One is a late-blooming, shoot-from-the-hip jokester who has great footwork and enough self-confidence to proudly rock his on-point “Dad Bod.” The other is a naturally big-boned, polished-speaking veteran who manhandles defenders with brute strength.

Left guard Hunter Rinard and left tackle Hunter Meacham are the Highland football team’s version of the odd couple. Sure, they both are offensive linemen named “Hunter” and immensely talented in the classroom — the odds of that three-pronged combination are slim — but that’s where the similarities end.

Without their contrasts, however, the Hornets (6-4) probably wouldn’t be in position to play at Avon (9-1) Friday in a Division II, Region 4 playoff game.

All-Ohio center Tyler Frederick couldn’t stop smiling when asked to summarize his fellow seniors.

“Meacham, he really got whipped into shape by (former offensive line coach Nate) Howard last year,” Frederick said. “(Howard) destroyed him any chance he got. (Meacham) could be doing something right and he’d get yelled at because he was ‘doing it too soft.’

“Rinard, if you watch the Aurora game on TV, they talked about his ‘athleticism’ on his forward roll — I’m putting athleticism in quotes — but he’s just a goof. … We call him ‘The Freckled Monster.’”

If those quotes sound like a Comedy Central roast, they should. That’s the type of camaraderie offensive linemen have had at Highland, whose hogmollies have been the driving force of the offense since the Hornets switched to a read-option scheme in 2011.

Just don’t underestimate their intelligence — they hate that — because Rinard takes 13 credit hours at the University of Akron and Meacham hits the books hard in Advanced Placement literature, biology, language and government at Highland High.

“We know who the real geniuses on the team are,” a smirking Meacham said.

No. 65

Similar to quarterback Tyler Zelinski, safety Taran Treb, linebacker Ethan Suran and tight end/defensive end Zach Filips, Rinard has emerged from relative obscurity to become a key player as a senior first-year starter.

Highland’s Hunter Rinard. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

There was a time when no one was real sure how to project Rinard. He likely was going to start as a senior regardless, but playing on the scout team and getting smacked around by All-Ohioans Myles Houska and Frederick the last two years has made Friday nights a breeze.

Blessed with solid coordination — a virtual requirement to play guard for Highland — the 6-foot, 250-pounder stands out with carioca-drill-inspired footwork on pulls when the Hornets’ run their power option to the right side.

The little brother of Westminster College softball player Abby Rinard can be a mauler when needed, too, as Zelinski’s most successful off-tackle runs have oftentimes been behind Rinard and Meacham.

The adapting ability of Rinard, who also sees minutes at defensive tackle against run-heavy teams like Tallmadge and Barberton, can be traced to his past.

“When I was little — this is actually a really funny story — Sam Jenkins, our running back, he was the center and I was the fullback,” Rinard said. “So from my time playing fullback, I know what a hole looks like — what A-gap, B-gap, all that fun stuff is. I know where the play is going, so it’s easy for me to lower my shoulder and get in there.”

Despite his new role as starter, the constant ribbing of Rinard hasn’t slowed because he takes the verbal punishment like a man, and no topic is discussed more than Rinard’s absolute refusal to wear a T-shirt during practice.

“For me, it’s always been that way,” he said. “I don’t really mind. If they’re making fun of me, they’ve got to pay attention to me, so it’s OK.

“I just don’t like wearing shirts. There’s no other way to explain it. Everyone knows I’m fat, so why hide it? I’m proud. I like having a breeze on my tummy.”

No. 62

Highland’s Hunter Meacham. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

Meacham admits he doesn’t have Rinard’s comfort level with being the center of attention. That’s totally fine with him because he’s more introverted and loves using his brain to assess a situation.

Meacham is a country-strong tackle with broad shoulders and a body type that likely can support more than 6-2, 240-pound measurables. The mind factors in by always asking head coach/offensive coordinator Mike Gibbons how to be a better technician on a certain play.

The overall package is why Meacham’s a two-year starter and de-facto O-line lieutenant general under Frederick. Simply put, Meacham’s been a known quantity within the program since he, Frederick and Adam Spiros, now the starting goalie for the soccer team, started as seventh-graders for the undefeated middle school team in 2010.

“Meacham has good feet, but he’s just a real big, solid kid,” Gibbons said. “He’s hard to get around and he covers up well. Once he gets locked on with somebody, he can take them for a ride.”

Meacham’s proud of that compliment, mainly because of the adversity he’s overcome. His freshman year was lost to a torn ACL in his right knee, and that rebuilt ligament failed again the next year.

Two years and 21 starts later, Meacham’s resolve can’t be understated.

“It was really strange because everyone kept asking me, ‘Why do you want to come back after all that?’ ” Meacham said. “I just love everybody on this team, (Rinard) included, and I really couldn’t see any other way to go out. I’m really glad to make it through last season and make it through this season so I can say I’m stronger than I ever was before.”

Rinard and Meacham aren’t BFFs but still have a unique bond. They must play off each other to be successful, especially when they double-team an opposing tackle and Rinard peels off to get a linebacker, and have developed tremendous chemistry along the way.

The respect is mutual, as the only time the two were truly serious prior to practice Thursday was when they were talking about each other.

“When we get on the football field, me and him, we connect in some way,” Rinard said. “We have flow. Since the first day of practice, we’ve always said, ‘left side, strong side,’ as a joke. When we know we have a big play coming, we say it to boost our confidence a little bit so we can get some movement on people.”

“We really play well off each other,” Meacham said, “and there’s really no one else I’d rather have on the left side with me.”

AVON — The Highland football team will play its fifth playoff game in the last three years tonight, and Avon is the opponent for the third time.

The old Inland Conference members have developed plenty of familiarity recently, though many of the players are downplaying that importance. With so much roster turnover since they met in the 2013 Division II regional finals, all they have to look at is reputation.

The third-seeded Eagles (9-1) and sixth-seeded Hornets (6-4) are known for fundamentally sound, aggressive and mistake-free play as they prepare to meet in a D-II, Region 4 first-round game.

“This is our third time playing Highland, and we know they’re a great team,” Cincinnati-bound Avon quarterback Jake Sopko said. “They’re well-coached and will hit you hard. That’s what they do each year.”

Winners of 58 of its last 62 regular-season games, Avon has found another gear since losing to state-title contender Midview 55-35 in Week 4. The Eagles rang up 48, 63 and 49 points on fellow playoff teams North Ridgeville, Berea-Midpark and Olmsted Falls.

Despite being well-balanced in recent years, coach Mike Elder’s team is all about offense this year with Sopko (2,393 yards passing, 26 TDs, 1 int.), three-year starting running back Gerett Choat (1,248 yards rushing, 339 receiving, 21 combined TDs) and right guard Sam Gerak (6-5, 283), who has offers from Northwestern, Illinois, Rutgers and a number of Mid-American Conference schools.

Avon is averaging 45.1 points, including an eye-popping 50.1 since losing to Midview.

“I know their quarterback and their running back have been together for a while,” Hornets outside linebacker Ethan Suran said. “Their receivers are pretty good. They’ve got chemistry together and make it happen.”

Highland is coming off an upset loss at Kent Roosevelt but does not have a shortage of confidence. That is due in large part to a 38-28 upset of then-undefeated Aurora.

The challenge tonight is steep, however, against the Eagles’ four-wide receiver offense. Choat is 85 yards rushing away from joining a very exclusive club of 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a career, while Will Heilman (49, 878 yards, 14 TDs) and Darrin Davis (41, 489, 3) are the latest in a long line of underrated Avon receivers.

The Hornets’ undersized but aggressive defense, which is led by defensive end Tyler Frederick (6 tackles for loss, 2½ sacks), outside linebackers Suran (5½, 2½) and Chris Burnside (9, 3) and safety Taran Treb, knows creating turnovers and limiting big plays will be key.

“Defensively, we’re working together, trying to stay on the same page,” Suran said. “We’re making sure everyone is doing their job.”

Offensively, Highland will rely on its read-option to set up potential big gains through play-action. Leading rusher Tyler Zelinski (2,073 yards total offense, 20 total TDs) has 54 carries for only 94 yards (1.7 average) over the last four weeks, though the emergence of running back Manny Dela Cerna (55 carries, 290 yards over last 2 games) has something to do wit that.

The Hornets know getting Zelinski going will be crucial to maintaining momentum on the ground against another talented four-man linebacking corps led by Alex Rimko (10 TFL, 4 sacks) and Eric Steinmetz (9, 5½) on the inside.

“We’ve got to establish our run game early and get a really good push up front so we can break our back and Zelinski loose,” Highland right tackle Ben Smith said.

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

YORK TWP. — The largest party in Medina County tonight will be inside the gates of the “The Buck-O-Dome.”

That’s the quirky local nickname for Edwin Steingass Field, where the undefeated, third-seeded Buckeye football team will go to war with No. 6 West Geauga (9-1) in a Division III, Region 7 first-round playoff game.

The anticipation is sky-high for this evenly matched 7:30 p.m. showdown, as it marks the first time the Bucks will host a postseason game since 2005.

“I’m very excited for it, and I think the team is, too,” All-Gazette linebacker Dustin McCullough said. “We’re very hyped up for (tonight).”

Since beating fellow playoff team Rocky River 42-28 in Week 2, Buckeye has outscored opponents 354-27, with all eight games having a running clock at some point in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines, unbeaten since losing to Chardon 24-6 in the opener, are coming off back-to-back thrilling wins over then-undefeated Perry (49-28) and traditional Chagrin Valley Conference powerhouse Chagrin Falls (24-21) on a last-minute touchdown pass.

The winner advances to face No. 2 St. Vincent-St. Mary (9-1) or No. 7 New Philadelphia (8-2) at a neutral site. The Fighting Irish are a 24-point favorite tonight.

“Obviously, (West Geauga) is 9-1, so they’re a pretty good team,” said Bucks slotback/cornerback Nathan Scott, who will play after missing 2½ games with a hamstring injury. “They have some good skill, some good line, pretty good everything.”

Extremely confident West Geauga is one of the hottest teams in Northeast Ohio and, unlike many teams, plays aggressively and loose with the lead. Albeit with an asterisk, the Wolverines have one common opponent with the Bucks, who handled CVC Chagrin Division member Orange in a scrimmage. West Geauga defeated Orange 35-13 in Week 7.

Personnel-wise, coach Lou Cirino’s team is eerily similar to Buckeye and starts seniors at 17-of-22 positions. Quarterback Cam Searight (680 yards rushing, 1,615 yards passing, 34 combined TDs) has moves on top of moves and loves to throw the deep ball, halfback Joe Daddario (1,227 yards rushing, 13 TDs) has a lightning-quick first step and hits the hole with reckless abandon and 5-foot-6 Julian Edelman-clone Carmen Engoglia (38 catches, 637 yards, 11 TDs) and 6-2 Zach Suba (28, 572, 7) are complementary receivers.

The Wolverines’ spread offense is unique in its frequent use of an H-back. Most of the running plays feature trap-blocking, but West Geauga has thrown in jet sweeps and read-options while averaging 36.9 points and more than 400 yards.

The play-action bomb is a near-guarantee, too, as Searight’s quick-trigger right arm can hit receivers in stride from 55 yards.

Buckeye counters with linebackers Kyle Svagerko (10½ TFL, 6½ sacks), Jaret Yohman (8, 3) and McCullough (team-leading 69 tackles) and a speedy secondary featuring the combination of Nathan Polidori, Scott, Justin Lowry (2 ints., 8 pass breakups), John Garner and hard-hitting All-Ohio free safety Trevor Thome.

“We’ve got to stop them up front,” Garner said. “Our defensive line has to get penetration on the quarterback. He’s shifty, he’s fast, he can move around in the pocket.

“I’m pretty confident in our secondary that we can stop their wide receivers.”

Defensively West Geauga runs a 4-3 and has solid size in the box with all seven players at 200 pounds or heavier. The Wolverines allowed a combined 52 points to playoff teams Chardon and Perry in the regular season, but have shined otherwise using speed and aggression.

Nine starters are seniors, highlighted by outside linebacker Dominic Pavich (5-9, 221). The only non-seniors are junior safety Alec Newton and freshman safety Anthony Albino.

Buckeye’s offense is led by the “Big Three” of Polidori (1,036 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, 624 yards rushing, 8 TDs), Thome (920 yards rushing, 357 yards receiving, 28 TDs) and Scott (469 yards rushing, 64 yards receiving, 9 TDs).

The Bucks, who enter as the highest-scoring team in Medina County history at 43.1 points per game, also have a veteran line of Hunter Gray (6-1, 228), Jalin Brock (6-1, 227), Brad Calta (6-0, 230), Jack Schroeder (6-1, 200) and Bruce Barnby (6-5, 265).

Turnovers or red-zone stops will decide this game because chances for a low final score appear to be very low.

“They’ve got a lot of history over there,” Buckeye coach Mark Pinzone said of West Geauga, which is making its seventh playoff appearance in the last15 years. “They do a lot of things right. It’s not like they have a lot of Division I (college) players over there. They’re well-coached, and they’re sound.”

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

YORK TWP. — Guard Jalin Brock flipped off his helmet and buried his head into the cold, damp grass at Edwin Steingass Field. Quarterback Nathan Polidori did the same just feet away with helmet still attached.

Buckeyes Trevor Thome embraces teammate Nathan Polidori after the Bucks lost to West Geauga in the third overtime Photo by Aaron Josefczyk

The Buckeye players, along with their teammates, had nothing left to give. They were battered, bruised and exhausted after playing for their football lives for 48 minutes and three overtimes against physical West Geauga in the first round of the Division III, Region 7 playoffs.

Ultimately, the Bucks’ playoff curse claimed its seventh victim, as the sixth-seeded Wolverines escaped with a 35-28 triple-OT classic that, even in defeat, will live on in Buckeye lore for decades to come.

West Geauga (10-1) advanced to play No. 2 St. Vincent-St. Mary (10-1) next week, while the third-seeded Bucks finished 10-1 for the second time in school history after the see-saw affair ended when Wolverines linebacker Dominic Pavich intercepted Polidori.

“It was a great season and we fought hard,” Buckeye star slotback/safety Trevor Thome said. “We just came out on the short end.”

With Thome (hip) and Polidori (ankle) playing hurt in the second half and Nathan Scott (hamstring) leaving for good in the first quarter, Buckeye trudged on despite their gutsy stars struggling to keep themselves on the field.

The Wolverines began the third overtime with the ball and pounded undersized yet tough-as-nails halfback Joe Daddario (36 carries, 190 yards, 2 TDs) until Bucks linebacker Dustin McCullough (3 tackles for loss) stuffed Daddario 2 yards behind the line. That set up third-and-goal on the 4-yard line, but Daddario sliced into the end zone untouched to make it 35-28.

Buckeye remained confident because its long-dormat offense had come back to life. Bucks coach Mark Pinzone didn’t have a decision etched in stone, but said a go-for-the-win two-point conversion was being discussed among his staff.

Unfortunately for a lively, jam-packed home crowd, Polidori underthrew Thome (15 carries, 58 yards, TD; 6 catches, 87 yards) on an out route and Pavich was there for a bread-basket interception. It was only Polidori’s second pick of the year and first that didn’t go through a receiver’s hands.

Game over. The celebrating Wolverines didn’t catch a sprinting Pavich until he reached the opposite 30-yard line.

“We knew that we had to stop them and we had to score to win,” Thome said. “They scored one more time than they did.”

The first two overtimes went quickly and evenly, as Buckeye matched 1-yard TD sneak by Cam Searight (13-for-25, 218 yards, 2 TDs, int.; 12 carries, 15 yards) when Polidori nailed Justin Lowry on a post pattern for a 21-yard score. Richard Gatt’s extra point was true and the game headed to double overtime.

There, the Bucks landed the initial punch when Thome took a counter trey left and went in from 6 yards. West Geauga then answered when Searight lofted a pass between two defenders and hit Carmen Engoglia in the corner of the end zone.

That set up the third OT and Buckeye’s heartbreak.

“Congrats to West Geauga,” Pinzone said. “They’re a great team, they played hard. They made plays, we made plays and, at the end, they made one more play. I think that about sums it up, doesn’t it?”

The Bucks would have never been in position for OT had it not been for Polidori’s flawless two-minute drill trailing 14-7. Limping badly throughout after he rolled his ankle during halftime warm-ups, the senior returned a kickoff to his own 30-yard line and went to work.

Working primarily out of an empty backfield, Polidori nailed Thome for 9 yards, Jonathon Neel for 6 on fourth-and-2, Justin Canedy (3 receptions, 40 yards, 2 TDs) for a twisting 29-yard fade and finally Canedy again for the 10-yard TD capper. Polidori alertly realized Canedy was completely uncovered in the slot with 1:12 to go.

Buckeye’s rugged defense then held strong. The Wolverines got to their own 49 and pulled off a successful hook-and-lateral in the waning seconds, but Zach Suba was tackled at the 15 as time expired after receiving the pitch from Engoglia.

“Even when they went up 14-7, we were confident. Everyone was upbeat,” Thome said. “We played hard until the end, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”

Wearing down the Bucks’ defensive line that hadn’t played a full four quarters in eight weeks, West Geauga scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth to take a seven-point lead with 3:38 left. Searight, who like Polidori missed open receivers, finally connected via an 82-yard bomb to Suba on third-and-10.

For the prior 44 minutes, Buckeye did a tremendous job of hanging on by a thread. The Bucks scored on their opening drive when Polidori found Canedy uncovered for a 1-yard TD pass — a play set up by a 36-yard screen reception in which Thome broke multiple tackles on third-and10.

The next 35-plus minutes belonged to the defense led by McCullough, Kyle Svagerko, Hunter Gray and Jaret Yohman and key showings from backup DBs Neel and Josh England, who played big second-half minutes with Scott out and Thome limping.

Daddario finished with big final statistics, but 20 of his 36 carries were 5 yards or less. The scrambling ability of Searight, meanwhile was limited and he was intercepted by Thome with 1:21 left in the first half.

Along with Thome’s interception, Buckeye survived a scare when Searight overthrew an open receiver on fourth-and-5 from the 8 midway through the second quarter. The Bucks also batted down third-down pass attempts twice.

That took the pressure off the reeling offense and gave Buckeye field position for most of the second half, as Brenden McBride pinned fourth-quarter punts at the 13- and 18-yard lines.

The only problem was the exhausted Bucks couldn’t finish in regulation, as Daddario carried nine times for 57 yards and capped his team’s initial scoring drive with 9:55 left in the fourth.

“Everyone did their job,” Thome said of the defense. “No one tried to do too much.”

Pinzone struggled to keep his emotions bottled inside during the postgame speech. He knew his players had given it their all, and win or lose still played in an epic game.

He couldn’t have been more proud.

“We feel for our kids because they played their hearts out until the very end,” Pinzone said. “They have no reason to hang their heads.”

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

West Geauga 35, Buckeye 28 (3OT)

WEST GEAUGA0 0 0 14 7 7 7 — 35

BUCKEYE 7 0 0 7 7 7 0 — 28

First

B — Justin Canedy 1 pass from Nathan Polidori (Richard Gatt kick), 7:22.

Fourth

W — Joe Daddario 16 run (Christiano Dibra kick), 9:55.

W — Zach Suba 82 pass from Cam Searight (Dibra kick), 3:38.

B — Canedy 10 pass from Polidori (Gatt kick), 1:12.

First overtime

W — Seabright 1 run (Dibra kick)

B — Justin Lowry 21 pass from Polidori (Gatt kick)

Second overtime

B — Trevor Thome 6 run (Gatt kick)

W — Carmen Engoglia 19 pass from Searight (Dibra kick)

Third overtime

W — Daddario 4 run (Dibra kick)

WADSWORTH — A model of stability and sustained success has hung up his whistle — for now.

Greg Dennison

Wadsworth’s Greg Dennison, the third-winningest football coach in Medina County history, announced his resignation Thursday, ending an unparalleled 21-year tenure at the school.

The 51-year-old led the Grizzlies to a 148-77 record, three Suburban League championships (1996, 2007, ’09), nine playoff appearances and three regional runner-up trophies (1999, 2003, ’11).

He will continue to teach math at the high school.

“Why? I think the timing is right,” he said. “It’s time for a change.”

Dennison’s teams finished .500 or better 18 times. The only losing seasons were 1995 (his first in charge), 2010 (when star Jack Snowball missed most of the season with injuries) and this fall, when Wadsworth sported its youngest lineup in years and went 3-7 in its first season as a member of the big-school SL National Division.

Dennison win total is 97 higher than second-place Rex McIlvaine (1955-64) in Wadsworth history and trails only Black River’s Al Young (173) and Brunswick’s Rich Nowak (152) in county lore.

Dennison was vague when asked to expand on why he stepped down. He made it clear, however, he plans on coaching somewhere next season and added the college level is intriguing.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “Obviously you don’t stay at a place for 21 years if it’s not a very good place. I’ve had some great players, great community and a great crowd. What stands out when I went through my (kidney) cancer surgery (before last season) was the support I got throughout the community. There’s a lot of positives here.”

The son of 1956 Wadsworth High graduate, former University of Akron and Walsh University coach and Medina County Sports Hall of Famer Jim Dennison, Greg Dennison was an assistant at North Canton Hoover (1987) and Barberton (1988-92) before going 11-9 as Norton’s head coach from 1993-94. He was hired to replace Ramizi Shepard at Wadsworth in 1995.

The Grizzlies were 3-7 that year, but followed with their first 10-0 season in 29 years and initial playoff appearance behind future NFL player Bob Jones and fellow All-Ohioans Dan Herbert (RB) and Joe Lowther (OL). That was the beginning of 14 straight non-losing seasons from 1996-2009, a feat only surpassed county-wide by Brunswick’s 22-year run from 1993-2014.

Known primarily for physical I-formation rushing attacks and mistake-free play, Dennison’s teams were the model of consistency.

The Grizzlies first took Medina County by storm in 1999 with, ironically, a high-octane passing attack featuring quarterback Mike Hoover, running back Joe Tricomi, tight end Chris Brink and receivers Adam Copeland and Ben Vujas. That team made it to the D-II regional championship, where it lost a 31-24 thriller to eventual state runner-up Sylvania Southview.

Wadsworth matched the feat in 2003 (Clint Cochran, Paul Macko, Luke Busson, Mike Marshall) and came within a Hail Mary of beating Toledo St. John’s Jesuit in D-I play. In 2011, the Grizzlies returned to the round of eight behind Snowball and a dynamite defense featuring current Ohio State wrestler Nick Tavanello.

“I think some of the highlights are when we beat teams nobody thinks we can beat,” said Dennison, who has coached 35 All-Ohioans. “We’ve beaten the Federal League champion twice in the playoffs (2003 Hoover and 2011 GlenOak) and been to the regional finals three times.

“When you do things like that, you know the kids are buying in when they overachieve. That’s a good feeling for everybody.”

Dennison’s success and connection to his father made him a hot commodity in 2005. Legendary football school Massillon asked him to apply for its coaching opening, and he felt he owed it to himself to at least look into it. Ultimately he remained at Wadsworth.

What Dennison leaves behind is a varsity team fresh off a losing season but also lower levels loaded with success. The immediate payoff lies in a touted sophomore class that got plenty of experience this fall.

That is only the beginning, though, as the seventh- and eighth-grade teams went undefeated, the freshman team was 7-2-1 and the junior varsity was 6-3-1 despite having 10th-graders Joey Fernholz, Joey Baughman, Clay McComas and Mitchell Blackburn start on varsity.

“That’s probably the thing I’m most proud of,” said Dennison, whose players often ran the same offense since their youth days. “We’re leaving the program in really, really good shape.

“That’s one of those things being here for 21 years, we’ve established a very good program. In 21 years, we’ve only had three losing seasons, and what’s nice is we’ve followed each one up with a 10-0 season (1996) and a 9-1 season in which we played for a regional championship (2011). I can see the program doing that next year.”

Though Dennison will no longer be on the Wadsworth sideline, he has no regrets.

“I knew the potential was there,” he said. “I didn’t come in with a plan of win a few years and go on to something else. We started to do things well, and our program started to take off. It became a good thing and a tough place to leave.”

Madison Butler remembers the day vividly, when only one thought popped to mind after she shot 77 for “technically” the second time in her life.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I shot that for nine holes a few years ago.”’ she recalled with a laugh.

Highland’s Madison Butler is the 2015 Gazette girls golf MVP. RON SCHWANE/GAZETTE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

Now a Highland junior, Butler’s growth on the golf course has been swift and striking. She’s been playing for a little less than seven years, having gotten the bug after being encouraged by a ballet friend’s mother to try the game.

A lot has changed since the then-10-year-old went to a clinic hosted by local teacher Pam Stefanik.

Stefanik is still her swing coach, but ballet is ancient history — at least in a teenager’s mind — and Butler’s life revolves around her golf bag with the can’t-miss Minnie Mouse driver cover.

The proof came this fall with another stellar high school season, as she earned Suburban League American Division MVP honors and qualified as an individual for the Division I state tournament, where she tied for 26th.

The icing on the cake came this week, as Butler became the seventh Hornet in the last eight years to be named Gazette MVP.

“I read an article about the word ‘grit,’ and that’s a good word to describe her,” Highland coach Mary Becker said. “She is very focused. Lack of success doesn’t get her down. It just makes her more intense and determined. When things go wrong, she buckles down.

“You don’t see it that often. There are kids that are more talented than her, but she’s a better golfer because of her focus and ability to forget a bad shot and go on.”

A 5-foot-6 right-hander with a 3.98 grade-point average, Butler’s family moved from North Carolina to Medina when her father Pete got a job transfer. The Butlers soon thereafter built a house in Hinckley Township, thus bouncing Madison to Highland at the start of second grade.

Golf emerged on Butler’s radar after Becker had founded the Highland program — making Butler arguably the first star player to have a childhood goal of playing for the Hornets — and her dedication in middle school was unquestionable, as she tagged along to attend some of the first state tournaments Highland competed in.

A visible presence around the program for years, everyone knew Butler was driven to succeed.

“Ever since the program started, I remember going and watching states when it was Stephanie (Horvath) and Lauren (McKinzie) there,” said Butler, who also was in attendance when Jessica Porvasnik won the 2012 D-I state title. “I knew I always wanted to be like them. That was always my goal, to be a Highland golfer like them.”

Butler paid her dues for two years, so to speak, with very solid 40.6 and 39.3 averages in the No. 2 spot behind ace Chloe McKinzie, the 2014 Gazette MVP who now plays for Ohio University. This year was Butler’s chance to shine, and she manned No. 1 for most of the year save for a few exceptions when fellow standout Alicia Porvasnik took over.

While the increased pressure was noticeable playing with the best players in Northeast Ohio, it also pushed Butler to improve. She managed to shave 1.2 strokes off her nine-hole average, and her 38.1 mark tied her with 2012 second-team Highland All-Ohioan Jessica McRae for fifth lowest in Medina County history. The top four belong to Jessica Porvasnik (35.6, 36.1, 36.7) and Chloe McKinzie (38.0).

Along the way, Butler shot in the 70s 13 times in 16 events, fired a 3-under-par 69 at the Suburban League Preseason Tournament and tied for medalist honors at the historically deep Legends of Massillon District.

While the 16-year-old fell shy of her All-Ohio goal by six strokes, beating or matching players who did — mainly fellow Northeast Ohio stars Jacinta Pikunas (Boardman), Hannah Lemons (Massillon Jackson), Kory Nielsen (Kent Roosevelt) and Abbie Pearce (Green) — has reassured her she belongs.

“She makes a lot of clutch putts and she makes these great chips,” Becker said. “The way she recovers is becoming more mentally focused and more determined. With her, two bad things aren’t going to happen in a row.”

Even with an aggressive downswing that often causes her heels to lift off the ground like PGA professionals — “(Fellow players say), ‘Wow, you’re off the ground. How is that possible?’ I don’t know, I just do it,” she said — Butler still isn’t long off the tee, but a brilliant short game is why she’s being recruited by colleges.

That decision is a ways off, but there is no mistaking she’ll play somewhere. Butler has put too much effort into her success at this point, and she still completely embraces the grind needed to improve.

Butler will continue to dream big in the meantime, and 2016 goals already are in place: Shoot in the 70s every round, get Highland back to state as a team and, the grand daddy of ’em all, earn first-team All-Ohio.

“(The season) was great. I had a lot of support from many people and definitely improved in ways that I wanted to improve,” she said. “It was definitely my best season yet, and I’m exciting for next year to see if I can top this season.”

Gazette MVPs

• Madison Butler (H) 2015
• Chloe McKinzie (H) 2014
• Alice Ho (W) 2013
• Jessica Porvasnik (H) 2012
• Jessica Porvasnik (H) 2011
• Jessica Porvasnik (H) 2010
• Jessica Porvasnik (H) 2009
• Lauren McKinzie (H) 2008
• Tegan Skirpstas (M) 2007
• Ashley O’Reilly (M) 2006
• Misti Joseph (M) 2005
• Misti Joseph (M) 2004
• Amy Boulton (Buc) 2003
• Megan Bricker (M) 2002
• Megan Bricker (M) 2001
• Kelly Moskal (Bru) 1996

The running gag of the Highland boys golf season involved ace Chad Dubiel and coach Andrew Dutt.

The scenario: Dubiel joked with his boys in the van en route to the course, shot around 76 or 77 and handed his scorecard to Dutt. Sarcasm followed almost immediately.

RON SCHWANE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
Highland senior Chad Dubiel is the 2015 Gazette MVP for boys golf.

Dutt: “So, how’d it go?”

Dubiel: “Well, I had a 76 but I would have shot 73 if I had made this putt or …
Dutt (interrupting playfully): “Then why didn’t you?”

Dubiel (smiling while rolling his eyes): “Why am I even telling you this? I knew what you’re going to say.”

The conversation isn’t really unique because almost every player bemoans about how they should have played better. After all, the limitless pursuit of perfection is what makes golf addicting.

What made Dubiel different was his ability to roll with the punches — regardless of whether the golf gods were testing him or his coach was teasing him — with what Dutt called a “goofy” sense of humor and “doughboy” smile.

In other words, the senior was unflappable during a remarkably consistent season in which he was named Suburban League American Division MVP and Gazette MVP.

“His personality is he’s a giant goofball — he really is,” Dutt said. “He’s a really hard worker when it comes to golf, but he likes to joke around. It’s very difficult at certain times to take him seriously … until he gets on the course and flips the switch.

“It’s unbelievable to have that (consistency), and for him a bad round is one I would have taken as a good round for anybody else. Obviously having him there this year was fantastic because I knew I had the horse.”

Dubiel delivered the goods nearly every time.

With parents Tom and Deanna becoming members at Medina Country Club shortly after he was born, Dubiel grew up in a golf cart. The natural progression was becoming a solid player.

Flash forward approximately 15 years and the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder with a 3.94 grade-point average and 29 ACT score was prepared for the No. 1 spot. More laid back like Ryan Scherler and less serious than Andy Grayson and Mark Komives, Dubiel used parts of all three prior Highland aces to lead in his own, unique way.

Dubiel responded with a 38.4 average that never wavered, as all but one of his nine-hole scores was in the 30s and all 10 18-hole rounds were between 75 and 81. He was the low man when Highland shot 318 to clinch a league title for the second straight season — the first time that’s happened in 45 years — and when the Hornets won their first sectional championship as a Division I school.

Dubiel’s highlights were back-to-back 75s in the two SL tournaments at J.E. Good Park Golf Course, a layout in West Akron that had haunted him.

“Good Park this year, both rounds I played pretty solid, and that was the first time in my high school career,” he said. “Mr. Dutt always stressed how important that course was to us because it’s definitely one of the toughest courses in the area. We are never going to play our best there, but you have to know how to take your losses, stay in it mentally and put together as solid of a round as possible.”

Dubiel never had a problem staying in contention because of a philosophy that certainly was not stereotypical of a high school player: Take the smart shot and let the putter do the rest.

Watching adults throughout his childhood molded Dubiel. He obviously had the size to bomb the ball off the tee and confidence to go for the aggressive Bubba Watson/Phil Mickelson approaches, but preferred to take a couple effortless swings, hit a green and line up a 15- or 20-foot putt for birdie.

Coupled with a solid wedge game that bailed him out when needed, Dubiel, who is deciding between accepting a scholarship offer from D-II Lake Erie or playing on the club team at Cincinnati, was the rock atop the lineup all coaches love.

The interesting part was Dubiel doesn’t give his playing style a second thought, although Dutt believes the approach is so advanced Dubiel could be a scratch player sooner rather than later.

“That comes from being around the game for so long and realizing, ‘I know I’ve done this before, so I know this risk is not worth taking,”’ Dubiel said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in position to break that (game plan), and I’ve definitely chosen not to take risks.”

He saves risks for the van rides, where slap-stick humor is his specialty.

Dutt will remember Dubiel for that probably more than golfing exploits. So, too, will Dubiel, who after making it known his teammates were “a great group of guys” laughed and summed up his season in a classically dry way.

“At the end of the day, I was playing golf all the time,” he said, “so I can’t look at it as a bad time.”

Few golf fans would argue with that.

Gazette boys golf MVPs

• Chad Dubiel (H) 2015
• Andy Grayson (H) 2014
• Justin Roth (Bru) 2013
• Patrick Luth (M) 2012
• Austin Schreiber (M) 2011
• Mike Bishop (M) 2010
• Mark Maynard (M) 2009
• Mark Maynard (M) 2008
• Parker Hewit (C) 2007
• Bryan Mitchell (M) 2006
• Bryan Mitchell (M) 2005
• Bryan Mitchell (M) 2004
• Ben Rudy (Bru) 2003
• Brandon Broyles (M) 2002
• Vince Belpulsi (H) 2001
• Dane Sandridge (C) 2000
• Ben Kortz (C) 1999
• Jon Holko (W) 1998
• Brandon Scholz (BR) 1997
• Nate Gumlia (M) 1995
• Nate Gumlia (M) 1994
• Nate Gumlia (M) 1993
• Steve King (M) 1992
• Steve King (M) 1991
• Mike King (M) 1990
• Mark Carlson (W) 1989
• Bob Henighan (M) 1988
• Kevin Zemnickas (M) 1987
• Dave Holland (Buc) 1986

Wadsworth’s Jodi Johnson goes up for a shot against Eastmoor Academy’s Ovian Whitlow-Moore during the second quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

Albert Grindle

The Gazette

WADSWORTH — It was that awkward moment when Jodi Johnson had absolutely, positively no idea what in the world was going on.

The Wadsworth star had just hit a 3-pointer with 2:14 left Friday in what ended up being a 61-40 Grizzlies victory over three-time defending Westerville Division II District champion Eastmoor Academy. Longtime coach Andrew Booth immediately called timeout, and Johnson received congratulations from twin sister Jenna.

It took a few seconds to sink in, but the 5-foot-11 shooting guard figured out what had happened when she heard public address announcer Jason Knapp’s voice: She had scored her 1,000th career point.

Booth presented Johnson the game ball and the crowd roared in approval, leading to a shy smile from the humble senior, who never has been comfortable as the center of attention.

“I honestly didn’t even know I was close,” Johnson said, “but Coach put it into perspective in the locker room when he said in 40 years of Wadsworth High School basketball, only (nine) people have done this.  So, obviously, I’m very honored.”

A Division I first-team All-Ohioan, Johnson became the 27th Medina County player to reach the milestone. She also joined Katelyn Vujas (1,562, class of 1999), Cassie Schrock (1,391, 2007), Julie Ruhlin (1,338, 1988), Jen Uhl (1,304, 2007), Elisa Inman (1,173, 1999), Jessica Henry (1,142, 1995), Sarah Wilfong (1,040, 1993) and Cheryl Althaus (1,064, 1979) in Wadsworth lore.

The Ashland recruit outshined the Warriors’ Amani Burke (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), the sister of Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke, and finished with 22 points (7-for-21 shooting), seven boards, five steals, two assists and two blocks.

Johnson’s moment in the spotlight came after Wadsworth (1-0) had finally secured a comfortable lead in the non-league game. The Grizzlies were in their secondary break, and Jenna Johnson (7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) found her sister, who hit nothing but net near the Wadsworth bench.

“I make that three and then (Booth) calls a timeout,” Johnson said with growing excitement. “Jen comes to me and she’s like, ‘Good job!’ and I’m like, ‘What? Uh, thanks? I finally made a three.’ Then they started announcing it on the loudspeaker or whatever and I was like, ‘Oh.’

“I didn’t realize (Jenna) threw me the pass. That was cool, though. That’s awesome.”

The rest of the game was hack-infested and inconsistent with 47 fouls, 59 free throws and 44 turnovers. Sporting neither a starter taller than 5-foot-8 nor depth, Eastmoor Academy stuck around for a while but, like so many opponents over the years, wore down against Wadsworth’s pressure.

The Grizzlies looked like a state title contender right out of the chute and took a 19-5 lead just 3:35 in. They outscored the Warriors 17-5 in the third quarter, but the second and fourth were ugly with a combined 7-for-30 shooting and stretches of sloppy play.

Sophomore point guard Sophia Fortner was in midseason form and finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while center Lexi Lance added six points and six boards.

Eastmoor Academy was 1-for-16 in the decisive third quarter, as Wadsworth, which won the rebounding battle 44-30, stretched a 39-26 halftime lead to 56-31.

“We knew we had to come out strong against this team because we knew their past and what they had on their team this year,” Johnson said. “We did in the first quarter, but in the second quarter we got out of control. At halftime, we talked, fixed everything and calmed down in the third quarter and fourth quarter.”

None of that could overshadow Johnson’s night, however, as she unknowingly etched her place in the history books.

“The big thing that is enjoyable for us coaches is the type of kid she is,” Booth said. “When you see a kid that’s such a great kid, very humble, very talented but works very hard and gets to a milestone like that, it makes you feel good for them.”

Note

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

Wadsworth 61, Eastmoor Academy 40

EASTMOOR ACADMEY         13  13   5   9  —  40

WADSWORTH                        26  13  17  5  —  61

Eastmoor Academy — Darryl Daniels 1-0-2, Jala Belcher 0-3-3, Amani Burke 4-0-9, Mahogany Merritt 5-2-15, Samaria Rodgers-Gossett 1-1-3, Ovian Whitlow-Moore 0-2-2, MChale Grent 1-1-3, Destiny Wooten 1-0-2, Teresa Craig 0-1-1. TOTALS: 13-10-40.

Wadsworth — Jenna Johnson 1-5-7, Laurel Palitto 1-0-2, Lexi Lance 2-2-6, Jodi Johnson 7-7-22, Sophia Fortner 5-4-15, McKenna Banks 1-0-2, Peyton Banks 1-1-3, Olivia Chaney 1-0-2, Maddie Movsesian 0-1-1, Maddie Sonntag 0-0-0, Alexa Conley 0-1-1, Meggie Flanigan 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-21-61.

3-point goals — Merritt 3, Burke, Jo. Johnson, Fortner. Rebounds

 — Eastmoor Academy 30 (Burke 6), Wadsworth 44 (Jo. Johnson, Fortner 7). Assists — Eastmoor Academy 6 (Belcher 4), Wadsworth 9 (Jo. Johnson 2, Palitto 2, Je. Johnson 2). Records — Eastmoor Academy (0-1), Wadsworth (1-0). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 46, Eastmoor Academy 15.

Medina County will have nine All-Ohio football players in 2015.

That was the number of first-team selections when the All-Northeast Inland District teams were released by The Associated Press on Monday as, despite no playoff wins for the third time in four years, the area again had its share of standouts.

From left: Nathan Polidori, Hunter Gray, Trevor Thome

All first-team all-district players are guaranteed All-Ohio status.

Leading the way was Buckeye, which went 10-0 in the regular season and finished as one of highest-scoring teams in the state (41.7 ppg). Senior Trevor Thome (5-foot-8, 180 pounds) was a first-team running back in Division III and joined by senior cornerback Nathan Polidori (5-11, 175) and junior left tackle Hunter Gray (6-1, 228).

Left: Manny Dela Cerna. Right: Tyler Fredrick.

The county’s other playoff team, Highland, saw senior center Tyler Frederick (6-2, 285) and senior cornerback Manny Dela Cerna (6-0, 180) earn top honors in a loaded D-II district, which will have Massillon Perry and Hudson battle in the state semifinals Friday. Wadsworth senior running back Daniel Weinerman (5-9, 192) also was first team in D-II.

Allan Benson

Black River wide receiver Allan Benson (5-9, 155, sr.) was first-team D-V, while Medina running back Jimmy Daw (6-4, 200, jr.) and Brunswick punter Jordan Sadler (6-0, 200, sr.) got the same honors in D-I.

Second-team selections, which applied only to D-II and D-III because of the volume of schools, went to Buckeye’s Brad Calta (OL, 6-0, 230, sr.) and Dustin McCullough (LB, 5-7, 185, jr.) and Highland’s Tyler Zelinski (P, 6-4, 190, sr.).

Jimmy Daw

Honorable mention accolades were awarded to Black River’s Curtis Roupe (LB) and Jacob Campbell (LB); Brunswick’s Alex Gillespie (FB), Jordan Parrish (LB), Dean Ramicone (LB) and Sam DoBroka (DE); Buckeye’s Jalin Brock (OL), Jaret Yohman (LB), Nathan Scott (SB), Justin Lowry (DB) and Kyle Svagerko (LB); Cloverleaf’s Nick Soika (WR); Highland’s Hunter Meacham (OL) and Hunter Rinard (OL); Medina’s Collin Winters (DB), Nick Pankow (LB) and Brad Tschannen (OL) and Wadsworth’s Alex Jones (LB) and Kyle Green (OL).

Daniel Weinerman

Massillon Perry running back Keishaun Sims was the nomination for Mr. Football. The senior needs 7 rushing yards against Hudson to become the ninth player in Ohio history to reach 3,000 in a season.

The all-district teams were voted upon by Northeast Ohio media members and based on regular-season statistics.

YORK TWP. — Caught completely off-guard by scrappy and much-improved Buckeye on Monday, Lexi Civittolo, Jillian Miglich and the rest of the Cloverleaf girls basketball team woke up just in time.

Cloverleaf’s Lexi Civittolo scores over Buckeye’s Kaitlyn Hubeny and Madeline Smith (12) during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

Civittolo went bonkers in second half, Miglich, Helaina Limas and the bench played important supporting roles and the Colts cleaned up their rebounding woes to win the action-packed non-league game 68-50.

“We got yelled at at halftime — I’ll be honest with you,” said Civittolo, who scored 23 of her 27 points after recess.

Longtime coach John Carmigiano had every reason to be upset after he benched most his starters, including All-Ohioan Civittolo, in the second quarter, when the Bucks grabbed 24 offensive rebounds and took an equally unfathomable 37 shots while rallying from a double-digit deficit.

Luckily for Cloverleaf, backups McKenna Jordan, Erian Hamilton, Anna Winnicki and Kayla Wilson admirably held down the fort and gave the Colts a 31-27 halftime lead.

“Our bench definitely was a big plus tonight,” Carmigiano said.

Refueled and refocused, Civittolo and Miglich then took over.

The returning starters combined to outscore Buckeye 21-16 in the third, as Civittolo attacked the rim for 13 points and Miglich hit a pair of 3-pointers, including one in the closing seconds. Civittolo then drilled two threes sandwiched around free throws by Limas (12 points) that made the score 62-45 early in the fourth.

Buckeye (0-1), which reached 50 points for the first time in 14 games, never recovered.

“We started moving the ball well, but for whatever reason we let down,” Miglich said. “In the locker room, we got brought up by the coaches and pushed each other to bring (our spirits) back up and get the lead again.”

Despite missing six of her first seven shots and sitting for most of the second quarter, Civittolo finished with another stat-stuffing line of 27 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and three blocks. Pseudo point guard Miglich added 16 points, while guard Ava Illig chipped in seven points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Cloverleaf was outrebounded 64-42, but that number was skewed by a 31-9 second quarter. Backup center Jordan (9 rebounds, 4 blocks) also kept it from being worse.

“(Rebounding has) been a problem for us a couple games and scrimmages now,” Civittolo said. “We’re not a huge team, so we know that’s something we have to get collectively better at. We really tried to emphasize that in the second half.”

After falling behind 16-5, the Bucks settled down nicely in their first game under coach Ron Clady. Their quick, unselfish interior passing against the Colts’ zone was stout, but 18-for-86 shooting (.209) and poor transition defense early killed any chances for sustained momentum.

Power forward Samantha Hritz was stellar in her return to the program with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists. Backup post Kaitlyn Hubeny added six points and 10 boards, new point guard Kayla Glancy had nine points and three assists and shooting guard Olivia Hartley had nine points, five rebounds and four steals.

Even in defeat, Clady felt the performance was a good first impression.

“A lot it for us was we did what we wanted to do — we outrebounded them — but unfortunately a lot of missed shots would have changed some things,” he said. “We missed some shots we should have made, we got behind and it was a little tough to come back.”

Notes

• The Colts are 2-0 for the first time since 2008.
• Elizabeth Whetstone had 14 points as Buckeye’s junior varsity won 29-20. Maddie Boltz had seven points for Cloverleaf.

Cloverleaf 68, Buckeye 50
CLOVERLEAF 18 13 21 16 — 68
BUCKEYE 7 20 16 7 — 50
Cloverleaf — Helaina Limas 3-6-12, Lexi Civittolo 8-9-27, Taylor Barnum 2-0-4, Ava Illig 3-0-7, Jillian Miglich 6-0-16, Kassandra Kemp 0-0-0, McKenna Jordan 0-0-0, Kayla Wilson 0-0-0, Anna Winnicki 0-0-0, Erian Hamilton 1-0-2, Lisa Wangler 0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-15-68.
Buckeye — Alexa Eisenbrown 0-0-0, Samantha Hritz 3-4-10, Morgan Hama 2-1-5, Olivia Hartley 3-3-9, Kayla Glancy 4-0-9, Kaitlyn Hubeny 3-0-6, Maddie Smith 2-2-6, Gabby Glancy 2-0-5, Tori Avallone 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-10-50.
3-point goals — Miglich 4, Civittolo 2, Illig, K. Glancy, G. Glancy. Rebounds — Cloverleaf 42 (Civittolo 11), Buckeye 64 (Hritz, Hubeny 10). Assists — Cloverleaf 13 (Illig 5), Buckeye 10 (K. Glancy 3). Records — Cloverleaf (2-0), Buckeye (0-1). Junior varsity — Buckeye 29, Cloverleaf 20

WESTFIELD TWP. — Little things that went right were undone by a disastrous finish, but what encouraged Cloverleaf boys basketball coach Marty Ryan after a 67-44 season-opening loss to Rittman was the mistakes are correctable.

Cloverleaf’s Michael Martin goes up for a shot against Rittman’s Hunter Davis during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

The final score of the non-league game was misleading Friday, as the small, inexperienced Colts trailed by single digits late in the third quarter before trying to do way too much once they got uncomfortably behind.

Led by athletic 6-foot power forward Matt McMillan (25 points, 11 rebounds) and wing Austin Endress (15 points, 3-of-8 3-pointers), the Indians and their seven letterwinners took advantage of the skittishness by outscoring Cloverleaf 26-11 over the final 13:28.

“To Rittman’s credit, I think they came out pretty intense at the start of the second half,” Ryan said. “We didn’t handle the intensity as well we probably should have, and I think that’s going to come with experience. We lack in experience, but we’ll put in this one in our pocket and build from it.”

Never showing lack of hustle with zero starters taller than 6-1, the Colts scored well in short stretches whenever someone could get off a transition jumper or driving layup before the defense got set.

Junior small forward Tyler Kapeluck worked the mid-range area and finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Senior shooting guard Timmy Schuerger added nine points, four boards and two assists despite battling foul trouble, while backup center Ryan Gutschow had eight points, two rebounds, a block and an assist in a one-man-show second quarter.

Cloverleaf shot the ball respectably at 18-for-40 (45 percent), blocked six shots and had 12 assists. It also calmed the early storm when Rittman, which also didn’t start anyone taller than 6-1, jumped to 22-13 lead after one quarter.

“We came out and I thought we were running the ball pretty well,” Ryan said. “First half, we were getting some good shots, getting some good looks and a lot of hustle on defense.”

Unfortunately for the Colts, they couldn’t handle the second time they faced adversity.

Cloverleaf, which was outrebounded 34-24, 5-for-10 at the foul line and 3-for-17 from 3-point range, trailed only 41-33 when Schuerger picked up his fourth foul with 5:28 left in the third. The Colts kept the deficit manageable for a couple minutes — mainly because Rittman shot 5-for-22 in the period — but a 13-2 run to begin the fourth quarter was devastating.

While the Indians executed well, the splurge was fed mainly by Cloverleaf over-aggressiveness. Overextending the zone defense and gambling led to high-post attacks by McMillan, while chuck-it-and-pray 3-point attempts allowed Rittman to add some transition points.

That, along with rebounding fundamentals, was what Ryan stressed to his team afterward.

“We’ve got to find a way to put together four quarters of basketball,” he said. “That’s something that was kind of our Achilles heel last year as well.”

Note

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

Rittman 67, Cloverleaf 44

RITTMAN                                22  13  14  18  —  67

CLOVERLEAF                       13  15   7    9   —  44

Rittman — Austin Endress 5-2-15, Matt McMillan 8-7-25, Brian Ramsier 3-0-6, Todd Ramsier 1-1-3, Wililam Schwartz 3-0-7, Cade Cook 2-0-6, Hunter Davis 1-0-2, Connor Like 1-0-3, Jacob Stuart 0-0-0, Brandon Cutright 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-10-67.

Cloverleaf — Tyler Kapeluck 5-2-13, Travis Hissom 1-1-3, Jeff Gilbert 2-0-4, Timmy Schuerger 4-0-9, Michael Martin 1-0-2, Austin Greer 0-0-0, Ryan Gutschow 4-0-8, Kevin Heishman 1-1-4, Levi Grimm 0-0-0, Joe Rhode 0-0-0, Garrett Clingan 0-1-1. TOTALS: 18-5-44.

3-point goals — Endress 3, McMillan 2, Cook 2, Schwartz, Like, Kapeluck, Schuerger, Heishman. Rebounds — Rittman 34 (McMillan 11), Cloverleaf 24 (Schuerger, Martin, Kapeluck 4). Assists — Rittman 14 (Cook 4), Cloverleaf 12 (Martin, Gilbert 3). Records — Rittman 67, Cloverleaf 35.

MEDINA — The bumps, bruises and floor burns may become deranged badges of honor for the Medina girls basketball team.

Winning in heart-palpitating fashion is euphoric like that.

Medina’s Amanda Holzman goes up for a shot against Highland’s Kathleen Kirchner during the fourth quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

On the hardwood version of life support early in the fourth quarter Saturday, the Bees turned angry and began attacking all over Richard H. Clevidence Gymnasium against undermanned but hard-nosed Highland. The defense-oriented comeback was methodical, but successful and thrilling nonetheless.

Chemistry-laden Medina couldn’t contain its excitement following the non-league game with tournament-level intensity.

Final score: Bees 46, Hornets 41 after Team Better Together scored 17 of the final 19 points.

“Oh, my gosh. It hasn’t even hit me yet,” said giddy Medina power forward Amanda Holzman, who scored the go-ahead bucket. “I’m overwhelmed. This is insane. It’s an amazing feeling.

“It started with the bench. Everybody was talking and loud. One play after another, we just kept going.”

Down 39-29 with approximately seven minutes left after Alli Esker nailed her second career 3-pointer, the Bees’ full-court, arms-flying-everywhere zone pressure fueled a 15-0 run that saw seven different players score and sixth man Margaret Swiecicki wreck havoc with tipped balls.

Medina took the lead with 2:04 to go when Hiram recruit Clover Kaple found Holzman (11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks) for a hoop-and-harm — Holzman missed the free throw — and then went up 42-39 when Holzman nailed a one-handed floater 29 seconds later.

Without starting point guard Sam Catron (family vacation) and committing 11 fourth-quarter turnovers, Highland followed with two critical misses from point-blank range. The Hornets finally answered when Emily Lyon hit a runner in the key.

Fortunately for Medina, Kaple (team-high 12 points) made the back end of a double-bonus to make it 45-41 with 14.3 seconds to go and Highland failed to score again.

“Proud, gritty and gutsy are the three words that sum it up,” said third-year Bees coach Karen Kase, whose team also got eight points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists from All-Gazette pick Jessie Holzman.

With the way the Hornets were playing defensively for the first 25 minutes, a glorious Medina rally appeared unlikely.

Mixing well-timed half-court traps with occasional full-court pressure, Highland rolled early behind Valparaiso recruit Marlee Profitt (16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals) and hustle-machine Madison Less (11, 6 rebounds, 6 steals). The Hornets held Medina scoreless for the first 3:25 of the second quarter — Kathleen Kirchner also sparkled defensively — and led 22-11 with 3:45 left in the half.

The warning signs popped up before the collapse, however, as Highland missed eight straight shots in the third quarter when it could have buried Medina, which shot 2-for-12 in the period. In fact, the Hornets had a 10-point lead heading into the fourth mainly because Profitt flipped on beast mode and scored six straight Highland points.

With a big Suburban League American Division opener against Revere on Wednesday, the crunch-time letdown was difficult to swallow.

“The biggest thing I can take away from this is the season is still long,” second-year coach Mike Moser said. “There’s a lot that we can learn, (especially) patience on offense. We’ve got to get better at knocking down free throws (8-for-14), and we’ve got to work on our zone offense attack.”

Note
Brittany Farley had nine points as Medina’s junior varsity won 28-20. Hannah Zuro had 15 points for the Hornets.

Medina 46, Highland 41
HIGHLAND 12 15 8 6 — 41
MEDINA 8 11 6 21 — 46
Highland — Kathleen Kirchner 1-0-2, Alli Esker 2-0-6, Marlee Profitt 7-2-16, Madison Less 3-4-11, Veronica Peterlin 0-0-0, Alaina Monroe 1-1-3, Emily Lyon 1-1-3, Lauren Zuro 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-8-41.
Medina — Delaney Cullen 1-0-3, Amanda Holzman 4-3-11, Emma Bobey 1-1-3, Jessie Holzman 1-6-8, Clover Kaple 4-2-12, Margaret Swiecicki 2-0-4, Anna Marie Smith 1-0-2, Abby Teske 1-0-3, Olivia Hutchman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-12-46.
3-point goals — Esker 2, Less, Kaple 2, Teske, Cullen. Rebounds — Highland 31 (Profitt 9), Medina 28 (A. Holzman 8). Assists — Highland 7 (Less 3), Medina 8 (Swiecicki, J. Holzman 2). Records — Highland (1-1), Medina (2-1). Junior varsity — Medina 28, Highland 20.

WESTFIELD TWP. — The two most obvious casual observations of the extremely young 2015-16 Medina County boys basketball season are this: Medina has a super duper tall kid (7-foot Michigan recruit Jon Teske) and Cloverleaf can’t rebound.

Playing nothing like a team that won a meager six games a year ago, Revere owned the glass so convincingly Monday its post players looked like those overdeveloped 8-year-olds who dominate youth games because they’re simply taller than everyone else.

The scoreboard eventually read 83-38 in a non-league decision that only got worse as the night drug on, as the Colts (0-2) were outrebounded 54-23, with 27-10 and 27-13 splits by half.

The good news? The 45-point margin of defeat didn’t crack the top 10 in Cloverleaf history.

“We’ve got to keep working,” Colts coach Marty Ryan said. “We lack experience and we lack size. Like we talked about last game (a 67-44 loss to Rittman on Friday), we have to box out and do things fundamentally sound. We can’t afford to not be fundamentally sound.

“We obviously got killed on the boards today, and I think that’s our biggest detriment.”

The Minutemen (1-0) didn’t exactly roll into the gym with a bunch of giants, as only perimeter-oriented 6-foot-8 sophomore Pete Nance (9 points, 8 rebounds), son of former NBA All-Star Larry Nance, was taller than 6-3.

Regardless, rebounding against a Colts starting lineup that has no one taller than 6-1 was easy, as Revere had six offensive rebounds while grabbing a 19-6 lead after one quarter. The Minutemen then stretched the advantage to 35-17 behind hot-shooting small forward Mike Hill (20 points).

Backup center George Russell led Revere with nine rebounds, while third-string center David Hill posted eight points and three boards in six minutes. Even fourth-year player and 3-point gunner Teddy Hughes (13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) got in on the fun.

Cloverleaf has been outrebounded 88-47 in two games.

“We didn’t box out aggressively and we weren’t fighting for position,” Ryan said. “(Revere) had height on us, but they really did a good job of getting position on the ball.”

Adding to the Colts’ misery was shooting, as they went 15-for-62 (.242) from the floor, 6-for-24 (.250) from 3-point range and 2-for-8 (.250) from the foul line.

Senior guard Timmy Schuerger had 10 second-half points and finished with 17 points on 6-for-19 shooting along with five rebounds and two assists. Fellow letterwinner Michael Martin added 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting to go with three steals and a team-high three assists.

The nine other players had nine points on 4-for-31 shooting.

“We have to be a team that can hit some outside shots if we’re going to be (in the game),” Ryan said. “They just weren’t falling today like I’d like them to. There are some shots I wish we wouldn’t have taken, but a lot of them were good looks.”

Note
Former Strongsville girls basketball coach Bill Cash was in attendance supporting his son Matt, the lead varsity assistant for longtime Revere coach Dean Rahas.

Joe Maloney had 10 points as Cloverleaf’s junior varsity lost 61-41.

Revere 83, Cloverleaf 38
REVERE 19 16 26 22 — 83
CLOVERLEAF 6 11 14 7 — 38
Revere — Mike Hill 8-2-20, Kyle Benson 2-3-8, Pete Nance 4-1-9, Lance Milovancev 2-0-5, Teddy Hughes 4-2-13, George Russell 2-2-6, Samson Albert 2-1-6, Joe Boyer 0-3-3, Kyle Tretter 1-1-3, David Hill 2-4-8, Charlie Fink 0-0-0, Jack Schloss 1-0-2, Mason Owens 0-0-0. TOTALS: 28-19-83.
Cloverleaf — Tyler Kapeluck 2-1-5, Travis Hissom 0-0-0, Jeff Gilbert 1-0-2, Timmy Schuerger 6-1-17, Michael Martin 5-0-12, Ryan Gutschow 1-0-2, Levi Grimm 0-0-0, Austin Greer 0-0-0, Kevin Heishman 0-0-0, Joe Rohde 0-0-0, Garrett Clingan 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-2-38.
3-point goals — Hughes 3, Hill 2, Benson, Milovancev, Albert, Schuerger 4, Martin 2. Rebounds — Revere 54 (Russell 9), Cloverleaf 23 (Schuerger, Gilbert 5). Assists — Revere 18 (Hughes 5), Cloverleaf 11 (Martin 3). Records — Revere (1-0), Cloverleaf (0-2). Junior varsity — Revere 61, Cloverleaf 41.

Trevor Thome’s record-smashing statistics, Hunter Gray’s ability to do the dirty work and Nathan Polidori’s dual-threat skills have officially garnered statewide attention.

The Buckeye standout football players were named to the second, third and special mention teams, respectively, when the Division III All-Ohio squads were announced by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

A 5-foot-8, 180-pound slotback, Thome was the heart and soul of a Bucks team that went 10-0 in the regular season for just the second time in school history (2005). The four-year starter posted the seventh-highest point total in Medina County history (176) while compiling 978 yards rushing and 444 receiving despite sitting most of eight fourth quarters because of blowouts.

Also a hard-hitting free safety and punt returner, Thome was special mention as a junior.

Gray picked up the most significant accolade in his two-year career after holding down left tackle on one of the highest scoring teams in Ohio (41.7 ppg). The 6-1, 228-pound junior also played defensive end and is a nationally ranked long-snapper by Kohl’s Professional Camps.

Polidori (5-11, 175) was a flashy home-run threat at quarterback, throwing for 1,168 yards, running for 663 more and accounting for 27 touchdowns. He also returned punts and played cornerback in a part-time role.

The senior, who broke a school record with 35 career TD passes, was best known for a tremendous performance against playoff qualifier Rocky River, when he had 281 yards total offense (219 rushing, 62 passing), three rushing TDs, one passing TD and a 90-yard kickoff return in the 42-28 win.

Players in The Gazette’s 43-school coverage area to earn first-team accolades Tuesday were Firelands quarterback Brad Thrasher and lineman Aaron Miller in D-IV. The Falcons lost to Buckeye 42-7.

All-Ohio teams
COLUMBUS — The Associated Press 2015 Division III All-Ohio football teams:
DIVISION III
First Team
OFFENSE: Ends—Zach Rieman, Clyde, 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, senior; Tyler Adams, Louisville, 6-0, 175, jr; Justin Layne, Benedictine, 6-3, 180, sr. Linemen—Justin Clark, Cincinnati Mount Healthy, 6-5, 260, jr; Corey Crawford, Wapakoneta, 6-4, 270, sr.; T.J. Betalvski, Benedictine, 6-1, 295, sr.; Alex Hall, Louisville, 6-6, 266, sr.; John Corcella, Bexley, 5-10, 170, jr.; Kyle Swinderman, New Philadelphia, 5-11, 265, sr. Quarterbacks—David Montgomery, Cincinnati Mount Healthy, 5-11, 225, sr.; Logan Alexander, Elida, 6-0, 205, sr.; Jacob Adams, Louisville, 6-1, 185, sr. Backs—Zacciah Saltzman, Athens, 5-11, 210, sr.; Raveion Hargrove, Trotwood-Madison, 5-7, 165, so.; Nick Best, Bay, 6-0, 205, sr.; Michael Warren, Toledo Central Catholic, 5-10, 200, jr.; Ronnie Kuipers, Columbus Independence, 5-11, 170, sr. Kicker— Matt Goepfert, Rocky River, 5-11, 170, sr.
DEFENSE: Linemen—Jonah Morris, Hoban, 6-4, 200, sr.; Billy Cooper, Jackson, 6-0, 205, jr.; Adam Gilles, Columbus Watterson, 6-2, 208, sr.; Conner Bogard, Benedictine, 6-1, 295, sr.; Nivek Lewis, Ashland, 5-11, 195, sr.; Ian Meacham, Toledo Central Catholic, 6-0, 245, sr. Linebackers—Blake Bollon, New Philadelphia, 6-1, 200, jr.; Zach Sandwisch, Toledo Central Catholic, 6-2, 215, sr.; Roland Walder, Trotwood-Madison, 6-3, 230, sr.; Leondre Crosby, Zanesville, 6-0, 220, sr.; Jacob Esarco, Canfield, 6-4, 243, sr. Backs—Jacob Long, Columbus Hamilton Township, 6-1, 185, sr.; Warren Saba, Benedictine, 5-10, 180, sr. Punter—Zach Hoover, Toledo Central Catholic, 6-2, 165, sr.
Offensive players of the year: David Montgomery, Cincinnati Mount Healthy.
Defensive player of the year: Zach Sandwisch, Toledo Central Catholic.
Coach of the year: Travis Moyer, Wapakoneta
Second Team
Offense: Ends—Tyrell Ajian, Mansfield Madison, 6-1, 187, jr.; Adam Shaw, Carrollton, 5-8, 145, jr.; Alessio Amato, Zanesville, 5-11, 190, sr. Linemen—Christian Swauger, Columbus Hamilton Township, 6-1, 280, sr.; Zack Yackey, Dover, 6-1, 270, jr.; Jacob Kepler, Hoban, 6-0, 270, sr.; Zach Corrigall, St. Vincent-St. Mary, 6-3, 265, sr.; Aaron Gregory, Norton, 6-5, 280, jr.; Coulter Wilson, Zanesville, 6-6, 315, sr. Quarterbacks—Hunter Sexton, Jackson, 5-11, 215, sr.; Logan Bitikofer, New Philadelphia, 6-4, 190, jr.; Dom Davis, St. Vincent-St. Mary, 6-1, 185, sr.; Cam Searight, West Geauga, 5-11, 185, jr. Backs—Nate Rosenbauer, Chillicothe, 5-9, 170, sr.; Derrione Leeper, Columbus Marion-Franklin, 5-10, 225, sr.; Tyler Carter, New Philadelphia, 5-5, 145, sr.; Todd Sibley, Archbishop Hoban, Jr., 5-10, 205; Tray Smith, Painesville Harvey, 5-9, 175, sr.; Jakob Prall, Tippecanoe, 6-2, 179, sr.; TREVOR THOME, BUCKEYE, 5-8, 180, sr.; Dylan Garver, Poland, 6-0, 185, sr. Kicker—.Dominic DiMaccio, Columbus DeSales, 5-8, 160, jr.; Grant Kersh, Hoban, 5-11, 180, jr.
Defense: Linemen—Willie Ross, Ravenna, 6-2, 255, sr.; Tristen Cox, Piqua, 6-4, 331, jr.; Dillon Allen, Dayton Thurgood Marshall, 6-4, 285, sr.; Derrius Mullins, Columbus DeSales, 6-4, 315, jr.; Bryce Hargrove, Coventry, 6-6, 260, sr.; Manny Carrillo, Bowling Green, 6-2, 250, sr. Linebackers—Davvel Moore-Meeks, Benedictine, 6-2, 195, sr.; Joe Fornaro, West Geauga, 6-1, 210, sr.; Victor Williams, Warren Howland, 6-0, 185, jr.; Dane Kersh, Hoban, 6-2, 220, sr. Backs— Joe DeBarr, Bay, 5-10, 180, sr.; Cole Gergye, Bay 6-3, 185, sr.; Jack Corrigan, Rocky River, 6-2, 190, sr.; Riley Hadden, Tippecanoe, 6-0, 149, sr. Punter— Quincy Colvin, Columbus Eastmoor Academy, 5-11, 245, sr.; Will Hart, Hunting Valley University School, 6-3, 190, sr.
Third Team
Offense: Ends— Eean Hornung, Mount Orab Western Brown, 5-10, 165, sr. Linemen—Maxton Edgerly, Bay, 6-4, 255, jr.; HUNTER GRAY, BUCKEYE, 6-1, 228, jr. Backs—Cameron Lauck, Wapakoneta, 5-10, 170, sr.; Markus Hurd, St. Vincent-St. Mary, 5-10; 185, sr.; Jemarulin Suggs, Akron East, 5-11, 180, jr.
Defense: Linemen—Mason Giordano, Canfield, 6-2, 250, jr.; Tommy Carnifax, Warren Howland, 6-5, 250, sr. Linebackers—Ryan Corkrean, Columbus DeSales, 6-2, 215, jr.; Jared Cockerell, Wapakoneta, 6-1, 205, sr.; Derek Grosse, Thornville Sheridan, 5-10, 185, sr.; Caleb Shroyer, Bellbrook, 5-10, 183, sr.
Special Mention
Gabe Miller, Delaware Buckeye Valley; Rodell Rahmann, Columbus Beechcroft; Aidan Tuttle, Columbus Whetstone; Michael Schweitzer, Columbus Watterson; Chad Douglas, Columbus Independence; Travis Geiger, Marion-Franklin; Aarin Smoot-Baker, Columbus Beechcroft; Patrick Robinson, Columbus Hamilton Township; Rico Truss, Bexley; Dominic DiMaccio, Columbus DeSales; Izzy Keller, Bexley; Jeffrey Owens, Columbus Eastmoor Academy; Austin Jewell, Columbus Hamilton Township; Sam Lewis, Columbus Watterson; Jamari Walker, Columbus Marion-Franklin; Austin Andrews, Columbus DeSales; Nick Cooper, Delaware Buckeye Valley; Justin King, Columbus Marion-Franklin; Adam Shaw, Carrollton; Derek Grandstaff, Zanesville; Brenton Miller, Carrollton; Braden Young, New Philadelphia; DeAndre Clark, Dover; Jakob Green, Carrollton; Joe Delatore, New Philadelphia; Tavian Butts, Zanesville; Aaron Ashby; Tucker Hill, New Philadelphia; Sekou Imani, Dover; Javier Madinger-Rush, Zanesville; R.J. Harris, Zanesville; Brody Robinson, Carrollton; Drue Nolen, Dover; Braydon Hoskinson, McConnelsville Morgan; Ben Kaufman, Zanesville; Jacob Knapp, Carrollton; Daniel Van Gilder, Dover; Garrett Floyd, Marlington; Dusty Burkhart, Coventry; Malik Wooldridge, St. Vincent-St. Mary; Jack Pallante, Canfield; Danny Clark, Hoban; Grant Kersh, Hoban; Eric Bentley, St. Vincent-St. Mary; Frankie Falcone, Louisville; Niko Lalos, St. Vincent-St. Mary; Brandon Tuck-Hayden, Buchtel; NATHAN POLIDORI, BUCKEYE; Tyler Gilchrist, Hoban; Derrick Harvey Jr., Buchtel; Michael Rusu, Canfield; Tyler Smith, Poland Seminary; Marquis Sams, Buchtel; Ryan Teminsky, Canfield; Jayden Cunningham, Hunting Valley University School; Dontez Rash, Benedictine; Brad Rehak, Hunting Valley University School; Michael Archiable, Chesterland West Geauga; Domenic Marinucci, Mentor Lake Catholic; Colin Shirley, Rocky River; Christian Topazio-Ackley, West Geauga; DeAndre Penny, Benedictine; Mike Picciuto, West Geauga; Jack Dawson, Chagrin Falls; Adam Dulka, University School; Max Feldman, University School; John Wolfe, Ashland; Javian Martin, Toledo Central Catholic; Sean Williams, Mansfield Madison; Brian Wilkerson, Clyde; Evan Sparks, Sandusky Perkins; Grant Denbow, Ashland; Tyrique Sharpe, Sandusky Perkins; Tristan Meyer, Wapakoneta; James Hudson, Toledo Central Catholic; Garit Witt, Clyde; Alex Webb, Ashland; Jake Jenne, Clyde; Kea’Shaun Phillips, Toledo Central Catholic; Tre’Von Wade, Toledo Central Catholic; Tony Gerrell, Lexington; Matt Schweinfurth, Sandusky Perkins; Quintin Davidson, Chillicothe; Travis Moore, Marietta; Kristian Boltenhouse, Chillicothe; Heath Wiseman, Athens; Ryan Hagan, Hillsboro; Austin Leach, Jackson; Elijah Woolum, Jackson; Austin Yoak, Marietta; Matthew Hottinger, Washington Court House Miami Trace; A.J. Bryant, Thornville Sheridan; Dominic Vanfossen, Marietta; Larry Jackson, Washington Court House Miami Trace; Tim Ousley, McArthur Vinton County; Sheldon Moore, Jackson; Dylan Cochran, Athens; Isaac Bocook, Chillicothe; Jakob Staggs, Chillicothe; Raymon Potter, Jackson; Khaleel Danzy, Chillicothe; Collin Massie, Jackson; Dylan Beaugard, Wilmington; Trent Clark, Trotwood-Madison; Tyler Sammons, New Richmond; Andrew Reenan, Cincinnati Northwest; Darien Tipps-Clemons; Davian Lankford, Dayton Belmont; Paul Young, Hamilton Ross; Nick Staderman, Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas; Payton Standifer, Franklin; Logan Eldridge, Greenville; JaVonte Williams, Cincinnati Mount Healthy; Thomas Richardson, Dayton Thurgood Marshall; Trenten Scott, Franklin; Brandon Gottherdt, Tipp City Tippecanoe.

DIVISION IV
First Team
OFFENSE: Ends—Terrance Landers, Dayton Dunbar, 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, senior; Charles Reeves, Steubenville, 6-6, 240, jr.; Trey Pugh, Plain City Jonathan Alder, 6-5, 215, jr. Linemen—Tyler Wilson, Wauseon, 6-1, 191, sr.; Giacamo Cappabianca, Youngstown Ursuline, 6-1, 265, sr.; Thomas Casmir, Columbus Hartley, 6-0, 230, jr.; Haydn Lewis, St. Clairsville, 6-4, 270, sr.; Sean Sherman, Middletown Bishop Fenwick, 6-3, 265, sr.; Chris Beech, Kettering Archbishop Alter, 6-3, 285, sr. Quarterbacks— Dimitri Collaros, Steubenville, 5-9, 165, sr.; Brad Thrasher, Firelands, 5-11, 175, sr.; Alec Foos, Bellevue, 6-1, 180, jr.; Cody Bartrum, Pomeroy Meigs, 6-1, 180, jr.; Reed Aichholz, Indian Hill, 6-5, 220, jr. Backs—Michael Johnson, London, 6-3, 200, sr.; Logan Thut, Crestwood, 6-2, 185, jr.; Davey Tunon, Clarksville Clinton-Massie, 5-8, 170, sr.; Johnnie Blue, Steubenville, 5-11, 215, sr. Kicker—Max Righetti, Salem, 6-0, 173 sr.
DEFENSE: Linemen—Cody Howard, Carroll Bloom-Carroll, 6-0, 245, sr.; Chase Struewing, Waynesville, 6-0, 245, sr.; Aaron Miller, Firelands, 5-10, 225, sr.; Josh Spurgeon, Napoleon, 6-3, 230, sr. Linebackers—Brendan Ferns, St. Clairsville, 6-3, 220, sr.; Jabbar Price, Youngstown Ursuline, 6-5, 220, sr.; Nick Lauria, Perry, 6-3, 210. sr.; Jacob Flory, Wauseon, 5-11, 209, sr.; Ben Hinton, Middletown Bishop Fenwick, 6-2, 220, sr. Backs—Stephen Saxton, Circleville Logan Elm, 6-0, 190, sr.; Josh Petruccelli, Perry, 5-10, 180, jr.; Andrew Armstrong, Youngstown Mooney, 6-2, 215, sr.; Josh Whitcomb, Wauseon, 5-10, 140, sr. Punter— Cody Workman, Johnstown Monroe, 5-11, 165, jr.
Offensive player of the year: Michael Johnson, London
Defensive player of the year: Brendan Ferns, St. Clairsville
Coach of the year: Joe Snively, Middletown Bishop Fenwick
Second Team
OFFENSE: Ends—Ben Davis, Byesville Meadowbrook, 5-9, 160, sr.; Lance Billings, Clearview, 6-1, 180, sr.; Dudley Taw, Brookside, 6-2, 195, sr.; Luke Farrell, Perry, 6-6, 242, sr. Linemen—Jake Grasso, Firelands, 6-0, 290 sr.; Jake Garrison, Clarksville Clinton-Massie, 6-3, 285; Jeff Nogaj, Johnstown Monroe, 6-5, 325, jr.; Jacob Jones, London, 6-3, 260, so.; Chase Gore, Bellevue, 6-4, 240, sr. Quarterbacks—Michael Camp, Circleville, 6-4, 165, sr.; Mason Lydic, Woodridge, 5-11, 170, so.; Aaron Latiolais, Heath, 5-9, 165, jr.; Brennan Armstrong, Shelby, 6-2, 190, so. Backs—Jayden Davis, Springfield Kenton Ridge, 5-11, 190, sr.; Brandon Rios, Hubbard, 6-2, 218, sr.; Kimauni Johnson, Youngstown Ursuline, 5-10, 190, sr.; Chase Roberts, Zanesville Maysville, 5-11, 170, sr.; Quri Hickman, Columbus Hartley, 5-10, 220, sr.; Jordan Leasure, Amanda-Clearcreek, 6-1, 204, sr. Kicker—Connor Davis, Lewistown Indian Lake, 5-10, 170, sr.
DEFENSE: Linemen—Tyler Shobe, Lima Bath, 6-0, 196, sr.; Allija Lantzer, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley, 5-10, 175, sr. Linebackers—Colin Costanzo, Parma Heights Holy Name, 5-11, 200, jr.; Alex Sturgill, Conneaut, 6-2, 210, sr.; Joey Davidson, Lewistown Indian Lake, 6-0, 205, sr.; Bo Gross, Lima Bath, 6-1, 220, jr.; Jake Stewart, St. Clairsville, 6-2, 210, sr. Backs—Jordan Fabry, Crestwood, 6-3, 175, jr.; Nick Gaspro, Woodridge, 5-8, 145, sr.; Devin Hessler, Caledonia River Valley, 5-9, 160, sr.; Nick Bray, Vermilion, 5-11, 165, sr.; Alex Vredenburgh, Ontario, 5-10, 170, sr. Punter— Layne Schmitz-Paxton, Napoleon, 6-4, 189, sr., Napoleon.
Third Team
OFFENSE: Linemen—Jared Wright, Vermilion, 6-2, 275, sr.; Zach Williams, Indian Creek, 5-10, 225, sr. Quarterbacks—Konnor Roberts, Byesville Meadowbrook, 5-11, 180, jr.; Brady Cotsmire, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley, 6-0, 180, sr. Backs—George Hill, Hubbard, 6-1, 200, sr.; Jeremiah Knight, Jefferson Area, 5-11, 165, jr. Evan Brown-Fugate, Brookside, 5-10, 190, sr.; Emerson Lowe, Port Clinton, 5-9, 195, jr. Defense Linemen—Josh Sills, Byesville Meadowbrook, 6-6, 315, sr.; Devon McFeaters, Brookside, 5-9, 200, sr. Linebackers—Jeremy Blue, Steubenville, 5-10, 190, sr.; Michael Hoecht, Dayton Oakwood, 6-4, 265, sr.; Ryan LaBanc, Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, 6-2, 215, sr. Punter— A.J. Musolino, Struthers, 6-3, 205, jr.
Special Mention
Rian Anderson, Columbus Hartley; Cameron Downs, Hebron; Jaqui Vanmeter, Newark Licking Valley; Jacob Ware, Marengo Highland; Aaron Latiolais, Heath; Satchel Denton, Marengo Highland; Zach Baker, Marengo Highland; Jonny Chatfield, Johnstown Monroe; Elijah Senior, Heath; Hayden Bullard, Johnstown Monroe; Nash Fry, Caledonia River Valley; Cody Kirkbride, Columbus Hartley; Garrett Robinson; Newark Licking Valley; Elijah Brechbill, Newark Licking Valley; Richard Jones III, Columbus Hartley; Andrew Koening, Plain City Jonathan Alder; Zach Bigelow, St. Clairsville; Cory Carlisle, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley; Robert Johnston, Lisbon Beaver; Parker Black, Byesville Meadowbrook; Ross Love, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley; Koby Cool, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley; AJ Cochrun, Steubenville; Nik Smith, Zanesville Maysville; Matt Greenwood, St. Clairsville; TJ Love, Byesville Meadowbrook; Jonathan Dailey, Wintersville Indian Creek; Carson Ernest, St. Clairsville; Seth Biacco, Steubenville; Jacob Skinner, Philo; Tahlor Macenko, Zanesville Maysville, Dalton Poland, Byesville Meadowbrook, Garth Charlton, Cambridge; Alec Love, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley; Jason Keyes, Lisbon Beaver; Clay Mercer, Zanesville Maysville; Robert Coppa, Wintersville Indian Creek; Jake Pershing, Cambridge; Mandela Lawrence-Burke, Steubenville; Chase Himmelspach, Zanesville Maysville; Adam Fox, Cambridge;
Jake Humeniuk, Salem; KeShun Jones, Streetsboro; Dontae Craft, Woodridge; Aaron Mantua Crestwood; A.J. Iarussi, Struthers; Matt Weingart, Salem; Jerry Judd, Streetsboro; Trae Hillyer, West Branch; King Alfred Sanders, Woodridge; David McDowell, Youngstown Mooney; Cameron Morgue, Mantua Crestwood; Matt Whittenberger, Hubbard, Ray Anderson, Youngstown Mooney; Spencer Robinson, Woodridge; Nick Boldt, Cortland Lakeview; Matt Brink, Girard; Johnathan Williams, Streetsboro; Michael Picone, Crestwood; Cooper Bezeredi, Salem; Luke Kruse, Field; Dawalyn Washington, Youngstown Ursuline; Jackson Burdyshaw, Perry; Austin Conrad, Keystone; Travis Bradley, Jefferson Area; Connor Vandeweel, Perry; Michael Johnson, Ashtabula Edgewood; Manni Malone, Chardon Notre Dame; Marcus Ernst, Ashtabula Edgewood; Andy Foley, Perry; Hunter Bean, Jefferson Area; Jonah Pfeil, Vermilion; Devin Tuttle, Shelby; Aiden Rospert, Port Clinton; Logan McDermott, Ottawa-Glandorf; Seth Linder, Bellevue; Nolan Smith, Van Wert; Casey Cotter, Napoleon; Collin Underwood, Oak Harbor; Bryce Ray, Bellevue; Devon Brooks, Shelby; Logan Peckinpaugh, Napoleon; Danny Hench, Wauseon; Aarin Tillman, Kenton; Dylan Shaffer, Shelby; Alex Andrews, Napoleon; Chase Clark, Lima Bath; Ryan Stoller, Van Wert; Erique Hosley, Chillicothe Unioto; Marcus Paul, Circleville Logan Elm; Kaileb Sheets, Pomeroy Meigs; Andrew Spicer, New Lexington; Zach Finley, Circleville Logan Elm; Trevor Hicks, Washington Court House Washington; Cade Marquez, Waverly; Aaron Manson, Circleville; Connor Warden, Circleville; Colton Lilly, Pomeroy Meigs; Clay Edler, Chillicothe Unioto; Drew Harris, Waverly; Aaron Greer, Washington Court House Washington; Bowen Boldoser, Circleville Logan Elm; Austin Houser, Chillicothe Unioto; Colton Atkinson, Pomeroy Meigs; Christian Redman, Circleville; Colin Woodside, Lancaster Fairfield Union; Kole Carter, Gallipolis Gallia Academy; Hunter Sunkle, Lancaster Fairfield Union; Alex Hollar, Greenfield McClain; Jarret Matthews, Bellefontaine Benjamin Logan; Hunter Fentress, Clarksville Clinton-Massie; Cody Boxrucker, Hamilton Badin; Jeffery Pooler, Dayton Dunbar; Dominic Valentino, Hamilton Badi David Rueth, Kettering Archbishop Alter; Dan Becker, Cincinnati Indian Hill; Philip Dozier, Hamilton Badin; Williams, Dayton Meadowdale; Mason Rogers, Cincinnati Wyoming,; Ryan McNerny, Monroe.

GRANGER TWP. — The best-players-on-the-court effect saved Brunswick’s boys basketball team.

Behind another mistake-free performance from All-Gazette point guard Michael Quiring and a huge second quarter from left-hander Kevin Simmons, the Blue Devils did just enough to put away scrappy, inexperienced Highland 48-38 in non-league play Tuesday.

Brunswick’s Michael Quiring drives past Highland’s Collin Levandowski during the second quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

Outside of a 22-6 advantage in the second quarter, Brunswick (1-0) looked out of sync and had defensive breakdowns that allowed the Hornets (1-1) to claw back into a game that teetered on the brink of blowout status.

The Blue Devils were not happy whatsoever, especially since they open Greater Cleveland Conference play Friday at high-octane Mentor.

“Sloppy,” Quiring said. “We expected to execute a little bit better. We didn’t come out and do that. We missed a lot of shots — a lot of easy ones down low — and we didn’t play well defensively.

“We were really lazy defensively. If we do that Friday, it will show on the scoreboard. We know if we do that against Mentor, they’re going to light us up. We need to be more active.”

Quiring was the most consistent player on the court with 16 points, three rebounds and a team-high three assists while not committing a turnover. Simmons was brilliant in spurts and added a solid all-around line of 17 points, seven boards and four steals. He had 10 points in the second quarter.

Brunswick committed just seven turnovers overall and was 7-for-14 from the floor while nailing five 3-pointers in the deciding second quarter, but was 8-for-33 (.242) otherwise. Ball movement was inconsistent and inside scoring was non-existent outside of drives to the rim.

The Blue Devils were more disappointed with their defense after watching a comfortable lead slip to 38-31 with 3:45 left. Highland had a bunch of good looks, but was 11-for-37 over the final three quarters.

“We struggled defensively,” Simmons said. “We just weren’t playing hard enough, but we fought through it and got a couple buckets late.”

“(Highland) just kept coming back on us,” Quiring added, “but that’s a testament to their team. We just need to learn from it.”

The Hornets looked to be on the brink of collapse down 32-17 at halftime and looked all but dead after shooting 3-for-12 in a seven-point third quarter. But forward Brandon Shaw (16 points, 4 3-pointers) got hot, Brunswick took ill-advised shots and Highland rallied before reigning Medina County 3-point champion Zach Cebula nailed 4-of-4 free throws for the Blue Devils.

Outside of Shaw, the Hornets got six points and nine rebounds from center Joe Wiencek and six points, six boards and two assists from and sophomore two-guard Collin Rittman.

Highland’s biggest problem was failing to establish the 6-foot-6 Wiencek inside and instead fell in love with 3-pointers. As a result, the Hornets didn’t make a free throw until 3:45 remained.

“Our offense is behind right now, obviously,” first-year coach Adam Cestaro said. “Defensively I think we’re pretty sound in what we want to do, but offensively we’re not there yet. We’re not flowing nice and we’re not playing together enough. That was the difference.”

Brunswick struggled early, missing 15 of its first 19 shots. It finally got a spark from a player making his varsity debut, as freshman guard Kyle Goessler nailed a pair of 3-pointers from the top of the arc to put Brunswick ahead for good.

The big shots that led to “He’s a fresh-man” sing-song chants from the student section kick-started a 22-4 run that featured 10 points, three steals and an assist from Simmons.

Highland never recovered.

“(Goessler) stepped up big in that spurt for us,” Quiring said. “It showed us that we needed to pick it up as seniors because he’s coming in here ready to play. We needed to do the same thing.”

Notes
The first foul of the game was called with 7:08 left in the second quarter.

l Cameron Sasala had 14 points as Brunswick’s junior varsity won 53-39. Devin Myers had 15 points for the Hornets.

Brunswick 48, Highland 38
BRUNSWICK 10 22 6 10 — 48
HIGHLAND 11 6 7 14 — 38
Brunswick — Kevin Simmons 6-4-17, Zach Cebula 1-4-6, Aaron Badowski 0-0-0, Kyle Goessler 2-0-6, Michael Quiring 5-3-16, Zak Zografos 1-0-3, Austin Mick 0-0-0, Tyler Williams 0-0-0, Ryan Flynn 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-11-48.
Highland — Isaac Matejin 0-0-0, Brandon Shaw 5-2-16, Joe Wiencek 3-0-6, Collin Rittman 3-0-6, Collin Levandowski 1-0-2, Jake Mall 3-0-6, Tyler Frederick 0-0-0, Ethan Yerian 1-0-2. TOTALS: 16-2-38.
3-point goals — Quiring 3, Goessler 2, Zografos, Simmons, Shaw 4. Rebounds — Brunswick 26 (Simmons 7), Highland 33 (Wiencek 9). Assists — Brunswick 7 (Quiring 3), Highland 7 (Levandowski 3). Records — Brunswick (1-0), Highland (1-1). Junior varsity — Brunswick 53, Highland 39.

GRANGER TWP. — Ladies and gentlemen, there now is irrefutable proof that karma is real.

Highland’s Veronica Peterlin shoots over Revere’s Abby Brock during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)

The Highland and Revere girls basketball teams were in a dogfight Wednesday as the Suburban League American Division season tipped off. Much like they had all night, the Hornets were clinging to a three-possession lead that everyone sensed could flip in a heartbeat.

Then standout Highland center Marlee Profitt sliced through the key to grab an offensive rebound with 3½ minutes left, prompting a Revere fan to scream “C’mon, No. 11 is soft” in a half-disappointed tone.
Less than 10 seconds later, Profitt soared over a defender to grab a cross-key pass from Kathleen Kirchner and powered home a left-handed layup, igniting a closing stretch in which she outscored the entire Revere team.

With Profitt starring late and Veronica Peterlin coming through with a career performance, Highland hung on for a well-earned, wire-to-wire 55-40 victory.

The Minutemen (0-4, 0-1) were without injured stars Caitlin Vari (Akron recruit, knee) and Camryn Brown (High Point, wrist), but that didn’t matter for an experienced Hornets team coming off a gut-wrenching fourth-quarter collapse at Medina on Saturday.

“(Profitt) did what she needed to do,” Highland coach Mike Moser said. “She obviously is our go-to player offensively, and she again took that role on and realized she had to finish. She showed her leadership today.

“It’s a great win. All wins are great wins, but any time you play a team that is well-coached and has won consistently in the league, it’s always good to beat a good team, especially Revere.”

Profitt didn’t hear the smack talk but had seven points and three rebounds after the ill-advised comment echoed throughout the visiting bleachers. The 6-foot-1 center finished with game highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds, giving her season averages of 20.7 and 10.7.

Peterlin (career-high 16 points) was huge in the third quarter with 10 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers late with standout Revere post Viktoria Farian (3 points, 11 rebounds) on the bench with four fouls, while Sam Catron (7 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) and Kirchner (4, 3 rebounds, 3 steals) provided textbook glue-girl showings to help make up for the absence of starting small forward and second-leading scorer Madison Less (soccer showcase).

Behind three-year starter Emily Brock (14 points) and talented freshman power forward Grace Hete (17), hard-nosed Revere got as close as 41-36 in the fourth quarter, but the Hornets’ alternating run-and-jump and 2-2-1 presses forced enough turnovers to keep momentum from swinging.

Highland (2-1, 1-0) has allowed 38, 46 and 40 points in three games.

“We definitely just kept pressuring them,” Peterlin said.

The first half featured a ton of jump balls, tipped passes and all-around hustle, as both teams knew the game projected to be a battle between American Division contenders.

Revere, whose prior losses were to regional qualifiers Massillon Jackson (58-45) and North Royalton (50-43) as well as Division II parochial power Hathaway Brown (55-31), did a masterful job of ensuring its deficit was never unmanageable, while Highland weathered the storm of 3-for-13 shooting in the second quarter to lead 23-18 at halftime.

Minutemen coach Kevin Verde then made an adjustment by using the high-low post game to find Hete inside, but Revere lost offensive flow when Farian got into foul trouble and Peterlin drilled her big 3-pointers.

“I knew we needed to get a bigger lead, so I just tried to score and help everyone else score,” Peterlin said.

Profitt and her “soft” inside play handled the rest.

“Even though we wanted to slow the ball down, we still wanted to put points on the board and not just stall the ball the whole time,” Profitt said.

Note
Hannah Zuro had 16 points as Highland’s junior varsity lost 44-22.

Highland 55, Revere 40
REVERE 9 9 14 8 — 40
HIGHLAND 15 8 17 15 — 55
Revere — Abby Brock 1-0-3, Grace Hete 5-7-17, Viktoria Farian 0-3-3, Alyssa Nicholas 0-1-1, Emily Brock 5-1-14, Salwa Najjar 0-0-0, Hailey Hujer 0-2-2, Alexa Langenfeld 0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-14-40.
Highland — Kathleen Kirchner 2-0-4, Alli Esker 0-0-0, Marlee Profitt 7-7-22, Veronica Peterlin 4-6-16, Sam Catron 3-1-8, Alaina Monroe 2-0-4, Emily Lyon 0-1-1, Lauren Zuro 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-15-55.
3-point goals — E. Brock 3, A. Brock, Peterlin 2, Catron, Profitt. Rebounds — Revere 32 (Farian 11), Highland 27 (Profitt 12). Assists — Revere 6 (E. Brock, Nicholas, A. Brock 2), Highland 8 (Catron 3). Records — Revere (0-4, 0-1), Highland (2-1, 1-0). Junior varsity — Revere 44, Highland 22.

GRANGER TWP. — The premier girls golf program in Medina County has produced another Division I talent, as Highland standout Madison Butler verbally committed to Cleveland State on Tuesday.

Madison Butler

The junior joins Jessica Porvasnik (Ohio State), Stephanie Horvath (Cincinnati), Lauren McKinzie (Ohio), Jessica McRae (Ohio) and Chloe McKinzie (Ohio) as Hornets to earn D-I scholarships in the last five years.

“I just really loved the campus, and the team was great and the coach (Ann Ciavarella) is awesome,” Butler said. “She is amazing. She is so nice. I loved everything about it.

“It seemed like the girls got along with her very well, and she played college golf herself at Youngstown State, so she understands what golfers deal with.”

Butler, the reigning Gazette MVP who has been playing for fewer than seven years, picked the Vikings over Youngstown State, Findlay and Ashland.

The Hinckley Township resident will receive a scholarship that covers full tuition and books — a rarity in college golf — due in part to a 3.98 grade-point average.

“I’m just really honored that they would choose me,” Butler said.

A 5-foot-6 right-hander, Butler was Suburban League American Division MVP and Legends of Massillon Division I District quintet-medalist before tying for 26th at the D-I state tournament. The three-year starter posted a Medina County-leading 38.1 average, including a 3-under-par 69 at the SL Preseason Tournament.

Butler will join a Vikings program that was third at the three-day Horizon League Tournament in April. Cleveland State is projected to have at least seven letterwinners on the roster by the time Butler arrives in 2017, including reigning D-II state runner-up medalist Kaylee Neumeister of Cortland Lakeview.

“I’d like to tighten up some things in my game and keep improving as I go along and get a degree in business,” Butler said. “They have a really great business school, and that was one of the many reasons I picked Cleveland State.”

COLUMBIA STATION — Reigning Patriot Athletic Conference MVP David Delahunty had gaudy statistics, but Nathan Polidori and the rest of the Buckeye boys basketball team had guts.

The Bucks survived Columbia 56-51 in their season opener Friday, staving off a potential collapse on seemingly every fourth-quarter possession of the PAC cross-division game.

Buckeyes Nathan Polidori puts up a shot past Columbia defender Danny Malin for two points during the first half. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk

They also survived the 6-foot-6 Delahunty, a physical, driving power forward who had 28 points, including 11 of his team’s 13 in the first half, and 18 rebounds.

Buckeye got 22 points, six rebounds, five steals, two assists and eight turnovers from All-Ohio guard Polidori and 10 points from fellow letterwinner Nick Wills. More importantly, it also got clutch plays from newcomers Joey Bartinelli and Carter Hudak to overcome an admirable comeback attempt by the Raiders (0-3, 0-2).

First-year Bucks coach Tom Harrington preferred to accentuate the positive on a night when there were more than a few negatives, though most of those can be chalked up to opening-night jitters.

“I would say that it was ugly, but it was a great win,” Harrington said. “I’m going to tell you why: We’re on the road, new coach, new staff, a lot of adversity, a lot of things didn’t go our way tonight. Although it was ugly, it was a great win.

“(Columbia’s) a good team. They’ve got a great player. We overcame a lot, and I’m really proud of our guys.”

Buckeye, which attempted all 22 of its free throws over the final 4:28, maintained a seven- to nine-point lead for most of the second half, but missed enough free throws and committed enough turnovers to allow Delahunty and Co. to hang around.

Along the way, the Bucks came up with little plays that added up over the course of the fourth quarter. Polidori got two steals, while Hudak blocked two shots and tipped in a Polidori missed layup, got fouled and completed the three-point play.

There also were three points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal from mistake-free two-guard Mikey Novick (7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) and two free throws by Bartinelli with 7.6 seconds left that sealed victory.

Considering Bartinelli and fellow starting forward Liam Murray barely played because of foul trouble — Murray fouled out in the third quarter after getting a foul and immediate technical — adversity was clearly the theme of the night.

“It was a fight, you know?” Polidori said. “We fought for everything. (Columbia is) a tough team, and it’s hard to dominate for all four quarters.”

Buckeye appeared on its way to a blowout early, as stellar switch-everything man defense frustrated Columbia into missing 24 of its first 26 shots, including a few that connected with the side of the glass.

However, the Bucks’ inconsistent half-court offense, which sometimes deteriorated into NBA-style isolation with either Polidori or Wills, couldn’t string together scores.

When the Raiders finally made their third shot, they trailed 17-7 with 4:28 left in the second quarter. Delahunty then went on a mini-hot streak and Buckeye led only 24-13 at halftime.

Luckily for the Bucks, Columbia couldn’t take full advantage of a bizarre third quarter in which the teams combined to shoot 5-for-24 and the Raiders attempted 14 free throws to Buckeye’s zero.

“It’s the first game,” Polidori said. “You’re going to miss a lot of shots.”

The score was 34-26 after three periods and both teams were in the bonus, giving way for the fourth to become a foul-shooting bonanza.

The outcome came down to execution from that point, and Buckeye was the winner despite some hiccups.

“I think everybody on the team can make plays, and everybody on the team is a varsity player,” Polidori said. “That’s a big help. When you have guys like Carter Hudak, who’s a sophomore, make the play for you, it’s a big deal.”

Note

Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.

Buckeye 56, Columbia 51

BUCKEYE                                15  9  10  22  —  56

COLUMBIA                              5   8  13  25  —  51

Buckeye — Joey Bartinelli 2-2-7, Liam Murray 1-0-3, Nick Wills 4-2-10, Mikey Novick 3-1-8, Nathan Polidori 7-5-22, Justin Lowry 0-0-0, Justin Canedy 1-0-2, Carter Hudak 1-2-4, Braeden Stauffer 0-0-0, Bruce Barnby 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-12-56.

Columbia — Jordan DeLisle 3-2-8, David Delahunty 9-8-28, Cole Thomas 0-0-0, Taylor Beck 2-0-4, Justin Tacchite 0-2-2, Jared Heidecker 2-4-9, Brandon Coleman 0-0-0, Danny Malin 0-0-0, Cody Richard 0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-16-51.

3-point goals — Polidori 3, Bartinelli, Novick, Murray, Delahunty 2, Heidecker. Rebounds — Buckeye 28 (Novick, Polidori 6), Columbia 48 (Delahunty 19). Assists — Buckeye 9 (Novick 3), Columbia 2 (Tacchite, Beck). Records — Buckeye (1-0, 1-0), Columbia (0-3, 0-1). Junior varsity — Buckeye 52, Columbia 28.

And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer. — Paul Harvey, 1978

The farming life is the only life Trevor Thome has known. Grueling, tough, filled with highs and lows and not for the faint of heart, tending to God’s green earth and its creatures is, at the same time, an honest, fulfilling life that gets in your blood, never to leave your soul despite the hardship.

RON SCHWANE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
Buckeye senior Trevor Thome is the 2015 Gazette MVP for football.

Now a Buckeye senior, Thome had already learned life lessons by the time he was in kindergarten most his age don’t realize until their 20s. There is never room for laziness, ego or shortcuts because farming, and in particular dairy farming, requires old-fashioned hard work to survive. The cows don’t milk themselves, the crops don’t harvest themselves and broken machinery doesn’t fix itself.

Thome’s maturity is why so many adults associated with Buckeye proudly say he’s the All-American kid. There’s never a trace of hesitation in that claim, either, because, as one his old coaches put it, “Everybody loves Trevor.”

Football is Thome’s outlet, a game he can enjoy with his closest friends and forget about the cows, forget about the chores and forget about the long hours. Playing on Edwin Steingass Field under the lights of Friday night was a euphoric feeling he will always cherish.

And my, oh my, could he play the game.

Using those lessons learned on the farm — work, pride, toughness, humbleness, initiative — the soft-spoken Thome was the emotional rock of a Bucks team that went 10-0 in the regular season and, above all else, represented York, Liverpool and Litchfield townships with class.

There may never again be a Gazette MVP like Thome, as almost all of the dairy farms that once dotted the Medina County landscape have been sold off into housing developments.

“I’ve never played with somebody who just wants it so bad,” best friend and All-Ohio quarterback Nathan Polidori said. “Everybody knows he’s grown up on a farm, and that’s the way he’s been raised. He’s got great parents (Jason and Shannon), that’s why.

“We both have that mentality that you’re going to have to drag us off the field before we’re done. Even in the West Geauga game (a triple-overtime loss in the playoffs), he was hobbling around and sticking through it for three more quarters and three more overtimes after (hurting his hip).”

Never did the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Thome consider leaving the field, often forcing his battered and bruised body to arise from the turf before trainers could reach him. He said his teammates would have done the same, but someone still had to show them that pain is temporary and glory lasts forever.

Asked what makes him that way, Thome naturally pointed toward his family’s 250-acre, 60-cow operation in York Township.

He’s been chased by a territorial 1,800-pound bull, so he’s not afraid of a blitzing 200-pound linebacker.

He’s torn clothing on barbed wire, had gloves freeze to metal barn gates, stepped into potholes hidden by manure and corralled escaped cows, so he doesn’t sweat the small stuff and, in turn, never loses his composure.

He’s survived stacking 50-pound hay bales in a 100-degree barn loft, so he’s not afraid of hard work without complaint.

He’s been driving John Deere 4440, 4430 and 4630 tractors that, even at 35 years old, are worth more than a gently used Cadillac, so he’s never been concerned with expensive, materialistic things.

Above all else, he’s been kicked by an ornery heifer, cut his hands while working on equipment and lost a finger as a toddler in a hay elevator accident, so he can tolerate pain at an extraordinary level.

“You definitely have to be a hard-working guy and a hard-working person that is capable of going through adversity,” said Thome, who expressed gratitude that his parents do almost all of the milking twice per day so that he and his younger sister Tayla have time for a relatively normal social life. “Like fixing things when they go wrong, not putting them off, that kind of stuff.

“I’d say there’s a lot of similarities (between farming and football), especially starting in the summer with two-a-days getting up early, going to two practices, going home and doing it all over again.”

When the time came to slip on his brown, white and orange No. 22 jersey, Thome was in his element.

Expectations were through the roof in August when the senior-laden Bucks hit the practice field. A third straight Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division championship was an afterthought because a 10-0 regular season and, the ultimate goal, the first playoff victory in school history were the only acceptable accomplishments.

Coach Mark Pinzone’s team was confident because they had players like Thome, whose nonexistent ego and love for his teammates were unconditional. Already the reigning PAC Offensive Player of the Year with a 280-pound bench press and 320-pound squat — numbers comparable to NFL players his size — Thome kept his eyes on doing whatever the team needed to reach those goals.

So he again took handoffs at halfback and pounded between the tackles. He again lined up in the tight slot to run jet sweeps. He again split out wide and blew by defenders for pass receptions from his boy Polidori. He again flew all over the field at safety, stopping opposing ball carriers dead in their tracks a mere nanosecond after they thought they had a breakaway touchdown.

Despite missing eight fourth quarters because of lopsided scores, Thome had 978 rushing yards, 444 receiving yards, 259 return yards and school records for touchdowns (29) and points (176). The Division III second-team All-Ohioan had six touchdowns on seven first-half touches against Fairview and averaged 10.5 yards on 160 touches for the season.

When his career ended with that epic 35-28 playoff loss to West Geauga — he had 145 yards from scrimmage, a touchdown and an interception despite the first-half hip injury — Thome became the first player in county history with 2,000 yards rushing (2,400), 1,000 yards receiving (1,304) and 300 points (336).

“It was fun,” Thome said. “It was a heckuva ride and it’s disappointing we didn’t come out on top in Week 11, but tons of memories were made and relationships that are definitely going to last a lifetime. I’m definitely glad I was able to be a part of this team.”

Thome’s next team won’t be located far from home, as the four-year starter decided being a preferred walk-on slot receiver at D-I Marshall wasn’t more appealing than being a potential starter for D-III superpower Mount Union. Neither the T’s have been crossed nor the I’s dotted, but Thome really isn’t looking at anyone else besides the Purple Raiders.

No matter how successful Thome becomes at the next level, however, he’ll always have a place in his heart for Buckeye.

“Buckeye football has definitely changed me a little bit,” he said. “It made me realize the importance of different types of things, like family.

“It was awesome. If I could go back to do it 1,000 times over again, I would.”

Why? Because the Bucks work hard, play hard and always, always, always … stick together.

Gazette MVPs

• Trevor Thome (Buc) 2015
• Steven Ficyk (Bru) 2014
• Bruce Kinsey (H) 2013
• Bruce Kinsey (H) 2012
• Jack Snowball (W) 2011
• Jason Suggs (M) 2010
• Aaron Maslowski (H) 2009
• Chris Snook (H) 2008
• Sean Bedevelsky (Bru) 2007
• Dustin Zielaskiewicz (Bru) 2006
• Anthony Lanzara (Bru) 2005
• Marko Cosic (Bru) 2004
• Paul Macko (W) 2003
• Darren Cereshko (Buc) 2002
• Mike Kudla (H) 2001
• Ben Vujas (W) 2000
• Mike Hoover (W) 1999
• Jim Lavery (M) 1998
• Dave Harris (Bru) 1997
• Dan Herbert (W) / Frank Berzansky (Bru) 1996
• Darian Miskewycz (Bru) 1995
• Demetrius Harris (Bru) 1994
• Scott Gasper (C) 1993
• Cory Carlson (C) /
• Lance Hansen (C) 1992
• James Farley (Buc) 1991
• Jason Riddle (BR) 1990
• Andy Sutandar (M) 1989
• Tom Dubs (Bru) 1988
• Todd Grabowski (Bru) 1987
• Tom Sency (M) 1986
• Dave Savick (BR) 1985
• Ron Sency (M) 1984
• Scott DeMarco (Buc) 1983
• Gary Peyton (Buc) 1982
• Lee Bullington (Bru) 1981
• Bob Gency (Bru) 1980
• Ron Brant (Buc) 1979
• Jim Reynolds (W) 1978
• Dan Gray (BR) 1977

All-Gazette Team Captains

• Scott Chrislip (C) / Jim Otanicar (W) 1972
• Richard Brown (H) / Jim Ross (C) 1971
• Al Kiene (Buc) 1970
• Gary Green (H) 1969
• Jim Ranftl (H) 1968
• Ken Luttner (H) 1967
• Paul Moore (Bru) 1966
• Larry Rohrer (C) 1965
• Tom Becker (W) 1964
• Ken Schiele (H) 1963

YORK TWP. — This performance was much better.

The Buckeye boys basketball team used a fast start, pressure defense and offensive balance Tuesday to easily take down Fairview 66-43 in Patriot Athletic Conference cross-division action.

Buckeye’s Liam Murray puts up a three over Fairview’s Arjol Arapi during the first half. AARON JOSEFCZYK/GAZETTE

Coming off a sloppy season opener five days prior at Columbia, the Bucks (2-0, 2-0) wasted little time pulling away from the Warriors (1-2, 0-2), who went 5-18 last season but upset Buckeye in February.

“We jumped on them early,” Bucks power forward Liam Murray said. “We had a great defensive first half. I think we let up 15 points. You really can’t ask for much more.

“Offensively we took really good shot selection. I think we were kind of jacking in the second half, but in the first half we were playing really good all-around.”

The 6-foot-4 Murray poured in 13 second-half points and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Center Nick Wills had 10 points, eight boards and three steals, while fellow returning starter Nathan Polidori had a very Nathan Polidori-like 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The pleasant surprise came from the bench, as Justin Lowry (6 points, 8 rebounds), Justin Canedy (4, 5) and Braeden Stauffer (9 points) each had extended stretches of strong play.

That’s good news moving forward for a team that has personnel balance but has yet to figure out a consistent rotation under first-year coach Tom Harrington.

“Guys like Canedy came in, Carter (Hudak) came in, Braeden came in and shot the ball well,” Wills said. “Those guys gave us a good lift, especially on a Tuesday night at home and we’re all tired from school. They were really good tonight.”

Buckeye showed full-court pressure for the first time this season and used it to fuel the transition game, getting Polidori hot right of the gate. Buckeye led 14-7 after one quarter and 36-15 at halftime, holding Fairview to 6-for-30 shooting and forcing 11 turnovers.

The Warriors, who shot 4-for-22 from 3-point range, countered with 19 points from multi-faceted point guard Jared Butler, but no other player had more than four points.

With nothing to lose, Fairview went a 10-0 run to begin the second half to make the score semi-interesting (36-25) with 4:46 left in the third, but Murray responded with a scoring binge and squashed that idea.

“I think we can play a couple different styles with this team depending on who we’re playing against and what we think the matchups are,” Harrington said. “Tonight we felt like we could pressure these guys, and it worked out for us.”

While the third quarter wasn’t ideal, the Bucks responded with a 19-point fourth and walked out of the locker room with positive vibes.

They’ll need them this weekend in consecutive games against defending PAC Stripes Division champion Lutheran West and improved Norwayne.

“First off, we executed what we wanted to do,” Wills said. “They threw a lot of stuff at us, and were able to respond to a lot of it.”

Note
Spencer Imes had 13 points as Buckeye’s junior varsity held on for a 40-37 win.

Buckeye 66, Fairview 43
FAIRVIEW 7 8 16 12 — 43
BUCKEYE 14 22 11 19 — 66
Fairview — Josh Filkill 0-2-2, Arjol Arapi 2-0-4, Max Kolman 1-0-2, Derek Schwarber 1-1-3, Jared Butler 8-0-19, John McQuate 1-0-2, Ryan Grealis 1-0-2, Mo Elder 1-0-3, Jack Costas 1-0-2, Owen Morrison 2-0-4, Colin Caja 0-0-0, Grant Howes 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-3-43.
Buckeye — Joey Bartinelli 0-1-1, Liam Murray 5-6-17, Nick Wills 4-1-10, Mikey Novick 0-0-0, Nathan Polidori 5-6-18, Justin Lowry 3-0-6, Justin Canedy 2-0-4, Braeden Stauffer 3-2-9, Carter Hudak 0-1-1, Bruce Barnby 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-17-66.
3-point goals — Butler 3, Elder, Polidori 2, Stauffer, Wills, Murray. Rebounds — Fairview 30 (Filkill 9), Buckeye 40 (Murray, Lowry, Wills 8). Assists — Fairview 8 (Butler, Schwarber 3), Buckeye 12 (Polidori 4). Records — Buckeye 40, Fairview 37.