GIRLS BASKETBALL

Varsity Letters Player of the Game: Revere junior forward Emilee Vitez scored nine of her team’s 11 fourth-quarter points to carry the Minutemen (16-3, 11-2) to a crucial Suburban League victory on Wednesday night.

Vitez, who finished with a team-high 13 points, was able to break free from Green defenders several times in the fourth quarter, catch passes from her teammates and make wide-open layups.

“We had communication on the backside,” Vitez said. “We all knew that the backside wing was open from tape we were watching. It was just great how we all worked together in the fourth quarter.”

With the win, Revere moved into a tie with Wadsworth (14-5, 11-2) for first place in the league standings.

Revere will play Copley next Wednesday in the final Suburban League game of the season for both teams. If the Minutemen win, they will earn at least a share of their first league title since 1978.

Archbishop Hoban senior Will Fleming has orally committed to continue his academic and football careers at the University of Akron, Hoban coach Ralph Orsini said.

Fleming, a 6-foot-4 and 210-pound athlete who played safety, linebacker and wide receiver for the Knights, was a Division II All-Ohio Special Mention this past fall. He also earned first-team honors in the Northeast Inland district and in the North Coast League.

“He is going to bring toughness, he is a good athlete and I think he fits into what they are going to do at the University of Akron,” Orsini said. “I think he will be a really athletic linebacker. He will have to put on some weight to play that position, but he has also been successful at safety.”

Fleming’s father, Jim Fleming, is the Zips defensive coordinator and is in charge of safeties under UA coach J.D. Brookhart.

“He was looking for the right fit,” Orsini said. “There is a lot of excitement with the new stadium and the expansion of the campus and he really wanted to play for his father. He is a kid that plays the game with great passion. You can tell that he comes from a football family.”

Orsini said Fleming chose UA over scholarship offers from Hawaii, Boise State and Miami (Ohio). Fleming also received interest from Michigan State, Iowa, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and West Virginia.

“I am officially committed to the Akron Zips,” Will Fleming told the recruiting service rivals.com. “My dad was really excited about the news.”

Rivals.com gave Fleming three stars on a five star scale and has him as the 44th ranked player in Ohio’s class of 2008. Scout.com gave Fleming two stars and ranked him as the No. 123 safety in the country for the class of 2008.

Fleming and Knights senior teammate Steve Yoak, a running back, will play in the North/South All-Star game at Columbus Crew Stadium on June 14th.

Two Hudson High School football standouts have made their college choices.

Quarterback Alex Gedeon has accepted a financial package from Harvard University of the Ivy League.

Gedeon, a first-team all-state selection in Division I, threw for 1,648 yards and ran for 632 in 2007.

Linebacker Mike Niam has decided to play at Wofford College, a Division I-AA school in Spartanburg, S.C.

Niam, who made 95 tackles in 2007, was first-team all-district and special-mention all-state as a senior.

The Walsh Jesuit wrestling team defeated Wheeling Park (W. Va.) 41-33 in the championship finals to finish first Saturday in the West Virginia Duals.

The Warriors went 9-0 in the dual tournament held at Parkersburg High School in West Virginia.

Five Walsh wrestlers compiled individual records of 9-0 during the tournament: freshman Johnni DiJulius (112 pounds, 35-4), junior Richie Knotek (130, 27-11), senior Chase Skonieczny (145, 30-2), senior Cody Cheatham (171, 25-5) and senior Kevin Bailey (189, 29-9).

Skonieczny now has a career record of 151-26 and needs 11 more victories to become Walsh’s all-time career leader in wins.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Varsity Letters player of the game: Kent Roosevelt junior guard Andre Paulk scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Rough Riders to a Portage Trail Conference Metro Division victory.

Paulk’s stellar performance off the Rough Riders’ bench included a highlight dunk and a near full-court 3-pointer.

“That’s Andre,” Kent Roosevelt coach Cameron Black said of Paulk. “He can play the game.”

MIKE CARDEW/Akron Beacon Journal

Kent Roosevelt junior guard Andre Paulk scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Rough Riders over the Ravens.

Click here for a Ravenna vs. Kent Roosevelt game story.

Second place in the Suburban League regular-season standings was at stake Thursday when Highland and Barberton faced off in a dual meet.

Junior Tyler Houska, who normally wrestles in the 215-pound weight class moved up to heavyweight to face Barberton junior Lance Coher in the meet’s final match. Houska entered the match with a 24-4 record, and Coher was 28-4.

Despite Coher’s weight advantage, Houska pinned him in 4:27, lifting Highland to a 38-33 victory over Barberton (12-2, 5-2). With the win, Highland (8-1, 6-1) finished second in the regular-season league standings behind defending champion Wadsworth (8-1, 7-0), a 59-9 winner over Cloverleaf on Thursday.

Barberton coach Dave Mariola juggled his lineup, moving several of his wrestlers into weight classes they don’t typically compete in. The Magics forfeited matches at 112 and 152 to avoid encounters with Highland seniors and returning state qualifiers Bart Young and Steve Timoteo. There were four Barberton wrestlers whose weight classes were different than they were this past Saturday at the 21st annual Bill Dies Memorial Tournament at Firestone High School.

Mariola’s strategy almost paid off. The Magics led 33-32 heading into the final match, but Houska delivered to shatter their dreams of two consecutive wins over the Hornets.

“It was an exciting match for the fans,” Mariola said. “Everybody is talking about how there’s no good dual meets anymore. I think this was nice to have it come down to the wire. It’s good for the sport.”

Highland, which won the Dies Tournament in part because of another clutch victory from Houska, had two wrestlers in weight classes that they were not accustomed to.

“I know Dave (Mariola) was doing the same thing,” Highland coach Mark Savoia said. “We analyze who’s going to win where and how. You try to calculate it to the best of your advantage to where you know you’re going to win.

“I hate moving kids around because some kids have to sit, and some kids have to face a monster. But you have to sit and figure it out. If you don’t, you’re not a very good coach. It’s pretty tedious and you do take a lot of heat for it, but the end result is what counts.”

Click here for a story about Highland vs. Barberton.

LEW STAMP/Akron Beacon Journal

Barberton’s Tony Yoder controls Highland’s Jordan Brant during a match in the 125-pound weight class Thursday at Barberton High School. Yoder won the match by pinning Brant in 4:54, but the Hornets defeated the Magics 38-33 to earn second place in the Suburban League regular-season standings.

The upcoming Suburban League swimming meet looks like could be a nail-biter.

Just when the Copley boys swimming team appeared to be a clear favorite to win its second consecutive league title, the Green Bulldogs upset the Indians 86-84 on Wednesday.

In early January, the defending league champion Copley girls edged Wadsworth 86-84, indicating that the race to the league championship will also be tight on the girls side.

The Suburban League meet is scheduled for Feb. 1. It should be interesting.

Quarterbacks of the past and future at Nordonia High School have moved into the spotlight.

Senior Aaron Pankratz has given an oral commitment to attend and play for Bowling Green State University. The void at quarterback for the Knights in 2008 likely will be filled by now-sophomore Jess Smetana, who has transferred from Walsh Jesuit.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Pankratz threw for a school- record 2,300 yards and 27 touchdowns in the fall in leading Nordonia to the Division I regional final and first place in the River Division of the new Northeast Ohio Conference.

Pankratz, in his first season as a starter, was first-team all- district and special mention all- Ohio in Division I. He will sign a national letter of intent with the Falcons next month.

Smetana, whose family resides in Macedonia, was a standout on the Walsh junior varsity, but the Warriors have a returning quarterback next season in Kyle Snyder.

Smetana’s father played quarterback for Nordonia and later played at the University of Miami.

The Kenmore wrestling team finished second with 188 points at the 21st annual Bill Dies Memorial Tournament Saturday at Firestone High School. The Highland Hornets edged the Cardinals for first place in the final team standings with 190 points.

Cardinals sophomores Garland McCormick (130) and Cody Lamberg (189) won individual titles.

McCormick, a 2007 state qualifier, went 5-0 during the weekend to improve his record to 21-4 this season. He defeated Tallmadge senior Jeff Brown by a 7-2 decision in his title match.

McCormick described using a visualization technique to stay focused during the two-day Dies Tournament.

“Every time something distracted me, I just thought about a blank piece of paper,” said McCormick, who went 1-2 and failed to place at the Dies Tournament in 2007. “I thought I can’t lose because it’s for the team. Everything I do is for the team.

“My godfather told me about a year ago when something frustrates you or something gets in your mind or you’re thinking about what will happen if you lose, just think of a blank piece of paper.”

McCormick’s godfather is Edward Bailey. Bailey is also Lamberg’s stepfather, and the two Cardinals Dies Tournament champions live together and think of each other as brothers.

Lamberg won one of the most intense title matches of the night against Waynedale senior Jared Neff, who finished third at the Division III state tournament last season.

Lamberg and Neff traded escapes as the lead changed five times. After trailing by one point late in the match, Lamberg scored a take down against Neff and held on for a 7-6 victory.

“I was just doing my best to keep him down,” said Lamberg, who improved his record to 24-0 this season. “I knew if I won this, it could potentially help our team to win the tournament.”

Click here for more information and results from the Dies Tournament.

Wadsworth sophomore Brad Squire still has a chance to become a four-time state champion, but his hopes of achieving that feat with an undefeated record have been shattered.

Perry junior Seth Horner gave Squire his first career high school loss last Saturday. After losing to Squire in early December in a title match at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, Horner edged his rival by a 5-3 decision Saturday to win the championship in the 130-pound weight class at the eighth Mayfield Big 8 tournament.

“Seth kind of controlled that whole match and capitalized on Squire’s mistakes,” Perry coach Brent McBurney said. “He’s been the most disciplined he ever has been compared to the last two years. It’s made a difference and it paid off on Saturday.”

Horner’s win also helped the Panthers (298 points) edge the Grizzlies (290) in the final team standings.

“Wadsworth has a good program, but we kind of have something special going with them — we don’t like to get beat by those guys,” McBurney said. “It was good for our confidence as a team.”

Horner has finished third at the Division I state tournament in each of the past two seasons. His record is 24-3 this season.

Last season, Squire went 34-0 and became the first freshman in Wadsworth history to win a state title. He was 23-0 this season and 57-0 in his career before losing to Horner.

I have talked to several coaches and parents in the wrestling community who thought Squire could go undefeated in high school. As I’ve written on this blog before, I also believed he could finish his high school career with a perfect record. But his loss proves how difficult the competition is in Ohio.