Here is a preseason look at Suburban League football. In this post, you will find players (and any all-star recognition they received in the league last season) to watch from each team and my predictions for the upcoming season.

TALLMADGE (8-3 overall, 6-1 in the Suburban League last season)

Top players: Senior LB-RB Collin Haben (first-team Suburban League), senior QB-DB Patrick Pakan (first-team), senior LB-TE Aaron Donze (first-team), senior OL-DL Nick Fleming (second-team all-district in Division II and first-team SL), junior PK-P James Plunkett (first-team), senior OL-DL Jesse Hobbel, junior Zack Cevasco (first-team), junior RB-DB Tyler Fortner, junior OL-DL Nick White.

WADSWORTH (7-3, 5-2)

Top players: Senior RB Dru Jones (second-team All-Ohio and first-team all-district in Division I), junior OL-DL Ricky Canestraro (second-team SL), junior DB Anthony Lorubbio (second-team), junior LB-RB Jake Palidar (second-team).

GREEN (8-2, 5-2)

Top players: Senior OL Nick Bridenbaugh (second-team), senior OL-DL Cory Potter (second-team), senior DL Shane Callahan (second-team).

REVERE (5-5, 5-2)

Top players: Senior QB Taylor Newmann (first-team), senior OL-DL Patrick Lyden (first-team), senior WR-DB Mick Battaglia (second-team).

COPLEY (5-5, 4-3)

Top players: Senior WR-DB Joe Hanlin (first-team), senior RB Justin White-Reid (second-team), senior OL Tim Goodman (second-team), senior LB-RB Walt Harris (second-team), senior OL Drew Bowser (second-team).

CLOVERLEAF (3-7, 2-5)

Top players: Senior DL Justin Marrs (first-team), junior QB-DB Cody Roberts (second-team).

HIGHLAND (1-9, 1-6)

Top players: Junior LB-FB Tyler Houska (special-mention all-state, first-team all-district in Divison III and first-team SL), junior Chris Snook (first-team), senior Will Sutton (second-team).

BARBERTON (3-7, 0-7)

Top players: Sophomore QB Kyle Snyder (second-team).

Here are my preseason predictions for the Suburban League:

1. Tallmadge

2. Wadsworth

3. Green

4. Copley

5. Revere

6. Highland

7. Cloverleaf

8. Barberton

Here is an explanation for my picks: Tallmadge has won the past two Suburban League titles, and the Blue Devils should be able to do it again. Wadsworth will also be tough with senior running back Dru Jones leading the way for the Grizzlies. But I think Tallmadge senior quarterback/defensive back Patrick Pakan will be able to help the Blue Devils hold the Grizzlies off. Tallmadge senior Nick Fleming, one of the area’s best offensive linemen, will lead an experienced unit that should be able to give Pakan plenty of time to orchestrate the offense effectively. Green lost its three offensive stars (quarterback Kade Wagner, wide receiver Evan Elliot and running back Corey Welch) because of graduation. But the Bulldogs have eight returning starters on offense, meaning all the linemen who blocked for the three offensive standouts will be back to block well for new skill players. That’s why I think Green will be dangerous. Copley will go through some changes under first-year coach Ron Viscounte, who will fill in for now-St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dan Boarman. I think Revere will improve and be a dangerous team that can pull off some upsets. Highland, Cloverleaf and Barberton all have talented players returning but will have a difficult time making it out of the bottom three in a tough league.

What do you think of these picks? Leave comments to let me know.

The Beacon Journal’s Tom Gaffney reported this news item:

Archbishop Hoban is looking for a new baseball coach and St. Vincent-St. Mary
is looking for a new softball coach. Ted Guscoff has left the Knights position, citing family obligations and
travel.

Guscoff, a Canton resident, confirmed rumors that he has applied for the
vacant Massillon job and is ”very interested in it.”

McCoy, an Akron resident, compiled a 63-19 record in three seasons at
St. Vincent-St. Mary. He will remain as softball coordinator at Pinnacle
Sports.

McCoy takes over at Copley for Mike Kuthan, who resigned late in the 2007
season.

The 70^th annual Good Park Junior Golf Tournament has been completed. Here are the champions of the 36-hole tournament and their scores listed by division:

Note: At J.E. Good Park Golf Course in Akron. Par: 71.

Championship Flight

John Furlong 70-74–144

1st Flight

Steve Bednar 76-73–149

2nd Flight

Zach Seidner 76-77–153

3rd Flight

Reilly Bates 78-74–152

4th Flight (tie)

Steven Sinchok 81-77–158 and Chris Maczko 82-76–158

5th Flight

Riley Pratt 78-77–155

6th Flight (tie)

Kelcey Eberle 81-79–160 and Tom Ribelli 77-83-160

7th Flight

Josh Heckman 78-82–160

8th Flight

Danny Arch 82-85–167

9th Flight

Brandon Proudfoot 85-83–168

10th Flight

Michael Rotilie 84-81–165

Boys 10 and under (18 holes)

Brian Lutz 48-49–97

Boys 11-12

Jake McBride 73-68–141

Girls 16-18

Heather Arison 81-77–158

Girls 15 and under

Tiana Jones 78-72–150

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NOTEBOOK

CHAMPION

John Furlong, a recent Medina High School graduate and Ashland University recruit, won the championship flight Friday in his third tournament at Good Park. Furlong shot a 1-under-par 70 on Thursday and a 3-over 74 on Friday to finish with a 36-hole total of 144.

“A lot of good players have won this tournament. There are always good players in this tournament, so I feel like I’ve accomplished something. There are about three or four kids who normally play in this tournament that are over at Westfield right now. But 144, I don’t know how many kids would have beat that, so overall I’m pretty happy.”

CLOSE BEHIND

Paul Doll (148) finished second in the championship flight and Kevin Miller (149) placed third. Doll is a recent graduate of Portsmouth High School in southern Ohio and a Wright State recruit. Miller, 16, is going to be a junior at Garaway High School.

Miller pushed his older counterparts at the top of the championship flight standings. Going into the back-nine of the final round, Miller, who had three birdies, was tied with eventual champion John Furlong.

“I definitely think I could have done better,” said Miller, who was playing in his first tournament at Good Park. “My putting kind of let me down today. Other than that, I’m kind of happy with how I played.”

TWINS TAKE OVER

Twin sisters Heather and Carly Arison, who will be seniors at Copley High School, finished first and second, respectively, in the girls 16-18 division. The Arison twins said they have been playing in the Good Park Junior for six years, and Friday was the first time that they placed first and second in any tournament.

The Arisons led Copley to a second place finish in the state last season. Heather Arison placed 19^th in the state as an individual and Carly Arison was 31^st. The sisters said they are excited about being team leaders during their senior year.

“There are a bunch of girls on our team who are just starting golf, and it’s going to be fun to help them learn the game because that’s what golf is all about,” Carly Arison said.

“We also have Molly Leonard coming back and she’s good,” Heather Arison said. “It will be fun to play with her one more year and we get along with her really well.”

The Arisons said they want to play in college, but they haven’t decided where yet. However, they already decided that they will attend the same school.

LOST LEAD

Mandi Morrow, who will be a senior at Kent Roosevelt High School, finished third behind the Arison twins. Morrow shot a 3-over 74 on Thursday and had a 6-stroke lead entering the final round, but she couldn’t hang on. She shot an 88 on Friday to finish with a 162.

“I wasn’t really doing anything well today,” Morrow said. “I wasn’t getting off the tee very well and my short game wasn’t very solid.”

Morrow, who plays for the boys golf team at Kent Roosevelt, finished in second place last year at Good Park after losing in a playoff against Megan Weaver of Perry High School.

RISING YOUNGSTER

Ian Holt, an 11-year-old from Stow, finished in a three-way tie for third in the first flight. Holt was about four years younger than any other player in the first flight field.

On Wednesday, 22 players qualified for the championship flight, which will compete in a 36-hole tournament Thursday and Friday.

Here are the players who made the cut and their scores for 18 holes (par 71):

69 (-2): Kyle Bates

72 (+1): Cory Kumpf, Grant Weaver, Kevin Miller, Isaac Charette

73 (+2): John Furlong, Jake Wetzel, Nathan Tarter

74 (+3): Scott Hamlin, Paul Doll, Collin Marozzi, Richie Schembechler, Bryan Mitchell, Jerry Moore

75 (+4): Alex Griffiths, Alex Brinkman, Taylor Feith, Mark Scott

76 (+5): Sean Murphy, Evan McCauley, Ian Cassel, Cody Cutright

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I talked to a couple of the players who made the cut for the championship flight.

Jake Wetzel, 17, is going to be a senior at Parma Padua Franciscan High School this fall. This is his fourth year competing in the Good Park Junior. He had three birdies and shot a 73.

This is what he Wetzel to say about his round: “I’ve been playing pretty rough lately, but I’m starting to get a good feel for it now. I’m just taking one shot at a time.”

Cory Kumpf, 18, is a recent graduate of Jackson High School. He had one eagle, two birdies and shot a 72.

“I went bogey, bogey the last two holes, so it kind of killed me,” said Kumpf, who is competing in his first Good Park Junior. “Besides that I played pretty good.”

Kyle Bates, 18, a recent graduate of Avon Lake High School shot a 2-under 69 in the qualifying round.

“I was pretty happy with it,” Bates said. “I’ve been playing horribly lately. I was struggling to shoot in the 70s.”

But Bates, a four-year letterwinner, two-year captain and second-team All-Ohio selection was on fire Wednesday. The Denision University recruit made seven birdies including the par-4 No. 1, par-5 No. 2, par-3 No. 4, par-5 No.5, par-4 No. 7, par-4 No. 12 and par-3 No. 13.

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GOOD PARK GIRLS

The girls divisions did not play Wednesday because early-morning thunderstorms delayed play, and the girls’ flights were already determined.

However, twin sisters Heather and Carly Arison were practicing putting and chipping for a couple hours late Wednesday afternoon at Good Park. The two rising seniors at Copley High School helped the Indians golf team finish second at the state tournament last season.

Heather and Carly finished third and fourth, respectively, at Good Park last year. With the absence of last year’s top two girls finishers (Megan Weaver and Mandi Morrow), the twins said they expect one of them to win the tournament.

Another sister tandem from Copley will also be at Good Park. Elisa, a recent Copley graduate, and Molly, who is going to be a junior at Copley, are scheduled to compete with the rest of the girls’ field Thursday and Friday.

Mike Baum, a 2002 graduate of Copley High School, competed in two F2000 races as part of the weekend’s events surrounding Champ Car’s Grand Prix of Cleveland at Burke Lakefront Airport.

On Sunday, Baum, a rookie in F2000 who has only been racing cars for two years, finished 11th in a field of more than 30 drivers. The 23-year-old Baum also finished 16th in a race the day before.

I just finished interviewing Mike Baum and his dad, Greg.

Mike, a 2002 graduate of Copley High School, is a rookie driver in the F2000 Championship Series, which will hold races Saturday and Sunday at Burke Lakefront Airport as part of the festivities for Champ Car’s 2007 Grand Prix of Cleveland.

Look for a feature story about Mike to appear in Saturday’s Beacon Journal. Also check this blog for updates to find out how Mike fares this weekend.

Kent State junior Dominique Rodgers, a 2004 graduate of Copley High School, was selected Friday by the Minnesota Twins in the 36th round with the 1,105th overall pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Rodgers, a right-hander, was a key component of the KSU bullpen for the past two seasons. In his final 14 appearances of the season, Rodgers went 4-2 with one save and an ERA of 2.48 in 36 1/3 innings of work. He had an overall record of 4-5 with a 4.11 ERA in 2007.

“It’s just a dream come true,” said Rodgers, who earned first-team All-Suburban League honors as a senior at Copley. “I’ve been for this moment for so long. With Kent State’s coaching staff and my hardwork, my dream actually came true, so I’m ecstatic.”

Posted by Michael Beaven for the Beacon Journal

The Firestone boys track and field team experienced excitement and disappointment Friday night at the Division I district meet at Ravenna.

Falcons senior Collister Fahie advanced to the Austintown Fitch regional in three individual events and junior Dominic Moore advanced in one event.

Moore was injured and his status for next week is uncertain. Prior to the injury, he placed second in the 110 hurdles on Friday. But after the injury he could not compete in his best event, the 300 hurdles.

Moore emerged as a top-flight hurdler last season at the state meet in Columbus, placing fourth in the 300 hurdles and seventh in the in the 110 hurdles. Friday night he strained a hamstring running the anchor leg of the 400 relay. The unit was in second, until Moore couldn’t finish the race, and thus the relay team didn’t advance.

Fahie placed second in the 100 and 200 meters, and was fourth in the long jump. Firestone junior William Carter placed fourth in the high jump.

Cuyahoga Falls junior Robert Jones won the 110 hurdles, 300 hurdles and was on the 400 relay that advanced.

Archbishop Hoban junior Ellis Thompson won the long jump and Ravenna senior Emmanual Jones won the 100.

Kent Roosevelt junior Braheem Wahid won the high jump and Copley senior Andrew Moss placed second.

Posted by Michael Beaven for the Beacon Journal 

The Wadsworth boys and girls track and field teams won the Suburban League meet Saturday at Green. Each squad scored 163 points to win.

Copley, Green and Highland rounded out the top four on the boys side. Green, Cloverleaf and Tallmadge rounded out the top four on the girls side.  

The Wadsworth girls team won in dominating fashion, winning 11 of the 17 events contested. Sophomore sprinter Jessica Grant won the 100 meters in 12.13 seconds and the 200 in 25.01. Grant was also on two relays which placed first, the 400 relay and 800 relay.

The Grizzlies won all four relays; the 400 (Grant, Amanda Pallija, Jaimie Grindle, Annie Grindle), the 800 (Grant, Brittani Peltz, J. Grindle, A. Grindle), the 1,600 (Jenny Harsh, Elana Cole, J. Grindle, Peltz) and the 3,200 (Harsh, Nicole Cargill, Cole, Kristen Havens).

Other Wadsworth girls first places came in the: 400 (Peltz), 800 (Harsh), high jump (J. Grindle), shot put (Holly Gospodinsky) and long jump (Jennifer Thomas).

Green was second behind first place finishes from Carolyn Payne (1,600 and 3,200) and Kelsie Ahbe (pole vault). Cloverleaf’s Cassy Maxwell won the discus and Highland’s Brooke Hutchings won the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles.

The Wadsworth boys team won eight events, with junior Sean Kemmerer winning the 110 hurdles and the high jump. Other individual Grizzlies champions were: Aarick Jones (100), Anthony Schrock (300 hurdles), Austin Healey (shot put), Darnell Davis (long jump) and Kenny Owens (pole vault).

The Grizzlies 3,200 relay (Jon Tomko, Nick Burton, Dan Houston and Chris Glockner) also won.

Copley was second behind individual first place finishes from Jeff Brauning (200), Kerrington Smith (400), Chris Fallon (800 and 1,600). The 400 relay team (Terry Foster, Darius Evans, Brauning, Johnnie Legrair) and the 800 relay unit (Evans, Brauning, A.C. Samson-Akpan, Legrair) also won. 

Green’s Brian Dudek won the 3,200.