After covering the Wadsworth-Revere girls game Wednesday night, it is obvious both teams are going to win many times this season. Revere’s Casey Nance and Wadsworth’s Rachel DeMita and Britt Busson are the most recognizable names.
But Revere junior forward Emilee Vitez impressed and not just because of her 16 points and six rebounds. She made a series of floor plays that helped Revere.
For Wadsworth, senior guard Chrissy Pavlik took over in the last three minutes in a closing 13-2 run. She was in the middle of every play down the stretch and hit eight straight free throws in the final minute

Wadsworth senior Dru Jones will miss the high school wrestling season for the second year in a row.

Jones, a Division I All-Ohio selection at running back who rushed for 2,096 yards and 17 touchdowns, injured his knee midway through the football season but finished the season, Wadsworth wrestling coach John Gramuglia said. Jones had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Tuesday.

Jones was a standout wrestler for the Grizzlies during his freshman and sophomore years, but he missed last season because of another injury.

The Louisville football team is the lone area representative in this year’s state championships.

Louisville (12-2) will face Cincinnati Anderson (12-2) in a Division II state championship game at 7 p.m. Friday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.

Louisville defeated Mayfield last week to advance to the first state final in school history. Click here for a Louisville vs. Mayfield game story.

Brunswick was the only other area team that advanced to last week’s state semifinals. The Blue Devils ended their season with a 13-1 record after suffereing a 39-14 defeat against Mentor.

Click here for a Brunswick vs. Mentor game story.

Stay tuned for more Louisville coverage leading up to the big game.

GlenOak basketball player C.J. McCollum scored a school-record 54 points to lead the host Golden Eagles to a 92-78 victory over North on Saturday night.

McCollum, a junior guard, made eight 3-pointers in the season opening game for both schools.

BOYS BASKETBALL

KENMORE 68, WALSH JESUIT 54

Varsity Letters Player of the Game: Kenmore senior forward Antoine Norris had game highs with 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Cardinals to victory in their season opener.

Click here for a Kenmore vs. Walsh Jesuit game story.

The Louisville football team will advance to its first state championship game.

The Leopards defeated Mayfield 41-13 in a Division II state semifinal Friday night at Bearcat Stadium in Bedford.

Louisville (12-2) will play Cincinnati Anderson (12-2) in next Friday’s title game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Barberton senior Adam Cogar has committed to continue his academic and wrestling career at the University of Virginia.

Cogar was a runner-up in the 215-pound weight class at the Division I state tournament last season. cogar, who has a 4.3 grade-point average, said he plans to major in pre med.

“It’s a great wrestling program,” Cogar said. “I love the coaches, I love the wrestlers and they have what I want academically.”

He finished the season with a record of 50-2. Cogar’s only two losses were against Justin Powell, a recent graduate of Boardman. Powell defeated Cogar by a 1-0 decision in the Division I state championship match.

As a sophomore, Cogar went 50-8 and finished sixth the 171-pound weight class in Division I.

When I am out of town and people ask me where I’m from, I no longer tell them that I’m from the rubber capital of the world. I tell them that I’m from Akron, Ohio — the hometown of LeBron James.

Everyone whom I’ve ever said that to, including some people from Eastern Europe who I met in Las Vegas, immediately makes the conncection. LeBron is by far the most famous athlete to come out of an Akron-area high school, and he probably always will be.

He’s so well known that the Beacon Journal’s policy on headline writing allows copy editors to make reference to him by his first name only. For example, headlines will read, “LeBron saves Cavs,” instead of, “James saves Cavs.” The only other athlete whose name is treated in a similar way is Tiger Woods.

I figure that Akron’s most famous prep athlete of all-time should be featured on this blog once in awhile even though he enraged me by wearing a Yankees hat to Jacobs Field. So I found a very cool, online chart of LeBron that Beacon Journal Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst helped create for ESPN.com. The chart traces the evolution of LeBron’s mind, body and leadership skills from his high school days at St. Vincent-St. Mary to his current status as one of the NBA’s elite players. Click here to view the chart.

TONY DEJAK/Associated Press

LeBron James drives to the basket during the Cavaliers’ 99-94 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Ohio State running back Chris Wells, a Garfield High School graduate, ran 39 times for 222 yards and two touchdowns to carry the Buckeyes to a 14-3 over Michigan on Saturday.

When I was watching Wells dominate by breaking off huge runs against the Wolverines, I started to think about all the great running backs to come out of Akron-area high schools in the recent past. Antonio Pittman (Buchtel High School/Ohio State/New Orleans Saints/St. Louis Rams), Tyrell Sutton (Archbishop Hoban High School/Northwestern University) and Delone Carter (Copley High School/Syracuse) came to mind. I also thought of Jordan Mabin (Nordonia High School/Northwestern), but he’s listed as a cornerback on the Wildcats’ roster.

Who do you think is the best running back from Akron? I think Buchtel football coach Ricky Powers, a former Michigan standout and Cleveland Browns running back, is one of the best, but one of the aforementioned college stars might surpass him. Let me know who’s on your list?

MIKE CARDEW/Akron Beacon Journal

Ohio State running back Chris Wells dodges a defender during the Buckeyes’ 14-3 over rival Michigan on Saturday.

Only two area high school football teams won regional titles and remain alive after Week 3 of the state playoffs.

Brunswick defeated North Canton Hoover 24-17 on Saturday to win a Division I regional title. The Blue Devils (13-0) will advance to play Mentor (10-2) in a state semifinal Nov. 24. Hoover ended its season with a record of 10-3. Click here for a Brunswick vs. Hoover game story.

Louisville (11-2) defeated previously unbeated and top-seeded Columbus St. Francis DeSales 25-20 on Friday night. The Leopards will advance to play Cincinnati Anderson (11-2) in a Division II state semifinal Nov. 23. Click here for a Louisville vs. DeSales game story.

Northwest was the only other area team that survived the first two rounds of the postseason and played for a regional title this weekend. The Indians lost to Newark Licking Valley 21-17 and finished their season with a record of 12-1. Click here for a Northwest vs. Newark Licking Valley game story.

Who do you think has the best chance to win a state title. Will it be Brunswick, Louisville or neither one?

As much as I respect Brunswick, I think Louisville has a better chance to win a state title. Louisville already knocked off DeSales and appears to have an easier path in Division II than Brunswick has in Division I. If the Blue Devils can eliminate a powerful Mentor team, they will likely face Cincinnati St. Xavier, which is one of the top-ranked high school football programs in the country, in a state championship game.

GAVIN JACKSON/Akron Beacon Journal

Brunswick senior quarterback Sean Bedevelsky avoids a North Canton Hoover defender during the Blue Devils’ 24-17 victory over North Canton Hoover in a Division I regional final Saturday night.