrville in school history and look to spoil the grand opening of the new Heartland Field.

Triway will look to bounce back from a week 1 loss to West Holmes in which the Knights ran for 450+ yards on the Triway defense. That game was a 2-point Triway lead in the 4th quarter before the Knights ran away & hid late. Triway threw the ball for 350+ and will look to do the same this week with sophomore Parker Carmichael at the helm of Triway's passing attack with Kyle Kearney and Lane Drake being two of his many targets.

Orrville did a little bit of everything in their week 1 win over Northwest. They ran for 150+ yards even after losing junior Joel Zook to a knee injury. Sophomores Kayronn Inman and Martavius Dyson split carries once Zook went down. Senior Kyle Lichti threw 2 TD passes (both to Brandon Johnson) and even scored a special teams touchdown on a blocked punt by senior Tyrone White that was scooped up by Martavius Dyson. Even the kicking game got in on the action, with sophomore Cole Duskey booting a 25 yard field goal for the first points of the 2012 campaign for the Riders.

Orrville's defense was stout, holding Northwest to just 1 scoring drive (a broken play that resulted in a TD and a kickoff return accounted for the Indians other 2 scores.).

The 41st meeting between Orrville & Triway will likely come down to the matchup of Orrville's defense against Triway's offense. If the Titans are able to throw the ball and march down the field, it will be an interesting game. If Orrville's athletes are able to slow the Titan passing attack, it will be up to the Titan defense to make plays.

I like the Riders chances in this one, but don't think the kids in purple aren't ready to come out and spoil this night for the Rider faithful. This will be no walk in the park like last year's 52-7 Orrville victory. This year's edition of this backyard rivalry will likely resemble the Riders' 27-25 victory in the 2010 playoffs.

In terms of regular season games at our stadium, this one will rank up there with the 100th anniversary game between Orrville & Wooster back in 2003 as far as hype and pregame festivities.

Opening Night Festivites Planned to Dedicate Heartland Field

noreply@blogger.com (Red Rider Sports Blog (Tim Snyder)) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 02:20:00 +0000

This was sent out by Athletic Director Kent Smith in his weekly Booster Club update, but I wanted to share it here too. Looks like a Red Rider fan with a pilot's license got a bird's eye view of the new & improved Heartland Field.

I know we've all been amazed by the transformation that's taken place since mid June, but this really shows how different (in a good way) the facility has become in a little over two months. I love hearing how impressed the Orrville community is, but also the positive comments fans from other communities have had.

I can't wait for opening night to see the field under the lights.

While on the subject, please plan to arrive early on Friday night for the 2012 home opener and the first ever Orrville varsity football home game on turf as the Red Riders take on backyard rival Triway.

A special recognition ceremony is planned to thank several large business donors and to also thank all of Red Rider Nation that helped make this project a reality. It will be capped off by skydivers arriving with the game ball. The Orrville band begins the festivities with their performance at 6:40pm.

A large crowd is expected as always when Orrville & Triway meet. Add to that it will be the first chance for many to see the new turf, and with weather expected to be good, an overflow crowd is possible. With parking at the school limited due to construction, please plan ahead. Parking will be available at the lower part of Orr Park and at the Orrville Elementary & Middle Schools and also in the grass lot behind the home bleachers. The area between the high school and the practice field will be reserved for media and the parking lot at the south end of the high school (by the Board of Administration office) will be reserved for buses.