St. Vincent-St. Mary junior CB Doran Grant reportedly took an unofficial visit to Michigan State last weekend, according to Rivals.com. Grant is one of the state’s top players in the 2011 class. He has several Division I offers.

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!

Local high school graduates Harvie Tuck IV and Zach Boedicker were recently named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

Tuck, a freshman tailback at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), is a graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Boedicker, a junior quarterback at Gannon University, is a graduate of Nordonia.

Tuck rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in a 45-0 victory over Lock Haven. Tuck had six runs of 10 or more yards including a long of 38 that set up another second quarter score.

The 218 yards are the most by an IUP freshman, the 10th-highest mark in school history and the most by a running back in the PSAC this season.

Boedicker led Gannon to a 51-48 victory over Slippery Rock by accounting for 355 total yards offensively. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 108 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries.

The passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offensive yards are each career-highs for Boedicker.

Trailing 27-16, Boedicker gave Gannon rushed for a 61-yard touchdown run with 1:22 left in the second quarter. He then threw two touchdown passes in the first 2:57 of the third quarter, giving the Golden Knights a 37-27 lead.

The St. Vincent-St. Mary girls soccer team suffered their first loss of the season last week to rival Archbishop Hoban 4-0, and lost bragging rights for the year.

But maybe that was a good thing.

The Irish (8-1-3) rebounded to beat Chippewa, which was 9-1 at the time, 3-1, then beat Our Lady of the Elms 4-0. St. V-M was ranked No. 6 in last week’s Division II state poll and should remain in the top 10 in this week’s poll.

St. V-M is a young team but the Irish keep improving every week. They are led by seniors Erica Hutson and Nora Wisor, the only two starting seniors. Junior Kelly Fulkerson was a starter last year and junior Becca Bridenthal add experience depth this year to coach Rob Young’s squad.

There are five sophomores who have made strong contributions this year including center midfielder, Miranda Yeaton, Rachel Hutson and Sam Daugherty.

You’re hearing the term “trap game” more these days. It refers to a team that is favored to win overlooking a particular (underdog) team to get ready for a big game the following week.

In the case of St. Vincent-St. Mary (4-1), ranked No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press Division III state poll, could this be a trap game this week?

The Irish will play at Canton Central Catholic (2-3). St. V-M has consecutive big games after the CCC game and they are against rival Walsh Jesuit (3-2) and perennial power Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (5-0), which is the state’s No. 1 team in Division III.

But you have to know that CCC doesn’t feel like the underdog, especially playing at home and the Crusaders have nothing but upset on their minds.

Here’s my thoughts on high school football now that we are at the halfway point of the season.

*I was disappointed that only 2,500 people came out to the first City Series game at InfoCision Stadium at Summa Field, though North and Kenmore aren’t big schools. Still, I would bet that crowd was two or three times bigger than it might have been at the Rubber Bowl.

*I will say this after seeing North, Kenmore, Buchtel and Ellet – there is a lot of talent in the City Series. The key for the future of the football in Akron is to get more kids to come out for these teams. The other thing coaches need is for the players to get into better shape, though with a bad economy and kids from poorer families it is sometimes impossible for them to have the time to get to the weight room in the off-season. 

*Ricky Powers is doing a nice job rebuilding the Buchtel program, which was nearly destroyed by former Claude Brown because of his conviction involving a Buchtel female student. Powers, an alumni and former Michigan star running back, is trying to bring discipline to the program, teach younger volunteer coaches what needs to be done and get the community more involved.

*Circle the Week 8 game Oct. 16 in the River Division of the NOC with Twinsburg at Hudson will be for all the marbles – a division title and tons of computer points. Both schools are in Division I, Region 2; the Tigers are fifth and Hudson seventh, according to the JoeEitel.com website.

*Who would have thought Springfield would have four wins in five games and Green would be 0-5?  Bulldog coach Tom Stacy  is drawing a lot of fire both for having too tough a schedule and, obviously, the team’s record.

*It seems that the most balanced conference this year is the Suburban League, which few fans realize has for 20 years been putting as many, if not more, teams in the playoffs each season.

Besides the red hot Wadsworth team, Barberton, Cloverleaf, Copley, Revere and Highland have comparable talent, which makes this league so hard to predict. Only Tallmadge and Green seems out of both the league title and playoff contender.

Suddenly Friday’s gane with Wadsworth (5-0) at Copley (4-1) has a lot riding on it.

*How much will Walsh Jesuit be hurt by have this week off? Yes, the Warriors will get an average of their weekly points for this week, but they will lose their playing edge going into the Oct. 9 rivalry game witth visiting St. Vincent-St. Mary. Walsh is 3-2 and 1oth in Division II, Region 5.

St. Vincent-St. Mary junior Chris Motley can’t help but like the game of football. He’s the grandson of NFL Hall of Famer and former Browns running back and linebacker (1946-1953) Marion Motley, who passed away in 1999.

Chris Motley is the kicker for the Irish football team but he’s also one of the top soccer players in the state and is expected to be invited to some of the premier camps, including Indiana University’s camp, this year.

Focuses on arch-rivals St. Vincent-St. Mary and Archbishop Hoban playing at InfoCision Stadium.

The newly-formed Greater Akron Girl’s Golf League will hold its first league championship tournament 9 a.m. Saturday at Mud Run Golf Course.

The schools in the league include Archbishop Hoban, CVCA, Firestone, Our Lady of the Elms, Springfield and St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Six area schools are enjoying being part of a new league.

Archbishop Hoban, CVCA, Firestone, Our Lady of the Elms, Springfield and St. Vincent-St. Mary are all members of the newly formed Greater Akron Girls Golf League.

The league had a preseason tournament, it will have a postseason tournament and will recognize an all-league team.

“It’s a great thing,” said CVCA coach Don Zinn. “Most of the teams in the league have never been in a league or they haven’t been in a league for a long time. In the past, the girls only had the sectional tournament to look forward to but now they have the challenge of playing in a league where you have six teams of equal ability to compete against. My girls are excited and are having a good time.”

CVCA has been led by sophomore Jennah Romansky, who shot a personal low 38 at Riverwoods Tuesday, sophomore Noelle Lewis and senior Margaret Burton.