The Archbishop Hoban boy’s volleyball team continues to excel this season. Last Thursday the Knights beat Walsh Jesuit to advance to the State Semifinals 11 a.m. Saturday at Hilliard Davidson High School in Columbus. The Knights beat the Warriors in three straight sets 25-18, 25-151, 25-11.
If Hoban should win they will play in the Division II state final 5 p.m. Sunday.
The George Auten Invitational was conducted in mostly rain at Ellet High School, yet North won the boys title and Firestone won the girls crown.
North won the boys meet with 155 points and Firestone (118) edged Ellet (117) in the girls meet.
North senior Troy Burgan was the boys meet high-point scorer with 32 points after winning the 110 meter hurdles and the 300 hurdles. Burgan also placed second in the long jump and fifth in the high jump.
The Vikings won two relays: the 3,200 (Steve Triola, Davon Coman, Shaun Cummings and LaRue Wimley) and the 400 (DeMonte Powell, Lase Brooks, Antuan Logan and Larry Dawson).
Brooks, a senior, also won the 100 and 200.
“We had prom last night and had everyone show up today in the rain, which was nice,” North coach Tom O’Neil said. ‘”They are an extemely dedicated senior class.”
Firestone senior Nia Johnson won the 3,200 and the Falcons won two relays: the 800 (Julie Kostura, Monique Ransome, Courtney Carter, Rachel White) and the 1600 (Alex Olmedo, McKenna Morton, Courtney Carter, Kachay Hullum).
“Our team has worked very hard this season and they are very deserving of this victory,” Firestone coach Malia Milec said. “I am confident that they will continue their success.”
Kenmore’s Shanequa Williams won the girls 100, 200 and 400.
Ellet, Archbishop Hoban and Firestone rounded out the top four teams on the boys side. Hathaway Brown and North placed third and fourth on the girls side.
The City Series baseball teams will not have a four-team playoff at the end of the regular season. One veteran City coach said there may have been the perception on the outside that the reason the league did away with the playoff system several years ago was because the district was going through financial difficulty, which forced cuts in extracurricular activities.
The district passed a levy which helped bring back those extracurricular activities that were cut. But Ellet coach John Sarver said the levy had nothing to do with the elimination of the playoff system.
Sarver said it all started a few years back when the basketball teams decided to drop the four-team playoff system and instead just play the championship game between the top two teams. That change was implemented because the basketball teams, in putting together schedules each season, had to factor in the possibility of playing in the semifinal and/or championship games. That meant coaches could only schedule 18 games (OHSAA rules allow for 20 regular season games) in case they made it to the City playoffs. But if a team didn’t make the playoffs, they would have only played 18 or 19 games during the regular season.
So the baseball teams decided to follow suit and drop the playoff system, allowing the coaches to schedule two additional games in place of the two dates they would have reserved for the playoffs.
Incidently, OHSAA rules allow 27 regular season baseball games.
When it comes to track, it’s always about who ran the fastest, jumped the highest or threw the shot or the discus the farthest. But sometimes there are stories, GREAT, INSPRATIONAL STORIES, that don’t have to do with who won.
For instance, I remember watching the local news in the fall, I think it was, and there was an amazing story about a young lady (she may have been from the Youngstown area), who was competing in the state high school cross country meet and was almost near the finish line. Then came a gruesome sight. She broke her leg on the course and fell to the ground.
But this young lady had the courage and fortitude to crawl and limp her way to the finish line, despite being in obvious pain.
It was a story of incredible self-will. This young lady needed medical help, but she didn’t want it. She was withering with pain but she wanted to finish that race, and if you watched the video, you couldn’t help but get a little emotional, knowing she was in a world of pain. But watching her will her way to that finish line, regardless of the pain she was experiencing, was breathtaking and moving.
The yound lady gave a great television interview a few days later and it was great to see she was doing well and was in good spirts. I think she even joked that all she was thinking about, when she went down, was that she wasn’t going to be able to dance at her sister’s wedding later that night.
I witnessed another incredible story, but it didn’t involve injury. A few years ago I was covering a regional track meet at Ravenna and the Copley girls were favored in this particular relay event. As the race began, Copley was right there, as expected. But during one of the exchanges, the baton was dropped and the team was out of the race.
The young lady who dropped the baton was devasted. I mean, I had never seen an athlete more distraught. What I found out later was that the young lady was only a sophomore and there were two seniors on that relay team. The sophomore felt she had blown it for the seniors because it was their last chance to make it to state.
She was on the infield of the track, as the race was still going, slumped over an emotional ball.
She just shuddered and shook as she cried.
Then, former Copley standout Carrie Dyer, who was a senior and on that relay team, ran to the young runner to comfort her.
Then the rest of the realy team followed.
To me, that was one of the most inspirational stories I had ever witnessed.
The sophomore was heartbroken. But she was heartbroken because she cared about her teammates and wanted to perform at her best so that it would help the seniors.
It didn’t happen. But when it didn’t happen, the seniors weren’t mad, bitter or upset. They showed support for their younger teammate because they loved her. And in the end, winning didn’t matter.
So, with that, I’m asking readers to post any inspirational stories you witnessed, in track or any other sport, that didn’t involve someone winning.
A story where someone overcame odds to get where they are. Or a story about teammates helping one another.
Those are the most compelling stories.
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.
Four area soccer teams advanced to the state semifinals this week, but only two earned a chance to play for a state title in Columbus this weekend.
The CVCA and Jackson boys teams won their respective state semifinal matchups and will vie for state championships.
CVCA defeated Napoleon 3-0 on Tuesday and advances to play Kettering Alter in a Division II state final at 11 a.m. at Crew Stadium in Columbus.
Jackson’s route to the state championship game was a bit more unconventional. The Polar Bears lost their regional final against Mentor in a shootout Saturday. However, Jackson learned Tuesday that Mentor had to forfeit that game because it used two ineligible players. Therefore, Jackson advanced to a state semifinal and took advantage of the rare opportunity by defeating Sylvania Northview 1-0 in overtime on Wednesday. The Polar Bears will play Hilliard Davidson in a Division I state final at 7 p.m. Friday.
KAREN SCHIELY/Akron Beacon Journal
CVCA senior Danny Thompson gets fired up after scoring a goal in the Royals’ 3-0 win over Napoleon in a Division II state semifinal.
The Walsh Jesuit and Archbishop Hoban girls teams both fell short of reaching a state championship game Wednesday night.
The defending state champion Warriors lost to nationally-ranked Strongsville in a shootout. Archbishop Hoban suffered defeat in a state semifinal for the second consecutive year when the Knights fell 2-1 to Hathaway Brown.
Click here for a Walsh girls game story.
Click here for a Hoban girls game story.
I will be in Columbus to cover the CVCA and Jackson boys in their state championship games. Stay tuned to this blog and the Beacon Journal for updates.
GIRLS SOCCER
DIVISION II REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
ARCHBISHOP HOBAN 1, FINDLAY LIBERTY-BENTON 0
Varsity Letters Player of the Game: Hoban sophomore forward Juliana Libertin.
Libertin scored the game’s only goal in the fifth minute to lift the Knights (14-3-1) over the previously undefeated Eagles (19-1-0). Libertin has scored seven goals of her 34 total goals in the postseason.
Hoban advances to play the winner of Genoa Area and Bryan in a regional final at noon Saturday at Findlay High School.
After a nine-year hiatus, the Shillelagh Trophy will finally return to Green St. after an exciting football game.
St. Vincent-St. Mary defeated Archbishop Hoban 33-28 Saturday night at the Rubber Bowl. St. V-M earned the traditional award given to the winner of the game by the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
The Summit County parochial rivals battled before a crowd estimated at 10,000. The Fighting Irish win snaps a nine-game winning streak the Knights held, and gives St. V-M their first win over Hoban since 1997.
St. V-M senior Carnell Evans played a major role in the game, scoring five rushing touchdowns, but also fumbling the ball three times.
The Fighting Irish (4-0) stopped a late Kinghts rally (1-3) to preserve the win, the first for coach Dan Boarman in the intense rivalry.
Evans scored three times in second half, but fumbled twice in the first quarter and once in the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-10, 205 pound tailback rushed for 214 yards on 15 carries.
Hoban junior Laymon Carter scored two touchdowns to help the Knights jump out to a 19-0 advantage in the first half.
The Fighting Irish lost three fumbles in the first half to aid the Knights quick start.
Hoban leads the all-time series 17-14 and is 10-2 since the series was renewed in 1996. Knights 14th-year coach is Ralph Orsini is now 10-2 against the Irish.
The Akron Beacon Journal will have a story on this game in Sunday’s newspaper.
KEN LOVE/Akron Beacon Journal
St. Vincent-St. Mary senior running back Carnell Evans celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the Irish’s 33-28 win over Archbishop Hoban.
The rivalry between Archbishop Hoban and St. Vincent-St. Mary continues at 7:30 Saturday at the Rubber Bowl when the two Summit County parochial schools meet on the football field.
The Knights have dominated the series with victories over the Fighting Irish the past nine seasons. Since the series was renewed in 1996, Hoban has won 10 of 11 and leads the all-time series 17-13.
Between 1978-1995 the rivals did not play football against each other because of a strong amount of tension and mutual consent. The rivalry was renewed in 1996 and has been one-sided. St. V-M led the series 12-7 when the schools played from 1959-1977. St. Vincent and St. Mary merged into one school in 1972.
St. V-M enters the game with a 3-0 record after defeating Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Clear Fork and Highland. Hoban is 1-2 following a win over Garfield and losses to Walsh Jesuit and Youngstown Cardinal Mooney.
Recent history favors Hoban, but St. V-M is currently the hot team. The Shillelagh Trophy has belonged to the blue and gold the past nine seasons. Can the green and gold earn it back?
Here are the scores between Hoban and St. V-M from 1996 to 2006, according to Beacon Journal records:
2006 Hoban 10-6
2005 Hoban 20-13
2004 Hoban 32-28
2003 Hoban 23-7
2002 Hoban 17-10
2001 Hoban 15-13
2000 Hoban 19-7
1999 Hoban 21-13
1998 Hoban 21-20
1997 St. V-M 21-13
1996 Hoban 24-0
So the question entering Saturday’s matchup is: Can Hoban make it 10 in a row over St. V-M?
Let us know what you think.
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