Ellet senior Aaron Male has signed to play college football with Walsh University, Ellet coach Joe Yost said Wednesday.

Yost said Male had other offers from Tiffin, Lake Erie College, Baldwin-Wallace and Mount Union.

Louisville is ranked No. 2 in this week’s Division I state softball coaches’ poll. Louisville, which earned one first-place vote, has 85 points.

Ellet is tied for No. 5 also in the Division I poll. North Canton Hoover is No. 10.

In Division III, Norwayne is ranked No. 4. In Division IV, Tuscarawas Central Catholic is tied at No. 10.

Two boys basketball games highlight the action at Copley High School in the Northeast District Sectional Tournament tonight beginning at 6 p.m.

In the first game:

Firestone Falcons  (12-7) vs. Ellet Orangmen (4-14)

In a nutshell:  These are two traditional City Series rivals squaring off in tournament play.  If Ellet can’t contain Firestone’s Darius Carter this one could be painful.  They also have to watch for Jerome Lane who as improved over the course of the season.  The Falcons blew the Orangmen out in two prior meetings this year.  They say it’s difficult to beat any team three times in a season; I don’t think so in this case.

Garfield Rams (11-8) vs. Kent Roosevelt (13-6)

In a nutshell:  These teams should be relatively even.  Competition is generally better in the City Series, giving Garfield some credibilty.  Roosevelt will have to be sure to contain forward Kevin Brewton.  The Rams will have to contend with Roosevelt junior Bruce Thomas who is coming off a near triple-double against Southeast.

Week 9: Ellet (2-5, 2-2) vs. Garfield (3-4, 2-1) at InfoCision Stadium

7 p.m. Friday

STORYLINE: The Orangemen and Golden Rams meet in a City Series matchup on the campus of the University of Akron.

Ellet enters this game following a 45-6 loss to visiting Firestone this past Friday, and Garfield comes in following a 12-0 victory over East at Kenmore this past Saturday.

The Orangemen were overmatched along the offensive and defensive line against the Falcons.

Firestone’s Cody Grice, Timonte Anderson and Darren McGinnis rushed the ball successfully behind an offensive line that features Tommy Brown. Ellet’s offense, which features quarterback Rennick Dutton and running back Aaron Male, was limited as Firestone’s defense was very disruptive with Marcus Dempster and a cast of other players. Falcons kicker Alana Gaither also made a 43-yard field goal in the game, which is believed to be a state and national record for a female kicker and was the subject of a recent Akron Beacon Journal feature story.

Ellet’s offense and defense must rebound this week to have a chance to win against an athletic Garfield team.

The Golden Rams are led by Kevin Brewton, a defensive end and tight end that is being recruited by several Division I colleges.

Garfield also features quarterback Darius Hoisten, and running backs Zohntai Walker and Cortez Moss. Tyeler Matthews and Robert Lyons are also key playmakers.

The head coaches are: Joe Yost at Ellet and Bob Sax at Garfield.

Week 7: Firestone (3-3, 2-0) @ Ellet (2-4, 2-1)

7 p.m. Friday

STORYLINE: The Falcons and Orangemen meet in a City Series matchup of schools that love to run the football.

Firestone won its first two league games with convincing triumphs over Kenmore (72-0) and East (34-0). A loss at Massillon came between those games. The Falcons other win was at Northwest (44-19).

Ellet enters this game following a 33-14 loss to Buchtel (4-2, 3-0) this past Friday. The Orangemen recorded victories over East (46-33) and Kenmore (41-12) in league play the previous two weeks.

The Falcons rushing attack features senior Cody Grice and junior Timonte Anderson carrying the ball behind an offensive line that is led by senior Tommy Brown, an Ohio State recruit. Junior Nick Heimbaugh is the quarterback.

Firestone’s linebackers, junior Darren McGinnis and senior Marcus Dempster, have been key players defensively.

The Orangemen counter with junior Aaron Male at running back. Senior Nate Geer is also a threat with the ball as a rusher and receiver. Senior Rennick Dutton orchestrates the offense at quarterback.

Ellet has won its past two meetings with Firestone, 20-6 in 2009 and 28-14 in 2008. Firestone defeated Ellet 27-7 in 2007 en route to a City Series title and the program’s first state playoff appearance.

The matchup also has veteran coaches – Tim Flossie at Firestone and Joe Yost at Ellet.

Junior quarterback, Mark Zimmerman, Green – 323 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Jon Robinson, Woodridge – 165 yards on the ground, including an 88-yard run and 105 yards passing in a loss against Streetsboro.

Junior running back, Patrick Boggs, Field – 228 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior running back Jay Wilson, Field – 162 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore running back, Aregeros Turner –  Copley – 142 yards and two touchdowns including a 55-yard run.

Junior running back, Aaron Male, Ellet – Four receptions for 112 yards, 76 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including a punt return for 55 yards.

Senior receiver, Steve Magic, Streetsboro – Four receptions for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior running back, Tyrin Williams, Tallmadge – 137 yards and a touchdown.

Ellet (0-1) at Tallmadge (1-0)
7 p.m. Friday at Tallmadge Stadium

Ellet High School junior running back Aaron Male rushes against Springfield during the second quarter at George Auten Field on Friday, Aug. 27 in Akron. (Paul Tople/Akron Beacon Journal)

Storyline: Tallmadge sophomore quarterback Anthony Gotto and senior receivers Andrew Bonnette and Kyle Tywon certainly made names for themselves last week.

Gotto threw for 351 yards (15 of 23) and four touchdowns. Bonnette caught two of them and had seven catches for 242 yards.

Tywon caught the other two touchdowns, including one with 30.2 seconds remaining to bring the Blue Devils within a point, at 28-27, of Ravenna. Gotto passed to Jacob Wood for the game-winning two-point conversion.

Historically, Tallmadge is a running team first, although it’s hard to ignore the success of that passing game.

Ellet has an explosive player of its own. Junior running back Aaron Male rushed for 105 yards on 19 carries last week in a loss to Springfield. He also caught eight passes for 142 yards and had two crucial kick returns to keep the Orangemen in the game.

Ellet senior quarterback Rennick Dutton also proved he is capable of making plays. He had two, one-yard touchdown runs and was able to find open receivers.

Within the past several days all the City Series football teams have had a chance to hit someone other than their own teammates.

Here’s a rundown on some of those I got to see:

Buchtel at Warrensville Hts. and Cleveland JFK – Serious hitting going on in this one as Buchtel got the best of both times offensively and defensively. 

Offensively, the Griffins showed a tendency to be a big play team as huge runs were broken off.  Junior wide receiver Corey Smith had a bit of a rough day, dropping a deep pass that was a sure touchdown and also losing the handle on another. 

Coach Ricky Powers wasn’t thrilled even when plays went for big gains because his team executed them improperly.   Defensively, Warrensville through a no-huddle at the Griffins that threw them off their game to start their defensive sets.  They recovered to play some stiff defense.

Garfield scrimmaged the Barberton Magics and showed some spark on offense, something that, on the whole, pleased Coach Bob Sax.  The Magics had difficulty scoring for much of the action that I saw.

But the Rams offense looked as if it will be fairly potent by the time the regular season rolls around next week.

The Firestone Falcons teed things up gainst the Archbishop Hoban Knights in what ultimately proved to be a defensive battle.  Falcons tackle Tommy Brown opened some holes but for the most part neither team could do much to  move the ball.

I, personally, didn’t make it to Ellet’s scimmage last week, but Coach Joe Yost said he went in with but one goal – survival.  With a 42-man roster, Ellet needs health and for its youngsters to grow up quickly for success this year.

”We went in with 42; we left with 42,” Yost said of his scrimmage.

Sit down for a few minutes with the Ellet Orangmen’s head coach, Joe Yost, and you feel as if you’re visiting a sage uncle who loves imparting wisdom but, more importantly, loves talking football more and is direct.

His starting quarterback this year, senior Rennick Dutton, a three-year starter who was first tiem All-City last year. 

Joining Dutton as key members of this year’s squad:  tailback Aaron Male, receiver/middle linebacker Nate Gear, center Vince Ferra, defensive-offensive lineman Jake Renick, defensive back Matt Bowman and kicker John Jay Otterman.

This year’s squad has only 10 seniors returning so it’s a young squad and Yost realizes that:  ”We’re going to have to grow every week.”