Hey everyone! This is my column that’s running in the Akron Beacon Journal Friday, but it’s posted on Ohio.com now, as you can see. Thanks to everyone who submitted votes for their favorite high school nicknames. If there are other crazy nicknames from out of state, post them so we can all get some laughs. Thanks again!

Firestone and Garfield will meet tonight for a key City Series game at InfoCision Stadium on the campus of the University of Akron.

Both teams feature impressive rushing attacks. The Golden Rams (4-3, 3-0) boast the Gulley brothers, senior Tyson Gulley and sophomore Toneo Gulley. The Falcons (3-4, 2-1) counter with junior Cody Grice.

Garfield defeated host Ellet 35-14 this past Friday. Tyson Gulley rushed for three touchdowns and gained 82 yards on nine carries. Toneo Gulley rushed for two touchdowns and accumulated 124 yards on 13 carries.

Firestone defeated North 48-14 this past Friday on homecoming night for both schools at InfoCision Stadium. Firestone led 41-14 at halftime.

Grice rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another to lead the offense. He gained 154 yards on 21 carries.

Falcons sophomore Darren McGinnis rushed for one touchdown and returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown. Senior Jeremy Mingo intercepted three passes and also scored on Grice’s passing touchdown. Sophomore Timonte Anderson rushed for a touchdown for Firestone, and junior kicker Alana Gaither made six extra points.

Ellet (2-5, 2-2) hosts North (3-4, 1-3) tonight and East (0-7, 0-3) plays at Kenmore (0-7, 0-3) on Saturday afternoon.

Ellet is led by Devin Richardson and Chadd Clifford and Rayshawn Stevens guide North.

Buchtel and Garfield currently sit atop the City Series standings with 3-0 records.

Garfield won the City Series title in 2008 and Firestone won in 2007. Buchtel controlled the City for a majority of the past two decades.

Ellet junior golfer Jeff Cockerham enjoyed a great experience last month when he played in the Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

Cockerham was paired with pro John Cook and the two made the cut and played in the champions round and paired with Tom Watson and his junior partner.

Cockerham ended the day with a birdie on 18, which was included in the coverage on the Golf Channel.

The Ellet student was excited about playing at Peeble Beach, but his proud mother, Kim, was even more excited.

“It was truly an unforgettable weekend,” she said. “I am constantly surprised how many people do not know about The First Tee Program right here in our backyard, and all it teaches from its Core Values to the game of golf to the life lessons it teaches.”

Maybe a change of scenery will help East (0-6) this week. The Orientals will step outside of City Series play to face St. Thomas Aquinas (1-5) Friday. East is the only City team playing outside the league this week. But two other teams still have non-league games during the remaining four weeks.

Ellet will host Canton Central Catholic Oct. 23 during Week 9 and North will play at Warren Harding Oct. 30 in the Vikings regular-season finale.

Despite losing 28-7 last week at Northwest, Firestone coach Tim Flossie said he was encouraged by his team’s effort.

“We lost the ball four times inside Northwest’s 30,” Flossie said. “(Northwest) is a solid team, we just missed our opportunities.”

The bright spot for Firestone was running back Cody Grice, who rushed for over 100 yards. The Falcons play at Norton Friday then face Massillon at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium the following Friday before beginning City Series play Oct. 2 against Ellet at InfoCision Stadium.

“We’re playing a competitive non-league schedule and we’re playing well-coached teams,” Flossie said. “In the long run, that will help us in the City. We’re a young team and with this young group, the important thing is that they get better each week, and they are.”

On Friday morning, around 9:30 a.m., longtime Ellet football coach Joe Yost, who is in his 31st season, will be making the short trek from Ellet to Springfield to deliver the ceremonial `Shoe” that annually goes to the winner of this game.

Springfield won 23-13 at home and Yost was gracious in defeat.

“Let’s not take anything away from Springfield,” Yost said. “We didn’t lose to Springfield, Springfield beat us. They earned it. They did a great job and I’m happy for them…and (head coach) Kevin Vaughn played for me and coached for me, so I’m happy for them.

“Heck, Springfield might elect me Mayor,” Yost joked.

What’s even funnier is the fact that the ”Shoe”, which will be painted red instaead of Orange, became a part of Yost’s interior decorum for several, SEVERAL years, above his fireplace.

“I’ve had that shoe since 1985,” Yost said. “It was in my apartment, it was in my first house I built and it was in my second house.”

But Yost offered up redemption.

“The Orangemen will be back,” Yost said. “We need to work a little harder, but I know our kids will and we will be a better football team.”

Ellet junior golfer Jeff Cockerham earned the prestigious honor through The First Tee of Akron of playing Pebble Beach this weekend at the Walmart First Tee Open.

The Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach is an official Champions Tour tournament that pairs 78 junior golfers with 78 professionals.

The tournament is held at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course and will be televised nationally on Golf Channel. Cockerham will be playing with Champions Tour professional John Cook.

Cockerham said he is excited and proud of the opportunity to play at Pebble Beach. He also is looking forward to his high school season, after being named to the All-City Series first team last year.

Cockerham will miss the first seven to 10 matches of the season because of an Ohio High School Athletic Association rule.

“It’s the same rule as all the other sports,” OHSAA assistant commissioner Henry Zaborniak explained. “Once you’re season starts, you can’t compete in any other non-school event.”

So Cockerham decided to miss his matches at Ellet to play at Pebble Beach.

A wise decision.

It has been three days since the Springfield football team snapped the 34-game losing streak that the Spartans players, coaches and fans had endured for nearly four years.

Springfield defeated rival Ellet 23-13 this past Saturday after the game was started on Friday and then delayed later that evening due to lightning.

Spartans junior Zack Talbert rushed for 120 yards on 14 carries and sophomore Dillon Matthews gained 113 yards on 19 carries and ran for a 10-yard touchdown.

“Not only was it exciting, it was extremely emotional,” said Springfield coach Kevin Vaughn, a 1997 graduate of Ellet. “It’s been quite a long time coming. It was a great win because of all the hard work and efforts that they put in in the off-season. It was something great for the players, the coaching staff, the school district and the community in general.”

Springfield senior quarterback Steven Cole passed for two touchdowns — a 13-yarder to junior Chase Cole and a nine-yarder to senior Joey O’Neil.

Vaughn also praised senior middle linebacker/place kicker John Hofer, senior defensive lineman Chris Evans, senior safety Dustin Moneypenny and a trio of offensive linemen: junior Erik Etapa, sophomore Dylan Harris and sophomore Brad Cullen.

The Spartans previous win was a 27-3 triumph over Field on Sept. 30, 2005. Springfield also had not defeated Ellet since a 21-20 victory in 1984, though the teams did not play from 1991 through 2004.

“We just kind of took the approach that the old black eye of Springfield is gone this year,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn said in addition to the win, Springfield also regains the “The Shoe,” the award that goes to the winner of the Springfield/Ellet football game and was last at Springfield in 1984.

“It’s a really neat traditional trophy and obviously part of the rivalry,” Vaughn said. “The Shoe is orange right now. When we get it this Friday at a school pep rally from [Ellet] coach Joe Yost, that will change. Coach Yost will present it to the captains. All the players will then get a chance to paint it red.”

Vaughn said Hofer, Moneypenny, Chase Cole and Etapa are Springfield’s captains.

No matter what happens during the Ellet Orangemen’s season this year, head coach Joe Yost knows he has a quality leader in senior Devin Richardson. What Yost likes the most about Richardson is how hard the young man works.

“He’s such a great guy, he has a great personality, he’s always smiling and he just loves playing football,” Yost said of the running back and middle linebacker. “When he’s running the ball in practice, he always runs 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. The positions he’s playing means he’s the heart and soul of our team and we’re asking a lot of him. The kids respect him, the coaches respect him and opponents respect him. That’s saying a lot.”

Ellet opens the season Friday at Springfield.

My observations from Archbishop Hoban’s 27-26 overtime win against Garfield in the season-opener for both teams:

* MORGAN’S MVP: No question, my pick is 5-foot-9, 175-pound Garfield junior running back Tyson Gulley. He rushed for a game-high 225 yards on 25 carries. Gulley rushed for over 130 yards- just in the first quarter, with touchdown runs of 60 and 58 yards.

What I like about Gulley is the explosiveness he has once he hits the line of scrimmage. His quickness allows him to get to the hole, then, his speed and ability to change directions and cutback without losing much speed is the key to his impressive running style.

* OTHER MVP CONTENDERS: There were several, including Garfield freshman running back and defensive back Toneo Gulley, Tyson’s little brother. Playing in his first varsity game, Toneo (5-7, 170) was impressive. He showed flashes of speed and quickness equal to his brother.

But what impressed me the most was his skills defensively. He registered eight tackles but he deflected several passes intended for Hoban senior receiver/tight end Chris Sarkis, that could have been big plays.

On two occasions, Sarkis was open and waiting to catch both passes on stride. But at the last moment, Toneo’s speed enabled him to make up ground and get to the ball to knock it away. For a freshman, playing in a pretty overwhelming atmosphere for a youngster, he handled himself like a veteran.

For Hoban, there were two MVP contenders, in my opinion. The first was junior punter Paul Kramer. His play actually changed the entire complexity of the game and allowed the Knights to get back in the game.

For instance, Hoban had the ball to start the third quarter, after trailing 14-3 at halftime. The Knights opened the second half with an impressive drive, with nice runs from Laymon Carter III, who finished with 94 yards, and Dominic Williams, who had 74 yards.

However, Hoban’s drive stalled and the Knights had to punt. Kramer’s kicked was downed at Garfield’s 2-yard-line by Chris Bernardo, who played a tremendous game on special teams. A few plays later, Hoban registered a safety to cut the lead to 14-5.

The Knights got the ball on Garfield’s free kick and quickly scored cutting the lead to 14-12.

Then, in the fourth quarter, Kramer had another quality punt that was downed by Bernardo at Garfield’s 5-yard line. The Rams couldn’t move the ball and had to punt, and once again, Hoban scored and took the lead for the first time at 20-14 with 7:29 left in the game.

When Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel was the head coach at Youngstown State, he never failed to emphasis the importance of special teams. In fact, he always contended, and still does, that the punt is the most important play in football, because of the potential for some many things- good or bad- that can happen.

Hoban coach Ralph Orsini saw the punt work in his team’s favor.
“”We went into the game thinking that special teams would be a key for us because we have two pretty good kickers,” Orsini said. “”He was referring to Kramer, of course, and also junior kicker Zack Christensen, who booted a 30-yard field goal and also had several deep kickoffs, helping the kickoff coverage limit Garfield’s big returns.

Hoban’s other MVP contender was senior quarterback Josh Masters. He couldn’t establish a passing game in the first half, so he got things going with his running ability. Masters finished with two touchdown runs and converted on two rushing two-point conversions.

And finally, a special mention goes to Garfield junior offensive lineman Kenny Blevins. This young man is 6-0, 300 pounds and playing under hot and humid conditions, he played the entire game, both ways. His jersey was soaked after the game and although he was disappointed in the loss, he left it all on the field and that’s all you can ask from the young man.

Even longtime Hoban team physician Joseph Congeni took notice of Blevins’ performance. “”That young man played a heck of a game, especially given the conditions,” Congeni said.

* QUESTIONABLE CALL SHOULDN’T BE QUESTIONED: Garfield coach Bob Sax opted to try to pass for a two-point conversion and win in overtime instead of running the ball. Some Garfield fans, as they left the stadium, thought the Rams should have run the ball as well.

But looking back, Sax’s call made sense. First off, Tyson Gulley left the field a few plays before his little brother Toneo scored the game-tying touchdown in OT. Tyson left because of severe cramps.

Second, with the way Rams quarterback Darius Martin was playing- rolling out and making plays happen out of the pocket- Sax’s idea was to let Martin do the same, thinking that Hoban would be expecting one of the Gully’s to get the ball.

But Hoban defensive back Rahsheed Moore just did what good players do, he came up with a big play, stepping in front of Garfield wide receiver James Barnett at the goal line to intercept the two-point conversion ending the game.

* NICE TURNOUT: The Hoban-Garfield game always draws a health crowd because the game is on Thursday and everyone is ready to watch the first game of the season, especially players from area teams who don’t open the season until the following day.

The players who are spectators crack me up because they wear their jerseys. That’s not what cracks me up. It’s the fact that they roll up their sleeves really high so they can let their biceps breath. I understand, after all that offseason weightlifting, they have to get those puppies some air.