Five local football players will compete for the state of Ohio in the 2010 PNC Bank Big 33 Football Classic.
Running backs Erick Howard, an Akron recruit from North Canton Hoover, and Tyson Gulley (Garfield-Syracuse) will be joined by Massillon offensive lineman Jeff Myers (Toledo), McKinley linebacker Jewone Snow (West Virginia) and Orrville linebacker Chase Hoobler (Indiana).
Ohio will play against Pennsylvania in the 53rd Big 33 Football Classic 7:00 PM on June 19, 2010 Hershey Park Stadium in Hershey Pa.
Akron resident Juan Jones III, 15, finished second at the 2010 National Silver Gloves Boxing Championships in Independence, Mo over the weekend.
Jones III lost in the 14-15 year old, 125-pound championship to Julian Rodriguez, of Hackensack, N.J., in a judge’s decision.
The tournament pitted eight regional winners from across the nation against each other. Jones III fought three fights overall. He picked up victories over Manuel Green (region five) in the quarterfinals and Robert Jimenez (region seven) in the semifinals.
Akron resident LaQuan Portis, 12, also competed in the tournament, He placed sixth in the 12-13, 80-pound division.
Tagged as:
2010 National Silver Gloves Boxing Championships,
Juan Jones III,
Julian Rodriguez,
LaQuan Portis,
Manuel Green,
Robert Jimenez
St. Vincent-St. Mary senior tackle Bryant Ausperk (6-8, 295) has reportedly made a commitment to play college football at Robert Morris, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
West Branch senior WR Jake Gonci (6-5, 195) has reportedly made a commitment to play college football at Ashland, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
While most people will be cooking and preparing their feast or party for the Super Bowl early Sunday afternoon, girls basketball coaches will be at Warrensville High School for the seeding of the sectional-district tournaments, including the Division I at Ellet, Alliance and Medina, the Division II at Lake, Austintown Fitch and Massillon, the Division III at Wellington and Wooster, and the Division IV at Rootstown and Hubbard.
Every team is seeded at each draw, which means all but the lowest seeded team get to make choices where it will go in the tournament bracket. The top teams get not only to chose what part of the bracket they go, but in some cases whether or not to take a first round bye.
Here are the top players in the area for the 2011 football recruiting class:
Kevin Brewton Garfield TE-DE 6-4, 225
Comment: He was the City Series defensive player of the year as a junior at defensive end. He was the Rams’ leading receiver as a tight end.
Tommy Brown Firestone OL 6-5, 300
Comment: He reportedly has an offer from the University of Akron and will be one of the top linemen in the area.
Dylan Brumbaugh Green DL 6-5, 250
Comment: He should be one of the top players in the Suburban League this fall.
Connor Cook Walsh Jesuit QB 6-5, 200
Comment: He was invited to the U.S. Army National Combine in January in San Antonio. Walsh coach Gerry Rardin said he has generated Division I college interest.
Doran Grant St. Vincent-St. Mary RB-DB 5-11, 175
Comment: He is rated the state’s No. 5 player overall in the Ohio High Magazine Top 100. He has scholarship offers that reportedly include Georgia, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Stanford and Ohio State.
James Lucas Canton South WR 6-2, 210
Comment: He should be one of the top players in Stark County this fall.
Johnny Lowdermilk Carrollton QB/LB 6-2, 190
Comment: He should be one of the top players in the NBC this fall.
Steve Miller Canton McKinley DE 6-5, 218
Comment: Easily one of the nation’s top players in the 2011 class, he orally committed to Ohio State in 2009. He also reportedly had offers from Florida, UCLA, Michigan State, West Virginia and Stanford among others.
Tashan Mitchell WRA WR 6-3, 205
Comment: He should be one of the top receivers in the area this fall.
Justin Olack Massillon WR 6-4, 195
Comment: He reportedly has offers from Toledo and Ball State.
Max Pirman Orrville OLB-DE-WR 6-5, 218
Comment: He is receiving looks from Division I programs.
Duke Price Wooster WR 5-10, 170
Comment: He was invited to the U.S. Army National Combine in January.
Adam Redmond Walsh Jesuit OL 6-6, 225
Comment: Walsh coach Gerry Rardin has said Redmond is generating Division I college interest.
Rakim Reed Canton Timken TE 6-4, 205
Comment: He reportedly has an early offer from Pittsburgh.
Devin Smith Massillon WR 6-2, 175
Comment: He reportedly has offers from Michigan State.
Tagged as:
Adam Redmond,
Connor Cook,
Devin Smith,
Doran Grant,
Duke Price,
Dylan Brumbaugh,
James Lucas,
Johnny Lowdermilk,
Justin Olack,
Kevin Brewton,
Max Pirman,
Rakim Reed,
Steve Miller,
Tashan Mitchell,
Tommy Brown
With the season starting in a month, Walsh Jesuit’s baseball team is starting to receive some preseason press.
The Sporting News 2010 baseball preview magazine features the Warriors as one of its 25 high school teams to watch this season.
Walsh went 29-4 last season, finishing as the Ohio Division II runner-up. The Warriors last won the state title in 2008.
The team features starting pitcher Tyler Skulina, a Virginia commit who went 9-0 last season with a 0.75 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 56 innings pitched.
“With five seniors committed to Division I colleges, the Warriors look to be the strongest team in the norther part of the country this year,” Allan and Jeff Simpson wrote in the magazine.
Along with Skulina, pitcher Greg Grieve (Ohio State), first baseman Ryan Berry (Dayton), third baseman Johnny Fasola (Kansas State) and outfielder Marco Caponi (Duquesne) will play at the top level of college baseball.
The only other team featured from Ohio is Cincinnati Moeller, the defending Division I state champion.
Walsh plays scrimmages against Kent Roosevelt on March 22 and Stow on March 26. Both games are at Walsh Jesuit High School. The team’s regular season starts on March 29 with a home game against St. Edward.
Full schedule here.
Tagged as:
Tyler Skulina,
Walsh Jesuit
Stow senior center Terry Tilghman (6-0, 255) has reportedly made a commitment to play college football at Air Force, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
The teams for City Series basketball championship games are nearly set.
Firestone and Kenmore girls have already clinched their spots in the title game 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at Garfield.
The boys championship game 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Firestone will have unbeaten Buchtel squaring off against either East or Kenmore. The two teams play Friday night at Kenmore. East won the first game between the schools by 14 points.
If East and Kenmore tie for second place, there are several tie-breakers to decide which team plays in the championship game. First criteria is record against each other, next is each team’s record against first place team, in his case Buchtel, and if needed the third tie-breaker is point differential.
In other words, if the two teams split the regular season games and both schools lost both games played to Buchtel, then Kenmore would have to defeat East by 15 points or more or East would play the Griffins for the title or East would get the nod.
Cuyahoga Falls senior quarterback Dylon Leymon (6-3, 202) has reportedly made a commitment to attend Lake Erie College, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
Perry High School boys basketball coach is being disciplined for his conduct in a recent game against GlenOak in a 71- 62 loss on Jan. 22 in which he received a technical foul.
The Perry Local Board of Education slapped Toth with a two-game suspension, which began in Friday’s 54-27 win against Austintown Fitch and includes Friday’s game at Canton McKinley.
Cuyahoga Falls travels to Cuyahoga Falls Christian Academy for a women’s high school basketball game.
CVCA senior defensive back Joseph Peticca (6-0, 170) has reportedly made a college commitment to play at Ashland, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
GlenOak senior middle linebacker Andrew Garman (6-0, 215) has reportedly made a college commitment to play at Ashland, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
Erick Howard, the two-time Mr. Football in Ohio, will sign his letter of intent with the University of Akron on Wednesday, North Canton Hoover football coach Don Hertler Jr. said this morning.
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Howard will join new coach Rob Ianello’s first Zips recruiting class, which will become official on National Signing Day on Wednesday.
Howard chose UA over Toledo.
Howard was named Ohio Mr. Football in 2008 and 2009. As a junior, he ran for 2,304 yards and scored 31 touchdowns in 14 games. As a senior, he rushed for 2,056 yards and scored 27 touchdowns in 11 games.
His career total of 6,013 yards rushing is a Stark County record and ranks 15th in Ohio history.
Tagged as:
Erick Howard,
North Canton Hoover
It is hard to tell who is more excited – Hudson quarterback Richie Piekarski or his coach Tom Narducci.
Piekarski has made a verbal commitment to play at the Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. The school is a 1-AA institution which has made “a nice financial offer” according to Narducci. Piekarski will sign his letter of intent next week.
Richie’s dad and uncles graduated from Duquesne and you know his love of the Steelers! He’ll be stone throw from downtown Pittsburgh and a stone skip across the Allegheny to Heinz Field,” Narducci said.
Tagged as:
Richie Piekarski,
Tom Narducci
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy hosts Manchester High School in a boys basketball game.