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	Bellevue Defense Will be Stretched Bellevue entertains Vermilion in a sectional final in division IV on Thursday night. The Redmen (13-9) are coming off a (56-52) win at Willard in a non-conference game on Friday night. Coach Ed Rich hopes they can carry some momentum into Thursday night. “That's what we preached about in practice (Monday) is just playing with some confidence. I thought we played with good confidence, good energy against Willard. We found a way to find a way to beat them. We're going to have to get the same type of game to beat the Vermilion team who shoots a lot of threes and can make a lot of threes,” he said. Vermilion (9-13) won five of their first six games, but they have been inconsistent since that time. Rich says they have the capability to make a lot of threes. “Earlier they were kind of had a record similar to ours. I think their schedule got a little bit tougher. They also dealt with some injuries and maybe a suspension from an episode in the Willard game. They're playing well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They love the three ball. There's only about two guys in their in their seven, right man rotation who won't let it fly. So, they kind of live and die with it, but they all they also can get to the rack. They get to the rack and you have to defend them getting there. They're going to kick for the three balls, so they're definitely dangerous.” Now, Rich says the Sailors also have a post presence and that can open up some of those perimeter shots. “They bring a big kid off the bench who 6’6”, 6’7” gosh 260, 270. They're going to try to get it down low and if you double down on him, they're going to kick it out and shoot three balls. If they get hot, they can be really, really dangerous,” he said. Published 2/25/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue With Good Tests Bellevue plays two of the better teams the area this week as they host Sandusky, the “SBC” Lake Division leader on Wednesday, and play at traditional rival Willard on Friday. Last Friday, they had a 13 point halftime lead, but scored only seven points in the second half in losing (52-40) to Perkins, the other co-leader, in a division game. Coach Ed Rich says they just couldn't seem to do anything right in the second half. “I think we ended up going up 17 points in the third quarter and then they picked up the pressure a little and we really didn't turn it over a ton, but we got sped up a little bit and score kept getting closer and closer and we can get tighter and tighter. At that point, I felt bad for my kids I was trying to put them in positions. We just couldn't hit a basket. It seemed like we couldn’t do anything right at times. So, it hurts because we were playing really well and then we just kind of hit a wall and just fell apart.” Bellevue (12-8,5-4) plays at home against Sandusky (13-7,8-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Wednesday night. The Blue Streaks beat Clyde (84-71) in a division game last Friday. Sandusky won the first matchup (60-52) on January 16. Rich says Sandusky is a solid team. “It was good game. Another game when we were up at half, but it wasn't 13, I think we were up two or four at half. They picked up the half court pressure. They got into us a little bit in the half court and caused problems I think we ended up losing like I would say like 10, 12 right around there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're good, everyone that doesn't really watch them says Sandusky is down, Sandusky is not down, Sandusky just doesn’t have to experienced player that they've had. They've played a brutal schedule and they're a tough matchup.” Willard (18-3), #4 in our small school poll, waits on Friday. The Flashes beat Ontario (74-71) in overtime on Tuesday night. Rich says it will be another good test. “Me and coach (Joe) Bedingfield talk quite a bit and we like the game at the end of the season there for both of us. Hopefully, it's you know tournament prep for both of us. It should be a fun one, it's always fun in Bellevue and Willard get together,” he said. Published 2/18/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Can Compete With Perkins Bellevue plays at Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division co-leader Perkins on Friday night. It’s a chance for the Redmen to play the role of spoiler. Last week, the Bellevue drilled Norwalk (74-32) on Friday in a division game and lost at traditional power Ottawa-Glandorf (57-49) on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they certainly didn’t get any breaks on Saturday. “Good game on Friday. We played extremely well against Norwalk. Shot it really, really well. Went to O-G on Saturday and we played well enough to win. I’m not going to get really crazy into details. I can tell you we were 7-9 from the free throw line and they were 20-25. So, it's tough to win like that, but I thought our guys played extremely well so I was really proud of them. It was a tough, physical game and we just didn't get to the line as much as they did and it hurt. I think we ended up losing by eight. We were within three with two minutes ago and we started to have to foul a little bit there at the end. So, proud of my guys though,” said Rich. Bellevue (12-7,5-3) is at Perkins (16-2,7-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. The Pirates beat Clyde (79-63) in a division game on Friday. They lost (53-50) to Oregon Clay in a non-conference game on Saturday. Rich says they have talent across the board and can beat you in a number of ways. “They're extremely talented, the most talented team in the league. I said that before the year even started that either them or Sandusky was probably the favorite to win, but I would say that Perkins had has more talent than anybody and it's still the same,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They've lost a couple now. They lost to Sandusky. They lost to Oregon Clay actually on Saturday, which was kind of surprising to me. They're talented they can beat you in a lot of different ways. They can beat you inside, they can beat you outside. We have got to play extremely well over there if we want to have a chance, but I think we'll be up for the challenge.” Perkins won the first meeting (64-61) in double overtime on January 8. Rich says they will enter the game with some confidence. “We got down early in our game at our place and then we battled back. Caused some turnovers and had a little luck at the end. Missed a free throw on purpose, got the rebound and put it back for an and one. So, we gave ourselves a chance. One of their players got hot and hit some big shots for them and we come up a little short. We should have a lot of confidence going into that game,” he said. Published 2/10/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has Got to Make Shots Bellevue needs to regain its shooting stroke this weekend as they travel to Norwalk to play the Truckers in an “SBC” Lake game on Friday night and head west to play traditional power Ottawa-Glandorf on Saturday. They didn’t make many shots in a (43-39) loss to Tiffin Columbian in a division game. Coach Ed Rich says they are doing a lot of other things well, they just can’t throw the ball in the ocean when standing on the beach. “That's the biggest thing right now. We're doing a lot of good things, especially defensively. The kids are playing hard and doing what we ask them to do. We're just struggling to put the ball in the basket right now,” he said. Bellevue (11-6,4-3) is at Norwalk (0-16,0-7) on Friday night. The Truckers lost (82-51) to Clyde in their last division game. The Redmen hammered them (63-15) on January 2. Rich says Norwalk is improved. “I went and saw them against Huron on Saturday night. They've definitely improved. It seemed like they've got a pretty good lineup going and pretty good sub pattern. They got most of their guys back so they’re at full strength right now. So, they are playing better. They're finding ways to stay in the games for the most part,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They're just struggling still to close games out. We keep telling our kids, I think they might be 0-16 or something like that, but it doesn't matter. We have got to go play at Norwalk, always a tough place to play, and they're still going to defend. If we don't put the ball in the basket, we're going to be in trouble.” Rich says they are really excited about getting the chance to play at Ottawa-Glandorf (10-4) on Saturday. “I think it's really sweet. They kind of reached out about playing this year and we were all about it. It's going to be a home and home series we're going to have. We get to go there this year. They're extremely solid. They’re extremely well coached, extremely deep. I think they only give up like 37 points a game and average 54 points a game, so they're very similar to us defensive wise. They're big, they're physical. I’m really looking forward to going to Ottawa Glandorf and play. It looks really, really cool on film,” said Rich. Published 2/05/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has to Contain Gooding Bellevue will entertain the Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Like every athletic team in North Central Ohio Bellevue has been dealing with the weather as it impacts practice time and the schedule of games. The Redmen had a game with Sandusky postponed on Tuesday. Coach Ed Rich believes it affects the quality of play. “I guess the only good thing about that everyone's going through it. It's not just a certain spot or a certain area. It's everyone in our area who we play is definitely going through it. Yeah, it hurts and it hurts the quality of the games as well, but you got to play on,” he said. Bellevue (11-5,4-2) hosts Tiffin Columbian (7-9,2-4) on Friday night. Tiffin lost their last league game to unbeaten Perkins (57-43) last week. Rich says they have a very good player in Logan Gooding. “I think they're much improved. They're extremely solid defensively. I say arguably they have the best player in the “SBC” Lake in Logan Gooding. The kid is averaging about 23 a game, six boards, six assists. He can get a shot off anytime he needs to get a shot off at anytime. So, he's pretty good and then he's got guys around him who can also help. So, we definitely have our hands full on Friday,” said Rich. Bellevue won the first game between the two teams (60-53) on December 19. Rich says it’s hard to keep the ball out of Gooding’s hands. “I've watched the last couple games and I've seen teams throw a lot of different things at him, including the box and one and face guard him. He still finds ways to score. I think his last couple games he’s been better than 30. I think in three out of his last four he's been in the 30 point category,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “That's with all the junk defense he's getting, so he's playing extremely well right now. He had, gosh, 20 to 25 against us the first time. We found a way to win that one, but we have got to do our best to hold him under his average.” Published 1/30/26 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports
	Bellevue Has Desire to Get Better Bellevue, the leader in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, visits Shelby for a non-conference game with the Lady Whippets on Tuesday night. The Lady Red (14-0), #1 in the Swankonports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, hammered Tiffin Columbian (63-25) in a division game on Friday. Coach Kory Santoro was pleased with their execution. “Anytime you can get a win in our league it's a bonus, so yeah we're happy with what we did,” he said. Shelby (10-7), in second place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, comes off a stunning (48-31) loss to Ontario in “MOAC” play on Saturday. Santoro says the Lady Whippets are always well prepared. “They lost a lot of players from last year's squad. I know Clear Fork just won their conference, but I know one thing Natalie (Lantz) does a great job of having her teams prepared and ready to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I know they'll be very disciplined and they'll know us pretty well.” Santoro says their goal is to continue to get better. “We have got to continue just to play the way we've been playing. Defensively I think we've done a great job all year and that has to continue,” said Santoro. Published 1/27/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue to Play Improved Clyde Bellevue plays at Clyde on Thursday night in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They travel to Lexington for a non-conference game on Saturday. Last Friday, they lost (60-52) to Sandusky in a division game. Coach Ed Rich says the third quarter just killed them. “I think we went in at halftime and I think we were up, I want to say, two or four points at halftime. Feeling okay about ourselves. We didn’t play great, but we had the lead and then third quarter came around and we turned the ball over six times and scored five points in the third. So, that was the game right there. We battled back in the fourth and I think we cut it to six once. The turnovers and some untimely decisions really cost us the game,” he said. Bellevue (10-4,3-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Clyde (6-7,1-4) on Thursday. The Redmen won the first meeting (69-59) on December 10. However, Rich says this will be a different team. “They've scored 100 and 107 in the last couple weeks against Toledo Scott and against Fostoria. So, they want to push the pace. The first time we played they didn't have their freshman. His name is JeCori Roberts and he's a really nice player averaging about 19 points a game for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're going to look a little different. He's about 6’4” and can score inside and out. He's got some major talent. We finally got the practice (Tuesday), prep for them. We haven’t practiced since Wednesday of last week. So, hopefully we have got everything in we need, but yeah we will have our hands full at Clyde.” Now, Lexington (4-10) has had a lot of personnel changes this season. Rich says they will be ready for whoever they see. “We've gotten games where they've had everyone and we've got games that haven't had everyone, so we'll have a good scout on them. We'll know what to expect. We get down there on Saturday evening we'll see who they throw on the floor, but no matter what, we'll be prepared for what they throw at us,” he said. Published 1/21/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Playing Well Unbeaten Bellevue, the leader of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will play at Clyde in a division game on Thursday night. In a couple of non-conference games over the last week, they have handled Willard (61-40) and Clear Fork (61-48) to remain undefeated. Coach Kory Santoro is pleased. “We're excited the way we're playing right now. I think we're still coming together as a group. We have a lot of young kids, but I like the way we've handled the last few weeks here,” said Santoro. Bellevue (12-0,4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball poll in the large school division, plays at Clyde (10-4,2-3) on Thursday night. The Lady Red smoked Clyde (69-32) in their first meeting on December 6. Santoro says they can’t look past this game. “They're 10-4 in the year. They have some players in the (Taitum) Jeffrey girl. I know they'll be ready to play us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They're coached well and they're disciplined, so we're looking for them to you know come after us.” Bellevue is ranked second in the state regardless of division by MaxPreps. Santoro says they know they have a bull’s eye pained on them. “We stressed that to the kids. We know night and night out people are going to give us their best shot. Credit to our kids they understand that and they practice really well and they're ready to play,” he said. Published 1/15/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue to Play Sandusky Bellevue plays at Sandusky against the Blue Streaks on Friday night in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The two schools share second place in the division, a game behind unbeaten Perkins. Bellevue (10-3,3-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, lost (64-61) in double overtime to Perkins last Thursday. Coach Ed Rich says they definitely took some good things away from that game. “We don't take moral victories, but I could tell my kids in the locker room, obviously they were hurt, devastated, that we lost, but I also saw a different kind of look in them too like almost a look of more belief like I think we can hang around with these good teams,” said Rich. Bellevue has won nine of its last 10 games and Rich believes they have become a lot better as a team. “We had a lot of question marks coming into the season. We weren't sure how it was going to pan out, but so far we are off to a 10-3 start. A pretty brutal schedule the rest of the way out, but we'll definitely take it 10-3 start and hopefully get some more wins here,” he said. Sandusky (6-6,3-1) beat Clyde (60-51) last Thursday in a Lake Division game. They lost (74-61) to Ashland in a non-conference game on Saturday. The Streaks are more inexperienced this year than they have been recently, but Rich says he expects many of the same things you always get when you play Sandusky. “I expect the same, they’re still Sandusky. They've been our kryptonite ever since I came to Bellevue. We've got one win against them my 11 years here,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They play a style that we struggle with at times. Lately though these last couple of years we've been inching closer and closer to pulling one off. We just can't get over top. So, we'll see what we have got, but I expect the same out of Sandusky with their pressure.” Published 1/13/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Transition Defense Key For Bellevue Bellevue hosts Sandusky Perkins on Thursday night in a battle of co-leaders in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Redmen (9-2,3-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, beat Nowalk (63-15) in division game last Friday and Hopewell-Loudon (67-49) on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they are playing well, but Thursday will be a test. “We're doing some good things for sure. We're really going to find out here at these next four or five games what we're really made of. Our schedule gets a little bit tougher here this week. Obviously, we have got 9-0 Perkins coming to town on Thursday. We're playing good basketball hopefully we keep it up against good competition,” said Rich. Perkins (9-0), #1 in our poll, beat Clyde (73-55) on Friday in a Lake Division game. Tiffin Columbian has given them their best game so far with the Pirates winning (63-55) in early December. Rich says they have great depth. “They have got a lot of good things. First of all, they're extremely deep. They're the most talented team in the “SBC”, I think. Their depth is really nice. They can bring three guys off the bench at any time and not miss a beat. The depth, the talent, the length, the ability to score the ball inside and out. They're pretty much a complete package right now,” he said. Rich says Perkins likes to push the tempo of the game. “I think they're definitely best when they get out and run, but when they don't get anything when they get out run in transition, they will run quite a few sets in the half court to try to get what they want. Again, I think they're the best when they get out and run a transition. I think that's what they like doing the most too,” he said. To win Thursday, Rich says they have to play great transition defense and handle the pressure the Pirates will show them. “It goes back to just what I said, we have got to stop them in transition first. We have got to get back on defense and make sure they don't get easy buckets. We also have got to once we do stop the ball in transition we got to find their shooters,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have got a couple guys that can knock it down the three. That's one of the big ones. The other thing is going to be handling their ball pressure. They are going to get in a little full court trap and try to trap the ball and speed you up. So, I think if we can handle that early we can keep ourselves in the game and maybe give us a chance there in the second half.” Published 1/07/26 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Believing Bellevue is at home for Norwalk in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Redmen rallied to beat Pemberville Eastwood (65-55) in a non-league game on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says they got things going in the third quarter. “We got ourselves down gosh 16 or 18 points in the third quarter. We just were not playing very well. We weren’t playing with a whole lot of energy. Eastwood was executing a lot of shots. We called a timeout about midway through the third and talked to our kids, kind of challenged them a little bit. They responded to the challenge. We ended up walking out of there with a 10 point win and it's a nice road win against Eastwood for sure,” said Rich. Bellevue (7-2,2-0), #5 in the first Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has won their last six games. Rich says they are playing with confidence. “We are shooting the ball much better than we were at the beginning of the season and just playing with overall confidence. We have got our lineups and our sub patterns down pretty good now. Our kids are believing in what we're telling them and hopefully we keep rolling,” he said. Norwalk (0-7,0-2) lost (46-29) to Western Reserve in a non-conference game on Monday night. The Tuckers are inexperienced as they return no lettermen from their team for a year ago. Rich says anytime they play Norwalk it is going to be a battle and Friday night will be no different. “They're struggling this year for sure. I saw them (Monday) night. They played Western Reserve (Monday) night. They actually did some really good things (Monday) night that I haven't seen on film,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “It doesn't matter if they're struggling or not. Norwalk versus Bellevue is always kind of a knock down, drag out, grind it out game. So, I don't expect much different on Friday night against them. We have got to be prepared to play. We have got to be prepared for what they throw at us.” Published 12/31/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has to Handle the Ball Bellevue will be at Tiffin Columbian on Friday night for a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They knocked off Huron (60-43) in non-conference play, or a crossover game in the “SBC” if you will, on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says they came out and made a lot of shots and that always helps. “We shot the ball extremely well on Tuesday, so that that goes a really long way. Huron has only one win right now, but they've had a pretty tough schedule. They're pretty tough team, they're scrappy they get up in your guards and make your guards handle the ball. They switch up a lot of defenses, so we went into the game thinking we had our hands full and we did, but we just got pulled away at the end,” said Rich. Bellevue (4-2,1-0) is at Columbian (3-2,0-1) on Friday night. The Tornadoes, led by former Oak Harbor player Jac Alexander, lost (63-55) to a very Perkins team last Saturday. Rich says they expect some pressure from Tiffin. “They are kind of similar to Huron in a lot of things they do, especially defensively. They're going to put pressure on our guards and make our guards handle them handle the ball. I think that's one of the biggest parts of Friday night's game is if we can handle the physicality and ball pressure,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They played in some good games. They played some good teams. Perkins is a good team. Oregon Clay is a really, really good team and they played with them for three good quarters. So, yeah they've been in games and they got some guards.” Rich says they want to attack that pressure. “They don't show a whole lot of full court pressure, but they pressure in the half, but if we can get some easy ones that would be really nice,” he said. Published 12/19/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports
	Bellevue Looking to Grow Defending division IV state champion Bellevue is at Tiffin Columbian Friday night to take the Lady Tornadoes in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Bellevue (4-0,1-0) won their division opener (69-32) over Clyde last Saturday. Coach Kory Santoro says they are playing well, but they can still get better. “I think this group has a lot of potential yet. I think we're doing some nice things, but obviously still a lot of room to grow and get better. We are off to a nice start, but the potential is still out there,” said Santoro. Bellevue already has three non-league wins to its credit, including a pretty good Elyria Catholic squad. They will play Perrysburg, Margaretta, Copley, Willard, Clear Fork and Shelby. Santoro says when it comes to those non-league games they like to be tested by good teams. “We have goals of places we want to go and to get there did you have got to be tested, so we like to schedule good non conference games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I think our league is very tough too. I think it's well coached and every night it's a battle. So, you have got to come ready to play. You can't have an off night. Yeah, as far as the schedule goes we like to schedule tough teams.” Tiffin Columbian (4-1,0-1) beat Upper Sandusky (51-32) on Tuesday night in a non-league game. They lost (47-39) to Sandusky Perkins in their division game last Saturday. Santoro says Tiffin will come in and give them a game. “I think they're going to play hard, they're scrappy, they're going come after us. We know they’re off to a good start themselves, so we're looking for a battle Friday night,” he said. Published 12/11/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Must Make Shots Bellevue will entertain archrival Clyde in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division opener for both on Wednesday night. After a win over Old Fort (46-43) the Redmen fell (58-39) to Elyria Catholic on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says due to their lack of experience there are going to be some ups and downs early in the season. “First of all, we've had a pretty tough schedule to open up with Margaretta and then with Old Fort. I know a lot of people don't know much about Elyria Catholic in this area but they're beyond solid. So, we’ve played a tough schedule, there's going to be some ups and downs. It’s kind of things that we might have expected due to just our lack of experience at the varsity level. So, it's one of those things we ae just going to work through,” said Rich. In order to be more consistently successful, Rich says they are going to have to start making more shots. “Our biggest thing right now is we cannot put the ball in the basket. I thought we played Elyria Catholic fairly well, but we really hurt ourselves. We went 4-22 from two point range and most of those were within six to eight feet I would say. So, we did ourselves no favors over there not putting the ball in the basket. It's just something we're going to work on. It's got to be a mindset that needs to change right now,” he said. Bellevue (1-2) plays host to Clyde (1-1) on Wednesday night. Clyde beat Ashland (79-75) in a non-league game on Saturday night. Rich says the Fliers are going to get a lot of shots up. “They're averaging close to 70 a game. They want to get out and run. They're going to let it fly. I mean there's not a shot that they don't like. They hit 16 threes against Ashland, which is a lot of threes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Ashland and them are very, very similar in the styles they play. We'll be ready for them. We have just got to make sure that we defend and then we make our open shots.” Published 12/10/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue to Play Athletic Elyria Catholic Bellevue will be over at Elyria Catholic for a boys’ basketball game on Saturday. They beat a always solid Old Fort (46-43) on Wednesday night in kind of a cross over with the defending River Division champs. Coach Ed Rich says they had to grind out the win. “I was proud of the way we battled. We got down, I think, 15-4 in the first quarter. We just couldn't get the ball in the basket and they were beating us on the defensive end as well. We clawed our way back into it and I think we cut it to a couple at halftime. Then he just kind of grinded one out in the third and fourth quarter. So, really, really good win for us against a top notch program,” he said. Rich says as the game went on, especially the second half, they started to attack more on offense. “That kind of was a turning point. We were getting some decent looks early, but it was one pass and a three ball, two passes and a three ball. I think we started 0-9 from three,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We finally got settled down a little bit and started attacking their zone and getting to the free throw line. Like I said, just clawed our way back in and then a couple shots started to fall and I think we got a little bit of confidence back and we had just enough to beat them by three points.” The Panthers beat defending Wayne County Athletic League champion Norwayne (53-47) last Friday. Rich says Elyria Catholic will be athletic and can spread the floor. “They beat a Brooklyn team that I saw on film and they also beat a good Norwayne team. I saw Norwayne this summer and I thought they were really impressive, so that one was a little eye opening for me to watch Elyria Catholic go to Norwayne to beat Norwayne last week. They are extremely athletic. They look a lot like they did last year. They have got guys who get to the rack and guys who could defend and a couple shooters. We are going to have our hands full,” said Rich. Published 12/05/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports
	Bellevue Making Progress Bellevue will be at home for Margaretta on Friday night to open the boys’ basketball season in non-conference play. Coach Ed Rich says you can certainly tell it’s game week. “You can tell that our guys are chomping at the bit to get the after someone else other than our backup guys, our JV guys, so yeah it's a different feeling through this week,” he said. They do not return a lot of experience from last year, but Rich says they made good progress during the preseason. “We've progressed well across our scrimmages. Our first couple of scrimmages, we didn't look so hot, weren't executed, weren't hitting shots, a lot of mental errors and then our last two scrimmages we finally kind of put some things together and looked like a pretty decent basketball team out there our last two scrimmages. So, we're definitely on the right path I think,” said Rich. Now, Margaretta, the defending champion in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, is loaded this year. Rich says they are just very good. “They're really good. They have state championship hopes. They were one game away from state final four last year and bring almost everybody back,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They lose Tate Bailey and Noah Wiley, who were who were nice pieces for them. They have got Julian Washington, he's the best player in our area and probably the best player I've ever coached against.” Published 11/27/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue off to Good Start Bellevue will be at home for Elyria Catholic in a non-conference girls’ basketball game on Tuesday night. Saturday was a celebration in many ways for the Lady Red as the district handed out rings celebrating their division IV state championship they won last March. Then they went out and blasted Carey (62-25) in their first game of the new season. Coch Kort Santoro says it was all good. “I thought it was a big day for us. Our school did a really nice job. We had a ring ceremony before the game. Then I thought the girls came out and played pretty well,” said Santoro. Santoro says the ring ceremony probably pumped his kids up even more. “We had a good crowd. They did a good promoting it and a lot of fans showed up. Like I said, there was a lot of energy in the building and I think that helped to motivate the girls too,” he said. Elyria Catholic comes to town on Tuesday night and Santoro says they will try to make the game more up tempo. “They lost their top two players from last year's team. They return some players back. They like to get up and down the court. They're going to throw several different defenses at you. They're well coached,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “You have got to play hard. They do play hard. We played them at their place last year and came out with a nice win and we're hoping we can do the same here (Tuesday) night.” Published 11/25/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Taking Steps Bellevue might experience some growing pains early in this boys’ basketball season, but they have already shown improvement during the preseason. Coach Ed Rich says they don’t really have much when it comes to variety experience. “We don't have much back. We have got two guys back who are returning letter winners. The good thing is one is Ike Brown, who is a two year letter winner and then we have another one in Sam Bollinger, but other than that we don't have much varsity experience. A couple guys who saw some clean up time last year and some spot minutes. We have got a lot of work to do in the experience department,” said Rich. Bellevue is scheduled to open the season at home November 28, the day after Thanksgiving against talented Margaretta. Their first Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game in December 10 at home against Clyde. Rich says the Redmen are already better than they were in the summer and that improvement must continue. “So far, we've had three days as a full team. Made our final rosters on Tuesday. With our football team winning a playoff game and playing the second one. So, what I've seen is I have seen some improvements since the summer, which is great. We struggled some at times this summer,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We're doing some good things. Trying to get into basketball shape is the first thing. I mean our guys are in good condition, but basketball conditioning, basketball shape is way different than the football conditioning and shape. We are trying to work them into that. We're playing together we're doing some nice things.” If you’re going to be successful in basketball, you have to be in excellent shape and Rich says that means basketball shape. “It's a lot different, our football guys are well conditioned. They're strong and they do everything they need to do during the football season, but it's just a different thing on the basketball floor with the way you need to be conditioned and the way you need to take care of yourself on the basketball floor,” he said. Published 11/18/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Counting on its Defense Bellevue travels to Lima Bath Friday night for a regional quarterfinal in division IV against the Wildcats. They advanced with a hard fought (12-6) overtime win over archrival Clyde in a first round game last Friday. Coach Alex Shepherd says they just made one more play. “Our kids played their butts off and so did Clyde. We were able to get it done in the end. It was a tough game. It was physical, hard fought. Both defenses played really well. We were able to make the last play thankfully,” said Shepherd. Fullback Billy Sberna ran it in in overtime. Lima Bath (8-2) was the runner-up in the Western Buckeye League. They lead the league in total offense with 483 yards per game and 41 points per game. Shepherd says they are big all around. “They’re really big. They’ve got good size at just about every position, especially up front. They're explosive on offense. They score a ton of points. Defensively, they run around and do some things to try to catch you off balance. So, it's going to be a test for sure,” he said. Caleb Schmidt has run for 1,661 yards and 16 TDs. Shepherd says they will do a lot of running out of the spread. “They're in the spread. They're getting into empty sets. They'll spread you out a little bit, but they tend to run the ball quite a bit out of that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I think they try to spread you out so they can thin out the box and try to run. They do a variety of things. The quarterback does a good job. He runs the ball well and they got some receivers outside.” Bellevue’s (8-3) defense is pretty good. They have given up only 15 points in the last three games, all wins. They are also plus 14 in the turnover ratio. Shepherd says again that defense has to be up to the task. “Defense travels so they say and our defense has been playing really, really well all year. So, anytime we can limit points from the other team and give ourselves a shot we always feel like we have a good chance. So, if our special teams and defense show up, we always got a shot,” said Shepherd. Published 11/05/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue in for Test With Clyde Bellevue hosts archrival Clyde on Friday night in a division IV first round playoff game. The Redmen (7-3) shared the title this season in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division with Edison. They clinched that with a (16-6) win over Vermilion last week. They also beat Clyde (33-23) on the first week of the regular season in August. Coach Alex Shepherd says the Fliers are doing a lot of the same things, but they are doing them better. “They've improved the same way we have throughout the year. They're doing some things a little bit differently, but by and large it's the same team that we played week one. They're going to be a good test,” he said. Shepherd says the Clyde (4-6) offense has become more diverse than it was when they played them a couple of months ago. “I think the quarterback had sone a really good job is spreading the ball around a little bit more maybe than what they did early on,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They have always been a team that runs the ball well, but they're able to spread it out a little bit more compared to maybe week one.” Jonathan Lantz is fourth in the “SBC” in passing yards this season (175 per game). Adam Young has 846 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. Hector Garza is one of the top defensive players in the “SBC” this year and Shepherd feels the Clyde defense is going to be physical. “They are physical and that’s kind of been their M.O. for as long as I can remember. There's still physical. They play downhill and they run well. They're going to be tough, so we got to prepare well,” said Shepherd. Published 10/29/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Can Win Share Bellevue has an opportunity to win no less than a share of the title in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference and they will do that with a win over Vermilion on Friday night. They put themselves in position with a (12-3) win over Port Clinton last week in a division game. Coach Alex Sheperd says their defense was up to the challenge. “Our kids played really, really well. They focus on the game plan. They did what we asked them to do. They got down close to the goal line a couple times and our kids bowed up and kept them out,” said Shepherd. Bellevue (6-3,2-1) is at home for Vermilion (5-4,1-2) on Friday night. The Sailors lost a division game (27-24) to Edison last week. They feature Evan Kuhns, the leading rusher in the Bay Division, with 1,505 yards and 17 TDs. Shepherd says his family has ties to Bellevue. “His dad's actually a graduate of Bellevue, so we know a little bit about them and we know he's a really good player. He's a good kid. So, we're going to have our hands full,” he said. Shepherd says Kuhns is a power back and they are going to need to slow him down before he gets started. “He’s a good sized kid, he's physical, he's downhill, he's got great straight line speed. I don't think he's going to be real shifty and make a bunch of moves in space, but runs hard, he's a tough kid. We're going to have to win the battle up front and keep him from getting a head of steam,” said Shepherd. If the Redmen win and Huron beats Edison, Bellevue will win the title outright. Shepherd says playoff position also lies in the balance. “A goal of ours is to win the conference. We've got a chance to at least be part of that and with a little bit of help we might get that outright,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “A conference game and some things on the line and we're going to play week 11. Winning this game is going to help us be able to do that at home. So, we've got quite a bit to play for.” Published 10/23/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue With Another Test Bellevue will be at Port Clinton to tangle with the Redskins on Friday night in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. These two teams have one loss in the division, as do Vermilion and Edison, the Redskins have two wins, the others have one. The Redmen (5-3,1-1) spotted Tiffin Columbian a two score lead in a crossover game last week and then scored three straight TD’s to get the win (21-14) on Friday. Coach Alex Shepherd says they got in gear after a slow start. “We made a lot of mistakes in the first half. Started off slow and then we regrouped at halftime and came out and did what we wanted to do all along and that's you know stop them from scoring points and our offense got moving and we put the ball in the end zone one more time they did, so a sluggish start, but a really nice second half from our kids,” said Shepherd. Port Clinton (5-3,2-1) got a late TD from Malaki Pinkelton to beat Edison (21-17) in a division game last week. Shepherd says really their goals don’t change much not matter who they play. “It's more of the same in this conference. I mean Port Clinton and Huron and Edison all of them, they're all good teams,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Port Clinton is just the next one up. A lot of athletes, have got a good running back, quarterback does a good job, and same as last week, we have got to try to limit big plays and we got to move the ball.” Pinkelton is second in the Bay division in rushing yards behind Evan Kuhns of Vermilion with 697 yards. Shepherd says they are going to have to know where he is at all times. “He's a dual athlete. I think he's a really good wrestler as well, if I'm not mistaken, so he does a lot of good things for them. He's shifty, he's good size, he's got some speed and he's a guy that we're going to have to watch for sure,” he said. Published 10/14/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Getting an Identity Bellevue heads to Tiffin to challenge the Columbian Tornadoes in an “SBC” crossover on Friday night. The Redmen (4-3) downed Huron (28-14) in a Bay Division game last week. Coach Alex Shepherd says they executed the game plan on both sides of the ball, including playing some pretty good defense. “Our defense has been playing well for most of the season. We had another good night, Friday. We moved the ball well offensively, which kind of kept them off the field, so that's part of it as well,” he said. Quarterback Ike Brown ran for two scores and threw a touchdown pass last week against Huron. Shepherd, in his first year as the Bellevue head coach, says they are getting a plan on what they have to do to be successful. “We're figuring out what we're good at. What we can do and kind of what we want to get away from,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “The other thing is that outside of one guy we're relatively healthy. There were periods early in the season where we had some bumps and bruises that kind of limited what we were able to do. So, we're healthy, we're getting better and we're looking forward to getting out there again this Friday.” Tiffin Columbian (4-3) edged Norwalk (21-16) in a Lake Division game last week. Shepherd says the Tornadoes present some challenges, just like anyone else in the “SBC”. “They have good size up front. The quarterback is a good player. They've got some athletes on the edge. It's more the same. This is a tough conference. The SBC's got a lot of good football and the same could said for Columbian,” said Shepherd. Published 10/09/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue to Play Explosive Huron Bellevue puts out the welcome mat for the Huron Tigers in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Redmen (3-3,0-1) lost their division opener to defending champion Edison (21-14) last week. Coach Alex Shepherd says they gave it all they could, but came up a little short. “Overall, we played hard, our kids played hard to the very end. Edison is a good football team and they made a couple more plays than we did. We stuck it out and gave ourselves a shot at the end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We had the ball there down seven with a couple minutes left and we just couldn't get it down the field in time. So, great effort, but Edison’s a good team and we made a couple too many mistakes.” Huron (3-3,1-0) neat Port Clinton (35-21) last week in their first Bay game. Landon Hohler, the Tigers quarterback, threw a couple TD passes and ran for another. Shepherd says the Tigers can put points up quickly. “Offensively they're pretty explosive. They're not jumping the paper you know quite like Shelby and Perkins does, but they have got a lot of things in common. A really good quarterback and some good receivers out there. They put up they put up a lot of points against people, so we have got to slow them down and we have got to score,” said Shepherd. Hohler has thrown 16 touchdowns passes this season and ran for nine. He is the total offense leader in the Bay. He also has three interceptions. Shepherd says he is the straw that stirs the drink for Huron. “He's what makes their offense go and he's also very good defensively. So, we have got to have an idea where he's at when we're on offense. We have got to try to limit his big plays on defense as well,” he said. Published 10/03/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports
	Bellevue Has to Play With Passion Bellevue is over at Edison to begin play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Edison won the division last year. The Redmen (3-2,0-0) fell (41-0) to Perkins in an “SBC” crossover on Friday night. Coach Alex Shepherd says Perkins played very well. “Perkins is tough they're. They have got a lot of guys returning from their really great season last year. They're a good team. Their record was a little bit deceiving. They played a pretty tough early season schedule. They had some guys injured and out for a variety of reasons. They're finally getting healthy and they played well and we struggled a little bit, so tough week,” he said. Shepherd says last week shows they have work to do. “The reality is they're a talented ballclub over there. They have got good size, they got good speed, a lot of guys retiring from the state title run last year. We have got to do everything right because we're not as big and not as fast as some of the teams we're going to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We have got to learn how to play as a team and do things with the right way. We're a good football team, but we're trying to learn how to be great. That's a process, so we're still learning.” Edison (4-1,0-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, hammered Norwalk (45-14) in a crossover last week. Shepherd says they run the veer option offense and they just give great effort at all times. “Those kids play hard. They're not jumping off the stat sheet at you when you look at height and weight like some of the teams we played recently. When you watch them on film, they're well coached and they play hard. They're good at what they do. They have a system that they've been running for a number of years and they're really good at it. They play with a lot of fire and a lot of tempo, so that's something we're going to have match,” said Shepherd. Published 9/24/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Wants to Play Keep Away Bellevue takes its act to Sandusky Perkins to play the Pirates in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday. Frankly, it’s a non-conference game because it does not count in the school’s conference records. Bellevue (3-1) played a similar game last week in blanking Norwalk (19-0) last Friday. Coach Alex Shepherd says their defense was great, but their offense could have been a lot better. “Defensively, we played about as good as we could have. Offensively, we moved the ball well. I think we had about 350 plus yards. Ran the ball well. We just shot ourselves in the foot a little bit and kept it out of the end zone a little bit more than I would have liked. Overall, the kids played hard, played well. The defense pitched a shutout,” said Shepherd. Perkins (1-3), was the division IV state runnerup last year, lost (20-13) to Harvest Prep last Shepherd says they are a lot like they were last year. “Perkins is still what they have been. They're really a good team. A lot of good players back from last year's runner up team. Athletic and have got some size up front, do some of the same things that they've done well for the last several years. I think that record's a little bit deceiving. They’re still a really good football team,” he said. Shepherd says they have to keep that Perkins offense off the field as much as they can Friday night. “Just like we saw two weeks ago with Shelby. Perkins has a lot of weapons and they're capable of scoring from anywhere on the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “It's one of the things we got to limit their possessions and try to maintain the ball, keep the ball in our hands as long as we can and put the ball in the end zone and help our defense keep them off the field.” Published 9/16/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has to Clean up Mistakes Bellevue plays at home for the third straight week as they host the Norwalk Truckers in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. This game does not count in conference records. The Redmen (2-1,0-0) were throttled (49-6) by talented Shelby last week. After Shelby scored first, the Redmen got a score of their own, but after that it was all Whippets. Coach Alex Shepherd says they didn’t execute the game plan. “We didn't do some of the things we talked about all week trying to do. Our quarterback was hobbled a little bit, so that kind of limited some of our offense and our capabilities and we tried to do the few other things. We didn't execute and do the things we needed to do. When you do that with a really good team with a lot of talent that can get away from you pretty quick and that's what happened,” said Shepherd. Shepherd says they have to understand there is a certain level of execution required no matter who they play. "My message yeah at the end was we knew all along that Shelby was extremely talented and it was going to be a tough game no matter what. When you go out there and you have a lot of miscues and you're not doing things you are supposed to do you don't have a shot to beat anybody let alone a talented team like them. So, no matter who we're playing, good or untalented, we have got to do what we do and execute. We can beat anybody and we can lose to anybody if we don't do that,” he said. Norwalk (1-2,0-0) was blanked last week by Galion (41-0) in a non-league game. Shepherd says they are getting used to a new offense, but the Truckers have some very good linemen. “They've got some good looking kids up front. Their defensive line, they get after people. They get pressure on people when they're dropping back. They've got a few kids in the back end that can run well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It looks like they implemented the wing-T this offseason. It looks like they're still trying to get that figured out a little bit, but they moved the ball on some people. That's a tough offense to deal with, so we've got to prepare and come ready to go.” Published 9/09/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue With Tough Test in Shelby Bellevue entertains Shelby in the latest instalment of that long standing rivalry on Friday night at “BAF.” They are now (2-0) on the season after a (42-14) destruction of Wauseon on Friday night. Coach Alex Shepherd says they took care of business. “We had a good week of practice. We didn't install anything new last week. We just tried to get better at what we did. Our kids came out and they were hungry and they performed well,” he said. Shelby (2-0) whipped Lexington (37-13) in their game last week. Shepherd says the Whippets have a lot of playmakers. “No secret Shelby’s super talented right now. They have got an all everything quarterback. He can do a lot of things through the air and with his feet. They have got a lot of athletes out of the edge that he can give the ball to as well. So, it’s going to be a tough test. They're definitely one of the better teams around and in division IV in general,” said Shepherd. Shelby has not won at Bellevue since 2010. Whippets quarterback Brayden DeVito is a four year starter and headed the Air Force Academy next year. He ran for two scores last week and threw three more in the win over Lexington. Shepherd says they will do their best to contain DeVito. “I don't think anybody's going to stop him. I think you just have got to try to limit the big plays the best that you can,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “He's just as good outside of the pocket as he is sitting back there throwing it. We're just trying to do some things to try to keep him from running around on us, but that's a tall task.” Shelby’s defense is good too, allowing just two scores per game. Shepherd says they are sound at all levels. “Up front they move well. Their defensive ends they can rush the quarterback. They play well against the run. Obviously, their athletes on the back end are able to cover. They've got a lot of weapons. They have got a lot of things they could do well,” he said. Published 9/05/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports
	Bellevue Wants to be Balanced Bellevue will be at “BAF” on Friday night as they host the Wauseon Indians in a non-conference action. They are coming off a big win (33-23) over archrival Clyde last week on the road. Coach Alex Shepherd says they played a sound game. “Our kids came in on a mission and they just played up to their potential. We told them all off season that we had what it took, they just had to play with extreme effort and focus and fundamentals and they did that. Hats off to our kids for playing to their potential,” he said. Last week, Ike Brown threw three touchdown passes in the win. Shepherd says their goal is to be balanced. “Our quarterback Ike Brown, a junior, he's a returning starter from last year, a three sport athlete, he's good at everything he does,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We've got a bunch of receivers out there that we trust with ball in their hands, so we're able to mix it up. We're able to do a variety of things to try to get the ball in a bunch of people's hands so we don't have to rely on just one person.” Wauseon fell to (34-28) to Sherwood Fairview last week. Shepherd says their quarterback is a playmaker. “A good sized team. Their quarterback is a 6’4”, 6’5” kid, he's put together. He's kind of their guy offensively. I think when they need something to happen they put it in his hands. They've got some big the guys up front, they're physical. It's a pretty good program, so it's going to be a tough test,” said Shepherd. Published 8/28/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Ready for Biggest Rival Bellevue opens the 2025 campaign at archrival Clyde on Friday in the “Battle of U.S. 20”. It’s Alex Shepherd’s first as the head coach of the Redmen. This spring he became just the fourth head coach in the school’s history. He says there is just a lot of excitement around the football program right now. “It's the kick off to the school year for the community and kids. Football, especially in these towns around here, is a big tradition and people love it. So, it's a lot of excitement right now,” said Shepherd. Shepherd believes his kids have made the kind of progression he has been looking for here in August. “I think from our scrimmage this past Friday I thought we improved quite a bit from that first one we had against Oak Harbor. We’ve still got a long ways to go. I told the kids I was proud of them. We’re trying to improve even more before this Friday,” said Shepherd. When it comes to Clyde, Shepherd says the Fliers are going to be consistent with what they have always been. “They are who they always are. They're another staple in this area. The same way St. Paul is, same way a lot of teams around this area. They're big and they’re physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They're coached well. The coaches up there do a really good job. They’re going to do things the right way. They're not overly complicated in their schemes, but they do what they do well. They're tough nosed hardnosed kids, so this should be a good battle.” Published 8/19/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Coach Respects Tradition Alex Shepherd is just the fourth head football coach at Bellevue High School and he excited for the opportunity. Shepherd, an assistant last year at Medina Buckeye, got the job this spring and he says this is just the kind of place he would like to be. “The tradition and the history like the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. The Steelers are in the same boat. That's what you think of. Ed Nasonti won a lot of football games at Bellevue. They've always been tough, hardnosed kids. I thought if I was going to take a first head job that'd be a really good one to take. So, the tradition, the history, the community and everything that they've built. everything that coach Nasonti helped build, I thought it would be just be such a great opportunity for myself. So, I'm excited to be here and it's been really great so far,” said Shepherd. Shepherd says the players have been dialed in. He says they are going to do some different things. “I knew coming into it it's a good group of kids. They work hard. We have just under 70 kids on the roster right now. We probably averaged in the mid 60s all summer long in the weight room. We're working out three or four days a week in the summer and we have almost every kid on the roster showing up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The kids are willing to work. They are eager to learn. They're excited to learn maybe something a little different than what they're used to. We participated in some seven on sevens this summer, which was new for them. I gave them an opportunity to open up it and go compete. Our kids are hungry to compete, so we're looking forward to getting on the field.” Bellevue will scrimmage Oak Harbor on Saturday. They open the season at archrival Clyde on August 22. Shepherd says a lot of the process so far has been just getting used to each other. “Coming from Medina Buckeye High School where there was a pretty good tradition. Coming in and learning 70 new names, 70 new faces and trying to implement an offense that is quite a bit different than what they're used to it's been a process, but it's going well. The kids really bought into to what we're trying to do and they've been taking it on with it. So, it's been a really good transition so far. I'm happy with the progress that we've made up to this point,” he said. Published 8/06/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue With Good Potential Bellevue looks to be certainly competitive in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference this season. Coach Andy Dennings says it has been a good preseason for the Redmen. “I think we got a chance to be a pretty good team here. We have got some young talent here and that's going to have to mix with some kids that are returners. So far, so good it's been a pretty promising scrimmage schedule,” he said. They start the season on Monday at Fostoria in non-conference play. Dennings says their pitching has been sound and really they have looked pretty good in all areas of the team. “We’ve thrown it pretty darn well through our four scrimmages. We were lucky enough to be able to get all four in. We've actually been very competitive on the mound, so we feel pretty good about our pitching depth,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I think defense we've got a chance once we get some of our pieces where we want them. I think we have got to be pretty solid defensively. Offensively, we've actually swung it a little bit better than we have in the past couple of years. So, there's some definite promising things here.” Being able to get all of the scrimmages in this year has been important for the Redman. Dennings says it has allowed them to take a look at some things. “We've got some kids that we're looking at in different spots, so these have really been a big help for us trying to figure out where we're going to put kids and what level we're going to put them. So, it's been really beneficial for us. We still have some things to figure out as we go, but not having to jump right into games right away and having some question marks its is always a good situation as a coach,” said Dennings. Published 3/28/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Matches up Well With Kettering Alter Bellevue meets Kettering Alter on Friday after in a division IV state championship game. A win would give the Lady Red their first ever state title. Coach Kory Santoro thinks they are ready for girls’ basketball’s biggest stage. “This is the biggest game for everybody involved with this. There's a lot of you know great hard work that goes into this, so, yeah I think we're going to be ready,” he said. Alter (18-9) beat Fairfield Union (46-33) Saturday at Ohio Dominican in a state semifinal. Santoro says they have a really good big and they have played well down the stretch. “They have a big post player Madison Moody that’s going to Northern Kentucky to play. She is a very skilled player and then they have a couple nice pieces to go with her. They have some younger kids that play. They play in a tough league. I think they finished fourth in the conference, but their conference is really good and they played well as of late,” said Santoro. Alter beat Greater Catholic Conference rival Cincinnati McNicholas (67-63) in regional final. Bellevue (27-1) got past the Laurel School (46-40) in their state semifinal. Santoro says they have the kind of personnel to match Alter. “Our post player has got several division one offers too, so she's very skilled and a very good player in her own right,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think we have a another special player Hailey Rees, that's really good too. I think we have a lot of nice pieces to fit Kaitlyn (Turinsky) and Hailey. We've been able to get a lot of production out of a lot of different players this year and I think that's been the key to our success.” Santoro says they are going to have to do a lot of things very well in order to win, but especially play defense. “Well, I think it starts with defense. I think that's been one thing that we've played very well in this tournament run is defense, and a matter of fact all year. We have got rebound and hit shots,” he said. Published 3/13/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue at New Level Bellevue has been one of the best girls’ basketball programs in North Central Ohio for a number of years, but even for them Saturday is a new level. They play the Laurel School in a division IV state semifinal on Saturday afternoon at Elyria Catholic High School. They won their first regional title last Saturday with a (63-43) win over Warrensville Heights at Norwalk. This week there has been a great deal of excitement surrounding the game, but coach Kory Santoro says there are things to do. “Our community has been great with our team this week, but at the end of the day we as coaches have got to keep them grounded and focused on what we need to do,” he said. Bellevue (26-1) has the much better record than does Laurel (14-13), but Santoro says don’t be confused this is a team that belongs in a regional. “They played a very competitive schedule. They lost their top ranked player during the summer, she transferred out. They have got really good player in Trinity Williams and they have a lot of players that play off of her. They play hard. We played them during the summer, so we're familiar with them. We're looking for a great game,” said Santoro. Santoro says Laurel does some similar things to other teams they have played, but together they are different. “I want to say it's a different animal. They're like a lot of teams we played. They actually run some of the same stuff, they don't call the same as we do, but it's got a lot of the same action,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Like I said, we got a chance to see each other this summer at the Kent State shootout and played a really tight ball game. That's when they had the third ranked player nation on their team. She's no longer with them, but they're playing very well at this point.” Published 3/07/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Confident Starting the Tournament Bellevue hosts Maumee in a division IV sectional final on Friday night as the Redmen attempt to qualify for the district tournament for the first time since anyone cared about Brittnay Spears. They beat Perkins (61-47) last week in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game. They have won five in a row. Coach Ed Rich says they are ready for the tournament. “I do think so. We went in a little slump about a month ago. We've been playing better and better ever since. I thought last Friday we played extremely well against a really good Perkins team. So, I think we're making it step by step and playing some pretty good basketball right now,” said Rich. Bellevue (15-6) plays host to Maumee (6-16) on Thursday night. The Redmen beat the Panthers (61-43) on January 7. Maumee beat Bryan (59-54) on Tuesday night in a semifinal. Rich says this is an athletic team that can make some plays. “Fortunately, we got to see them earlier this year. We played them in a non league game. They came to our place. It was a close game through three quarters and then we kind of pulled away at the end. I will say the same thing that I did then,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They're extremely talented. They have got guys who can really play. I drove two hours (Tuesday) night to Bryan to watch them play and they played extremely well (Tuesday) night. They just play hard and physical and made shots when they needed to. So, it's no small task, but they got to come here again.” Bellevue can be a hot and cold shooting team and Rich says it’s important to make some early. “It's especially true for our team. Once our guys see a couple go through, we really get a lot of confidence and start shooting really well. We have got guys who can really knock it down. So, hopefully we can see some go through early and that'll open things up really quick and we'll see what we can do from there,” said Rich. Rich says this is an important game for the program. “We're kind of looking forward to it. We've talked about it. We're looking forward to our first sectional championship years in in over 10 years, so (Thursday’s) a big one,” he said. Published 2/20/25 © Swankonsports.com There will be a special edition of “Out of Bounds” this Saturday night 10-11 PM
	Bellevue Hopes to Slow Down Perkins Bellevue will be at home to host Sandusky Perkins in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Redmen (14-6,6-3) got past Willard (67-61) Tuesday night in a non-conference game. Coach Ed Rich says both teams played well on offense. “I thought it kind of went how we how we almost predicted it. Willard’s playing much better than they were at the beginning of season. I think they won their last three games. They're moving the ball extremely well and hitting some shots and that's kind of what they did against us. It was a good win for us. We got out and hit some shots early. We didn't defend nearly as well as we would like to. That's also because Willard was really hot from three. I think they hit 10 threes and we hit 10 threes as well. So, it was kind of an offensive battle, not much defense being played, but good for us overall,” said Rich. Bellevue hosts Perkins (14-7,5-4) on Friday night. The Pirates have won their last four, including a (94-69) win over Clyde in division play last Friday. Rich says they need to contain the explosive Pirates. “They're extremely talented. They like to get out run. They have got guys who can really knock down the three ball. They played pretty close one (Tuesday) night with Huron. I know they got held under 60 (Tuesday) night. That's kind of going to be our goal is trying to contain their offensive attack, contain them. Hopefully, we can play put in some shots and keep it a game hopefully in the 50s or 60s. I know they want to get out and push, so it's kind of going to be a battle between two teams who have kind of different styles,” he said. Bellevue won at Perkins (65-60) on January 10. Rich says they need to be able to defend Perkins when they are running the floor. “That was huge for the first time we played them. We really limited their transition baskets. Our guys did an excellent job with our game plan and got back. Really the guy that we were looking to stop the most of the first game was Tim Boals, their big guy, he runs the floor extremely well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We're going to stick with him. They run the floor a couple different ways now with some ball screens on the wings and finding Boals when you help off the ball screens. So, we're definitely going to adjust. We're trying to adjust to what they're doing. Hopefully, we can put a game plan together and if we do our kids will follow it and we'll see what happens on Friday.” Published 2/13/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Playing Really Well Bellevue, the top seed in the district, entertains the Ontario Lady Warriors in a division IV sectional final on Thursday night. After wins over Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division champ Margaretta (57-32) and over Norwalk (55-27) to share the Lake Division title on Saturday, Bellevue (21-1), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is playing a well as anyone in this part of the state. Coach Kory Santoro says they are where they want to be. “We really like where we're at right now as far as playing our best basketball at the right time of season. That's where you want to be heading into the tournament,” said Santoro. All the stats aside, Santoro says it’s the team chemistry that makes the Lady Red go. “I just think it's the camaraderie we have with this group. They're tight knit group, they work extremely hard and they believe,” he told Swanknsports.com on Tuesday evening, “I think that's the strength of the team.” Ontario (5-16) finished sixth in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference this season. Santoro says it’s a chance for the Lady Warriors to make their season. “They have got some nice length in the post area. We know that this is a second chance in the season. We know they're going to play hard and we'll be ready,” he said. Published 2/12/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Defense Name of the Game for Bellevue Bellevue entertains Norwalk in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Redmen rallied to beat Ontario (66-51) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night, holding the Warriors to just seven points in the fourth quarter. Coach Ed Rich says Ontario has very good talent, but they were more disciplined and that won them the game. “It was a really good win. I think they only have five or six wins, but I'm telling you they're extremely talented. They have got those two freshmen guards who are pretty good and pretty skilled and they're shot makers. So, it was a great win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It was a huge fourth quarter. I think we outscored them 25-7 in the fourth. I just think our depth got to them. We were a little bit more disciplined than they were. We were fundamental when they were trying to trap and everything in the full and half. So, took the lead in the fourth and just kept our foot on the pedal.” Bellevue (12-6,5-3) plays at home against Norwalk (7-11,1-7) on Friday night. The Redmen won the first meeting (36-34) on December 3. Rich says a big difference will be the Truckers are without Ben Rothhaar, who graduated early and left for Rutgers. “They are running a lot of the same stuff for sure. They're putting in some new wrinkles. Rothhaar is a great athlete. We watched our first game and he did a heck of a job versus the first game protecting the basket. We really struggled to score. Speaking of discipline, they're a very disciplined team. They're a lot like us defensively. They're just a lot bigger than we are. We expect another kind of typical Bellevue Norwalk game. It's going to be physical and it's going to be hard to come by baskets,” said Rich. Rich says this game always seems to boil down to a tough, intense, defensive battle and this time should be no different. “We're very similar with our defensive styles. I think a lot of coaches preach defense, but I think Bellevue and Norwalk for the most part you know we really hammer defense. We hang our hats on it, both of us do. I think that just kind of speaks to the toughness of our kids too. Both programs have some tough kids that are willing to sit down and defend. We're going to have to find ways to score the basketball,” he said. Published 2/07/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the tip At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Needs to Make Shots Bellevue plays at Tiffin Columbian on Saturday night in a game in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division. On Wednesday night, the Redmen lost (52-36) to Crestview, the Firelands Conference leader. Coach Ed Rich says they played outstanding defense, but they couldn’t make any shots. “They are good team. Actually, was a really good game the whole way through until the end. We started amping up our pressure a little bit, started fouling them. It was a close game. We had plenty of chances, but we're really struggling to put the ball in the basket right now. I thought we did an excellent job defending, especially a player of Justice Thompson’s caliber. I thought we did a great job defending him and defending overall,” said Rich. Rich says they need to find some confidence on the offensive end of the floor. “We have not shot the ball very well since the Upper game where we went like 10-12 from three in the second half. So, we have not shot of very well since then and that was three games ago. So, we're kind of searching for an answer here and searching for a little bit of confidence and see a couple go through and we really need it now. I think we are on a three game skid, which is the longest skid we've had here in the last couple of years. So, we're looking for some shots to go,” he said. Bellevue (10-6,4-3) visits Tiffin Columbian (9-9,4-3) on Saturday night. Tiffin beat Sandusky Perkins (57-47) in a division game on Wednesday night. It was their sixth win in seven games. The Redmen smoked Columbian (66-39) on December 20. However, Rich says this is a different team they are playing. “They are playing extremely well. The first time around we played them we knew they were dangerous. We played extremely well against them and beat them pretty soundly. They're a lot different right now. They're playing with tons of confidence. They're playing with tons of good continuity with each other. They're jumping out to early leads in some of these games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They're just playing extremely well on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively. Some guys are really stepping up and knocking down shots and helping out the (Zach) Shawberry kid. He carries most of the load, but he's got guys around him now that are starting to score for them as well. So, right now they're pretty dangerous.” Published 1/31/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the tip At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Must Handle Pressure Bellevue, of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, is at Ontario, of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, on Tuesday night in a non-league game. The Redmen share second place in the division with Perkins, two behind Sandusky. They lost (61-55) to Sandusky on Friday night. Coach Ed Rich says they played well, but they just could never get the lead against the Blue Streaks. “I think they got they up on a 16-6 in the first quarter. I think we outscored in the second, played even in the third and outscored them in the fourth. We got as close as one in the third, but turnovers killed us. We had 18, which against them isn't necessarily horrible, but a little bit more than we wanted. We asked our kids to battle and they battled. We wanted a chance in the fourth and we gave ourselves a chance. We just couldn't get it done,” said Rich. Bellevue (10-4), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is at Ontario (4-9) on Tuesday night, weather permitting. The Warriors held off Clear Fork (47-46) in a “MOAC” game on Saturday night. Rich says Ontario has some very good, young talent. “They are extremely young. I think they started four freshmen Saturday night against Clear Fork that I watched. He's changed lineups a couple times in the last couple games. Yeah, they have got two really, really good guards in #25 and #30. Those are the guys I think everyone needs to focus on and that's what we're going to focus on. They're young, but they have got some talent. If something clicks with them, they could be extremely dangerous,” he said. Rich says Ontario will show them a variety of presses and they have to be able to handle them. “A little bit here and there they throw the old school traditional 1-2-1-1 diamond, which I haven't seen in a while and also get up into you in the man. It could be very effective,” he told Swankonsports.com. “Like sharks, if they smell blood in the water, they're going to jump all over it. So, I have saw it be very effective against some teams and I've saw other teams handle it fairly well. So, it's just going to come down to how we handle it initially on Tuesday night and if we handle initially, I think we'll be okay.” Published 1/21/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue With Huge Comeback Bellevue rallied from 20 down at the half to beat Upper Sandusky (53-47) on Tuesday night in a non-conference game. Now, they host Sandusky in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday and a win would move them into a share of first with the Blue Streaks. Coach Ed Rich says they found some confidence shooting the ball in the second half. “They are definitely a really good team. They have got a really good starting five and we don't match up very well with them. They have got some size. We came out a little flat, kind of a little deer in the headlights look. Unfortunately, one of our better players, arguably our best player (Ike Brown), was out with a broken nose. So, we're hoping to get him back soon, but our guys kind of were a little worried and it bothered them a little bit. We talked about that at half and they responded that halftime. We came out and banged 10 threes and went 10-14 from three in the second half and found a way to win,” said Rich. Bellevue (10-3,4-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, hosts Sandusky (8-4,5-0), #4 in our poll, on Friday night. Rich says the Streaks record is deceiving. He says this a huge game really for both sides. “With the inconsistencies the major factor with that is they have played a brutal schedule. They have played some big time teams and will continue to play big time teams. We're going to go out there and try to battle. It's a game that could decide the SBC Lake. We still have an outside chance of trying to take it from them or share it with them. We're going to have our hands full, they're playing well, they're at full strength and we have got to take care of the basketball against them,” he said. In their first meeting back on December 10, Sandusky had to rally to win (53-48) in a nail biter. Rich says the will come into the game with a measure of confidence. “I think we talked about it before, they were pretty confident they were going to go 22-0 in the regular season. That ended game one for them when they lost to Elyria, but they're loaded with talent. They were missing a couple guys the first game we played them, but they still had top three and Aaron, Henlon, and Kobe Brown,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “The guys that are coming here definitely help, but our guys have some confidence I think playing against them. They’re going to come to our place on Friday and we're going to give it our best shot.” Published 1/15/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Must Slow Perkins Down Bellevue is at Sandusky Perkins on Friday night for a battle between the two second place teams in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Both trail Sandusky by a game. The Redmen beat Maumee (61-43) in a non-league game on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says they made some perimeter shots in the second half. “I thought it was okay. I thought we started off kind of slow. We couldn't shoot it all in the first half. They really have I think only two or three wins, but they have got some nice pieces. They have got a 6’8” kid, who really hurt us in the first half, he had 14 in the first half and we found a way to hold him to two in the second half. We played well enough to win the second half. We went 6-12 from three in the second half, so that helped a lot. So, we'll take the win and we're looking forward to playing (Friday) night,” said Rich. Bellevue (8-3,3-1) is at Perkins (7-2,2-1) on Friday. The Pirates whipped Norwalk (74-46) in a division game on Tuesday. Rich says they score and they score in a hurry. “They are extremely athletic. They're led by one of the better players, top five or six players, in the SBC in Joey Diedrich. He's a really nice player, does a lot of really good things. They run the floor extremely well. They want to get their points in transition and they get out and go,” he told Swankonsports.com Thursday evening, “I think every first quarter of this year but one they've scored over 20 points. They look for a good, fast, hot start, so they do a lot of good things. They have a big guy too in Tim Boals and they have got shooters around him. They have just got a lot of pieces.” Rich says they want to control the tempo and make Perkins execute the half court stuff. “That's our goal. We like to run as well. I want to say they can run a little bit better than we can because that's kind of their style. We have just implemented it this year. We definitely want to keep it a half court game, keep them in the half court, make them run their stuff against us and limit easy baskets and limit transition baskets,” he said. Published 1/10/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the tip At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue to play Physical Norwalk Bellevue makes the short trip to Norwalk to meet the Truckers in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Both trail Sandusky by a game in the division standings. The Redmen are coming off a solid (64-45) win over Pemberville Eastwood in a non-conference game on Friday night. Coach Ed Rich says they made some shots. “They were playing some pretty good basketball. Like I said, they have got some nice looking athletes. They defend extremely well. They’ve got guys can put it in the basket. Like we talked on Friday (night) we started hitting shots and when we start hitting shots, we play with a whole lot of confidence on both ends of the floor. So, nice win overall for us,” he said. Bellevue (6-2,2-1) is over at Norwalk (3-4,1-1) on Friday night. The Truckers have not played since December 23 when they lost (45-35) to Shelby in a non-conference game. Rich says Norwalk had a got some players. “They are very, very similar to what they've done in the past, they're nasty. They're tough, they hit the glass hard, they have got some big, physical kids. They have got the (Jordan) Parriott kid is now running the point. They have got the (Mason) Gamble kid, who's seems like he's been there for 15 years,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They have a lot of nice pieces. We have got to go to their place and play and it’s never easy to play there. Hopefully, we continue with our hot shooting and go there and knock down some shots early and see what we have the rest of the game.” Norwalk is a physical team, especially if Ben Rothhaar plays, and Rich says that can be a tough matchup for them. “We are not the most overly physical team. My kids play hard. They play as hard as they can at all times, but we're not very big. We don't have a whole lot of beef on our team. Norwalk's got some big dudes. Obviously, the Rothhaar kid, a division one football player. If he plays, he's a load, he's an absolute load in there. So, we'll see how we can match up with them and their physicality,” said Rich. Published 12/31/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue to Meet Solid Eastwood Bellevue entertains Pemberville Eastwood in a non-conference basketball game on Friday night. The Redmen dropped a (65-58) decision to Fremont Ross in non-league play on Monday. Coach Ed Rich they were done in by a bad start. “They came out early and got into us and jumped on us pretty quick. I think the first quarter score was like 24-16 them. We started the game with three straight turnovers, so kind of dug a hole early. Got down around 18 in the third quarter and battled our way back in the fourth and cut it to four, but it was too little too late,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon. “There were a lot of bad things that happened to the game for us, but I give my kids credit for continuing to battle back after being down 18. So, that was that was a big positive for us.” Rich says when you get behind like that it takes a lot of energy to get back in the game. “I thought we came up with a little timid really and I don't know why. Ross is a nice team. I think it's one of the better teams that coach (John) Cahill has had since he’s been there. We dug our ourselves a good hold and when you do that against a good team it's really hard to make a full comeback against them,” he said. Bellevue (5-2) hosts Eastwood (5-1) on Friday. The Eagles beat Archbold (38-35) last Saturday. Rich says this is a typical Eastwood team. “I've watched most of their games. Their extremely competitive. They look a lot like the Eastwood teams in the past. They're very disciplined, good on defense, run their stuff extremely well and have some nice athletes. So, they're going to be a tough matchup for us. It’s a pretty good Eastwood team coming to town (Friday),” said Rich. Published 12/27/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Playing Well Bellevue hosts Tiffin Columbian in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. On Tuesday night, they smoked Huron (57-35) in an “SBC” crossover. Coach Ed Rich says they were pretty good on both ends of the floor. “We came in there against a pretty good and athletic Huron team. We defended extremely well, held their top two scorers way under their average. Late in the third, early fourth, we went on a nice little run, hit some threes and blew the game open. It was a battle there into the third quarter, but we just kind of took over towards the end of the game and then closed it out pretty early,” he said. Bellevue (4-2,1-1) is at home for Columbian (1-3,0-0) on Friday night. It’s the Tornadoes first division game. Rich says they have an excellent wing in Zach Shawberry. “They're dangerous. Zach Stawberry is their best player. He was probably the best or one of the best for Tiffin last year as well. He's a dangerous player because he can score inside or out, an extremely good athlete. Obviously, coach (Ryan) Fretz, we know each other well. I thought he did an excellent job at Clyde. Had a couple of years where the record wasn't exactly what they wanted, but his kids always competed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We're going to have our hands full with them. He does a good job with his stuff and has his kids playing hard. We have got to do what we need to do. We have got to defend and we have got to hit shots. If we could do that, we'll definitely give ourselves a chance to win.” There are only 10 league games in the Lake Division, and with a loss already, Rich knows they can’t afford many more. “We already have one in the loss column in the SBC Lake. We have got one win and one loss in the SBC Lake, so we need to try to put together as many wins as we can and hope for the best that at the end of the year,” he said. Published 12/19/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue to Play Angry Sandusky Bellevue, after winning two last weekend, opens play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Tuesday at defending champion Sandusky. The Redmen beat Port Clinton (64-45) last Friday and Elyria Catholic (53-47) on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they were two pretty good efforts by the Redmen. “Went to “PC” and jumped on them pretty early, hit some shots early, getting confidence and that kind of carried us through the rest of the game. Saturday, we went up against an Elyria Catholic team that came in averaging around 65 a game shoot 45 percenter, 44 percent from three from three and we did a heck of a job defensively on them, kind of locked them down. Had two really good scoring quarters and one really bad scoring quarter. I think in the third quarter we put up 24 points and that was kind of the difference in the game. So, we played well enough to win for sure, but still have a lot of work still left to do, but we'll take this weekend,” said Rich. Bellevue (2-1,0-0) is at Sandusky (0-2,0-0) on Tuesday night. The Blue Streaks lost (84-77) at Mansfield Senior on Saturday night. Rich says the Blue Streakd will be in a foul mood when they arrive. “I can tell you that's not good that they’re 0-2 because we're going to go in there Tuesday night to their home opener and they’re going to be an angry Sandusky team. I know they're not happy. They talked all offseason about being undefeated and win the state championship, and the state championship thing is still possible, but they really believed they were going to go undefeated regular season this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They played two schools that are actually their size and then they struggled a little bit with them, so we're going to have our hands full for sure. They have got about everybody back. They are missing at least one guy right now with an injury, but they're still very, very dangerous.” Sandusky is a team with a lot of “spurtablity” and Rich says they have to control that Tuesday night. “Every year we've been here I've played them there's times where we keep it close throughout the whole game. Two games last year we were within striking distance the entire game and then we end up losing by 20 because. They go on one of those spurts. The same thing happened last year. We played them really well for you know three quarters, three and half quarters. There we played really well for three and half quarters, but they get these spurts where it’s unbelievable, it's like there's ten of them on the floor. They do a great job with their pressure and get the ball up the floor. So, if we can control those spurts, we'll give ourselves a chance,” he said. Published 12/10/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has to Make Shots Bellevue needs to find some confidence as they play two games this weekend. They play at Port Clinton on Friday and host Elyria Catholic on Saturday. They were whipped (67-34) by Margaretta in their opener on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says the Polar Bears gave them a lot of problems. “They're a nice team. It was a tough opener for us for many reasons. They got out and defended extremely well, that's kind of what stood out on film when I watched him before the game. They defended extremely well, they put the ball in the basket and we had a lot of trouble scoring. So, it was a tough one. I think my kids are going to learn from it though. It was a great atmosphere against a really good team. We broke down the film and I think it's a good learning experience for a lot of our guys,” he said. Right now, Rich says they are getting some shots, they just have to have the confidence to make them. “I think we just have got to shoot with a little bit more confidence. I think right now what we see is we're kind of shooting and hoping that it goes in instead of shooting and knowing that's going in,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It's just going to be a little mindset change. I think we can do it. We were streaky this preseason shooting the ball as well. There were times where we would shoot it extremely well and there's other times where we struggle. So, we just need to find some consistency in our shooting and I think we'll be okay because we really did execute all of our stuff really good we just need to make shots.” Rich says Port Clinton (2-0), on the other hand, has been playing with a lot of conference offensively. “They're playing a lot of young kids, a lot of kids that I didn't have in my scouting report last year are playing this year. Speaking of shooting with confidence those kids, he's got his kids shooting the ball with a lot of confidence. They play with a lot of confidence overall, so they're feeling pretty good about themselves. They will play again here (Tuesday) against Lake. They have a chance to be 3-0 when we go into their place. So, I think we’ll have our hands full for sure,” said Rich. Published 12/03/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue With Another Challenging Opponent Bellevue, always one of the best girls’ basketball teams in this part of the state, will be at Elyria Catholic on Tuesday night for a non-conference game. They won their opener on Saturday in downing Perrysburg (49-42) in non-league play. Coach Kory Santoro says it was a quality win for them. “Well, we're happy with the win. Anytime you open up with Perrysburg you know you're going to get a well coached team, very well prepared team and it was honestly kind of like a tournament type game for the first game, it was that intense. It was back and forth the whole game, so it was a fun opening game,” said Santoro. Santoro says they want to play a tough schedule and that’s what they have got this year. “I think our AD Cody Cramer has put together a good schedule for us. We want to be the best. In order to be the best you have got to play some tough teams and have a good schedule and that's what we have this year,” he said. Santoro says Elyria Catholic is another example of the kind of non-conference opponent they want to play. “It’s the first time playing them. They return a few starters from last year's team. I know they lost a real good player last year. They play hard and they get after it, they’re physical and they like to shoot the three-point shot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They run similar offense to what we do, the dribble drive offense. So, we're very familiar with the offensive because we run it ourselves.” Published 11/26/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Wants to Run Bellevue is going to be a different kind of basketball team this year as they look to push the tempo of the game. Coach Ed Rich says they are going to play a lot of guys that are new to varsity basketball. “It's not necessarily a young team, but it's definitely an inexperienced team. We have four guys back with varsity experience and only and only three of them are letter winners. We have got to figure out the varsity level pretty quick here,” he said. Rich says he has seen some good things here during the preseason in November. “Actually, the progression has been good. We weren’t very good in our first couple scrimmages. Struggled with a lot of things. I think the speed of the game was the biggest difference for some of these guys. I would say our last two that I've seen nice improvement obviously. We still got a ways to go, but we definitely have improved quite a bit over our last two, so we're feeling pretty good about that right now,” said Rich. Bellevue has really relied on its defense in recent years. Rich says they hope to be good in that area again this year, but they also know they need to score more in games. “We definitely have figured that out. We know we don't have the length that we've had the last three or four years, so we definitely have to push the pace, put some points on the board. The last couple of years that we've done a really good job defensively of holding teams to 50 or under for most of the games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We still want to hang our hat on defense, but we know it's going to be a little bit more difficult this year to defend like we've been. So, we're getting out and running a little bit more and pushing the pace and we're hoping that will pay off for us.” Published 11/22/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Ed Nasonti Has Lived a Football Life You almost can’t say Bellevue football without saying Ed Nasonti, but we are going to have to learn how because the longtime coach has decided to retire after more than 50 years of being part of the program. He became Bellevue head coach in 1991 and amassed 260 wins, 14 league titles, won three regional final games and led the Redmen to a state runner-up finish in 2012. He was enshrined in the Ohio Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2022. Nasonti says there have been a lot of great wins, but it is the people that he remembers the most. “I’m very grateful coaching for 44 years, 34 as the head coach, and all the relationships that I made with the players on my team. We've won games, we’ve won championships, but the relationships that I've made with the players and coaches and even rival coaches I've heard from in the last couple of days that really makes me feel good,” he said. Really being a head coach is a full time job and it takes an enormous amount of time. Nasonti says it is time for him to do other things in his life. “When you talk about talk about the decision to pull the plug. I think the fact I've been doing it for 44 years. I've been a part of every kind of championship you can win being the baseball coach and the football coach I feel it's time to dedicate this next chapter of my life to my family. I have 5 grandkids, I have got two wonderful daughters and two great sons in laws and a fantastic wife that was the best coach’s wife anybody could have. So, I think it's time that I do some of the things that that they want to do. I know that my whole adult life has been centered around nine months in the weight room and then three months coaching football and back in the weight room and three months coaching football. Although that was my passion and the love of my life, I think it's time to try something else,” said Nasonti. Ed was also baseball coach from 1983-1992, taking the Redmen to the state title in 1985. When I said the football field at Bellevue should carry his name, Nasonti responded with the kind of humility that is often missing in this world. “I just did my job to the best of my ability. I poured my heart and soul into our program and the community of Bellevue and I honestly have no regrets,” he said. Nasonti graduated from Bellevue in 1977 and he says he knew very early in life what he wanted to be. “My dad took me to my first Bellevue Redmen football game. When I saw those guys come out of the locker room and they had the silver helmets with the red feather on it I was just smitten by that from that point on. I couldn't wait to play for Bellevue and that was always a dream for me. I liked all the sports, I was the three sporter, and I played them all, but football was the one for me,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Then I was fortunate enough to go away and play college football. I got into education because the people that I admired and I looked up to were the teachers and the coaches. I always respected my coaches. As a young kid the players were my heroes and then the coaches were my heroes. I wanted to be somebody that the kids could emulate.” Right away, Nasonti joined the Bellevue football staff in 1981 and was excited to be part of a great tradition. “I was very fortunate to come back and my coach that I had in high school was still the head football coach and he hired me as a junior high coach. So, one year I'm playing Mid-American Conference football and the next year I'm coaching eighth grade football, but I was tickled to do it and I was excited. We've had three head football coaches since 1952, so you're talking over seven decades we've had three football coaches. I played for both of the guys that were before me. I played for Lowell Schaefer in his last year in 1974 and I played Terry Adams in his first year of 1975. I don't think there's many schools around the state of Ohio that can say that. So, football has always been a big part of my life. I've enjoyed it for that many years, 54 years I've been on a football field every fall, as either a player or a coach, so it's a big gap for me to fill,” said Nasonti. In my 36 years covering high school athletics I have even had coaches tell me they have integrity, but here's the deal if you have integrity people will know it. Ed and I have not always agreed on things and that’s all right, but I knew early on he had integrity by the way he treated me. He’s old school and that’s fine too. Bellevue, and high school sports, has benefited from the leadership of Ed Nasonti.
	Bellevue Ready to go Bellevue plays at Vermilion in a Bay Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. It was tough loss for the Redmen last week, falling (29-26) to Port Clinton in a division game. Coach Ed Nasonti says it boiled down to some plays right at the end of the game. “It was tough loss. It's kind of uncharted waters for us over here. If you come into our fieldhouse, we have a big sign up in our fieldhouse and it says no excuses and that goes for the head coach too. We're not playing good enough to get over the hump. We had five plays probably in the end of the fourth quarter that if we make any one of the five plays, we probably would have been successful in that game and we didn't make any of the five,” he said. Nasonti says at Bellevue they don’t feel sorry for themselves. “It's been tough sledding this year. It isn’t easy for anybody that's involved. We're not about self pity over here. We're about supporting each other and I think we've done a good job with that. I've talked to you before there's no finger pointing with the players and there's no finger pointing with the coaches. We've stayed together and tried to bail water the best that we can. So, here we are going into week 10, hard to believe this season is going by this fast, but we have got a good football team here in Vermilion coming up and we're hoping we can finish on a positive note,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (2-7,0-3) plays at Vermilion (7-2,2-1) on Friday night. The Sailors fell (17-0) in unbeaten Edison in a division game last Friday. Nasonti says they have a lot of weapons. “I think their coaches have done a pretty good job putting things together over there. We've seen this class come up from seventh grade on. They have a nice group of kids that execute their game plan. They're playing with confidence. They had a schedule that was conducive to them and getting some success early. They have a really good quarterback. They're doing a lot of the “Q” runs with him and they've been successful there. They've also have three running backs that they take turns giving the ball to and these guys run hard and they're physical. A lot of times those guys are doing the blocking on the “Q” runs also. Those same guys are on the defensive side of the ball and they run to the ball and they like to hit. Like I said, they're playing with confidence and they're riding the wave right now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “It should be a good ball game for us. Even though we haven't been that successful this year our kids have laid it out there and I'm proud of the way that they've played each week and I feel strongly that we're going to have a good showing (Friday) night.” Published 10/25/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Doing it the Right Way Bellevue will host Port Clinton on Friday night in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Last week, the Redmen fell (28-14) to Tiffin Columbian in a “SBC” crossover game. Coach Ed Nasonti feels like it was as well as they have played this year. “I was proud of our kids. I thought they battled. I think it was probably one of the best games that we played this year. We had ourselves in position to possibly win the game. I know we gave up like three big touchdown passes or big plays with passes that their receivers got behind our guys. We also fumbled punt that led to a short field that put them on the board. It was a 28-14 game at halftime and that's the way it ended,” he told Swankponsports.com on Monday evening, “We played them tough the second half and never gave up another score. I thought our kids never quit. I've told you all year, we like our kids. We're proud of our kids because they don't quit. I think there's something to be said for that. They've been practicing well, they've been sticking together and I know that we're going to play hard this week against Port Clinton.” Nasonti was they clearly still have goals that they can achieve. “We have got two games left and we still have something to play for. We're hoping that if we can get these last two games that can give us a favorable position maybe in the playoffs and who knows what happens. We have a lot of young kids playing. I think when you look at the number of kids on our team. We have you know 44 underclassmen on our team. So, those guys are getting a lot of experience and they're trying to step up and be leaders also as we come into the last two games,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (2-6,0-2) plays at home against Port Clinton (2-6,0-2) on Friday night. The Redskins were throttled (41-7) by unbeaten Edison in a division game last week. Nasonti says they have some guys that can make plays. “They have a really good quarterback that that makes plays, his name is (Wyatt) Yarborough, he's good size, he's like 6’2”, he throws the ball very well. They have a running back named (Malakii) Pinkleton that is explosive and can make some plays. It's going to be at our place and we're looking forward to it. I'm sure that they feel in their minds they have a chance to get a “W”. It's going to be senior night for us. It will be our last home game for our seniors. So, we're looking forward to sending those guys off in the right way,” he said. Published 10/15/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Getting Better Bellevue will be at home for Tiffin Columbian in a crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. In a Bay Division game last week, Huron beat the Redmen (19-7) last Friday. Coach Ed Nasonti says they gave themselves a chance. “I think when you take a look at the teams that we've lost to I think that the their record is like 31-4 of the teams that have beaten us, the five teams that have beaten us. So, we have played a really good schedule. We played some really good football teams and at times like I told you before we've played some pretty good football. You look at last week's game, we don't give up a touchdown. They hit a got a punt return on us and they have a really good kicker that kicked four field goals. We got stopped down inside the 10 yard line twice,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “If you can score three touchdowns you can win a game we were happy with our defense. Our defense didn't give up the score. We're getting better, but we're taking those baby steps with our kids. You look at our team, we have got four sophomores that are playing both ways for us. So, in a lot of ways we're proud of our kids and then there's some ways that we're disappointed. We're disappointed because we haven't been able to get in the win column.”: Nasonti, a coach for over 40 years, the defense has shown them a lot of good things. “We think that we've played some solid games here in the last couple weeks here. We went up against a really good Edison team gave up three touchdowns, didn't give up a touchdown last week at all, so we're still hoping we could put it together. The kids have practiced well. I think our coaches are doing a good job. I tell you that every week. I'm proud of way that our kids are staying the course, staying positive and practicing hard every day and each week we hope we can continue to get better,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (2-5) is at home for Tiffin Columbian (2-5) on Friday night. The Tornadoes lost (33-14) to Clyde in a Lake Division game last week. Nasonti believes the teams are similar and expects a good game on Friday. “Tiffin’s record is deceiving too, a lot like ours. They have played some really good football teams. They played Bishop Waterson, they played Chardon. They have some really big offensive lineman, three guys up over 280 pounds. They've played some good football and came up on the short end of the stick a lot like us. So, we got them here at home and we're looking forward to it and hoping that it's a good football game,” he said. Published 10/09/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Seeing Improvement It’s another challenging game for Bellevue as the Redmen are at Huron to tangle with the Tigers on Friday night in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Last week, Bellevue played their third unbeaten team of the season and lost to Edison (21-6) in a Bay Division game. Coach Ed Nasonti says he is very proud of the effort of his kids. “I know I sound like a broken record, but we're really proud of our kids. We thought our kids played hard. They've done everything we've asked them to do. They battled Edison for four quarters and we came up short, but we didn't come up short when it when it comes to playing with heart and determination. We give our kids a lot of credit for that and we're proud of our kids. We want to keep improving. We've made some improvement, it hasn't been as fast as what we had hoped, but we have been getting better. We hope we can put it all together this week against a pretty solid Huron ballclub,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says he is going to continue to be patient with the team that he has this year. “I stand back here at practice every day and I'm taking a look and I'm counting the guys in our 11 guys on defense, you might have eight or nine of them underclassmen. It might be the same way on offense. I'm sitting here thinking and as we're practicing, okay, what kind of improvement has he made? We're going to have him back next year. We lose this guy, but we have got this guy here. There's a lot of positives here. I think with the young kids we have to stay positive with them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I think that they care. When their care factor is high and they're doing everything they can and they're playing physical and they're trying to represent our community and our school and our football program the best they can then we have got to be proud of those kids and keep them encouraging them. I think our coaches have done it. Sometimes it's tough when you're used to getting those W's and it seems like your tank is running on empty. We have to be proud of the effort that our have been making this year and focus on the positive and keep moving forward.” Bellevue (2-4,0-1) plays at Huron (5-1,1-0) on Friday. The Tigers beat Port Clinton (9-6) last week. Nasonti says this is another good team they will be playing. “They have played some pretty good football. When you're looking at their starting lineup they have a lot of seniors. They have some big play makers on their offense. They have the (Landon) Hohler kid at quarterback, and he's a coach’s son, so he makes some really good decisions, he's a good athlete and the offense goes through him. So, a very solid ballclub. We have to go over there, but we're looking forward to the challenge of getting one in the win column,” he said. Published 10/02/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Staying the Course Bellevue begins play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference as they entertain the Edison Chargers on Friday night. They played likely the best team in North Central Ohio last week and they lost (43-0) to Sandusky Perkins. Coach Ed Nasonti says he was very pleased with the effort his kids gave. “I thought our kids played hard. We were going up against a very good football team. I know that I talked to you last week and I told you they're one of the best teams in the State of Ohio. When we lined up Friday night they're as advertised. They're very solid at all the positions. They're big up front and they have great speed. The one thing I can say is that our kids played hard and they never quit. You take a look at the three losses that we've had this year. They've been to some very good football teams and sometimes you have got to tip your hat to them. You look at the record of the three teams that we've lost to and it's 14-1,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Sometimes the credit needs to go to the people that that are getting the job done and not so much a discredit to our kids. We've tried to stay positive with our kids. There have been times this year where we play some good football, but like I told you before we haven't been as consistent as we were hoped to be. Even in the Perkins game there were times where we stopped them, but we couldn't consistently stop them and they're a big play team and they made some big plays.” Bellevue is a young football team this year and Nasonti says there continue to be growing pains. “One thing about this week is that we know we're getting into league play, so it's a new season for us. We still have a lot to play for. We have an opportunity to be a conference champion and make the playoffs and see what you can do there. Our focus has been this week, and has been all throughout the year, we need some consistency. We need to be physical, we need to be assignment sharp. A lot of times when you have a young football team it's hard to get all those things. I was standing there (Thursday) night in the back half of our practice here while looking at our defense and I started counting underclassmen. We had 10 underclassmen on the defensive side of our ball. So, when you get young kids sometimes they get in games and they get a little wide eyed. You don't get the production that you like. So, we're staying the course with our kids. I know our coaches are working hard and our kids are trying hard and we're trying to do the best we can and that's what we're going to do (Friday) night,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (2-3,0-0) plays at home at home against Edison (5-0,0-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday night. The Chargers stuffed Norwalk (35-0) last week. It was their second straight shutout. Nasonti says they must be assignment sharp. “They are a triple option team and those guys do a good job over there. I’ve known Jimmy Hall for a long time and he's a real solid coach. He has a really solid coaching staff and their kids play hard. They run an offense that you only see one time throughout the year. So, you have to be sharp with it. You have to coach your kids up and they have to be assignment sharp,” he said. Published 9/27/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue With Standards Bellevue will play host to likely the best football team in North Central Ohio on Friday night when they have Sandusky Perkins in an “SBC” crossover game. In another of those crossovers last week they beat Norwalk (21-18) on Friday night. Coach Ed Nasonti says they played a pretty good football game. “I thought our kids did a good job. We won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Came up big couple different times. We had a goal line stand on the one yard line and we turned around and drove it 99 yards. It just was a good, solid, fundamental football. I know last week, I had talked to you about we needed to do a better job tackling, we needed to do a better job blocking, and we needed to have a consistent effort,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “There's not going to be any magical offense or magical defense you have to put all this together. I thought that's what we did. We came out and played solid. We did a good job containing their division I athlete that they have over there. The Rothhar kid is pretty special. We slowed him down. So, it was a nice team win.” Bellevue has a long tradition of success and Nasonti says they were up front with their kids last week. “We challenged our kids. We didn't play a great football game against Shelby the week before. So, we challenged our kids at practice. We have standards here at Bellevue and we want our kids to play at a certain level. As a coaching staff, we want to take the kids to a place they can't take themselves. If they could take themselves there, they wouldn't need us,” he said. Bellevue (2-2) plays Perkins (4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. Perkins outlasted Harvest Prep last week. Nasonti says they have told the kids this is an opportunity. “They’re solid everywhere at all positions on both sides of the ball. They have some veteran kids. They have some division I athletes. They're a very good football team. We look at it as a great challenge and a great opportunity to play one of the best football teams in the State of Ohio,” he said. Published 9/17/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Must Accept the Challenge Bellevue is down the road at Norwalk for a crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Last week, the Redmen (1-2) were shutout (34-0) by Shelby. Coach Ed Nasonti says they got beat by a good team and a very good quarterback, but still their execution wasn’t good. “Well, we knew coming in it was going to be a challenge. DeVito's one of the better quarterbacks that we've seen in some time. He’s tough to stop and they got him going, got him rolling there. He can throw it and run it and we knew that going in. Disappointing loss for us, but I told you in the beginning of year we knew we were going to be young. We knew we would have some growing pains. We've lost two games to two pretty good football teams. Looking back on the game. We've talked to the kids this week there's no magical offensive plays or there's no magical defensive plays. We have to be more consistent blocking and tackling and we have to get consistent effort if we're going to get this thing going,” said Nasonti. Yes, they are a young and inexperienced team, but Nasonti believes this is a game they can win. “We're a young football team. We're staying positive with our kids and we have some games on our schedule that we feel are winnable. Norwalk over the years have played us tough and it'll be a good ball game, but this is one that that we need to come out and with our guns loaded and fire all our bullets,” he said. Norwalk (2-1) is coming off a (7-6) win over Toledo Rogers on Week three. Nasonti says they have very good speed. “Well, they’ve got a quarterback that's a sophomore. He's really good athlete. He's good at scrambling. They have a defensive line that gets off the ball. When you look at the lettermen that they have, or starters that they have, they have quite a few juniors and seniors and upperclassmen on it. I think they only had a couple of sophomores going,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They have got some guys that have good speed, so they can take it to the house on the kick return, punt return or they can catch a pass and take it in. So, we're going to have to do a good job containing the quarterback. We’re going to have to do a good job running the ball. We're going to do those things that I talked about. We're going to have to block better, we're going to have to tackle better and we're going to have to get a consistent effort.” Published 9/13/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue to Battle Shelby Bellevue makes the trip to Shelby to lock horns with the Whippets in a non-conference game on Friday night. Last Friday, the Redmen (1-1) picked up their first win of the season in stuffing Wauseon (28-7) on week two. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was a good response from a week one loss to rival Clyde. “Well, I'm glad we rebounded from week one, the first game against Clyde. With our kids we wanted to see improvement on both sides of the ball and I think we did that. Our kids competed, they played hard, they practiced hard throughout the week. It's nice to get that first “W” under your belt,” he said. Shelby (2-0) knocked off Lexington (21-10) last week. Nasonti says the Whippets are a talented team led by junior quarterback Brayden DeVito, who leads the Whippets in both rushing and passing. “They're a typical Shelby team. They're big up front on both sides of the ball. They're well coached. They have a quarterback that's one of the best I've seen in a while. He makes things happen not only running the ball, he's a very, very precise passer along with that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They do a lot of different things on the offensive side of the ball. They try to get you in different coverages and give him an opportunity to make plays. So, they're a solid ball club and it's going to be a challenge for us.” Bellevue won last year’s game (35-33) at BAF in a game typical to a rivalry that dates back to World War II. In fact, the first time these schools played “FDR” was President. When asked how to contain DeVito, Nasonti is too smart to reveal any secrets if there are any. He says they have to be fundamental. “I think you just need to be solid and you need to be a good tackler. You need to know where he's at and you need to be disciplined. If you just get out of position a little bit you know he's going to make you pay for it, one way or the other. So, that's a tough question and everybody could make that answer he wouldn't be running up and down the field like he is every Friday night,” said Nasonti. Published 9/06/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Being Patient Bellevue takes the bus up to Wauseon on Friday night for a game against the Indians in non-conference play. In their first game, Bellevue lost (34-0) to arch rival Clyde. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was an eye opening experience for some of their kids. “Like I told you before the game, you play a good Clyde football team the margin for error is very small. You don't really have a beat on your team. It was hard to get a beat on their team. I knew they were a very good football team and they executed well. We were a young football team and we played like a young football team, but at the end of the day we have got one game under our belt. We showed our kids the tape. We have got to learn from our mistakes and just keep pushing on,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I looked out there at one point and I know that we had like seven underclassmen playing on the offensive side of the ball. When you have got that many young kids playing, you're going to make some mistakes. I know over the years I've never been a good loser and patience isn't my forte, but I told our coaches we are going to have to be patient with this group and stay the course. Over 44 years of coaching I know that sometimes you have just got to stay the course and bring your kids along and be positive with them and that's what we've done this week with our kids at practice getting ready for week two.” Nasonti says they are not going to over react to what happened last week. “You come into that game and the lights are a little bit bright for these young guys. Our kids are good kids and it means something to them and they care. I just know that as a head football coach, anybody can coach when the going is good, anybody can play when the going is good, but show me what you can do when your back is against the wall. Now, that being said, one game does not make a season. All of our goals are intact. We have got an opportunity to be a conference champion, we have got an opportunity to make the playoffs. So, it's important for us as coaches and our kids to understand that and just stay the course,” said Nasonti. Wauseon lost their first game (30-12) to Fairview. Nasonti says they have to be disciplined on Friday night. “They are a wing-T team. They're a proud football program. I know they opened up week one with the loss. They'll have their kids ready, but when you play a wing-T team you have got to be assignment sharp. That's the thing that we've been harping on with our kids, especially young kids. Sometimes young kids get out there and they start running around it looks like backyard football. A few times last Friday night it did look like backyard football against Clyde and that's not a good thing. We want to avoid that. We want to be more disciplined and play the kind of football that we're accustomed to,” he said. Published 8/29/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Looks Forward to Game With Clyde Bellevue will host the arch rival Clyde Fliers on week one of the high school football season on Friday night at “BAF.” Coach Ed Nasonti has been the head coach at Bellevue for more than 30 years and has been in coaching for more than 40. He says week one is like a box of chocolates. “Well, I would say that I've never been comfortable week one. There's been very few times where you come into week one where you feel you have a good beat on your kids. Most times you're not sure about your opponent either. Anything can happen in that first game. I'm sure that there's anxiety amongst some of the Clyde coaches as well as the Bellevue coaches coming into week one, especially playing your rival right off the snap,” said Nasonti. With a rivalry game like this in the opener that can add to the questions, but Nasonti says he wants his kids to have fun. “We have a lot of respect for Clyde's football program and we respect their coaches. We've always said they do things the right way over there. You're dealing with 16, 17 and 18 year old kids and sometimes you don't know exactly how they're going to handle a big game. Sometimes you come out and you get settled into your game plan and they execute, so that's what we're hoping,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think at the end of the day we want to come out swinging and put her best foot forward and let the chips fall where they may. It's a good high school rivalry and it's a lot of fun for everybody involved. We want our kids to have fun too and enjoy it. It's going to be playoff atmosphere right on week one.” Both of these programs struggled with injuries last year, both were (5-5) on the season. They have spit last eight meeting right down the middle. Nasonti looks for a good game on Friday night too. “I think they're solid every year. They had injuries last year and they were snake bit and so were we. We had similar years last year, but you always have got to give credit to the Clyde kids. They're tough and they're physical and we like to think that our kids are the same way. So, it's going to be a physical ball game and it's going to be hard hitting and it’s going to be a good high school football game,” he said. Published 8/22/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Kids Want to Win You will find it hard to find a school with a longtime tradition of football success like the Bellevue Redmen. They have had only three head coaches over the last seven decades. Ed Nasonti, who has been the head man for more than 30, says he believes this year’s group is making solid progress. “Yeah, I would hope. I think our coaches are working really hard and I think the kids are buying in and when you get that combination you know you're bound to see improvement. So, at this point I think that we're actually probably a little bit ahead of where thought we would be being five days into two a day practice,” said Nasonti. The Redmen scrimmage Oak Harbor on Friday and Nasonti says its time to find out some things. “It gets to be that point where you need to hit somebody else. The thing is we just talked to our kids about it (Wednesday) the intensity level ramps up and you're going to have to adjust to a whole different level from going against your scout team player. So, it's about that time where you need to line up against somebody else,” he said. Nasonti says they are not just going to go through the motions on Friday night. “We'd like to make sure that we have got our go to plays that we hang our hat on and make sure that we can run those. Then there might be a few other plays that that we think that might work against what they're showing on defense. Then just make sure that we take care of all the basic things, some basic defense and make sure that our kids are fundamentally sound, make sure they're running to the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “As long as I've been doing this and all the plays, and X's and O's, and all this stuff, most of the time it comes down to fundamental football. Can you do a good job talking, can you do a good job blocking, do you know assignments and all those kinds of things. If we see that we'll feel good about it. Make sure that our kids are giving great effort and they're buying into what we're doing. So far, we've been seeing that our kids its means something to them and our kids is a give a shoot factor is really elevated this year, so that makes it good for the kids on the team and the coaches that are involved.” Published 8/08/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Rallies Past Perkins Cody Lindey’s two run single in the top of the seventh inning gave Bellevue a (3-2) win over Sandusky Perkins Monday evening in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Dylan Barger went the distance to pick up the win for the Redmen (3-4,2-2) on Monday. Coach Andy Dennings says Barger finally got rewarded. “We had our guy you know Dylan Barger had another really good outing for us (Monday) night against Perkins. He's been throwing that way all year really, all of our guys have been extremely competitive,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It was nice for him to get a win. He's kind of been a tough luck loser here on the games he's pitched, but he had a real nice outing and completed extremely well.” Barger gave up eight hits on the night. Dennings says they are starting to put some things together. “We've been in plenty of close games so far. It seems like every game we play is a tight ball game. That's us still making strides offensively. We have cleaned some things up defensively. We've been throwing it really well, but when you don't produce a bunch of runs, you're going to play in games like that,” said Dennings. Bellevue is scheduled to play Sandusky in another division game on Wednesday. Dennings says they have kind of been waiting on the kind of big hit that Lindsey had Monday all year. “We've been we've been waiting for a big hit. We got a big hit in the seventh inning with the bases loaded. We had the bases loaded three times in that game and didn't plate anything earlier in the game. We finally got that big hit, which we've been waiting on, and turned into a really good comeback win for us,” said Dennings. Published 4/16/24 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Cleans up Cody Lindsey threw a shutout and the Bellevue Redmen blanked Norwalk (11-0) Thursday evening in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Coach Andy Dennings says it’s a good way to get the league started. “Norwalk's always got a very nice program, so for us to be able to get that kind of win to start league play after a slow start for us we're pretty happy,” he said. Dennings says Lindsey had to wrestle with his command a little bit, but he had good stuff. "Cody Lindsey threw all five for us (Thursday) night. He had good stuff, he just had a little problem with command in the middle innings there, but he battled through some of the issues there and ended up finishing really strong in the fifth. So, he had a really nice outing. He hadn’t pitched in a while either with the way this weather's been,” said Dennings. Bellevue (1-2,1-0) lost its first two games to Willard and Eastwood, but Dennings says Thursday their defense was much improved. “We’ve had good quality at bats for the most part. Only struck out twice (Thursday). We put a lot of balls in play and actually took advantage. We've had some chances to score in the first two games on the offensive side. We just finally cashed in. Our quality at bats led to getting guys on base and getting guys in,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Pitching has really been pretty good, but be honest we had 12 infield errors in the first two games. We had one (Thursday), so when you can minimize that stuff and not walk kids, you're going to be alright.” Published 4/05/24 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Looking For Answers Bellevue is in the process of developing elements with their baseball team this spring. Coach Andy Dennings has seen some good things so far. “Well, first of all mother nature has been great for us, so we've been able to get outside a bunch. We got a lot of a lot of question marks, really a lot of kids. Trying to figure out where all of the pieces of puzzles go. Our energy's been really good, so we've been really, really pleased with what we've been seeing so far,” he said. Dennings says they have some pitchers, it’s just a matter of how to use them effectively. “We definitely have some arms. We've got some depth, but we're pretty inexperienced varsity level wise there without question, but I think we're going to be okay. I mean our kids will get out there and compete we have just got to figure out who are who our top half is going to be, who are relievers are going to be. We have some guys that I think are going to step up and we got some young kids are going to see a little bit of time too, so that's exciting,” said Dennings. Bellevue will begin its season with a trip to Upper Sandusky for a non-league game on Saturday. Their first game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference will be April 3 at Norwalk. Dennings says he thinks they will be able to hit the ball and they are going to have to this year. “We're hoping with our inexperience on the mound, but I think we got a chance defensively to be pretty strong. We're going to probably be a little bit younger, a little more inexperienced in the infield. We're really old in the outfield. I think we're going to be okay offensively. We've had two scrimmages and we've had some good at bats. I've been happy with some of the things we've been doing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Time will tell. Once we get early in the year and you start seeing people's aces depending on especially how schedules fall. So, sometimes you can really get tested. Will have to come out and be ready to go and really compete and try to run up some pitch counts. Hopefully, these kids get some quality at bats here early as we continue to develop as hitters.” Published 3/20/24 © Swankonsports.com
	Bellevue Has to Handle Tyger Pressure Bellevue entertains Mansfield Senior on Friday night in a division II sectional final. The Redmen (17-5) have won two of their last three, their only loss in that time to “SBC” Lake winner Sandusky. Coach Ed Rich says they are playing well and they are healthy again too. “I think you know we're playing pretty good basketball. We had some struggles there when we were playing Upper Sandusky and Perkins. We had our leading scorer and leading rebounder out those two games. It took him a little while to get back going, but I think he's back up to full speed and I think we're playing pretty good basketball right now,” he said. Mansfield Senior (17-6) smoked Ontario (81-46) in a sectional semifinal played Tuesday night at Pete Hery Gym. Rich says Mansfield plays very hard and they will be in their face on defense and they eat up the offensive boards. “One thing that really stood out, I went and watched them (Tuesday) night versus Ontario, I've watched quite a bit of film on them, one thing that really stood out (Tuesday) night to me is they play, they were really nice team last year, but they play a lot harder this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They were all over the place (Tuesday) night against Ontario. So, they're really good defensively, they're going to pressure you all over the floor and they just keep bringing it, bringing it and bringing it, so it's constant pressure. So, we got to prepare for that. They hit the glass extremely hard, they're really good on the glass. So, we have got to take care of the basketball, we have got to box out, rebound, find a way to keep ourselves in that game that way.” Rich says the Tygers aggressive style of defense is something they have seen this year. “They play very similar style, it's not a knock on Senior, but Sandusky's a little bit better offensively in that regard, but Mansfield Senior does a great job of getting downhill and getting to the rack and forcing you to guard. So, they are very similar in a lot of ways, but I think Sandusky shoots a little bit more,” he said. Mansfield Senior beat Bellevue (64-59) in a sectional final last year and a lot of the same players will play Friday night. Rich hopes playing at home is going to help them. “It's going to be something new for everyone in this district. It’s new to everybody. So, we're hoping that gives us that advantage that we need. Last year, we played them at Bucyrus in the sectional final. I want to say we lost by five or six. A good game, back and forth. We took the lead late, but they got some really big rebounds on free throws last year to seal the game. We're hoping that being at home it's going to give us a little extra boost, that little extra edge and hopefully we come out of there with a victory,” said Rich. Published 2/29/24 © Swankonsports.com Don’t miss a special “Out of Bounds” This Saturday night 10 PM to 11 PM Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Ready for Lex Bellevue, the winner of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division title will play Lexington, of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, in a division II district semifinal on Thursday night at Old Fort High School. The Lady Red (19-5), the winner of our Swankonsports.com coaches poll in the large school division this season, smoked Toledo Scott (69-28) in a sectional final last Saturday. They have won their last 13 games and veteran head coach Kory Santoro says they just playing really well and having fun doing it. “It's crazy, I mean in the coaches inside we all feel that, players feel that, every night out we're doing something new that we haven't done. So, it's fun to watch and be a part of and the girls really do work hard at practice and it's carrying over to games,” he said. Lexington (13-11) beat Norwalk (59-48) for a sectional championship last Saturday. They have six of their last seven are paced by first team all district selection Makaree Chapman and 6’2” sophomore post Ava Brown. Santoro says they have had their eye on Lexington for a while. “I know right for the end of the record season they barely got beat by Norwalk in the regular season and then they beat Shelby and they beat Perkins and then Norwalk. They've definitely improved,” he told Swankonsports.com Tuesday night, “We have watched several games on them. They have got some nice athletes. They have got the big, tall post player in there. We're not overlooking them by any means. Any team that gets to this point of season they're there for a reason.” Santoro says they have faced height like Brown has, but she is going to be tough to contain. “We have faced some kids that that are tall and can do some things. Kaitlyn (Turinsky), she plays with a high level AAU program. So, our 6’3” kid has been through some battles. So, as far as facing players that tall, we have, but she does a lot of nice things,” said Santoro. Published 2/28/24 © Swankonsports.com Don’t miss a special “Out of Bounds” This Saturday night 10 PM to 11 PM Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Has to Slow Clyde Down Bellevue plays at Clyde in action in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Wednesday night. They are looking to end the regular season on a good note heading into the tournament next week. They lost (62-47) to division winner Sandusky last Friday. Coach Ed Rich says they were very competitive in that game. “I think it was 38-37 and there was about 15 seconds to go in the third and they worked at the last shot and we doubled Jason Henlon and because we didn’t want him to score and he kicked it to the corner to this kid named Easton Young came in and he banged his three, so we went down 40-38. Kind of back and forth a little bit in the fourth. I can't remember exactly, but it was let's say three or four minutes to go, we started falling down six, we had to foul. I think they made one, missed the second, they get the offensive rebound put it back and a foul. It kind of just got away from us there. Box score watchers are going to look at it and say Bellevue got blown out, but I'm telling you we played really good for about 28 to 29 minutes in that game and it was back and forth the whole time,” said Rich. Bellevue (16-5,4-5), the number four seed in the division II district tournament, plays at Clyde (6-15,2-7) on Wednesday night. Clyde outscored Tiffin Columbian (73-64) in a division game last Friday. The Fliers have won four of their last six and Rich says they are peaking at the right time. “We saw them against Sandusky before we played Sandusky. They scored right with Sandusky. They probably got into the 70s that night. Friday night they had a huge win against Tiffin home, again another time they got into the 70s and beat Tiffin by little bit less than 10. So, they're playing extremely well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I mean the (Brayden) Olsen kid they have is really, really good. We did our district voting stuff Sunday and he was actually one of my top three players in the district, so I have a lot of respect for him, the kid can play. We have got our hands full with some of the other guys. The (Brennan) Wilson boy is shooting really well and Ben Wott, the point guard is starting to put the ball in the basket too. So, they're playing pretty good basketball right now.” Bellevue beat Clyde (56-45) on January 22 and Rich says the tempo of this game has to be kind of like that. “We're not going to do anything crazy, anything new, we're going to try to play at our pace. Our pace is usually if we can get to the 50s, if we get to 50 points, we usually are in pretty good shape because we usually hold the other team under 50. So, we'll try to keep in the 50s, maybe 60s. Hopefully, we can defend a little bit better than they are hopefully we can get a couple extra baskets in there and come out of there with a win,” he said. Published 2/21/24 © Swankonsports.com Don’t miss a special “Out of Bounds” This Saturday night 10 PM to 11 PM Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Really Playing Well Bellevue, the champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, a winner 11 games in a row, will play at home Thursday in a division II sectional semifinal against Toledo Woodward. Coach Kory Santoro says this team has really been a special one. “We're really excited with where we're at from how we started the season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I've been around a lot of teams here at Bellevue where we've started really hot and played well all year long, but never had a team where we just continue to get better and better night in night out and it's really fun to be around right now.” Bellevue secured an outright Lake Division title with a (37-26) win over Norwalk last Thursday. Santoro says this team has been willing to work hard and they understand the goal is to win games. “The kids are bought in and just the chemistry with our team is at an all time high. They're just generally happy for each other, so like I said it's really fun to be around and go to practice every day and coach them,” Santoro. Bellevue (17-5), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays Toledo Woodward (4-11) in their tournament opener. The Lady Polar Bears have not scored more than 20 points in a game in six weeks, but Santoro knows they still have to have the right mental approach. “Well, right now we know that they are 4-11 on the year and have struggled in some games, but it's new life, second part of the season and you have got to be ready to go. You can't overlook anybody at this point and you have got to be ready to go,” he said. Published 2/20/24 © Swankonsports.com Don’t miss a special “Out of Bounds” This Saturday night 10 PM to 11 PM Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Must Stop Sandusky Runs Bellevue plays at Sandusky in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Blue Streaks are Lake Division champions again this season. On Tuesday night, the Redmen downed Ontario (54-51) in a non-conference game. Coach Ed Rich says they needed to make some halftime adjustments. “It was it was a pretty good game. I thought we played well. The only way that we thought they could hang in the game is if they shot the ball well and they did. They were 7-14 from three in the first half. So, they were on fire there for a while. I think we gave up 35 points in the first half, which is only four points less than we give up usually in an entire game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Made some adjustments, kids bought into what we adjusted. We came out and only gave up 15 points in the second half and end up you know squeaking out a victory. It was a good game, fun game and it was nice to come out of there with one.” Bellevue (16-4,4-4) is at Sandusky (17-1,8-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. The Streaks put away an undisputed Lake Division title with a (81-73) win over Clyde last Friday. Rich says they pressure you and the get up and down the floor. “They're really good, nothing has changed with them. They continue to reload year in and year out. One of the scariest things is that they are almost all juniors this year, so they have all these guys back next year. They do a lot of good things, share the ball extremely well, pressure the ball well, constant movement, really get up and down the floor. So, we definitely have our hands full. I think our kids are excited to go to Sandusky and play and see what we can do against one of the better teams, probably the best team in our area,” said Rich. Sandusky beat Bellevue (64-53) on January 4. Against Sandusky what kills you are their runs and Rich says they have to do their best to stop those. “Actually, the first time we played them, we had less than 10 turnovers, I want to say we had seven or eight turnovers, which I'll take all day against them. We started out early in the game and we just missed some easies early and I think they beat us 17-10 or 17-7 in the first quarter then everything after that was pretty close and I think we won the last quarter. I watched film and it's a close game and the next thing you know, like two minutes later Sandusky's up 12 just because they rattle off points with their pressure and getting open layups in transition. So, they can be really scary,” he said. Published 2/15/2024 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Face Athletic Perkins Bellevue will be at home for Sandusky Perkins on Friday night in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Redmen (15-3,4-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, have won their last six and eight of their last 10, including a (34-30) win at Upper Sandusky on Tuesday night in non-league play. Coach ed Rich says again they did what they needed to do in the end. “We were down most of the game, if not all of the game. It was kind of a defensive battle, almost exactly what we expected coming to Upper and get. We were just able to make a few more plays at the end of the game and come out with the victory,” he said. Rich says games like Tuesday night are good prep for the upcoming postseason tournament. “Upper is a tough place to play no matter what and it's even tougher when they have got a pretty quality squad. They have got 10 wins and a lot of their losses have only been single digit, one possession losses,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “It makes that win much better than it looks. I mean I know we only won by four, but that was a heck of a game. We came in there and did what we needed to do.” Bellevue hosts Sandusky Perkins (9-7,3-4) on Friday night in division action. The Pirates beat Vermilion (60-33) in a non-conference play on Tuesday night. They lost (71-54) to division leader Sandusky on Friday. In their first meeting, Bellevue won (44-36) on December 22. Rich knows that the Pirates are a dangerous basketball team. “They're a little bit up and down, but they're extremely dangerous. They're really, really athletic. One of the more athletic teams we'll see this year, so they're dangerous. They have got to come to our place, which is always good. Like I said, they have been playing much better basketball than we when saw the first time. So, we're in for a pretty good game I think,” said Rich. Published 2/08/2024 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Has to Get Good Shots Bellevue, right now fourth in their division II district in the RPI, plays at home against Tiffin Columbian in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. With the tournament still weeks away, coach Ed Rich says they need to keep their nose to the grindstone. “The holidays are gone. The one thing to deal with lately is this horrible weather, this gloomy kind of weather too. I think it takes a toll on kids, takes toll on coaches, we want to see some sun. We have got to grind through and keep focused on what we need to be doing,” he said. Bellevue (12-3,3-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, hosts Tiffin Columbian (8-7,3-3) on Friday night. The Tornadoes lost (76-62) to division leader Sandusky last Thursday. Tiffin won the first game (48-39) on December 16 and Rich says the Tornadoes really shut them down defensively. “They're still really good ball club. I know they've lost, I think, four in a row, but that was four to the three really good teams, so they're still very dangerous. The first time we played them they really locked us down defensively. They were really, really good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We didn't move the ball very well, but that was because they were kind of blowing up everything we did. So, they're dangerous. They like to get to the rack, they can put the ball in the hoop from the perimeter and they defend like we do, so it's another going to be another tough one.” On Friday night, Rich says they have to be able to get good shots and when they do, make them. “I think the first thing is move the ball. We played a lot of one-on-one ball almost the first time we played them, settled for okay shots instead of getting great shots. So, ball movement is definitely key. Once we do get a great shot, we have got to put in the basket. We didn’t shoot very well against them at all. I want to say like 3-24 from three and we have to be better. We struggled to score. So, if we move the ball, get good looks, and put it in the hoop I like our chances,” said Rich. Published 2/02/24 © Swankonsports.com Our scoreboard updated every five minutes On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Rallies Past Willard Bellevue outscored Willard (31-10) over the game’s last 12 minutes and they beat the Flashes (53-48) at Bob Haas court at Willard High School in a non-conference game on Saturday night. Joel Ray bagged a three pointer to cut the Bellevue deficit to 13 (38-25) with 3:42 left in the third quarter and that sparked a (15-2) run to the end of the quarter. The Flashes led (40-37) to start the final stanza. Bellevue coach Ed Rich says the press got them started and then they started to make some shots. “That’s kind of our go to, that 1-2-2 pressure, that turned the tide, but what really helps is we made some shots there. I mean we got some good looks and I've talked to you so much about, good looks, good looks, good looks and we just can't score it. The second half, we got some good looks they went in and that pressure really got to them, so huge both sides of the ball there,” said Rich. Role player Carson McKenzie converted two free throws to give Bellevue its first lead of the game (41-40) with 7:21 left. A Max Dawson field goal on the next possession gave Willard what turned out to be their last lead (42-41) with 7:03 remaining. Bellevue’s Ike Brown splashed two straight threes to make it (47-42) with 6:10 left and the Redmen never trailed again. Willard coach Joe Bedingfield says the press took them out of their rhythm in the second half. “I think it slowed us down got us off rhythm a little bit. We knew it was coming, just didn’t do a very good job with like cutting through the lane and moving the basketball at times. It kind of made Max give up the ball a little bit here and there,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I just think we played a little bit more in the second half on our heels than our toes. I thought we did a good job in the first half doing that and Bellevue had a better second half than we had a first half.” Willard dominated play in the first half, led by Cam Robinson’s nine points and they lead (26-13) at the intermission. However, starting midway through the third quarter, the Redmen started making jumpers. “Every coach in America tells their players that once one guy goes it makes everyone feels like they can make it and we did. I have got to do a special mention to Carson McKenzie, #30, he doesn't get a whole lot of minutes for us, senior, plays his butt off, he came in had a huge second half. I mean he was a huge spark plug for us,” said Rich. McKenzie finished with six points, all in big moments. He had scored only 12 points all season prior to Saturday. Jackson Martin led Bellevue with 14 points, Ray added 10. Willard made only two field goals, both by Max Dawson, in the fourth quarter, but they were down only (50-48) with less than a minute to play. Bedingfield says they were not aggressive enough. “We try to get the ball inside and it seemed like we just settled a couple times for jump shots instead of getting it inside, no matter how many times you try to do it. I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half keeping them off the boards and then the second half, we didn't get a few rebounds here and there. We stopped crashing, seems like we got very complacent and that's not us. I have to do a better job getting us to play four quarters,” said Bedingfield. Dawson is the leading scorer in the Sandusky Bay Conference (26.2 ppg), but Rich felt they forced the Ashland University signee to take some tough shots. “He had, I think, seven in the first half, one wide open three and two contested jumpers. I mean that's what we want him to shoot. We did a good job on him, we can defend. (Cam) Robinson killed us early, we made a couple of adjustments and slowed him down a little bit the second half,” he said. Cam Robinson had 18 and Dawson 17 for Willard Both schools and in the top four in the RPI rankings in the same division II district. Bedingfield says this was a big game in determining the final seeds. The MAX PREPS system is supposed to be based more on head to head matchups. “They're a good ballclub and they have got good balance and our district is tough, so we know that. We knew it was a big game for the tournament. We just played a very poor fourth quarter. We had a three point lead in the fourth quarter we weren't able to attack,” he said. Rich says if they meet again in the tournament it will be another war, just like Saturday. “Me and Coach Bedingfield talked about that before the game. It's ridiculous how loaded our district really is. It's going to grind out and see if we can get out. If we play them again, I'm sure it's going to be another battle,” he said. Published 1/27/24 © Swankonsports.com
	Bellevue Faces Old Rival Willard Bellevue travels to Willard on Saturday night to meet the longtime rival Flashes in a non-conference game, or “SBC” crossover if you will. On Monday night, they downed Clyde (56-45) in a Lake Division game that had been moved from Friday due to the weather. Coach Ed Rich says took over in the second half. “It’s a big rivalry game for both teams. We knew Clyde would come in and I think they are averaging close to 60 game maybe a little bit over 60 points a game. So, they could score the ball pretty well and they played well. They did some good things throughout the game and shot the ball pretty well early. We kind of settled down in the second half and we had some really good ball movement against their zone. We got some easy looks and we hit the glass pretty hard in the second half and kind of put them away by the middle of the fourth quarter,” said Rich. Bellevue (11-3) is at Willard (11-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Saturday night. The Flashes edged Norwalk (70-68) on Saturday night. Max Dawson is the leading scorer in the “SBC” (25.6 PPG), but Rich says Willard is more than just him. “They're really good, they're a really nice squad. Obviously, people know all about their two top guys and Dawson and (Cam) Robinson, but they also got some nice pieces to go around them with the (Isaac) Robinson kid, a sophomore in (Jackson) Beamer and they have got Aiden Sloan and then a couple of kids they bring off the bench,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I talk to people and it's funny listening to them when they say well to beat Willard and all you have got to do is stop their two guys and that's not true at all. It's nice to slow those two down, but they’ve got some guys who could hurt you in other ways too. So, it's going to be one where we got our hands full. I think they're #8 in division II in Ohio and like they've only lost I want to say to Sandusky and Margaretta, so they're a nice squad.” Bellevue is a really good defensive club and Rich says they are going to attack Willard in their normal way. “I personally think it's crazy if you're just going to try to take him away or if you're just let him get his and try to take everybody else away. I don't think there's a great way to defend, but we're but we're going to come out and defend the way we always do. We're going to put our best defenders on him and maybe switch up some matchups throughout the game. We have got to focus on him and if we can slow him down at all that's always a bonus,” he said. Published 1/24/2024 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Meet Margaretta Again Bellevue, the co-leader in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will host Bay Division leader Margaretta on Tuesday night. The Lady Red (11-5), #3 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball poll in the large school division, beat Clyde (58-23) in a Lake Division game on Saturday and they have won five in a row. Coach Kory Santoro says they are putting things together. “We've done a nice job here last five, six games and it feels like I think the pieces are starting to fall together. We've been shooting the ball a lot better. Defensively, we've been very good as a group. So, we're excited about playing Margaretta the second time around.” Margaretta (14-1), #2 in our small school poll, beat Port Clinton (55-45) in a Bay Division game on Saturday. They haven’t lost since November. Santoro says they always play hard. “I just think they're always very disciplined. They play super hard, obviously well coached. We've had some good battles over the years,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I'm glad that our AD was able to get them put on the schedule twice a season. So, we're excited about that.” Margaretta beat Bellevue (42-35) back on December 30. Santoro believes this game will be good for both sides. “We’re getting towards end of the season. I think this would be a playoff type atmosphere game, so yeah it'll benefit both clubs,” he said. Published 1/23/2024 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Play Some Aggressive Teams Bellevue plays a couple of similar teams this week in Elyria Catholic in a non-league game on Wednesday and Clyde in a contest in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday. The Redmen fell out of contention in the Lake Division after a (44-39) loss at home to Norwalk on Friday night. Coach Ed Rich says they just didn’t cash in. “Yeah, definitely a tough loss. To credit to the kids, we battled, we didn't play well and we kept ourselves in the game somehow. We really struggled to finish wide open layups, I can't sugarcoat it, they were wide, wide open and we just didn’t score it. So, it really hurt us, but we're trying to get that loss behind us and get after it (Wednesday) against Elyria Catholic,” he said. This is the first time Bellevue has played Elyria Catholic and Rich says this is team that is going to force the action. “It's hard to get a read on them because, obviously, we've never played them and the teams they play we've never seen or played, so this is brand new to us. What I see on film is they're going to trap you for 32 minutes. I mean they trap all over the floor, pressure on makes, traps and pressure on misses,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They're going to run and they're going to sling 30 threes a game. There are times where I look and think they're really good and there's times I look thinking if we do need to do, we can get them. So, it's going to be an interesting game for sure.” Bellevue (9-3,2-3) plays at home against Clyde (2-9,0-4) in a division game on Friday night. Clyde has suffered through some injury issues this season so far and that has hurt them. Rich says really they are a lot like Elyria Catholic. “If I had to compare any team that we play to Elyria Catholic it's kind of what Clyde is with some dangerous shooters. I mean Clyde can really put the ball in the basket. They shoot the three ball extremely well, they like to get up and down and run a little bit. They don’t trap and press quite like Elyria Catholic, but they're very similar in the in the styles they play. If they're on, they put up 70, 80 points and that could be trouble for us,” said Rich. Published 1/17/2024 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Must Adjust Bellevue plays Nowalk for the second time in a couple of weeks in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. On Tuesday night, the Redmen beat Maumee (59-40) in a non-conference game. Coach Ed Rich says once they got going, they played pretty well. “It was a nice win. I thought we came out a little flat. The bus ride, it took us about an hour and 10 minutes to get there, so I thought we came out a little flat kind of slow footed on defense, but as the game went on I think we just got better. We took care of business and we're looking forward to Norwalk (Friday),” he said. Bellevue (9-2,2-2) hosts Norwalk (6-4,2-2) on Friday night. The Truckers beat Perkins (53-36) in a division game last Thursday. Rich says the Truckers do all of the things that a Norwalk team usually does. “They're a typical Norwalk team. Their big, physical, they defend extremely well, they're going to pound on the glass. When they can push the pace they are going to push and when they can't they're going to be deliberate in their sets and then try to get what they want,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They're a good team, a good, tough team. We have to play them almost back-to-back weeks, but here we are and we'll see what it looks like.” Bellevue won the first matchup (48-39) on December 29, but Rich says they are going to have to make good adjustments for this game. “They're going to make some adjustments. We're definitely making adjustments. Both teams have I’m sure looked at the last game film and also looked at the previous games that we played and we looked at the previous games they played. We're definitely going to have some adjustments here and there. So, it could come down to who makes the better adjustment. I expect to take game low scoring maybe in the 50s, maybe in the 40s. It's going to depend on who adjusts the best and who puts the ball in the bucket the most,” said Rich. Published 1/12/24 © Swankonsports.com Our scoreboard updated every five minutes On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue to Meet Deep, Talented Sandusky It’s a big game in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division on Thursday night as Bellevue hosts Sandusky, the defending champion. The Redmen (7-1,2-1) trail the Blue Streaks and Tiffin Columbian by a game in the division standings. They downed Norwalk (48-39) last Friday in division play and again coach Ed Rich says were able to put it away in the fourth quarter. “We've been playing pretty good basketball in the fourth quarter most games to be honest. It's really been helping, all of our games have been pretty close these last four or five games, so being able to play a good fourth quarter will go a long way in a tight game,” he said. Sandusky (6-1,2-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, did not play a division game last week. They lost their first game of the season on Friday night (84-71) to Toledo Whitmer. Rich says Sandusky is always good and this year is no different. “I mean they lost Daylen (Green) and De’Mar (Moore), two really, really good players, but they reloaded. They have got an outstanding junior class. One kid that is playing really well played JV for them last year, but is playing extremely well at the varsity level is Amir Arron. He is a shorter guard, but he's extremely athletic and he really, really works the ball handler in the full,” he told Swankonsports.com on New Year’s night, “All the other guys. They always have got guys who just contribute from all over the place. So, that's kind of what Sandusky does. They have got guys who can beat you multiple ways. I think the big thing is that we have got to handle pressure initially and kind of go from there.” Bellevue also relies on its defense, but Rich says they are different in their approach from what Sandusky tries to do. “I think we both play good defense. Their defense is a little bit different than ours. Their defense is pressure oriented and they want to get the ball out of your hands as quick so they can get the ball back of their hands on the offensive end. Our defense, we like to pressure you and we like to make you work for shots. So, I think we're both pretty good defensively, but it's just different styles of defense. They're pressure defense they can get ten points off you in less than 20 seconds if their pressure defense is working the right way,” said Rich. Published 1/02/2024 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Meets Norwalk Bellevue is down U.S. 20 in Norwalk on Friday night to battle the Truckers in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Redmen won at Sandusky Perkins, 44-36, last Friday in a division game. Coach Ed Rich says they were outstanding on defense and rebounding and they made enough shots. “I was just putting our stats in (Wednesday) and I guess I didn't even realize we held them to only four points in the fourth quarter over at Perkins, so that was that was huge. We defended well all game. I think they only got off maybe 30 shots off on us. We defended well, we rebounded well, and put the ball in the basket when we needed to. So, yes, it was a great road win,” said Rich. Bellevue (5-1,1-1) plays at Norwalk (4-3,1-1) on Friday night. Truckers fell to Tiffin Columbian (55-42) last Friday in division play. They beat Keystone (56-47) in a non-league game on Saturday. Rich says they pose some matchup problems for the Redmen. “They are a big team when they bring their first sevens it’s usually the Parriott kid. When they bring him in usually everyone on the floor is either 6’2” or bigger,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “So, they're really long, really physical, like to pound it in the post to Gamble and Rothhar. They're going to rebound it, push, if they don’t get what they want out of the push, they're going to get into their stuff. So, they present a lot of challenges for us.” Rich says they approach the game a lot like Norwalk does. He says hopefully they can make some shots. “We work pushing the pace practice all the time. We play kind of the way they do. We push if we don't have anything, we get it and we run our stuff. So, it should be a great defensive game and hopefully we put the ball in the basket a little bit more than they can,” he said. Published 12/28/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Play New Look Perkins Bellevue looks to get its first win in play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference as they travel to Sandusky Perkins on Friday night. They lost their first division game at Tiffin Columbian (48-39) on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says they just couldn't make enough shots. “Saturday stung pretty good. We knew it would be a tough game against Tiffin. We thought we could go in there and get a win. They played some really good defense and we could shoot the ball, we just couldn't score the ball, we probably got 15 to 20 more shots than they did we just put in the hole. So, coming back against Huron, an extremely athletic team, playing some pretty good basketball under a new coach, obviously new system and everything, but they're kind of jelling a little bit. We didn't shoot it extremely well again by any means, but held them to 40 points and came as a victory,” said Rich. Thy beat Huron (44-40) on Tuesday night. Bellevue (4-1,0-1) is at Perkins (0-2,0-2) on Friday. The Pirates lost (77-75) to defending Lake Division champion Sandusky on Saturday. Rich says the Pirates have some length and some shooters. “I've seen them against Sandusky and Willard. Obviously, those are two different styles, but two really good teams they played so far. They look a little bit different. They're going to start two bigger guys this year in Mikey Young and the transfer they got in. It's look a little different, but they have still got good guard play, they still got a couple guys who can knock it down, they want to push the pace a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “So, we know what we need to do, but it's going to be a tough place and a tough game. They are 0-2, we have got to go to their place. Their chomping at the bit to get the win. So, we have got to put a good game plan together and execute our game plan.” Rich says Perkins has not shown a lot of full court pressure, but they will get up in you in the half court. “I haven't seen a whole lot of full court pressure, a little bit of 1-2-2 I've seen so far. Obviously, I don't think a whole lot of teams are going try to press Sandusky, so that doesn't surprise me we didn't see it there. They did try to pressure Willard just a little bit, like I said the 1-2-2. They do their pressuring in the half trying to get up to get the passing lanes. I do a lot of screen switches and try to confuse your offense. They want to push the pace definitely on offense, so the transition game will be huge,” he said. Published 12/21/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Doing it With Defense Bellevue travels to Tiffin Columbian on Saturday night to open play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Redmen hammered Galion (67-35) in a non-league game on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says their success begins with defense. “We have talked about it quite a bit. I mean it starts on our defensive end. (Tuesday) night it was close in the first half. I think it was like 22-14 at halftime. We couldn't hit shots, we were getting pretty decent looks, two, three footers and we just couldn't put the ball in the basket. We rely on that defense and our defense did an excellent job the whole entire game. We started hitting shots the in third and fourth quarter and that kind of opened things up for us,” said Rich. Bellevue (3-0) is at Tiffin Columbian (2-0) on Saturday. The Tornadoes just got their season started last weekend and they have beaten Fremont Ross (53-50) and Huron, Tuesday night, (53-52) in similar games. Rich says they are pretty good. “I was there Saturday when they got their win against Fremont. The thing with them is I don't think people gave them a lot of credit or anything this year. I think people didn’t really believe they were going to be as competitive as they have been,” he told Swanknsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They're showing people wrong, they're playing extremely good basketball. The thing that just stands out with them is they're extremely athletic and move the ball well, have a point guard who controls the pace and controls the ball. So, we have got to go to their place and it will be a great battle for our first SBC Lake game.” Most feel the Redmen are going to be a force in the Lake Division this year and Rich says it’s important to get a win in that first game. “We think we can compete for league title, but we still have got to go and play. We have got to play well at Tiffin in order to come out there as a victory. Hopefully, we get some shots to fall early there. Hopefully, we keep defending the way we are. We'll see when it gets into the fourth quarter,” he said. Published 12/14/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Play Physical Port Clinton Bellevue, a winner in their opener, will entertain the Port Clinton Redskins in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. This will be their only game of the week. They beat a strong Margaretta team (46-43) in their opener on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they built a solid lead, but then had to hang on down the stretch. “Yeah, that was a good win. It was a great early season matchup. I think two pretty good teams. I think we led from buzzer to buzzer, but it got tight at the end. We had maybe a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter and the pressure got to us a little bit. We took some ill advised shots and we let them right back in the game. They changed their defense up on us and got us out of our rhythm. It ended up being pretty close. I'm just glad when we pulled it out,” said Rich. Rich says clearly they have things to work on to become a better team. “That's the greatest part of it, we get the win and there's plenty of teaching we're going to be doing (Monday) in practice in getting ready for Port Clinton. It's kind of a win, win when you win and then you have plenty of things to work on it’s always nice,” he said. Port Clinton lost their first game (53-45) to Genoa on Friday night. Rich says the Redskins are a physical team and that does concern him a little bit going into to Tuesday night. “I was there on Friday night watching it. They're extremely physical. They’ve got a nice, big team. They scare me because of that. They like to kind of dirty up the game and make it kind of sloppy and that kind of works for them really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I'm just scared of their physicality. They have got a really nice really guard in Jackson Beasley, 6’2” guard, he could do it all for them. He's a great scorer, ball handler, defender, leaper, athlete. So, we have got to try to keep him in check as much as we can.” Published 12/05/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Face Very Good Margaretta Bellevue, one of the contenders in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will be home for Margaretta, won of the best in the Bay Division, on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says they are prepared and ready to go for Saturday night. “We're not in mid-season form quite yet, but we're getting there. I think we have got in what we need to get in. I think we've really hit what we need to focus on. We should be ready for Margaretta here on Saturday night,” he said. The Lake Division is loaded with year with Sandusky, who won the division II district last year, Perkins, Clyde, Norwalk and Tiffin Columbian, who doesn’t start to next week. Rich says they too can be very good. “We definitely believe that and we think it's possible. We have got a nice squad, a nice roster. You know build a little momentum from last year and we bring we bring a lot of guys back. So, we have pretty high expectations and we start out on Saturday with a tough Margaretta squad. So, we're getting tested right out of the shoot and kind of hopefully see where we're at after Saturday night,” said Rich. When it comes to Margaretta, Rich says they are very good and have two outstanding guards. “They have two really dynamic guards, two sophomores, in Juda Keller and Julian Washington, both started every game from last year as freshmen, but they've improved a lot. We saw over the summer and saw a little bit of film on them this season already,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Those are the two guys obviously we need to focus on the most. They're not a big team, but they're extremely scrappy, they run their stuff extremely well and they're a high IQ team. So, they do a lot of good things and you have got to be sharp defensively and sharp offensively against them or they're going to make you pay.” Published 11/30/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Still Must Improve Bellevue, always one of the best girls’ basketball teams in this area, plays at home against a solid Clear Fork team out of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, on Tuesday night. They opened the season with an outstanding effort in winning (55-49) at Perrysburg on Friday. Coach Kory Santoro says he was pleased with what they did on offense. “Well, Perrysburg is always traditionally a really, really good team and to open up with them is always a tough game start out with, but I was pleased with the way we played and how we executed on offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We shot the ball very, very well. One thing I wasn't really happy with was our turnovers and rebounding. I just think those are two things that we need to clean up.” Hailey Rees pumped in 26 and Kaitlyn Turinsky added 12 for the Lady Red in their win. Santoro says they detailed for the girls where their improvement is needed and they understand. “We went over it in Saturday practice and (Monday) there were points of emphasis we stressed and things that the girls know they have to clean up,” he said. Clear Fork (2-0) has beaten Mansfield Madison (57-46) and Lexington (50-41), two schools out of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, so far this season. Santoro says they like to play fast. “I know their head coach Scott Sellers, he does a nice job with that team. I know they're played two games so far. They're up tempo, they like they like to press, like to transition, so we have got ready to be ready to play (Tuesday),” said Santoro. Published 11/28/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Can be Good Again Bellevue, with four starters back, can be a factor again in the race in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference this winter. Coach Ed Rich says he has all of his guys in camp and so far it has been a very good preseason for the Redmen. “We got them back on Friday. We got to start at a normal time. I want to say it's definitely the first time since I've been at Bellevue that we were able to start on time with our guys, so that was kind of nice. We've had really had four good days of practice. I've been extremely happy with the way we've been getting after it and the things they remember and everything like that, so yeah I'll take these first four days for sure,” said Rich. Bellevue starts the season on December 2 when they host the Margaretta Polar Bears in non-conference play. Their first “SBC” Lake Division game is December 8 at Clyde. Rich says they did lose a couple of key players to graduation, but they have a lot of other kids back. “We have got experience back. I have six juniors, five seniors and a freshman who will be playing varsity for me this year. We lose Tyler Ray, who graduated, he was senior, which is a big loss, but we got guys back. We lost Degan Horn, so we only had two seniors, even though those two seniors are huge to our program, but we think we'll be okay,” he said. Rich says they have a lot of pieces and now they are working to find out how they all fit together. “That’s what we're doing with some of our guys. Some of our guys are new to the varsity level, but we do return four of those guys who are back for us that started multiple games for us last year, so that helps a lot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We're trying to figure out ways to play together and play together to our strengths and do things and try to keep going. We've got a couple good seasons in a row and we like to keep that going here this year and we think it's definitely possible.” Published 11/08/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue With More Confidence Bellevue plays host to Napoleon in a division IV first round playoff game on Friday night. The Redmen (5-5) won their second straight game by blanking Vermilion (20-0) in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Hall of fame coach Ed Nasonti says the younger kids that have been forced into the lineup due to injuries are starting to figure out varsity football. “I think a lot of the young kids that we've got on the field are getting the feel for it and kind of getting in the groove playing with a little bit more confidence. Like I told you before, we went through that four week stretch where we played some pretty good football teams and we just tried to stay positive with our kids. We knew if we played decent football, we could possibly win those last two games and get a home playoff game, which is what happened for us,” said Nasonti. Napoleon also (5-5) has won five of its last six games and has been able to turn their season around. Nasonti believes the Wildcats are a good football team. “They played for their league championship last week in week 10 against Sylvania Southview. They were in a dog fight and ended up getting beat 20-14, but they have some nice players. They have really good size, they have a six foot six 300 pound nose guard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They have an all conference wide receiver and defensive back that they like to get the ball to and put him in good spots on defense to make plays. They have good size across their offensive and defensive lines. So, I think they're a very worthy of opponent going into week one of the playoffs, so we're going to play good football.” Nasonti says the Redmen have a lot to get ready for on both sides of the ball this week. “They run some spread offense. They also mix in a little wing-t stuff. I would say that they are a multiple offense. Defensively they run an odd front, they'll blitz some outside linebackers, they'll change up their coverages in the secondary and will give you some cover three zone and they'll sometimes they'll man you too. So, a lot of things to prepare for this week,” he said. Published 10/25/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue With Some Goals in Mind With a win on Friday, the Bellevue Redmen have a chance to secure a home game in the first round of the division IV playoffs and improve their chances of a winning season. They will play Vermilion at home in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. They have not won at home since they beat Norwalk on week four. Last week, they broke a four game losing streak with a convincing (30-14) thumping of Port Clinton in a division game. Coach Ed Nasonti says they were solid on both sides of the ball. “Yeah, I was happy with our kids. We were able to put a full game together here on both sides of the ball. Played some good defense, we moved the ball on the ground and in the air, so it was nice to come away with the win. We had a rough four weeks there, we were telling our kids and our coaches, we just need to stay the course and keep doing what we're doing and it was nice to come away with a victory,” he said. Bellevue (4-5,1-2) plays host to Vermilion (3-6,0-3) on Friday night. The Sailors are coming off (34-14) loss to division co-leader Edison last week. Nasonti says they have some things to play for on the final week of the regular season. “Well, it's one of those things where we still have a lot to play for. I mean we're playing for a shot to host a playoff game. I still think that's a big deal to our kids and it's definitely motivation that our kids know that they have opportunity if they could finish in the top eight to host a playoff game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “You have that motivation, plus we have a winning season hanging in the balance. When you have gone through the type of season we have with all the injuries and a lot of things each week that are going against you on top of a very, very tough schedule. If you can come away with a winning season it's a pretty good thing.” Right now, Bellevue is eighth in their division IV region. The top eight get a home game. A win, however, does not guarantee a home game for the Redmen. With Vermilion in the 17^th spot, the top 16 get in, Nasonti says both teams have motivation. “They're coming into the game and they're telling their kids if they win the game, they could make the playoffs. I don't know when the last time was they made the playoffs. So, I know they're going to come in inspired and we tell our kids expect the best out of any of your opponents each Friday night. They have a pretty solid running game, they have some good size, and they have an outstanding quarterback that makes some plays. So, we have to expect the best out of them and put our best foot forward,” said Nasonti. Published 10/17/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Still Working Bellevue has been dealing with a lot of adversity this season, but they are still fighting to have the best year they can put together. They return to play in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division on Friday night as head over to Port Clinton to meet the Redskins. Last Friday, they lost (43-12) once beaten Tiffin Columbian in an “SBC” crossover game. Hall of fame coach Ed Nasonti says they have had a lot of challenges to deal with this fall. “Well, we knew that going in that we have one of the toughest schedules in the state of Ohio in division IV. On top of it all, when you go through the gauntlet like that and your kids play hard and they get hurt. We've been injured all year, but we're still staying positive. Like I said last week, I know our coaches are working hard, our kids are working hard and we're staying the course you know we did some good things. It sounds like a broken record, but you know the game last week was a lot closer than the and the score indicated. We almost matched them with yards,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says there are a lot of things still to play for this year for the Redmen. “We need to just keep working at it. We feel like if we play the type of ball that we're capable of and we can be successful in these last two games and hopefully still get a shot at a home playoff game,” he said. Bellevue (3-5,0-2) visits Port Clinton (3-5,1-2) on Friday night. The Redskins lost (30-0) to division co-leader Edison last week. Nasonti says they have a lot of kids that can play the game. “I think they're similar to us in they've had to deal with a lot of injuries. They have some talented players, they have good size up front and they have some seniors on their offensive line. Their quarterback is really quick and he's a good athlete. They have a real nice tailback. They have some good receivers,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Like I said, we're going to have to play good football here and kids have been working hard in practice. I'm proud that we have stayed the course.” Published 10/11/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue to Deal with Really Good Columbian Bellevue plays another tough game on Friday night as they are over at Tiffin Columbian in a crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. They got off to a good start last week, but lost in the end (37-18) to Huron in a Bay Division game. Coach Ed Nasonti says there were a lot of big plays in the game. “I thought our kids competed. We came out and we got the opening kickoff, the ball kind of bounced around we jumped on it, knocked it in got up 6-0, came back, got an onside kick, and we’re down there knocking on the door again, but we couldn't capitalize. It was one of those deals where, I thought our kids played hard, but we left like three touchdowns out on the on the table. We gave them three touchdowns that they probably shouldn't have had with one with a pick six and two more big plays. You're looking at it you know it’s a 42 point swing. So, I thought our kids played hard,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (3-4) won three of its first four games, but some injuries to key players have led to a three game losing streak. However, Nasonti, a hall of fame coach, says their kids are still putting everything they have into their effort. “I've talked to you before we've been beat up this year, but our kids come to practice every day. I'm proud of our coaches and I'm proud of our players that they are staying the course and we're hanging in there and we'll keep fighting,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We've got a good, quality opponent this week. It’s another chance for us to play a quality team and see what we can do, but there's no quit in our kids, there's no quit in our coaches and that's how we feel.” Bellevue ranks sixth in their division IV region. Tiffin Columbian (6-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, blasted Clyde (49-14) in a Lake Division game last week. Nasonti says Columbian has a lot of weapons. “They have got the Roggow boys, one is a quarterback and one is a receiver, those guys are very good athletes, they have got Koerper as one of the receivers, he can really run, the (Damien) Brockington kid, who is a really nice tailback, their line is big,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They're clicking, they're playing good football. So, they're definitely one of the better teams in Northern Ohio and it's going to be a big challenge for us, but we're going to lay it out and give our give our best,” he said. Published 10/05/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Has to Get Better Bellevue hopes to pick the pieces up this week as they host Huron in a game in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. They got hammered for the second week in a row last week, when unbeaten Edison took them out (41-7) in a division game. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was not a Bellevue like effort. “Well looking back on last week's game, I think that everybody in our locker room was disappointed. We thought that we would be able to give them a better game, unfortunately we weren't. A lot of credit goes to the Edison Chargers, they're a pretty good football team. They were really physical and they took the game to us. So, obviously we have to do some things better. We focus on effort, toughness, and assignment and we need to improve in all three of those areas. Those are things that our kids can control and things that we can evaluate,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says there is no question that the Redmen still have a lot to play for. “Another week behind us and it's still another week in front of us here that we can get better and finish out our season strong. We're still fourth in our in our region playoff wise and who knows what can happen in the conference yet too. So, one game into the conference and four games left to play still have the bulk of our season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We're hoping we get some of the guys back that we've had out being injured. I think that has affected us a little bit too. We haven't had the identity that we had earlier in the season with that package that we had in there. So, the last two weeks we've been struggling a little bit with that and like I said I hope you can clear some things up it, get back to playing tough Bellevue football and put it together.” Bellevue (3-3,0-1) is home for the Huron Tigers (4-2,1-0) on Friday. Huron is coming off a (38-7) shellacking of Port Clinton last week in division play. Nasonti says the Tigers have a lot skill that can make plays. “I think they're well coached. I think that we match up well with them. They have some really good skilled athletes and have good size up front. It would be the first time we played him in a while, and it'll be home for us, also be our homecoming. So, we're looking forward to getting back out there and washing the taste out of our mouth a little bit,” he said. Published 9/27/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Needs Early Lead Bellevue faces a big one in play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night as they will be at Edison in game between likely the two best teams in the division. The Redmen got beat last week (49-0) by an excellent Perkins team. Hall of fame coach Ed Nasonti says they went in short handed and found it hard to compete. “It's tough to go into any game short handed with guys out. We go in there with two of our top offensive players out and our starting mic linebacker and it it's even more challenging when you go up against a talented football team like Perkins. That being said, we took the first drive down, a seven minute drive and got the ball deflected in the end zone and got a pick. We had another drive down at the other end which ended in an interception in the end zone too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “At times, we did a decent job, we didn't feel that that we were able to move the ball consistently enough to keep their explosive offense off the field. We felt going in if we'd had Jax LaPata, our wildcat quarterback and tailback, and Brody Horn, you have those two guys you can keep your offense on the field a little bit longer, which would keep their offense off the field. So, that being said it's time to break off the rearview mirror and look forward to a new challenge.” Bellevue (3-2,0-0) is at Edison (5-0,0-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday night. The Chargers trashed Norwalk (28-0) last week. Nasonti says they will be facing the traditional Edison option offense. “Well, they run the triple option. It's something that you only see once a year. Jimmy Hall has been there a long time and they do a really good job. We have played them three times over the past couple years. They've all been good games. Their kids play hard, they're bought into their system. So, it's one of those games where we're going to have to be assignment sharp on the defensive side of the ball. We're going to have to get something going offensively without two of our stronger offensive players. We’ll try to put some things together this week. We feel that the kids have been practicing hard, I know the coaches are working very hard, and we're just going to let her rip and do the best we can do,” said Nasonti. Against Edison, Nasonti says its crucial to be able to take the lead and work from in front. “I think when you face a team like Edison, they like to grind it out on you if they can get up on top of you I think it's important to stay ahead of them if you can. Then you kind of force them out of their comfort zone a little bit. If you're going to let them grind out three, four, five yards of crack it is going to be a long night and we we've learned from experience on that end of it,” he said. Published 9/22/23 © Swankonsports.com Our scoreboard updated every five minutes On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue With Big Challenge It is not going to figure in the divisional races in the Sandusky Bay Conference anymore, but you can figure as they long as the particulars stay in place, Bellevue and Sandusky Perkins is always going to be of great importance. It renews on Friday night at Perkins in an “SBC” crossover. Bellevue (3-1) blanked Norwalk (26-0) last week in a crossover. That was after losing one of their best players in Jax Lapata on the first play of the game to injury. Coach Ed Nasonti says they try to prepare their kids for those kinds of situations. “You talk about adversity, we talk to our kids all the time about you never know what's going to happen, you never know what's going to come your way and it's got to be next man up and business as usual. I'm really proud of our kids, we played solid football for four quarters. We ended up pitching the shutout and putting enough points on to feel good about our performance,” said Nasonti. Ashton Martin scored three times for the Redmen against Norwalk. Perkins (3-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, did not play last week. Their scheduled game against Warren JFK was cancelled by JFK due to a player shortage. Nasonti says Perkins is really good team with explosive players. “Well, they have a lot of kids back off the very successful team last year. They have some big playmakers. They're quarterback is a three-year starter. He throws the ball very well, they mix in the run with him, they like to run the quarterback draw,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They have some really good skilled players and some big lineman up front. They're definitely a team very worthy of their state ranking.” If you take away the Shelby game, a (35-33) Bellevue win, the Redmen have allowed only two touchdowns all year and those both came in a loss to rival Clyde (14-6) on week one. Nasonti says the Pirates are going to be tough to stop. “I mean they throw a lot of things at you. They have got a really good running back, he’s got great speed and good vision. They have some receivers that can make explosive plays by just catching a quick screen and running and they have got a quarterback that can throw it a country mile. So, they do a lot of things, they're good football team and we're looking forward to the challenge,” he said. Published 9/14/2023 © Swankonsports.com Join us this week at the Bellville Street Fair Come say hi at our booth
	Bellevue to Meet Experienced Norwalk Bellevue, coming off a couple of solid wins, entertains the Norwalk Truckers in a non-conference, or “SBC” crossover on Friday night at “BAF”. Bellevue is part of the Bay Division this season. The Redmen (2-1) edged Shelby (35-33) in a thriller last week. Hall of fame coach Ed Nasonti, the head man at Bellevue since 1991, says it was one of the most exciting games he has been part of. “From the spectators standpoint, I think it was a great game. I think two of the last three times we have played Shelby, both of the games that were here in Bellevue Stadium have to be two of the most exciting and best games that that I've been involved with in the last 33 years. So, it was a nice game from the coaches standpoint and we came out on top. Of course, our fans enjoyed it and our kids enjoyed it and then you get a nice win against the solid football team,” he said. Bellevue has improved in each of the three games they have played and Nasonti says a lot of that has to do with the play of their young offensive line. “Well, I think we're coming into the season we were really worried about our offensive line. We have a bunch of young kids and inexperienced kids up there and I think we struggled early on, but I think our line coaches are doing an outstanding job. The kids are really trying hard and they're getting better. I mean we're not where we want to be, but we're improving and in that aspect of our game. We're improving in the other aspects as well. I preached to you all the time that our job is to get these guys better each week and that's the best that you can do. If you take care of your business, you take care of the process, you've got your “I’s” dotted and your “T’s” crossed the results are going to come for you,” said Nasonti. Norwalk (2-1) is coming off a (42-26) win over Toledo Rogers in their week three game. Nasonti says they are an improved football team that has some athletes. “You take a look at them and they're senior laden, seniors all over the place, but this is the third different system I think that these kids have had to learn in the last three years. So, I think that makes it hard on the kids especially. They have come up with two wins here. I know they had one win in the last two seasons, so they've doubled that win total,” he told Swankonsports.com on Labor Day night, “They have some really nice athletes. The (Jarren) McClendon kid is as good a back as you'll see. Then they have got (Ben) Rothaar, who has really good speed, nice safety and a nice tight end. They have some experienced players on both sides of the ball. So, I think we're going to face a team that believes that they can get the job done. We understand here at Bellevue that we have to realize that we have a bullseye on our back as well.” Published 9/05/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Execution the Key for Bellevue One of the marque matchups in North Central Ohio on Friday night has the Bellevue Redmen hosting the Shelby Whippets in non-conference action. After a loss to Clyde (14-6) on week one, the Redmen responded by stuffing Wauseon (26-3) last week. Hall of fame coach Ed Nasonti says the kids came out and responded well. “We did bounce back. We told ourselves as coaches and as a staff that we want to get better every week. We thought that we made that improvement that we needed to from week one to week two. Our kids have been practicing hard. We have some good senior leadership and it was nice to get a win over a solid program like Wauseon,” said Nasonti. Shelby (2-0) blasted Lexington (50-19) last Friday. Sophomore quarterback Brayden DeVito accounted for five more touchdowns in the win. Nasonti says this is another solid Shelby team. “Well, they are a typical Shelby team. They have good size up front, they have good athleticism at the skilled positions. I think they're very well coached on both sides of the ball. They're a perennial contender for a conference championship each year down there and it's definitely a worthy opponent. We're excited about the challenge and the opportunity to play off a good football program like Shelby,” he said. It’s a game where an explosive Shelby offense faces a Bellevue defense that doesn’t give up big plays, something has to give. Nasonti says they can’t give the Whippets a crease or it’s bye bye. “I mean they have some guys that if you know you get misaligned or you miss tackles I mean they're going to take it to the house. They have got an outstanding quarterback that scored 10 touchdowns in two games. They have some receivers that will go up and get the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We’re going to have to be assignment sharp in our secondary and be assignment sharp with our with our linebackers and defensive line. We are going to have to be assignment sharp on the offensive side of the ball too because their defense is solid as well. They have some really quick linebackers and some good size on their defensive front and they present some challenges sure.” Published 8/31/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Committed to Improvement Bellevue plays as good a schedule as any division IV school around here and that continues this week as the host the Wauseon Indians in a non-conference game at “BAF” on Friday night. Last week, they lost (14-6) to arch rival Clyde. Coach Ed Nasonti says they did a lot of good things, but they made some mistakes too. “Well, looking back on the film I thought we did some good things. We had some success moving the ball. I thought our defense played well. You hold a good team like Clyde to 14 points you should give yourself an opportunity to win. So, we made some mistakes. We turned the ball over a little bit. Our kids played hard. It was a good first game against a good opponent and we're going to learn from it and move on to week two,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I told you the last time I talked to you our season was going to be defined by one game whether we win or lose. We're going to learn from it and we're going to move on. I like our kids 's attitude. We bounced back at practice and our coaches are working hard. So, it's not going to get any easier though, we have a tough schedule and we have got Wauseon coming in and they're going to be another quality opponent.” Wauseon (1-0) belted Fairview (49-12) in their opener last week. Nasonti says the Indians are a very good team. He says they aren’t fancy, just very good. “They have some really good athletes. They're simplistic in their offense. They don't run many formations, but they have good speed. They're well coached and disciplined. They have a nice quarterback and some running backs that can move the ball. On defense, they run to the ball and they have some good size on defense. So, they're good football program. We've had some history with them over the years. We played them in the playoffs. They're a perennial playoff team and we're going to expect another tough ball game.” Said Nasonti. All of the teams remaining on Bellevue’s schedule won their games last week. It’s a tough schedule and Nasonti says they like it that way. “I mean we have played good football teams year in year out. Our kids like the challenge. We like the challenge as a coach. The one thing you're going to find out where you're at. You're going to find out where your strengths are and you're going to find out where your weaknesses are, so we're going to know right where we're at,” he said. Published 8/22/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Tangles With Clyde It’s two longtime rivals on Friday night as the Bellevue Redmen head down U.S. Route 20 to face the Clyde Flyers on the opening night of the high school football season. These two schools have been locking horns on the football field since before most of the fans of either where even born. It’s the first time, at least for many years, that this game has been an opener. Bellevue’s Hall of Fame coach Ed Nasonti says they have to have great focus. “We played them in week 10 for years and it was week three. This is the first time that we've had them right out of the gate. We've just tried to stay focused on being the best football team we can be and pay attention to details and cross our “T’s” and dot our “I’s” and put our best foot forward and play it like it's a regular week one game. I mean this game, whether we win or lose, is not going to define our season,” he said. Nasonti says he is very pleased with the makeup of this team. “It's a shorter preseason than we've had before. We did have two scrimmages. I like our kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I have good senior leadership. We have some good skilled guys. We have a young offensive line, but these guys have made progress through the last two weeks and then into our game week here. I like our kids, I like the way they practice, I like their enthusiasm. So, I'm expecting a good outing (Friday) night.” Clyde beat Bellevue (13-12) in the regular season finale last season. Nasonti says again they have a solid team that they will put out on the field on Friday night. “Well, they're typical Clyde football team. They're well coached, their kids play hard, they have a lot of pride, they do a good job over there and they're solid on both sides of the ball. So, we have a lot of respect for them as an opponent and we know it's going to be a worthy opponent in week one,” said Nasonti. Published 8/18/23 © Swankonsports.com Our scoreboard updated every five minutes On Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Excited About Season It’s kind of new era at Bellevue. Heavens no, there is not a coaching change, but the Redmen are moving into the Bay Division of Sandusky Bay Conference after spending their entire existence in the “SBC” in the Lake Division. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti, in his 33^rd year as the head man at Bellevue, and a Hall of Fame coach, says he likes what he has in this year’s team. “I have got a great group of kids, they're working hard. I have got great senior leadership so I'm really enjoying the kids because they're working hard to put their best foot forward,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says the Redmen have big play ability and they will play physical football. “Well, I think we have got good skilled players, we have got some nice players on the perimeter,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I think our defense has good speed, our kids are disciplined, they like to run to the ball and they like to hit and they're playing with enthusiasm. They've been a really fun group.” Bellevue has old Lake Division rivals Clyde, Norwalk, Perkins and Tiffin Columbian as part of its schedule and Nasonti he has not given much thought to the switch to the Bay Division yet. “Well, you know what, I haven't put much thought into that other than that we're playing the same schedule pretty much. We open up the Clyde, our non conference games happen to be the conference games that we played for the last few years. So, we're just taking it one game at a time and at this point I'm trying to put the best possible team that I could put out there on week one,” said Nasonti. Published 8/09/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Clyde Walks Off Rival Bellevue The division II district semifinal between arch rivals Clyde and Bellevue remained scoreless until there were two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Caden Bumb dropped an RBI single into shallow centerfield to the give the Fliers a (1-0) win. Clyde will play Ontario, who beat Shelby (7-2) in the second semifinal, for the district title at Fremont Ross High School on Saturday afternoon. Cole Schwochow led on the seventh with just the fourth Flier hit off Bellevue starter Tyler Ray. He moved to second on a sacrifice by Mason Flewelling. Drake Guhn struck out for the second out of the inning, but Bumb delivered. “What a ball game. Again, now the third time with them it's been a one run game. Both pitchers had unbelievable stuff you know. In that type of game, it's nice to be home team I guess, that's all I can say,” said Clyde coach Drew Linder. Bellevue only got two runners as far as second base off Schwochow. Their best opportunity came early when they had runners first and second with two out in the second, but couldn’t get the big hit. Bellevue coach Andy Dennings says with a stiff wind blowing in all day it was tough to get anything going. “We competed hard. Both kids threw the heck out of the ball. When you have guys like that out here and playing in these kinds of conditions. Not much is going to fly with the wind dead in your face,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “It was just a matter of who could get one out there when we had some guys on. We weren't able to do it and they got one in the last inning and that's the story game really.” Schwochow and Ray were both terrific. Schwochow struck out six of the last nine Redmen he faced. Ray three times, in the second, fourth and six got out of jams with multiple Fliers on base, there were three ducks on the pound in the sixth, but Ray struck out Grayson Morgan to end the inning. Linder says both pitchers had their best stuff. “I want to say they both had double digits in strikeouts or it had to be close. We have struggled all year hitting. We tried all week to prepare for Ty Ray we still didn’t look like we knew what we were doing even preparing for one guy we knew about. So, we got one in the end when it mattered I guess,” said Linder. Schwochow had 10 K’s, Ray had nine. Linder said before that bottom of the seventh, he had rather simple instructions. “Get somebody on and over and pray for a hit basically. So, that’s how it went down,” he said. Published 5/26/23 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Faces Mansfield Senior Pressure Bellevue clashes with Mansfield Senior in a division II sectional final on Friday night at Bucyrus High School. Bellevue (16-6) finished third in the very competitive Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference this year. Coach Ed Rich says the postseason brings a special energy. “It's a lot of fun. We were at the game (Wednesday) night just the atmosphere and everything, it's just different feel, a lot of excitement. So, yeah it's fun for players coaches and fans,” he said. Mansfield Senior (16-7), #5 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, beat Norwalk (70-56) in a semifinal game at Bucyrus. Rich says the Tygers were hot early from distance, but with them you know what you are getting. “They look a little bit different than what I've seen on film, but nothing crazy stood out. They did knock down quite a few threes in the first half. I knew they had some capable shooters, but I think they went maybe like 6-9 from three in the first half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They're kind of what I expected. They're going to get up and pressure you for 32 minutes and even on the offensive they're going to put the pressure on you they like to penetrate and get downhill. So, we definitely have to be really good in order to come out of there with victory on Friday.” Rich says the Tygers do a good job on the glass and even when they don’t get the initial board, they find a way to get the ball. “They do a really good job of, I don't want to say letting the other team rebound, but when the other team gets a rebound they're really good at getting it out of their hands before they even get back to the floor. So, they really dig down on the rebounders and knock that ball loose and basically get their own offensive rebound and put it back in. So, that that's one of the things that kind of stood out (Wednesday) night. They weren't you know crazy on the glass, but they're really good when someone else gets the board they'll get it out of their hands and it just looks like an offensive rebound and they will lay it right back in,” said Rich. Published 2/24/23 © Swankonsports.com There will be a special “Out of Bounds” Saturday from 10 to 11 PM First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Needs Good Start vs. Norwalk Bellevue ties to take some momentum into the postseason as they travel down the road to Norwalk to meet the Truckers in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Redmen have won their last four, including a (49-44) non-conference win at Ontario on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says they defended well and they got some good shots closet to the basket. “I thought we played pretty well defensively. We were really good again on the defensive end. We went in with like a nine or 10 point lead at half and we thought we could extend a little bit coming out the third quarter, but they picked up their intensity and got out in transition, so we had to lock down a little bit on defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We got some pretty good looks. I think we were 50 some percent from two, but I think we were 4-20 from three, so we didn't shoot it well from the outside. Our inside game helped us out quite a bit and like I said we were really good defensively. So, we'll take that win, it’s a tough place to play, especially on Tuesday night, so we'll take it.” Bellevue has been a pretty good perimeter shooting team for about the last month, but Rich says Tuesday night they had to find other ways to score. “Our big guy Cody Lindsey ended up with 18 points (Tuesday) night and all of them were from either the free throw line or the paint. So, we found ways to get him the ball, penetrate and dish penetrate and kick and he took care of the rest, so he had a huge game for us (Tuesday) night. Like we always tell our guys as well that offense doesn't always travel, but you know defense always travels. If you play hard and defend you're going to be in good shape,” said Rich. Bellevue (16-5,8-3) plays at Norwalk (10-11,4-7) on Friday night. The Truckers lost (78-63) to Lake Division champion Sandusky on Friday night. In the first meeting between the teams, Bellevue prevailed (42-38) on January 5, however, Rich says they can’t afford to get off to a slow start again. “They are a good, big, physical team. I think we got down against them maybe like 13-3 or something like that the first time they played us at our place and we slowly crawled back in. I don't think we get down like that again against them. They're improved, they rebound the ball extremely well and one of the more physical teams that we play. So, we're going to have our hands full,” he said. Published 2/16/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue and Norwalk Play For Lake Division Title Bellevue is at Norwalk for the girls’ basketball championship game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Thursday night. The Lady Red won the first time (43-42) on January 3. Bellevue coach Kory Santoro says this is for all of the marbles. “This is as big as it gets. It’s the end of the season. We really haven't played a game like this other than last year we had to win our last game against Norwalk to win a league championship. So, here we are again with one regular season game to go to win it all,” said Santoro. Bellevue (17-4,10-1) plays at Norwalk (19-2,10-1) on Thursday night. The Lady Truckers beat Sandusky (57-18) in their last division game last Saturday. They beat Madison (48-20) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. Santoro says this is a team with a lot of experience. “They are a senior laden team. They have two sophomore guards, but they have got a lot of seniors. They have nice post player, who can rebound the ball very well and scores around the basket very well. They're coached very well and very disciplined. I know that we're going to get their best shot,” he said. Bellevue has only lost one game since early December. Santoro says right now they are as healthy right now as they have been all season. “Well, we're a little different from last time too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We have Audrey Turner back full go from injury. Sophia Turner is back. She was out all the year. She came back four games ago. They just add another dimension to our team as far three-point shooting. So, we're at full strength the first time really all year, so we're excited about that.” Published 2/09/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Plays Improved Clyde Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Rich Bellevue returns to action in the Sandusky Bay conference Lake Division as they visit Clyde to play the Fliers on Friday night. They host South Central (8-11) in a non-conference game on Saturday night. In a game that had a lot of ebbs and flows to it Friday night, the Redmen lost (67-55) to Tiffin Columbian in a Lake Division game. Coach Ed Rich says they couldn't get anything going in the fourth quarter. “It was a pretty exciting game. I think we started off on a 6-0 run. They called the timeout and I think after that they went on gosh like a 21-2 or 21-4 run. Then late in the second quarter, we made a nice run it got it within two or three at half. We got up eight at the end of the third. Then we fouled them and they got the basket, that was right at the end of the quarter. Then Logan Beaston came out and hit three straight threes against us in the fourth. We just couldn't score there in the fourth quarter. So, it was a good game, but we just could we just couldn't hold on,” said Rich. Bellevue came back Saturday night to beat Oak Harbor (61-48) in a non-conference, of “SBC” crossover game. Rich thinks that was an important win for them. “We were nervous. I thought we played hard, we played smart, we did a lot of good things, very emotional game on Friday. So, it's always nerve wracking going on the road and trying to play a non league game that next night. It took us a little bit to get going there, but we end up taking care of business late and we came out of there with a victory,” he said. Bellevue (13-5,7-3) plays at Clyde (4-15,2-8) on Friday in a Lake Division game. The Fliers lost (65-49) to Huron in their “SBC” crossover on Saturday night, but they have won two of their last three. The Redmen won the first meeting (57-32) on December 28 at Clyde. However, Rich says this is an improved Clyde team. “It's always a big game, Bellevue-Clyde is a huge game. They're shooting the ball pretty well. I think they're one of the top teams in the “SBC” Lake in three point percentage wise and they let it fly,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They have got the Olson kid, who's averaging over 20 a game. He's he shot close to 200 threes already this year and then they got another kid named Wilson, he's shooting about 40 some percent from three. So, if they get it going from the perimeter and you don't stop their transition, they could potentially make it be a long night.” Published 2/07/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Gets Ready for Second Meeting With Tiffin Bellevue, in second in the “SBC” Lake, a game behind Sandusky, plays at home against Tiffin Columbian on Friday night in a division game. They kept themselves right in the race in the Lake Division with a (68-64) overtime win at Vermilion last Thursday night. Coach Ed Rich says they were able to keep their composure even though Vermilion kept raining in threes. “I thought we played some pretty good basketball. I knew it would be a tough weekend. Vermilion is never easy playing there, I think I told you that, and add to it that they hit 15 threes on us Thursday night, that was tough to overcome. I give my guys a ton of credit because when somebody hits 15 threes on you it's really hard to keep your composure and pull out a win and we did,” said Rich. Willard rallied to beat the Redmen (46-45) in an “SBC” crossover on Saturday night. Rich says it was an outstanding game. “As for Saturday again, I knew Willard would be a tough matchup. They have got good players and one of them Max Dawson is really good and we knew we had our hands full with him. We did a pretty good job on him and held him to three points in the first half. It was a really fun game, much more fun if we would have won. I keep telling everyone it was like a high level chess match. Both teams scout really well, we knew each other really well, so overall it was it was a fun atmosphere and a fun game,” he said. Bellevue (12-4,7-2) entertains Tiffin Columbian (13-4,6-3) on Friday night. The Tornadoes beat Perkins (61-45) in a division game last Friday. In their first meeting, Bellevue won (54-51) at Columbian on January 7. Rich says they are going to have to do something to contain the division’s second leading scorer in Logan Beaston (19.6 ppg) to have a chance to win. “They're dangerous, I mean Logan Beaston is still in my eyes the best player in the SBC Lake. He hurt is early there the first half. I think he had 17 points in the first half against us at their place. The good thing is we held him to only two in the second half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “So, it's going to take a defensive effort like that again in order for us to come out with the victory. That should be a good game. Their going to be ready to play. We're going to be ready to play and we'll see how it goes.” Rich says it promises to be another game that comes down to the end. “We know each other well. It's going to be another chess match. Whoever can make that last play or whoever can make one more play than the other I think is going to be the one who comes out the winner,” he said. Published 1/31/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Still Standing Bellevue, in second place in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, travels to Vermilion on Thursday night for a division game. They play Willard in a non-conference or “SBC” crossover game on Saturday. They have only lost three times this year and two of them are to Sandusky, the top team in the RPI rankings in the division II Ashland district. Coach Ed Rich says he is really proud of how they have played. “We're pretty proud of our guys. We came in with high expectations for sure and so far, we we've met those expectations and actually may have exceeded some at the halfway point right now. We're playing well and happy for my guys,” he said. Trailing the Blue Streaks by a game, the Redmen are likely the only legitimate threat to Sandusky. “That's what we keep telling our kids that we can control what we can control and that’s all we can do. Go out and play the best we can and hopefully pick up you know a few more league wins and less league losses and hopefully someone can come in and knock Sandusky off by the end of the Lake season,” said Rich. Bellevue (11-3,6-2), #5 in the Swankonsports.com coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Vermilion (5-11,2-6) on Thursday night. The Sailors lost (65-47) to Clyde in a division game last Friday. Bellevue won the first matchup (74-42) on December 17. Rich says the Sailors have kids that can score. “They can put in the basket. They can score, they're long, they have got a couple guys who can knock down some threes, so they're dangerous in my mind. Going there we always kind of struggle to play there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We have came away with some victories, but it's always pretty close games there. So, we're not taking them, or anyone lightly. We're going to have to go in there Thursday and play some good basketball hopefully we can we can leave there with a win.” Bellevue and Willard was once the biggest basketball rivalry in this area. Rich says there is still some intensity there and the Flashes, the Bay Division leaders, are very good. “Our kids right now don't understand how big of a rivalry that was in the 80s and the 90s from what I remember. I mean it was huge, it was hatred back then there's no doubt about it and both gyms no matter where it was it would be jam packed, you could never get a ticket, if you didn't get a ticket, you weren't getting at the door. So, it was an awesome rivalry, but it still means something. They're nice team, I think they are 9-8, and they've played an absolutely brutal schedule. So, they're a really, really good team and we're looking forward to that challenge,” said Rich. Published 1/25/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Prepares for Dangerous Upper Bellevue, in a share of second place in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays host to Upper Sandusky, of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, on Thursday night. On Tuesday night, the Redmen (10-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, belted Edison (78-43) in an “SBC” crossover. Coach Ed Rich says they played well and got to work on some things. “We came out played well. I thought we played fairly well early and then came out in the second half and really got after it on the defensive end, defensive turned to offense. We accomplished what we wanted to. We worked on some things that we wanted to work on and got the victory. So, it was a good night (Tuesday) night,” he said. Bellevue has been playing outstanding defense and Rich believes they are starting to execute better on offense too. “We've been shooting ball a little bit better week by week. Our three-point percentage was way down in the low 20s a couple of weeks ago and we're creeping up to 30% as a team right now, which is a great, but it's much better to be in those low 20s,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Our ball movement has been pretty good all year to be honest. We just had trouble to finish possessions. Right now, we're shooting a little bit more, actually a lot a bit more confident, and yeah that makes a little tougher to guard when we have got guys knocking it down from the perimeter.” Upper Sandusky (2-11) comes to town on Thursday. They lost (77-74) to Wynford in overtime in an “N10” game last Friday and (62-59) to Kenton in a non-league game on Saturday. Rich knows the Rams are dangerous. “I'll be honest I think they're extremely dangerous. They have got three guys who start and they're all 6 foot 5. They have guys that are shooting extremely well. The (Ethan) Kessler kid from three is 40%. Holden Daris is not shooting it as well as he has in the past, but he's become a slasher and finisher on the inside and then they have got another 6 foot 5 kid. When you got that much length and those shooters. Levi Lamb is another shooter. When you got those guys in there they're tough to defense. I know they have two wins, but they are much better than their record shows,” said Rich. Published 1/19/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Faces Up-Tempo Perkins Bellevue, a game back in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at Perkins in a division game on Friday night. After moving into a share of the Lake Division league with (54-51) win at Tiffin last Saturday, the Redmen fell (73-45) to Sandusky, now the division leader, on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says Sandusky really played well. “I'll be honest we didn't play our best at Sandusky, but we didn't play nearly our worst. I mean Sandusky was extremely good, we knew that going in. We knew we were going to get the extremely good Sandusky and they took it to us. When they're locked in and when they are focused on playing and they're really, really good and really, really tough to beat. So, I didn't think we played horrible, but we didn't play nearly good enough to hang around with them,” said Rich. Bellevue (8-3,5-2) is at Perkins (8-3,3-3) on Friday night. The Pirates beat Clyde (82-75) in a division game on Tuesday night. Rich says Perkins has a lot of guys that can score points. “They are a dangerous team. They play a lot of guys. They have multiple guys who could hurt you scoring wise. Jayden Rowe leads them in scoring, but I want to say they have at least four other guys, four or five other guys, who are right around that 7, 8, 9 points per game average. So, they have got they got all the guys could hurt you. They're going to get up and down pressure you in the half, pressure in the whole and kind of run. They kind of want to play Sandusky style basketball, but a little bit more controlled,” he said. Bellevue beat Perkins (64-59) on December 9. Rich says they are a team that can run the floor, but they want to be a little more controlled than Perkins. “We're not against it. We can get out and run. The only team that I think we can't really run with in the league the Sandusky and there's nobody in our league who can run with them. So, the tempo doesn't phase us a whole lot,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It was a pretty high tempo game the first time we played them. I think they're going to want to push a little bit faster this game. We're definitely not scared of that tempo, but we like to defend, we like to make you try to beat us in the half. So, it's going be kind of a contrast of two teams (Friday) night.” Published 1/13/22 © Swankonsports.com Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday and Saturday night On our scoreboard at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue With a Couple Key Games Bellevue, in a share of second place in Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, plays two division games this week as they host Norwalk on Thursday and play at division leader Tiffin Columbian on Saturday night. Last week, they looked good in a couple of wins in beating Clyde (57-32) in a division game on Wednesday and downing Pemberville Eastwood (56-32) in a non-league game on Thursday. Coach Ed Rich says defended well and picked up two quality wins. “I was a little nervous, I mean I'm always nervous going into the games going to the Clyde especially I was nervous going to that one. At that point before we went in there, I wasn't sure if they're going to have a win or not, but they end up knocking off Colonel Crawford Tuesday night. We had a 10, 11 day break, so I was nervous that we'd be a little rusty, but we came out we defended extremely well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We weren’t great offensively, but we were good enough, so you know we kind of took care of business on Wednesday. Then Eastwood, I watched against Archbold and they are solid, solid squad. They have some scorers, so I thought we would have our hands full, but again our defense was extremely good against them and we really took the ball out of their scorers hands.” Bellevue (6-2,3-1) is at home for Norwalk (3-6,1-4) on Thursday night in a Bay Division game. The Truckers have lost five straight, including a (60-50) loss to Willard in an “SBC” crossover last Friday. Rich says they were right in those games and they are big and physical in the post. “I think they lost to Tiffin by one, Sandusky by you know four or five. So, they've competed with the top teams in the league already. So, they're definitely ready to get a big win. I think they've lost five straight, but you watch them on film and I watched it live there and they're solid team. They're big, they're physical, they're a lot different than they been in the past and that could be the only difference about them right now. We're going to have our hands full. We need to rebound well and we need to defend the post and in order to come out with victory,” said Rich. Tiffin Columbian (8-1,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays Clyde on Thursday night and then they host the Redmen on Saturday. Rich says that it has the makings on a big game. “Especially if we can get the win Thursday against Norwalk then we are heading into Tiffin with only one league loss makes our game with them really big. I want to get Thursday night, obviously we're prepping for that right now. Then we'll turn around Friday and prep for Columbian. If we get to that Columbian game with only that one league loss that game becomes much more bigger for both teams really,” he said. Published 1/05/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Locks Horns With Norwalk It’s a battle for first place in the Lake Division the Sandusky Bay Conference on Tuesday night as Bellevue entertains Norwalk in a conference game. The Lady Truckers lead Bellevue by game. This is the first meeting between the two this season. Bellevue (9-3,4-1) has won five of its last six. Coach Kory Santoro says they are in a grove. “I think we're starting to figure things out with this young group. We have gotten some nice wins here last week with Clear Fork and Upper Sandusky and Clyde, so we like we're at right now,” said Santoro. Norwalk is unbeaten in the conference so far. Santoro says Norwalk has a good mix of players. “They are number one in our district. They are a senior laden team, but they do have some good young talent,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Just over the course of years our scores have been relatively low, so I'm expecting a good defensive battle.” Santoro emphasizes that he expects points to be at a premium. “I think so, I think just over the years with our teams the final score has been pretty low and just always seemed to be a defensive battle,” said Santoro. Published 1/03/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Perimeter Defense Key For Bellevue Bellevue, a game back in the race in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at home against Clyde in a division game on Wednesday night and then hosts Eastwood in a non-conference game on Thursday. They did not play last week due to the weather and coach Ed Rich hopes they aren’t rusty. “We were disappointed that we couldn't play Tiffin last week that was scheduled, but we understood circumstances. We instead held a couple intersquad scrimmages, so we hope that will help us keep in our game shape and in the way we've been playing. So, we have played some pretty good basketball and you want to keep playing those games and it’s not good to have a long time off,” he said. Bellevue (4-2,2-1) hosts Clyde (1-7,0-3) on Wednesday night. The Fliers earned their first win when they beat Colonel Crawford (64-63) on Tuesday night. Rich says Clyde has not had a lot of success this year, but he says they are a dangerous team because they have shooters. “They have got guys, they have got nice guard play. They shoot the ball really well at times. They could be extremely dangerous from three. It's a scary matchup for us I mean obviously Clyde is our big rival. They're 10 minutes down the road, down route 20,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “So, it's something we're definitely not taking lightly. We know what they're capable of and I think they've been playing better basketball for sure. They have found themselves in a lot of games and are just few plays away from winning some of those games. We have to play some good basketball (Wednesday) night.” Eastwood (5-2) was in the regional tournament last year and Rich says they are pretty good again this year. “They have got a nice squad. We started playing them again last year. We went to their place last year and they actually beat us on a buzzer beater three and they had they had an excellent squad. Now, they did lose quite a few guys, but they reloaded pretty well. They have got a really nice guard in this (Chase) Boos kid, he is averaging about 18 a game. So, it's going to be definitely a tough non league match up, but you know I think both schools are looking forward to that one as well,” said Rich. Published 12/28/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Making Some Like many others, Bellevue will not play Friday against Tiffin Columbian due to the weather. The game has been moved to January 7. Bellevue (4-2,2-1) has been playing some pretty good basketball, including a (74-42) win over Vermilion in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says they played with the right attitude. “I thought that we played well. We don't overlook anybody, so I told my guys we can't overlook and we have to go out there and play and play our normal game, play the way we can. They're not just going to lay down for us. It was competitive this quarter and then we kind of made a little run in the second quarter kind of pulled away as that went on. I thought we played well and it was a good win for us,” he said. Rich says they continue to work on their shooting technique. “That's credit to our kids. We talk a lot about being mentally tough and moving on to the next shot, the next play, and like I think I told you before in a previous interview. We've shot the ball more in practice these last three weeks than I have maybe ever in my in my coaching career, but we're sticking with what we've been doing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “In practices we get on our shoot away, we have got two shoot away guns. We've been getting a lot, a lot of shots up and working on confidence, working on form, working on catching and shoot, so it seems to be paying off right now.” Not being able to play on Friday is frustrating, but Rich says it is something they have to deal with. “We have been prepping for Tiffin all week. Obviously, we knew the weather could play a role in it. We went on our week as normal. I went saw Tiffin play against Bowling Green on, I don't know what night that was Monday or Tuesday, I saw play against “BG”. We were ready to play. The bad thing is you never know what's going to happen with this weather, so we're going to have to jam a bunch of league games in here in early January, which is not ideal but we'll be ready to play,” said Rich. Published 12/23/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports
	Bellevue Good on Defense Bellevue gets a big test on Thursday as they travel to Huron to mix it up with the Tigers in a crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. They play Vermilion in a Lake Division game on Saturday. Last Friday, the Redmen (2-2) rallied in the second half to beat Sandusky Perkins (64-59) in a Lake division game. Coach Ed Rich says they picked it up a notch when they had to. “We struggled with some foul trouble early in the game. In the second half, we got off to a little bit of slow start, but then the defense picked up and the defense turned into offense. I thought we really played well and knocked down some free throws when we needed to. We played a great second half,” he said. Rich says this is a team that can rely on its defense. He says the kids know what is expected of them. “Over the last couple of years when we weren’t very good offensively, so we really challenged our kids on defense. These kids have been around the program long enough to know that we are going to hang our hat on defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “The last couple of games we gave up 60 to Sandusky and 59 to Perkins. When you look at things that is pretty good, especially against Sandusky to only give up 60. They are probably averaging more than 80 points a game. That was pretty impressive. We are solid on defense.” Huron (3-1), #5 in the first Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll of season in the small school division, was the victim of an upset loss to Margaretta (66-63) in a Bay Division game last Friday, but despite some sickness in the team, responded with a (65-49) win over Keystone on Saturday in non-league play. Rich says Huron, with an outstanding player like Dylan Hohler, will be a tough challenge for them on Thursday. “They are really good both offensively and defensively. They have Dylan Hohler back, who is a great player, one of the better players, if not the best player in district 6. We have our hands full. We went and watched them on Saturday and they had a couple of guys out. They still took care of business against Keystone, and Keystone is a pretty athletic team. So, we have our hands full, but I think we are up for the challenge and we are looking forward to Thursday,” said Rich. Published 12/13/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Working on Shooting Bellevue entertains the Perkins Pirates in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Last Friday, the Redmen had a halftime lead, but got into some trouble in the second half and lost (60-40) to defending division champion Sandusky. Coach Ed Rich says they did a lot things well except they didn’t make many shots. “We went into halftime and I think we were up 19-14 at the half and played them pretty close through the end of the third. We kind of got away from us late and then in the fourth quarter they just beat us in transition. I thought we played a heck of a game. We out rebounded them, kept them to zero threes. I think we only had 10 to 12 turnovers, but unfortunately we shot 18 to 19 percent from two and not much better from three, so that was the big killer right there,” said Rich. Rich says shooting has certainly been a priority this week in practice. “A couple of Tuesdays ago when we played Port Clinton, I think we shot 22 or 23 percent. My thought was, I don’t think you can get any worse than that and unfortunately on Friday night it did. We hit shooting pretty hard this week. Hit fundamentals pretty hard. I don’t expect to see some huge change, but I do expect to see our shooting percentage go up little by little and we will kind of build on that,” he said. Bellevue (1-2,0-1) plays at home against Perkins (1-0,0-0) on Friday night. Perkins has a new coach in former Margaretta girls coach Eric Kochendoerfer and Rich says the Pirates want to make it and up tempo kind of game. “They are very athletic and they play a lot of guys. They are a nice squad. They get up and pressure. They are a different Perkins than we have seen in the past. They are going to play a lot of full court game, full court man, they are going trap you in the full and in the half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Offensively, they are trying to get shots off within 10 seconds of when they touch the ball. It is a totally different look from Perkins teams in the past with a new coach in there. They present some challenges for us, but I think we are ready to play.” Published 12/09/22 © Swankonsports.com Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday and Saturday night On our scoreboard at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue to Face some Challenges Bellevue will be over at Port Clinton to take on the Redskins in a non-conference, or “SBC” crossover, on Tuesday night and then play defending Lake Division champion Sandusky on Friday night. They started their season with a solid (54-40) win over Margaretta last Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says their play was outstanding. “I thought we played petty well on Saturday. We came in with a pretty tough environment, it is a small gym and it was packed. We came in and kind of took care of business. I was happy with the way we played, especially watching Margaretta on Wednesday. They took it to Western Reserve at home, which usually never happens. So, yeah we will take that win,” he said. Rich says their play on defense was very good and that is something they always emphasize. “Defense has been our calling card. We had a couple of years when we really struggled to put the ball in the basket. So, we have really been focusing on that defensive end for the last four years and we are going to continue to do that even though this year we also feel we can put the ball in the basket a little bit more. The defensive effort where there by all of the guys,” said Rich. Port Clinton fell (49-47) in a non-conference game last Friday. Rich feels they are going to gate a better effort from the Redskins on Tuesday night. “I was at the game. It was a typical after Thanksgiving type of game, low energy and uninspired basketball really. Port Clinton, they have some guys. They can be really, really scary. They have Adam Thorbahn who is an excellent player, one of the best in the “SBC”, so we have our hands full. They have some athletes around him. If they decide they want to play they can be really good,” he said. Sandusky (2-0) has come out the gate humming. They edged Elyria (79-76) last Wednesday and they smoked Ashland (89-56) on Saturday night. Rich says it is no secret they are a very good team. “They are playing extremely well. They have two big wins already. There really, really took it to Ashland on Saturday night. I think it was by more than 30. They are playing well and they are pressing. They are really shooting the ball extremely well. They are shooting from the long range really, really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We are going to have our hands full. I’m trying not to look ahead past Tuesday, but we know what we have waiting for us on Friday. We will be ready for that game as well.” Published 11/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for finals on Tuesday night at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Learning How to Win Bellevue, one of the traditional powers in girls’ basketball in North Central Ohio, plays in its first Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Tuesday night at Sandusky. They are (2-1) on the season, but coming off their first lost (49-39) to Perrysburg last Friday. Coach Kory Santoro says they and young and still maturing. “I think for having a young group of kids we are still kind of finding our way and puting things together. I think eventually it’s going to come together,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Right now, we are probably going to go through some growing pains.” Santoro says this group of kids is still getting used to the more physical brand of basketball played at the varsity level and how to be able to capture games that are up for grabs. “I think knowing how to win. I think that is the big thing. The physicality and having young players. I think those are two big things right now. I think we will get there with that,” he said. Sandusky (0-3) has kind of struggled out of the gate, but Santoro says they are going to be fast and play with some intensity. “Sandusky has got a new coach and I know he is trying to speed things up with that group over there. I think they are going to be quick and very athletic. They will play hard. This is out first league game, so we want to have a good showing over there,” said Santoro. Published 11/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for finals on Tuesday night at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Opens up With Margaretta Bellevue hits the floor for the first time on Saturday as they are at Margaretta to challenge the Polar Bears in an “SBC” crossover or non-conference game, whichever you prefer. Coach Ed Rich says they have made some good progress during the preseason. “They are coming together little by little. It seems like this time came really quick this year. We are still behind in a couple of spots. Hopefully, with a full week of practice this week we will get to where we need to be by Saturday,” he said. Rich says his kids are ready to go out and prove how good they can be. “Obviously, we had the scrimmage schedule. We played three scrimmages the last week. I thought we got better in some spots and not as good in other spots. We are banking on our kids being ready to play on Saturday and coming out there and giving of best effort,” said Rich. Margaretta won a co-title in the “SBC Bay” last season and advanced to the division IV regional tournament. Rich says they lost some very good talent to graduation, but they have some guys that can play back too. “They are still going to be a solid team for sure. They lose Liebacher and Palamo, who were two of their best players. Coach (Steve) Keller and his staff, they do an excellent job,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They are going to be ready to play. They are a very disciplined team, a very well coached team. It is going to take a good effort by us to come away with a victory at Margaretta.” Rich says the Bears are one of the teams in the area that have kids that can make midrange jump shots and they have to ready to defend. “They have a couple of guards in Sosa and a freshman guard, coach Keller’s kid that love that pull up jumper. They are dribbling and then pulling up from 10 to 12 feet. They are shooters and they like to shoot it. We have to get hands up and be really good on the defensive end against them on Saturday,” said Rich. Published 11/23/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	High Expectations at Bellevue Bellevue took a step in the right direction last year and they could make even more this boys’ basketball season. Coach Ed Rich says they really haven’t been together that long, but what he has seen has put a smile on his face. “So far, we haven’t been too bad. We have all of our guys back from football and everything last Thursday, so we have had about four days here to get things back on track. We have had a couple of scrimmages between then,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I like what we see and the effort we are playing with. Obviously, we are making some mistakes, but they are expected at this time of the year. Just getting guys back into basketball shape is our main goal right now.” Bellevue is slated to open the season next Saturday at Margaretta in a cross over game if you will in the “SBC”. Their first Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game is versus is December 2 at home against defending division champion Sandusky. Bellevue brings a lot of talent back from last year and Rich says this can be a breakout season for the Redmen. “We are pretty excited about the season. I thought we had a pretty good season last year. We bring back four of our five starters from last year. So, we have high expectations. We are excited, the players are excited. We have to see what we can do here,” he said. If the Redmen are to reach that kind of level, Rich says they have to be more consistent shooting the basketball. “We need to hit open shots. We are still struggling a little bit to shoot. It was kind of achilles heel last year. We have had some guys that could score and some guys that struggled. Right now, we have definitely been better in knocking down open shots and knocking down open looks. There are times in our scrimmages where we get good looks and we just can’t buy a basket. So, if we can find a way to kind of corral that and be consistent shooting the basketball, I think we are going to be pretty tough to beat,” said Rich. Published 11/17/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Starts with Edison Bellevue, a traditional girls’ basketball power, and defending co-champion of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake division, starts its regular season at home Friday night against Edison in an “SBC” crossover game. Coach Kory Santoro says they will be inexperienced this season. “For starters we are going to be a very young team this year, but we will have some talent with that that group too,” he said. They have played an aggressive scrimmage schedule and Santoro says that has introduced their younger players to the varsity game. “Coming in they get a little time to get adjusted to the speed of the game and the most important I think the physicality of the game. They have to get used to that. They are ready to play skill wise. I think it I the physical part of the game that they have to pick up,” said Santoro. Santoro says younger players have to understand that there is going to physical contact and they have to play through that. “They have to learn that they are going to get arm bared and hand checked and going to hole they are going to get hit. They have to learn to finish through contact and all of that stuff. It is a little bit of an adjustment,” he said. Edison, of the “SBC” Bay division, comes to Bellevue on Friday night to start the season. Santoro says they are going to play with intensity. “You are getting scrimmage film and sometimes you can’t see the numbers and that stuff, but everyone gets a clean, fresh start and will be amped up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They are going to play hard, we know that. No one wants to start the season 0-1. They don’t and we don’t, so both teams are going to get after it.” Published 11/15/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Must Contain Glenville Bellevue will play top seeded Cleveland Glenville at Collinwood Field on Friday night in division IV regional quarterfinal. Last week, they crushed Galion (40-9) in a first round game at Bellevue. Coach Ed Nasonti says they put it all together. “I think we have been playing well on both sides of the ball all year. I told the kids that they have been playing with great effort on both sides of the ball. It was really nice to get the results that you want. We came up on the short end of the stick in a couple of really tight Lake Division games, but in week 11 we put it all together. I know that Ashton (Martin) had a really good game at quarterback. Our receivers Ty Ray and Jackson Martin got involved and they had a really nice game. We put it all together with our protection and played solid defense against a Galion team that had been putting up a lot of points and we got the result that we wanted and happy to be moving on to week 12,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (7-4) takes a step up in competition from last week as they meet Glenville (10-0), a (46-8) winner over Napoleon last week, on Friday night. The Tarblooders are the alma mater of Ted Ginn Jr. and Troy Smith, two Ohio State legends. Nasonti this year coach Ted Ginn Sr. has a lot of talent at his disposal. “They have a great reputation and at least this year from what I have seen on tape they have been able to back it up. The have good size across the front. They have great speed. They have a running back that weighs 240 pounds. If you are going to bring him down, you have to hit him low, and hit him hard. They are really good in the perimeter with their skilled athletes all over the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They are well coached and they have a good football tradition since coach (Ted) Ginn has got in there. So, it is definitely a challenge for us, but it is one we are looking forward to and we are excited about the opportunity to play such a team with such a great and rich tradition of high school football.” With the speed and athleticism that Glenville has, Nasonti says it is imperative that they tackle well. “Anytime you go up against anyone that has skill like that we stress that with our kids. Most high school teams if you make them drive the field, they are going to cough it up or make a penalty here or there or they throw a pick, but if you are going to give them big plays and they have skilled athletes. They have a quarterback that can run the read option and make you tackle them in space you have to do a good job or it is going to be a long night,” he said. Published 11/02/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Must Contain Galion Run Game Bellevue hosts Galion on Friday night in a division IV first round playoff game. The Redmen finished the regular season at (6-4), but a close inspection would say they are a couple of plays from (9-1) this fall. Coach Ed Nasonti says they have given everything he has asked so far this season. “I talked to the kids (Thursday) night and I told them there hasn’t been one game this year of the ten that I was disappointed in them. I think our kids have fought hard. We have had a lot of adversity to deal with and our kids have stayed the course and given everything they have got. We’ve played physical. We have come up short in three conference games. Actually, got beat by three really good football teams,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “It was nothing to hang our head about and I think we learned from it and we are continuing to press on. We finished 6-4, but with our schedule it was good enough to get us a home playoff game against a quality team and we are excited and celebrating that opportunity.” A footnote here, Bellevue and Galion played each fall for about 60 years as members of the Northern Ohio League. Also, the Redmen beat Galion (34-9) in a playoff game two years ago. Galion (6-4) beat River Valley (56-49) in game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night. Nasonti says Galion is big and physical and runs the ball very well. “When you watch Galion on tape, you see a really good sized offensive line. They are very well coached on both sides of the football. They have a really nice quarterback and a running back. The (Gabe) Ivy kid does a great job. You have to build a fence around him. He can get it in the end zone in a hurry. Like I said, their offensive and defensive lines have good size and they are a physical football team,” he said. Ivy ran for 330 yards and three TD’s last week against River Valley. Tackling is going to be important again for the Redmen, Nasonti says it always is, and they have to get a lot of players to the ball. “That is what it is in high school football no matter who you play, but if you don’t build a wall around the Ivy kid, he will take it to the house in a hurry. You have to build a wall around him, you have to do a good job tackling him. That is the way it has been this year. If you look at the running backs that we have gone up against in our schedule. Tiffin has an outstanding running back, Norwalk has an outstanding running back. We have seen some really good running backs this year. The Ivy kid ranks right up there with the best of them,” said Nasonti. Published 10/28/22 © Swankonsports.com Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday night On our scoreboard at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Expects Good Test form Clyde Bellevue hosts Clyde in the annual week 10 “Route 20 Rivalry” on Friday night at BAF in play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Both teams have earned playoff sports again this year, Bellevue in division IV and Clyde in division III. The Redmen (6-3,2-2) beat Sandusky (34-14) last week in division play. Coach Ed Nasonti says they responded well when Sandusky made a run at them in the third quarter. “At one point in the first minute of the third quarter after they returned a kick on us it was 14 up and then we went for it on fourth down and didn’t get it, so Sandusky had the ball and the momentum with a 14 all game. Our defense stepped up and caused a turnover and got the ball and felt we started rolling after that. We got in the grove, but it was a good ballgame,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Like I said, going into the game, I thought Sandusky had some really nice players and a good offensive line. We tell our kids every week you have to respect who you play and we are going to get everybody’s best shot and that is the way it has been this year. It was a good ballgame and we are glad to come out on top.” Clyde also (6-3,2-2) last week beat Norwalk (35-28) in Lake Division action. Nasonti says Clyde has developed strongly again and he has great respect for Ryan Carter and his staff. “Their kids play really hard and I think they have an outstanding coaching staff over there and we have the upmost respect for them and how they do things. I think they have done a good job trying to tailor their offense and their defense to their talent level. It has been a really good rivalry. I think we have enjoyed it. I think if you talk to their coaches, you talk to our coaches, we have enjoyed the rivalry. It has been a solid game. I think there is mutual respect between the programs,” said Nasonti. Nasonti feels this game is good preparation for the playoffs, which begin next week. “Ever since they moved this game to week 10, we felt that way. It has always been a great atmosphere, it is a playoff atmosphere. We are looking forward to it. The kids have worked hard all year to be in this position and we are expecting a good ballgame,” he said. Published 10/21/22 © Swankonsports.com Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday night On our scoreboard at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Faces Speedy Sandusky Bellevue travels up to Sandusky to face the Blue Streaks in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. They lost (33-27) to division co-leader Tiffin Columbian, #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says it is truly a game of inches. “Looking back on it and watching the tape a couple of times after the game. We realize that our kids played really hard. It was a game that could have went either way. It came down to a couple of spots. About four inches decided the score of that game, two inches on one spot and two inches on the other spot and we end of getting beat by five points. I was proud of the kids and I told them that there is no shame in getting beat by a good football team. The teams that we have lost to this year have a total of three losses,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “So, we have played some good caliper football teams and we have played some solid football ourselves. Unfortunately, we came up on the short end of the stick. We still have to keep pushing forward. We want to finish strong. We want to give ourselves the opportunity to have a home playoff game.” Right now, they are eighth in division IV, region 14, the last spot to earn a home game. Nasonto has taken a lot of teams to the playoffs and he believes being at home is a plus for the football team. “You have the home field advantage with the crowd. You don’t have to get on the bus and travel an hour and a half or two. I think it just makes all around better for the program. The coaches, the fans, the players, and the community. When you have people coming into town to watch a playoff game and they spend money the gas stations, they go to the restaurants, it is just good for everybody all of the way around. We try and emphasize that with our kids. We tell them at the end of the day, we have had some really good football teams here at Bellevue that have had successful seasons that didn’t necessarily win a conference championship,” he said. Bellevue (5-3,1-2) plays at Sandusky (3-5,1-2) on Friday night. The Streaks lost to Clyde (34-7) in a Lake Division game on Friday. Nasonti says Sandusky is blessed with size and speed. “I think Sandusky is a dangerous team because they have outstanding seed all over the field. They have good size up front with their offensive line. Those guys do a good job getting out in front of the plays. They do a good job double teaming and a good job getting down field and blocking. So, they are very dangerous. Like I say all of the time about opponents, I don’t care what their record is you have to have some respect for your opponent. I have been around long enough to know what can happen when you don’t. We are trying to keep our kids focused. Every day we go out in practice you get better or you get worse, you never stay the same. We feel like if we take care of our process of being a good football team everything else we will take care of itself,” said Nasonti. Published 10/11/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue to Battle Another Very Good Team Bellevue, now a game back in the very tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, play one of the co-leaders on Friday night as they host the Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes. They dropped a tough one last Friday, (21-6), to Sandusky Perkins, who shares first place with Columbian. Coach Ed Nasonti says they hurt themselves too much. “I thought our kids played with a lot of heart. We played against a good team. We brought a lot of intensity level to the game last Friday, but we left some key scores out there. Four times we got stopped inside the 15 or stopped ourselves sometimes. That last score was at the end of the game. When you hold an explosive team kike Perkins to three scores, one of them at the end of the game, and another one was actually an 83-yard pass that my corner fell down. When you hold team that is as explosive as Perkins to three scores you ought to give yourself a chance to win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We just need to finish some of our drives and clean up some of our offense when we get down in the red zone. Outside of the that, I felt the kids played with a lot of heart. I was proud of how our kids competed. From this point we will learn from that game and break off our rearview mirror and start looking ahead to another quality opponent.” Bellevue (5-2,1-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays host to Tiffin Columbian (6-1,2-0), #2 in our poll, on Friday night. The Tornadoes used a big fourth quarter to down Clyde (35-7) for their sixth straight win. Nasonti says Tiffin’s offense is good all over the field. “They are a typical Tiffin Columbian team. They have great size. They have outstanding athletes on the perimeter. They have a quarterback, a wide receiver, and a running back that is really one of the top running backs in the conference. They are big up front. So, it is going to be another challenge. We need to be solid on both sides of the ball. When we get down in the red zone, we need to punch it in,” he said. Nasonti says Columbian has a lot of weapons they will have to contend with. “When you look at the athletes that they have on the offensive side of the ball. They have a running back that has good speed. The (Jack) Koerper kid is a nice receiver. The quarterback is really good at throwing the ball and he will take it an run it too. So, you have to be disciplined, you have to run to the ball and you have to tackle well in space. These are the kind of things that we tell our kids anytime we are playing a quality football team. We know what we are in for in our Lake Division. If we want to compete for a championship, we have to saddle it up every Friday night and put our best foot forward,” said Nasonti. Published 10/05/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Plays Talented Perkins Bellevue plays host to Sandusky Perkins in a key battle in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. Both won their division openers last week. Bellevue (4-2,1-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, crushed Norwalk (40-3) last Friday. Coach Ed Nasonti says they did not let the swirl of off the field controversy surrounding Norwalk effect their preparation and focus on game night. “You come into a game like that you never know how Norwalk is going to respond. They had a rough week. We didn’t know if they were going to be able to rally the troops and play above their head. We didn’t know if they were going to be distraught and make a dirty game out of it. It was a clean game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I give a lot of credit to Norwalk, I know they have been through a lot of adversity. I thought their kids came in an played hard. It was a clean game, a hard hitting game. At the end of the day, I thought our kids stepped up and we did what we had to do to get the win.” Norwalk had placed coach Todd Fox on paid administrative leave before the game last week. Perkins (5-1,1-0), #3 in our poll, is coached by former Bellevue All-Ohio quarterback Jalen Santoro. He will try to match wits with his former coach for the second time Friday night. Bellevue beat the Pirates (26-0) last year at Perkins. Nasonti says the Pirates have done a very good job retooling their offense. “I think they are doing a great job keeping their offense going after they lost that outstanding tailback they had last year and all of that offensive power that they had through graduation with him at running back. So, they use their quarterback. He runs really well. He is really an accurate passer and they have some really good skilled guys on the perimeter. So, they have done a really good job this year. They have won a couple of close ballgames that could have gone either way. They have managed to be 5-1 going into this week,” said Nasonti. Perkins leads the division in passing yards this year. On defense, Nasonti says Perkins will play at lot of man coverage because they have the athletes to do it. “They have seemed to find their identity. They run a 4-2-5. They play a lot of man coverage because they have athletes that can run. They play inspired football. It is definitely going to be a solid opponent for us. It’s a game we are looking forward to,” he said. Published 9/29/22 © Swankonsports.com Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday night On our scoreboard at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Expects Challenge form Rival Norwalk Bellevue will make the short trip to Norwalk on Friday night to face the Truckers in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game. The Redmen shared the division title last year with Clyde. Last week, Bellevue (4-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, pounded Toledo Start (46-0) in non-conference play. Coach Ed Nasonti says they has the right focus for that game. “We have been beat up. We have a lot of young kids in the lineup. It was a good opportunity. I thought if our kids came ready to play and we took the business like approach to the game and we took care of business early we could get some guys out in the second half and get some of our younger kids in there and let them finish up and try and get some guys healthy. So, we were able to do that. I thought we played well on both sides of the ball and were able to win the line of scrimmage of both sides of the ball,” he said. Norwalk (0-5) has had its problems on and off the field this year. They were punished (34-0) by Edison last week. There is currently an investigation by the Norwalk Police Department regarding a hazing incident involving three alleged assailants and one victim all members of football team. Nasonti says they are not concerned about records. He says they must expect the best from Norwalk. “They have great size. I know they weren’t particularly on a win streak last year and they came into our place and played us really tough, I think it was a 14-0 game. It was a tough ballgame. I learned a long time ago as a player and as a young coach that you need to respect your opponent every week and whenever you don’t then bad things happen for you. So, if you want respect, you have to give respect and those are the kind of things that we are preaching to our kids. We need to respect our opponent,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We need to take care of ourselves as we practice throughout the week. Take care of the process of being a good football team. When you take care of all of that stuff. You cross your t’s and dot your I’s, and I talking about doing a great job watching the tape and a really good job in the weight room, and doing a good job being a good teammate, and elevating the people around you. You do all of those things and take care of business results will come with that and that is what we are preaching to our kids this week.” This is rivalry that goes back some 80 years between the schools. Nasonti says there is always a little extra emotion in this game. “I think the Norwalk-Bellevue rivalry goes all of the way back to 1944. They are an original member of the “NOL” and I think they are the only original that is left over. On top of the fact that of the proximity of our two cities. It has always been a somewhat of a rivalry,” he said. Published 9/21/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Heading the Right Direction Bellevue hits the road for Toledo Start for a non-conference game on Friday night. The Redmen were down two scores in the first half last week, but rallied to beat Edison (24-21) in a non-conference, or cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says it was important for them to take the lead in the third quarter of that game and gain control. “If you are playing a triple option team like Edison if they have the lead they are just going to keep the all on the ground. They are not going to lose any yardage. They are going to gain a yard or two or three or four every pop and they are going to move the chains and they are going to grind the clock. We got down 14-0 and I don’t know if there is worse place to be than playing a triple option team and being down 14-0,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “So, we were able to get a drive together and score a touchdown and get the two point conversion. We are down 14-8 at the half. We come out the second half and got a touchdown and now we are up 16-14 and it’s all together different. Now, they are down and can’t afford to run the clock. They have to throw the ball a little bit, they are not great at it. The clock gets stopped and we get a couple of picks here and there and things kind of turned in our favor. It was a nice win. They have a good program, their kids are well coached, and we knew it was going to be a tough ballgame, but it was a very rewarding win for us.” Bellevue is known for being a tough, physical defense and Nasonti says they have got another one this season. “We played a very good Canfield team and we held them to 28 points with two division one ballplayers on their offensive side of the ball. So, I think our kids are playing with confidence. I know that we are a physical team. We are not afraid to hit. Our kids will stick their nose in there and I am proud of the kind of defense that we are playing right now,” he said. Bellevue (4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Toledo Start (0-4) on Friday. Nasonti says they have to eliminate the big play. “They are always going to have some kids they can run and they have some skilled guys. They have a quarterback that can run. You are going to have to keep him in the pocket. I think it is important for us to make them drive the field. We can’t give up big plays on special teams. We can’t have a punt return or a kick return, can’t give up a big pass play. If we can make them drive the field and make them earn their way down it is going to give us a better opportunity to be successful,” he said. Published 9/15/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Faces Edison, Triple Option Bellevue takes the short trip to Edison to face the Chargers in a non-conference, or “SBC” cross over, on Friday night. Last week, they pretty much dominated the Shelby Whippets (24-9) in a non-league game. Coach Ed Nasonti says they were pumped up and played well on both offense and defense. “I thought our kids did a great job both sides of the ball. I thought going on the road down there they were going to have a great crowd because they were christening a new stadium. I think our kids wanted to have a good performance and we did. I thought we came ready to play. I was proud of how our kids fought for 48 minutes,” he said. Bellevue quarterback Jax LaPata ran for 236 yards and two scores. Bellevue (2-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Edison (2-1) on the year. The Chargers are coming off a (28-7) win over Western Reserve, out of the Firelands Conference. Nasonti says they have had a good week of practice getting ready for the Chargers. “They run the triple option and you have to be careful with that. You have to be assignment sharp. I thought we have had a good week of practice. We are really focused on being the best team we can be week four. We have made some adjustments,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “As you get through the season, I think as in any football program, you kind of find an identity and where you are at and what works for you and we are kind of settling in there. I think our coaches have done a good job bringing some of our young, inexperienced kids along. We are looking forward to this week four game.” When it comes to defensing the triple option, Nasonti says you have to be assignment sound. “It takes some effort from the scout team. It takes some effort by the coaches. We try not to wait until week four to prepare for it. We have mixed some of this stuff in with our kids. The biggest thing we did is we practiced without using a ball. It just made our kids be assignment sharp. One guy tackles the dive, one guy tackles the quarterback and one guy goes to the pitch. Just some basic things like that I think will go a long way in making us successful,” said Nasonti. Published 9/09/22 © Swankonsports.com Score updates every 5 minutes on Friday night On our scoreboard at https://www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue plays Talented Shelby Bellevue plays at Shelby on Friday night as the Whippets christen a new football stadium with the renewal of one of the oldest rivalries in North Central Ohio. The Redmen (1-1) lost (28-12) to Canfield in a non-conference game last Friday. Coach Ed Nasonti says they played hard, but came up a little short. “I think we played a quality team. We are a young, inexperienced team, but I was really proud. I thought our kids fought hard for 48 minutes and they represented our program with a hard fought effort against a really solid team. When you look at the game overall you have your ebbs and flows, but at the end of the day I think they outgained us by 15, 16 yards. So, we were right in there swinging until the end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It was a physical game. I am proud of our kids. I know our kids didn’t back down. It was a game where we got some other kids experience. We got some young kids ready for the games that are ahead of us. Getting some of our young guys ready for league play.” Shelby (2-0) destroyed Lexington (53-21) in a non-league game last week, throwing for over 400 yards in the process. Nasonti says once again Shelby is athletic and they are figuring out who they are. “They are putting the pieces together. They are like a lot of teams early in the year. You don’t know what your identity is and you have to see where your pieces fit in. I think Shelby is coming together. They have some really nice athletes. They are a typical Shelby team. They have really good size. We are looking forward to really solid football game,” he said. Nasonti says they Whippet staff does a really good job of working with the talent they have on the team and this year is no different. “From what I have seen out of Shelby the last couple of years is they tailor their offense to their personnel. They have a kid at quarterback that can really hurt you if he gets on the perimeter. They are running him a little bit, they are using jailbreak screens, he has a good arm and they have a really good receiver corps and they get the ball downfield. So, they will stretch you horizontally and they will stretch you vertically and they try and get their athletes the ball and get yardage in space,” said Nasonti. Published 8/30/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Doing it With Some Young Kids Bellevue faces another test as they play host to Canfield on Friday night in a non-conference game. Canfield is located near Youngstown in Mahoning County. The Redmen took down Port Clinton (24-14) on the opening Friday last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says thy played a solid second half in beating the Redskins. “It was a tough first game against a tough opponent. They lived up to expectations that we had for Port Clinton. They are big and strong and physical. Honestly, in the first half we had tough time getting anything going on the ground. We had to rely on a couple of trick plays to get the ball moving in our pass offense. We felt pretty good at the half because we really hadn’t played that well. We hadn’t done much and we were still ahead 8-7. Then we finally got it going in the second half. I felt our conditioning took over a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I thought our fast paced offense with no huddle kind of wore them down and it played to our advantage. We were able to punch in a couple in the second half. We felt like it was a good first win against a quality opponent. We played a lot of young kids. We had some kids cramping up, which is typical in a first game. We had some guys get hurt. So, we threw some young kids in the fire and we felt pretty good what they did for us.” Nasonti says they must continue to get better and do this his players have to buy in and play hard. “These kids have to buy in to what is going on. They have to work hard during the week. We felt good about some of our kids to the point where we throw them in a game like that. We felt we made some progress in some areas. With that first game experience and we hope it pays off for us this week against another quality opponent,” he said. Canfield (1-0) opened the season with a win over West Branch (35-31) last week. Nasonti says they have some big time players. “They are well coached. They have a good football tradition. They play a pretty tough schedule. Last week they had a nice win over West Branch, another very strong football program. They are coming to Bellevue and we are looking forward to the challenge. They have a couple of division one players on their team. One happens to be their quarterback and the other happens to be a running back. These guys are very dangerous. If you don’t do a good job tackling in space, you don’t take proper angles they can really hurt you,” he said. Published 8/25/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Developing a Young Team Bellevue entertains Port Clinton Friday night on the opening night of the high school football season in a non-conference game. The Redmen have a lot of younger players this year, but coach Ed Nasonti is excited to see what his team can do. “I am excited, we have a lot of young kids that have been working hard. I know there is going to be some anxiety from us on the coaching end and I think there is going to be some anxiety on the kid’s part being the first game and everything that is all part of the deal. I think everybody that has been involved enjoyed the work and the process of being a good football team. We are excited to give our best effort. At the end of the day as a coaching staff and you give your best effort as a player and you work hard for the cause that is all you can ask,” said Nasonti. There can be opening night jitters, but Nasonti says you need to rely on your fundamentals. “I have been in a lot of them as a player and a coach. Once you get into it with all of the practice and all of the repetition that you get those reps have to take over and you do what you are coached up to do. Those are the kind of habits that we want to instill in our kids every day. That fact that we make them finish drills, the fact that we make them run through, the fact that you tackle with your head up and throw your arms to make a tackle. These little attentions to detail are the difference maker,” he said. Port Clinton rallied to beat Bellevue (49-44) in a shootout last season in the opener. Nasonti says they have quite bit back from a team that went (13-2) last year, losing in the state semi-finals in division IV. “You are playing a team that was a final four team and they still have some guys back off that ballclub. Their quarterback is back, their tight end is an outstanding athlete, they have some huge linemen up front. They are a really good football team. So, it is going to be two good teams from two good schools from two really nice communities that have pride in their football program and we are going to slug it out,” said Nasonti. Published 8/17/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Working with Younger Kids Bellevue is a mix of some experienced players and those not so much this year and they are working with the more inexperienced ones to get them ready for the season opener less than two weeks way. They open August 19 at home against Port Clinton. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says they are making slower that hoped for improvement so far in camp. “I think we have a young team. We have an inexperienced team. Our kids are trying hard and they are giving good effort. I tell my coaches all of the time we just have to stay the course. I don’t think things are coming along as fast as we would like them to come along, but that happens when you have a young team, an inexperienced team. It’s hard to hit the ground running, especially with what the state has done with the days and the times and the acclamation days and everything. You have a scrimmage in your first week of actual practice. I don’t get too excited about the first scrimmage either way if I think we played well or we struggled a bit. I know there is a long way to go and we just focus on the process with our kids, attention to detail as a coaching staff and have the kids come together as a team and hopefully we will be where we need to be,” said Nasonti. On Friday night, the Redmen host Toledo Bowsher in a scrimmage and Nasonti hopes things will go better than they did last week. “I definitely think you make your improvement in that second week of ball. Like I said, our kids need to stay the course. We want them watching tape and continue to buy in. I don’t know how everybody else does it, but we throw a lot at our kids during camp. We feel we want to get them exposed to everything on both sides of the ball because I know when the season starts it’s hard to install some of that stuff if you haven’t gotten it in. So, right now we have kids whose heads are spinning a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We don’t want them to get discouraged and hang in there because when the light bulb comes on it just ends up being repetition. Some of our guys that are upperclassmen they are not thinking when they get out there, they are just reacting and that is where we need to get our young kids. In a day during the season you might go over a scouting report, you will be watching film, have the kids lifting weights, so the time to get it in is during two a days.” Getting things right once is one thing, but getting the right consistency is quite another. Nasonti says they believe in repetition. “When you talk about repetition I always think of Nick Saban and the comment that he made. We are not going to do it until you get it right, we are going to do it until you can’t get it wrong. That is the way that we look at it. I think as a coaching staff, a veteran coaching staff, I am proud of the coaches and how they have handled it because they have been persistent, they have been focusing on the details and they haven’t waivered and sometimes it is trying with some of these young kids. We know that you have to be patient with these kids and the kids have to keep hanging in there and keep swinging. We want great effort and enthusiasm and we want them to know their assignments and these are things they can control and these are things we can evaluate,” said Nasonti. Published 8/09/22 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” after Friday night games 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” each week 10 AM to 1 PM We are Your First Source for Everything Sports swankonsports@gmail.com
	Norwalk Eliminates Bellevue Norwalk scored a run in the first inning and made it stand up as the Truckers beat Bellevue (1-0) in a division II district semifinal played at Fremont Ross High School on Thursday afternoon. They will play either Sandusky Perkins or Shelby for the district title on Saturday. The Pirates lead Shelby (4-0) in the bottom of the third inning in a game that was suspended on Thursday when the skies opened up. Nolan Thomas hit a big three run home run for the Pirates in the first inning. That game will be resumed Friday afternoon, weather permitting. Kelton Chapin got the start for the Truckers and he fired a shutout, allowing only four hits. He induced eight pop ups or fly outs in the game as he was able to keep the Redmen off balance. Norwalk coach Wes Douglas says he has improved tremendously this year. “He went from our number four, number five to giving up one earned run in 40 plus innings. He doesn’t walk people, he hit one guy (Thursday) maybe. He fields his position. Works quick, which our guys like and keeps the ball down for the most part. Good for him, I couldn’t be happier for him, he’s a great kid,” said Douglas. Bellevue coach Andy Dennings can’t fault his team’s effort and intensity. “We played our hearts out, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get one across the plate,” he said. Norwalk catcher Sam Battles was instrumental in his team’s win on Thursday. He started two run downs and threw a runner out trying to steal second. Douglas says he can fly under the radar sometimes, but he is the leader of this baseball team and he makes big plays. “He picked off three guys back there. He made a nice call on the bunt back to the mound to get the lead runner there. He goes unnoticed by a lot of people, but not by me. He controls things. I’d like to take credit for coaching him, but he came to me that way. He keeps getting better. He understands the game really well. Those were huge outs. I hate making them and when we can get them those are just huge outs,” said Douglas. Small ball has been a key to Bellevue’s success this spring, but Dennings says they didn’t execute very well on Thursday. “Small ball, we didn’t do what we needed to do there, seeing the bunts down, and getting the bunts down. In games like this you have to be able to do that,” he said. Norwalk got on the board in the first inning when Caleb Sommers was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on a double inside the third base line by Ian Minor and scored on a sacrifice fly by Eli Obringer. Douglas says it was good execution and aggressive play, especially by Sommers. “We started Sommers on that hit, so he was moving on the pitch. It was pretty bold to come to third, he made that decision on his own, a good throw would have had him. To get the sac fly from Obringer after that. Then zeros, zeros and good,” he said. Sommers also helped turn an inning ending double play in the fifth. Douglas says he does what is asked of him. “We have the big three in Battles, Oblinger and Minor and he is right there with them. He always gets the short end of the publicity stick. I have known him and his family and his older brother played for us. I’m happy for him, he is enjoying himself and having fun,” he said. Norwalk (19-7) has been playing outstanding baseball as they have lost only three games in the last month. Douglas says this is a veteran, experienced team that has good focus right now. “They just have a really good vibe right now. We had a couple of good days of practice, we had a team meal, they are loose, they are having fun, they are confident. They are a veteran group, they have been through it. They missed the COVID year or they would right up there across the board in the record book in team wins and individual stuff, but they don’t care about that,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “They have played a lot of baseball together since they were kids. Their dads were a great group of coaches that taught them the right way, taught them to play multiple positions, everybody could pitch, everybody could catch and it was paid off for our program.” Published 5/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Beats First Place Tiffin Bellevue has made things more interesting in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference as they beat first place Tiffin Columbian (6-1) on Monday evening in Bellevue. The Redmen trail by two games and second place Norwalk is now only one game back. Bellevue coach Andy Dennings says it was an outstanding win for them. “They are a really quality opponent. We had a really good game with them the first time when we got beat (1-0) at their place and just didn’t come away with the “W”, I think we out hit them. So, it was a good response for us. Our number one Ethan Mohr pitched really against a really tough lineup,” said Dennings. Mohr threw a five hitter for the Redmen, allowing only a run in the first inning on a single by Carson Mellott. Tiffin (15-3,7-2), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, pitchers walked 11 batters and they hit three more and Columbian coach Curt Mellott says you are not going to win doing that. “We struggled on the mound (Monday) night and offensively couldn’t string much together. Credit Ethan Mohr for a quality start,” he said. Mohr now has five wins on the season for Bellevue (10-7,6-4) and Dennings says he has become a consistently quality pitcher. “He has been pretty darn good. The opening day against Wynford, he kind of struggled a little bit. He took a loss at Norwalk and really that was nothing that he did wrong, we just had a bad inning defensively. I think he has won four or five games in a row. He has pitched outstanding,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “He competes extremely well. He has really shown a lot of growth for last year. The back end of last year he really kind of progressed. He has parlayed that to this year for a really outstanding senior year for us.” Bellevue plays Huron in a division II sectional title game on May 20^th and Dennings this team is capable of making a run in the postseason. “I definitely think we could do some damage, absolutely. We have been kind of farting around all year. Win two, lose one, lose two, win one, kind of can’t string it together, but hopefully that is about to change here. This win ought to do nothing but make us feel pretty good about things and try and push us in the right direction. We have a heavy week with four in row, so we are going to have to play well, but it’s an opportunity to get the ball rolling,” he said. Published 5/10/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Downs Perkins Bellevue trails “SBC” Lake leading Tiffin Columbian by three games after the Redmen beat Perkins (8-5) on Monday evening at Perkins. The Redmen have a outside chance to earn a share of the title. Perkins is eliminated. Bellevue (9-7,5-4) scored three times in the top of first inning and never trailed in the game as Ethan Mohr won his third straight start, two of them coming against Perkins (11-6,6-4). Coach Andy Dennings says they really needed the win to have any chance of a title. “It was a really big win. Perkins is a really good team. I think they were a game in front of us in the league. We are just trying to get better. We know we have an outside shot. We need a little help. We have Columbian coming to town on Monday and we have to take care of business up to that point. We would love to take care of what we can and see where the chips fall,” he said. The Redmen added two in the fourth, one in the sixth and two in the seventh. Dennings says they got good at bats throughout the lineup. “We were really competitive one through nine. I think our bottom four guys had half of our hits if not more. They did a nice job. They drove some runs in there and set some tables. We were able to do some things offensively. The (Ben) Keller kid threw a nice ball game. He mixed his pitches up well. We were competitive one through nine and we were able to play a little small ball, drive some balls and extend innings. We had some really big two strike hits hat plated some runs. In was a really nice game for us offensively,” said Dennings. Bellevue plays Sandusky and Vermilion this week and then ends its conference schedule with Columbian next Monday. Dennings says they just want to play good baseball. “The goal to always be playing for something in May and we have an opportunity. It is outside. We are going to play important games. We are building toward the tournament and if the “SBC” Lake works out, awesome. These kids deserve it,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “They are a good group of kids. They play extremely hard and are coachable and fun to be around. If that doesn’t work out, we want to play in competitive games. Our goal is to get better every time we step on the field and play really good baseball heading into the tournament, like we were able to do last year.” Published 5/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Blanks Perkins Bellevue picked up a big win in play in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division on Thursday evening by shutting out Sandusky Perkins (9-0) in a division game. They remain a game back in the division standings. Coach Andy Dennings says they got an outstanding effort on the mound from Ethan Mohr. “Perkins had been playing extremely well. We knew they had a lot of arms and they had scored a lot of runs. We were going to have to play a good ballgame. We ran a kid out there (Thursday) in Ethan Moore that threw the heck out of the ball. He had 13 strikeouts and really commanded pitches in all situations in all at bats. Threw any pitch at any time and all three we were working. He did a great job, so it was really a nice win,” said Dennings. Dennings says a guy that can throw three pitches for strikes can be very hard to hit for a high school player. “A lot of guys can throw two. You can win with a guy who throws two, but if you have a guy throwing three pitches for strikes at any given time they are hard to handle. You have to hit a mistake sometimes with guys like that,” he said. At the plate Thursday, Dennings says they were able to take advantage of some opportunities given to them by Perkins. “They walked in two runs in early, so we were up 2-0 early and then we were able to manufacture a couple. We had some better at bats as the game went. We saw a righty and a lefty and they threw the ball well. We have had good at bats all year. We have swung the bat really well and it was nice to see us to put it together,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I felt like we have let some games slip. This was a game where we got it done on the mound, we played good defense and we were able to swing the bats enough, get a break here and there, and take advantage of some things and pull off a really good win.” Dennings says they didn’t swing at a lot of balls out of the zone. “We ran some pitch counts up. We didn’t chase a whole lot of balls out of the zone. I am thinking one or two. We did a nice job sitting off off speed here and there. Really for us that was a big thing. We hit pitches we wanted to hit for the most part. It worked out in our favor,” he said. Published 4/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Belts Madison Bellevue cruised to a (10-0) five inning win over Mansfield Madison on Thursday evening to pick up its first win of the season. They lost (7-2) to Wynford in a non-conference game on Tuesday. Coach Andy Dennings says they got a great pitching performance from Tyler Ray and just executed better against Madison (0-3) on Thursday. “We beat a quality team (Thursday). We rebounded after a disappointing opening day loss where we just didn’t play clean and we kind of wasted some good pitching performances. (Thursday) Tyler Ray threw the ball extremely well in his first varsity outing. He threw a one hitter,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We really had some pretty good at bats all year in our scrimmages and these first two games. I thought we hit the ball extremely well (Thursday). We didn’t chase a lot of pitches and we were pretty disciplined at the plate. It was a really good game all around.” Dennings says as a hitter you have to be disciplined. “If you know what balls you hit well and not expand the zone for pitchers and try and get in plus counts for yourself it really gives you the opportunity to control the at bat. Sometimes you are going to get beat, but your have to be okay with that as long as you are not expanding the zone and hitting strikes and I thought we did a lot of that,” he said. Bellevue (1-1) is scheduled to host Fremont Ross in a non-conference game on Friday. They open play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference against Vermilion on Monday. It is April in Ohio, so you know the weather is going to be nasty and it was on Thursday. Dennings says he was pleased with how they handled it. “You have to battle the elements. Without question it is tough for pitchers to go out there and throw in these elements and that is not easy for them to do. Honestly, we didn’t hit a lot of balls in the air. We had a couple of balls we struck really well in the air and take the wind away they are probably down for doubles or triples. We were able to square a lot of balls up and hit some hard ground balls and line drives. We didn’t get overly affected. Our pitcher threw outstanding in cold weather and the wind was whipping pretty good. I was really pleased with how they played,” said Dennings. Published 4/01/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Counting on Pitching Bellevue had a very good postseason last year and they hope to carry that into this spring. Their season starts on Saturday at home against Upper Sandusky in non-conference play. Their first action in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference comes at Vermilion on April 4. Coach Andy Dennings says they have been preparing well. “We have got some really good looks here so far. Some really good practices. We got in a partial scrimmage and one full. I thought our guys really made sone good strides within the scrimmage and going from the first to the second one. We have things to clean up, but we have a really nice group of kids that enjoy playing the game of baseball together. They are a lot of fun to coach. We are excited about this year,” he said. Dennings believes they will have good pitching and solid defense, especially up the middle. “We have a lot of arms. We can probably run nine or 10 guys out there. With that being said we have to have some guys start to develop into elite guys and to our primary relievers and our non-league starters. So, we have to get some roles figured out within our pitching, but we have a lot of options, but I think we can run a lot of kids out there and compete on the bump,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We return our middle defensively, our short, our second, catcher and centerfielder. We have all starters back there so that is a real positive for us. With corner stuff, we have some returning time there, but as a whole they are a little more inexperienced. If you are going to return stuff, your want to return stuff up the middle.” Bellevue battled some adversity last season and Dennings says being able to handle that will help them this season. “We have comradery, like I said, this is a good group of kids and a lot of them know each other and have been buddies for years now. A lot of these kids were on this team last year when we didn’t have the start we wanted to, but we really started to play really good baseball at the back end of the year. So, they tasted a little bit of the that adversity and grew from it and got a lot closer together. I think last year’s trials and tribulations are really affecting how they are approaching this year,” said Dennings. Published 3/24/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has to Make Shots Bellevue locks horns with rival Norwalk in a division II sectional semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School. The winner advances to play Upper Sandusky on Friday. These two teams just played in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday with Norwalk (11-11) winning 49-39 at Bellevue. Redmen coach Ed Rich says when selecting a game on draw day he thought this their best option. “It is definitely a unique situation. Like I said earlier, it was a draw where we thought was our best chance, so we took it and we will see if it was smart to do it after (Tuesday) night. Norwalk also won the first game (47-44) at Norwalk on January 6. Bellevue (11-11) shot 45% on two-point field goals this year and 28% on threes, pretty similar to other teams in the Lake Division other than high scoring Tiffin Columbian. Rich says they have to convert the opportunities they are getting. “It comes down to us being able to take advantage of the opportunities that we get. I thought we had some good looks at the basket on Friday night and I thought the same thing the first time we played them, we just didn’t put it in the basket. It’s going to come down to who executes the best,” said Rich. Rich says it boils down to confidence because the talent is there. “Our guys are frustrated because they know they can do it. We have been hit and miss with it all year. We the ball is going in we are a pretty good team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “When the ball is not going in, I still think we are pretty good. That’s the reason why we have lost some of the close ones we have lost because we can’t find a way to put it in the basket.” Published 2/22/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports There will be a special Saturday night edition of “Out of Bounds” this week 10 PM to 11 PM To cover tournament basketball
	Bellevue Meets Ontario in Tournament Opener Bellevue, the co-champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, will play Ontario, of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, in a division II sectional semifinal on Thursday night at Willard High School. The Lady Red have dominated this district over the last five to 10 years. They did lose their final regular season game to Northern 10 Athletic Conference winner Buckeye Central (57-46) on Monday. However, coach Kory Santoro says they are ready for the one and done season. “I think we are right where we need to be. I still don’t think we have put that compete game together yet where we have had our top three scorers play well together. It has always been two out of the three. We still have room to grow,” said Santoro. Santoro says they have kids that although they may have not played a lot of tournament basketball themselves, they have been around the program, and know what it takes. “It was interesting because we had a couple of girls (Wednesday) say, hey, coach, we were in kindergarten when this big run started and here we are now in our senior year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We have a lot of girls that may not have that experience, but they have been around it and happy to be part of it.” Bellevue (16-6) plays Ontario (4-18) on Thursday night at Willard. The winner meets either Mansfield Senior or Oak Harbor for a sectional title at Willard on Saturday night. Santoro says the Lady Warriors have to be respected. “I know they were the last seed in our district. They have a nice little point guard. Nobody wants to go home at this point and end their season, so we know they are going to play hard and we can’t overlook anybody,” he said. Published 2/17/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports There will be a special Saturday night edition of “Out of Bounds” this week 10 PM to 11 PM To cover tournament basketball
	Bellevue Faces Tiffin, Norwalk Bellevue, a winner of six of its last eight, plays two “SBC” Lake Division games this week to close the regular season at Tiffin Columbian on Tuesday and home against the Norwalk Truckers on Friday. They picked up a big division win on Friday night when they went to Clyde and beat the Filers (66-49) convincingly. Coach Ed Rich says it was a very good win for them. “We were still riding it high Saturday morning when we came in for practice. The kids really gutted it out. Clyde has had our number for the last four or five years. They have taken it to us really good a couple of times. We haven’t had that many close ones with them. The kids came ready to play. Came with a little chip their shoulder I would say and they took care of business,” said Rich. Rich says Clyde didn’t shoot the ball very well and that allowed them to collapse a little more into the lane. “First of all, they didn’t shoot the ball very well. I’m sure some of that had to do with us we have nice length. When Clyde is not knocking down threes it makes it a little easier for us to guard them on penetration. They love to penetrate and kick. When they weren’t knocking shots down like normal, we were able to help a little more on penetration and we were able to stop them from getting to the rack so easily,” he said. Bellevue (11-9,5-5) plays at Tiffin Columbian (15-5,7-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Tuesday night. Columbian beat Vermilion (58-46) in a Lake Division game on Friday, but they were hammered (80-42) by Findlay in a non-conference game on Saturday. Tiffin won the first meeting (67-57) on December 22. Rich has a lot of respect for the Tornadoes. “They are still the most talented team in our league. Logan Beaston is the best player in the “SBC” Lake for sure. They have guys that can knock it down. Beaston is a great offensive player and he is an excellent point guard. He finds the other guy. He is really high I.Q. kid,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “They are dangerous, hopefully, we can have some success getting our hands up on shooters and rebound the basketball and we will go from there.” Bellevue hosts Norwalk (10-11,5-6) on Friday night and then plays the next week in the tournament. “Unfortunately, I remember this stuff. The only time we have beaten coach (Steve) Gray and Norwalk when I have been at Bellevue was my second year here we went 2-0 against them. There have been some close ones in the past. It is a fun rivalry to me. I really respect coach Gray and what he does with that program. We are not trying to duplicate what coach Gray does, but we definitely have taken bits and pieces of what he has done over the years and put it into our program also,” said Gray. Published 2/14/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports There will be a special Saturday night edition of “Out of Bounds” this week 10 PM to 11 PM To cover tournament basketball
	Bellevue Plays Rival Clyde Bellevue is gaining more and more confidence as we head into the later stages of the regular season. They play at Clyde in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday night. After a (50-39) win over Oak Harbor in a crossover game last Saturday, the Redmen have won five of their last six. Coach Ed Rich says against the Rockets they played some solid defense, especially early in the game. “It was nice win on Saturday. I think Oak Harbor came in with a 9-8 record just like ours. We defended them extremely well. They caught fire a little bit in the fourth quarter and made it a close game. We hung in there, so it was a nice win for us. We are playing pretty well. You can always improve, but I’ll take five wins in the last six,” he said. The only team to have beaten Bellevue (10-8,4-5) in the last three weeks is Clyde. The Fliers (11-8,8-2) beat Bellevue (60-48) on January 22. Rich says Clyde is physical and they can shoot it too. “They have a nice squad. They are senior laden. They are a physical team. They have some guards that are big and strong. When we are on offense they will get into us. When we are on defense they are going to get downhill. We have to stop penetration and also be quick enough to get out to their shooters because they can knock it down too,” said Rich. Bellevue then travels to South Central (13-6) of the Firelands Conference, a (72-44) winner over Norwalk St. Paul in an “FC” game on Thursday night, on Saturday night for a non-league game. Rich says the Trojans have a bunch of shooters from distance. “They are a nice squad. They play extremely hard. They are not very deep, but they guys hat they do play can really shoot. All six guys that they play can stroke it from anywhere. It should be a good game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Last year, we knocked them off in a buzzer beater. It was a pretty big upset to be honest. I think we had four, five wins at that time and they were four or five losses at max. I expect another good one, another close one. It is going to be our size and length versus their ability to shoot the three. We will see comes out on top.” Published 2/11/22 © Swankonsports.com On Friday and Saturday night log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates
	Bellevue Not Going to Change Bellevue hopes to continue to build some momentum this week as they travel to Tiffin Columbian for a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday night and host Oak Harbor in a crossover game on Saturday night. They picked up one of their bigger wins of the season when they won at Willard (60-55) in an “SBC” crossover last Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says it was a nice win over a good team. “It was a really big win, Willard has a nice squad. They have knocked off some good teams this year, including Tiffin and Shelby. It was a pretty big win for us. A pretty big confidence builder for us. Hopefully we can ride on that win a little bit and knock off a few more here,” he said. Bellevue (9-8,4-5) is at Tiffin Columbian (13-4,6-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. The Tornadoes beat Perkins (64-47) in a Lake Division game last Thursday. Rich says they may not bot having the season they hoped, but they are still a really good team. “They are the most talented team in our league for sure. They have had some tough games, no doubt. I think they are 13-4 still, so it is pretty difficult to be disappointed about that. We have our hands full with them. They can shoot it. The (Logan) Beaston kid is an excellent, excellent player and they have some nice pieces around him. They are a good team, but I think we are going to be ready to play,” said Rich. Columbian won the first time the teams met (67-57) on December 22. Rich says they need to contain the easy hoops Tiffin got last time, but they are not going to slow the tempo down. “We do want to prevent them from getting runouts on us. We watched the film from the last time we played them and they got quite a few easy baskets on run outs and transition, so we would like to eliminate some of those,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “As for a slower pace, we are not going to do anything differently on offense or defense. To be honest, we are going to play our game. If we have to score in the 60’s and 70’s, we are going to try and score in the 60’s and 70’s. We definitely want to try and slow them down in those defensive transitions though.” Published 2/02/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Must be Ready Bellevue returns to action with a couple of games this week at Vermilion in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Thursday and at Willard in an “SBC” Crossover on Saturday. It was one up and one down for the Redmen last week as they beat a good Upper Sandusky team (66-53) in a non-conference game on Thursday, but lost (60-48) to Clyde in a Lake Division game on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich was very pleased with the performance against Upper. “I thought our Upper game was a pretty big win for our program to be honest. I think it has been nine years since a Bellevue team has beaten Upper. So, it was a big one for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Then we turned around on Saturday and took won on the chin versus Clyde. I thought they played pretty well. We got off to a low start and could never come back from it.” Bellevue (7-8,3-5) is at Vermilion (2-13,0-8) on Thursday night. The Sailors lost (75-44) to Clyde in their last conference game. Rich says they have been playing better. “They put up over 60 points (Tuesday) night against a Brookside team that is 10-5 or 10-4. They scored a little bit more than they have in the past. They are doing a couple of different things on offense. They are running and pushing the ball up the floor a little more. I think they are getting some confidence and belief in themselves, so it is not going to be easy,” said Rich. The Redmen won the first game with Vermilion (45-16) on December 18, but Rich says they can’t let that affect their focus. “We have been preaching to our kids this week about it. Always respect your opponent, never underestimate your opponents. So, it’s easy for kids to go back to that first game and say look we held them to 16 points and kind of hang your hat on that. Vermilion is not just going to lay down and let us beat them, I know that. I expect a close game at their place,” he said. Published 1/27/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Downs Margaretta Bellevue continued its outstanding play on Tuesday night by beating Margaretta (51-38) in an “SBC” crossover game. Emma Bollinger scored 16 points, Hailey Rees 13 and Brynn Vogel 11 to lead a balanced attack for the Lady Red. Coach Kory Santoro called in a solid win for them against a rival. “It was a very good win against a team we consider one of our bigger rivals. They are five, 10 minutes down the road,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Year in and year out they are coached very well and always very good, so we were happy with the win.” Bellevue also held Kylie Leibacher to 14, that’s four below her average. Santoro says they went into the game with a plan and the kids were able to execute it. “I just think from the opening tip the mindset the girls had (Tuesday) night. I felt they played great defense. I felt they held (Kylie) Leibacher in check and they made it hard for her to score points,” said Santoro. Bellevue (13-4), #4 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has only lost once since before Christmas. Santoro says they want to be able to be playing their best basketball in February and March and they are on their way. “I sure does seem like that and we do feel like we continue to improve. We keep telling them that we want to keep climbing that latter and being playing our best basketball toward season’s end,” he said. Published 1/26/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Faces Upper and Clyde Bellevue plays two more games against pretty good teams this week as they travel to Upper Sandusky for a non-conference game on Thursday night and host Clyde in a Lake Division game on Saturday night. They earned a big win last Friday when they beat Perkins (50-37) in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game. Coach Ed Rich says it was the defense that gave them that win. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start. I think they got up on us 13-2 at one point. They were getting down the floor and we weren’t very good in transition and finding shooters. We really amped it up defensively and turned them over. We turned them over 25 times. That was the big key in the game right there,” said Rich. Bellevue plays at Upper Sandusky (10-3), in second place in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, on Thursday night. The Rams have lost only one game since the first week of the season that was to unbeaten Colonel Crawford 10 days ago. Rich says again the Rams have shooters, but he is more concerned with the Upper post player. “They are very talented. I watched them other night against Kenton. They have the typical guys from Upper that if you lose them on the perimeter, they are going to bang you and make you pay,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “The main focus for us will be on their big kid Trent Beamer. He is a really nice player, probably averaging around 16 and 10 a game. We are going to have our hands full, but I think we are ready for the challenge.” Bellevue (6-7,3-4) hosts Clyde (6-7,4-2) on Saturday night in the first of two meetings this year. Clyde is coming off a big (53-50) win over Norwalk in Lake Division play last Friday. Rich says they have to play with confidence. “I’ll tell you what Clyde has had our number for about the last four or five years, so I think my kids are pretty excited to play against them and hopefully we can at least compete with them this time. I think we can, but they have taken it to us pretty good the last couple of years. We do expect a knock down, drag out, “SBC” Lake type game,” said Rich. Published 1/18/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Ready For Perkins Bellevue will be trying to break a three game losing streak when they entertain Sandusky Perkins on Friday night in action in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Division leader Sandusky throttled the Redmen (68-51) in a Lake Division game on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says they did not handle the Sandusky pressure. “They overwhelmed us for sure. Obviously, we prepped for their pressure all week. We know they are a pressure team with good athletes, but it was a different animal on Tuesday. They were a step ahead of us every time and it just seemed like there were seven, eight guys on the floor the way they were moving. So, it was a tough one. We were rattled, the kids were rattled, the coaches were rattled. So, a lot of credit to them. They just came out and got after it,” said Rich. Bellevue (5-7,2-4) hosts Perkins (2-6,1-4) on Friday night. The Pirates lost Tuesday night by ironically by the same score (68-51) to Clyde. Bellevue beat Perkins (47-46) on December 10. Rich expects a tough game with Perkins. “I don’t think their record shows the potential of what they can do. I think it is going to be another game like it was at their place. It’s going to be tough to score, a close game, and it will probably come down to maybe the last couple of possessions. They are doing some line up changes right now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Playing some new kids, playing some younger kids, trying to find a spark to get them going. We know we are going to be in for a dogfight. The Sandusky game is in the past. Even though we played hard in that game. We left it on the floor. We are ready for Perkins.” On Friday night, Rich says they need to make plays in clutch situations. “That is what we have seen in the majority of our losses. The other team just made an extra play. I’m not saying my guys don’t make plays, we make plenty of them. In about four or five of our losses someone just made that extra play and that was enough. It’s going to come down to that extra play, that extra hustle and that could determine the game,” he said. Published 1/14/22 © Swankonsports.com On Friday and Saturday night log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates
	Bellevue Looking For Revenge Bellevue plays longtime rival Willard on Wednesday and has a rematch with Lake Division leading Sandusky Perkins on Saturday. A win over Perkins would move the Lady Red back into a share of first place with the Lady Pirates in the division standings. Bellevue has won its last six games and head coach Kory Santoro says it has been their play on defense that has been the difference. “Compared to the start of the season we are playing pretty solid basketball. I still think there is room for improvement obviously. Defensively, I think these girls have been locked in and that something where they have been very good,” said Santoro. The host Willard (2-9) on Wednesday night. It’s a rivalry that dates back to the origins of girls’ sports in the 1970’s. The Lady Flashes are having a very un-Willard like season this year. They lost (42-31) to Huron in “SBC” Bay Division play on Friday night. Santoro says there is no question they will play hard. “It has been a rivalry,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I don’t think some of the younger kids quite understand the rivalry and how it used to be because they are down a division in the “SBC” and we only play them once a year. They are playing hard and they have been in some games and we aren’t looking past them.” Bellevue (9-3,5-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball poll in the large school division, plays at Perkins (10-3,5-0) on Saturday afternoon. Perkins beat Vermilion (64-40) in a division game on Monday. In their first meeting on December 4, Perkins claimed the win (42-35) and they have been leading the standings ever since. Santoro says they need to shoot better and he thinks they will this time. “Perkins is unbeaten in the league so far and we felt like we let one go on our home court back in December. I don’t think you could shoot much worse that we did that game. We are looking forward to that game on Saturday,” said Santoro. Published 1/12/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Tangles With Norwalk Bellevue and Norwalk both need a win to stay in the race in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference as the Redmen visit Norwalk on Thursday night. They are both two games behind division leading Sandusky. It was a tough loss for Bellevue in their last outing as Eastwood hit a shot at the horn to beat the Redmen (45-42) in a non-conference game last Thursday. Coach Ed Rich says it was definitely a game they could have won. “It was a tough one. There is no doubt that Eastwood is a very good team. They have played a brutal schedule so far and they are 7-2. We had a nice lead in the first quarter. I think a six, seven point lead at the half. We came out in the third quarter and just hit a nasty dry spell. I think they outscored us 15-5 or 15-7 in the third quarter. We fought our way back through. They hit a three at the buzzer to win the game. We are right there, we just keep preaching doing the little things right. The little things will win or lose you a game,” said Rich. Bellevue (5-5,2-2) is down the road at Norwalk (5-4,2-2) on Thursday night. The Truckers beat Keystone (71-47) in a non-league game last Monday. Rich says the Truckers are big, but they run the same kinds of offense and defense that they have always run. “They look a little bit different than they have in the past offensively. They are big, two big post, wing players and another guy that is 6’0”, but he is big and strong on the wing. They look a little different, but they are actually a typical coach (Steve) Gray coached team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They get after you defensively and make it really, really hard to score. So, we are going top have our work cut out for us, but I also think there are some things that we do that will give them problems too. We expect a good game.” Rich says they have to get acclimated to the Norwalk gym, which has not been easy for them in the past. “One of the things me and my coaches talk about a lot is going and playing on that bigger floor. I understand that it is only eight feet longer, but we see a difference every year when we go there and play. Our guys just aren’t used to the length of the floor yet. So, it takes you a little bit to get your legs and get in the game from playing there,” he said. Published 1/05/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Playing Well Bellevue heads for Pemberville for a test against the Eastwood Eagles in non-conference play on Thursday night. On Monday, Bellevue downed Ontario (48-39) in a non-league game. Coach Ed Rich says they put things together in the second half. “They were leading after the end of one. Their defense stifled us a little bit early, but in the second half we kind of picked it up and found our driving lanes and got to the basket like we like to do. They were a little tougher than I thought they were. I give coach (Tim) Mergel credit, he had them ready to play. They shut us down for a while. Our pressure got to them a little bit and we found a way to win. I think we led the whole second half, so it was a good win for us,” said Rich. Bellevue has won three of its last four and their losses this year come to very good teams in Margaretta, Sandusky, Huron and Tiffin Columbian. Rich says they have done a lot of good things. “Our guys come to battle and we don’t like the losses, but it is something we use to tell them we were right there. Even the Tiffin game that we end up losing by 10, but it was single digits the whole way through. I think we tied them at 43 at the end of the third and they went on a 10-0 run and that hurt. We have been playing well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We would like to win those games here in the future, but our guys are believing in it and they know if a couple of things go our way we could win those close games against Huron and Tiffin and Margaretta and teams like that.” Bellevue (5-4) is at Eastwood (6-2) on Thursday. The Eagles lost to unbeaten Ottawa-Glandorf (66-49) on Tuesday. Rich says it will be a test. “They are really good. We have watched a lot of film on them this week. They have two big scorers and they are extremely deep. They have a deep bench. They run their stuff really well, so it is going to be one heck of a challenge. It is one of the better teams that I have seen this year. We have our hands full on Thursday, but I think my guys are prepared for it,” said Rich. Published 12/30/21 © Swankonsports.com Get the latest sports news At the listen line at www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue is Putting Things Together Bellevue, a traditional powerhouse in girls’ basketball, started the season a little slow for them, but they have been playing very well lately. They destroyed Tiffin Columbian (68-15) last week in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game. Coach Kory Santoro says he sees a lot of good things. “As of late I think we are coming together as a group and our younger players are starting to play very well. We like where we are at right now,” he said. Santoro says they have a lot of first time varsity players and they have now fit into what their role needs to be on this team. “When you bring in a new team and you have the players we have had the last few years that played a lot of games and with graduation,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “You mix in new kids, especially younger kids it takes times for roles to develop. I think we are finally starting to see a little bit of that going on right now.” Bellevue (5-3,3-1) plays at Clyde (2-8,1-3) on Tuesday night. Santoro says you never know what to expect when you play a rival team like this. “They are going to be well coached. I think he is playing some younger kids. Obviously, we have had a history with Clyde the last few years. They are a rivalry down the road from us, so they are going to play hard. We are going to try and have some fun with it,” said Santoro. Published 12/28/21 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” this week will air On Wednesday night 10 to midnight Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Faces Defensive Challenge Bellevue takes on preseason favorite Tiffin Columbian in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Wednesday night. The Redmen turned in a tremendous defensive performance in routing Vermilion (45-16) last Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they caused the Sailors some problems with their pressure. “Whenever you can hold your opponent under 20 you have to feel pretty good about your defense. We were good defensively and turned them over close to 25 times and pressured them in the full. That was or plan going in to try and pressure them and turn them over. Only scoring 45, I hate to be that guy, but I would like to put the ball in the basket a little bit more than only scoring 45 points,” said Rich. Bellevue (3-3,2-1) hosts Tiffin Columbian (6-1,2-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Wednesday. Tiffin lost for the first time this year (64-62) at Sandusky last Thursday, but they responded with (71-44) win over Perkins on Saturday. Rich says this is a team that can score it. “It would be amazing to hold them under 20, but I don’t think that is going to happen. I don’t want to say we are going to have to score with them. I think they are averaging close to 70 a game, but we have to put in the basket a little bit more on Wednesday. Our defense is pretty good, but we still have to score to keep ourselves in the game with them,” he said. Rich says the Tornadoes have a number of options and that means they have to play solid team defense. “The Burns kid is averaging close to 20 a game. Logan Beaston is one of the best, it not the best kid we will see all year. He is averaging close to 20. They have some other starters there that are approaching 10 a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “You can’t just focus on one or two guys. They can all put it in the basket. It is going to take a really good team defensive effort to slow them down. Realistically keep them in the 50’s or 60’s would be our best bet, so that is what we are going to try and do.” Published 12/22/21 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” this week will air On Wednesday night 10 to midnight Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Starting to Play Well Bellevue will be at home for games on Thursday and Saturday and they are playing some pretty good basketball right now. They host Huron in a “SBC” crossover on Thursday and Vermilion in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Saturday. The Redmen (2-2,1-1) beat Perkins (47-46) in a division game last Friday and added a crossover win over Edison (55-32) on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says their confidence is building. “It was really good to win two in a row with the double weekend. I think it is the first time we have done it in five years. It was a good feeling. I forgot what that feeling was, it was a nice feeling again. We would like to get on a little roll here,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We have Huron on Thursday and right now they are playing some good basketball. On Saturday, we have Vermilion, who hasn’t won yet, but they can be extremely dangerous, they are a big team.” Huron (3-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is coming off an excellent Bay Division win over Margaretta (61-50) last Friday. Rich says the Tigers defend and they have a big time scorer. “They have two guards that defend extremely well. Dylan Hohler is a really, really good athlete and gets to the rack and finishes very well. He is kind of a matchup nightmare, he is 6’4” and handles the ball really well. So, we are going to have our hands full on the defensive end. We hope we can handle their pressure on the offensive end,” he said. Vermilion (0-5,0-1) has had problems scoring points this year, but Rich says they can be a matchup problem for a lot of teams, including the Redmen. “They have played teams that we don’t see. They have played Elyria and Amherst. Those two teams are both pretty tough. I thought Amherst was really good when I watched them. They are big and physical. If you let their bigs get position in the paint, they are going to make you pay. They make it hard on the offensive end because they pack those bigs in there and make you beat them for the outside. If they are taking care of the basketball and getting it in the paint they are going to be a tough matchup,” said Rich. Published 12/15/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Meets Perkins Bellevue takes on Sandusky Perkins in a game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. They lost to Sandusky (63-62) in their division opener last Friday. Coach Ed Rich says they showed some of their potential. “I said last week that we needed to get off to a good start and unfortunately we got down 7-0 within the first minute and a half, the good start didn’t come. I’ll tell you what, we battled and it was a really fun game and the kids had fun playing in it. The only thing we didn’t have fun with was the loss. I think we showed a lot of growth on Friday night,” he said. Rich believes they have the elements that make up a good team. “We thought from the start that we could be pretty good this year and we still believe in that. We are 0-2, but we have played two really good teams. Margaretta is a nice squad and Sandusky is a good squad as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They do a lot of things that we are not going to see much of this year. I would love to be 2-0, but the two losses we have had I can’t be too upset with. I thought we definitely played hard, we just have to clean some things up.” Perkins lost to Fremont Ross in their season opener on Tuesday night after a long and successful football season. Rich says the Pirates are big and physical. “All I know is this about them right now they are pretty big. The are 6’3”, 6’4”, 6’4” in their starting lineup. They lose Sam Siegel, who had played the last four years, so they are going to look at little different without him. He was pretty dang good. So, I think we are going to see a different look out of Perkins this year, but they are still going to play the way coach (Scott) McVeigh likes them to play. They are going to play hard, they are going to play physical, so we are preparing for that when we see them on Friday,” said Rich. Published 12/08/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Has to Handle Sandusky Pressure Bellevue begins division play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night as they travel to Sandusky to meet the Blue Streaks. In their season opener last week, Margaretta beat them (56-48) last Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they played well, but they didn’t make enough shots to get it done. “I thought there were spots that we played well. I would say a handful of times we had it tied, but we just couldn’t take the lead. Overall, I thought we played okay. I don’t think either team played great. The big difference was from the free throw line. We were 7-18 and they might have been 16 of 18, so that was a big part of the game right there. Overall, I will take our effort, but we need to put the ball in the basket a little more,” said Rich. Rich says he hopes they are getting their shooting stroke down. He says they looked better in practice. “I thought we shot it well this week in practice and we are hoping that carries over this week and throughout the season,” he said. Sandusky (0-2) lost games last week to Columbus Africentric (83-74) on Friday and Ashland (62-57) on Saturday, They have a new coach this season in former Streak player DeMar Moore. Rich says they need to handle the Blue Streak pressure without a bunch of turovers. “They are pretty good. I watched them against Africentric, who has a really nice squad and really, really good player, who was a junior. They played them pretty tough. Then they turned around Saturday night at played an Ashland team, who can really stroke and they played them pretty tough too. So, although Sandusky is 0-2 they are two pretty tough opponents,” he told Swankosports.com on Thursday, “If we can handle their pressure early, I think that’s key and not letting them get some energy and get some confidence. I think we have a chance to hang in there and pull one out if we can do that.” Published 12/03/21 © Swankonsports.com On Friday and Saturday night log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Opens With Margaretta Bellevue waits until Saturday night to open the boys’ basketball season at home against the Margaretta Polar Bears in non-conference action. Coach Ed Rich says this is the first time he has ever opened a season on Thanksgiving week, plus there is a pretty important football game being played that day as well. “It is the first time I have played on Ohio State-Michigan weekend, so it is something a little new for us. Even when I was at Galion, we would make a playoff push and every year I have been at Bellevue we have been in the playoffs. It is the first time for me having to play this week,” said Rich. Rich believes they are making the progress that coaches are looking for as they approach that season opener. “We played our fourth and final scrimmage on Saturday. I told my kids that I was happy with them and they have improved in every scrimmage. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do, but all you can ask for right now is to see improvement each week and we have definitely seen it,” he said. It can be difficult to really know much about that opponent on week one, but Margaretta brings a lot back from last year, so Rich says that makes the scouting report a little easier. “They are good, they are really good. We had a good game with them last year at their place, they beat us in overtime. I want to say they had 15, 16 wins last year. They bring almost all of their starters back. One kid graduated that started for them. So, they are pretty loaded,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I think they think they are pretty good and rightfully so. It should be a good game. It’s at our place and hopefully we go out and compete. We want to pull one off this time instead of losing in overtime.” Published 11/23/21 © Swankonsports.com On Friday and Saturday night log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Meets Edison Bellevue, the defending champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay conference and regional qualifier last season, opens this season on Friday night at Edison in non-conference play. Coach Kory Santoro says his players are eager to play a game for real. “It is an exciting time with your first game. I think they are ready to get out there and put on that uniform and get after it,” he said. Bellevue has some veterans this season, but that have some inexperience too. Santoro says those younger kids and have been coached up. “We have some kids that have been through a lot and have played for four years now, but we also have some freshmen and they are going to get some varsity time on Friday night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I am sure they have some butterflies, but I think the coaching staff has prepared them for that and I think they are ready to go.” Santoro says he expects a good game with Edison. He knows they are going to play hard. “They are from the SBC Bay Division. We played them last year our first game. They lost a few players from last year’s group that were nice players. They are going to play hard. Everybody is excited for their first game. We know they are going to come after us,” said Santoro. Published 11/18/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Looking up Bellevue only won five games last season in the chaotic COVID year, but they did show some potential at the end of the season and they expect to be improved this year. They are set to open the season on November 27, the Saturday after Thanksgiving against Margaretta at home. Their first game in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division is December 3 at Sandusky. Coach Ed Rich sees the potential they have. “We did show some improvement last year. We had a nice win against a good, good South Central team at home here. I don’t think we played bad against Ontario in out tournament game. We just struggled to put the ball in the basket. As for this year, yeah, I think we are going to better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We have some nice pieces coming back and then we have some younger guys that stepped up toward the end of last year that were freshmen last year, they played quite a few big minutes for us toward the end of last year. So, we think we are going to be pretty competitive this year.” Bellevue will look to run the floor this year, but when in the half court, Rich says they have to show patience in looking for a good shot. “There is a long list of things to improve. We have scrimmaged twice so far. We just have to take our time and be patient in our half court offense. We want to go and get out and run, but when we get to our half court stuff and sets, we have to slow ourselves down a little bit and take what the defense gives us,” he said. Rich says they have kids with the ability to score and they have some kids that can be stoppers too. “We have got guys. We have Tyler Ray and Deegan Horn, this will be their third year as varsity guys. They kind of got thrown in the mix as freshmen, which is never ideal, but it was something I thought we needed to do. We have twin brothers, the Martin twins, they are going to step in as sophomores this year and help us on both ends. They are really good defenders and they can put the ball in the basket also,” said Rich. Published 11/16/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Expects to Win Again If there is anything that is a tradition with Bellevue Lady Red basketball it is winning and they expect to continue doing that this season. Their first game will be November 19 at Edison. Their first Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game is at home against Sandusky on December 1. Coach Kory Santoro says their preseason has been filled with competition. “We just finished our fourth scrimmage (Thursday) night. At this point I like where we are at. We have a lot of kids that are fighting for a bunch of spots, new spots, this year. Kids are competing hard,” he said. After winning the Lake Division title again last season, they lost in the division II regional semis and won 21 games. Santoro says to get to that kind of level this team needs to play better defense. “We pride ourselves on the defensive side of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I think we have to get better at that knowing our rotations better and just trusting each other. On the defensive side of the ball, we have to get better before the start of the season.” Bellevue has won seven district titles in the last nine years and has been Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll champ four times during that period. Santoro says kids in the program understand what is expected of them. “I think the culture and the tradition we have here I think the kids at the lower levels are buying in. So, when they come to the high school level, they know expectations and the level they need to play at. It has been kind of contagious over here,” said Santoro. Published 11/12/21 © Swankonsports.com On Friday and Saturday night log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Ready to Roll Bellevue, the top seed in region 14, will play at home against Edison on Friday night, is a first round playoff game in division IV. The Redmen lost to for just the second time this season (14-6) to Clyde last week and slipped into a share of the title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with the Fliers. Coach Ed Nasonti says they played some good football, just not good enough this time. “Well, you come into that week 10 game with Clyde and they are a good football team and they have been playing good football. We have been playing good football and it’s a big rivalry game. Looking back at that game we just felt on that particular night they were the better team. We have to tip our hats to Clyde. Thought their kids played very well. I thought we did a pretty good job on defense when you hold a tam like Clyde to 14 points. We just couldn’t get it going on offense and be consistent enough to score 21 points. We think you score 21 points on a Friday night that puts us in good shape,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “After the game we talked to our kids. Saturday morning, we showed them the tape and we learned from it and we said let’s put it in the rear view mirror and look forward and look at the next game. We have had a great season. Coming into a season you want to be conference champions, that’s one of our goals, and we did that. You want to set yourself up to get into the playoffs and we were number one in our region. So, we have been able to do the things that we wanted to do up to this point and now we need to take care of business in week 11 against an opponent that we have already faced this year.” Bellevue (8-2), #3 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, hosts Edison (5-5) on Friday night. The Chargers lost (38-20) to Huron in a Bay Division game last week. Nasonti says this is a team with a lot of experience. “They are pretty senior laden team. We you look at the guys they have playing for them. They have some good size, they have some good quickness. They are playing with a squad that is experienced. I know that they don’t have the quarterback they had the first time we played them, so they are running more of their triple option stuff. So, we have to shift gears a little bit in defending them. I think they look a little different than they did the first time we played them on week two. I think we might look at little different too,” he said. Bellevue beat Edison (21-14) back on week two of the regular season. Nasonti says that doesn’t matter at all this week and they need to forget about that game. “That is what we preach to our kids constantly. In all of the years that I have been coaching, this is 31 years as a head coach and 41 years all together, I preach to the kids, listen you have to expect the best out of your opponent and you have to respect your opponent. When I look back in my lifetime as a player or as a coach and anytime I start getting to big for my britches you get knocked on your can. So, there is no secret to that. It is the teams that are humble, it is the teams that are hungry, that get the job done. We want to be conference champions and it has felt good to be conference champions. We got that win and it is something special to be the Lake Division champions. We would like to keep this thing rolling here and get a tournament run going and you can’t do that unless you take care of week one. So, that’s where we are at. Those are the things we are preaching to our guys. We expect them to practice well and play well on Friday night,” said Nasonti. Published 10/27/21 © Swankonsports.com A special edition of “Out of Bounds” Will air Saturday 10 PM to midnight “Your First Source for All Things Sports”
	Bellevue Plays Clyde for Outright Title Bellevue wraps up a second straight undisputed title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with a win on Friday night, but it won’t be easy as they travel to Clyde to face the second place Fliers. A Clyde win produces a shared title. Coach Ed Nasonti says there is a lot of hard nosed football in this rivalry, but there isn’t any cheap stuff. “We are playing an outstanding program that really hasn’t been far removed from winning the state championship a couple of years ago. Coach (Ryan) Carter has done a great job over there. They have a rich tradition like we think we do. It has been a fun rivalry since we started it back up in 1994. The fact that the game has gotten moved to week 10 has added to it. I think the fans enjoy it, the coaches enjoy it, the players enjoy it. It is a respectful rivalry,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (8-1,4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, took Sandusky to the woodshed last week (52-7) and Clyde, #3 in our poll, thrashed Norwalk (41-14) in division games. Clyde’s only loss in the division was a month ago when Perkins beat them (21-20) with the Fliers failing on a two-point attempt with 11 seconds left. Nasonti describes Clyde and solid and physical on both sides of the ball. “When I watch them on tape, they are a typical Clyde football team. They are physical on both sides of the ball. They have good size up front. Their offensive and defensive lines get off the football. They are just blue collar, hard nosed, football players,” he said. Last week, Bellevue quarterback Deegan Horn was hobbled with an injury and replaced by Jax LaPata, who rushed for 184 yards and four scores. Clyde’s leading rusher Michael Daniels didn’t play at all last week, but Clark Norman and Dillon Overmeyer both scored twice. Nasonti says to have a championship season you have to have kids like that step up. “I think when you try and run a good program you have everybody involved. The kids understand their roles. A lot of times you have those guys in backup spots and they are just waiting for an opportunity and they have to ready when the opportunity comes. Those are kids that were in the wings waiting for their chance and to step up and help their team. We talk to our kids all of the time about being a great teammate. Sometimes that means maybe you are doing a great job on a special team or maybe you are doing a great job on a scout team or maybe you are that backup and you have to come in and preform,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “It might be in the middle of a drive. So, those are the kinds of things that make the difference and can help you throughout the season. The riggers of being in the Lake Division and playing a tough schedule. I mean you go through the gauntlet. So, you are going to need guys to step up at some point and time.” Published 10/21/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Plays For Share A win over Sandusky at home Friday night gives the Bellevue Redmen no less than a share of the title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, the toughest football league in North Central Ohio. They put themselves in that position with a convincing (42-12) win over a good Tiffin Columbian squad last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says they were fundamental and they tackled very well against the athletic Tornadoes. “We knew going into the game that Tiffin had some weapons. They play the two quarterback system. They have some outstanding guys on the perimeter. Kids they had coming back from a final four team. So, we knew going in that they had the potential to be a very dangerous team. I am really proud of our kids. I thought we were really solid on both sides of the ball. We didn’t turn the ball over. We contained their big play capability. We tackled in space and we did all of the things that us are supposed to do against a good football team and we came out with a nice win. When you look back on it, it was a really nice win and a gratifying win on the road,” he said. Bellevue has gotten off to some good starts this season, but Nasonti says they focus more on consistent play for four quarters. “I know last week we started the game off with a nice kickoff return, we got it up to the 50 and the first play will popped 50 yards for a touchdown. Now, we got called back, but we ended up scoring on the drive. I think our kids are ready to go mentally and physically. I think we as coaches work really hard to put together a good game plan. I think our kids practice well during the week. When you put all of those things together it adds up to a pretty good performance. We don’t really think about what we have done in the first quarter. We just take it one play at a time and one series at a time until we get to 48 minutes. If you take care of all of the business at the end of the game, we are all going to be happy about it,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (7-1,3-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays host to Sandusky (3-5,1-2), who lost (33-14) to Clyde last week. Nasonti says they must contain the Blue Streaks big play capability. “When you look at Sandusky, coach (Mike) Franklin has been there a number of years. His son has been the starting quarterback for three years. He is a very dangerous guy. He throws a good ball. He is dangerous when he gets outside of the pocket. They have some nice running backs with good speed. They have some big linemen on both sides of the ball. They have the potential to be a scary team if you allow them. When we are preparing for them and in our scouting report. When we talk to the kids during practice. We are talking about, let’s do a good job on defense, let’s tackle in space, let’s take good pursuit angles, let’s make them execute the going down the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I think this may be like the third team in a row that we have played that have been big play teams. When you play big play teams you have to make them play lefthanded. You have to make them earn their way down the field. In my experience in the 31 years being a head football coach it takes a good high school football team to execute down the field with nine, 10, 11 play drives, those kinds of things. What happens a lot of times is they shoot themselves in the foot with an offsides, you might be able to get a sack on them, they might have another penalty, they might throw a pick, they might put the ball on the ground. So, all of those kinds of things weight into that.” Published 10/14/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Lake Division Leader Bellevue at Explosive Tiffin Bellevue, now all alone in first place in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, plays at Tiffin Columbian, a game back, in a big one in the division on Friday night. Last week, the Redmen (6-1,2-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, blanked Sandusky Perkins (26-0) in a division game. Coach Ed Nasonti says they did a very good job on both sides of the ball and won the point of attack. “I was real happy with our kids. They came focused, they came ready to play. We had to go up against one of the better backs in northwest Ohio. He has run all over the place. We did a good job talking in space that we were concerned about, as we are every Friday night. I thought our kids did a nice job playing defense. We won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. We were able to move the ball and put 26 points on the board and keep them scoreless. It was a nice win in the Lake Division. We know that every Friday night is going to be a battle, so we have to be ready to go this week,” said Nasonti. Bellevue is also in first place in its division IV computer region, but Nasonti says they can still improve. “We have to continue to get better. We have stressed that each week with our kids in the way we practice. I think our kids have had a good, solid attitude towards working and understanding the value of coming to practice ready to go every day and focusing on the process of being a good football team. We are sitting in a pretty good spot right now with three games to go, but we feel that we can still get better as a team and those are the kinds of things we are preaching to our kids,” said Nasonti. Tiffin Columbian (4-3,1-1) lost (42-39) to Clyde in a Lake Division game last week. Nasonti says the Tornadoes are a very good team and they respect them in their ability to play football. “That was a shootout last week. They scored 39 points, Clyde scored 42 and it was back and forth. The game could have went either way as a lot of the games in our conference can. When you look at Tiffin Columbian in the preseason, they were a team that went to the final four last year and they have a significant amount of players back form the squad a year ago. So, they are definitely a worthy opponent,” he said. Brayden Roggow (14) and Logan Beaston (11) have combined to throw 25 touchdown passes this year. They share the quarterback position for Columbian. Nasonti says they have to be solid in their defensive schemes. “We are focusing on the basics and the fundamentals of playing defense. They each bring a different quality to the game. They do some things differently. We talk to our kids about that, but we have some basic fundamental rules that we have to follow in our defensive schemes. We don’t want our kids to over think it. We know one guy is more of a runner than the other and so on, but they are both very valuable to their team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They are both outstanding athletes and they both can burn you of you let them. So, we have to do a good job on the perimeter. We have to tackle in space. They have some really nice skilled guys that if you don’t do a good job they are going to take it to the house. They are big play team and they have exploited a few teams this year and we don’t want to be one of them.” Published 10/05/21 © Swankonsports.com For 24/7 local sports click on our listen line At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Big One Between Bellevue and Perkins It seems like every game is this way in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, but it’s a big one Friday night when Bellevue travels north to face Perkins. Both teams won their division openers last week. Bellevue blanked Norwalk (14-0) and Perkins hung on to beak Clyde (21-20) last Friday. A big factor in the Bellevue win was turnovers. Norwalk had five. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti feels that was a big factor in their win last week. “Our defense came up big last week. We had three interceptions and two fumble recoverees. I thought our kids ran to the ball well,” he told Swankonsports.com, “A couple of times we had our backs against the wall and made some big plays. I was really happy with our tackling. It was a nice effort on the defensive side of the ball.” The Redmen are second in the division in turnover ratio at plus 12. Nasonti says they take time during practice to work on forcing turnovers. “We work hard on ball disruption to try and create turnovers. I think you see that more than you ever did. One guy comes in and secure the tackle and the other guy is trying to strip the ball. All of those things that we work on with our kids and it makes you feel good as a coach when you see that stuff getting done,” said Nasonti. Of course, you have to hang onto the football as well because the other team is going to try and take it away. Nasonti says avoiding those turnovers is a key to winning. “The times that we have struggled over the years is when we have turned the ball over. We stress that all of the time with our kids. Hold on to the ball, that is one way you can get beat, turning it over,” he said. Perkins comes into Friday night a minus three in that turnover ratio. Bellevue (5-1,1-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is at Perkins (5-1,1-0), #5 in our poll, on Friday night. Nasonti knows it will be a battle. “They are playing good football. They have some good athletes and they utilize them. They have played solid football since the beginning of the year. It will be a typical Lake Division battle, I’m sure of that,” he said. Published 10/01/21 © Swankonsports.com On Friday nights log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Expects Hard Hitting Game From Norwalk Bellevue hosts Norwalk on the opening week of play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The long time rivals are two of six pretty teams in the Lake Division this year. The Redmen (4-1,0-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, beat Toledo Start (49-14) in their final con-conference game last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says they game up some big plays, but overall played very well last week. “We knew coming into last week’s game after watching quite few game films of Toledo Start that they had some outstanding speed and a couple of good receivers and they had a quarterback that makes some plays they you had to contain. We gave up some plays last Friday because he got outside the pocket. He did what knew he could do and he made some outstanding plays. They scored on the last drive of the first half and the first drive of the second half to get it down to a two score game. Then we thought we took over the game in the trenches and did a nice job with our run game and put the game away. I was happy with the way that our kids fought. We knew coming into the game that there was going to be some nice athletes on the field that we were going to have to contain and we did a good enough job to get the job done,” said Nasonti. Norwalk (1-4,0-0) lost (34-21) to Columbus Bishop Hartley in a non-league game last week. Nasonti says again they will be faced with stopping an athletic quarterback in Plane Flores, who has rushed for a team leading 442 yards this year and the Truckers have a solid defense too. “Norwalk is one of the most senior laden squads in our conference. I think they have nine seniors starting on the offensive side of the ball and seven or eight seniors starting on the defensive side of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Once again, we will have an outstanding athlete at quarterback that we will have to contain. He is the kind of kid that you have to keep him in the pocket. Once he gets on the edge, he can make something happen like a lot of quarterbacks. He is an actuate thrower and a really good runner. They have a couple of really good running backs that they like to get the ball that can cause you some problems. Their defense is solid.” Speaking of running it, Bellevue quarterback Deegan Horn is second in the division with 686 yards and running back Will Hager is fourth with 503. Bellevue and Norwalk have been locking heads for almost 80 years on he football field and Nasonti says they respect the Truckers. “When you look at their schedule they played Mansfield Senior, an outstanding ballclub. They played Olmstead Falls, which plays solid football and Bishop Hartley. We know that they have had a very, very solid schedule. The one thing that we tell our kids every Friday night is you have to respect your opponent and you have to expect the best out of your opponent. We know that Norwalk is an old time “NOL” rivalry dating back to 1944 and we know when they come to town that we need to be ready, they are going to be ready, and it is going to be a good, hard hitting ballgame,” said Nastoni. Norwalk has given up a lot of rushing yards this season, about 250 per game, but Nasonti says they have a solid front seven. “They had a nice set of defensive linemen that get off the ball. They have good size up front. They run a 4-4 defense, so they have four linebackers, outside linebackers that do a good job, inside guys that are good run stoppers. So, they have a solid defense,” he said. Published 9/22/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Just Getting Better and Better Bellevue plays its final non-conference game of the season on Friday night as they host the Toledo Start Spartans. Last week, they traveled to Clear Fork and demolished the Colts (48-7) in a non-league game. They returned the opening kick for a touchdown and coach Ed Nasonti says they remained focused and played well on both sides of the ball. “I was really happy with our kids. I was really glad that we were able put our foot on the pedal and keep it on the pedal for four quarters. I know the last time we went down there we got out to a 21-3 lead at halftime and we kind of fizzled in the second half. We talked to our kids about playing 48 minutes and I thought our kids did that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “It’s not always an easy place to play on top of fact that you make an hour and 30 minute drive down there, so I thought our kids handled that well. I thought we were consistent throughout the night. Our kids played with a great intensity level and passion and it was a nice road win for us.” Bellevue (3-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, has win three straight and more than they Nasonti says their execution keeps getting better. “That’s our focus as a coaching staff. You hear Nick Sabin talk about all of the time. He talks about being process oriented and not focusing on the results. We are not looking at the scoreboard. We look at our kid’s performance. We want to see them get better every week. When you get those wins, it also puts a little gas in your tank,” he said. Toledo Start (0-4) was whipped (42-14) by Clyde, also a member of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, last week. However, Nasonti says they have some athletes. “They are not a bad football team. I know their record doesn’t show it, but they have played a pretty tough schedule. I think their kids play hard. They always have some really good athletes. They have some explosive athletes than can make some big plays. They are the kind of team where you need to stay on them. If they get some momentum they can be a tough out,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says they want to make the Spartans put together drives if they are going to score against them. “Especially Start, but most high school teams you have to make them drive the football. It’s hard for a high school team to put 10, 12, 13, 14 plays together without making a mistake. A penalty here or there, jump offsides, throw a pick, fumble the ball, all of those things come into play when you are trying to play solid defense,” he said. Published 9/14/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Locks Horns With Clear Fork Bellevue comes south Friday night to tangle with Clear Fork in what has been a pretty good non-conference rivalry over the years. The Redmen (2-1), #3 in the first Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, won maybe the most exciting contest in North Central Ohio last week when they held off Shelby (45-40) in a non-conference game. It was a seesaw battle and Bellevue quarterback-defensive back Deegan Horn intercepted a Marshall Shepherd pass in the end zone to preserve the victory. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was a great win for the program and they made the big plays when they had to, especially in the second half. “Anytime you can get a win in that fashion by putting up a goal line stand when you get a pick from the four yard-line going in it is exciting. I was happy for our kids. It was a back and forth game. We were down eight at halftime and we came out and converted on several different fourth downs on that first drive the second half and I think one of them was fourth and six from our own 41. So, I thought our kids stepped up to the plate and beat a very good football team last Friday,” said Nasonti. Horn is the leading rusher in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with 347 yards and four TDs. Running back Will Hager adds another 306 yards and three scores. Bellevue has now beaten Shelby in 22 of the last 29 meetings. Clear Fork (2-1) played a pretty exciting game themselves, rallying from a (28-6) halftime deficit to beat rival Lexington (35-28) in overtime last week. Nasonti says Bellevue and Clear Fork are blue collar schools that love to play football. “Those kids are very well coached. They are tough kids. When you look at Clear Fork you know you are going to get a tough ballgame. They have the small town atmosphere like us. I think their kids are tough like our kids. They fight hard every Friday night and they try and represent their school with pride. I know the last two times we played them we came up on the short end of the stick. So, we are going to have to be ready to play on Friday night,” he said. Clear Fork won (30-21) in 2019 and (40-12) in 2018. The schools didn’t play last year due to COVID. Clear Fork quarterback Victor Skoog thew four touchdown passes against Lexington last week. Nasonti says against Clear Fork’s spread offense they must be solid open field tacklers. “Whenever you face a team that runs the spread offense and they run jet sweeps and jet sweep action and they get the quarterback running up in there, he is an outstanding runner, you are going to have to tackle in space. We get a steady dose of that last Friday night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “I think our kids have improved each week of the year. Through all of my time as a coach I have always felt that you have to get better each week. Those are the kinds of things we are focusing on with our kids. We talk about giving great effort, playing with toughness, and knowing your assignment. Those are three things that they can control and those are three things that we can evaluate. We feel if we do those three things every Friday night to the best of our ability then we are going to be pleased with our kids.” Published 9/08/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports You can local sports news 24/7 on our Listen line at the top of the page
	Bellevue Faces Explosive Shelby Nothing says high school football like Bellevue and Shelby, a rivalry that dates back to the 1940’s, and it renews Friday night at the Bellevue Athletic Field. Bellevue (1-1) downed Edison last week (21-14) in a non-conference game, or crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference if you will. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was a physical battle. “It was a hard fought game. We knew coming in that Edison was a senior laden team. They have nine seniors on the offensive side of the ball. They have a big offensive line. We knew it was going to be a physical game. Our kids played hard. I thought we laid it out there pretty good and we were able to hang onto a 21-14 victory. Looking at our team after the first two, I am really proud of our kid’s effort in the first two games and we have been putting it all out there for 48 minutes. I feel going into week three our kids have been battle tested about as much as they could be,” said Nasonti. Shelby (2-0) beat Lexington (45-28) last week as quarterback Marshall Shephard threw five more scoring passes, he has nine for the season. Nasonti says they have an outstanding throwing game and will give you a lot of looks. “Well, they are very skilled. They are going to run five wide. Their quarterback does a great job running their offense. They are going to put it up in the air. They spread the ball around. You will get hit with a lot of quick screens, jail breaks, screens. Defensively, they are big up front. They have two guys over 300 pounds on their defensive side of the ball. They are a pretty solid team on both sides of the ball. They are coming off a great season last year where they went to the regional finals and got beat by the eventual state champs. They have been living good down there for the last two seasons,” he said. The Whippets have game breakers and Nasonti says they better be very sound tacklers. “You see it time and time again. You can watch any tape on them this year and they are making plays. If you don’t make the tackle or for some reason you get misaligned and you give them a little space they are going to take it to the house. When you start spreading them out too much they will pop a quarterback run in there on you. So, it’s a dangerous offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It’s one we don’t see much. We are coming off facing a team that likes to pound the run at you. So, we have to shift gears pretty quickly here and get ready to play a team that is going to spread the field. They are going to spread you vertically and they are going to spread you horizontally.” Published 9/01/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports You can local sports news 24/7 on our Listen line at the top of the page
	Bellevue Faced With Stopping Strong Edison Run Game Bellevue plays its home opener at “BAF” on Friday night as the host the Edison Chargers in a cross over game among teams in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Last week at Port Clinton, the Redmen ran up and down the field, but ended up losing (49-44) to the Redskins in another cross over game. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says they did a lot of good things, but they made some mistakes too. “We thought we did some good things. When you rush for 350 yards and pass for 70 and end with 420 yards on 70 snaps on offense, you would like to think you could win, but probably our inability to convert on some of our extra points along with some untimely turnovers resulted in 21 points for Port Clinton makes it tough to win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “That being said, I thought our kids played really, really hard. We fought through four quarters and we came up short. So, there is a lot to be learned from that first game and going forward I think we are going to be a better team from that.” Edison edged Oberlin Firelands (27-24) in their first game last Friday at home. Nasonti says this is an experienced team which will provide a good matchup for the Redmen. “They are a senior laden team. When you look at them, they have seniors all over the field. Their whole entire offensive line is seniors. They have nine seniors starting on offense with a three year starter at quarterback. So, they are a solid ballclub. We expect them to be a very worthy opponent. We expect our kids to rise to occasion for the home opener and get after it,” said Nasonti. Edison has been a triple option team over the years, but Nasonti says they have changed their approach a little this season and are looking to get the ball to their tailback more. “They could run some triple option, we prepared for it. They have shown some triple option concepts this year, but mostly they have a tailback that can really run and like to get him going downhill. They have a fullback that blocks well for them, five experienced linemen up front, so they like to play smash mouth football if they can,” he said. Published 8/27/21 © Swankonsports.com On Friday nights log onto our scoreboard At www.swankonsportshosting247.com For constant score updates Your First Source for All Things Sports
	Bellevue Wants to Be Up Tempo Bellevue plays over at Port Clinton in a non-conference game to open the 2021 campaign on Friday night. The Redmen are defending champions of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Ed Nasonti, at Bellevue for 30 years, feels his kids are ready to go and play one for real on Friday night. “I think our coaches have done a good job. I think kids have done a good job in the time that we have had them. I know I said that before. We have done a great job in the weight room with our kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Our kids have bought in and we have tried to simulate playing a ball game, we have tried to simulate the season, we have tried to simulate being an athlete with a lot of the moves we make in the weight room. You tie all of that together and ready or not here we come. Everybody is in the same boat. It’s that time of year, let’s go get it.” Port Clinton comes out of the Bay Division of the “SBC”. The Redskins were (5-4) last year. Nasonti says the Redskins have solid personnel and the word on the street is they are expecting an outstanding season. “We saw them in two scrimmages and they have great size. Probably one of the biggest offensives lines that they have ever had. They have some skilled guys back, nice quarterback, nice running back, a lot of their guys play both ways. What I hear coming into this season out of Port Clinton is a lot of positive things and a lot of optimism out of the Redskins camp,” said Nasonti. Bellevue is a no huddle team and Nasonti says they have to make that work on Friday night and they have to compete at the point of attack. “I think we have to be a fast paced team, I think that is our M.O. We like to get out, we like to get the ball snapped, we like to hustle up and get it going, we are in the no huddle. We have to play fast tempo, I think that is important. I think we have to do a great job on special teams. We have to control the line of scrimmage. We have to hang onto the ball, no turnovers,” he said. Published 8/18/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Using Time Wisely Bellevue has as good a football tradition as anyone in North Central Ohio over the last 30 years and this year promises to be another good one for the Redmen. They won the tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference last season and made it three weeks deep in the playoffs. This year, coach Ed Nasonti says they have tried to be as efficient as possible in preparing their kids for a season that starts in two weeks against Port Clinton. “We are in the same boat like a lot of schools and a lot of coaches. As a staff we sat down and talked about it. The worst thing that happened was they gave unlimited days for every sport, so you have kids that are trying to be three sport athletes, they are trying to hold jobs on top of it. We decided as a staff that we weren’t going to take anymore of the kids time than we always have, but as a staff and collectively we wanted to do the best job that we could and be as efficient as we could whether it would be time in the wright room or time on the field, we wanted to be really efficient,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We kind of emphasized that with the kids and I think it worked out for the best. When you turn around and look at your ballclub I think we have a group of kids that are not only in shape, but they are fresh and I think at the end of the day that is the main thing and that has always been our philosophy. You talk to some guys and they think more is better, more is better, more is better, well we think less is more if you do it right and you do it smart.” Nasonti says his kids are eager to continue the Bellevue tradition. “I see a group of kids that are enthusiastic. They want to do well. They understand they have to be a good teammate. They have paid the price and it is time to get after it. We are week early for everybody. Everybody is in the same boat. We are going to lay it out there,” he said. Nasonti has been around a while and he says they are not going to fall victim to the latest fad. “This will be 31 years for me and we haven’t done a seven on seven tournament yet and I don’t thin it has hurt us. I think our program has been very competitive over the last 30 years and we are hopeful that is going to continue to be competitive and we focus on the things that count. When you get into seven on sevens it doesn’t really simulate a real game and it is another opportunity for a kid to get hurt. A lot of times you get into these things and emotions start flaring and you have a kid across from you and he would just soon take you down. So, to me there are a lot more negatives than there are positives from it,” said Nasonti. Published 8/06/21 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Knocks off Huron Bellevue scored five times in the fifth inning and downed Huron (7-3) in a division II district semifinal played at Fremont Ross High School on Thursday evening. They play Vermilion, a (7-2) winner of Perkins on Thursday, on Saturday afternoon again at Fremont Ross. After falling behind (2-0) after two innings, Keegan Ray took over on the mound and allowed just one hit and one unearned run the rest of way for the Redmen. In that fifth inning, the bunt was a big weapon for the Redmen. Brad Miller and Ray had back to back bunts to plate runs. Mason Bova had an RBI hit. Then Jayden Mays bunted another one home. The final run of the inning came home when Adam Hosang was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Coach Andy Dennings says after a slow start they found their grove a little bit. “Huron is a very good team. We saw them a couple of weeks ago and we knew we would have our hands full (Thursday), but the kids really battled. We got down 2-0. It was something we haven’t done for a while, we had problems throwing strikes. I think we had six walks in two innings, so to walk out of there 2-0 after two is probably a victory for us. Once we settled in and started getting some good at bats we puts some balls on the ground. We have been trough a lot this year and we persevered through a bunch. So, it was a really good win for us,” said Dennings. Bellevue (15-14) has started to play their best baseball at the right time of the season. Dennings says they just aren’t making as many mistakes. “We have won six in a row against some good teams. We had some trials and tribulations the first half of the year. We weren’t a great baseball team. If we get to pick what part of the season we get to play well, I am definitely going to pick the back. We talked about keep believing things are going to get better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We have cleaned up a lot of our miscues here. We don’t kick it nearly as much. We don’t walk people as much. (Thursday) we got off to a rough start, but Keegan kind of closed the door there. We are just a better baseball team now. We are excited to be in a district final.” Vermilion (23-6) beat Bellevue twice during play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, (11-2) on March 31 and (10-3) on April 19. It has been more than a month since they played the Sailors and Dennings knows they are a better team. “They are good. They have beaten us twice. We know we have our hands full, but we also know we are better than early in the year when they got us. We are going to have to play well. They are very deep pitching wise. They do a nice job over there and are always extremely competitive. We are excited to have the challenge. We will put our best foot forward. Hopefully, after seven innings we are winning and we can move on to regionals,” he said. Published 5/28/21 © Swankonsports.com For baseball and softball scores Go to our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Beats Norwalk Bellevue hung a tough loss on the Norwalk Truckers (5-1) on Wednesday in play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The result eliminated the Truckers from the division race and gave the outright title to the Vermilion Sailors. Bellevue coach Andy Dennings says it was one of their biggest wins of the season. “We needed one of these. We have been playing better the last week or two and playing much cleaner baseball. Norwalk has been playing extremely well. It is always a really nice program over there. We are really happy with the win,” said Dennings. Bellevue (8-11,4-6) has played its best baseball over the last couple of weeks. They also beat Perkins the last time they played them. Dennings says they got a nice effort on the mound. “Adam Hosang threw a two hitter. He threw the ball extremely well. We needed that. He is one of our top couple of guys and he really came out an performed extremely well,” he said. One of the keys to their improved play, according to Dennings, is the are making the fundamental plays that where weren’t make earlier. “That has been an issue at points this year. Early in the year we had problems fielding the baseball. We have made way more errors than we are typically used to. To compound that we were waking a lot of kids and had a lot of HBP’s,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We are starting to get things figured out here. Our pitching has always been competitive. Just playing cleaner baseball. Run the bases better, field the ball better, just making smarter decisions. Now, we are starting to put some things together.” Published 5/06/21 © Swankonsports.com For baseball and softball scores Go to our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Will be Good Again Bellevue has traditionally been one of the stronger bigger school baseball programs in North Central Ohio and it looks like they are going to be pretty strong again this spring. Coach Andy Dennings says they have a great time playing baseball at Bellevue and appreciate the chance to do it this year. “We have been really lucky with the weather and the kids have really enjoyed getting back at it. We have a lot of kids here that really like the game. It has been great to get out there and experience being on the diamond and getting the comradery in the dugout. It has really been nice to get going,” he said. The Redmen visit Upper Sandusky to get the season started on Saturday. Dennings they have had the ability to judge talent this year and you can see with no 2020 season there are a lot of things that need to be sharpened. “We have a lot of kids competing for different spots here, but it’s been a little different because these kids lost their freshmen, sophomore and junior years and we as coaches lost the ability to evaluate them over that time. We have seen some really positive attitudes and really, really good effort and a lot of excitement to get out there and get going again and being around your buddies and just enjoying the game of baseball. We have definitely seen that these kids and missed out on hundreds and hundreds of ground ball reps and live at bats and flyballs and reading balls. So, we are probably a little bit behind, but you can expect that a little bit taking a year off,” said Dennings. Bellevue plays Vermilion in its first Lake Division on March 31. They play Perkins on April 5. Dennings is confident they can compete in the Lake Division. “I think we have enough here to definitely take a run at it again. Our kids around here like to compete and they expect to win and that’s a big part of it going out there and expecting to win games, but the league is going to be extremely good this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “A lot of those teams the Columbians and Perkins played extremely young a couple of years ago, so those kids are now juniors and seniors. We have Vermilion coming into the Lake here this year and they have a really good program. Along with Sandusky and Clyde, it should be interesting, and Norwalk too, I don’t want to leave out Norwalk, they have a really nice program. It’s going to be a lot of fun, there are going to be a lot of good battles this year.” Published 3/25/21 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Meets Napoleon in Regionals Bellevue is back in the regional tournament again as they face Napoleon in the division II regional semifinals at Mansfield Senior High School. Granville takes on Norton in the other semifinal at Pete Henry Gym. The winners play Friday night for the right to advance to the state tournament in Dayton. Bellevue is making its sixth regional appearance in the last eight years. They won district titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021. Willard won the district last year in division II. The Lady Flashes made the regional this season in division III. The Lady Red (21-3) beat Shelby (58-52) in the district final last Saturday night at Ashland High School. Cory Santoro, the daughter of the head coach, a 2,000 point career scorer, scored on a driving layup when score was tied at 52 and Bellevue added four free throws. Coach Kory Santoro says you have to let players make plays. “Sometimes you just have to put the ball in your best players hands and let them go,” he said. Napoleon beat Willard in the regional final last year and were set to participate in the state tournament when the plug was pulled on the season due to COVID 19. Santoro says it will be a tremendous challenge. “They had a great run last year. They played very well this year again. They are a very good team and we are going to have to play our best to have a chance to beat these girls,” said Santoro. Napoleon plays with a lot of patience and Santoro says they don’t make many mistakes. “I think they like to keep the score low. They are very patient on offense. They work the ball around. You watch a lot of their scores they are just very patient in everything they do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They play solid defense, they don’t turn the ball over a lot. You have to do things the right way against this team.” Published 3/02/21 © Swankonsports.com Get all of the tournament scores right here At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Plays Perkins For Third Time Bellevue has won five district titles in the last seven years, but they didn’t win it last year and they want it back. They play Sandusky Perkins, the team that eliminated them last year, in a division II district semifinal at Ashland High School on Thursday night. Willard, who won the district last season, is in division III this year. Bellevue has he most traditionally successful girls’ program in this area with 11 straight conference titles and 11 straight sectional titles. Coach Kory Santoro says it helps to have tournament experience on the floor. “It does help. I think we have some girls that have played in games like this before. Especially with two starters now in their fourth year have been in games like this. Yes, that does help a little bit,” he said. Bellevue (18-3) has beaten Perkins twice this year, winning (46-33) on November 27 and (49-47) on January 30. Santoro says Perkins has an excellent big girl in Kelley Baker, who can alter a lot of shots. “They are coached well. They have a 6’0”, 6’1” post player, who is long and protects the basket pretty well and blocks a lot of shots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They have a pretty good guard. They are a tough matchup. This is their time we have played them, so we expect it to be a real good ballgame.” Santoro says they must play a good overall game at both ends of the floor if they are going to win. “We have to play really good solid defense. We have to find the open man and we have got to knock down shots. She is going to protect the rim, so we have to make some shots,” he said. Published 2/25/21 © Swankonsports.com Get all of the tournament scores right here At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Back in it Mentally Bellevue hits the road for Ontario and a meeting with the second seeded Warriors in a division II sectional semifinal on Tuesday night at the O-Rena. The winner gets Mansfield Senior (8-10) out of the Ohio Cardinal Conference on Friday night. The Redmen (5-13) were to play Ontario last week. They were also to play Sandusky. Those games were cancelled due to the weather (Ontario) or the virus (Sandusky), so Bellevue has not played since a (52-51) win over South Central on February 13. Coach Ed Rich says how his kids will come out is difficult to say. “That’s the sad thing, you just don’t know anymore. I would have loved to play last week both games, but obviously things stopped us from playing both of them. It is kind of one of those things where we play four games the week before and last week we play zero games, it’s just crazy. I think we are ready to play and come out and play a good game, but you are off for a week you just don’t know how things are going to start when the game begins,” said Rich. They have won two of their last three and Rich says after a heart to heart talk, they have been able to turn things around. “We have put together some good games. The win-loss column doesn’t tell everything. We put together some really good games here. We went on about a week or two period where I thought we played some unmotivated basketball, but after the loss to Perkins, we kind of rallied the troops and got together and discussed some things. Since then, we lost to Norwalk, but we have played some really good basketball since that Perkins game,” he said. Ontario (15-5), #5 in the final Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has won it last six games, including a (72-29) win over Galion in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday. Rich says the Warriors don’t take plays off and play outstanding defense. “They are pretty good, not doubt about it, they are pretty dang good. They play extremely hard, that’s the first that pops out to me on film. It is a typical coach (Joe) Balogh team in that they get after it, especially on the defensive end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They are up in the passing lanes and make it hard for you to get into your offense. Offensively, they have multiple weapons, but Griffin Shaver, he is the real deal. He is pretty good. You have to be on the top of your game if you are going to hold him under his average. So, we definitely have our hands full I think, but I like the way we play, we are pretty physical, pretty tough, so I expect a good game.” Published 2/23/21 © Swankonsports.com Get all of the tournament scores right here At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Opens With Galion Bellevue, the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division champion, is at home to entertain Galion, of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, is a sectional semifinal game in division II on Wednesday night. They beat conference rival Sandusky (57-52) in a division game last Thursday. They have won their last six and 11 of their last 12. Coach Kory Santoro says they are in the grove. “I think after our last quarantine we got to string a bunch of games together and I think we are seeing the results of having some consistency,” said Santoro. In this year of COVID, the Northwest District has changed its policy of neutral sites and the higher seeded team will host sectional games. Santoro says that is a reward. “Anytime you can get a home game in the tournament it’s great,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I think we are fortunate to be guaranteed one home game and if we do our part a second one.” Bellevue (16-3), #2 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is at home for Galion (3-18) on Wednesday. The Lady Red beat Galion (89-18) in a first round game last year. Santoro says Galion will do sone different things. “Obviously, we know their record. We have film on them. It is an opponent we played last year with a lot of the same players back. They play some zone. I think they mix up their style of play depending on who they are playing,” said Santoro. Published 2/16/21 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Takes on First Place Tiffin Bellevue, back off quarantine again, plays at home against Tiffin Columbian, the co-leader in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, in a division game on Thursday night. They emerged from a second quarantine this year to beat Edison (62-40) in a crossover game on Monday night. Coach Ed Rich says they did a solid job with very little real preparation. “It was a good win, definitely a good win, actually we have rattled off two in a row. We started off 0-7 and have won our last two. We came off quarantine on Saturday, practiced Saturday and Sunday and put together a pretty good performance on Monday on short notice,” he said. Rich says the defense they played was the key to beating Edison. “I thought best part was we held them to nine points the first half. They only had one point in the second quarter, so defensively we played well. We also shot the ball well. We are shooting about 34 percent from three as a team and we continued to shoot it well. On Monday, I think we were right around that 35, 36 percent, so we shot it well and defended well,” said Rich. Bellevue (2-7,1-4) hosts Tiffin Columbian (12-2,6-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Thursday night. The Tornadoes had three wins last week including a huge (58-57) win over Norwalk last Friday. Columbian beat Bellevue (73-61) on December 23. Rich says they must play ever better defense than they did on Monday night if they expect to be competitive. “They are very good. They really have four legit scoring options, so you kind of have to pick your poison on who you really want to focus on. Obviously, Logan Beaston is everybody’s main focus and he is going to be our focus too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “He is only a sophomore, but he is easily one of the top three players in the league. So, we have to stop penetration and close on shooters and handle their pressure. If we can do all three of those we give ourselves a chance.” Published 1/28/21 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Finds a Way Bellevue earned its first win of the season on Tuesday night and now they likely play their toughest game of the season so far on Saturday at Shelby against the once beat Whippets in non-conference play. On Tuesday night, the Redmen downed Perkins (53-36) in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Coach Ed Rich says it was great to finally clear that final hurdle in a game. “We were really reeling for one of those there. We have been playing pretty well and we let a couple slip away,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We lost one with a tip in at the buzzer. We played well against Sandusky and Norwalk. We were winless going in there. We started off a little sluggish, but pulled ahead late in the game and found a way to win.” It can be more mental sometimes than physical, but Rich says this time they found a way to win. “I hate to keep using the term that we find ways to lose, but if feels like that. It feels like we have been in so many and we didn’t personally find a way to lose, but there was just a way that we lost. It was nice to go in there and find a way to get the lead and keep that lead and come out with a “W,” said Rich. Bellevue (1-7) plays at Shelby (9-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Saturday night. Rich says the Whippets offer a lot of challenges. “They have a nice squad. They are probably one of the best teams on our schedule, if not the best team. We have to find away to handle their pressure. They are extremely long. They can shoot it well and get to the rack well, so we have to be disciplined on both ends of the floor,” said Rich. Published 1/14/21 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Must Make Shots Bellevue is still looking for that elusive first win as we are into the calendar year of 2021. They will have two more chances this week with games at home Thursday with Upper Sandusky in non-league play and Saturday with Sandusky in action in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They lost (51-36) to division co-leader Norwalk on Saturday night and coach Ed Rich says they did some good things they just couldn’t make any shots. “We actually played an okay game on Saturday against Norwalk. We had some really good looks at the basket. We just didn’t hit shots. Their defense is solid to say the least. When we get good looks at the perimeter, we have to put it in. I think we cut it to five or six late in the third quarter and some things just didn’t go our way, a couple of turnovers, a couple of missed shots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Then we have to go into a chaos press and try and pick up some points and we give them a bunch of extra points. So, we are still looking, but our kids, and I tell them every day I apricate it, and they are playing hard and they are doing everything we ask. It is really tough to be mad at them because they are getting after it every night.” Bellevue (0-5) plays at home against Upper Sandusky (6-4) on Thursday night. The Rams lost (79-63) to Willard on Monday night. Rich says the Rams are a little different this year. “Defensively they are the same with a matchup zone style and pressure in the full, but they have two 6’5”, 6’6” kids both averaging 16, 17 a game, so they are a little different from that aspect. They can still shoot the three, they have guys that can knock it down from all over, so they are similar there, but the points are coming in the paint for the most part,” he said. With no wins yet, Rich says they really want to get that monkey off their back. “I think our kids are feeling a little pressure to get wins and obviously as a coaching staff we are feeling pressure to get wins because we just want to get that win. If we get one it could snowball to two, three, four. I think we have a good enough team to rattle some off, but that first one is really important,” said Rich. Published 1/06/21 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Looking for Good Shots Against Norwalk Bellevue will be after its first win of the season as they travel to Norwalk on Saturday night for a game against the Truckers in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. A game against Perkins set for Wednesday has been postponed because the Pirates are on quarantine. Last week, the Redmen fell to Tiffin Columbian (73-61) and coach Ed Rich says they didn’t handle the press as well as he would have liked. “We went there and it was a tough matchup for us. They have four guys that can really put it in the hoop and you can’t really focus on one of them. We tried to take away the best scoring options and the guy we feel is their fourth option had 19 points and four threes. We did some pretty good things. We really emphasized handling their pressure,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They like to get up and pressure and I think what that did was I don’t want say… scared is not the right word, but it is the only thing that comes to my mind. We were kind of worried so much about the pressure that we made their pressure on us more than we should have.” Bellevue (0-4,0-2) is at Norwalk (3-5,2-0) on Saturday night. Rich says the Truckers may be under .500, but they still have a team that is hard to prepare for. “They are still a good basketball team. Anytime coach Gray has a team it’s not going to matter they are going to be well coached, well prepared. They are a tough matchup for us. There is no doubt they have some big guys. The (Garrett) Chapin kid is extremely versatile and he is going to be a really tough matchup for us. Their size is going to be tough. We are finally going to get a full week practice in, maybe one of out first full weeks of practice all year. So, hopefully we have worked on the things we need to work on and we can go out there and compete with them and pull one off at Norwalk,” he said. Norwalk plays excellent half court defense and Rich says they would like to beat them down the floor. “We are definitely putting the ball in the basket better than we did last year, which is nice. Wouldn’t mind pushing the pace a little bit and try and catch them out of position. They defend well. Norwalk is always known for defending. Their kids get after it. We will get multiple looks on defense. They are going to faceguard your best scorer, we will see some zone, 1-2-2. If we can push it up and out athlete them, I like our chances in that one,” said Rich. Published 12/30/20 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows There will be a special edition of “Out of Bounds” Wednesday night 10 to midnight
	Boards are Big For Bellevue Bellevue is back after another two weeks of quarantine, their second such forced break of the season already, to play at Vermilion in Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Thursday night. Quarantines without practice are tough and coach Ed Rich says this is not a time to feel sorry for themselves. “We are going through what almost everyone else is going through, so we are not feeling sorry for ourselves. We are coming back trying to get in some basketball shape here and trying to put a game pan together and trying to execute that game plan in other day, so we will see how it goes,” he said. Rich says there is only so much you can do when you are not in regular practice working as a team. “When our guys are in quarantine, we are giving them workouts to do and I think they are doing a good job with them, but nothing gets you prepared to play like getting up and down the floor. So, we can give them all of the workouts in the world, but nothing can really simulate the game until you get out on the floor and practice,” said Rich. Bellevue (0-1,0-0) is at Vermilion (2-2,0-1) on Thursday night. The Sailors won their first two and then lost (66-46) to Clyde in a division game last Friday and (50-39) to Elyria in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. Rich says the Sailors have already shown they are a better team than they were last year. “They are much improved. They have played some pretty good basketball. They looked really good their first two games against Oak Harbor and Fremont Ross and now they have had a couple of setbacks against Clyde and Elyria. They are a much different team than they were last year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “The funny thing is they have almost everybody back except their big kid, but they are playing well. They are big, physical, they are going to get after it on the glass. We are going to have our hands full for sure on Thursday.” In order to win this game, Rich feels it is important for them to be able to compete on the glass. “I think the biggest thing is keeping the rebounding battle close. They are big and physical and they get a lot of extra baskets that way. They use their body really well. So, our number one key is to keep the rebounding battle close. One that usually goes for every game, we have to be able to handle the basketball. If we can keep the boards close and take care of the ball, I think we keep the game close and have a chance to win,” says Rich. Published 12/17/20 © Swankonsports.com Keep up on the scores Thursday night On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Opens Lake Division Play With Perkins Bellevue gets started with the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division portion of their schedule on Friday night as they host to Perkins Pirates. Being one of the programs that had to endure a two week quarantine this preseason due to COVID-19 they tipped off the season last week anyway. They opened the season last Saturday night with (60-55) loss in overtime to Margaretta in a cross over game. Coach Ed Rich says they sort of lost their legs in the second half of that game and it showed in their shooting. “It was a tough one. It was actually a really fun game there was high action and we played pretty well for the most part. We shot that ball extremely well early, but I think towards the end of the game conditioning was a major factor, we kind of lost our legs and we weren’t shotting the ball as well. My guys just battled and it was a pretty good first game for us other than the loss,” said Rich. He says they are going to have to get into basketball shape in order to be an improved team. “I’m not making excuses for the loss or anything, but it definitely hurt missing those couple of weeks. Our guys came back in about as best shape as they could, but when you are not on the basketball floor you are not getting that basketball conditioning as much as you could. I think that hurt us late in the game,” he said. Perkins also lost in a cross over game last week when Sandusky St. Mary’s outlasted them (71-63) last Friday. Rich says the Pirates have one of the best players in the Lake Division in Sam Seigel and they are going to need to contain him the best they can. “They are the same Perkins team that they have been for a while. They are going to play some hard nosed defense, they are going to run their stuff, coach (Scott) McVeigh has run his stuff for a while now. They are usually really good at that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I got to see them a little bit against St. Mary’s and we kind of know what we are getting into. They have Sam Seigel, who is one of the best players in the Lake Division, so his is obviously the focal point for us on Friday night to try slow him down.” Published 12/03/20 @ Swankonsports.com You can listen to our listen line 24/7 For the latest high school sports news At www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue With a Good Mix of Talent Bellevue is one the many basketball teams that has been on an unplanned break due top COVID-19, but once they get back on the court they have a chance to be pretty good. Coach Ed Rich says they are on quarantine, but they are still trying to keep the kids as involved as possible while they are away from each other. “We are just going to be coming off, all of my players have been quarantined since last Saturday, so we will just be getting back into the gym here on the 23^rd. So, it has been a big effect on us. We got a little late start because of the football team. They came in an we had them for about a week. Then unfortunately we had a positive test here. We had a ninth through 12^th grade practice on Saturday morning and we all had contact with the positive case. We have been quarantined and we have been pushing stuff out to do at home. We are doing the best we can, but it has had a pretty major impact on us so far,” said Rich. Rich says leadership is going to be especially important this year and his kids have shown that they are willing to take the bull by the horns. “I am going to give my kids credit. I think we have done an excellent job all off season, and through this pandemic, with guys being leaders. We sat down at the end of last year and had our exit meetings in March and we laid it out for our guys what we needed and what we wanted and what we needed to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I think they have done an excellent job of stepping up to the plate and doing things without us having to tell them, getting guys together, obviously during quarantine they can’t get together, but doing a good job of helping each other out and motivating each other. I think we have some good leadership building here.” Last year was not a good year for the Redmen in terms of wins and losses, they only won four games, but Rich says this year they are going to have senior leadership and they their talent is more developed. “We were pretty happy with our first weeks of practice. We are a year older, which helps a lot. The end of the year last year we started two freshmen and now they are sophomores. They look much more comfortable with the game and their bodies have developed. We are happy with the younger guys and we are going to have eight seniors. So, we have some experience. Those first two weeks I felt we looked pretty good. I felt good about where we where those first couple weeks. I look forward to getting back after it on Monday, hopefully we can pick up quickly, and get ready to play on Saturday,” he said. Published 11/20/20 © Swankonsports.com Keep up to the minute on Friday and Saturday night scores Updated every five minutes On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Ready to Get Started Bellevue has won 92 games over the last four girls’ basketball seasons, that’s more than anyone in North Central Ohio, and they expect to feature a good team again this year. They play at home against Edison in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The State of Ohio appears to be ready to announce they are going to let the decision on whether basketball games are played or not in the hands of local officials. However, there will be a curfew of 10 PM established and all games must be done by that time. The curfew does not include travel time. It is unclear what happens to game that is started, but not finished by the curfew. It could be wiped out or it could also be continued at a later date it would seem. Bellevue coach Kory Santoro says he is just glad to be able to play games. “2020 has been a unique year and basketball season is starting this Friday,” he said. Santoro says they got off to a very good start to this preseason, but like everyone else is seems, COVID-19 has built some hurdles that they are going to have to clear. “The first two weeks we had everybody together. It is kind of a new team graduating some seniors and I thought we looked very well in the first couple of scrimmages,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Then we had some kids get quarantined, so right now we are heading into our first game with 13 kids between the JV and varsity roster.” When it comes to Edison, Santoro says they are going to see the Lady Chargers best on Friday night. “We have a few tapes on Edison. They have some athletic guards. It’s everybody’s first game and I think we are going to get Edison’s best. We are excited to play ourselves,” he said. Published 11/18/20 @ Swankonsports.com You can listen to our listen line 24/7 For the latest high school sports news At www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue Hosts Explosive Van Wert Bellevue, unbeaten, and the outright champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, meets Ven Wert, the co-champion of the Western Buckeye League, in a division IV regional semifinal to be played Saturday night in Bellevue. Last week, the Redmen hammered Kenton (56-15) also of the Western Buckeye in a quarterfinal game. Coach Ed Nasonti says they executed the game plan. “Without question we are happy with our kid’s performance. We like to think hat our kids play their best football towards the end of the year. Our kids have practiced well all year and we got in the grove and we played well and we executed the game plan. So, we are really happy with that. We are happy with the outcome and we are also happy we came out of the game healthy,” he said. Bellevue quarterback Keegan Ray has run for 1,167 yards and 15 TD’s and thrown 1,129 and nine more scores. The Redmen lead the Lake Division in total defense allowing 187 yards a game and scoring defense with just under 10 points per contest. Of course, it has been compressed season this year with the playoffs starting week seven. Nasonti believes that has been a plus for them. “I think it was good for us because we were able to keep healthy. I know the last couple of years our kids were playing really good ball at the end of the year, but when you go through our conference, you go through the gauntlet and by the time you reach the playoffs you are all banged up. So, it’s been good for us, it’s been different, but it’s been good. We hit the playoff run, we are healthy. We actually had a bye week to get all of our guys back healthy and we are still playing good football. It has worked out for the best for us,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (8-1) plays their second straight team from the “WBL” in Vert Wert (7-1) on Saturday night. The Cougars beat LaGrange Keystone (38-27) in a semifinal game last Saturday. Van Wert lead the “WBL” in scoring offense during league games this year and was second, to Kenton, in total offense. Cougar quarterback Owen Treece was second in the conference in passing efficiency. Nasonti says the Cougars have a ton of athletes. “They are a lot Kenton. They are going to empty the backfield out. They have an outstanding quarterback and has done a great job for them. They have some good skilled guys and are going to throw the ball all over the park. They have good speed and athleticism on defense. You don’t have the record that they have, playing the schedule that they have, unless you are a quality football team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “At this point in the season we know there isn’t going to be any week sisters, you are going to have to play ball every week. We are putting together a good game plan for these guys. It’s a good opportunity, we are going to be hosting another playoff game. So, I think we are excited as a team, excited as a coaching staff, and our community is excited about it.” Nasonti, the head coach at Bellevue for 30 seasons, believes it is a plus for them to be at home against this week. “I think it has been an advantage. It was an advantage for us against Galion, Galion made the trip up here, Kenton has made the trip up here, Van Wert is going to make the trip up here and hopefully we take care of business and we have another team that can make a rip to Bellevue. Our kids are in a nice routine. They don’t have to get on a bus for a couple of hours and do all of those kinds of things, so if we can keep that going, I think we will all be happy here,” he said. Published 10/27/20 © Swankonsports.com Keep up to the minute on Friday and Saturday night scores Updated every five minutes beginning at kickoff On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Plus, again this week there will be a special Saturday night Edition of “Out of Bounds” between 10 and midnight
	Bellevue Looks for Good one Against Kenton Bellevue matches up with Kenton in a regional quarterfinal in division IV on Saturday night at Bellevue. The Redmen (7-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is one of the best football teams in this area and mostly likely the best second half team. They proved that again last week when they turned a three point halftime lead into a (34-9) second round win over Galion. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says it is the character of this football team to turn in on in the second half. “As the year has gone on, we are finding out we are second half football team. I think our kids settle in. I thought we had a slow start to the game last Saturday, but got it together. We got in the grove. We had the bye week the week before and I thought we came out a little bit lethargic in the first half, but we were able to put it together and we were able to settle in and played Bellevue Redmen football and got in the grove and were able to get that win,” said Nasonti. Bellevue has made the playoffs 20 times over the years, Kenton has been there 12 times, winning two state titles along the way. The Wildcats (4-3) outlasted Ontario (32-20) last week to advance. Nasonti says Kenton is doing what they always do. “Anybody that knows high school football knows that Kenton has a rich football tradition. I think their kids are tough football kids. They have a good football town. I think they are similar to Bellevue. The kids like to play football they are very competitive and we are looking for a good game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They haven’t deviated very far from the kind of football when coach Mauk was there. They are going to no huddle, they are going to empty out the backfield, they are going to throw the ball all over the park. So, you have to be able to stop the passing game if you are going to compete with Kenton.” Bellevue played Kenton 17 years ago in the 2003 playoffs, with the Wildcats winning (46-27) that day. Nasonti says they are still doing the same kind of things and they make you execute to beat them. “I coached against coach Mauk back in 2003. They came to Bellevue and we played a playoff game and it was the same thing. They are going to go for it on fourth down, you are going to get onside kicks, you are going to get it all. So, you are going to have to be ready to go in all facets of your game,” he said. Kenton was one of the first teams to go no huddle and you see a lot more of that today. Nasonti thinks they will be ready for that kind of pace. “They are going to empty it out. They are not going to huddle. They do play a fast pace. Fortunately for us over the years they game has progressed. They were innovative in the early 2000’s doing to the no huddle stuff, but over the years you see a lot more of that kind of pace. I think we are used to it. I don’t think that is going to be anything that surprises us. I think it is going to be a good challenge for us. They are a good football team, but I think we are a good football team too. It’s going to be playoff football at its best. We have to be up for the challenge,” said Nasonti. Published 10/21/20 @ Swankonsports.com You can listen to our listen line 24/7 For the latest high school sports news At www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue Plays Talented Galion in Playoffs Bellevue, outright champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, and the number one seed in region 14, will host Galion in a second round playoff game in division IV on Saturday night. It is the first meeting between the schools, charter members of the Northern Ohio League, since Galion bolted from the league and joining the North Central Conference in 2010. Ed Nasonti has been the Bellevue head coach for 30 seasons and he has never experienced a bye week during the season like his team did last week. “We feel we got through it pretty good. We put a lot of thought into it and talked to several different people that have some experience with the bye situation, I’m talking about some college coaches, and we got some ideas, and we thought we came up wit a pretty good plan. We thought we executed it and got what we wanted out of the week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We got some competition throughout the week. We were able to hone in on some things that we thought we needed to work on. We were able to get some of our kids that were hurt got them back healthy. We got what we wanted out of week. In all my years I have never gone through a bye week like that.” Bellevue (6-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, has the top defense in the “SBC” Lake this season, but Galion has an explosive offense, especially when they have all of their players on the field. Hanif Donaldson was the leading receiver in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference this season. Nasonti scouted the Tigers (4-3) in person last week in their (55-7) win over Lutheran West and we impressed with what he saw. “Well, Galion has an outstanding football team. When you watch them play and you see how explosive some of their guys are. Their quarterback does an outstanding job. Their wide receiver is very explosive. They move him around and get him the ball a lot of different ways. They are a pretty solid ballclub. We are expecting a good ballgame,” said Nasonti. Galion also has an elusive double threat quarterback in Wilson Frankhouse. Nasonti says they are going to have to contain him. “Ask anybody when you are trying to defend an offense and they have a quarterback that can do those kinds of things it gives you headaches. This week defending Frankhouse will be no exception. You are going to have to do a good job containing them, he can run it, he can throw it, he does a good job running their offense and what they want to get done,” he said. Published 10/14/20 @ Swankonsports.com You can listen to our listen line 24/7 For the latest high school sports news At www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue With Chance at Outright Title Bellevue needs a win over arch rival Clyde on Friday night to secure an outright title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. By the way, thank God for the “SBC” this year, who will play all of its division games before the non-postseason playoffs. Last week, Keegan Ray threw four touchdown passes and Bellevue (5-0,4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, smothered Sandusky (38-7) in Lake Division play. Coach Ed Nasonti says they are playing keep away from the other team and that’s working. “Whatever formula that gets me a win that’s what I’m for. I know the last couple of games we have been right there around 34 minutes as far as time of possession. On the defensive side, our defense has been out there very little. So, the kids have been playing well. I think we are playing good football. We are fairly healthy. So, we hope we can keep going in that direction,” he said. Bellevue leads the Lake Division in total defense this season, allowing just under 170 yards per game. However, part of that success is due to the offense keeping the Redmen defense off the field, according to Nasonti. “You talk to a lot of football coaches and they will tell you that the best defense is our offense. If we can keep our offense on the field and grind it out, not turn the ball over and keep our defense in a favorable spot, that’s what we’d like to do. I know the last three game that is kind of what we have done,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Teams have had very few snaps in the second half starting probably with the Perkins game and into the Tiffin game and then the Sandusky game. We are really happy with the way the kids are practicing. We are happy with way the kids are playing. We are setting at 5-0 right now and that’s a good place to be.” The Bellevue defense is pretty darn good too, they allow only 3.1 yards per rush and less than 10 yards per pass completion. Their giveaway/takeaway ratio as a team is plus three for the season. Ray also leads the division in rushing yards with 726 and TD’s with 10. Clyde (3-2,2-2) lost (30-14) to Norwalk last Friday in a division game. However, it was a (16-14) game in the fourth quarter. Fliers quarterback Jaden Cook leads the division in passing yards with 977. Nasonti knows this game is going to be a battle. “You have got to understand you are playing the defending state champs. You have to have a program that has pride in it. Those kids are going to come to play every Friday night. I know they are going to come to play us when you are looking at a school that is five miles down the road. It’s a natural rivalry. I think we have all enjoyed this rivalry over the years and it’s going to be a good ballgame,” said Nasonti. Published 9/30/20 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	A Win Gives Bellevue a Share of Lake Division Title Again, the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference is one of the toughest in Northern Ohio and Friday night the Bellevue Redmen have the opportunity to earn no less than a share of the division title. They need a win at Sandusky to do it. If they get it, a win next week over the rival Clyde Fliers would give the Redmen an outright title. Bellevue (4-0,3-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, dominated the time of possession in the second half last week and handed Tiffin Columbian its first loss in the division (20-13) to take the lead to themselves. Their last title came in the Northern Ohio League in 2015. Veteran head coach Ed Nasonti says their solid play this season has been the result of their practice habits. “When you are dealing with high school kids it is tough to get that consistency, but we have been really proud of our kids basically because we have practiced really well. It has been my experience over the years that when you have a group of kids that practice well more times than not you are going to play well on Friday night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Those are the things that we are emphasizing that each day you get on the practice field you have to focus on getting better. They do a good job in the weight room and our kids are doing a good job with film study. So, they have been a good group to work with so far and hopefully we can keep it up.” Sandusky (0-4,0-3) played their best game of the season so far last week, in falling to Clyde (34-27) as the Fliers scored with about a minute to play to get the win. Nasonti says the Blue Streaks still have some players capable of making big plays and they can’t allow them to get to the perimeter of the field. “When you go up against Sandusky, they always have some guys that have great speed, they have some strong guys that are physical and you are going to have to do a good job of defending the perimeter. It’s tough to come up with a running back like Terrion Stewart that could carry the mail like he did for the last four years, but they still have some kids that are pretty good,” said Nasonti. Ed has been part of 11 conference titles over his 30 years as coach of the Redmen. He says they know what is in front of them on Friday night. “We have an opportunity to be conference champion, we have an opportunity to keep our record unblemished and have a chance to get a good seed going into the tournament. So, obviously, there is motivation for us to get it done Friday night,” he said. Published 9/25/20 @ Swankonsports.com Check our scoreboard for updates Every five minutes starting at kickoff at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue and Tiffin Square off in the Lake Division Bellevue and Tiffin Columbian are tied for the lead in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference and they face each other Friday night in Bellevue with first place on the line. It’s a matchup that smells a lot like 1990’s or early 2000’s in the old Northern Ohio League. After trailing early, the Redmen (3-0,2-0) rallied to down Sandusky Perkins (28-14) in a division game last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says they have been a good second half team all year. “I think it’s a team that warms up a little bit and tries to find their lane we are in and get on track. That being said, I think we have played very well in the second half of all three of our games this year on both sides of the ball,” he said. Last week, Bellevue quarterback Keegan Ray carried the ball 44 times for 302 yards on the night. Nasonti says they have the personnel to do a lot of different things and last week that is what Perkins was giving them. “It is our goal to be diverse. When we practice during the week we are 50/50 pass and run. We basically do what the defense lends itself to. It just happened to be the way they are playing things it kind of suited us to run the quarterback and get that going,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I thought our offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage. So, we just decided to take advantage of that. We were moving the chains and we were taking time off the clock and I think we were wearing them down. All three of those things are good for us.” Columbian (3-0,2-0) got a fourth quarter TD pass from Logan Beaston to Maddox Simcoe to rally past Clyde (19-16) in a division game. Nasonti says the Tornadoes have some big play guys in offense and on defense they are going to bring the blitz from a lot of places, so they have to be ready for that. “They are always very quick on offense. They are a blitzing team this year more than I think we have seen in the past. They are going to get linebackers involved. They like to blitz, they gamble a little bit in their secondary. They have good size, good quickness, they have some guys that can really run. You are going to have to do a good job on special teams coverage with the punts and the kickoffs. They are a good football team as are all of the teams in our conference. Every Friday night you better come ready to play,” said Nasonti. Published 9/17/20 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Takes on Dangerous Perkins Bellevue entertains Sandusky Perkins in a game in the tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday night. The Redmen are off to a (2-0) start after winning their division opener at Norwalk (20-6) last Friday night. Their defense has only given up one touchdown this season and the Redmen offense has a couple key scores, including one late in the game to beat Oak Harbor (14-7) on week one. Coach Ed Nasonti says they play with a lot of heart. “I am really happy with the kids they are coming along. We still have seven underclassmen on the defensive side of the ball, but our kids are playing hard, they are absorbing the game plan. They with a lot of heart. You can tell it means something to them,” he said. Bellevue has looked very good so far, but Nasonti says that doesn’t mean they can get better, in fact, that’s what they have to do. “I think it’s important in any program that you continually improve every time you get on the field. We can improve on special teams, we can improve our defensive side of the ball, we can improve on the offensive side of the ball. You can never be satisfied. When I look at our offense, I think we have some nice weapons here. We are a little shy of where we would like to be going into the third week of the season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I felt last week we played a pretty good overall game, but we left a couple of touchdowns out on the table. We stalled on a drive, like a fourth and short, and we were on the five yard line and did knock one in down there. We talked to our kids about it and I know our kids are focused. We are focused on improving.” Perkins (1-1,0-1) lost last week (41-20) to the Clyde Fliers in a Lake Division game. They are now coached by former Bellevue star Jalen Santoro, who played for Nasonti. The Bellevue coach says Perkins has some big play makers on the offensive side of the field. “Well, they are a typical Perkins Pirates team. They have a lot of speed and they have some dangerous weapons. You take a look at what they have done over the first two games and they have scored over 60 points and they put 21 on the defending state champs last week. So, they have to feel pretty good about what they are doing offensively,” said Nasonti. Published 9/08/20 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Must Contain Norwalk Pass Game In one of the best matchups on week two of this shortened high school football season, the Bellevue Redmen make the short trip down the road to Norwalk to face the Truckers in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday night. Bellevue got a touchdown pass from Keegan Ray to Nate Davis with 3:23 left in the game to beat Oak Harbor (14-7) in crossover game last Friday. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was a good way to open the season. “I think anytime you can come away with a win on week one it’s a good feeling for everybody. It gives you good momentum going into the next week. One thing that we found out about our kids is they can grind it out when their backs are against the wall. So, we went in there on the road with the weather conditions and field conditions and so on and our kids stayed the course and we were able to come away with the win,” he said. Norwalk held (7-0) lead after the third quarter, but Huron scored three times in the final quarter to beat the Truckers (21-7) in their “SBC” crossover. Nasonti says the know the Truckers are a fine football team. “We watched that Huron and Norwalk game and it was a pretty evenly matched game. We thought Huron found some things that they could execute and worked well for them in the fourth quarter and were able to pull away, but without question Norwalk has the ability to be a good football team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “One game of the season doesn’t make a season win or lose. They have one of the better quarterbacks in the conference and in the area. I think if they get him going, they are going to be a dangerous team.” One key in the game Nasonti says is they must contain Norwalk quarterback Garrett Chapin, something they didn’t do last season. “Last year he passed us off the field and we challenged our secondary this week and our defense overall and understand they are going up against a team that has some weapons. The Phillips kid at wide out, they like to get him the ball. They always have some good size with the linemen on both sides of the ball. We are going in there and they are dedicating their new turf field (Friday) night, so it should be a lot of fun,” Nasonti said. There will be some celebration on Friday night as Norwalk dedicates the new turf field and other renovations at Whitney Field. Nasonti says their goal is to come in and play fundamental football and not worry about anything else. “Well, the one thing that I have learned, this is the 40 th year for me overall as a coach, 30 as the head coach, the one thing that I have learned over the years is that all of the hype doesn’t mean anything and for me it is all about blocking and tackling, being disciplined and having the mental toughness. Those are the kind of things that we stress with our kids though the week and hopefully regardless what happens with the hype our kids can focus on the fundamentals,” said Nasonti. Published 9/04/20 © Swankonsports.com Keep up to the minute on Friday night scores On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Embracing Changes In another crossover game in the Sandusky Bay Conference, the Bellevue Redmen begin the campaign on Friday night at Oak Harbor against the Rockets. In an era when it might be easy to become unfocused, veteran head coach Ed Nasonti says his Redmen have been very on task, every day in practice. “Especially with the period we are dealing with right now. We started June 1 and we really have kids that have kept their nose to the grindstone. They came out of those three months when they were basically locked down, I think the kids appreciate it. I know as a coaching staff we have enjoyed our kids because they come to practice every day and they have done everything we have asked them to do. It has actually been fun for us,” said Nasonti. Now, Bellevue has always been a team that gets better as the season goes on. This year the season is shorter, only a six week regular season before the playoffs start. However, Nasonti says that might be a good thing for them this fall. “Considering that our league is very tough and you go through the gauntlet, I think it might help us out a little bit because last year we got beat up towards the end of the season. We thought we were playing our best ball, but we didn’t have all of best players with us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, we think this might be a good thing for us. The other thing is the kids know you have a limited amount of time. I think for the most part we have their attention and we have all hands on deck right now.” Oak Harbor advanced to the division V state semis last year and Nasonti says they return some kids from that team and he knows they are going to have to play well to win on Friday. “They are a good football program. They have been solid year in and year out. They have a number of kids back off of the last year’s team. The kids that maybe weren’t a starter for them got a lot of practice as they went four weeks deep into the playoffs. So, that is a whole month of football they can play. So, they will be a good football team,” he said. Published 8/26/20 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Wants to Keep Getting Better Bellevue is coming off a year where they made the playoffs again and as always the Redmen are going to be a factor in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They begin with a crossover game with Oak Harbor next Friday an then it’s into the very rugged Lake Division. Governor Mike DeWine gave the go ahead for contact sports on Tuesday along with some guidelines to be followed to ensure safety in the era of COVID-19. Longtime Redmen coach Ed Nasonti says he has been in football a half a century and there has never been a time like this. “I would say that is an understatement. In all my years playing and coaching, you are talking about 50 years, I have never seen anything like it. It has been a challenge to say the least for everybody involved, players, coaches, administration, all of the above,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says when he got his players this summer they had a little extra in the tank and were ready to get started playing football again. “I do like what I have seen. I think after the kids were home for three months when they came back this summer they had a lot of energy. I think they were excited to get back. I think for most of them it was just a new appreciation for sports in general,” he said. It’s a six week regular season with everyone in the playoffs on week seven. Nasonti’s teams have always been very good in the second of the 10 week regular season, but he says this year you have to have a little different approach. “Looking at how the season is set up. Ideally you would just like to keep improving every week because everyone makes the playoffs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “You want to be healthy and playing your best ball when you get to week seven. It would be nice to garnish a conference championship along the way.” Published 8/19/20 © Swankonsports.com Click the listen line to hear our live shows “Out of Bounds” 10 to midnight on Friday “Sports Saturday” 10 AM to 1 PM on Saturday
	Bellevue Meets Perkins in Districts Bellevue has won five of last six division II district titles and they will try to add another this week at Ashland High School. They play Sandusky Perkins, a fellow member of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, in a semifinal game on Thursday night. The winner will play either Shelby or Willard for the district title on Saturday. With Casey Santoro (25.3 PPG) back in the lineup last week after a two game suspension, the Lady Red dominated Galion (89-18) and Vermilion (74-37) in sectional games. Coach Kory Santoro says it was a good choice to not take the bye made available to them as the top seed. “We had a nine day layoff a couple of weeks ago and if we had taken the bye we would have had an eight day layoff and we just felt that would have been too long for us. So, it was nice to keep the girls in rhythm and I liked they awe played the last two games,” he said. Bellevue (23-1) and Perkins (19-4) play for the third time on Thursday night. Bellevue, the Lake Division champion, beat second place Perkins twice during the regular season, winning (67-52) on November 29 and (70-57) on January 11. Santoro says Perkins has a nice team. “They are coached real well. They play hard and have a nice player in Olivia Howard and some nice pieces around her. They are very familiar with us and we are very familiar with them. I think its going to be a good ballgame,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday. Santoro says both squads will lay it on the line. “They don’t want to go home and we don’t want to go home. We have goals and they have goals. Both teams are going to bring their best,” he said. Published 2/26/20 © Swankonsports.com Follow the tournament On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Faces League Foe Perkins Bellevue and Sandusky Perkins, both members of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, face off in a Division II sectional semifinal Tuesday night at Genoa High School. Wins have been tough to come by for the Redmen. They have won only once since before Christmas. However, coach Ed Rich believes his team is doing a lot of good things. “The biggest thing we see week by week is improvement. We have played some pretty good games these last couple of weeks and played some really good teams in Norwalk and South Central and Sandusky. Two of the three we gave ourselves a really good chance to win late in the game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Last week, we played Sandusky and we played them pretty tough. The goal we to keep them in the 50’s and they scored 64, but unfortunately we just couldn’t put the ball in the basket when we needed to, but I thought we played a pretty solid game against them.” Bellevue (4-18) has lost twice to Perkins this year, (47-30) on December 6 and (49-44) on January 14. Rich says Perkins is a lot like them with one notable difference. “They are very similar. They are defensive minded and they are very patient on offense. The difference maker for them though is Sam Siegal. He can go off for 15 to 25 points at any given time. He is obviously our main focus (Tuesday) night,” he said. Siegel (17 PPG) was second team all district. Rich says they are going to do all they can to keep the ball out his hands. “I am not a big junk defense kind of guy, but he is definitely going to get a bunch of different looks form us. We are going to do anything we can to keep it out of his hands. Once he gets rid of it, we are going to do our best that is doesn’t get back to him,” he said. Published 2/25/20 © Swankonsports.com Follow the tournament On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	A Lid on the Basket for Bellevue For the Bellevue Redmen the shooting blues are something that have been a plague all season. Last weekend was nothing different as they lost (67-39) to Tiffin Columbian in a Bay Division game on Thursday and (69-38) to Willard in a cross over game on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says their execution has improved, but they just struggle getting the ball in the basket. “Even when we do get a win, we picked up a win against Vermilion here a couple of weeks ago, I think the final score was 44-43. The thing is we are shooting the ball better. Our three point percentage has actually gone up. As a team I think we got over 30 percent last week for the year. The bad thing is our two point percentage has gone down. We are in the low 40’s on the twos. We are getting some good looks,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Last weekend, we took a couple on the chin. Willard, especially, we got some good looks. The ball just wouldn’t fall. We just couldn’t get a basket to go for us. When you are a team that is struggling and the ball won’t go in the basket it affects a lot of your other game. Our missed shots become trying to force the ball somewhere else and that turns to turnovers and things kind of blow up from there.” Bellevue led Willard (9-4) after the first quarter last Saturday, but they went scoreless in the second quarter. Rich says when you don’t make shots then you start to press. “We had an excellent defensive quarter. When you hold Willard to four points in a quarter, that is always a win. We executed our game plan pretty well defensively. Even in the second, third and fourth we played some excellent defense, but it goes back to those shots. I don’t know what our percentage was in the second quarter, obviously, we didn’t score any points, so we didn’t make any shots, but we had opportunities. The bad thing is you miss those shots and their pressure becomes tighter. They have a 1-3-1 trap that everyone knows they are playing. Basically, we spent all of our time on that for two days trying to get looks out of that 1-3-1 trap in practice so were ready for it. We just couldn’t hit shots. With struggling teams, you start missing shots and it becomes a head game at that point,” said Rich. Bellevue (4-13,2-7) plays at rival Clyde (8-6,4-2) on Friday night in a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game. Clyde beat Edison (50-43) on Thursday and Genoa (52-43) on Saturday. Clyde won the first matchup (53-37) on January 2 and Rich says this is a chance to prove they are getting better. “They have been playing pretty well. They lost one of their better players, I think he is one their top two guys, he is a guard, he went out with a foot injury, so they took a step back there. I think since he has been out, they have figured it out and who is handling the ball and who is making the decisions he was. They are a dangerous team. They are big, strong, they are physical, athletic. It is our second time around with them so. I keep telling my kids that was have improved. The wins and losses don’t show it, but we have improved and hopefully that is one of the things going to Clyde Friday and prove that we have improved. Win or not, I want to see improvement in the game and that is what we are going in for,” said Rich. Published 2/04/20 © Swankonsports.com Your first Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Business as Usual for Bellevue Unbeaten Bellevue is on the cusp of great things again this season and that is something their fans have come to expect. They hold a two-game lead with five games left in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference and have already beaten their closest pursuer Sandusky Perkins twice. Bellevue (14-0,7-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is at home against Vermilion on Thursday and at Tiffin Columbian on Saturday in league games. They laid both to waste the first time they played them, beating Vermilion (77-27) on December 14 and Tiffin Columbian (100-29) on December 20. The scary thing is, coach Kory Santoro believes there is room for growth with the team. “To be honest I still think there is still room for improvement yet. We still have girls that are learning and getting better every day in practice. We are seeing it on the practice floor. We are seeing glimpses of it during the game. I still think this team has room for improvement yet,” he said. Their closest games this year have been in beating Willard (52-45) on December 3 and Margaretta (57-54) on December 17 in cross over games with the Bay Division. Santoro says they know they have a bull’s eye on their chest. “We have won nine straight league championships. We are two games ahead with a few games to play to get our tenth. The girls know every year coming in that you are going to get everybody’s best shot,” he told Swankonports.com on Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter who you are playing. We try to tell them every game is a championship game and we have to ready to play.” They have done a lot of winning at Bellevue, but Santoro says it never gets old. “The girls enjoy it. They get caught up into it. It is the kind of thing where every freshman class comes in and they think they are expected to win. I guess that is kind of a good thing,” he said. Bellevue has its program filmily in place and Santoro says when they get to the high school level, they are ready to play. “I think we do a pretty good job of trying to include our youth program with our program and make them feel part of it. We have a good youth program, good youth coaches and good middle school coaches. We really like what they are doing on the lower levels. There is a lot of continuity with the whole program,” he said. Published 1/22/20 © Swankonsports.com Your first Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Facing Two Tough Ones Bellevue carries a seven game losing streak into a couple of non-conference games over the weekend at Ontario on Friday and at Upper Sandusky on Saturday. The Redmen lost (49-44) in an “SBC” Lake Division game to Perkins on Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says his kids are giving it all they can, they just need to find some confidence. “We had a tough one on Tuesday already this week with Perkins. We played well, but we hurt ourselves with some errors and their pressure got to us a little bit late. We do need something positive to happen here. Our kids are really battling, I can’t fault them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday. “We come back the next day after a loss and get after it. They want to be coached. They want to get better. We just aren’t getting rewarded in the win, loss column right now. A win could solve a lot of things right now.” Bellevue (3-8) is at Ontario (8-3) on Friday night in non-league play. The Warriors beat Highland (62-42) on Tuesday night. They stand in second in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference. Rich says the Warriors are excellent defenders and perimeter shooters. “Defensively they are really good. That is kind of what I have in my scouter. They play good team defense. Good on ball pressure, very good help side and great rotations. Then you throw in their three point shooting. They can fill it up from all over. They are shooting as a team close to 40 percent on the year. I think Griffin Shaver is shooting over 50 percent from three, which this late in the year is kind of unheard of,” said Rich. Upper Sandusky (11-1,) the Northern 10 leader, awaits the Redmen on Saturday night. Rich says they do some of the same things Ontario does, but they are different too. “I don’t want to say they are similar to Ontario, but they do have some similarities. They love the three ball also, but what Upper likes to do is get it up the floor, get it in the paint, have you collapse, then they find shooters and bury it from there. They are somewhat similar, but very different also,” he said. Published 1/17/20 © Swankonsports.com Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Updates every 5 minutes on Friday and Saturday nights
	Bellevue Facing Two good Teams Bellevue appears to be improving, but they have two tough challenges this week in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They host Clyde on Thursday night and play at Norwalk on Saturday night in division games. They lost last week to Tiffin Columbian (61-56) in a division game on Friday night and Margaretta (66-56) in a cross over game on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says they are starting to figure some things out when they have the ball in their hands. “We are shooting the ball with more confidence, running our offense a lot better. We are doing some pretty good things offensively. We are still missing some shots that we really need. We are playing with a lot more confidence offensively and it is nice to see,” he said. Bellevue (3-4,1-2) plays at home against Clyde (1-2,0-0) on Thursday night. Clyde beat Ashland (76-57) on Saturday and lost to Shelby (67-49) on Monday. They were late getting their season started due to the state championship they won in football the first weekend of December. Rich says they will have some athletes and they run some stuff pretty well. “They have got some nice athletes and they are nice athletes that can play basketball and that’s a big plus. They like to spread you out. They like to go to the dribble drive and cram the ball down your throat with penetration and kick out with threes. They have two big men that can really score in the paint too. So, they are a pretty tough matchup overall. You have to defend the paint, defend the three and you have to defend dribble drive. So, they have a nice squad,” said Rich. Norwalk (4-2,2-0,) the current co-leader, with Sandusky, in the division, is pretty good again this year. Rich says they have a very good player in Garrett Chapin and they are a team that is going to be very disciplined. “That is the funny thing, a lot of people thought Norwalk would be down because Haraway is out, but they have plenty back. They have Garrett Chapin, he is probably one of the better players in the league, top three for sure. He can beat you on the inside. He can also take you outside and beat you with the jumper and some three pointers,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have a solid team. They are solid, they are a typical Norwalk squad. Very disciplined, disciplined offensively, disciplined defensively. They run their stuff to perfection like normal.” Published 1/01/20 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Focusing on Defense Bellevue will be a basketball team that relies on its defense this season and so far it has won them two games, including Saturday night. The downed Edison (44-43) on Saturday night. They play host to Vermilion in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Thursday night and Huron in another cross over game on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says they know they are going to have to play defense for 32 minutes if they are going to win. “That has kind of been our thing since the season started we have to defend. I have talked before about scoring and we are getting a little better at it. We are not going to light up the scoreboard on a regular basis. Our goal is the keep teams below 50. If we do that, we expect to have a good chance to win that way,” he said.’ Neither team has reached 50 points in any three of Bellevue’s games this season. Rich says in most situations they want to slow the pace of the game down at least a little bit. “We control the tempo. Against Edison what we did in the second half was we pushed a little bit more than we did in the first half. We actually wanted to speed it up a little bit. They were getting back in their 2-3 zone and we couldn’t find the gaps. So, what I wanted to do in the second half we really push the ball up and catch them out of position. Realistically, no, we don’t want to get into an up and down game,” he told Swannkonsports.com on Monday, “Our offense is based on a lot of different things, but we have a number of sets to keep the pace the way we want it. So, far it has worked out. We will see how it goes when we play an offensive juggernaut. A team that wants to get up and down, it could be interesting.” Bellevue (2-1,0-1) plays at home Thursday night against Vermilion (0-3,0-1) in a Lake Division game. The Sailors, new to this division this year, have hardly anybody returning for a district final team from last year. However, Rich says they are going to play the same kind of way. “They are going to try and play the same way. They are going to spread you out on offense. This year they are going to be more post oriented. They have a nice post player in the (Zach) Kovach kid. He is averaging 12 points and 12 boards, close to it. So, they really try and work it into the post. They go with a four around one look and let him go to work in there. Defensively they are going to be the same they are going to get up in you in the full court. On the defensive glass they are going to catch and go. So, they are going to try and do the same things, but they are going to try and hit the post more than they have in the past,” said Rich. Published 12/17/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Working on Shooting Bellevue plays at Edison in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Saturday night. They hope they can make more shots. The Redmen lost (47-30) to Perkins in a Lake Division game last week. Coach Ed Rich says shooting has been their emphasis this week in practice. “We had some practice on Saturday. We spent the entire practice getting shots up, with shooting drills, getting open, things like that. The practices this week have been really, really offensively based. We are trying to get these guys some confidence with the ball, get them comfortable with their shots, and comfortable with our offense. We are hoping we can get our points per game up a little here these next few games to see where we can go from there,” he said. Rich says his kids can shoot, but it is a confidence issue with them. “I think that is our biggest problem right now is the lack of confidence in our scoring. We have some guys that have a good looking shot and have been stroking it in practice. We get out on the floor and they are still a little timid with it. So, I think the more reps we get the better, but also it is getting that game experience. That comes in big. A lot of these guys don’t have that varsity experience and they are a little timid there. We are thinking as the season goes on we will get comfortable putting our shots in when we get good looks,” he said Bellevue (1-1) plays at Edison (2-0) on Saturday night. The Chargers are coming off an (87-60) win over Danbury Lakeside last Saturday. Rich says the Chargers have some depth. “The thing I get from them is it is really hard to look at their stats and get on honest read on the team. They go to Danbury and coach (Keith) Diebler is there and they are playing that press style where they are going to run and gun and it is going to be up and down. I think they scored over 80 points against Danbury in that game. Then I look at them against New London and it was more of a normal game, no run and gun type stuff and they put up about 55 points. What I see with them in they rely on turnovers. They turn teams over 26 times a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They have a lot of guys that can come in and aren’t afraid to shoot it, aren’t afraid to handle it, and aren’t afraid to get up in you. Our scouter is actually pretty big on them. Usually we have the top seven, eight guys we put in our scouter. Heck, I have almost their entire roster right now in my scouter, so we have a lot of guys we have to pay attention to.” Published 12/12/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Hosts Willard in Big Girls Game It’s a game between two of the better girls’ basketball teams in North Central Ohio on Tuesday night with a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference as Bellevue hosts Willard. Both have won their first two games of the season. For Bellevue it has been in much the same fashion as they have gotten off to slower starts, but really played well in the second half, especially the fourth quarter in rallying to beat Perrysburg (58-52) in a non-conference game and Sandusky Perkins (67-52) in a “SBC” Lake Division game last Friday. Coach Kory Santoro says the way they play tends to wear other teams down as the game goes on. “We are a smaller team this year. We don’t have a whole lot of size,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “It took us a while in the way we play, up tempo, I just think it took us a while to ware teams down. We have had a couple of big fourth quarters the last two games.” Willard has beaten Buckeye Central (51-33) and Upper Sandusky (71-31) in its first two games of the season. Santoro says they are going to enjoy a height advantage and would rather it be a half court kind of game. “Willard, they are very big. They have tall post players. I don’t think they play and up tempo game like we do. They are more of a half court offense. We have to box out and hit the boards hard,” he said. Rebounding is going to be key because that is the team that is going to control the tempo of the game. “That is an issue we have had. We have some players back from last year, but we also have a lot of new players that need court time to get where they need to be,” he said. Published 12/03/19 © Swankonsports.com Check out our scoreboard at www.Swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Opens With Port Clinton Bellevue tips off the boys’ basketball regular season by hosting Port Clinton in a non-conference, or cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Monday night. Coach Ed Rich believes they have things in order. “I think we are prepared, especially for what they are going to throw at us. With what they run on offense and defense I think our guys have a really good idea what they are going to do and if we can execute on our end, I think it could be a good game,” he said. Port Clinton (0-2) lost twice last week to Woodmore (41-40) in overtime and Fostoria (55-49) in its first two games. Rich says they expect some different things from the Redskins this year than in the past. “I really think they are a much improved team from last year. I know they are 0-2, but they have lost two really close games in overtime to Woodmore and they lost to Fostoria at Fostoria the other night, they were actually up almost that entire game. They are going to play man to man defense, which you haven’t seen out of Port Clinton in the last four or five years. They have always been a 2-3, 1-2-2 zone,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “They are going to run a lot of sets and try to ball screen you to death and hope you make a mistake. They really like to shoot the three ball, so we have to defend screen and roll and make sure we have hands up on shooters.” When it comes to defending Port Clinton, Rich says they have a good plan, but they have to communicate those screens. “We think we have a good plan on defense to hurt them with their ball screen action and their shooters, but if we don’t communicate what we are doing with one another they can really take advantage of that,” he said. When they have the ball, Bellevue has been running their offense well, but Rich says they have been rushing their shots and they need to stop that. “The biggest thing right now is I think we are finding the open guy, but we have had trouble finishing. We are a little too quick with the ball. We just want to turn and go and kind of throw it up there instead of squaring up the shoulders and scoring. If we can finish in the paint, I think we can have a lot of success on offense,” said Rich. Published 12/02/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue is Good and Bad Bellevue is still a work in progress, like most boys’ basketball teams, as the season is on the horizon. They start the season December 2 at home against Bellevue in a non-conference game, or cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference if you will. Coach Ed Rich says he has seen some good things in the preseason. “We haven’t been bad. We have had a couple of scrimmages here. We had one (Monday) night and one on Thursday. From what I see so far, I like what I see. Our guys are really getting after it. Really playing some good team basketball. So, right now, I can’t complain, I like some of the things we are doing,” he said. Rich says they have to more consistently make better passes. “It is one of the things that harmed us last year when we lost our point guard. This year I see some of the same things, jut careless passes, lobbing up passes. It drives me crazy. We talk about it all of the time. Putting something on the ball and making a read, don’t just throw it up. It seems like we are still getting in bad habits at times and just kind of throw it up and it gives the defense a chance to make a play on the ball,” said Rich. He adds it doesn’t have to be a great pass. “I catch myself saying it 10 times a day, make the simple play. It is so easy to just make the simple play. The simple play is worth just as many points as the amazing play. If we make the simple play we are much better off,” he said. The Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference has been clearly the best football league in North Central Ohio this year. Rich says it won’t be too bad in basketball. “It is a good basketball league, just like it is a football league. I think there is a little more parity in the Lake Division this year in basketball. Last year, no one could touch Norwalk. They were extremely loaded with obviously the best player in the league with (Brandon) Haraway. He was one of the best players all around,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “This year, there are still some great players, but I think there is a little more parity this year. There could be some games that are going to surprise some people with the scores. So, it should be a grind again.” Published 11/20/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Ready to Get it on With Norwalk A key game in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference features Bellevue hosting the Norwalk Truckers at the Bellevue Athletic Field on Friday night. In their final non-conference game last week, the Redmen thumped Toledo Start (48-8) on their home field. Veteran head coach Ed Nasonti says they needed come back and play well after their only loss of the season. “We challenged our kids last week after the second half in the Clear Fork game. We want our kids to be physical. We want them to show toughness and we didn’t think we showed that in the second half against Clear Fork. So, I thought our kids responded. We did what we had to do. We were paying attention to the details. I thought we ran to the ball well and won both lines of scrimmage. So, it was nice to get that win here going into league play,” he said. Bellevue (4-1,0-0) hosts Norwalk (4-1,0-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night in the opening division game for both. Norwalk overwhelmed Ontario (52-7) last week in a non-league game. Nastoni says the Truckers are good all over the place. “I mean they are a solid football team all of the way around. They have got good skilled guys. They have an outstanding quarterback, outstanding tailback, they have good receivers. They have a division one offensive lineman, you don’t run into that very often. They are the defending regional champs in division three. It is a great opportunity for us to play a team that talented,” said Nasonti. On defense the Truckers have been steadily getting better. Nasonti says they aren’t flashy, just really good. “They don’t do a lot of fancy stuff on defense. They just win the line of scrimmage. They have good linebackers that run well, good secondary. They will play a lot of base defense and they just get after it. Their kids react, they tackle well. They are just a solid team all of the way around,” he said. This is a home game for the Redmen and Nasonti says they have to protect their home turf. “We always talk about that with our kids. We only have four home games. We want people to know when they come into “BAF” that they are going to have a tiger by the tail,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We have been practicing well. Our kids have been playing well. Going into week six the kids have done everything we have asked them to do with the exception of the second half in the Clear Fork game. So, we have a good group of kids. They take coaching, they are working hard. I am looking forward to this opportunity here.” Published 10/02/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Needs to Get Back on Track Bellevue has one more game before starting play in the rugged Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference next week as they host Toledo Start in a non-conference game on Friday night. They suffered their first loss of the season last week as Clear Fork scored 27 straight points to beat them (30-21) last Friday. Coach Ed Nasonti says they lost the momentum and couldn’t get it back. “We thought we played pretty well the first half. We had a 21-3 lead. They weren’t really doing anything offensively. We felt like we could move the ball on them. I think it was the drive right before half that kind of got them some momentum and you couple that with the kick return to start the second half and it kind breathed life into them. We felt like if we could have gotten one stop or one score it would have turned the tide for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We give them credit, they played a strong second half and the momentum shifted for us and we just couldn’t get it back. It was one of those games we felt kind of got away from us, but we have to learn from those kinds of games and use it going forward.” Bellevue (3-1) plays at home against Toledo Start (0-4,) a team that has already lost to two teams in the Lake Division in Clyde (42-12) and Tiffin Columbian (48-0) last week. Nasonti says they have some athletes on their team. “They have some really nice athletes. They have a really nice receiver, about 6’5”, that they like to go to. Their quarterback has good quickness. They are going to show us some of the empty sets that we saw last week against Clear Fork. The big thing with them is I think they are very athletic, they have good speed, they are one of those teams that will fight you for 48 minutes. We think it is important for us to not only get off to a good start we need to finish four quarters and play 48 minutes of football,” said Nasonti. The veteran Bellevue coach says they need to start being more physical. “I think a big thing for us this week is focusing on being physical, showing some toughness, and the physicality that we need to compete at a high level with some of the teams that we are going to be playing in our conference,” he said. Nasonti says they need to build some confidence before beginning Lake Division play. “We only have four home games and this one of them. We have Start coming into “BAF” and we challenged our guys a little bit this week, so I’m looking forward to it. Friday will be a good opportunity to wash the taste our of our mouths from Clear Fork last week,” he said. Published 9/26/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Faces Explosive Clear Fork In a match-up between a couple of the better division four teams around here Bellevue travels to Clear Fork for a non-conference game on Friday night. The Redmen (3-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, handled Mansfield Madison (28-0) last week in game that lasted just two quarters due to weather concerns. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says they were business like in their approach to the game and they came away with the intended result. “We did what we had to do. There weren’t many options for us coming into the game. We were able to play two quarters. Our kids did what we asked them to do. They played a hard two quarters. I thought we played very well. They played with enthusiasm, they played as a team, they were disciplined,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We had a 28-0 lead at the half and the storm came in. We were stuck right there at that point. They had to make a decision and they decided to end the game there after we waited for a while. It is just one of those nights. We have had to deal with these periodically and we try not to let it affect us. It is one of those things that we can’t control.” This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools in the last in three years. The Colts have won both regular season games, while Bellevue eliminated Clear Fork from the playoffs in 2017. Nasonti says they look forward to the challenge of these kinds of games. “They have a nice football program year in and year out. I think their coaches do a great job. Their kids play hard. They have some talent. They have some good size. I know last year they came here to Bellevue and they took it to us. It’s a game we are looking forward to. We are looking forward to going down there and putting our best foot forward,” he said. Clear Fork (2-1) pounded Lexington (43-16) last week in game that started Friday night and ended on Saturday morning. Nasonti says quarterback Brennan South does a lot of things and they must be disciplined because the Colts will show a lot of misdirection. “They are going to spread it our on you. The quarterback does a good job plus he is a great runner. They like the jet sweeps. They get you going one direction and they get a reverse. They will throw some gadgets at you. So, we have to ready for a lot of things. Our kids are going to have to be disciplined if we are going to be successful against the Colts,” he said. Published 9/18/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Expects Almost Anything From Madison Bellevue travels south for a meeting with the Madison Rams on Friday night in non-conference action. The Redmen (2-0) have been tremendous so far this year in the way they have attacked the game, they beat University School (49-14) last week. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says they know there are areas for improvement. “We improved in some areas and is some areas we still have a ways to go. I thought we could tackle a little bit better and some of those things defensively. We have focused on those things this week and hopefully we can continue to get better. The nice thing is you have things to improve on, but you still get a win at the same time. It was nice to get those things on tape and say this is where we need to be and this is where we are trying to get to, but you are still able to get a win out of it,” he said. Madison (0-2) lost to River Valley (39-14) last week and they have won only three games in the last three seasons. Nasonti says a team like this is going to take chances. “Those teams are always scary. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose. I’m looking at them and they are on side kicking, running fake punts, they are running gadget plays. They have some players that are scary. They can move the ball on you. We have to expect the very best out of our opponents every Friday night no matter what their record is over the last few years means nothing to us. We have to expect the very best out of them. We are not good enough to think we are just going to show up and get a win. I expect that Madison will play their best game of the year against us and that is the way we have to look at it. We have been practicing hard this week. We want our kids to continue to improve. That is the only way we can get to be the type of team that we want,” said Nasonti. Madison has wanted to feature a power running game, but they are also doing some other things and Nasonti says you always have to. “If you can do that, if you can line up and manhandle the people across from you more power to you, but it is tough to do that in this day and age unless you are just physically better than the people that are across from you. That is why back in 2007 we went to a spread offense. We had a hard time matching up week in and week out with people and we weren’t getting those kids and those linemen that could flat out push you around. If you can lineup and play smash mouth football more power to you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “That is what LSU did for years, but you take a look at what they are doing they put a whole new offense in and spread it out. They know that banging head to head isn’t going to get it done. We are going to have to defend whatever they put out there against us. They do run some spread stuff, they do get under center they will “I” it up, they will go two tight ends, and we are going to have to be ready for it.” Published 9/12/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue’s Home Opener is With University School Bellevue looks like one of the better football teams in North Central Ohio this season and their performance on week one did nothing but confirm that potential. They blasted Port Clinton (35-0) last Friday. This week, it’s the home opener for the Redmen as they host University School from the Cleveland area. Last week, coach Ed Nasonti says their defense did about everything you could ask for on week one. “I thought we ran to the ball well. We read our keys. We played with an intensity level and we tackled well. I think whenever you have success on defense you do a god job of tackling. I know the years we have struggled on defense we didn’t do a good job of tackling. We got off to a good start. We feel like we have a long way to go, but it was nice to get a win in week one,” said Nasonti. The offense for the Redmen was potent too. However, Nasonti, in year 29 as the Bellevue head coach, says they understand this is only the beginning and they have to get better. “Practice has been good. I think when you get a win it puts a little gas in your tank for the next week. We were able to get a lot of kids in the game too in the second half. I think our kids understand that it’s nice to get off with a win, but one game does not make the season, win or lose. So, we know we have to get better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We tell our kids everyday you come to practice you either get better or you get worse you never stay the same. So, if we are going to be the kind of team we hope we can be we are going to have to practice well every day.” University School whipped Warrensville Heights (35-0) in its first game last Friday. Nasonti says this will be a pretty good team they are playing. “They are real simple on both sides of the ball, but they execute. Their kids play hard. They are quick, they’re scrappy, and they are very nice football team. They are very sound. They have a good football tradition there. They have had some successful teams, they have had some playoff teams. They have had some division one players. We expect them to come in here and play a good game and we hope our kids are up for the challenge,” said Nasonti. Published 9/06/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Kicks it off Against Port Clinton Tradition rich Bellevue looks to return to the playoffs and make a run at the title in the tough Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference this fall. They play at Port Clinton in a cross over game in the “SBC” on Friday night. Coach Ed Nasonti, Bellevue grad and 30-year head coach, says his kids are ready to get out on the field and be physical. “It’s like that every year. You want to get out there and hit somebody else. We only have two scrimmages, a lot of people have three. We came through those two scrimmages pretty healthy, so we are looking forward to getting going here. Week one hopefully we can get off on a good foot,” he said. Nasonti is old school and he isn’t afraid to tell you that and he says he likes the attitude and approach of this year’s team. “I like our kids. Our kids come every day ready to play and ready to work out, focused, and we tell them every day you either get better or you get worse you never stay the same. We have a good group of kids and they are trying to become a team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We respect that. We know they understand our tradition here and what we expect out of them. We have high standards every year here at Bellevue and our kids are working hard to achieve that.” Bellevue is coming off uncharacteristic (4-6) season, while Port Clinton was (6-4) in 2018. Nasonti says the Redskins are going to be physical and offer up a challenge to his ballclub. “It is going to be a good game. They have some big kids up front. They are strong. They have some veteran players back. It will be the first time we have played them since 1995. We played them for 50 years before that and it always was a rivalry and I think we are going to pick up where we left off,” said Nasonti. Like most games this one looks like it will be won and lost at the point of attack. Nasonti says that is the way football has always been. “We tell our kids every year that the games are won and lost in the trenches. You have to run the ball at some point and you are going to have to defend the run. That is just the way it is. It has always been that way in the game of football,” he said. Published 8/27/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Wants Back in Playoffs For one of the rare times in recent years, the Bellevue Redmen didn’t make the football playoffs last season, and they aim to change that this year. They had qualified for the post season for four years before missing last season. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti, with 30 years as head coach, says this year’s team is ready to make its mark. “I’m excited, we have a good group of kids, we’ve had a nice summer. We’ve had good leadership, our attendance has been great in the weight room. We have a fair number of kids back from last year’s team. If you look back to how we finished last year we have some good momentum, knocking off two really good football teams weeks nine and 10. So, we hope we can carry some of that momentum into this year,” said Nasonti. Nasonti says he thinks they can take that momentum of wins over Sandusky and Clyde, two playoff teams last year, into this year and create some enthusiasm around the opener with Port Clinton on August 30. “You have six sophomores in your starting lineup last year and those guys are all going to be back with a year under their belt. We have some seniors in the lineup that have done a good job and paid the price in the off season. We are a proud football program up here. I think our guys will step up to the plate,” he said. Nasonti says there is no doubt they have a lot of incentive to have a good year this fall. He says they remember last November. “Our football program has been around since 1897. We feel we have successful tradition. We had a golf outing a few weeks ago and we had 40 foursomes come back, so you are looking at upwards of 200 guys coming back asking how the team is going to be, what kind of worth ethic do they have, what kind of commitment have they shown, all of that kind of stuff,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We didn’t make the playoffs and we had to host to two playoff games in our stadium. It wasn’t fun for our coaches and it wasn’t fun for our community and it wasn’t fun for our kids to sit there and watch somebody else play in your stadium. So, now is the time to do something about it. We have that opportunity in 2019 and we are looking forward to getting that on.” Published 8/16/19 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs Friday 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” airs from 10 AM to 1 PM Listen on your PC, your phone or your vehicle audio system
	Bellevue Beats Perkins; Helps Create Logjam There is a four way tie for first place in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference after Monday night, Bellevue beat Perkins (5-4) in 10 innings, Tiffin Columbian got past Norwalk (4-3) and Clyde blanked Sandusky (8-0) in division action. Bellevue, Perkins, Clyde and Norwalk all have three division losses, Perkins has played one more game than the other three, the Pirates only have one league game left an that is to finish a game with the Truckers that was suspended last week with the game tied at 3-3 in the fifth. Monday night, Garrett Vickery singled home Keegan Ray with the winning run for Belleuve in the bottom of the tenth. “It was a great environment. A lot of fun, a lot big plays in that game. A lot of momentum swings and people getting out of jams. Big pitches and making plays in the field. It kind of gets you ready for the tournament really,” said Bellevue coach Andy Dennings. Vickery also went the last two plus innings to get the win. Trey Ruhlman had a three run double in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings. Dennings says they are starting to play some pretty good baseball. “We have ridden the rollercoaster a little bit this year. We have let some games slip I think and they know that. We just didn’t play good enough baseball at times, but there were times we would come out and we look like we could hang with anybody in our district. We are starting to put some things together. We have had three really good wins in a row with two Saturdays ago with Wauseon, Mother Nature won all the games last week, but Saturday we went up to Toledo and beat Bryan and turned around and beat Perkins at home,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday night, “We have strung three together here against really quality competition. We feel like we are going in the right direction. We are pretty excited about the opportunity to compete for first place in the league here and stay there against Clyde on Wednesday.” Bellevue (11-7,5-3) plays at Clyde (12-8,5-3) on Wednesday. Dennings says the kids are excited to have something to play for at the end of the season. “We dropped two tough games to Norwalk earlier and we got beat by Clyde early in the year and left a lot of runners on and just couldn’t come up with that big hit. We have put ourselves in position to be playing for something right now. A lot of the credit goes to our kids hanging in there and continuing to trust the process and believing. We are starting to do things a little bit better and sure enough starting to win some ballgames,” said Dennings. Published 5/07/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com For all of your baseball and softball scores
	Bellevue Downs Columbian Bellevue is not out of the race in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, but they are going to have to keep winning like they did on Monday. They beat Tiffin Columbian (6-3) on Monday to push their conference record to (4-3,) two games behind Norwalk. Coach Andy Dennings calls it a good win for the Redmen. “Columbian has been playing a lot better. They have a good staff over there and they are definitely headed in the right direction. It was a good win, any win we can get is a good win. It was a real nice start to the week,” he said. Bellevue is young this year and Dennings says they have been plagued by some inconsistency. “It definitely has been a little inconsistent. We feel like there are plays that are controllable by us and that is why we are not winning some games. There is some promise in that if we can tighten some things up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “If we can make some better baseball plays maybe we can turn some of these losses into “W’s.” We don’t feel we are too far off, but a lot of that is on us. We are playing good teams. We are just not doing what we need to do to get those wins.” Bellevue has three non league games to play this week against Edison, Clear Fork and Wauseon before they play Clyde in their next division game next Monday. Dennings says those are chances to get better. “We have talked about that a couple of times this year. There is a not a whole lot of reprieve at times. You just have to work through things and continue to improve. When you don’t get a practice to work on some things you struggle with you have to mention it maybe before pregame and kind of get with it and sometimes you can get behind record wise or you can really bolster your record depending on how your week is going,” said Dennings. Published 4/23/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Plus, don’t forget on 24/7 listen line for the latest in local sports
	Bellevue Blasts Willard; Readies for Truckers Bellevue needed only five innings to pound Willard (17-1) in a crossover baseball game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Thursday afternoon. It’s now a two game winning steak for the Redmen, who beat Maragretta on Tuesday. Coach Andy Dennings says they got the bats going against the Flashes pitchers. “We swung it very well (Thursday.) Obviously, we put up 17 runs, but we had a lot of loud outs. Our kids had a real nice approach at the plate. We squared a lot of balls up. We hit the ball pretty well the other day against Margaretta as well, which is nice to see after a rough outing against Upper,” he said. Upper Sandusky had beaten them (6-0) on the opening day of the season last Saturday. Plus, the Redmen got solid pitching. Dennings says the biggest thing was they were able to throw strikes. “Phillip Putnam threw (Thursday,) who is a junior, it was the first time he has been on the mound for us this year and he threw the ball extremely well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night after the game, “He commanded the plate and started getting his breaking stuff over after the first inning and kept his pitch count down, I think he was 51 or something, 50, somewhere in that ballpark, through four innings, so we were really pleased with that. Keegan Ray came in and threw strikes and that is what we needed him to do there in the fifth. It was nice to get back on track a little bit.” Bellevue (2-0,0-0) opens play in the Bay Division of the “SBC” on Friday, weather permitting, at Norwalk (3-2,0-0) against the Truckers. They lost (4-2) to Vermilion in a cross over game on Thursday. Dennings says they seem to always have good games against the Truckers. “We are pretty excited. We are playing a lot better right now. We definitely have things to work on, but we definitely feel a little better about ourselves. It’s going to be a good battle anytime Norwalk and Bellevue play it is a very competitive game. Wes (Douglas) does a really nice job over there, as well as the other guys on staff. I don’t know a whole lot about them, but I know they have a couple of kids back and they should be really competitive in the league this year,” said Dennings. Published 3/29/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com That’s right, we run a full scoreboard for spring sports too
	It’s Toledo Rogers Again for Bellevue Toledo Rogers has eliminated Bellevue in the girls’ basketball regional tournament in four of the last five years and that is who they play again. It’s Bellevue (24-2) and Rogers (24-2) in a division two regional final on Friday night at Mansfield Senior High School. The Lady Red dominated Bay Village Bay to the tune of (71-41) on Tuesday night in a semifinal. Coach Kory Santoro says they played really well on both ends. “I felt we came out and played really good defense and I thought for the most part we shot the ball really well. We went 11-18 from the three point line. I think we just played really well for a regional semifinal game,” he said. Rogers was a (51-42) winner over Napoleon at Ohio Northern University on Tuesday. Santoro says they know who they have to stop. “Unfortunately, we do know a lot about them. They have seemed to end our season quite a bit here lately. They are a big time program. It all starts with their point guard Zia Cooke and Madison Royal-Davis,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Those two are scoring probably 90 percent of the points. They go to the glass hard. Zia makes them go. We have to be concerned with those two to start off with.” It was Rogers (60-45) last season on the way to a state title. Santoro says if they can clear for mental hurdle, they have a very good chance. “The game in 90 percent mental and 10 percent ability. I believe that and I think the girls this year are whole year older. We basically have the same team coming back, as do they, but I think our girls grew up a lot from last year and really do believe they have a chance to win this game,” said Santoro. Published 3/08/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com For all of your tournament scores
	Bellevue Ready for Clear Fork Zone Bellevue, the top seed in the district, meets Clear Fork in the girls’ division two sectional finals on Saturday night at Monroeville High School. It will be the second game of the night after Tiffin Columbian plays Upper Sandusky. Bellevue (20-2), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is the outright champion in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, part of the nine straight conference titles for the Lady Red. As impressive as they have been this year, Bellevue coach Kory Santoro says they can still be better. “Earlier in the year, I said I thought we hadn’t played our best game yet and I still don’t think we have reached that point yet. We have shown glimpses of it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I think MeKenna Davis and Abbi Turner, Desi Carr are kids that are really starting to turn the corner for us. When we put a game together it is going to look pretty nice.” Bellevue has put up some points this year and Santoro says they can do a lot of things to get the ball in the basket. “The girls are pretty versatile with what they can do. It is based off what the other team in running. We see a lot of zone and I expect to see a lot of zone the net couple of games. We will be well prepared for that,” he said. Clear Fork (7-16) beat Norwalk, also of the Lake Division, (48-43) on Wednesday night at Monroeville. Santoro expects to see a lot of zone from the Lady Colts. “We went and scouted that game the other night. Clear Fork sat in a 2-3 zone the whole entire game a little 1-2-2. I think we will see a lot of that. We have just got to move the ball around and take good shots and I think we will be okay,” he said. Published 2/22/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight Special Saturday night editions begin this week
	Bellevue Can Take Control Bellevue has an opportunity to put itself in pretty good position to win another title in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference if they can beat Perkins at home on Tuesday night. It may be an even bigger game for Perkins. A win and they will move into a share of the division lead. They have been the only division school that has been competitive with the Lady Red year. A Bellevue win puts them on the verge of claiming no less than a share. Bellevue coach Kory Santoro says they continue to play solid basketball. “Perrysburg was a big, physical team, good guard play, good post play, and we really had to buckle down and play against them. I thought that was probably our best defensive effort of the year,” he said. Bellevue beat Perrysburg (47-37) in a non-conference game last Wednesday. The Lady Red (13-2,6-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, and #1 in our Twitter fan poll too, hosts Perkins (13-2,5-1), #4 in the coaches poll, on Tuesday night in what is a makeup game from earlier in the season. Bellevue won the first game (67-51) on December 8 at Perkins. Santoro believes the Lady Pirates have outstanding guard play. “I think its starts with their guard play. I think they have two very good three point shooters in Libby Howard and Nancy Siegel. They are coached very well and I know coach (Brian) Heck will have them ready to play,” he told Swamkonsports.com on Monday, “Our girls are going to be up to the challenge too. They know what is at stake (Tuesday) night and are going to be ready to play.” Santoro says it is time for his kids to grab the advantage. “The girls knew that Perrysburg was a division team coming in, so they were amped to play that game. They know against Perkins that they need to get a win to at least share the title and we have a good shot at putting it away with a win,” he said. Published 1/29/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Also, we have 24/7 audio on our listen line
	Bellevue Just Continues to Excel Bellevue has been almost lights out this season and they are again one of the best girls’ basketball teams in North Central Ohio, if not the best. They host Upper Sandusky out of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Wednesday night in a non-conference game. Bellevue (11-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, has put together another win streak, this one four games, after losing in the a holiday tournament to Minster (61-47) on December 28. Coach Kory Santoro says they have come out of those holidays really in pretty good shape. “I think sometimes during the holidays it can get your team out of routine depending on what you do. We were in a recent holiday tournament. You are usually playing somebody pretty good. It does get you out of your routine that you are used to,” said Santoro. Other than the loss to Minister, Bellevue has only really been challenged once and that was in an overtime win (68-64) over Margaretta last month. Santoro says he kind is wishes there had been more challenge, but you can only play your schedule. “I am sure the girls feel that way too. Your schedule is put in place and you just have to play your schedule and hope everybody is good, but sometimes there are injuries and just things happen, but you just have to play who is on your schedule,” he said. Upper Sandusky (10-3) and in third place in the “N10” will be at Bellevue Wednesday night. Santoro says the Lady Rams can shoot and they are going to play hard. “From the film we have watched it looks like they are scrappy and get after it. They have some shooters,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I know they will come in ready to play. We have to get ready to play. We can’t take any game lightly. We are looking forward to playing Upper.” Published 1/16/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Must be Patient Bellevue has lost four its last five and they try and break that streak in a visit to Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division co-leader Norwalk on Friday night. The Redmen beat Tiffin Columbian (53-40) last Friday, but they lost to Clyde (52-37) on Saturday in division games. A lot of their struggles lately have been related to the injury to point guard Trey Ruhlman. “He went out Saturday night with about a minute or two left in the quarter against Clyde and he never came back. We went into halftime up 30-28 and their pressure got to us in the second half. We did get some good news (Tuesday.) It is not what we thought it was. It is no a pulled hamstring or anything like that. It has something to do with his hip alinement, so we did get some positive news on that,” said coach Ed Rich. Bellevue (4-6,1-3) is at Norwalk (7-2,3-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. Norwalk hammered Sandusky (74-55) last Saturday. Rich says the Truckers, winners of five in a row, are at the top of their game right now. “They are playing extremely well. They are playing like I thought they would all year. In my mind they had the most talent and were the league favorites. Lately, they have really showed it and are playing good basketball against extremely good teams. We have our hands full on Friday,” he said. Defense and patience are going to be keys for the Redmen. Rich says they have to keep the ball out of the hands of Brandon Haraway. “You can do your best to contain him when you are on the defensive end. What their big thing is and it has been this way for years is they are an extremely disciplined defensive team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “If you go down on offense and make one pass and a shot and miss that shot you are in big trouble. I think one of the keys for us is to work in our offense and not just force any look we get. We really have to work the ball around and make them defend and kind of use that as a defensive weapon too by keeping the ball out of Haraway’s hands.” Published 1/10/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday between 10 PM and midnight Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Must Handle the Ball Bellevue plays two games in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference this week, both at home, against Tiffin Columbian and Thursday and Clyde on Saturday. The Redmen have lost their last three and coach Ed Rich says they have to handle the ball better and they are still looking for more scorers. “The first thing we need to do is take care of the basketball. Shelby really got into us an turned us over. We had over 20 turnovers against them and that really hurt obviously. Other than that, we are not scoring the ball very well without a couple of guys here we have to slow down the pace,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I thought we have played well. Vermilion is a really tough team, Shelby is a really good team and Margaretta is a really good team. Really, our only let down was Shelby. I thought we kind of panicked under their pressure and kind of gave into their pressure.” Bellevue has played the last two weeks without leading scorer and main ball handler Trey Rulhman and Rich admits that has really hurt them. “We are really hoping that when he comes back we are going to be a much better team from the fact that the guys that don’t usually have to handle the ball or make decisions now have to make those decisions against three good teams. It does hurt, he is our main ball handler, our main scorer. You lose a guy like that it takes a little to recover from that,” said Rich. Bellevue (3-5,0-2) is at home against Tiffin Columbian (1-7,0-3) on Thursday night. The Tornadoes are coming off a (67-35) loss to Genoa in no-league play on Saturday. Rich says they have to be ready for Tiffin’s best. “They are getting better. Their last league game they played at Perkins are lost only 48-45. They are a young team. They are pretty athletic, actually really athletic, that is one of their major strengths. They can shoot the ball pretty well, they like the three ball. If they get going and get some confidence, they are pretty dangerous,” he said. Published 1/03/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check our or scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Plays Shelby and Margaretta Bellevue is battling some adversity right now, but they are doing a pretty good job with it. They have been without their outstanding guard Trey Ruhlman. Last Saturday, without him in the lineup they lost to one beaten Vermilion (76-67) in a contest where they led for a lot of the game. Coach Ed Rich believes they did a very good job. “I thought we played extremely well to be honest. We had an eight or nine point lead at the half. They came out the second half and did what they have been doing all year. They can flip a switch real quick and they flipped a switch and hit some shots. We got down and we just couldn’t fight our way back,” said Rich. Rich adds without Ruhlman their other kids really stepped it up. “We were without Trey Ruhlman. He is our best player. Our kids really stepped up and played. They could have packed it in and felt sorry for themselves instead they got after it. They were trying to prove a point that we could play without him. I thought they made a pretty good statement. We took a loss, but played extremely well,” he said. Bellevue (2-3) plays at Shelby (3-4) in a non-league game coming up on Friday night. Shelby lost (50-44) to a very good Mansfield Senior team on Saturday night. Rich says they too have had injury concerns, but he expects them to be 100 percent on Friday night. “We knew that Hunter Hoffman was out. We knew that the big kid was out. We heard that they are back this weekend,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I think they are a solid team. Obviously when you lose two guys like they did for those couple of games anyone is going to struggle. It seems like they are going to be 100 percent and we have to go to their place. We have to play extremely well.” On Saturday night, the Redmen play Margaretta (5-2) in a non-conference game. Rich says that will be another challenge. “Margaretta is a really good team. They have played some of the same teams we have. I think they have lost to Vermilion and lost to Clyde, but both of those games were really close. We were pretty impressed with their play. We have two tough ones this weekend,” he said. Published 12/27/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Looking for Scorers Bellevue has some things to fix as they host Sandusky Perkins in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday and travel to Port Clinton for a non-conference game on Saturday. After winning their first two games, the Redmen were clobbered (81-58) by Sandusky in their division opener last Friday. Coach Ed Rich says the Blue Streaks just seemed to be a step ahead every place. “The bad thing we didn’t play horrible. We didn’t play great, but we play horrible. We couldn’t guard them. They broke down our defense and they beat us on our rotations. We couldn’t rotate quick enough to pick up their guys. They took it to us pretty good, I’m not going to lie, but like I said, the bad thing is we didn’t play horrible they were just that good that night,” he said. Rich says they have been working on those defensive rotations and they need to find some other guys that can score. “We have been hitting two things really hard this week. The first think is our defensive rotations I thought that was our biggest weakness against Sandusky. I thought that was a strength all during scrimmage season and even our first two games we rotated well on defense, but Sandusky’s ball movement was excellent. So, we worked on some different rotations and different looks offenses are going to give us. The other thing we worked on is scoring. We have two guys that are scoring double digits. After that we are searching for that other guy to put the ball in the hoop,” said Rich. Bellevue (2-1,0-1) is at home for Sandusky Perkins (2-3,0-1) on Friday night. The Pirates opened division play with a loss (60-56) to Clyde last week. Rich says this is a Perkins team that is physical, disciplined and knows what it has to do to win. “They started off a little rough they lost in non-conference to Sandusky St. Mary’s and Colonel Crawford. The last couple of games they have played well. They took it to Edison pretty good, beat Huron, and then lost to a pretty good Clyde team by only four points. They are not a typical Perkins team. Usually Perkins has some big guys, some huge size,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They guys aren’t that big, but they execute extremely well. They are hard nosed Perkins kids like they always are. They are physical, they are really, really disciplined on defense. We have got to be patient and we really have to work their “D” and even on defense we have to be patient because they are so patient on offense.” Published 12/14/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Updated every five minutes on Friday nights
	Bellevue a Little Concerned with Willard’s Height Bellevue travels to Willard on Tuesday night for a key non-conference girls’ basketball matchup between unbeaten teams. The Lady Red (4-0) really have not been challenged this season. They beat Perkins (67-51) on Saturday in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Coach Kory Santoro says they are putting their experience to good use. “I think you look at our team we have a lot of experience coming back. Last year, we came into the new season a very inexperienced team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “This year is a little different story with seven returning lettermen. I don’t think we are playing as well as we can play yet.” Casey and Cory Santoro, the daughters of the coach, are two of their better players. The coach says he is used to coaching his offspring. “I was a varsity assistant coach in the boys’ program for years and my son played for me there. I was fortunate enough to coach Carly for a couple of years and now the two youngest daughters,” he said. Carly Santoro transferred this year from Bowling Green to play her final year of eligibility at Ohio State, one of the top programs in the country. Her dad says that is pretty cool. “That is pretty neat. Bowling Green was a great basketball school, but you are talking about Ohio State. That pretty cool to finish her college career at Ohio State,” he said. She averages 10 points a game for the Buckeyes and is their second leading scorer. Getting back to the game at hand. Willard (5-0) is also unbeaten and is coming off an (80-24) win over Port Clinton in Bay Division play. Santoro says they are very good an they are going to be taller than his team and that is something they are going to have to deal with. “First of all, you have to talk about the coach. Coach (Jon) Dawson does a good job preparing his girls. They play hard. They have a very tall team. That is something that is going to be an issue for us. We just have to hit the boards and box out,” said Santoro. Published 12/11/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com
	Bellevue Plays at Sandusky Bellevue, off to a 2-0 start, plays at Sandusky on Friday night in the opener to the Lake Division schedule in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Last week, the Redmen downed Tiffin Calvert (64-45) on Friday and Huron (45-30) on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich is excited by how they played. “I thought we played well both days this past weekend. I thought we played extremely well defensively, especially on Saturday night, we really locked it down at got pretty nasty on defense. It was a good weekend for us,” he said. Defense is something that can be a foundation for the Redmen, according to Rich. “That is what we thought at the beginning of the year and throughout the preseason. We have been emphasizing defensive fundamentals and just defense in general,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We are trying to hang our hat on that. We will be put to the test though on Friday when we head to Sandusky. We will find our how good we are defensively.” For Sandusky this will be their opener after their game was Ashland last week was postponed until later in the season. Rich says there are some questions on what they might see from Sandusky in terns of personnel. “We have a pretty good idea of what they are going to do and who is on the team. We have seen a couple of scrimmages, but that doesn’t tell us everything we need. They have had so many guys out with football and injuries. There are going to be a lot of question marks for sure going into Friday night’s game,” said Rich. Their personnel might be in question, but Rich says they pretty much know what the game plan is going to be for the Blue Streaks. “I am thinking they are going to spread us out and attack the basket, get up and down the floor and they are going to do their normal pressure. We think we will see all of that. I think they are going to throw a couple of wrinkles in there also,” he said. Published 12/05/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM Click on the listen line at the top of the page for audio
	Bellevue Faces Aggressive Calvert Bellevue tips off the 2018-19 high school boys’ basketball season with a doubleheader by hosting Tiffin Calvert on Friday night and traveling to Huron on Saturday night. Both are cross over games in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Bellevue is in the Lake Division, Calvert the River Division and Huron the Bay Division. Coach Ed Rich says they are ready to get the season started. He says he has seen some good things. “We have had some really good scrimmages and some really good practices and I think my guys are ready to go,” he said. Rich says he just wants his team to come out in play four quarters of good basketball on each night. “I just want us to come out and pay a full game. Play a full game on Friday night. Play a full game on Saturday night. I think if we do that I think we will be happy with ourselves. Our main goal is to go out there and play a full four quarter game and hopefully we come out on top both nights,” said Rich. When it comes to Calvert on opening night, Rich believes the Senecas are going to try and be very aggressive, especially on defense. “We actually scrimmaged them last year, so I knew a little bit about them. Then I saw a little bit of their stuff this year. They are a physical, long, athletic team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They like to spread you out. They are going to get in their three quarter court pressure and try and pressure you into some mistakes. I think they are much better than they were last year. They have some weapons this year that could be pretty scary.” Published 11/27/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Working on Finishing Bellevue looks to be in a mix of some pretty solid teams in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference this year an they are working to become the best they can be. Coach Ed Rich says be believes they players collectively are doing what they need to do to become a good team. “I like what I see so far for sure. I think we have a pretty good group of kids. We see a lot of buy in early. That was kind of our big thing this summer and this fall was to get 100 percent buy in and do what we can on the floor,” said Rich. This year’s team in going to be a mix of experience and guys that are new to varsity basketball, according to Rich. “It is a mixture of both. I have six returning lettermen and I have four sophomores that don’t have any varsity minutes in their career. So, it is a good mix, but we are really going to rely on our six returning lettermen to carry us,” he said. In watching the players so far this year, Rich says they need to become better at finishing around the basket and getting the rebound when there are misses. “We had our scrimmage on Saturday and the thing that stuck out most to our coaching staff was that we didn’t finish around the basket. We got good looks, but don’t finish well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We thought our rebounding overall wasn’t what we like. We are going to hit those pretty hard this week and hopefully get those fixed by our next scrimmage.” Published 11/13/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Getting Ready for Another Great Season Bellevue, one the dominate girls’ basketball programs in this part of the State of Ohio, is preparing for what is expected to be another outstanding season. The Lady Red are the defending Lake Division champions in the Sandusky Bay Conference and they have now at least shared in eight straight conference titles. They were (25-2) last year and advanced to the division two regional semifinals before losing to Toledo Rogers. Coach Kory Santoro says the goals never really change at Bellevue and this year is no different. “Well, I think the goals are the same every year. We want to have a shot at playing for the league championship and we want to make a deep tournament run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We have had those goals the last eight, nine years and I think it has worked pretty well and those are the goals we have right now.” Bellevue won the Lake Division in volleyball this fall and Santoro is glad to have some of those kids join the basketball team. “We just got our volleyball girls bask Monday night after a few days off from their exciting season. We hare happy to have them back. It was just like last year we picked it right up. When you get those kids back in your practice, your practice picks up. It’s been good,” he said. Bellevue is scheduled to open the season the day after Thanksgiving, November 23, by hosting Lexington of the Ohio Cardinal Conference. Santoro believes they will be ready. “I think offensively we are behind. I think the defense is ahead of the offense right now and that is pretty typical every year. As a coach you want that to happen right away, but it is a process and I know we will get there. We have some good young players and some experienced players that play a lot of basketball, so I know we will get there,” said Santoro. Published 11/06/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Trying to Play Spoiler for Rival Clyde Bellevue is the only thing that stands in the way of an outright Lake Division title for the Clyde Fliers. They meet each other on Friday night at Bellevue. Clyde leads both Tiffin Columbian and Norwalk by a game in the division standings. Bellevue (3-6,1-3) is coming off a good win for them when they topped Sandusky (19-10) on Friday night. Coach Ed Nasonti was proud of how his kids bounced back from their loss to Tiffin Columbian the week before. “I think you have to give a lot of credit to our kids coming into a game like that. You are coming into week nine and you have struggled throughout the year, with a handful of heartbreaking losses, but to come out and play as well as we did I think that speaks volumes for the character of our kids and our coaches, they did a great job last week. To go in there at Sandusky and play as well as we did it was really a nice win and give us a little bit of momentum coming into week 10,” said Nasonti. Less than 10 miles apart Nasonti says this is a natural rivalry and he is happy this game is on week 10. “We are so close. We played them a bunch of times in the 60’s and the rivalry game kind of stopped. We picked it up again back in 1994 and it has been a rivalry since. We had played them in week three, but since they are in our conference now and it is not a non-conference game they decided to make it week 10. It is nice to have that game on week 10 because you know it is always going to mean something whether it is for a chance to be in the playoffs or a chance for a conference championship or if it just for a chance for the rivalry of the game. I know we have our kids’ attention this week at practice,” said Nasonti. Clyde (7-2,4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, beat Norwalk (32-31) in overtime last week to grab the Lake Division lead to itself. Nasonti says they are running the wing-T, which they will have to spend some extra time getting ready for, plus Clyde is just a solid program. “They are an outstanding program. They have some good players. They have good coaching and they don’t beat themselves. They are big enough up front where if you don’t stop them they are going to take the game to you and grind it out. I know they have changed their offense a little bit this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They got away from running the spread. Now they are under center a little bit more. They are getting two backs in the backfield. They are running some wing-T stuff. In this day and age you don’t see many teams running the wing-T. You have to make sure you do some extra preparation for this game and think that may have helped them a little bit down the road here. Plus, they have an outstanding field goal kicker. He has won at least a couple of game for them at the end,” Published 10/23/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Faces Talented Sandusky Neither Bellevue or Sandusky have won a Lake Division game this year, but the thing is they aren’t bad football teams, that just tells you about the balance of the “SBC” Lake this year. Bellevue plays at Cedar Point Stadium against the Blue Streaks in a division game on Friday night. In fact, I have identified it as the most talented league, or division in this case, that we cover in North Central Ohio. Tiffin Columbian ripped Bellevue (38-6) last week and veteran coach Ed Nasonti says it was not a quality effort by them. “It is the first game of the whole entire season that I thought we didn’t play up to our potential. We have gave them basically five scores on our mishaps. It is the first time all year I have been disappointed in the effort of our kids. It wasn’t a great night for us,” he said. Bellevue (2-6,0-3) plays at Sandusky (5-3,0-3) in the “SBC Lake” on Friday night. After five weeks, Sandusky was voted first in our Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, but since they have lost three in a row, including (33-28) to division co-leader Clyde last week. Nasonti says don’t be confused, this is not a bad football team by any stretch. “It’s a competitive league. They started out and they had some non-conference games and then they got into our conference and our conference is very competitive, we have had this conversation,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “So, they have a good team. They have a solid running game. They have a solid defense, but our conference is tough and you have to put your best foot forward every Friday night.” Sandusky’s Terion Stewart leads the division, in fact the whole area, in rushing yards this season with 1,766 to go with 27 touchdowns. Nasonti says he is capable of making a big play at any time and from anywhere. “Without a doubt. We had a hard time containing him last year. He makes plays for them. He gets yardage when there are no holes there. He is an outstanding running back without a question,” he said. Published 10/19/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Updated every five minutes on Friday nights
	Bellevue Has to Stop Tiffin Run Bellevue plays at home against the Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes in an Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday night. The Redmen lost (17-14) to Sandusky Perkins last week and they have now lost four games that were decided with less than a minute to play. Coach Ed Nasonti says they took it right down to the end of the game again only to come up short. “I thought our kids played hard like they have all year. I don’t have an issue with our kids and they type of passion they played with. It is tough to take when you have four ball games that basically come down to the last possession or the last play of the game. The deal was we were down 17-7 and we scored and then we got it down there to about the 11-yard line and were able to clock it. We had one second left and we were able to get a play off. I have to give our kids credit they have been fighting all year and they continue to fight and they play with passion. We haven’t gotten the results that we like,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It isn’t because of a lack of effort on the kid’s part, it isn’t because of a lack of effort on the coach’s part. For the most part we have really enjoyed this group of kids. They practice hard, they play hard, they stick together, there is no finger pointing going on. I am proud of them and we are going to stay the course just like we have and hope for the best, we are bound to the get the ball to bounce our way one of these nights.” Bellevue (2-5,0-2) plays host to Tiffin Columbian (5-2,1-1) in the Lake Division on Friday night. Columbian had a four game winning streak snapped when Clyde’s Brock Newsome kicked a field goal at the horn to beat them (24-21) in a division game, Nasonti says the Tornadoes have shown solid improvement. “They were playing a lot of young kids last year and those kids have matured. They have played solid football on both sides of the ball. Their special teams have been solid. It was a dogfight last year. They were in a lot of games last year too. It will be at our place and the Tiffin-Bellevue game has always been a big game and it will be this week too. It is our Homecoming game and I know that is important to our kids too,” said Nasonti. Columbian wants to run first and Nasonti says they must be physical or they are not going to stop running it. “They are going to get in their two back stuff and they are going to try and muscle you up and if you don’t stop them you are going to get a steady diet of it all night. You are going to have to stop the run when you play these guys,” he said. Published 10/10/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Still a lot to Play for Bellevue is not where they want to be record wise, but they are still a dangerous football team. They lost a tough one to longtime rival Norwalk (7-0) last week on the opening night of play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They at home against Sandusky Perkins this week. The lone score in the game last week came on a touchdown run by Norwalk’s Treyvon Raymone in the fourth quarter. Bellevue was stopped twice inside the Norwalk 10 in the final seconds. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says the loss was tough to take. “It was frustrating. Anytime you lose a game 7-0 it is frustrating, but there are still a lot positives. We went up against a really good football team with an outstanding running back. Our kids did a good job, we held him in check for most of the game. A good running back is going to bust one here or there throughout the course of the game. He finally got one when he got down in there tight, they were able to knock one in. I give our kids credit we fought back. We got it down there and we had a couple cracks inside the 10 yard line at the end and came up short,” he said. However, the veteran coach still believes in his players and they know there is still a lot to play for. “Still proud of our kids. We have lost three games by a total of 12 points and had some heartbreaking losses. As a coaching staff we are staying the course, our kids are staying the course. We are still getting better. We are not getting the results that we like, but we have seen improvement with our kids. We have five sophomores in the lineup and our kids are battling. I think that is all you can ask right now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We are being competitive and we still have an opportunity to make the playoffs and we still have an opportunity to be a conference champion. We still have a lot of games left to play and a lot of the season left to play and games that mean something. We are looking forward to this game Friday night against Perkins and hopefully keep our best foot forward here.” Bellevue has one of the most tradition rich programs in North Central Ohio and Nasonti says the kids know what is required. “Our kids they have a responsibility. We are a football community. We have been a football town for many years. We have high expectations. Our fans have high expectations, our coaches do, our kids do, and we want to keep it that way. Sometimes you might not get the results, but our kids play with passion, they play with heart. There is no question about the fight that our kids have put out there on Friday night and those are all positives. It has been my experience over the years when you stay the course and focus on the process of being a good football team, that means doing a great job in the weight room, that means looking at your scouting report, watching film, listening to your coaches, those kinds of things, it is going to pay off in the end,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (2-4,0-1) is at home for Sandusky Perkins (1-5,0-1) on Friday night. Perkins lost to Clyde (33-12) last week. Nasonti says they expect the best from Perkins. “They have some solid players. They have good size up front. We will be going up against another 6’8” offensive lineman. They have great speed in the backfield and their secondary. They have some linebackers that can run. When you look at the conference there really are a lot of good football teams. Anything can happen on any given Friday night. We are trying to make sure we are taking care of ourselves and do a good job every Friday night. Lay it on the line and let the chips fall where they may, that is the best we can do,” he said. Published 10/04/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday night from 10 PM to midnight Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio
	Bellevue Locks Horns With Talented Norwalk Bellevue makes the short trip down the road to Norwalk to face the Truckers on Friday night in the opening night of play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Both you would figure are going to be factors in the race for that division title. Last week, Bellevue beat Toledo Start (20-13) in a non-conference game. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was good to get a road win. “It wasn’t easy and we knew it was going to be a tough game. They have some really nice athletes all over the place. We had to go on the road. When you can go on the road and get a win and you come out with a one-point win you have to be happy with that. I thought our kids continued to make some gains. We are a young football team and as coaches we are still finding out what our kids do well and what they don’t do well. It was nice to get a road win heading into league play,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (2-3,0-0) is at Norwalk (4-1,0-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division on Friday. The Truckers hammered Shelby (49-0) on Friday night after Bellevue had beaten the Whippets (45-28) the week before. Nasonti says the Truckers are very athletic. “They have got athletes too. They are a really solid football team with some division one players. I don’t think we have faced anybody this year that had multiple division one players in the program. They have a outstanding running back, receivers, a quarterback that is young, but very accurate. They are playing with confidence this year. They have been playing solid football. We are expecting the best out of our opponent this week,” he said. Norwalk has tailback Treyvon Raymone, who has 962 yards and 12 TD’s running the football. 294 yards and five scores came last week against Shelby. Nasonti says they can’t allow the Truckers to make big plays and get easy scores. “Every Friday night we tell our guys you can’t give up big plays. You have to make them execute it. I don’t care who you are playing. You look at Norwalk and they have some big play people. (Treyvon) Raymore can take it to the house and (Brandon) Haraway on the perimeter. The quarterback (Garrett Chapin) puts it on the money. Plus, they have their share of trick plays. Coach Fox likes to work in a couple of trick plays every Friday night and they have gotten some big plays off of that too. If their offense gets stale at some point he will jump start it with a gadget play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “So, we have to keep on our toes and our kids have to bring their “A” game if we are going to be successful. If you don’t tackle their tailback it is going to be a long night period, end of story, that’s just how it is, because they are going to saddle him up and he is going to the get the ball and he can carry the mail.” When it comes to gadget plays and defending them, Nasonti says you have stay consistent with your keys. “It comes down to discipline. We have talked about it with our kids a number of times. Your kids have to reading their keys, they have to trust their keys. When we get beat on those gadget plays it is because somebody didn’t ready their keys, somebody was undisciplined and they over peruse and you can get a reverse on you or a double pass. They are anxious. A lot of times you get hit with gadget plays early when your kids are all geared up and ready to get the game started, that kind of thing. You can watch football at any level and you see the best of them get suckered in. So, it is what it is,” said Nasonti. Published 9/28/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com Updated constantly on Friday nights
	Bellevue Staying on Course Bellevue got its first win of the season last week and now their goal is to march forward and make this another solid season for their football program. Their next chance will be Friday night at Toledo Start in a non-conference game. In earning their first win of the season last week, the Redmen punished longtime rival Shelby (45-28) in a game the Redmen led (33-7) in the third quarter, ending Shelby’s 18 game regular season win streak. Coach Ed Nasonti says he never doubted his kids would have success. “I was happy to see our kids get the results. I think we have put the work in and the kids have gotten better every week. I thought we played some pretty good football we just hadn’t got the results we wanted. Our focus with the kids the whole time was just stay the course, get your blinders on, and focus on what you job is and good things will happen and we did it. Against a solid football team, I thought our kids played well to get that first win. It was nice to get the first win against Shelby and it was nice to get it at home in front of our home crowd,” said Nasonti. Bellevue was able to limit the Shelby ground game last week and Nasonti says that was a big factor in the win. “I think when you are dealing with high school teams if you can make them throw the ball then you are going to be in good shape. They got it up in the air a few times and we had, I think, three interceptions. Our kids did a nice job running to the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have some big play players with the Albert kid and Schwemley. They have some guys that can make some big plays. To their credit they came out swigging in the middle of the third quarter and made some plays, but our kids stayed the course and finished the game off and now we are on to week five already against an athletic Toledo Start team.” Toledo Start (1-3) has played two schools from the “SBC” already in losing to Clyde (27-24) on week one and Tiffin Columbian (28-14) last week. Nasonti says they have to limit those big plays the Spartans make in order to win the game. “They are kind of team here if you are going to let them make big plays on you, you are going to be in for a long night. We talked to our kids about that. We need to be disciplined. We need to do a good job of tackling in space. We need to win the line of scrimmage. If we can do those things we have a chance to be successful. If we are not going to do those things they are going to snap off big runs and get some big plays over the top in the air then we are going to be in trouble,” said Nasonti. When it comes to Friday night, Nasonti says they are going to go with their usual plan of attack. “Our focus is as always take care of the ball and get better every day in practice. We have got a young team. Coming into week five our kids are starting to get experience. In the four games that we have played I really haven’t been displeased in the effort of our kids. I think they are trying hard, they are working well as a team, they pick each other up. They are doing all of the qualities you want out of a ballclub. As a coaching staff we are staying positive with them. Everybody is pulling together and doing their job,” he said. Published 9/19/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports For 24/7 local sports go to our listen line at www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue, Growing and Getting Better Bellevue plays host to a traditional rival in the Shelby Whippets on Friday night in what is now a non-conference game. The Redmen will be looking for their first win. They lost in aggravating fashion to the West Holmes Knights (31-27) last week when West Holmes scored with about 30 seconds to play. Coach Ed Nasonti says they have to rally from a loss like that. He says they was a tough one. “Without a doubt. Losing tough anytime, but when you seemingly have it sowed up and all you need to do is get a first down and lock game up and you don’t get it and the team drives 85 yards with no time outs it is tough to take. It was tough for our kids, it was tough for our coaches, it was tough for our fans, but what are going to do? We have won games like that. You just have to learn from it. There were a lot of positives in that game for us. I talked to our kids about it at length. You have West Holmes comes in with 22 seniors starting and we have five sophomores in our starting lineups. Our kids played hard and we are proud of them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We grew as a team and we even grew as a coaching staff. A lot of times during the season you aren’t sure what your guys have, you are not sure what you do well, you are sure what you are good at. I think our team is growing and as a coaching staff we are figuring things out. We talked to our kids just about sticking together. I think a lot of times with a high school football team you get some adversity and you find out where your character guys are and you pull together and you grow.” Bellevue (0-3) plays at home against Shelby (3-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. Shelby beat Willard (63-0) last Friday. Nasonti says they look forward to the matchup. “They are a good football team. Over the last couple of seasons I think they have won 18 straight regular season games. This is the first time they have been in our stadium since 2015. We had to make two trips down there. Our kids are excited. We look at it as a great opportunity to play a quality team and another chance for us in front of our home crowd to play a good football team,” he said. Bellevue and Shelby have played every year since the Allies were kicking the Nazis out of the France. Shelby lost a lot of players to graduation last season from their final four team that beat Bellevue in the regional final. However, Nasonti says their offensive attack is similar. “They are doing to same things that they have done in the past with Armstrong, but I don’t think they are as quarterback oriented with the runs as they have been. They will run the Albert kid. They are trying to get the ball to the Schwemley kid and they have another spilt end by the name of Tanner Stevens that they try and get the ball. They have a nice running back, the kid (Owen Fisher) is a scatback they replaced Shorty Brooks that does a pretty solid job. They have big linemen up front on offense and defense. They are a nice ballclub,” said Nasonti.’’ Published 9/12/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM Click on the listen line at the top of the page for audio
	Bellevue Keeping Nose to the Grindstone There may have been a little bump in the road last week, but the Bellevue Redmen still believe they can have an outstanding season and are working towards that end. Last week, they lost their home opener to Clear Fork (40-12) on Friday. Coach Ed Nasonti says they had a TD negated in the third quarter and that helped to derail them. “It was closer than the score indicated. Without a doubt they are an outstanding football team and run a good program. At one point in the third quarter we hit a pass play and scored a touchdown and during the play a kid that scored the touchdown had his helmet ripped off about the 25-yard-line going in. The rules are they stop the ball right there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, instead of getting a touchdown we get the ball on the 25. At that point it would have been a seven point game. That was a big momentum swing for us, we didn’t get in, and it was a 14 point swing.” One of the reasons Bellevue has a good football program is they never stop working and Nasonti says that is what is going to happen this week. “We have a young football team. We started four sophomores on the offensive side of the ball. Clear Fork is a veteran team. We give them credit where credit is due. As for our end of it we have to stay the course and get our young kids experience, keep coaching hard, keep playing hard, and I think good things will happen for us. We are going to stay the course here at Bellevue,” he said. Bellevue has (2-0) West Holmes this week followed by Shelby and division one Toledo Start and then it is on to the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. “The kids understand that you have to work hard. You have to come to practice every day. The thing with us we play a very tough schedule. There is no way you can look at our schedule and say that is going to be in a win, a lot teams have that. In our case we really don’t get a chance to catch our breath. It is just going to be full steam ahead all of the time. We have got to let it all hang out every week and let the chips fall where they may,” said Nasonti. West Holmes (2-0) has wins over Wooster Triway (48-14) and Massillon Tuslaw (35-7) in their two games.’ Nasonti says the Knights are a veteran team. “It doesn’t take you long to figure it out when you are looking at the starting lineups and they got 11 seniors on offense and 11 seniors on defense that they are a veteran squad. They are playing good ball. They have an outstanding middle linebacker, their quarterback is an outstanding quarterback that can run and throw. They are another outstanding team that is on our schedule this year. We are going to have to be ready to bring our “A” game,” said Nasonti. Published 9/05/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter @swankonsports For 24/7 local sports click on our listen line at www.swankonsports.com
	Bellevue With Another Tough One Bellevue plays host to Clear Fork in one of the top games in North Central Ohio on Friday night. It is the third meeting between the schools in the last year. They split last season with the Colts winning a regular season meeting at home (21-20) and the Redmen winning a regional semi final (21-13) at Arlin Field in Mansfield last November. On week one this year, Bellevue came up a point short (14-13) in losing to Canton Central Catholic on the road in Stark County. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says kids gave great effort and they just came up a little short when they gambled late in the game. “I thought out kids played hard. We told them before the game we want you to give great effort for 48 minutes. We want them to overcome adversity and put your best foot forward for 48 minutes. I thought our kids did that. They did everything we asked them to do. We just came up about a half a yard short,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We got down there at the end and we scored. We put together a nice drive. We hit a couple of fourth down plays. We scored and decided to go for two, go for the win, and we came up short. Our kids gave great effort. I thought they represented our program the way they wanted to. Now we just need to get back to work and get back on track.” Nasonti says they did a lot of things well, but there are always things they can improve too. “After the first game there are all kinds of the things you need to work on, but I thought our kids ran to the ball well. I thought that we tackled fairly well. You can always improve on that, open field tackling. We are going up against a program that has been in the state championship game three out of the last four years and won a state championship in 2016. They are used to winning down there and we were on the road. We can improve on our open field tackling. We can improve on getting off the ball on both sides of the ball. We can improve on all aspects of our game,” he said. Clear Fork (1-0) hammered Fredericktown (63-0) in their first game last Friday. Nasonti says again the Colts have a lot of weapons. “They are another solid football team. They are coming in here coming off an outstanding season last year, coming off a huge win in week one. They have a number of starters back off of last year’s team that we played in the regionals. They have an outstanding running back and receiver. Their linemen are huge, they are 260, 260, and 265 up front. They are a good football team and we are looking forward to another challenge. When you look at our schedule there are no freebees and we are going to have to earn them every Friday night. We talk to our kids about that. That is the way it is and you know what, that is the way we want it to be. We are excited to embrace the grind here at Bellevue,” said Nasonti. Published 8/28/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Plays Tradition Rich Canton CC Bellevue opens the season on the road Friday night in facing Canton Central Catholic for the second year in a row in non-conference play. The Redmen won this match-up (21-17) on their field last year. This season, veteran coach Ed Nasonti says the Redmen are a bit younger, but these players got a lot of practice reps last fall. “I think our kids are coming along fine. We know we are young coming into the season. We only have three starters back on defense and two on offense, but we got three games deep in the playoffs last year and lot of these kids almost an extra month of practice last year. I think we have some good kids and it means a lot to them to be a Redmen football player. We are excited about our prospects for 2018,” said Nasonti. Yes, the Redmen graduated 17 of their 22 starters from a team that lost to Shelby in the regional final, but Nasonti says tradition really never graduates and these players will be out to prove some things. “Tradition comes into play. You graduate kids, but you have kids in the program and they want to continue the rich tradition of strong football and being competitive every Friday night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I think those are the kind of things that we stress with our kids the process of being a good football team and practicing well and doing a great job in the weight room staying on top of your film study. Those kinds of things, if you cross your “t’s” and dot your “i’s” results will come.” Like Bellevue, Canton Central Catholic has a winning tradition. Plus, Nasonti says the Crusaders have a lot of talent back on their team form a year ago on both sides of the ball. “They have an outstanding program. They have been in three state championship games out of the last four seasons. Two years ago, they were state champions. They return 19 starters on offense and defense, so I think they feel pretty strong about their 2018 team. It is a nice opportunity for us. It’s a nice challenge for us to go in their and play a good football team on week one,” said Nasonti. Published 8/23/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Don’t Forget About Bellevue Bellevue is a high school football program that expects success and this year is no different. The Redmen are a little younger and more inexperienced than they have been, but coach Ed Nasonti says the expectations for success are still high this fall. “We knew coming into the year we were going to be young. We lost 18 seniors, nine starters on one side of the ball and eight starters on the other side of the ball. So, we are young, we are inexperienced, but we have kids that are working hard. We feel we have a rich tradition here. We have high expectations none the less. We are expecting our kids to battle for 10 games,” he said. Nasonti believes this will be another good season for the Redmen. He says they play hard and with heart and this year will be no different. “We have pride here. We have pride in our coaching staff. We have pride in our football team. The other thing is we were able to get 13 games deep last year, three extra weeks in the playoffs and that helps get our younger kids some reps and that helped with some that inexperience we had coming into the season. Right now, we have a lot of question marks like a lot of football teams around the area,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We have a feeling that everything will come out in the wash here. We can get through a couple of scrimmages and see how healthy we can stay. Hopefully we can represent our school and our community like we have over the course of the years.” Bellevue scrimmages Oak Harbor on Friday and Oberlin Firelands next Friday. Nasonti says it is time to find out what they have this season. “Some people like do three scrimmages, we just like two. It as an opportunity to get up against somebody else. You are hitting the same guys and you kind of get used to things, the way things go. You have guys that kind of plan the plays. We are at the point where we need to get out and we need to bang with somebody else and see where we are at. Hopefully, we can get a couple of good tests here and come out relatively healthy and see where we are at,” said Nasonti. Published 8/10/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Clear Fork Uses Big Inning to Get Past Bellevue Clear Fork has won 13 of its last 15 tournament games over the last three springs and the formula has been the same great pitching, outstanding defense and aggressive baserunning and it was no different on Thursday. The Colts (21-7) scored all of their runs in the fourth inning and they kept Bellevue at bay with tremendous defense and they upended the Redmen (4-1) in the division two district semis at Heidelberg College. Bellevue scored first when Bryce Ray tripled over the rightfielder’s head and scored on a ground ball in the bottom of the first. Clear Fork tallied four times in the fourth to grab the lead. Jared Lind opened the inning with a single, Hunter Auck was hit by a pitch, and A.J. Blubaugh singled to load the bases. Dylan Jewell got the Colts on the board with an RBI single to tie the game. Big Paul Francisco laid down a bunt, which the Redmen then threw down the right field line allowing Auck and Blubaugh to scored. After a Gavin Bailey hit, Mason Cox executed a suicide squeeze to plate the final run. They call it small ball. “We were able to get some bunts down and get some runners moving around putting the ball in play and playing the game at our pace and when we are able to do that good things can happen,” said Clear Fork coach Joe Staab. With the way they play, Staab says they can get some big innings. “When we are able to capitalize with the next batter up and kind of just keep the momentum going and keep things going in our favor and that is when the momentum swings and we are able to hopefully have a big inning,” he said. Bellevue coach Andy Dennings complemented Clear Fork on its execution and said they couldn’t come up with the big hit. “They were kind of able to play their style of game there. It was just kind of was what is was they won it in one inning. We had a chance to threaten there a couple of times,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “They got out of a jam there in the fifth with the bases loaded and one out. We competed really well it was just one of those days. That’s baseball.” A lot of Bellevue’s ineffectiveness in clutch situations can be attributed to the Clear Fork defense. Second basemen Lind made a leaping grab of a line drive in the second, Auck made a couple nice picks, and then there was centerfielder Thomas Staab, He made two fine running catches to allow the Colts to escape a bases loaded jam in the fifth, one to left center of the bat of Dalton Hay and the next to right center of the bat of pitcher Mitchell Wells. “He struggled at the plate. He wasn’t there for us at the plate, but defensively he picked us up and did a great job in centerfield,” said his older brother. Then in the sixth he robbed Kayden Vogel of extra bases when sprinted into left center and dove, extending his body fully, and swiping the ball just before it hit the ground. Coach Joe Staab says Thomas gives all he has. “He is aggressive and he laid it out there and whatever he had to do for the team to win and came up with the big catch,” he said. You may watch high school baseball for another hundred years and you will not see three plays made by an outfielder any better like Thomas Staab made on Thursday and they were all made at key times. Jalen Sherriff went the distance for the Colts. He allowed four hits, walked only one and struck out three. Staab says he knows what his job is. “Jalen did a great job of pitching to contact and allowing our defense to stay on their toes and making plays for him,” said Staab. “MOAC” rivals Clear Fork and Ontario meet for the district title on Saturday afternoon at Heidelberg. The Warriors beat Tiffin Columbian (7-0) in their semifinal. Ontario beat Clear Fork in both of their games in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference (6-3) at Clear Fork and (6-2) at Ontario. Staab says they have to play better, it’s that simple. “You play your best baseball you have a chance to win, if you don’t you don’t have a chance to win,” he said. Published 5/18/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball scores
	Bellevue on the Verge After a (3-2) win in eight innings over Tiffin Columbian on Monday, the Bellevue Redmen are in position to win the Bay Division title in the Sandusky Bay Conference. They have to beat rival Clyde, who trails the Redmen by just a game, on Wednesday at Clyde. It looked like they might fall into a tie with Clyde (14-4,8-2) after letting a two-run lead get away Monday against Columbian, but coach Andy Dennings says they came up with the plays they needed. “We played pretty well the entire game. We up 2-0 going to the seventh. They strung a couple of hit together there and we had a little blunder,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We were able to respond and had a chance to win it there in the seventh, but we couldn’t get the big hit. We got a big hit in the eighth and found a way to get it done. It is what we have been doing all year to be honest.” Trey Ruhlman was the hero on Monday with a game winning hit in the eighth for the Redmen. Dennings says he turned personal disappointment into big success. “The funny thing is Trey Ruhlman had the winning RBI. He is a kid that struck out looking twice earlier in the game. I told him you have to lose those at bats, they don’t matter. You have an opportunity to have a big at bat in this game and sure enough he gets a game winning RBI up the middle there in the eighth,” said Dennings. Bellevue (17-1,9-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, beat Clyde (7-3) by scoring four runs in the seventh inning of their first game last month. Dennings says Wednesday is a big opportunity for them. “It is a rivalry for us. They have a great team over there and we were fortunate enough to get them that first game. We are going to give it our best shot in the second game and see if we can get an outright title here on Wednesday,” he said. Published 5/01/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball results
	Bellevue is Steaming If Bellevue isn’t the best baseball team in the area they are the one of the top three. They proved that again on Thursday by beating Clear Fork of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference (6-3) in a non conference game. Coach Andy Dennings says it was a quality win and they had to be able to do some different things to win the game. “Clear Fork was a great opponent. We really enjoyed playing them. They play a little different style of ball with a little more small ball elements than we see all of the time. Every win is a good win right now. With our schedule there is really no weak spots and that is the way we like it. We want to go and compete against the best out there to prepare ourselves for the league and the tournament run,” said Dennings. Bellevue (13-1,8-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, is at home for Shelby (9-4,4-4) for a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday. Bellevue leads Clyde by a game in the division standings. The Fliers broke Shelby’s five game winning streak with a (5-3) win on Thursday. Bellevue beat Shelby (3-2) on April 9 and Dennings knows the Whippets and going to be a challenge. “They have a really nice ballclub. They have a lot of guys that had success last year and some young guys stepping in now. Jon (Amicone) does a nice job with them there. We are excited by the opportunity to play them (Friday) here in Bellevue,” he said. The tournament draw is Sunday and Dennings says they believe they deserve one of the top seeds in division two, but whatever the case they will have to play well. “It’s kind of hard to tell really. We have had a nice season along with a lot of other teams right now. It is a really competitive district. It will be interesting the see how the cards fall there. We hope to at the top there. We feel that we have played that quality of baseball,” he told Swankosnports.com on Thursday. “We will see where new fall and no matter what you are going to have to go through people and it is going to be quite the grind to get out. We are excited. We have played some good baseball here. We want to keep plugging away and improving on our things. We are looking forward to the tournament.” Published 4/27/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball results
	Bellevue Maintains Lake Division Lead A (9-2) win over Norwalk on Thursday evening allowed the Bellevue Redmen to keep a one game lead over Clyde in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Tied (1-1) heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, Bellevue exploded for eight runs. Coach Andy Dennings says it all started with a homer by Mitchell Wells. “Mitchell Wells had a big at bat. I’m not sure, but I think Dalton Hay was on in front of him, he drew a walk. Mitchell Wells came up and was able to hit a two run home run and that kind of got us rolling there in the fifth. It was a really good ballgame back and forth with both teams kind of getting out of jams. We had a couple of opportunities early in the game where we just didn’t get that big hit,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We had first and second and hit a hard shot and a kid made a big play at second base to double us up at second on a really close play and really kind of took us out of the inning. We got it going in fifth and were able to put a bunch on and that held for the rest of the game.” Senior Bryce Ray hit a three run shot later in that fifth inning. Dennings says they were able to time some things up when they got in the batter’s box. “It was the second, third time around that we had seen their starter and we were starting to get some better wood on him. They made a pitching change there and we were able to capitalize off of that. With their kid they were able to make some pitches and get out of jams early in the game. It was similar to what we did against Sandusky, we left 12 on against Sandusky. We had left maybe 10 on going into that fifth against Norwalk and finally we got that big hit to get us going and we took off from there,” he said. Bellevue (10-1,7-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, is made up of a lot of more inexperienced players and Dennings says they have done a fantastic job. “I am proud of these guys. We didn’t return a whole lot of varsity experience, being 11 games in an being 10-1 I am pretty pleased. The credit goes to the kids they handle the ebbs and flows of the game very well. We don’t get too high, we don’t get too low. They keep grinding and sometimes we are not the prettiest at what we do, but they do it very well. They are a group that doesn’t quit. It has been a fun group to coach so far. There is a lot of the season left to play and we have a lot to work on. They believe in each other and believe in what we do and it is really paying off so far,” said Dennings. Published 4/20/18 © Swanksports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest baseball results
	Bellevue Pounds Sandusky Bellevue only has one regular back from last year, but you would hardly know it by the way they are playing. They hammered Sandusky (10-0) in their opener in play in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Monday. Coach Andy Dennings says that is the way you want to start things in league play. “Starting off with a win and kind of putting yourself in the right state of mind in league play is always important. So, it was nice to get that first league win,” he said. Mitchell Wells put together his second strong outing of the young season Monday and Dennings says they were able to throw a lot of strikes. “Mitchell Wells earned his second win (Monday) night. He threw the ball extremely well. We got in a couple jams. We lost the leadoff hitter three innings in a row. We made some plays and he threw some real good pitches to get out of innings and keep that shutout. Daniel Burris came in a threw an innings in relief. We threw the ball well. We were down in the zone. The off speed was over. We were throwing all three pitches for strikes. Really pleased with how we threw it,” said Dennings. It certainly wasn’t a perfect game at the plate, but Dennings the Redmen (3-0,1-0) did some good things with the bats. “We really swung the bats well against Plymouth over the weekend. Sandusky had a couple of errors there to give us life. We were able to jump on them and get five in the first. We were driving the ball to the opposite field. We were hitting balls where were supposed to be hitting balls. We did some nice things at the plate, but we definitely have some things to improve on,” he told Swankonsports.com Monday after the win, “We had a couple of bad at bats with some people (Monday.) The wind really wasn’t moving much and when it was it was blowing in. It was a tough day to hit a little bit with the ball not carrying. We had some good looks and I am happy. Early in the season you are usually a little bit behind hitting wise. We have been pretty competitive at the plate 1-9, so I have been pretty excited about that.” Published 4/03/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com for the latest results
	Bellevue Young, but Committed Bellevue has put together one of the more consistent baseball programs among the bigger schools in North Central Ohio and this should be another good one for the Redmen. The Redmen hammered Port Clinton (11-1) in six innings on Monday, but coach Andy Dennings says they still have things to clean up. “There is a lot to work on. We had some positives, but there are plenty of negatives in there, which you kind of figure early in the year. We didn’t hit the ball as well as we liked. I think we stranded eight runners. We have to improve on some situational hitting. We left second and third and no outs in first inning and struck out three consecutive times when they were playing the infield back,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “That is not something we can’t do and we talked about that after the game. We have to execute and we have to get at least two runs out of that. We responded the next inning we put a six spot up.” One real positive was they were able to get a solid pitching performance in the first game, according to Dennings. “We have a really good pitching performance Mitchell Wells pitched really well. We gave up one early on, on a passed ball that we shouldn’t have. Like I said I expected to make a couple of mistakes. It was nice to get out and play and get a victory,” he said. This spring the Redmen (1-0) are going to be a little short on experience, but Dennings still feels they will be pretty good. “These kids should know the lay of the land pretty well. We are an older team as far as our age, but we not older as far as our experience. We have Bryce Ray that is back and he is a four year starter for us. He has been through the thick and thin with us. Mitchell Wells was up with us last year and Bryce McMurry. Really Bryce Ray is the only true starter that started every game that we have back. They know the expectations and now they have to go out and do it. We are pretty confident. I have really good kids and they are hungry. They just need some time to play and kind of get that varsity game speed and they will be fine,” said Dennings. They played Monday, but they had to be back inside on Tuesday. They are scheduled to play Willard on Thursday and Vermilion on Friday. Their first Lake Division game is Monday against Sandusky. Dennings says with the weather you must have mental discipline and a sound approach to practice. “I know with our practice we pick one or two things that we fell like we really have struggled with and really make a concerted effort and try and attack that an address that issue whatever it is. Hitting to the opposite field, which is what we worked on (Tuesday.) We had too many kids reaching around to get balls and that just comes with reps. You have to take those moments when you can as a coach. By going in there and just going through the motions you are not getting anything out of it in my opinion. You are better off going an hour, hour and a half and pick something out and really address it and fine tune it and get the kids out because they don’t want to be in there anymore. You have to take advantage of opportunities to get your hands on the kids because it doesn’t come that often once the season starts,” said Dennings. Published 3/28/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our 24/7 listen line for the latest in baseball news
	Bellevue Faces Ontario in District Semis It’s Bellevue and Ontario in the girls’ division two district semi finals on Thursday night at Galion High School. Bellevue, the outright champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, advanced with a convincing (68-26) win over Mansfield Senior. Meanwhile, Ontario (15-8) produced a mild upset with a (43-41) win over Willard in games played last Saturday evening at Monroeville High School. Bellevue (22-1) has been very good since the start of the season, but coach Kory Santoro says they have steadily improved too. “We have gotten better. We play some young kids. We play two freshmen and a sophomore that is very experienced from last year. The two young freshmen have developed into pretty nice players. Some of the girls we brought up from the JV team last year have developed very well too. So, we are happy with the players we have right now,’ said Santoro. Of course, Ontario, now in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, was in the Northern Ohio League with Bellevue for the last four years and Santoro says he is familiar with what the Lady Warriors bring to the table. “We are very familiar with them they played in our league for a couple of years. We played them last year at the same time of the year in the district semis, so we are very familiar with their team. Most of the girls from last year are back with them this year,” he said. Bellevue won that game (48-47) before loosing to Norwalk in last year’s district final. Mitch Willike is the new coach this year at Ontario and Santoro says he has brought some discipline to the Lady Warriors, plus they have good talent. “I think with the new coach they look really disciplined. The Shelby girl is really tough, the Payne girl. They play hard and you are going to have to play team beat them,” he said. When it comes to the keys to a win by Bellevue, Santoro says they are really no different from what they have been all season. “We have to continue to do what we do. Keep believing in what we want to do and stay the course and with the same game plan they have had all season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We want to turn teams over, we want to play aggressive defense, and we want to shoot a high percentage. We want girls knocking down shots and we want to get to the free throw line.” Published 2/28/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Must Slow Down Vermilion Bellevue plays the number one seed in the district in the Vermilion Sailors in a first round tournament game in division two Tuesday night at Willard High School. The Sailors (18-4), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, are outright champions of the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Bellevue (10-12) finished sixth in the Lake Division. Bellevue lost Norwalk (53-42) last Friday in a Lake Division game last Friday. It was their fourth straight loss. Coach Ed Rich feels they were pretty competitive for the most part, except for the third quarter. “We actually played really hard. I thought we played really, really well. The only quarter that got us was in the third quarter. I think we went into halftime tied and in the third quarter we came out an only scored four points. Their defense really amped up and we missed some easy shots. Other than that we played them even or in we were ahead of them for the other three quarters, but you have to put four good quarters together when you play good teams,” said Rich. Vermilion is athletic and Rich says they have kids that can play all over the court. “They are really good because they play like positionless basketball, everyone can play every spot. They have three really nice guard-wings in the Pfeil kid, the Hurd kid and Montgomery. They are all really good players. They shoot the three ball well and they are one of the more unselfish teams I have seen in a long time. They kind of just enjoy playing the game and enjoy other people’s success. So, they are definitely a solid team,” he said. Bellevue has shown a tendency to run, but Vermilion likes to do it all of the time. Rich says they will have to pick and choose their spots. “They do push it, there is no doubt. It is the quickest I have seen all year, especially on makes. They are a team if it is a make they get it out and go and get it down the court in no time. We are going to get out and run if we can,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “If it is not there we are going to get in our half court stuff. I am not afraid to run with them. If shots are falling, shots are falling. If we are running and shots are falling we are in good shape, if they are not we are going to have to rely on our half court stuff and try and slow them down a little bit.” Rich says they have make the Sailors play slower and they have must play great perimeter defense. “At the top the of the list is slowing them down in transition. That is one of their major strengths to get out and go. They pick up some easy baskets that way. I guess the next thing would be to close out on shooters. They have three guys that are shooting a really high percentage, two over 40 percent, and one close to 40 percent from the three. So, they can really shoot the ball,” he said. Published 2/27/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live ever Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Wants to Get Right Versus Norwalk Bellevue didn’t play very well in their loss to Huron on Tuesday night and they have one chance to get better before the tournament when they play at Norwalk on Friday night in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Huron beat Bellevue (55-42) on Tuesday night and coach Ed Rich says they didn’t play well or very hard. “On Tuesday night we weren’t very good. I thought Huron came in with a good game plan and made us work for our shots and took advantage of us on defense. We just weren’t good. We didn’t have a whole lot of energy. We just kind of jogged though our stuff,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I was kind of shocked because even though we had lost two last weekend I thought in the second half against Clyde we played really well. Against Oak Harbor we played a really good game there we just couldn’t get that final stop. So, I was a little shocked on Tuesday by the way we played.” Bellevue (10-11,4-7) is at Norwalk (12-9,6-5) on Friday night in a division game. When they first got together earlier this month, Norwalk won (54-41) on February 1. Norwalk runs a lot of stuff and shows you different looks on defense and Rich says they are really good at executing their plays and defenses. “What they are really good at is running their stuff and if their options aren’t open they can create that next option. That’s great floor spacing. They know where they need to be, they know what they need to do when option one, two, or three are taken they know where to go to get that option four. They are definitely a disciplined team,” he said. With the tournament approaching next week, and Bellevue playing the top seed in Vermilion, Rich says playing Norwalk is a good way to improve in all areas. “You know Coach Gray is going to have them at the top of their game when they get into the tournament. They are going to be trying some things and prepping for the tournament. Hopefully, it is one of those games when it is a good chess match. We play all four quarters and come out on top,” said Rich. Published 2/23/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Feeling Better Bellevue have found itself again and put together three straight wins last week heading into a big game at Clyde on Friday night in Lake Division play in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Clyde is one three schools, Shelby and Norwalk are the others, that trail Sandusky by a game in the division standings. Norwalk plays Sandusky on Friday night and if the Truckers win we could have a four way tie. Bellevue would like to throw a further monkey wrench into it. Bellevue (10-8,4-6) beat Ontario (64-59) Tiffin Columbian (61-46) and Plymouth (64-53) last week. Coach Ed Rich says they have kind of got back in their rhythm again. “It started last week at Ontario was a nice win, we picked up a league win on Friday night against Tiffin and a non-league win against Plymouth on Saturday, so we are happy with the three wins,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We played some good basketball on Tuesday, played about three good quarters on Friday, and got the win on Saturday, so that’s all that matters.” Clyde (13-6,6-4) beat Bellevue (83-56) the first time they played and Rich says the Fliers really dominated them. “We found that out they hard way the first time. I thought we were prepared the first time we played them and they came out and basically just ran all over us. They hurt us in every phase of the game the first time. I have to believe we are a little more prepared this time and ready for the challenge,” he said. Clyde is one of those teams that will just press you for 32 minutes all over the floor. Rich says they must hold their turnovers down, something they didn’t do the first time. “They are very emotional. They play off of Cam Farrar. He is one of their starters and he is a good emotional leader. He gets them going they get some steals and he hits some shots. He really gets them going and everybody gets going. I know we are going to have our turnovers. As crazy as it may sound we are going to try and limit it to between 12 and 15 turnovers and I think we will be in good shape if we can do that,” said Rich. Bellevue and Clyde are rivals and Rich says they would like nothing better than to ruin the Fliers title hopes. “I am confident going in. I know they took it to us the first time, but I believe we still have good basketball left. We started a good trend last week with those three wins in a row and hopefully we come in with some confidence,” he said. Published 2/16/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue and Norwalk in Title Game Bellevue hosts Norwalk in a showdown in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Thursday night. If Bellevue (20-1,11-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com girls’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, wins they take the girls’ basketball title outright. If Norwalk (18-3,10-1), #3 in our poll, wins the two will share the title. Bellevue coach Kory Santoro says they look forward to games like this. “(Thursday) night is going to be a big atmosphere, a big environment, a playoff time game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “If we win we win a league title outright and if we get beat we share it. We want to play well (Thursday) night.” The goal at the beginning of the season was to win the Lake Division title and not share it with anyone, according to Santoro. “The ultimate goal is to win the league title outright,” he said. Bellevue beat Norwalk (51-35) when they played at Norwalk on January 9. Santoro says the Lady Truckers are athletic and they play an aggressive game. “It starts with their head coach. I think they are well coached. They are very well prepared. They have great athletes. Their defense creates their offense. They like to press the ball and that is what they are good at. So, that is something we have to be able to do, we have to handle the ball, be smart with it,” said Santoro. Published 2/15/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight \
	Bellevue Has to Play with More Effort Bellevue has some good talent on the basketball floor, but in order to produce more wins they have to have more of a consistent effort and they aren’t getting that right now. They lost (69-62) to Shelby in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Saturday night. However, coach Ed Rich says it was really kind of a blowout. “The score showed that is was pretty close, but to be honest the score doesn’t really tell the whole story. They took it to us. We ended up making a decent run to make it close. I went away from that game feeling like we lost by 20, 25 points. We just didn’t have the effort. We didn’t play very hard and when we did it was just one of those times when it was too late to make up for how we played early. So, it was a rough one for us,” said Rich, Bellevue has lost six of its last seven, that was after winning six of its first eight. Rich says their woes have been tied to a variety of things as of late. “Unfortunately, every night it is something different. We were really bad defensively on Saturday. Offensively when we score in the 60’s that’s what I like. When we score in the 60’s I believe we should win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “X’s and O’s wise I don’t think we need to change anything in what we do, it is how hard we play at times. Sometimes we play like we should, hard, talking, moving, and other times we are kind of lackadaisical. When we are in that situation it gets us in trouble.” Bellevue (7-8) plays at Ontario (9-6) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. Ontario is coming off a tough loss to Clear Fork (53-48) in overtime in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Saturday night. Rich says Ontario is always a very good team on defense and this year is no different for the Warriors. “They get up in their normal diamond press and try and get you into some turnovers. In the half court, I am sure they are going to get up on the ball and pressure you and pack it in the paint a little bit. They are tough to score on, especially if you are not running your stuff at game speed they are going to make you pay for it,” he said. Published 2/06/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Without Ruhlman Bellevue is going to play at least the next little bit without its best player in guard Trey Ruhlman. In fact, that was a case last week in a loss to Upper Sandusky (85-64) on Thursday and a win (60-55) over Edison on Friday, both in non-conference play. Coach Ed Rich thinks considering the circumstances they played pretty well last week. “It was a pretty good weekend for us to be honest. We lose Trey Ruhlman Wednesday night in practice and have to turn around and play Upper on Thursday. We go into that game losing 20 points a game and probably our best defender and best ball handler. I really thought we didn’t play too bad against them. Upper hit 13 threes and shot nearly 70 percent from three. It looks like a blow out, but played well, they just hit shots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We are without one of our guys and we beat Edison. That was a huge win for us, especially if the guys were questioning if we could win without our best player.” In regards to Ruhlman, Rich doesn’t know when he will be back with them, but he hopes it is soon. “He is slowly getting back into things. He is seeing some specialists and everything for his ankle. It is ankle that has been bothering him all year. He hadn’t missed any time, but now he has. We are hoping he can get back into it and we can get on a good run here,” he said. Bellevue (7-6,3-4) is at home with Norwalk (8-7,5-3,) who has become one of the better big school teams here as of late. The Truckers beat Perkins (44-41) and Huron (52-47) last week. Thursday night is the first meeting between the two teams and Rich know they are going to be in for a battle. “They have been really good. I think they have won four or five in a row and they have been good teams. They went into Clyde and beat Clyde, went to Perkins and beat Perkins, beat Huron last week. They have been playing some pretty good basketball. It really shows on film. They look like a complete team,” he said. Bellevue beat Shelby (56-55) in December. Even though the Whippets (8-6,4-4) have lost their last four, including (68-57) to Clyde and (45-41) to Lexington last week, Rich says this is still a talented team. “They have a great roster. Right now they are kind of lacking just in the depth part. I think they only have seven guys that are playing regularly. They look at their last four games and they have played some really good teams. They lost to Sandusky, St. Peter’s, Lexington, and Clyde. That is four losses against four good teams and all of the games were close. It is not like they are getting blown out, they are right there. They are a really dangerous team,” said Rich. Published 1/31/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Needs to Find it Again Bellevue has lost its last three games and they need to get back to where they were when they won six of their first eight. Their coach believes it is practice is going to be the difference. They play at Upper Sandusky in a non-league on Thursday night and at home against Edison on Friday night in a cross over game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Coach Ed Rich says they have kind of lost their way a little. “We have been in a little slump here. We have played some really good teams and that had a lot of do with it, but also we just haven’t been very good either. I thought we played good in spurts against Sandusky. Not really against Perkins. The way to get out of it is getting after it in practice,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “That is something we have been preaching, especially this week we have tried to get back in a routine and get after it. I think we got a little complacent there for a while due to many things just like any other team. I thought we had three really good days of practice this week so hopefully we see some results this weekend.” Rich believes when they had some games cancelled earlier this month it got them out of their rhythm. “It definitely had an affect on us, other teams in didn’t affect as much. I think that is where it starts with us. We got out of routine. We had a game scheduled on Friday and game scheduled on Saturday and both got canceled. Didn’t get into the gym either day. It got us out of routine and it just took us a while to get back to it. Hopefully, we are back to the team I saw earlier this year,” he said. Bellevue (6-5) is at Upper Sandusky (11-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Thursday night. The Rams will be coming in off a high having beaten Carey (74-69) in overtime in an important league game. Rich says the Rams are great at improvisation. “Their style hasn’t changed for a couple of years with coach Winslow. They get out and get after you on defense. They are very physical and very scrappy. On offense, they are really hard to scout. The start with some secondary breaks, some secondary sets. What they are really good at is they make great reads. Their screeners make great screens. They don’t have to call anything they can just play. They are a tough matchup all of the way around,” he said. Edison (9-5) has lost its last three after winning nine of its first 11 games. They lost to Margaretta (37-26) and Vermilion (59-53) last week. Rich says the Chargers have some experienced big guys. “Especially two guys this is their fourth year as lettermen. So, they have two guys we really need to focus on. They have other athletes they mix in. They are a little bit different than Upper. They don’t get up and down like Upper. Sometimes they will set in a 2-3 zone. It will be two different game plans for Thursday and Friday,” he said. Published 1/25/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Boards Key for Bellevue Bellevue beat Sandusky in their first meeting with a really good performance they are going to need that and a little bit more on Tuesday night as they travel to Sandusky to meet the Blue Streaks in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference. The schools are in a four way tie for first place in the division as Shelby and Sandusky Perkins also have two losses after Shelby beat Perkins (54-53) on Monday night. Bellevue has not played in 10 days after having games against Norwalk and Ontario wiped out by the weather last week. Coach Ed Rich says that can be frustrating. “It is a big challenge. I thought we were pretty prepared, especially for Norwalk on Friday and even Friday night when we knew we weren’t going to play I had my kids do their scouting report on Ontario. So, I think we were as prepared as we could be for Ontario. Then that gets cancelled and we turn around and have go in and play Sandusky now (Tuesday) night,” he said. Bellevue beat Sandusky (77-60) in their first game of the season on December 8, so they have seen them once this year and Rich says that is a little bit of an advantage, however, Sandusky is a lot better. “That definitely helps. We have played them once before in the first game of the season and played then well, so we obviously know what to expect. They have a couple of new wrinkles they have been doing. The scary thing is they have been playing some much better basketball then they were at the beginning of the season. We are definitely going to have our hands full (Tuesday) night,” he said. Rebounding was a big factor in Bellevue’s favor in December and Rich says that is going to have to be the case again and he says with some personnel additions for the Streaks that is going to be more difficult. “The biggest thing is they got one of their players back. I think he was out the first two games. He is a about a 6’5”, 6’6” kid, he rebounds the ball really well and that was one of our strengths the first game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We really hit the glass hard and limited their second shots. That is the biggest thing I think is making sure when this Baldwin kid comes in that we box him out and keep him off the glass. Sandusky is really relying on their second shots. If they miss the first one they are very good at getting the offensive rebound and getting their next one. I think that is the biggest thing we need to adjust to.” Published 1/16/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Must Execute on Offense Bellevue faces two of the better defensive teams in the area this week when host Norwalk in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference on Friday and travel to Ontario for a non-league game on Saturday. After starting the season with six wins in eight games, including wins over Sandusky and Shelby, Clyde hammered the Redmen (83-56) on Saturday night in a Lake Division game. Coach Ed Rich says the Fliers came in prepared. “They came in and no lie about it they took it to us pretty good. They came in with a good game plan and executed their game plan. They made us look as bad as we have all year. It’s a credit to them they came in and they were ready to play and they did what they needed to do and really pounded us,” said Rich. Norwalk (3-7,2-3) comes to Bellevue (6-3,3-2) on Friday night. The Truckers lost to Shelby (42-31) and Sandusky (71-60) in division games last week. Norwalk may only have three wins, but Rich says the Truckers are always going to be tough to beat. “They are always dangerous. Coach Gray, he can put anybody on the floor and be competitive. They really have some nice players, especially the Haraway kid he is a really nice player. They are definitely dangerous. They can beat anyone at anytime. We are not going to take them lightly,” he said. Tempo might be pretty big in this one. Rich says they don’t want to get caught playing a half court game against the Truckers. “They are going to run all kinds of sets. He wants to keep the tempo at a pace where they dictate it. He is going to run anything he can in order to run the game in the way he wants it to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “You have to be prepared. He’s got set upon set upon set. His kids run their things really well and they know exactly what he wants and they know exactly where they need to be. So, they are tough to prepare for.” Ontario (7-3) will entertain Bellevue on Saturday night. The Warriors have had trouble scoring at times this year, but Rich says they their bread and butter is their defense. “They do have a different look. What they have really focused on this year and it shows when they play is their defense. They are really relying hard core on their defense. They don’t have that guard that they usually have that can run the team and put the ball in the hoop. I am telling you what they defend. It is going to be a tough weekend. We play Norwalk, who defends extremely well, and then we turn around and play Ontario, who defends extremely well. So, we really need to be on on offense this week to have a successful weekend,” said Rich. Published 1/10/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Feeling it Bellevue has beaten two of the preseason favorites in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference in Sandusky and Shelby, but they know they still have to get better. They at Tiffin Columbian on Thursday and at home against rival Clyde on Saturday in division games. Coach Ed Rich says he knew they could be pretty good. “I think people knew we had some decent guards, but they weren’t sure what the rest of our roster would give us. We had a good feeling that we were going to be pretty good. We are not where we want to be, but I can’t complain with a 5-2 start,” he said. Are there things to improve? By all means. Rich says two are rebounding and closing out games. “What we need to do to get better is we have to start rebounding the ball. That is a huge thing for us. When one of our guys goes out of the game we lose our rebounding edge. That is one the biggest things. The next thing is taking care of the ball in late situations,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Against Shelby we were up six with 40 seconds to go and they had a shot to win it at the end because we kind of panicked at the end with the ball. There are definitely a couple of things we have to work on right there.” Bellevue (5-3,2-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Tiffin Columbian (2-5,0-3) on Thursday night. The Tornadoes did not play at all last week. They lost their last Lake Division game to division leader Sandusky Perkins (58-44) on December 23. Rich says they want to be physical. “They are an aggressive, physical team. They like to spread you out. They have a very physical point guard, the Simmons kid. They are going to try and get it to the rack, get it to the line and try and out physical you. Get up in you on “D” and try and force you to do things you don’t want to do. They have two wins this year, but we have to go to their place and play and they are definitely going to be ready to play,” said Rich. Clyde (3-4,1-3) has a new coach in Ryan Fretz and Rich says they want to press you all over the floor and all of the time. “It’s a big rivalry and Clyde is pretty good. They are really good in the press game and they like to trap all over the floor and I am talking like all over the floor and they don’t just stop trapping once you pass half court. They run a lot of guys in and out and play 10 guys pretty evenly. They just try and wear you down and force you into turnovers and again in to things you don’t want to do,” he said. Published 1/04/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Travels to Shelby Friday night, Bellevue travels to Shelby to meet the Whippets in a key early season matchup in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Both have one loss so far in the division and they don’t want two this early in the campaign. Bellevue lost to Mansfield Madison (78-68) last Saturday in a holiday tournament. Coach Ed Rich says they did some good things in the loss. “Late in the third quarter there I thought we got into a rhythm and that was because we were forcing some turnovers and pressuring them into some mistakes and got our offense going with the defense. That is how we want to play. We want to turn people over and we want our defense to turn into offense and good shots,” he said. Bellevue wants to push the pace this year and Rich says when in the half court they have been a little inconsistent. “There have been times we have run good half court offense. I thought Saturday we jogged through our stuff too much. We didn’t hit our cuts hard. We didn’t use our screens. There have been times, especially against Sandusky we executed really well, but the other games it has kind of been hit or miss,” said Rich. Bellevue (3-2,1-1) is at Shelby (4-1,1-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night. Rich says the Whippets were predicted to be good and they are. “They are good. They have one of the better rosters in the league. We knew that coming in. I think they were picked to finish second. Right now, it is anyone’s battle. They definitely have a nice roster. They are going to be tough to defend,” he said. Rich says the Whippets do run some sets, but when they don’t get what they want right away they are to improvise and get the score and that makes them difficult to defend. “What they do really well is they run a couple of sets and when their set breaks down they are able to play out of it. They don’t have to reset and call something else out. If their options are taken away off their play call they play off it really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They are really good at penetrating and sucking up your big guy and then dropping it off to their big guy. They are tough to scout and tough to defend.” Published 12/29/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Madison Outruns Bellevue Both teams wanted to run the floor, but Madison did it better on Saturday evening and they knocked off the Bellevue Redmen (78-68) in a non-conference boys’ basketball game played at Ontario High School. There were no field goals in first two and half minutes of play and Madison coach Tim Mergel thought they were a little tentative. “They were sending some pressure at us and I thought at first we were timid. We would pass out of trap and we would catch and hold the ball. I told the guys it doesn’t matter if you catch the ball and someone is in your face and we are one on one with someone unguarded in front of us. The kids responded well to that,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We got to the paint and when we didn’t get there we got some kick out shots. We got in a pretty good rhythm there. We got in some foul trouble and weathered the storm and I was proud of our kids maintaining the lead.” Once they got going both teams made some shots and Bellevue (3-2) held a (18-17) lead with 6:12 to play in the half on a three by Jake Waskelis, but Madison would outscore the Redmen (15-5) for the remainder of the half to take (32-23) lead into the intermission. Bellevue coach Ed Rich says they didn’t have any energy and he was disappointed. “We were sluggish. We were really, really sluggish to begin. I don’t if it is because we haven’t played since Saturday? We expected to come out and be the team with more energy to be honest. They played two games against two good teams this week. We thought we would come out and really get up and down Kyle Jackson had 26 for the Rams (4-3) including two dunks and Mason Campbell added 18. Tyler Tacket had 11 and Mergel says he was able to get some good looks. “Tyler is going to have those games where teams aren’t going to notice him a whole lot because of the attention that Mason brings and Kyle brings and even Shamir (Brown) brings when he is knocking down shots. Being a sophomore, he is going to have to step up and fill that void and he has done a nice job for us,” said Mergel. Rich says they allowed Madison to get too many open shots. “They got a lot of easies in the paint and they got a lot of straight line drives. I don’t know what it was, we just didn’t defend. We were just giving straight line drives the whole game. When we would collapse we would foul and it was the and one. It was rough,” he said. After trailing by as much as 16 (53-37) with 2:37 left in the third quarter, Bellevue battled back to cut it to four (61-57) with 6:37 to play, but Mergel says they were able to battle though the adversity. “The foul trouble hurt us a little bit, but we have some senior leadership. We asked Mason to handle the ball a little bit more (Saturday) night. He was successful getting to the rim and finishing. If you just take care of the basketball you are going to get layups. Unfortunately, we had a couple of turnovers, but nothing that hurt us too bad,” he said. Trey Ruhlman had 26 for Bellevue, but left with 4:38 remaining with an ankle injury and did not return. Mergel says they had problems containing the outstanding Bellevue point guard. “They were running the high ball screen and I think we switched three different times and every time I switched he went a different direction. We got beat weakside a couple of times and that should never happen. We should never get beat weakside on a ball screen. That kid has some hangtime and he can finish, unlike some other guards that we face,” said Mergel. Published 12/24/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Close Outs a Must for Bellevue Bellevue does not play a league this week, but they face a very interesting game against Mansfield Madison on Saturday in non-conference play. After a loss to Sandusky Perkins (55-51) last Friday in a Lake Division game in the Sandusky Bay Conference, the Redmen came out and scored repeatedly in beating Port Clinton (92-54) on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says it was a good way to rebound. “We came out pretty hungry and we came out and took care of business like we wanted to, so it was a good win for us,” he said. Rich says they changed their offensive approach this summer. He says they like the quick down approach and they have the horses to make that work. “We are pretty explosive offensively. We like to get up and down as much as we can. That was one of the things we worked on quite a bit in the off season. My guys wanted to do it. We took a look at it and when we get up and down we are pretty good,” he said. Bellevue (3-1) plays Madison (3-2) on Saturday at Ontario High School in a Holiday Tournament. The Rams own a three game winning streak, including a (76-68) win over Sandusky on Tuesday night. Rich says the Rams are very athletic and they also have kids that can shoot too. He says they are the whole package. “I saw them (Tuesday) night against Sandusky and they are probably going to be the most athletic team we play. They have guys that are pretty athletic at all positions. It starts with Kyle Jackson, he is a really, really nice player. He can play all five positions, so he is a tough match-up for anybody,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “The other things about them is they really fill it up. They shoot the ball with a lot of confidence and I think there have been at least two games this year where they have hit over 10 threes. We have to be really disciplined defensively.” Defensively, Rich says they have to get hands in the face of the Rams shooters and make them feel uncomfortable. “It starts with the basic fundamentals. We have to close out off the pass, we have to close out with high hands, and try and get those shooters to second guess their shot. Right now, they seem to comfortable when they catch and shoot. There has been little to no closeouts. We want to play our normal defense , but make sure we close out and get a hand in the shooters face an attempt to get them out of their shooting rhythm.” Published 12/21/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Doing Good Things Bellevue probably surprised some people with their play this past weekend and now they face a tough game this Friday on road at Sandusky Perkins in play in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Redmen belted preseason league favorite Sandusky (77-60) on Friday night in their first game of the season. On Saturday night, they held off old rival Willard (47-43) in an interdivisional game. Coach Ed Rich says the had to dig down deep on Saturday night and they were able to do that. “I knew going into Saturday we were going to be a little fatigued. A lot emotion, a lot of energy went into our Friday night game. We went in there and actually got up 17 at one point and they found a way to come back and make it a close game. The coaching staff went in think we were going to be in for a dogfight. We came out on top and a win is a win, so we will take it,” said Rich. Rich says they really executed their stuff well against the Blue Streaks, but against Willard the Flashes made things difficult. “Especially on Friday we were really good executing our stuff. We hit all of our shots on Friday. Saturday, they threw a lot of different looks at us. We weren’t as prepared as we should be and that’s on me. Willard gave us a man look and some zone looks and switched it up quite a bit. So, they kept us off balanced pretty much the entire night,” he said. Bellevue (2-0,1-0) is at Sandusky Perkins (3-1,1-0) on Friday night in Lake Division play. The Pirates beat Clyde (72-71) in double overtime on Friday on two free throws by Jacob Voight with :01 left. Then beat Huron (54-47) on Saturday night. Rich says this going to be a good one. “I have saw a couple of their games. In some of those games they probably didn’t play as well as (coach McVeigh) would like, but they found way to win. They had a good weekend, I think they had a double overtime win on Friday and then they went to Huron on Saturday and won,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “I think things are starting to come together and they definably have got some guys who are scary who are going to be tough matchups for us. It’s always a tough place to play. We will have our hands full with Perkins.” Rich says a win puts them in good shape early in the league race. “That is what we are going to preach at practice because if we can knock off Perkins on Friday we can be 2-0 in the league and looking pretty good at the start of the season,” he said. Published 12/12/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Starts its Season With Sandusky After making it to the third round of the football playoffs, Bellevue is ready to tip off its basketball season with games against Sandusky on Friday and Willard on Saturday. It is never easy to tell, but coach Ed Rich believes they have done all they can to ready for the weekend, despite the shorter preseason. “I think we are ready to play. We had nine guys out for football and we got those guys back a couple of weeks ago. I think we have our time in and I think we are ready to go,” he said. Plus, Rich says there have been some good things during the preseason that makes him think they will be pretty good. “We had our last scrimmage last Saturday and I thought we played pretty well. I thought that was the best we have played all preseason, so I felt pretty good after Saturday,” he said. Sandusky is the defending division two district champion and they are going to be pretty good again this year. The Blue Streaks beat Ashland (65-54) last Friday as Keith Williams had 19 points. Jayresse Williams was the district player of the year and he was lost to graduation, but Rich says the Streaks are still pretty darn good. “They lost quite a bit. They only guy really they have coming back is Keith Williams. He was one of the better players in the league. He was probably number two right behind Jayreese,” he told Swankonsporys.com on Tuesday, “They are playing the same way. The only thing that I see that is different is they are just a little bit less consistent than they were last year, but I think that will come as the season goes on.” Willard (0-2) lost to Upper Sandusky (60-49) and Lexington (80-39) last weekend. The Flashes have a new coaching staff, but Rich says he knows what he is getting. “They are getting better there is no doubt. I know Joe (Bedingfield) pretty well. I coached against him when I was at Galion and he was Willard JV coach and I was Galion JV coach. We had some great matchups when we both coached JV’s. I think we know each other well. I know he is going to turn that team around,” he said. Published 12/06/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs live every Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Ready to Go Bellevue might have a lot of points to make up, but they have the kind of personnel to challenge unbeaten Shelby on Friday. They play the Whippets in the division four regional final at Community Stadium in Ashland. The Redmen beat Clear Fork (20-13) last week in a semifinal and veteran coach Ed Nasonti is really proud of how his kids have played the second half of the season. “I am proud of our kids. I think we have been playing solid football the back half of the season. We put a new defense in and I thought we struggled a little bit with growing pains early on, plus we got bit by the injury bug. We have put it together the back half of the season and the kids are playing well. They are excited and having fun and playing with enthusiasm and our practices have been outstanding, so we are enjoying the whole thing and we are happy to be in week 13,” said Nasonti. Of course, Bellevue and Shelby were both charter members of the Northern Ohio League, which started in 1944 and existed until last year. Nasonti says this is the first time teams from that former league have met in a football regional final. “Without a doubt it is ironic. All of the years we had the “NOL” back since 1944. I think you are looking at 73 years of Northern Ohio league football and I don’t think it has ever happened that you had two teams from the same conference meeting in the regional championship game. So, we are excited to be in the regional championship game. We are looking forward to it and hopefully we will put our best foot forward,” he said. Shelby easily won their regional final (47-7) over St. Mary’s Memorial last week. There has been a running clock in every one of the Whippets 12 games so far. Nasonti says it is no surprise that Shelby is very good, rather it is expected. “When you look at them they are basically an all-star team. They have explosive guys at every position. Anybody who has followed football at all can tell you it is not a big surprise what they are doing this year and they are having that kind of success. We saw this group coming through from the seventh grade on. You take a look at the quarterback position, you look at the wide receiver position, you look at the running back position, you look at their D-line and their skilled guys. They are solid at every spot. There is no question that they were going to have a solid ball club this year and they were solid last year too,” said Nasonti. On week four of the regular season, Shelby beat Bellevue (46-0) and Nasonti says they have to do a lot of things better. “When you take a look at the film we didn’t do a great job tackling in space and that’s what they are good at. They get you out in an open area and make you have to tackle in space. We didn’t do a great job with that. We didn’t do a great job handling them up front. They won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The kid did a great job with kick and punt returns. They won the special teams end of it. I think when you look at week four we feel we have improved. Our focus has been on just improving ourselves,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “There was a lot of improvement to be made. As a coaching staff we just put our blinders on. We made up our mind that we are going to block out all of the noise. We are going to coach as hard as we can and get our kids to play as hard as we possibly can and see what happens. We did that, and the kids responded and we have won seven out of the last eight games. We feel we are in a good position and you’re going into week 13 and we are going to fire all of our bullets and let the chips fall where they may.” Published 11/16/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Wants the Big One It was an overtime win on week two of the regular season over Bellevue that helped push Clear Fork to the first seed in their division four region and now the Redmen have their chance at revenge. The two teams play for a second time Friday night at Arlin Field in Mansfield in the division four regional semifinals. The winner gets a ticket to the elite eight. Bellevue (8-3) pounded Pepper Pike Orange (34-6) last week in their playoff opener, Treston Francis, a young man that didn’t play the first time against Clear fork, scored four times. Coach Ed Nasonti says his team has really improved this season and are at the top of their game. “I think the last three weeks our kids are playing the best football of the year and that’s what you want at the end of the year you want to be playing your best football and I think we are doing that. We are coming together. We put the new defense in and it took some time, we had some growing pains early,” he told Swankonsports.com on Facebook, “The kids are understanding it. They are running to the ball, they are not thinking, they are reacting and that’s what you want.” Clear Fork (11-0) blanked Lorain Clearview (44-0) last week and Nasonti says there is no question the Colts are a good team. “They are a solid football team. There is no way you can win 11 straight games without being solid on both sides of the ball. I think their kids are well coached. They have a good program down there and they are a solid football team,” he said. Defense has been the backbone for the Colts this year. They have bene very good against a good schedule and something that their opponents consistently mention. Nasonti says they are strong on all levels. “They have good size and they have good skilled guys in the secondary that run well. They do some things to keep their linebackers protected. They are fast enough to play man coverage, but they can load up the box if they have to. It is a winning formula for them,” he said. An interesting fact here is both team use two quarterbacks, Francis and Riley Renward for Bellevue and Blake Dinsmore and Jared Schaefer for Clear Fork. All four have done some really good things this year. Nasonti says it is a system that works for both. “If you do it right and have a good feel for it and you have guys that accept their role. I would say you are looking at two teams that have proven that it can work for you. I know they do the same things that we do. They have two good athletes up there that give them to different aspects of offense. We do the same thing that they are doing and it is working for both of us. It is interesting to have both teams that can get that done,” said Nasonti. Published 11/10/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Healthy Again; Plays Orange Bellevue has played a murderous schedule and has done so with kids on the injured list, but they are playing their best football of the year heading into the second season and they are as healthy as they have been all year. The Redmen (7-3) play at Pepper Pick Orange in a division four regional quarterfinal on Friday night. They advanced courtesy of a (33-14) win over rival Clyde last week that vaulted them from number nine in the standings in their region to fifth. Veteran head coach Ed Nasonti says that win over Clyde was huge in a number of ways. “You want to come in playing good football. You want to come in coming off of a win, of course, that is always nice. I look at our case. We finished up against two really tough opponents. You have Sandusky on week nine and you had Clyde in week 10. I thought our kids played very well in both of those games. I think right now we are playing our best football. We are feeling good about ourselves and playing with confidence,” said Nasonti. Bellevue’s three losses this year are to unbeaten teams in Clear Fork, Shelby and Sandusky. Nasonti believes they have been getting better and for the first time they are healthy. “I think if you ask any football coach to make a comparison between week one and week 11 he would tell you we got progressably better. If he can’t say that then he hasn’t done a very good job coaching number one. Number two, we are pretty healthy. We went through a stretch this year when we had one, two, three guys out. We have bene fortunate we played some tough football teams. Our kids are getting back healthy. We should have all hands on deck this week,” he said. Orange (8-2) has won three of their games by less than eight points and that ability in close games put the Lions in the playoffs. They beat Beachwood (20-7) last week. Nasonti says the Lions have some home run hitters. “They are a good football team. They have played some good football teams this year. If you look at them probably the strength of their team is their skilled guys. They have an elusive quarterback that has run and passed for quite a few yards. They have a real nice running back. They have a receiver that can take it to the house every time he touches the ball. Defensively, they play a four front and mix up their secondary coverages a little bit. They give you some man to man. They have some skilled athletes that can cover people out there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Obviously, they are a good football team. When you get into week 11 there are only 25 percent of the football teams in the State of Ohio that are making that step and they are one of them.” Nasonti says they aren’t really going to find out about Orange until the game starts on Friday. “There are probably a few teams on our schedule that do things similar to them, but I don’t like getting into that comparison thing. They are compared to this or compared to that. It is hard to tell on tape. We don’t have a history with them, they don’t have a history with us. I feel like the only way you can get a true reading is to get out there and lineup and start banging,” he said. Published 11/01/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Win over Rival Clyde Gets Bellevue a Playoff Ticket Bellevue has a lot riding on Friday night’s game at rival Clyde, including a possible share of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division title and a playoff berth in division four. They trail conference leader Sandusky by a game, the Blue Streaks play host to Perkins (2-7,2-2) on Friday. They are currently in ninth place in their division four region. They have to finish in the top eight and Clyde comes with a boat load of second level points. Bellevue (6-3,3-1) lost to Sandusky last week (49-35) to fall from a share of the division lead. Coach Ed Nasonti says they were a whisker away from being right in the game. “I was proud of our kids. I thought they played very hard. It was a championship game. We knew what Sandusky was going to bring to the table. I mean their defense was only giving up 10 points a game on average all year. We were able to put 35 points on them. We just had a hard time getting the stops when we needed them. We felt we were a couple stops here and there away from getting it into a tie ball game or may maybe a one score game. The kids played very well for the most part,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We executed a onside kick late in the game. We fought hard throughout the game and that is all you can ask. Disappointed that we couldn’t come away with a share of the conference championship. We are looking ahead to week 10 and we still have a chance to make the playoffs and win a rivalry game,” Clyde (8-1,3-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, got back on the winning path in beating Norwalk (24-7) last week. They had lost (42-28) to Sandusky the week before. Nasonti says Clyde has good personnel on both sides. “They are a typical Clyde team. They have great size, they have good speed, and some nice skilled athletes on the perimeter to go along with their big linemen on offense and defense. So, a typical Clyde team,” he said. When it comes to keys to winning the game, Nasonti says they must do the job at the point of attack, complete some passes, and not allow the Fliers to make big plays. “I think we have to be strong up front with our offensive line because I think one of the strengths of their football team is their defensive line, so we are going to have to do a good job up there. We are going to have to execute our passing game. I think defensively we are going to have execute going down the field and not give up big plays. I think if we can do that we are going to be right there. Hopefully, we can pull this thing out and get us in the playoffs,” said Nasonti. Published 10/27/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Plays Sandusky For Lake Division Lead Bellevue hosts Sandusky are both unbeaten in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division and they play each other on Friday night at Bellevue with first place on the line. Bellevue (6-2,3-0) won its fifth game in six tries last week in beating longtime rival Tiffin Columbian (24-10) in Lake Division game. Head coach Ed Nasonti says they didn’t always cash in on offense, but he thought they played a very good overall game. “Our defense has been coming along. We have instituted a new defense and I think we have gotten better every week. Our kids are learning and they are kind of growing with it. We had our backs up against the wall several different times and our kids hung in there and came out swinging and kept them out of the end zone. Offensively, all though we scored only 24 points, we had 430 yards of offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “I felt like we did a real good job offensively, we just didn’t finish a couple of drives and stalled out a couple of times. Some of the time it was self inflicted. We had a few penalties that was can’t have against really good football teams when you get down in the red zone. We are still learning going into week nine and the kids are still growing.” Nasonti says he knew they had a very difficult schedule to play, but they are right where he was hoping they would be with two weeks to play in the regular season. “I am just happy we are going into week nine with a whole lot on the table. It is one of those things where I looked at our schedule and we knew coming in we were going to have a very tough schedule. I looked at that schedule in August and I thought you know what I would like to get to week nine having something to play for and we are here and we have done what we’ve had to do to get there and right now it is it time to just put our best foot forward and let the chips fall where they may,” said Nasonti. Sandusky (8-0,3-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, comes to Bellevue off an impressive (42-28) win over previously unbeaten Clyde last week. Nasonti says the Blue Streaks are loaded with talent and experience. “They have athletes all over the field. You have a division one quarterback. You have to defend him everywhere, plus he is the free safety. They are a nice ballclub. They have a lot of kids back off last year’s team. They are senior laden and they have a good year going for them,” he said. The veteran Bellevue coach says these are the game you love to play in and they are looking forward to the challenge. “That is what you are in it for. Each team slugging it out and putting its best foot forward. You talk about Sandusky they came into the league (Northern Ohio League) in 2011. They had been in multiple different leagues and the “NOL” voted them in. They have had some good teams and they have had some teams that haven’t done so well. I am glad that when you are looking at 2017 both of us are undefeated going into week nine and it is exciting for the Bellevue community having the Sandusky Blue Streaks coming in here with something on the line. Years ago, it was probably absurd to think that Bellevue would line up against Sandusky. They were in the Buckeye Conference and they are still a bigger school than we are,” said Nasonti. Published 10/17/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Good, Wants to Get Better Bellevue is in a three way tie for the lead in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with Sandusky and Clyde and they play those two schools on weeks nine and ten. They play at winless Tiffin Columbian on Friday night in a Lake Division game. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says it has been a very good year and one where they have battled some adversity and have gotten better as the season has progressed. “I think our kids are playing hard. It has been a really challenging schedule. We have had some battles. We have been on the road a lot. We have only four home games this year. We have had six on the road and we have made some pretty good sized trips. I think our kids are battle tested. There is part of me that says, hey, that’s a good thing our kids have been through some tough times. We have also been beaten up and we have been injured. We have had kids playing hurt. We have had out, so it has been a very interesting year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It has been very challenging. This week going into week eight we still think we are improving and we don’t feel we have played our best game yet. Every day we go out to practice we tell our kids we get better or we get worse we don’t stay the same. Our kids have been working hard at practice and we feel we have some good things ahead of us.” Bellevue (5-2,2-0) has lost only twice to unbeaten teams in Shelby (46-0) and Clear Fork (20-14) in overtime. Their defense has been very good this season and has gotten better. In their loss to Clear Fork they were down a player. Nasonti says they have been good tacklers for the most part. “We had one our best defensive players out that game. We were able to get some other guys in the game and try get some depth. We have played good defense and we have really spent a lot of time on that. It comes down to tackling and blocking when you talk about being a good football team. No matter what it still comes down to those two things. When we have struggled on defense it has been because we haven’t tackled well, so we have emphasized that with our kids. Our kids are still improving, they are progressing and they have had good attitudes. We have stayed the course here. You are going into your last three games here and you have everything to play for whether you are talking about a conference championship or a playoff spot. The incentives are there for us,” said Nasonti. Tiffin Columbian (0-7,0-2) lost (42-0) to unbeaten Clyde last week. Nasonti says they are not about to overlook Columbian, a longtime rival. “They are young in some spots and so are we, but their quarterback is a three year veteran and they rely on him to do a lot of things for him. He is good throwing the ball. They like to run him. We are going to have to do a good job with them. When you play a team that is 0-7 coming in they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. For us it is important that we understand that. We are going to get everybody’s best shot and for us to expect the best out of our opponent every Friday night and it would be a huge mistake for us to not think like that. That being said, we focus on our team doing the best things we can do in terms of preparation on offense, defense, and special teams. Our kids understand what we are trying to get done here. We are coaching hard and we need to continue to improve and not take anything for granted just because Tiffin hasn’t won a ballgame,’ said Nasonti. Published 10/11/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Responds With Shutout of Ontario After a tough loss to Shelby on Tuesday, Bellevue battled back and blanked Ontario (8-0) in a Northern Ohio League baseball game on Wednesday. Shelby claimed the “NOL” title with a (3-2) win over Bellevue on Tuesday. Coach Andy Dennings says that was tough, but he was pleased with how his team came back against Ontario. “It was a good bounce back win for us. It was a real tough game (Tuesday) night. It is a really good Shelby team. Jon (Amicone) has done a really nice job with them. That is a group that has won games all different ways this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They deserve a lot of credit. It was a fun battle to be a part of. We were a run short (Tuesday,) but to come home and play like we did against Ontario (Wednesday) was very pleasing. We had Cody (Snyder) on the mound and he threw really well as he has done all year. We had good command of his pitches and he was down most of the day. We played really well defensively.” Pitching has been a corner stone for the Redmen (15-7), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, and Dennings believes they are starting to hit the baseball better. “This is a team that seems like they are starting to play a little better right now. The pitching has been there all year and defensively we have played pretty well, but I feel like we are doing a lot more things offensively and starting to be a little more competitive one through nine. We are pretty excited about where we can go from here. I know we lost a tough one (Tuesday,) but I felt like we hit some balls well and hit them right to gloves. It was just one of those games. We are excited to make a little tournament run here and see if we can get another shot at Shelby here down the road,” said Dennings. Bellevue was the third seed in the division two tournament and will play “NOL” foe Tiffin Columbian on Tuesday at home. Dennings knows this is a very deep district, but he believes they can make some noise. He says there are a lot of teams in the district that are in that position. “There are no slouches whether it is a sectional opener or a sectional final you are going to get tested. There are plenty of quality programs in our tournament this year in division two. It is one game at a time. Being this competitive I think you are going to see some upsets here and there. The level of competition is very high right now and that is the exciting part of it. It will be interesting to see how things play out,” he said. Published 5/04/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Sports Saturday” airs live on Swankonsports.com Saturdays from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue’s Snyder No Hits Norwalk Bellevue’s Cody Snyder was dominating on Tuesday. He threw a no-hitter at Norwalk striking out 16 and leading the Redmen to a (2-0) victory over the rival Norwalk Truckers in the Northern Ohio League opener for both. Coach Andy Dennings says Snyder had control of all of his pitches and was able to spot them very well. “He had great command of his pitches and he really was dominate. He was down in the zone. He was able to move pitches in and out and up and down. All of his pitches were very good,” said Dennings. There was some excitement in the top of the seventh inning at Bellevue, but Dennings says Snyder was able to throw the big pitch when he needed it. “He was in total control (Tuesday) night. All of his emotions where in check. He was totally focused. I have to give Norwalk credit. The (Blake) Obringer kid threw really well for them. We had 20-25 MPH wins coming straight in at us. We knew we weren’t going to score a whole lot of runs either team, so we kind of expected that kind of game. I felt we had two good teams going at it. We made it interesting in the seventh. We walked the lead off. We strike a kid out with a curve ball and throw the ball away at first and they have guys at second and third with no outs and we were able to get out of it. I think Cody stuck out the side,” he said. Bellevue (5-1,1-0) plays at Ontario (3-2,0-2,) a (3-1) loser to Shelby on Tuesday in a league game, on Wednesday. Dennings says the win over Norwalk is going to give them confidence for what they have coming up the rest of the week and all season for that matter. “Anytime you beat Norwalk you know it is going to be a good win. They are always competitive and have a lot of scrappy kids and they play the game hard. For us to start out that way in the league with a “W” over them it is a real confidence boost,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday, “We played Vermilion, who we feel in very good, (Monday) night and got beat 1-0 and to come the next day and find a way to get a 2-0 win over Norwalk against their ace we feel pretty good about that, but we are right back at it (Wednesday) we are at Ontario then go to Sandusky on Thursday and turn around and go to Toledo and play Bryan on Friday. So, we are definitely being challenged, but it is fun playing these competitive games, that is what we want to do is get a chance to play these quality programs to prepare us for our league play. Our league is very good this year and to start off with a big win over Norwalk is very exciting.” Published 4/05/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Sports Saturday” airs live on Swankonsports.com Saturdays from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Off to 3-0 Start Bellevue, the preseason favorite to win the Northern Ohio League baseball title, has done nothing to disprove that theory so far in non-league competition. They beat Port Clinton (10-1) Monday and coach Andy Dennings says they have looked good, but there is work to do. “We have done some nice things. We are still seeing a lot of things that we have to work on. We have had some really nice pitching performances. We have been able to do some great things at the plate so far, but we definitely have some things we have to work on. It has been a nice start overall,” he said. If Mother Nature allows they play at Maragretta in a non-conference game on Tuesday and then have two league games on the road on Thursday and Friday with Willard and Ontario. Dennings is stressing improvement with his ball club. “That is something we talked about (Monday) after the game. We had a couple of little things that we just can’t do and we have to improve on and we made the kids aware of those things. Even in a 10-1 win there are always things to work on. That is something we addressed (Monday) and hopefully we can shore some things up (Tuesday) against Margaretta and show some improvement in those areas,” said Dennings. Bellevue opened the season with a (10-0) win over Upper Sandusky and a (5-4) win over a well respected Edison team on Saturday. Dennings things especially the win over Edison we prepare them for what they are going to see. “We had a nice little tri with Upper and Edison Saturday. Upper is a young team and the same thing with Port Clinton. They are a little bit younger, so they are still getting their feet wet. The Edison win was a really good win, that was a regional level team there, they return a lot of kids. Our schedule that we have put together this year and what we are seeing this week jumping right into the league you have to be ready to go as much as you can prepare with this weird weather that we have had again this year. It seems like two years in a row that we have gotten out early and then get crammed inside here for a week and half or two weeks,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It is kind of hard to replicate getting outside, but you have to make everything as game like as possible. You don’t have a whole lot of time. We have two league games the first full week of the season. We jump into two or three more next week. We are doing some good things and hopefully we are where we need to be to get those two wins here at the end of the week.” Published 3/28/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Sports Saturday” airs live on Swankonsports.com Saturdays from 10 AM to 1 PM
	Bellevue Meets Clyde The Bellevue Redmen need 32 minutes of solid basketball as they play rival Clyde in the first round of the division two tournament at Willard High School on Tuesday night. The winner plays top seeded Sandusky, the Northern Ohio League champion, on Friday night. It has been an inconsistent season for Bellevue (9-13) and coach Ed Rich says sometimes they just dig themselves to deep of a hole to get out of. “We have definitely been up and down. I don’t want to say we are on an upswing because we haven’t put together a full game in a while here. When we put four good quarters together we are a pretty good team, but when I look back on our losses what happens is we don’t come out very strong and when we come out slow we get ourselves in a hole,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We have been fortunate a couple times to play hard enough to get back in and get a win, but there has been other times where we just don’t have enough to fight back and get that win.” Tournament games tend to be closer and more possession by possession and Rich says if you are going to win those you can’t have gaps in your play. “No matter who you are playing you have to put together four quarters. I have hoping something clicks here on a switch and we get out there and decide we are going to play four quarters. Like I said if we do we are a pretty good team,” he said. Clyde (6-16) lost to Bellevue (71-55) during the regular season. They finished seventh in the tough bay division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Rich says this is a team that plays hard and they play a physical brand of basketball. “They are an extremely physical team. They play really hard. That’s what scares me the must. Sometimes we are pretty finesse and we lose a lot of those 50/50 battles. It seems like that is what Clyde relies on,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They have multiple guys that can score. There are two or three guys that average close to 10 points a game. They play with just a load of confidence. You would never know that their record isn’t better than it is if you watch them play because they just play with a lot of confidence. They are scary in multiple ways.” Published 2/28/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Hits the Tournament Trail in Fast Gear Bellevue is playing as well as any girls’ basketball team in North Central Ohio right now. They have won nine in a row. The Lady Red earned a share of a seventh straight Northern Ohio League title Saturday with a (60-51) win at home over Shelby. However, coach Kory Santoro says they still have room to get better. “We are very excited to share a league title. I think one of the big things was we came to play. We are excited with the way we are playing right now. To be honest, I still think we can play better. We were still 26-40 from the free throw line. We are usually pretty good at hitting free throws and we missed a lot of free throws. I still think we can play better yet,” said Santoro. One thing Bellevue is really good at doing is getting to the foul line. Santoro says that is because they have really good handlers. “We have kids that are really good with the ball in their hands and can get to the rack. It helps with the offense that we run. We run the spread offense or the dribble drive offense. We stress getting to the basket,” he said. What has been consistent for Bellevue this year is defense. Santoro says they have quick guards that can frustrate the opponent. “I think that is one thing we have been solid with no matter who has been playing. We have had some injuries and what not. One thing we have done all year is play solid defense. We are at full strength right now and we have some guards that really get after it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “In the years of our seven straight “NOL” championships we have had some teams that have had some quick guards and we have had a good mixture, but this year we have a lot of guards that are very quick and fast and just get after it. We will press a lot more than we have in the past.” Bellevue (18-4) plays league foe Tiffin Columbian (7-15) in the second round of the division two tournament on Saturday night at Bucyrus High School. Columbian beat Lexington (34-33) on Wednesday night. The Lady Red beat Tiffin in both of their “NOL” meetings (98-51) and (87-51) this year, but Santoro says the Lady Tornadoes are playing as well as they have all year. “Our league has been very strong for the last few years. It is a league where you can’t take a night off and anybody can beat anybody and you have to bring you “A” game every night. Tiffin is playing very well right now. We are playing them for the third time. They are very tall and rebound very well and that is something I am concerned with. We are going to have to fundamentally box Tiffin out on Saturday,” said Santoro. Published 2/24/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Two Wins and its Another “NOL” Title for Bellevue Bellevue has won or shared the last six Northern Ohio League girls’ basketball titles. Two more wins this week and they will share another one. They play at Willard on Wednesday night and host Shelby on Saturday afternoon. They have won their last seven since a one point loss (45-44) to Shelby on January 14 on a last second shot. Coach Kory Santoro says they feel like they are peaking. “We battled some injuries early in the season and now we kind of have everybody back healthy and feel like we are playing our best basketball at the right time of year,” he said. Bellevue beat Willard (61-51) back around New Years. The Lady Flashes (10-11) have been playing some good ball lately too and Santoro looks for a pretty good match-up. “Willard is a sneaky team. We didn’t play really well against them our first game at home,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It was back and forth. I think it is going to be a really good match-up for us. We have to win this game first before we can even think about playing Shelby for an “NOL” championship.” The “NOL” is the best girls’ basketball conference around North Central Ohio this year and Santoro says you can not take wins for granted against anyone. “That is what we have preached all year long. Every team we have played we just take it one game at a time and I think our girls have done a very good job of that. They are ready to go (Wednesday,” he said. If Bellevue beats Willard they will have a chance to earn a co-title with Shelby if they can beat the Lady Whippets on Saturday. Santoro says first things first. “That is the last game in the “NOL” for us. It is for all the marbles, at least a share for us, Shelby outright. We are looking forward to it, but like I said we have a big game (Wednesday) night and we have to get past that first,” he said. Published 2/15/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Hosts League Leaders Bellevue is starting to play better basketball, but they will really have to step it up as they play host to Northern Ohio League leading Sandusky on Friday night. The Redmen beat Norwalk (54-50) last Friday in “NOL” play and then downed Margaretta (51-48) in a non-league game on Saturday. After losing four of five games coach Ed Rich says it was good to get back in the win column. “We had a nice weekend. We picked up two wins over two teams we need to beat. That is one of the things we talked about at the end of the Ontario game. We were sitting there in the locker room saying this last weekend was huge for us. We needed two wins for multiple reasons. We regrouped and got two wins and now we play league leader Sandusky and we will see what we are made of here,” said Rich. With the tournament draw coming up on Sunday it is important to get wins, but Rich says they make you feel better too. “We needed it for the mental game. I also thought it was important for tournament seeding. With two more wins it gives a chance to be seeded higher. The mental game is huge we lost two games that I don’t think any of us thought we were going to lose and we needed that mental helper and get those two wins last weekend” he said. Sandusky (14-3,8-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, earns at least a share of the “NOL” title on Friday night if they can beat Bellevue (8-8,5-4) on the road. Sandusky won the first meeting pretty easily (69-42) at the “Big House.” Rich says to change outcome they have to figure out what to do about Jayreese Williams, one the best guards in the state. “I have watched plenty of film on Sandusky and try to see what other teams do against Jayreese. You see everything from a box and one to a zone to a man to man with face guard. There are all kinds of things done on him. We are going to do our best to at least challenge his shots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We know he is going to score, but I told my guys let’s make him work for his points. We got beat by them by 27 last time and at that time he was averaging 27 a game and we hold him to 17. At least that is one thing we did that night and it would be great if we could do that again.” Published 2/10/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue needs to Find it Again Bellevue, as its coach says, has been in a funk for the last 10 days, and they need to get back on the beaten path if they are going to win games. Their first chance is Friday night at home against Norwalk in Northern Ohio League play and then they play at Margaretta in a non-conference game on Saturday night. The Redmen lost to Willard (78-74) last Thursday and then to Ontario (68-50) on Saturday in league games. Coach Ed Rich says they have not had the right mental approach lately. “I really think we have lost our edge a little bit. I don’t know if we have become complacent because we were happy with how we were playing and we thought there were teams that we could just come in and beat. We found out that was not the truth,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We played Ontario pretty well in the second half. I think we played them even and came out with a little intensity, a little effort. I am hoping that is the turning point because we have been in a funk here these last three games.” Rich says he saw some intensity in that game at Ontario on Saturday night and he says they need to continue to play at that level if they are going to be able to start winning again. “I was happy with the way we played in the second half with some defensive intensity and a little bit of nastiness in us. If we make some open shots it is a lot closer game than that. I was happy with how we played and I give our guys credit it would have been easy to pack it in we were down 18 at the half and that is coming off two losses, so it would have been easy for our guys to pack it in and we come out and battle and do what we can do to get back in the game,” said Rich. Norwalk, who is going to probably get a couple of the their better players back from injury, will be at Bellevue (6-8,4-4) on Friday night. The Redmen downed the Truckers (4-11,1-6) by a score of (49-44) in late December. Rich says when you play the Truckers, you have to match their intensity, something they haven’t always done this season, or you are going to be in trouble. “Outside the Ontario game they have been super competitive. They have played some good teams really well. The best part of their team is they play so darn hard. If you can’t match how hard they play you are going to be in big trouble,” he said. Published 2/02/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Has to get Its Head on Straight Bellevue coach Ed Rich says they were not ready to play last Saturday and that better not be the case this week or they are looking at two losses. They play at Willard on Thursday and at Ontario on Saturday in Northern Ohio League play. Last Saturday, the Redmen lost (66-59) to Port Clinton, the last place team in the bay division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Coach Ed Rich says they had little focus. “It comes down to we thought we could just show up and win. They played good basketball and they came out of there with a win. So, hopefully that was a wake up call for our kids that we just can’t show up and win because our record was better than theirs. They played some great basketball and they just outplayed us,” he said. Practice this week is going to be important to the Redmen. Rich says they have to learn from what happened on Saturday. “Willard is another one of those teams where their record isn’t great, but they are still a dangerous team and they still compete. I hope my guys in practice this week get together and learn from our loss on Saturday and get after it on Thursday and then Ontario is a team that we beat, but I think they have won six or seven in a row now and they are playing some really good basketball also,” said Rich. Bellevue (6-6,4-2) beat Willard (2-11,0-6) back on December 9 (78-52) in the first league games for both. Rich says they must have a better effort than they did last week or things won’t go well. “I have watched them on film quite a bit and I have watched them live and they definitely have some parts. They just can’t put a whole game together for one reason or another. It has been something different every time. So, they are still a dangerous team, especially going to Willard where no matter what their record is it is a tough place to play. If we don’t have our heads on straight we are in for another battle,” he said. Bellevue also beat Ontario (9-4,4-2) in their first meeting (50-45) in December. However, Ontario now owns a seven game winning streak and Rich says the Warriors are a different team. “They are getting out and pressing a little more than they were at the beginning of the season. They have made a couple of adjustments to their starting lineup. They are starting two bigs now, but they still pressure you with their guards,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They have beat some really good teams and held some teams to single digits in halves. On the defensive end they are really getting after it. When they can get out and run they are as dangerous as anybody is.” Published 1/24/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Plays Port Clinton Saturday Taking a week off from Northern Ohio League play, the Bellevue Redmen travel to Port Clinton to face the Redskins in a non-conference game on Saturday night. Last Friday, the Redmen lost at Shelby (62-44) in an “NOL” Game. Coach Ed Rich says they were done in again really with a poor performance in one of the four quarters of play, the second. “There was one quarter, the second quarter, that just really killed us. They outscored us 20-6 in the second quarter after being down only one at the end of the first. You can’t win like that. We just didn’t take care of the ball very well. We just missed some easy shots. Then in the third quarter we played well and the fourth quarter we didn’t play too bad either. That one quarter there just took us out of the game,” he said. On Saturday night, they rebounded to down next door neighbor Clyde (71-55) in a non-conference game. Rich says they got off to a good start and were able to maintain some things. “We played pretty well against Clyde. We played with a lot of energy and a lot of heart, which was nice to see. We were worried about them they had been playing well. They had been playing teams close. They only have a handful of wins on the year, but they had just played Vermilion, one of the better teams in the state, and they were actually up on them a halftime almost double digits and that was on Friday, so we knew they were playing good basketball. We need to get up on them early and finish a game and we did that,” said Rich. Bellevue (6-5) plays at Port Clinton (1-11) in another Saturday night non-conference game. The Redskins have lost ten in a row after a (50-40) set back to Willard last Saturday. Rich says the Redskins have been hurt by injures, but they are scrappy and will play hard all of the time. “They are still a dangerous team. I know they have had some injuries. One of their better players is injured Joey Brenner, he is their big guy. I don’t think he played against Willard. If he is back he is a big weapon for them. Even if he is not back they have some scrappy guards, who aren’t scarred to shoot or take it to the rack,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We told our guys Saturday after our game that Port Clinton always has a game or two every year where they have come out and played some pretty tremendous basketball and get a win they aren’t supposed to, so we better come ready to play. We have to go to their place to play too. We have to do a lot of things right to come home with a win.” Published 1/18/17 © Swankonpsorts.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays between 10 PM and midnight
	Second Place Teams Meet in “NOL” Bellevue and Shelby both trail Northern Ohio League leader Sandusky by a game entering action on Friday and they play each other at Shelby. The Redmen stayed within a game when they rallied for eight down with 40 seconds in regulation to beat Tiffin Columbian (72-64) in overtime last Friday. Coach Ed Rich says hopes the win improves their confidence. “Hopefully that win against Tiffin gives us the confidence that we can play with everybody and if we keep sticking with it and staying in the game we have a good chance to win,” said Rich. Scoring points had been an issue for the Redmen is recent weeks, but Rich says they were able to find something in the second half last week. “We moved the ball pretty well. In the first half we were pretty cold from the floor. We were shooting in the high 20 percents. In the second half we really picked it up and shot close to 50 percent. On the game we shot over 40 percent from three. We got some confidence and shot the ball well. That goes a long way when you can shoot the ball well,” he said. Bellevue (5-4,4-1) is down at Shelby (6-5,3-1) for a league game on Friday night. Rich says the Whippets really shoot the three pointer well and they must limit their chances. “Their five losses are against five quality opponents. You can look at that record and think what you want. They have lost to some really good teams out of league. Their record is misleading they are a better team than that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We are going to have our hands full. They have some guards that can play. They live and die by the three. They shoot the three in volume, so we have got to do our best to limit them to one chance and our game.” Shelby games tend to have huge momentum shifts and Rich says they can not allow Shelby to get on runs, like when they were leading Galion 49-5 at the half a couple of weeks ago. “In the games they have won they have gotten on a really good roll. They get out to some huge, huge leads early in the game. They sometimes extend it throughout the game, sometimes they just ride that big lead in the beginning. Hopefully we can come out there and keep them contained and keep ourselves in the game in the fourth quarter,” said Rich. Published 1/13/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Must Handle Pressure Better Bellevue turned the ball over way too much last week in losses to Upper Sandusky and Sandusky and they have to clean that up starting this week when they play Tiffin Columbian in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday night. Upper Sandusky, the Northern 10 Athletic Conference leader, beat them (73-30) last Tuesday and then “NOL” leader Sandusky dusted them (69-42) on Friday. Coach Ed Rich says they faced some big time pressure, but they made a lot of unforced turnovers in those two games. “It was pretty tough to learn a whole lot we got waxed pretty good both games. We really need to work on taking care of the basketball. Sandusky pressures you, Upper Sandusky pressures you, but we had a lot of self inflicted wounds with the turnovers. You know, things that we can fix. We just panicked a little bit. You could tell we were without a guy that can handle the ball. We really struggled with those two teams,” said Rich. Handling the ball is something that is sure to be worked on a lot during practice this week, but Rich says they have to have the right attitude to make the improvements. “There is no doubt those are things we can fix. It is really tough to simulate Sandusky’s pressure and Upper’s pressure. We can get in practice and have guys get up in other guys and make them handle pressure situations. Like I keep saying it is stuff that we can definitely fix. My guys have to want to fix it before we can move on from that,” he said. Bellevue (4-4,3-1) plays host to Tiffin Columbian (4-3,1-2) in a league game on Friday night. The Tornadoes pushed Ontario pretty hard before losing (62-55) to the Warriors last Friday. Rich says they have seen his team on film and he expects them to come after them with some pressure. “They are playing some good basketball. They have a nice team and they are going to come out and they are going to pressure us. They like to trap in the half court. They do a lot of trapping out of man and a lot trapping out of zone. They saw our games and I am sure they are going to put the pressure on us and try and turn us over like Sandusky and Upper Sandusky did,” he said. Published 1/04/17 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Friday from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Needs Solid Execution Bellevue, the Northern Ohio League co-leader, plays at home against Northern 10 Athletic Conference leader Upper Sandusky in a non-conference game that shapes up as a battle for tempo. The Redmen have only scored more than 50 points once this season meanwhile Upper Sandusky has only scored less than 60 points once this season. Bellevue (4-2) has won four of its last five games going into Tuesday night. Coach Ed Rich says they have been finding ways to get into the win column. “We are doing the things that we need to get the wins. I think we are riding a couple of games out here and there. We are playing good enough basketball to win, so we will take that,” said Rich. They outlasted Norwalk (49-43) last Friday in a Northern Ohio League game. Rich says a lot of their wins haven’t been pretty, but they still count. “In some of the games we play some of our wins have been ugly wins there is no doubt, but when you find a way to win you are doing the right thing,” he said. Upper Sandusky (8-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, buried Seneca East (84-56) last Friday. Rich says especially with Wes Vent back in the lineup the Rams are a very, very good team. “They have a couple of guys that can really shoot it. They like to get out in transition. The pressure is usually over half court and not so much the full. If you lose your composure and throw week passes and get off balance they make you pay for it every time,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “It is a totally different team than we have played all year. They have Wes Vent back. I think it is his third game back. It is going to be quite a challenge for us. We had a good practice (Monday) and we will have a shoot around (Tuesday) and hopefully have enough to get the win at home.” Published 12/27/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Needs Consistency Against Norwalk A win over Ontario shows the potential of the Bellevue Redmen, but they need to play with more consistency as they continue through the rest of the season. They play at Norwalk in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday night. Last week, the Redmen beat Ontario (50-45) on Thursday and lost to Mansfield Madison (62-46) as part of the “OCC/NOL” challenge on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says his Redmen played well in seven of the eight quarters in those two games. “We played very well against Ontario on Thursday night, no doubt. We thought we had a good game plan. We had them scouted well. Unfortunately we found out our point guard Trey Ruhlman, but we were still confident we could go in there and execute our game plan and come out with a win and that’s what we did we played four good quarters of basketball,” he told Swankonsports.con on Tuesday, “We were up at the half against Madison, we were up one of two. In the third quarter they came out and outscored us 20-4. They just beat us on the offense end. We just decided we didn’t have any defensive intensity like we did in the first half. You take away that one quarter and we play pretty good basketball last weekend.” Bellevue has proven what they can do this season, Rich says now they have to make those plays with more consistency on both ends. “Inconsistency is our biggest enemy right now and that showed on Saturday against Madison. We put together some good quarters, especially in the first half. We played some outstanding defense, especially in the second quarter. Then in the third quarter it looked like we totally forgot how to play defense. They just got any shot they wanted out of their flex offense. It was frustrating, but we are starting to string together some good quarters. If we could get consistent we would have a nice squad,” he said. Bellevue (3-2,2-0) plays at Norwalk (1-3,0-1) in a league game on Friday. The Truckers beat Mt. Vernon (54-50) at Ontario last Saturday. Rich says Norwalk makes you execute. “They play extremely hard. That is all we have been talking about these last several days. Saturday after our loss we talked about Norwalk already then (Monday) at practice we talked about them about how hard they play. The big part of their game is they get up on you early because they come out ready. If you aren’t ready for it they up big on you early. They have two guys out Haraway and Griffin Renner, who blew his ACL out again the first game of the year. That hurts their depth, but I’m telling you they play hard and they have George Friend, who is a really nice player that can put it in the hoop. He is who teams have to focus on, but they also have other role guys that can hit the rack and make shots. They run a lot of stuff, so they are hard to prepare for,” said Rich. Published 12/21/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue with Big Weekend Bellevue is starting to fulfill the promise they have with a couple of wins in a row, but they have tough competition this week. They meet guard rich Ontario on Thursday in a Northern Ohio League game and Mansfield Madison Saturday in the “OCC/NOL” Challenge. They outlasted Plymouth (48-45) in a non-conference game that was played Monday night at Bellevue. Coach Ed Rich says they did what they needed to in order to win. “Monday games are tough to get ready for. Our kids didn’t play with a whole lot of energy and it showed. Plymouth played a great game and beat us up physically, but we were able to hold on for the win. Anytime you can get the win you are going to take it,” he said. They are more experienced this year and Rich says that might have been a game they would have lost last year. “We opened up a pretty good lead early and made some really bad mistakes. They got up three on us with about two minutes to go and we come down and we get a three of our own, get a stop and get a layup and the next thing you know we are up three. I don’t know if we would have won that game last year or not, but I am proud of my kids. We faced adversity, we played without one of our players, and we found a way to win,” said Rich. Bellevue (2-1,1-0) entertains Ontario (2-2,0-1) on Thursday night in “NOL” play. Rich says the Warriors have athletes that make plays. “I think we are going to see a lot of the same stuff that we normally see from Ontario. They don’t run a lot of sets. They are going to get to the rack,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “If the get the open three they are going to take the three. I haven’t seen them pressure as much as they usually do in the past, but I expect to see some full court pressure from them on Thursday night.” They play Madison (2-2) as part of a six game “OCC/NOL” Challenge on Saturday at Ontario. Rich says the Rams present some match-up problems for the Redmen. “They have some nice athletes. They have their kid that is going to Kentucky to play football. They have a 6’5”, 6’6” guard, who has been doing a lot of scoring for them. Coach Mergel is going to put the pressure on you in the half court at least. He might try to extend some pressure, but it usually in the half. They are kind of a match-up nightmare unless you have a big guard who can guard their big guard,” said Rich. Published 12/15/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” with co-host Roy Shoulders airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 PM to midnight
	Bellevue Wants More Consistent Shots Bellevue and Willard, once the mightiest rivalry in the Northern Ohio League meet Friday night at Bellevue in the opener in the league’s final season. The Redmen (0-1) lost to Sandusky Perkins (63-40) in their first game last Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says they stayed in the game early, but then they lost their focus a little bit and it cost them. “I thought we actually got some really good looks against Perkins. Early in the game we really got good looks and we missed some easy ones. Halfway through the second quarter we are only down three. I think the score was like 14-11 and then we just lost our composure,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We got down eight and then we started throwing up some bad shots. I think we can score we just have to run our offense and get the looks we want.” Rich says the Pirates pressure got to them a little bit and they just got too far behind. “Perkins is a really good team and we knew that coming in. We knew we had to play affective basketball to stay with them. Like I said I thought we played well and we got into some foul trouble and lost our composure. The score went from three to eight and then it ballooned from there and I think we were down 13 at the half. Their pressure got to us. They did exactly what they wanted to do. They spread us out, our point guard got into foul trouble, and we turned it over three straight times,” said Rich. Willard (0-2) lost games last weekend to two talented teams in Upper Sandusky (69-50) and Lexington (70-37,) both are favorites to win their conference titles. Rich says they Flashes have some length and that offers some problems for them. “They are pretty long. They have a 6’7” kid that starts. They have a 6’5” kid that starts. The Dauch kid is a really nice athlete at 6’5”. They are different. They are going to miss Conner Robinson quite a bit. They play extremely hard. They try and get up and pressure you. They switch in their man to man and use their length to their advantage. It is going to be a tough match-up for us,” he said. This will be an important game for the Redmen in terms of their season goals, according to Rich. “Our feeling with our team is that if could just get up there and compete in the top half of the league, but we also know the teams that are just like us, like the Willards, like the Tiffins, like the Norwalks, we have to beat them to get in the upper half of the league. It is a huge game to open up with for the league,” he said. Published 12/06/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays between 10 PM and midnight
	Bellevue Looking to Move up Bellevue played a bunch of underclassmen last year and finished with an (8-15) record and they bring a lot of those players back and expect to have a better season here in 2016-17. It starts with a non-conference game against Sandusky Bay Conference bay division favorite Sandusky Perkins at home on Saturday night. Coach Ed Rich says he really challenged his squad during the preseason and feels like they got a lot out of it. “We made nice progression during November. I really challenged our kids this year with a different kind of scrimmage schedule,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I tried to make our scrimmage schedule as competitive as possible. We played Mansfield Senior, Berlin Hiland, Marion Harding, Grove City, and Lexington. We had a lot of good scrimmages this year. We progressed well and we really like where we are at right now.” Bellevue will have a much more veteran lineup this year. Plus, Rich says they will be able to replace starters with some quality off the bench and that will be a big plus. “We bring back four starters, so we are pretty happy with that. We have a good bench too. That was one of our Achilles Heels last year, we didn’t have kids on the bench that could come in and play at the varsity level. It is looking better on paper that is for sure,” he said. Perkins will also feature a lot of experience on the floor this winter. Rich says it is going to be a very tough challenge for them on Saturday night. “They bring everybody back, but one player a good guard in Matt Schweinfurth, who was a very good player. They bring every single guy back, plus they bring up a couple of nice sophomores that were on the JV squad last year. They are picked to win the “SBC” this year, so we are going to have our hands full that first weekend,” he said. Published 12/02/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook “Out of Bounds” airs live on Swankonsports.com Fridays from 10 AM to Midnight
	Bellevue Plays Solid Ottawa Glandorf in Playoffs Bellevue will be at Ottawa Glandorf for a regional quarterfinal game in division four on Friday night between two schools that are used to playoff games. The Redmen (7-3) have qualified for postseason games 17 times, including five of the last six years. O-G has appeared 13 times. The Titans made the state semi finals in 2009. Bellevue has been to that level three times and added a state runner-up finish in 2012. Veteran head coach Ed Nasonti says it is always one of their goals to earn a playoff berth. “We have high expectations, we have high standards and we look forward to this and I think our kids work for this with all of the hard work we put in every week and all of the stuff in the summer time. This is one of your goals,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We are very fortunate our kids have bought into our system. This will be five of the last six years we have been in the playoffs. It is like a second season. It is an opportunity to make a little run here and we are excited about it.” Ottawa-Glandorf (9-1) shared the Western Buckeye Conference title with St. Mary’s Memorial and Wapakoneta. Nasonti says they don’t have good teams here and there, they have a solid program. “They are an outstanding football program. They are no strangers to the playoffs either. Their coach has been there for 21 years and they have continuity in their program. I think they have only had two losing seasons in those 21 years,” he said. The Titans got their share of the “WBL” title with a big win last week (13-7) over St. Mary’s Memorial. Nasonti says they are going to have to play very well if they expect to beat O-G. “They have a nice football team. They are in a tough conference in the Western Buckeye League. They are well balanced on offense, running and passing. They have had a great year, they won the Western Buckeye. They are coming off a big win last week against St. Mary’s Memorial. We are expecting a tough game,” said Nasonti. Bellevue has played all kind of teams this year, but Nasonti says not really one like the Titans. “I don’t think they remind us of anybody we have played. They do things a little bit differently. Part of their game reminds us of some teams, part of their game reminds us of some other teams. The bottom line is when you get in the playoffs you are going up against quality football teams and you have to be ready to go. We have to bring our “A” game,” he said. Published 11/02/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue Has to Win They phrase “Must Win” is probably overused in the world of sports, but it applies to the Bellevue Redmen as they host Ontario in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday. They are not guaranteed to make the playoffs if they win, but they are certainly out if they don’t. Right now, they are in the eighth and final position in division four, region 14. Veteran head coach Ed Nasonti says he was honest with the players when they talked about the playoffs this week. “We told our kids you are coming into week 10 there are a lot schools at this point that are just playing for pride and anything else they can muster up. One of our goals is still in check here and if we play hard and win week 10 you are going to look to fight another week. We laid it out there for our kids and it is pretty simple and we will see how it works,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (6-3,3-2) entertains Ontario (4-5,2-3) in the last Northern Ohio League game to be played at the Bellevue Athletic Field, the league goes out of existence after this school year. Chris Hawkins is now the coach at Ontario and Nasonti knows that he will have the Warriors well prepared for the game on Friday night. “Chris is an outstanding football coach. I coached against him for the first time back in 1999 when he was at Willard and from there we coached against him when he was at Galion. His teams are always well coached and fundamentally sound and highly motivated. He is an outstanding football coach. We look forward to going up against him on week 10 here and let it all hang out,” said Nasonti. They may have three losses this year, but Nasonti knows they are a pretty good football team. He says he tells the players there is no time to think about what ifs. “We have lost some heartbreakers this year. You look back on it we are a couple plays away from being 8-1 right now, but it doesn’t serve any purpose to be thinking about those games right now. You learn from it and go on. These are 16, 17, 18 year old kids. You have to focus on the task at hand and the task at hand is playing Ontario on week 10 at seven o’clock (Friday) night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I think as a coaching staff we have done the best that we possibly can to get them ready. When you look back in quick overview of our season we got beat by Sandusky in a thriller basically in the last minute of the game. I thought our kids did some things well against Shelby and they have an outstanding ball club and it was score for score for most of the game. That being said it’s time to move forward and hopefully put our best foot forward (Friday) night and give us a chance to get in the postseason here.” Published 10/28/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue About Making Plays Bellevue plays at Shelby on Friday night in Northern Ohio League action and it’s a game with a lot of implications for both sides. The teams are tied for second place in the league hoping that Sandusky loses to either Ontario or Norwalk and both rank fourth in different division four regions. The winner should get a home playoff game. Bellevue scored 54 points in the first half last week and went on to pound Willard (62-0) in league play. They are six points away from being unbeaten this season. Coach Ed Nasonti believes they have consistently gotten better as the season has progressed. “As a coaching staff you focus on fundamentals everyday and stressing them with the kids. I think we have a good group of kids that understand that. Our focus is on the process of getting better. You know, winning the line of scrimmage, technique, tackling in space, all of those types of things all come into play. We feel we can get better every week. That is our focus and I think our kids understand everyday you go out you either get better or you get worse, but you never stay the same,” said Nasonti. Shelby, like Bellevue, has scored a bunch of points this season. Bellevue has scored 304, Shelby 320, and both have a high water mark of 66 in game, Bellevue against Clyde and Shelby against Willard. Nasonti says the Whippets have a lot of playmakers. “You look at the offensive side of the ball they have guys that are making explosive plays when you talking about Brooks at the running back, Armstrong at quarterback and they have some good receivers. You have to do a good job and be assignment sharp otherwise you are going to give up big plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “When Shelby gets started and gets big plays early then you have a tiger by the tail. I don’t know if you can stop them, but you have to control them and slow them down.” Both schools have been explosive in the first quarter of games this season, sometimes scoring four, five times. Nasonti says it will be important if Shelby makes a big play to move onto the next one and not dwell on it. “Both teams are quick starting teams. We tell our kids we don’t have to make all of the plays we just have to make more plays than them through the course of 48 minutes. Every play is a new play, every down is a new down, have a short memory and come back swinging,” he said. Published 10/20/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue Respects Willard Bellevue remains in the Northern Ohio League race and in position to make the playoffs too as they host the Willard Flashes in a league game coming up on Friday night. They are tied with Shelby and Ontario a game behind first place Sandusky. Last week, the Redmen (5-2,2-1) took a big halftime lead and held on to beat Norwalk (34-28) in a league game. Coach Ed Nasonti says the momentum went against them in the second half, but they found a way to win. “Our kids got off to a good start. We went in at halftime ahead 28-6. We told our kids at halftime that go out there and get a stop and get the ball in you get to run the clock down. We came out and had them on fourth and one and we were going to get that stop and get the ball back and we got an unsportsmanlike on the quarterback and they get a first down and then another penalty and before you know it you lose the momentum. The good thing about it is I thought our kids weathered the storm in the second half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We got ourselves off the field enough and kept the ball enough to get a win. Norwalk is a solid team that has nice players that did a good job against us. Our kids hung in there and persevered when the momentum was against us. What is good for us is we are 5-2 right now and our playoff aspirations are still there and we will take it one step at a time.” Momentum is a huge factor in high school football. Nasonti says when it goes against you, and it seems you can’t do anything right, you just have to keep fighting. “I have been on both ends of it. You have the momentum and everything is going your way, you are rolling, and you can feel it. When it goes the other way you have to scratch your head and try and figure out some way to hang in there. We talk to our kids about that. You have to take one play at a time and take each play as a new play, look at the scoreboard and keep fighting and I think we have done that. The bad thing was when we came out of halftime we were in control of it. You have to keep things in perspective and get a win anyway you can get it,” said Nasonti. Willard (1-6,0-3) comes to Bellevue off a (35-8) loss to Ontario in “NOL” play last week. Nasonti says they expect Willard to get in a spread and throw the ball a bunch. “They are going to spread it and throw it. They are not real complicated. They run just a few formations. They have nice pass combinations. They’ve got kids that are playing hard. We tell our kids every week that you have to expect the best out of your opponent. We are going to make sure we have a good week practice. Our kids have to play with passion and get ready for week eight,” he said. Published 10/11/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue Looking Forward Bellevue gave it all they had last week, but they came up a little bit short in their Northern Ohio League match-up with unbeaten Sandusky. Now they need to move on. The Blue Streaks executed a scoring pass with less than a minute to play, but the Redmen didn’t give up they pushed the ball back down the field inside the Sandusky 20 before time ran out and the Streaks came out on top (28-26) in a very exciting game. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says they played with great effort and that is all he can ask for. “It was a great football game. It was a great high school game. It was great for the spectators. Unfortunately we came up two points short at the end of the night and it was not a great night for the team on the losing end of it. From the coaching end of it when you look at the effort that the kids put in and how hard they played they played with passion. I was proud of our kids. They played as hard as they possibly could. We gave it a big shot and came up short and from then on you have to move on and look forward and just try to get ourselves in a position to hopefully get in the playoffs here,” said Nasonti. The Redmen are number six in their division four region right now. The top eight get in. Now, Bellevue (4-2,1-1) plays at Norwalk (4-2,2-1) in an “NOL” game on Friday night. Nasonti says the game with the Truckers has been their focus all week. “I have been doing this long enough. Painful as it is you have to break off the rearview mirror and look forward. The kids are resilient. I think they take their lead from the coaches. Our coaches have done a great job. We’ll do what we have always done we will focus on what is in front of us now and practicing and doing a good job every day in strength training, in film study and getting ourselves ready.” He told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I mean you can only do so much. I look at this ball club that we have and we are six games into the season and we are six points away from being undefeated. I think we have a pretty good club and they have done everything we have asked them to do. We need to continue to work hard and get better every week.” Norwalk beat Tiffin Columbian (20-13) last week to stay in the league race a game behind Sandusky. Nasonti says there is no question they have talent on their roster too. “They run a 3-3 stack and they will run a 3-2 on defense. They have some new coaches in their program so they are doing things a little bit different. When you look at the talent level they have some talented kids. They always do every year over at Norwalk. They have some nice athletes on their team. We train our kids hard and we tell our kids every week you have to expect the best out of your opponents. If we don’t do that then shame on us. So, we expect the best. We expect a good game and we expect our kids to give their best also. We’ll see what happens,” said Nasonti. Published 10/07/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	“NOL” Co-Leaders Clash In the biggest game so far in the final year of the Northern Ohio League, the Bellevue Redmen travel to Sandusky to face the Blue Streaks on Friday night. Sandusky is 2-0 in the league, Bellevue is 1-0. Last week, Bellevue drilled Tiffin Columbian (48-14) in an “NOL” game and coach Ed Nasonti says he likes their progression. “You are into week six right now and our philosophy is every day you hit the practice field you either get better or you get worse you never stay the same. The coaching staff is constantly pushing the guys and focusing on all aspects of our game,” he said. Sandusky (5-0,2-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, hammered previously unbeaten Shelby (42-21) last week in a league game. Nasonti says they have game breakers. “They have some outstanding skilled athletes and just some great speed on the perimeter. When they get you in a one on one predicament if you don’t make a play or you don’t do a good job tackling they have the athletes that can take it to the house. That is basically what we see in the five tapes we have on them. They out athlete you in some positions,” he said. Nasonti adds the Streaks make big plays on offense and in the special teams. “It is pretty simple it comes down to tackling in space. You can’t do any more than get your kids in position to make a play. Once they are in that position they have to make a tackle or make a play. You talk to any coach and they will say they can’t do it for you. The key to Sandusky is not just their offense, but their special teams. They have the speed. I have seen them take punts to the house and kickoffs. You turn around three times and you are down 21-0 in the first quarter. For our end of it we feel we have to do a good job keeping these guys contained and don’t let them get it into a track meet and make them have to execute,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I think with any high school football team, not just Sandusky it is hard to execute plays successfully all of the way down the field. It is easy when you run a couple of plays and get a 50 yard touchdown, get a punt return for 60 yards, get a kickoff return for 65 yards. You are going to have a hard time I don’t care who you play. That is the key to defending them.” Bellevue (4-1,1-0), #4 in our poll, runs a quick tempo, no huddle, offense that put up 66 points on a very good Clyde defense three weeks ago. Nasonti says they are going to dance with what brought them. “We have been successful doing what we are doing and that is our identity and that is what we are going to do. At the same time though your best defense is your offense. If you can keep the ball and be successful on offense and you get them in position where they have to play catch up I think you might be in business. They haven’t been down in these five games. A matter of fact they haven’t had any close ones,” said Nasonti. Published 9/29/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @Swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue Ready for Tiffin Columbian Bellevue begins defense of its Northern Ohio League football title on Friday night at home against Tiffin Columbian. It has really been the football rivalry that has defined the Northern Ohio League over the last quarter of a century. Bellevue has won or shared 12 titles during that time and Columbian has won or shared 13. No one else has more than two. Last week, in non-conference play Bellevue (4-0,0-0) won (48-0) at Toledo Rogers. Coach Ed Nasonti says they did what they had to do. “We thought our kids did a great job. It was two completely different atmospheres. You go from playing at BAF with 5,000 people in a packed house. You make a one hour trip up to Toledo and the atmosphere wasn’t quite the same. We told our kids to keep their focus and I thought we did. We played a pretty sharp game on both sides of the ball and got out of there injury free. That was the goal and we accomplished it,” he said. It has not been a good year for the Columbian Tornadoes (1-3,0-1) in the first year of coach Judd Lutz. Nasonti says they are still trying to find out who they are as a team. “We’ve got some tape on them and I think they are trying to find their identity. They have been trying a little bit of this and a little bit of that trying to figure out what they do well. They have struggled a little bit, so we have to be prepared for a number of different things,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We don’t want them to find their identity at our expense. We have to be ready to play. When you look at their starting lineup they still have good size up front. They have a lot of upperclassmen in the lineup. I am sure it is going top be a good ballgame.” Nasonti says they have to approach this game like they do any other and he thinks they are off to a good start. “We like to think we can get off to a good start on any Friday night. It just depends. If we can eliminate mistakes, be crisp on offense, get the right plays called, have good tempo. I think that is important and those are the kinds of things we like to stress. Not having any turnovers I think we have been pretty good at that and doing all of the things that good football teams do. We are not where we want to be yet. We are working in that direction. We had an outstanding practice (Monday) night. The kids seemed to come ready to practice. I think that is going to be huge for us down the road here,” said Nasonti. The coach says that it has been a good rivalry between the schools over the years and he expects that to continue. “In my 26 years the Northern Ohio League championship over in most of those years has come down to Bellevue or Tiffin Columbian. I think there is mutual respect between both programs. The kids get excited for the game,” he said. Published 9/20/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue Wants to Play Fast Bellevue played an outstanding football game last week and they want to do it again as they host Toledo Rogers in their final tune up for the Northern Ohio League season. In a game between two outstanding teams last week, Bellevue had the upper hand in a (66-22) win over Clyde. Bellevue quarterback Alec Foos accounted for more than 500 yards of total offense. Coach Ed Nasonti says they were really ready to play on a big stage and it showed. “Clyde has a great football program, great tradition. It’s a great rivalry with them being right next to Bellevue. Anytime you get a win like that you have to feel good about yourself, especially with them beating us the last three years. We felt like we were due and the kids came ready to play. They played a great game on a big stage,” said Nasonti. Clyde turned the ball over last week and Nasonti says they were able to take advantage of those turnovers and come up with scores. “Those were big momentum swings. They fumbled the ball and one time we came right out and hit a pass play on them and got them spinning a little bit and the same thing on the other turnover, we capitalized on both of those. It just goes to show you you can’t put the ball on the ground. It is something we preach to our kids all of the time form an offensive standpoint. It hurt Clyde. I think anytime you put the ball on the ground it is going to hurt you,” he said. Toledo Rogers (1-2) comes to Bellevue (2-1), #4 in Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night off a (47-0) loss to Anthony Wayne last week. Their win came against Sylvania Southview (21-12) on week one. Nasonti says the Rams have some explosive players. “Their quarterback is very athletic. He scrambles around and has a good arm. They have some good skilled guys with good speed. Their return guys are petty good. We are going to have to do a good job of tackling in space. They have a couple of 300 pounders playing on their offensive and defensive lines,” he said. Last week it seemed like Bellevue was scoring all of time and they certainly like to play fast. Nasonti says that is the goal this week too. “We are going to have to keep our up tempo. We are a no huddle team and we are going to have use that to our advantage. We feel in all three of our games the up tempo has worn down our opponents even in the game we lost to Perkins we felt like they were tiring out. So, that is a big part of our game. We have to play fast and practice fast. We have had good practices this week, so I am looking forward to it,” said Nasonti. Published 9/15/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
	Bellevue Working on Being Mentally Sharp Bellevue plays a very tough non conference schedule and they have to be at the top of their game to win and that didn’t happen last week. Now, they must move on as they host non-conference rival Clyde on Friday night at the Bellevue Athletic Field. Of course, this becomes a league game next fall when Bellevue (1-1), and most of the rest of the Northern Ohio League, joins the already crowed Sandusky Bay Conference. Last week, Sandusky Perkins outlasted the Redmen (34-30) on week two of the season. Coach Ed Nasonti says Perkins was able to exploit some of their weaknesses last week. “We knew they have a good program over there. We knew coming in week two that you have to bring your “A” game right off the bat. When you look at our schedule we don’t have time to warm up we have to hit the ground running. They came in here and did a good job. They run the wing-T. They kind of exploited some of our weaknesses a little bit. Our inexperienced guys had some trouble lining up and we couldn’t stop them enough to get the win,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “At the end of the day I thought our kids played hard. It was a learning experience for us. It was one of those games where you learn from it and break off the rear view mirror and move forward.” There are some young guys playing in spots for the Redmen and Nasonti says as a team they have to do a better job of knowing where they are supposed to be at the snap. “I think we have to do a lot of tings better. We have to get lined up on defense. We have to get mentally sharp. It is a mental game. You have to get lined up. You have to get where you are supposed to be. You have to make tackles in the open field. You have to execute. Those are things we are go over with our kids on a daily basis. We are all about the process here. We come out every day and coach to the best of our ability, we coach as hard as we possibly can, and let the results take care of themselves,” said Nasonti. The Clyde Fliers (2-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, have looked very good this year. They beat Tiffin Columbian (49-0) on week one and Ashland (38-17) last week. Nasonti says this is a big game for his kids. “Well, everything is good about them. They are big, they are strong, they are fast. They are well coached, have a good program, a good football tradition. Like I said you are going to have to bring your “A” game. We are excited. It is a great rivalry. Anytime you play a team that is right next to you it is going to be a rivalry game. We are looking forward to it,” he said. Published 9/08/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue Not Taking Perkins Lightly After blasting Huron on week one, the Bellevue Redmen host Sandusky Perkins at their place on Friday night in a week two non-conference match-up with the Pirates. Last week, the Redmen scored early and often in a (38-3) win over Huron. Coach Ed Nasonti says it was a pretty good effort for week one of the season. “When you are up (38-3) at the half you have to feel pretty good about it. I felt our kids ran to the ball well on defense and tackled well for the first game. We executed fairly well on offense. We got a little sloppy at the end. I felt we could have done a better job finishing up than what we did. It was the first game and I felt it was a good learning experience for our kids,” he said. Bellevue is expected to be one of the top contenders for the Northern Ohio League title in the last year of the league. They have some explosive players on offense and Nasonti says they have experience too. "We have Bryce Ray back. We have had him for three years as a starter at tailback. He is one of the fastest kids in Northwest Ohio. Alec Foos has been a two year player for us and has been involved for four years at the varsity level at quarterback. He runs the show, runs the offense, puts us in good spots. You couple that with the fact that we have some nice returning linemen up front we can be explosive,” he said. In their first game Perkins lost to Sandusky (31-13) last Thursday. Nasonti still believes the Pirates are a pretty good team and they certainly aren’t taking anything for granted. “I think they got caught off guard a little bit by Sandusky’s speed. They got down big in the first half and they couldn’t get back in it. They played well the second half. I think they outplayed Sandusky in the second half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They are a typical Perkins team. They are big, they are physical. They run the wing-T offense, which is tough to get a handle on sometimes from a defensive perspective. I think they are a good football team and one we have to take seriously.” Published 9/01/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue Meets Huron in First Game Bellevue makes the trip to Huron for the opener to the 2016 campaign on Friday night. Head coach Ed Nasonti has been through more than 30 of these openers and he thinks the Redmen will be ready to go, but you are never sure. “The only way we can tell is an evaluation of our two scrimmage opponents and the way we are practicing. Of course, you are going up against your scout team. I think early in the season it is about the kids getting used to that game speed. I think we will gradually get there, but we have a long way to go. We play a good Huron football team, we play Perkins early and Clyde. We have a tough schedule and a lot of times you get exposed early. I think the kids are working hard, the coaches are working hard. We will find out soon enough,” said Nasonti. As much preparation as you have there are going to be surprises on week one and Nasonti says you have to be able to react to what you see on the field as coaches and players. “There are a lot of nerves and a lot of anxiety. I know I thought over the years no matter who we played on game one that is the team you thought about the most. You come out in the summertime and you start thinking about week one. There is a lot anxiety for a new person. It’s easy to hide any tricks you might have up your sleeve for week one,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “When you play someone later in the year you have film on them and you have a good idea of what they want to do and don’t want to do. Week one often times we find ourselves having to coach on the fly here coach our kids up on some things that we may not have prepared for.” As far as Huron is concerned, Nasonti says they are young in some spots, but they are going to be a good football team. “They are going to be quick on defense. They have a quarterback that is a senior, but hasn’t had a lot of experience and I think they will keep things simple for him. Some quick throws so they can use their speed on the perimeter. They have a couple of nice running backs. They will be fundamentally sound. They are well coached. They will be a good opponent for us,” he said. Published 8/26/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue Wins "NOL" Softball Title Bellevue beat Tiffin Columbian (8-5) on Wednesday and with that win claimed an outright Northern Ohio League softball title. Veteran coach Walt Snyder says every year is a new year and winning never gets old. "Not for the young kids. You have a different group every year. Their number one goal is to win a league championship. We are very fortunate to do that," he said. Bellevue is the most consistent program in the "NOL" and Snyder says there is a reason for that. "We have pretty good feeder programs. There are a lot kids involved in our summer program. We have a spring league. I actually go down and coach the spring team and work with the young kids and put on clinics for them and stuff like that. These coaches know that work with these young kids what I want. It seems to be filling in for us pretty good," said Snyder. Bellevue (22-1,13-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com softball coaches poll in the large school division, and #2 in our new Twitter fan poll, plays host to Vermilion in a division two sectional final on Friday. Snyder says they are certainly not overlooking the Lady Sailors. "We don't know all that much about them. They are coming into the "SBC" next year. All of us are going to be together in the next couple of years. We are joining the "SBC" also. What we know about them is what we have read in the newspaper a little bit and other coaches, the word gets around," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, "I am sure that is how they found out stuff about us. It looks like their record really doesn't show what they are capable of doing. They shut out a Lexington team that doesn't get shutout. I look for a very good softball game from them." Published 5/12/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter at @Swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue Wins Again Ben Smith and Joe Wetten had two RBI a piece and Bellevue, the Northern Ohio League leader, beat Huron, the Sandusky Bay Conference leader, (8-5) in non conference baseball on Wednesday. They could see Huron again next week in the division two tournament. Coach Andy Dennings says his team has been playing some solid baseball. "We have been playing pretty well as of late. A lot of it for us is we have had the ability to play some good baseball. (Wednesday) we were able to move some runners over, get some bunts down, hit the ball up the middle with a guy at third. Those are some things we have been able to do to plate some runs and give our pitcher some confidence. We had a sophomore that threw Tuesday for us that gave us five and change. We had another kid come in and get some innings at the end. A lot of that is mental focus and being excited to play the game when we get the opportunity to. We have played some really good offensive baseball at the plate, good situational hitting, moving runners over, and getting some timely hits," said Dennings. Mitch Wells got the win for the Redmen on Wednesday. Norwalk (15-6,5-3) will be at Bellevue (16-3,8-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, for a league game on Thursday. The Redmen beat Norwalk (5-4) back in early April and Dennings knows the Truckers will be out for some revenge. "They are team that swings the bat well. We saw that the first game. We were able to get out to a lead and then kind of kicked it a couple of times in the seventh and they were able to take advantage of some opportunities, but we were able to hold on in that first game. Norwalk is always going to battle. They do a nice job over there. They are going to be ready for us and our kids are going to be excited. I have been really happy," he told Swankonsports.com after their win on Wednesday, "We have played some good teams as of late, even this week with the two teams that we have played so far, they are really nice competitive teams. We have some confidence going in, but we know that everyday is a new day, and we have to be prepared to play really well. If we don't play well we are going to have to really scratch and claw. That is kind of what we have been doing all year. We are a group of grinders. We are going to be ready for the rest of the week." Next door rival Clyde visits for a first round tournament game in division two on Saturday. Dennings knows this will be no easy game. "When you are in a one and done scenario you just have to be the better team that day. It's that simple, you can throw records out the door. Clyde has talent and they have some kids that can play the game really well and it is going to be quite the challenge for us. I know that we are going to be prepared. Both the Northwest Districts are extremely strong. There is no slouch by any means, there is no true 16 seed. Any team on any day in these groups of teams can knock anybody off. I am not really sure what the OHSAA is doing, we added some teams, but it is what it is. We have got to be prepared for Clyde on Saturday and then play the winner of Tiffin and Huron," said Dennings. Published 5/05/16 (C) Swankonports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter at @Swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue Keeps "NOL" Lead Bellevue maintained a slim one game lead over Shelby in the Northern Ohio League baseball standings with a (5-4) win over Sandusky on Tuesday evening. Bellevue beat the Blue Streaks (3-2) in eight innings at Sandusky on Monday. Bellevue (12-3,6-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, held a (5-1) lead after five innings. Coach Andy Dennings says they found a way to the win. "Back to back days they were one run victories. Big character victories for us. We were up 5-1 and kind of did some nice things to stretch out that lead. Sure enough we walked the lead off guy had an error on a hit on our center fielder and the next thing you know it is scramble a little bit and find a way to make a couple of outs to get the win. No surprise that Sandusky would battle back, they are a good team," said Dennings. Seth Holiday got the win for the Redmen on Tuesday. Mitch Wells notched the save. Bellevue, #4 in our new Twitter fan poll, also beat Norwalk (5-4) in their first league game this year, giving them three one run "NOL" wins. Dennings says they have been a lot of close games and that leads to confidence. "We have found our fair share of ways to win some games and also make some games interesting this year. We are happy to be on the good side of things for the most part this year," he said. Bellevue won at Shelby (4-0) a couple of weeks ago, but they still have to play the Whippets again, as well as Tiffin Columbian, and finish two games this Saturday with Ontario. They won the "NOL" title last spring and the JV title. Dennings says you have to take advantage of your changes and they are going to compete. "When you get in some ugly games and things don't go your way you have to find a way to get a "W." Making that big play defensively, making the big pitch, getting the bunt down, moving the runner over to third. Whatever the situation may be you have to be ready to go and take advantage of the situation. We have been able to do that so far. Our kids have a lot of confidence going right now," he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday, "We have to feel pretty good about things right now. Even if we do get down we have been able to comeback lately from early deficits. We are a group that is going to compete. You have to be able to do that to win some of these tight ballgames. You have to have a team that is going to compete from the first pitch to the last pitch." Published 4/27/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter at @Swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue Starts Defense With a Win Bellevue won the Northern Ohio League baseball title last spring and they began defense of that title with a (5-4) win at Norwalk on Tuesday afternoon. Coach Andy Dennings says it was a good, solid win for the team against a very good Norwalk club. "We always want to start off league play with a win. It is always nice to get Norwalk because they have a good program over there. I don't think there is any doubt that there are going to be a lot of competitive games this year in the "NOL." When you look at the other scores throughout the night with Columbian getting Willard 5-3, and Shelby beating Ontario 2-1 and our 5-4 game with Norwalk. It is going to be an exciting year," said Dennings. It looks like it is going to be another tight race between a number of good teams in the "NOL" this year and Dennings says you are going to have to win games like this to take the top spot. "We are happy to play games like this. These are learning experiences for us and so far we have been on the good side of all of these. We can take a lot a way from a loss that doesn't go your way too. We have learned a lot about our team. We have some young kids without a whole lot of varsity experience. Our kids will go out and compete and they believe in each other right now. We are happy with were we are going," he said. Bellevue (5-0,1-0) is scheduled to play at Sandusky, an extra innings winner over Perkins (3-2) on Tuesday in a non-conference game, on Thursday in an "NOL" game and then at Shelby next Tuesday. Dennings is pleased they have been able to win games with some young kids in the lineup. "I would rather get my feet wet and win than get my feet wet and lose. We have injuries. We had a kid out sick (Tuesday) and we have our starting second baseman with a broken hand. We are throwing more kids into the fire right now and they are responding well," he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday, "We had a couple of balls that we kicked around (Tuesday,) but our kids were supporting each other and believing in each other. We made enough plays in the field to help our pitcher and come away with a "W." Published 4/06/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter at @Swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
	Bellevue to be a lot Younger Bellevue won part of the Northern Ohio League title last year and advanced to the regional tournament in division two, but they are going to be a lot more inexperienced to start the year. Coach Andy Dennings says they will have players that have had success at lower levels and now they must take that to varsity baseball. "We return two starters back from last year's team, so we will be a little green behind the ears. We have some young kids that are going to have step up. We have a real nice season class. A couple of sophomores that are going to compete at that this level. We have had some success at lower levels and we will see how it translates to wins on the varsity level. It's a good group of kids and we are excited about this year," he said. Dennings says the weather has been unusually cooperative this year and that has allowed them to work on their skills when it comes to pitching and hitting. "With this year's winter we were able to get outside and see some things. We have some guys running around and making some plays actually out on a field and not on a synthetic surface or in a gym. We have seem some nice things. Our kids are working hard. We are definitely going to have a learning curve here. We are working on our pitching. We have a lot of arms out there," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "We are working to develop some young guys and some of our top end guys and work on some more of our relievers. We lost a lot on the offensive side last year, but we have some kids that will compete at the plate. We will work on being one through nine in lineup like we were last year. We'll get there." At the end of last season, Bellevue was hitting throughout the lineup and had depth on the pitching mound. Dennings says that is where they want to when the big games are to be played. "Offensively we have some work to do. We will work those kinks out. Pitchers are ahead of hitters early and you can expect that. We have to find a way to compete a little better. We scrimmaged (Tuesday) night and the offense was a little off and there are some things we have to work on there. We have to figure who are the kids that are going to step up in the big games. I think we are going to be solid defensively. We have some young kids that can really make some plays out there that are pretty athletic. We were pretty athletic last year, but we have a lot of athletes out there again that can make some plays on defense," said Dennings. Published 3/16/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com follow us on twitter at @swankonsports
	Bellevue Wins Third Straight District; Plays Rogers Again Bellevue is used to winning, it's that simple. They have won six straight Northern Ohio League titles and now three division two district finals in a row. They made nine of nine free throws in the overtime period and beat "NOL" foe Shelby for the third time this year 58-53 in overtime in the district final on Saturday night. "We were down 10 to start the fourth quarter. We just told the kid we needed to get one basket at a time, one shot at time, and keep playing away. And that's what we did," said Bellevue coach Kory Santoro. This season the Lady Red have been battle tested and Santoro believes that helped them when it came to crunch time on Saturday night. "We told them at the beginning of the fourth quarter that we have been here before several times this year, we have a lot time, don't hit the panic button, just keep playing." he said. As far as the consistency of the program, Santoro says it doesn't start in the ninth grade or even junior high. "I think that starts from our youth program. We have smart coaches down there running our youth programs and they are running our stuff," he told Swankonsports.com, "We try to teach continuity through our youth leagues, the middle school and the high school. I think it has paid off." The last couple of years the Lady Red have been paced by the coach's daughter, Carly Santoro, but this year they have had more balance in their offensive attack, according to coach Santoro. "We have been very balanced this year. I think that is what makes us so hard to guard. We have had several leading scorers this year. Last year, we were more one player dominated, this year is just more balance." Jenna Strayer had 18 points and Paige Vogel added 16 in the win over Shelby in the district final. Bellevue (21-5) plays Toledo Rogers (21-5) in the division two regional semi final on Tuesday night at Ontario High School. Bellevue has lost to Rogers the last two years in the regional final, losing (52-40) two years ago and (58-52) last season. Rogers is pretty much a Toledo City all-star team due to inter-district open enrollment. Santoro says they will give it all they've got. "We know they are a good basketball team. We don't get to do what they do up there. We have go with what we are dealt with. We are looking forward to it. We will give them everything we've got," he said. Published 3/01/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Rebounding, Ball Handing keys for Bellevue Bellevue needs to find about 10 points if they are going to beat Shelby in the first round of the division two tournament on Tuesday night at Willard High School. Last Tuesday, in a Northern Ohio League game at Shelby, the Whippets won (71-63) to sweep the season series. They had won (70-65) at Bellevue in January. Bellevue (8-14) coach Ed Rich says they gave good effort against the Whippets the last time, they just couldn't get enough things done to win. "They had a pretty good lead the whole game. It was up and down from nine to 13 at time, but you know we battled pretty well. I thought we played some good basketball, just some mental mistakes and the offensive rebounding they had that keyed their spurts is what really killed us in that game against them last week," he said. Playing Shelby (12-10) just last week means they are certainly familiar with what they do, but Rich says the things Shelby likes to do are difficult to prepare for. "We know what we are going to get. I don't know if it is good or bad that we just played them a week ago. We are prepared for what they have, but that is one this things that is really hard to simulate in practice," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "Their style is one of the things that is difficult to simulate with a scout team because of the athletes and the shooters that they have. It is one of those things that is difficult to get completely prepared for without playing against them." If they are going to turn the tables on Tuesday night, Rich says they have to get on the boards and they have to handle the Shelby press without a bunch of turnovers. "Like I said one of the things that hurt us was their offensive rebounding in spurts. I can remember the first quarter our first five possessions we had five turnovers. So, we started off not so hot. If we can take care of the basketball better and get those defensive rebounds when we get stops I think we have a chance to go out there and sneak one away from Shelby," he said. Published 2/23/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Still Finding Things Out With their youth this season, the Bellevue Redmen are still experiencing some growing pains as the regular season ends this week. Bellevue plays at Shelby in a Northern Ohio League game on Tuesday and hosts Huron in non-conference play to wrap the regular season on Friday. Last week, they lost to Tiffin Columbian (49-38) on Friday in a league game and then beat Oak Harbor (63-36) on Saturday in a non-league game. Coach Ed Rich says they are still dealing with inconsistency. "We have definitely had some ups and downs. Played Tiffin on Friday and we went 10 of 51 from the field and you can't win that way. We turned around on Saturday night and played Oak Harbor and I don't know the exact percentage, but I know we were nine of 14 from three on that night. With a young group there isn't a whole lot of consistency. They read the name of the jersey more than they read anything else at this point. Right now, we are sitting at 8-12, not ideal, but I can't say I'm displeased with our record," said Rich. Bellevue (8-12,2-9) plays at Shelby (11-9,6-4) in league action on Tuesday. Shelby won (70-65) on January 16. With the way Shelby shoots the three their games tend to have some runs by both sides, according to Rich. "At our place the first game we are down 14 at the half and we come back and tie it up 48-48 or something in the third quarter. We held them to six points. The next quarter they come in and we end up losing by five or six. For them the three ball is a game changer," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "Unfortunately for us they are shooting it really well right now. They have a couple of kids, especially the Hipp kid, that are really knocking it down right now, up over 40 percent now." Rich says you really have to have a hand in the face of the Whippets shooters. "We zoned them up the first time and then we went to straight man our second half and I thought that was much better, get up in the ball handler, make them handle it, get in their grill, make them make shots at least over some hands. We will mix it up again, but I think our best game plan is to get up in them and make them make shots over our defenders," he said. Bellevue will play Shelby again in the first round of the division two tournament next Tueaday. Rich says this week gives them a chance to try some things out. "It is one of those things where they have a nice identity. Everybody knows Shelby's identity, everybody knows what Shelby is going to do. For us unfortunately we don't have much of an identity yet. We are still in the experimental process and we are 20 games into the season. I think there is somewhat of an advantage because we can see what works and what doesn't. It is nice to play them and play them again in a week because you are really prepared for it," said Rich. Published 2/16/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Looking For Epiphany Bellevue has a young group of basketball players this season with some talent and they certainly have pretty good potential and that potential could be realized this season yet. Last week, they were hammered by Sandusky (77-45) in a league game and then rallied to beat Margaretta (58-57) in overtime in a non-conference game on Saturday, Coach Ed Rich says he liked the way they responded on Saturday because they really didn't show up on Friday. "Saturday was definitely a nice win. Margaretta is a really young team, so we should match-up with them pretty well for the next couple of years. On Friday against Sandusky I thought we played kind of scared. I expected to go in and compete a little more than we did. I told my guys all week that all Sandusky has to do is flip a switch and they could blow you out by 40. They flipped that switch and they came pretty close to beating us by 40," said Rich. Tiffin Columbian (6-13,1-8) plays at Bellevue (7-11,2-8) on Friday in a Northern Ohio League game. Bellevue won at Tiffin (58-56) on January 8, but Rich says the Tornadoes will be a tougher challenge this time. "The first time we played them we snuck one out at their place, but that time we were playing two bigs, I had both of my bigs, and we were able to match up with them. This time around we are a little nervous. They are playing, the Durham kid is playing really well, he is a great athlete and can create on his own. Then you have the Simmons kid, who is 6'4" or 6'5". Their game definitely revolves around their two bigs," he said. Bellevue is a team with a sizeable upside. Rich says young kids could break out at anytime. "I would much rather have an experienced group of kids. The dangerous thing about a young group of varsity players is there could be a time when you can see them do things that they have never done before. That could happen in the tournament, we could get hot and get on a little run and you go from there," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "That is the difference between an older and a younger group. Usually you know what you are going to get out of an older group. With a younger group you just hope there comes time where they do some amazing things that you haven't seen yet." Published 2/11/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Must Limit Sandusky's Penetration Bellevue is likely one of the younger teams in the area, but they are still striving to be more competitive this year. They will have a tough nut to crack on Friday night as they travel to Northern Ohio league co-leader Sandusky. With the injury to four year varsity player Seth Linder earlier in the season, coach Ed Rich says they have a little different makeup than he thought they would have. "There is no doubt that we have had some injuries to Seth Linder that hurts and then there were a couple of guys who aren't on our roster that we projected to be on our roster at the beginning of year. I think those are things that everyone deals with. That hurt us pretty bad at the beginning of the year," he said. There is only one senior in the starting lineup, but Rich says their goal remains to continue to improve this year and be peaking at the end of the season. "To my kids credit they have responded well. We are probably one of the younger starting lineups in the league. We have two sophomores, a freshman, a junior, and one senior. We don't use that as an excuse ever. We talk about lets just get better every day. I hear a lot of talk about us about how we can be much improved next year. I tell my guys year that's nice, but we want to win now and that has been our attitude all year," said Rich. Bellevue (6-10,2-7) is at Sandusky (11-3,6-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the large school division. Rich says to have much of a chance against the Blue Streaks you have to contain Jayrese Williams, who scored more than 50 points in a game this year. "I would say he is the best player we have seen all year. He can hurt you in so many ways," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "He is a much improved shooter from last year. Last year obviously I didn't see him twice a year when I was at Galion like I did this year, but last year we played them in the tournament. Our game plan against him last year was to not give up penetration and give him space on the perimeter. You can't even do that anymore he is probably shooting close to 50 percent from three." Despite Williams ability to drain the three, Rich says you must force Sandusky to beat you from the perimeter. "I want to say that is everybody's game plan going in against them. They have two guys that can really shoot it well from the perimeter, but you almost take that game and say if you are going to beat us then beat us from the outside and if you do then hats off to you. We are going to do our best to keep you out of the lane and limit those easy points," he said. Published 2/03/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Offensive Execution Big For Bellevue This Week Bellevue faces two Northern Ohio League games this week and the teams they play both are outstanding on defense in Ontario and Norwalk. Last Saturday, the Redmen rallied to beat Galion (51-45,) the school coach Ed Rich used to coach. He says they were able to make the right adjustments. "It was really impressive. We got down, I think, 18 at the half, like 32-14 and then we kind of discussed some things at halftime and my guys responded. We got out and got into Galion and tried to make them handle the ball a little bit and make then take the ball out of Houston (Blair's) hands an cause some turnovers. We went on a 20-4 or 20-6 run in the third quarter, so they responded well," he said. Thursday night, the Redmen (5-9,2-5) host Ontario (12-3,6-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll in the large school division. The Warriors now share the "NOL" lead after beating Sandusky (62-60) last Friday. Rich says you always great a good performance from Ontario. "Sandusky beat them earlier in the year. I can't say I predicted they were going to win, but I knew they were going to compete. I knew they weren't going to go in there and get blown out by any means. They are definitely the most consistent team in the league I can tell you that. It is between them and Sandusky as to who is the best, but Ontario is by far the most consistent team in the league. We have a lot to prepare for on Thursday night," said Rich. He adds that you have to be very strong at running you offense because Ontario makes it hard to score. "They get after it. We have been watching them on film from the first game when they really took it to us. I think we scored 29 points for the whole game. They get up in the passing lanes, they ball pressure you. They will get in that full court diamond press. Sometimes it is just like a token press, but just the presence of athletes they have can force some turnovers. We have our hands full on Thursday night," he said. On Saturday, Bellevue is at Norwalk (7-8,4-3) and Rich says the Truckers might be having some problems on offense, but they still defend very well. "They are one of the better defensive teams in the league, no doubt. I understand they have lost six of their last seven, but they are a dangerous team, well coached. They are going to be in every game, no matter who they are playing. We definitely have to make our offense work in our half court sets," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "Their goal is to get you out of your half court sets and the first time that we played them they did a pretty good job of that. We had to make a huge run just to get back in the game and we just came up a little bit short. We have to go to Norwalk to play and it is a tough place to play. We have two tough games this week and hopefully we come prepared and things go our way." Published 1/28/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	It's the Little Things For Bellevue Bellevue has played some good teams tough this year, but they have fallen shot too many times and it has been mostly things like free throws or key turnovers. There were a couple of examples last weekend. On Saturday night, in a league game, they lost (70-65) to Shelby. Coach Ed Rich says they had some defensive issues and some poor free throw shooting. "It was a tough one. They came out on fire early and were 9-17 from the three in the first half. They hit some good shots, unfortunately we decided we didn't want to defend, especially their shooters. We just didn't get out on them and gave them good looks," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "We played well in the second half, held them to eight points in the third quarter. They only hit three more threes in the second half. I think we had them tied up in the fourth quarter, but we missed some key free throws once again. There were just some little fundamental things that would have helped us win the game." The night before, on Friday, they blew an 11 point four quarter lead and lost at Vermilion (62-54) in double overtime. Rich says that is a game they should have won. "Friday we played a good Vermilion team and I think we were up 11 with two minutes to go and they were fouling us at the end. We have three guys that we wanted them to foul and they were fouling 75 to 80 percent foul shooters and unfortunately we couldn't make those free throws and lost in double overtime," he said. Bellevue (4-8,2-4) plays at Willard (3-9,0-6) in a Northern Ohio League game. Bellevue won the first meeting (70-63) and Rich says this time they have to do a better job controlling Conner Robinson. "Obviously the main key with Willard is attempt to control Conner Robinson. I think he is averaging 19 a game. The first time we played them he had 35 on us and we were lucky to win the way we did. They are just as hungry as we are. They have lost some really close games also. I will be a tough game. We will have go down there and play as well as can to come home with a victory," said Rich. Then on Saturday night, the Redmen host Galion (6-5) in a non-conference game. Rich coached the last several years at Galion. "I have been telling people that it is one that have really not been looking forward too. When you have been with a group of kids for so long and then you have to go out and coach against them. When I left Galion I told the guys that I really hope you go 21-1 and your only loss is against Bellevue. I know they have a nice squad, senior laden, with a lot of experience. I am looking forward to getting it over with to be honest. I have thought about that game quite a bit lately," said Rich. Published 1/22/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Must Handle Shelby Press Bellevue didn't handle the Upper Sandusky press very well on Saturday night and they are going to have to do a much better job on Tuesday night when they host Shelby in a Northern Ohio League game. The Redmen beat Tiffin Columbian (58-56) on a Trey Rulhman layup with two seconds left in the game. On Saturday night, they trailed Upper Sandusky by 25 at the half, but coach Ed Rich says they never quit. "It was a nice weekend. Obviously the win against Tiffin was big for us. We ran into Upper at 11-0, now 12-0. We came out against Upper and we were flat and didn't handle the ball very well in the first half and we dug ourselves a huge hole. There were some positives out of it though. We won the second half 25-19, but we were in such a big hole at that point. It was just nice to see my guys respond. We could have easily been beat by 40," said Rich. Rich says he was proud of how his kids to responded to his challenge at halftime of the Upper game. "I just told them you have to handle the pressure. There is nothing else I can draw up for you to handle this pressure any better it is on you. You have to be a competitor, you have to play with a little pride, play with some heart. To my kids credit they had a great response to it," he said. Bellevue (4-6,2-3) is at home for Shelby (5-6,2-2) in a "NOL" game on Tuesday night. Rich says the Whippets play a lot like Upper Sandusky. "They are very, very similar to Upper in their style and the press they run. They are going to get up in your grill. They are a man to man, run and jump type team and give you pressure all four quarters," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "They only good thing about playing them and Upper back to back is you can prepare for Shelby when you are playing Upper. We had a good day of preparation (Monday) and I expect them to handle the ball much better (Tuesday) night." A difference between Upper and Shelby is the Whippets rely a lot on making three pointers and Rich says Shelby games have a lot of momentum shifts. "They kind of live or die by the three. The three ball is huge for them. They have five guys that start for them that can shoot it and they have two guys that come off the bench that can shoot it. They can hit three or four threes there, but they can also give up 10 points in layups if you break the press correctly. They want to speed it up just like Upper did. I believe we can handle that, we just have to believe in ourselves and be able to finish with baskets and keep ourselves in the game," he said. Published 1/12/16 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Ready to Get Back it Bellevue has played only one game in last couple of weeks, that was the day after Christmas. They play at Tiffin Columbian in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday night. That kind of lay off can be good and bad. Coach Ed Rich says they have gotten some needed rest, but they might also be a little rusty going into Friday night. "Right now I am a little indifferent. We have had basically a two week layoff where we haven't been able to compete against anyone else's players. We will find out on Friday. I think that day off was good for some of my kids to get their legs back and everything. We play so few kids. I guess the results will tell us on Friday and then I will know how I really feel about it," he said. It terms of what they have been working on during practice sessions during the holidays, Rich says it has been all about fundamentals. "We have hit the fundamentals pretty hard these last two weeks. I still don't think we are very fundamentally sound. We have some nice players and some nice athletes, but we just lack some basic fundamentals, making the right reads in passing. reading traps, reading different defenses. We went against Clyde on the 26th and they threw a box and one at us and we just freaked out because we hadn't seen it before. You just have to play the game and if something isn't there you just have to create it at this level," said Rich. Bellevue (3-5,1-3) is at Tiffin Columbian (4-6,1-2) on Friday night in league play. Rich says the Tornadoes are showing improvement and he looks for a good game this week. "They are dangerous. They have the two big guys, the Durham kid, the Simmons kid. They have are coming are on. I have watched quite a bit of film on them. They have been in a lot of games, especially league games," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "They have played fairly well, they beat Willard in overtime, they played fairly well against Ontario for a while, Shelby, it's hard to get a read on how teams play against Shelby because of their style. They are a pretty nice team. We are going to go down there and I think it is going to be a heck of a battle, we have some big guys too, and I think it is going to be a game that is won and lost in the paint." Published 1/06/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Must Execute Against Tough Norwalk Defense If Bellevue wants to stay in the Northern Ohio League race they are going to need a win when they host the Norwalk Truckers on Friday night. After getting blown out by Ontario (65-29) in a league game on Saturday night, the Redmen buried Plymouth (64-43) in a non-conference game on Monday. Coach Ed Rich says it was good to get back on the winning track. "There is no doubt about that. It was pretty rough, they really took it too us, but I was really pretty happy with our kids. We could have hung our heads and packed it in coming off the loss on Saturday. We played well enough to get the win and I am pretty proud of my guys," he said. It is Rich's first year as the coach at his alma mater and he says the players are getting used to his offense. "(Monday) night is a perfect example. I think we were 1-13 from three in the first half. We made some adjustments there in the second half and I said for the three ball we only want good looks. If we get a good look then I don't mind. We didn't shoot as many threes and we put up just as many points as we did in the first half. We are starting to understand the offense and realizing that not every open three is a good look," said Rich. Bellevue (3-2,1-1) hosts Norwalk (3-1,1-0) in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday night. Rich says the Truckers play great defense that put a lot of pressure on ball handlers. "That is what makes me the most nervous about them. They really get after it defensively. They play hard at both ends of the floor, but defensively they do a lot of nice things. They have the guards that can give our guards some fits," he told Swankonsports.com Tuesday, "There is no doubt that is what we will be working on the next couple of days handling the pressure at the guard spot and them taking us out of our stuff. We need to realize how to attack." In Norwalk three wins they have all been by two points or less and they have not scored over 56 points in any of them. Rich says they would like the pace of play to be faster, but he feels they can win if it isn't. "Our three wins this year we have been in the 60's plus. We definitely want to get up and down, get out in transition. I have confidence in my guys. We are going to work on our half court stuff more these next couple of days. I have confidence in my guys that if the game is in the 40's we are going to give ourselves a chance to win," said Rich. Published 12/16/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Offensive Efficiency Must improve For Bellevue On opening night it seemed really good, but the next night not so much and Bellevue needs to do a better job of running their offense as they face two games this week. They host Port Clinton (1-1) of the Sandusky Bay Conference on Thursday and then travel to Ontario to take on the Warriors a big match-up in the Northern Ohio League on Saturday. Last week, in their opening games of the season Bellevue beat Willard (70-63) in a league game, but lost to Sandusky Perkins (53-38) in a non-conference game on Saturday. Coach Ed Rich says Saturday proves they need more work on their patterned offenses. "I think we have to especially get better on the offensive end, you know just running our stuff. I think against Perkins especially we were not able to run anything and I am set oriented kind of a guy, so like to run multiple sets and we couldn't run anything against Perkins and it showed. We go from scoring 70 points the night before to 38 against Perkins, so I was I pretty disappointed in our offense and how we ran things on Saturday night," said Rich. Port Clinton lost to talented Sandusky St. Mary's (46-35) on Saturday. Rich says the Redskins have some athletic players, who can do some things with the ball in their hands. "They are going to be a tough match up for us. They have some nice athletes, some nice length. They have a couple of kids playing this year that did not play last year who are really good players. They is a Stubblefield kid, who played the year before, but not last year. He is an excellent ball player, very athletic, unlimited range, he really makes them go. If we don't come to play with their style we are going to be in for a long night," he said. Ontario (3-1,0-1), #3 in the first Swankonsports.com boys' basketball coaches poll of the season this week, is the two time defending league champion. However, they did lose to Sandusky (61-47) last Friday. Still, Rich says the Warriors are really good. "They are always good, and they are well coached, we all know that, coach Balogh and his staff do an excellent job, so we know what we are going to get into there. They are just as good as they have always been. They just had a hiccup there on Friday against Sandusky," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "They are going to be ready to play and add on top of that that coach Balogh now has 499 wins, so he will be looking for number 500 when we go in there on Saturday." Published 12/09/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Opens its Season with Willard Bellevue starts its season a week late and will do so at home on Friday night against its most traditional rival in the Willard Crimson Flashes in Northern Ohio League action. The game was originally scheduled for Willard, but has been moved to Bellevue due to some concerns with Willard facilities. Bellevue played in the regional finals in football just a couple of weeks ago after winning the league title this fall. Football players haven't had much practice time, but coach Ed Rich is confident they will be ready to go come Friday night. "I think we are were we should be. Based on past coaching experiences we are a little behind where I usually am at this point. With the kids I have right now I think we are in pretty good shape and we are going to ready to go on Friday," he said. One of those football players is Seth Linder, who is going to be a four year varsity player in the post. Rich coached against him when he was at Galion, but he says he has now learned what kind of player he is. "I always knew he was pretty good just watching him and playing against him the last three years. He is a three year letter winner. In practice he is impressive. He is supper athletic, a big, strong kid, and understands the game pretty well. He is a really nice player," he said. Willard (0-1,0-0) lost its opener to Upper Sandusky (73-54) in non-league play last Friday. Rich was there and says that score really doesn't tell the story. "I watched them play Upper, I was there. Here is the thing about Willard. A lot of their shots didn't fall, they got some good looks. they are got some really good looks at the three. I wouldn't say they live and die on the three, but they like the three ball and they just didn't drop for them. Upper turned those missed opportunities into opportunities for them. It was closer that it indicated," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "Willard had a chance to go on some runs and just some little mistakes hurt them and stopped some runs that I think would have been big runs for Willard. They are guard oriented. They have Conner Robinson, who is a great player. He is obviously the focal point of their team. We have to worry about where he is at all times. They have some nice role players too. They are a little bit better than that score indicated against Upper Sandusky there is no doubt." Rich played at Bellevue and he understands the rivalry between the two schools that once one of the hottest in the entire area. "Back in the 80's and 90's in was a huge, huge rivalry. You couldn't get a ticket it was sold out every time. It would be great for both programs to get back to that level, especially Bellevue, we have been out of that level for a while. The 80's and 90's it was an unbelievable atmosphere back then," he said. Published 12/04/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Takes on Hartley in Regionals Two tradition rich programs in Ohio clash on Saturday night when Northern Ohio League champion Bellevue faces Columbus Bishop Hartley in the division four regional final at Mansfield Madison Ram Field at Starteck Stadium. Bellevue (10-2) took a big early lead and hung on to beat Kenton Ridge (28-21) last week in the regional semi finals. Coach Ed Nasonti says they doing a lot of good things on both sides of the ball. "I think our kids are coming together. You are looking at the combination of 12 weeks throughout the season, 15 two a days. We have had some kids that have stepped up on both sides of the ball and they are playing the best ball they can play at playoff time," he said. It really looks like the Redmen are peaking in the playoffs and Nasonti says that is what you have to do if you are going to win games. "When you start the playoffs there are 32 teams, after the first game you are down to 16 and now we are down to eight. So, we tell the kids there aren't going to be any weak ones, they are all going to be dogfights and you have to be prepared for it. You have to expect the best our of your opponent and rise to the occasion on your end," said Nasonti. Three previous times Bellevue has advanced to the state semi finals, which is where a win will land them, the last time being in 2012 when they finished as state runners up. Hartley (8-3) has been to those semi-finals the last three years in a row and in four of the last five. They won a state title in 2010. Nasonti says this is a very balanced team that really doesn't have any weaknesses. "What doesn't stand out? They are big, they are strong, they are fast, they are athletic, they play with a lot of heart, they are a good ball club all of the way around. They have good speed up front and good size. They have some guys that can take it to the house every time they touch the ball," he told Swankonsports.com, "We are going to have to be disciplined, we are going to have to play hungry, we are going to have to do a good job tackling. They are a 240 pound tailback. It is definitely going to be a challenge, but it is one we feel we are up for with the way we have practiced and taken care of business and attention to details. We feel we will be right there." Hartley hammered Ottawa-Glandorf (42-14) last week and destroyed Port Clinton of the Sandusky Bay Conference (58-25) in the first round. They are explosive. Nasonti says they have to make them drive the ball and eliminate the big play. "The big thing is, and we have faced teams like them before, and we don't want to get into it when it's a track meet. We want them to have to earn it, everything they get over a 48 minute period. It is tough for high school football teams to take the ball and continuously drive the ball putting one play after another play. It is tough for even the great teams to do that. What we have to do is cut the big plays out and make them have to earn it and be consistent. If we do that then we give ourselves a chance," he said. Published 11/20/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	It will take Discipline For Bellevue After blanking their first opponent, the Northern Ohio League Champion Bellevue Redmen need another strong performance as they play Kenton Ridge in the regional semi-finals of the division four playoffs at Findlay High School on Saturday night. Last week, they were involved in a slugfest that was scoreless after three quarters, then quarterback Alec Foos threw a touchdown pass and ran for two more in the fourth quarter an (18-0) win over Wauseon. Coach Ed Nasonti says his Redmen persevered. "Whatever it takes. If it takes four quarters that is what we are trying to get done. We told our kids coming in that was the playoffs. There aren't going to be any easy games. They are all going to be tough. Teams that make the playoffs are all going to be good football teams, so you better be prepared for a dogfight and they gave us a dogfight. I was proud of our kids we had some things go against us. We had a good drive going and we coughed the ball up and we were on another scoring drive, third and one, and had a penalty, fumbled the ball again. So, there were a lot of things that went against us. Our kids could have caved in, but they stayed in there fighting and we were able to punch out three touchdowns in the fourth quarter," said Nasonti. Football is about battling adversity and Nasonti says that is what they have been telling their kids. "Those are the kind of things that we talk to kids about all year. You are not going to go into a playoff game and get a 40-0 or 50-0 win you are going to have to fight for it. We told our kids at halftime this is what we talked about guys. It's 0-0 and it's a dogfight, keep hanging in there and keep slugging it out and I thought our kids did that. I was really proud of them," he said. Kenton Ridge (8-3) eliminated "MOAC" red division champion Jonathan Alder (33-28) last week. Nasonti says the Cougars have a big time running back. "They have an outstanding running back. He has rushed for over 2,000 yards. His name is J.D. Davis. He is the real deal. As he goes, so goes Kenton Ridge. They have a nice team and a lot of the stuff is centered around him, getting him the ball on swing passes. He is a really good cut back runner with good size and good vision. If we are going to have any chance of being successful we are going to have to slow him down a little bit. Play some solid defense and tackle well in the open field," he told Swankonsports.com, "Just like I tell you every week games on won in the trenches, we have to win the battles up front. To be successful in the second round of the playoffs we are going to have to hang onto the football and cut down on turnovers." Defense is about being aggressive, but Nasonti says they have to be smart aggressive this week. "We are going to continue to be aggressive and stress getting 11 hats to the ball, but you have to do it the right way. You have to cover your bases and make sure you have your gaps filled and you can't over pursue either. That comes with practice and good instincts. I feel we made great strides this year with our tackling and being disciplined. So, hopefully we can have a good night and get after him a little bit and slow him down and score a few points ourselves," he said. Published 11/12/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Concentrating on Fundamentals, not Revenge In their first playoff game the Northern Ohio League champion Bellevue Redmen will play the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year in the Wauseon Indians. After losing non-conference games to Sandusky Bay Conference powers Sandusky Perkins and Clyde early in the season, the Redmen sliced through the "NOL" untouched and have put together a seven game winning streak. Coach Ed Nasonti says they are playing well are in top form. "It comes down basically to getting better on the practice field. We tell our kids every day you go out you either get better of you get worse, you never stay the same. I think our kids have bought into the program. They have done a great job in the weight room. They have come to practice every day ready to roll," he said. Bellevue (8-2) is no stranger to the playoffs. This is their 16th appearance, and 14th under Nasonti. They were state runners up in the division three in 2012 and two other times have made the state semis. They started this season with some young kids at key positions, but Nasonti says they have matured. "We open up the season and we are green in the secondary and we gave up some plays early on. I give the kids credit. They stayed the course. Our coaches have stayed the course. Our coaches believed in the kids. Our kids believed in the system and it has paid off for us," he said. Wauseon (9-1) has had another outstanding season. The Indians only loss was to Delta (20-14) about midway through the year. Nasonti says they do a lot of things on offense to feature their quarterback and on defense they are very aggressive and try to put pressure on your offense. "They are a well coached football team. Their kids play with a lot heart and passion. They will be ready to get after it. They are a spread offense, similar to us. They like to keep the quarterback involved. They run bootleg and sprint out to get the quarterback on the edge," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, " On defense, they run a 3-3 and a 3-2 with a cover two secondary. Their linebackers are very active. We will have to be prepared to pick up the blitzing linebackers. Like every week if we are going to be successful he have to win the battle in the trenches." Wauseon beat Bellevue (34-12) in the second round of the playoffs last season and Nasonti says they have talked about that game with this year's kids. "It is a different year and a different group of kids, but that being said we still watched last year's tape and we use it as a learning tool. Not some much preaching the revenge factor. Take a look at your mistakes, take a look at how they did this, and how they did that and I think our kids understood that. We have had a good couple of practices this week of practice and we are looking forward to a few more. We did get an extra day this week because of the game being on Saturday. We are going to take our time with our kids a little bit," said Nasonti. Revenge? How much of a factor is it? Nasonti says it can only carry you so far. "That focuses on the emotional aspect of it. I know 16, 17, 18-year-old kids are emotional, but that doesn't last. For me it is about coaching the game right, practicing well and playing with passion and heart. That is what lasts the longest. I am sure in the back of our heads it will be there for our kids, but we are relying more on practicing well, doing things fundamentally sound, blocking and tackling, those kinds of things," he said. Published 11/05/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Tries to Protect "NOL" Lead Against Shelby Bellevue owns a one game lead on Shelby and Sandusky in the Northern Ohio League standings and they host the Whippets on Friday night at "BAF" in one of the bigger games in this part of the state. In a possible trap game last week against winless Willard, the Redmen (6-2,4-0) took care of business early and cruised to a (60-7) win over the Flashes. Coach Ed Nasonti says they are playing very good football. "I think we are starting to peak. We talk to the kids every week that we want them to get better every day that they come out to practice and stay focused and keep their eye on the ball. I think our kids have done that. We are going into week nine and we still have all of our goals in front of us," he said. Shelby (5-3,4-1) has won three straight games, each in impressive fashion, beating Willard (46-7) and Tiffin Columbian and Ontario by identical scores of (46-13) in league play. Led by quarterback Brennan Armstrong, Nasonti says the Whippets are very explosive on offense. "They have some really good skilled athletes. They have an outstanding starting quarterback, probably one of the best in this part of the state and he is only a sophomore. He makes them go, not doubt about it. They have the Brooks kid at tailback. He has good speed and he can take it to the house at any time. Not to mention a good set of receivers. When you look at them offensively over the last five games they have been averaging 46 points a game. They really haven't been contested much lately," said Nasonti. In those three games, Shelby has pretty much put the game away in the first quarter with at least three scores. Nasonti says good football teams take advantage. "You look at the Tiffin tape and Tiffin has a receiver that has the ball ricochet of his helmet and into a Shelby kid's hands and they get a pick six. They play Ontario and the kid lays out and they block a punt. They have got on a roll early. They have gotten up on people early. They are a good football team and that's what good football teams do," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "From our end of it we just need to continue to focus on our fundamentals and try to be solid with our tackling in space. We need to be sharp with running to the ball on defense. Just play good, solid football on both sides of the ball. Those are the kind of things we have been stressing to our kids all week. Those are the kinds of things that any football coaches stresses to his kids and any good football team would stress. I feel we have a good group of kids. They have been coachable each day, every week, so we are going to see where we are at." Bellevue has played a lot of big games over the last several seasons while it has been a while since Shelby has been in a game of this magnitude. Nasonti says we will see Friday night if that makes a difference. "Well, you never know. Our focus is just doing the day to day things and being successful is a by product of all of those things. We have been preaching to our kids to just let it go and play hard. We have high expectations for our program. The thing with us the expectation level is in our effort. What kind of effort do we give everyday. Do they give effort? Do they show toughness? Do they know their assignment? If we can take care of all of things we stress then being successful is just a by product of all of those things," said Nasonti. Published 10/22/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Expects Best From Norwalk At the beginning of the season, Bellevue was picked by many to win the Northern Ohio League title and they haven't disappointed, at least so far, with two tremendous wins back to back. Coming off a win over arch rival Tiffin Columbian (38-21) they scored late in the game last week to down Sandusky (12-7) in game that may go a long way in determining the Northern Ohio League champion. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says they battled adversity, including the weather, and emerged with a tremendous win over the Blue Streaks. "With out a doubt it was a good win for us. With the weather conditions, 50 MPH winds, probably the worst I have ever seen in all my years of coaching. Our kids had to battle a lot of adversity. We were backed up against the wall. Actually in the third quarter we were going in for a score and fumbled the ball at the one yard line," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "We ended up having to drive in fourth quarter into the wind. We had a six minute drive and took it all of the way down the field and scored. It was a great ball game. I think it showed a lot of character from our kids. It was a big win." Alec Foos, the Bellevue quarterback, scored on a keeper with just over three minutes to play to give his team the win. As we sit here on week seven of the season it appears the Redmen are just beginning the hit their stride. Nasonti says their focus every week is to get better. "Those are the kind of things we talk about with our kids even more than our opponent is the biggest competition is with ourselves and making sure we keep on improving every week," he said. Bellevue (4-2,2-0) plays host to Norwalk (1-5,0-3) in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday night at "BAF." This series has grown in intensity in recent years with the improvement of the Norwalk program, which won the "NOL" title last year. Norwalk has struggled in league play, losing last week to Tiffin Columbian (27-12,) but Nasonti says this is not a week for his team to take a breather. "They still have a lot of seniors on their team, 15, 17 seniors. They have a veteran squad. They have been forced to play some back ups due to injury, but we preach to our kids all of the time expect the best out your opponent each and every week. I think when we do that we keep our feel on the ground and keep hungry and keep humble." he said. Published 10/08/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Ready to Defend Speed Bellevue was the preseason choice by many to win the Northern Ohio League football title and they showed why last week with a big win on the road at traditional rival Tiffin Columbian. Bellevue built a (16-0) lead by going for two after their first two touchdowns and went on to bury the Tornadoes (38-21) in league play last week at National Field. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says he thought they executed the game plan pretty well. "I thought we played well. I am happy with the kids. They have been practicing well and we had a good week of practice last week. We executed on Friday night against a good Columbian team and we got the results that we wanted," he said. Alec Foos had another big day for the Redmen at quarterback has he rushed for three touchdowns. Nasonti says their run game in really starting to look pretty good. "I think we can run the ball and I think our offensive line is coming around a little bit. The big thing is we have some younger kids in the lineup and I think it took some time for us as a coaching staff to figure out what we do well, but we can run the ball," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "Our quarterback Alec Foos has done a great job running the ball and has also done a real nice job passing the ball. We have some nice receivers with Seth Linder and Dakota McPeak. And we play some solid defense. Our run defense has done a good job this year." It is a battle of co-leaders in the "NOL" on Friday night as the Redmen (3-2,1-0) host the Sandusky Blue Streaks (3-2,2-0) at "BAF." Sandusky has laid to waste their two league opponents in Willard (56-7) and Shelby (41-28) last week. Nasonti says they certainly have some burners and they can score in a hurry if you are not fundamental on defense. "Whenever you lineup against Sandusky you better be prepared to defend some athletes. They have some guys that are game breakers. I think a big thing for us is we have to make them execute. They are quick on the perimeter. They have guys that run to the ball. They have some game breakers," he said. Published 9/30/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Playing Good Football Bellevue has lost two its first three games, both to unbeaten teams in Perkins and Clyde, but their longtime coach thinks they have nothing to be ashamed of and they are playing good football. Last week, the Redmen locked horns with Clyde and came a way with a loss (36-22) to the Fliers. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says it was a game they could have won and he knows his teams is improving its execution. "We were in the game the whole game, it was an 8-8 game at halftime. With seven minutes left in the game it was a seven point game. We had them backed up on about their own 20, third and nine, and they completed a pass about 50-yard line. It was one of those games when I thought our kids played very well. We played tough and came down to three or four plays that went their way and that decided the game. I think at this point of the season, you talk about our tough non-conference schedule, the focus for us is how well are we playing and are we improving? I think we are improving and we are playing good football," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "The record is deceiving and for me to set here and tell you that is what our focus is on is not the case. Our focus is on continuing to improve, getting some of our young kids experience and the reps they need so we can play at the level we need to play each week. So, that's our focus, we are staying the course, and I am proud of our kids." On Friday night, Bellevue (1-2) plays host to Toledo Rogers in their final non-conference. Nasonti says Rogers has players that can make plays on the field. "They have some good athletes and some good size. They have some young guys in the line up too. They are going to be athletic. They are going to have some guys we are going to have to defend on the perimeter. They throw some screens out there, some bubble screens. They have some really good return guys and along with that some big guys up front on their offensive and defensive lines," he said. When playing teams like Rogers, Nasonti says you have to be good tacklers and that is the case not just this week if their expect to be a good team. "That is something that we talked about this week with our kids is to be good tacklers. When over the years when we have had good football teams we have guys that can tackle well in space. When we have struggled we have not done a good job with that. So, that is something we always focus on and something we can improve," he said. Published 9/16/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Must play Well Against Rival Clyde Bellevue and Clyde are two schools used to winning league titles and making the playoffs and they are just down the road from each other therefore there is a pretty good rivalry between the two. It renews on Friday night at Clyde and promises to be a pretty good one again this year. After a somewhat disappointing opener against Perkins when they lost (42-16,) Bellevue rebounded to beat defending Sandusky Bay Conference champion Huron (36-16) last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says he thinks they played a lot better across the board against Huron than they did the week before and of course they were pretty pleased about that. "I thought we did a lot of things better. When you are going into week two hopefully you can do a lot of things better. You are talking about offense, defense, special teams, all of the above. I thought our kids made great strides in improving as a team overall. We are pleased with the way our kids played and at the end of the day when we saw the scoreboard we were pleased with what we saw there too," said Nasonti. Last week, Bellevue junior quarterback Alec Foos ran for a school record 357 yards in the win over Huron. Nasonti says he has the whole package and gives them a lot of options. "I think he is more dangerous when he is scrambling. He gives us the same things we got from Jalen Santoro a couple of years ago. He runs the offense. He is good on the ground. When he is scrambling he makes big plays with his feet and he throws the ball pretty well. He has had a nice year for us so far. He is only a junior and we expect him to get better each week," he said. Of course, Santoro was the offensive player of the year three years ago when Bellevue advanced to the state title game. When it comes to Clyde (2-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, they have only been scored on one this year in wins over Tiffin Columbian (15-8) and Pemberville Eastwood (28-0) over the first two weeks. Plus, they have beaten Bellevue the last two years by scores of (42-6) in 2014 and (23-0) in 2013. Nasonti says they have to find a way to move the ball against Clyde, something they have struggled doing. "They are a solid football team. They have some outstanding players year and year out. They run a good program. They have gotten us the last two years. They have had our number and we have had a hard time moving the ball on them. Hopefully we can figure out the recipe for putting some points on the board and holding them down a little bit," he said. Published 9/08/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Needs to Put Some Things Together Bellevue doesn't lose very many football games, but they did last week as Sandusky Perkins handed them a beating in their first game of the season. Perkins took a three touchdown lead in the first half and went on to pound the Redmen (42-16) in game one of the season. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says they just made too many mistakes to beat a good football team like Perkins. "The big thing is we can't shoot ourselves in the foot against a good football team. We knew coming in we had to bring our "A" game. We had a touchdown called back and another couple of penalties that killed some drives. It's just those kind of things. We knew that Perkins was a good ball club," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "You can't make those kind of mistakes against a good ball club. I did see some flashes of being a good football team. Some of our guys I thought did some good things. I feel the game was a lot closer that the score indicated, so we are just trying to build on that and get into week two and improve." Bellevue (1-0) plays at home on Friday as they host defending Sandusky Bay Conference champion Huron (0-1) in non-league play. Bellevue beat Huron (14-13) last year, handing the Tigers their only regular season loss. Huron was stunned last week by Sandusky (20-3). That loss coming with some Huron starters not able to play. Nasonti knows Huron is going to be ready for them. "I think Huron is a good football team. They ran into a very highly motivated Sandusky football team. Sandusky is a pretty good team. They have good team speed and I think that played against Huron a little bit. We really think they will at their best when they come into BAF Stadium this week and we are going to have to be at our best," said Nasonti. To be successful on Friday night, Nasonti says they have to control the Huron quarterback. "No doubt about it. He led them to a 10 win season last year and an "SBC" championship and he is guy they are counting on. He is very athletic and you have to contain him. He makes plays in the air and with his feet," he said. Published 9/04/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Faces Perkins in First Game Two of the traditional football powers along Lake Erie square off in the Friday night opener as Bellevue travels to Sandusky Perkins to face the Pirates. Ed Nasonti has been the head coach at Bellevue for almost 30 years and he says these opening night games don't get any easier on his emotions. "In all of years I have done it, it is like week one there is more anxiety hanging over you because, number one, this is the team you have been thought about more than anyone. You thought about them all summer. Once you get into your schedule you think about them one week at a time. Once we finish Perkins we'll have Huron and I'll have one week to think about them and after that we'll have Clyde and I'll have one week to think about them, but I have been thinking about Perkins all summer," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "The other thing where anxiety comes in is the fact that you never really know how your kids are going to respond. You haven't seen them under game conditions. As a coach you have all kinds of anxiety, how are they going to respond? Your assistant coaches, how are they going to respond? You have to make adjustments here and there. It is definitely a lot different than just a game throughout the season." What Nasonti has on his side are number very talented players, especially in the skilled positions, but he says they have some youth that will be seeing significant action for the first time. "We have a few guys that have been through the wars, but we have a lot young kids too. You just hope you can bring those young kids along and we have been trying to force feed them during the short preseason. We do have some playmakers back, obviously, Alec Foos at quarterback, we have Bryce Ray at tailback, and we have Seth Linder at wide out, and those guys had outstanding seasons. On the offensive line we have three guys back, but we have two young guys up there and some other young receivers. We have a mix of young guys and older guys and we will have to see how it clicks and how it jells. When I'm a coach I always feel good when I see things clicking and hopefully we can fire away on all cylinders on Friday night," said Nasonti. When it comes to Friday night, Nasonti would like to see his team take an early leader and force Perkins out of their game. "They are a wing-t team. They are going to give you a lot of formations. They are going to give you a lot of different motions. They are going to try and get you out of position. When we play wing-t teams you better get lined up right. It is always good to get on the board and get a lead on them and you get them behind and they get out of their element a little bit. You let a wing-t team get up on you and they start grinding the clock and it's their kind of game and you don't want to get in that situation," he said. Published 8/27/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue has Some Pieces Bellevue High School is familiar with football success. They have won more "NOL" titles than anyone else. They finished (9-3) last year and in second place in the Northern Ohio League standings. The area media picked the Redmen to take the league title this year. Longtime coach Ed Nasonti likes what he has seen from his team in the first couple of weeks of August. "I think we made some great progress. We have just finished our two a days (Tuesday.) You are looking at 26, or so, practices and I think we made some great progress on some things. We showed up well in our scrimmage last Friday. I think we have some promising kids in the program right now that are working hard to get where we need to be," he said. Bellevue plays at Port Clinton in their final scrimmage on Friday night. There may not be a lot of seniors on this team, but Nasonti knows there is quite a bit of talent on the roster. "That is question that is not so easy to answer because I have only eight seniors on our varsity, but they are eight quality players that contribute on both sides of the ball. In some respects we are experienced at some key positions and other respects we are not, we have some young kids. We have some kids that are coming along and have worked really hard," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "Our quarterback, Alec Foos, did a great job for us last year. We have Bryce Ray back at running back and Seth Linder at the wide out. Key guys in some key spots. We do have some offensive linemen that got some experience last year in Jared Hoy and Chase Gore and Logan Turner. We have three experienced guys up front and two young guys that are working hard that kind of rounds our your offense," They were picked ahead of Tiffin Columbian, Norwalk and emerging Shelby by the media last week. Nasonti says they have proven over the years that they are almost always going to be in the mix. "I would like to think we are the mix every year. When you take a look we have been in the money more times than not. The last seven years we finished runner-up four times. So, I think we can be competitive. I know there have been some teams that have come along here. Norwalk has been an outstanding team the last couple of years. I hear that Sandusky has a lot of talent. So, from that aspect of it is going to be a competitive league," said Nasonti. Belleuve plays at Sandusky Perkins in what should be a very good non-conference game in the opener on August 28. Published 8/19/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Pressler and Big Inning Lead Bellevue Past Holy Name Thomas Pressler fired a five hitter and Bellevue scored all of their runs in the first inning on their way to a (5-1) win over Holy Name in the division two regional semi-final at Carter Park in Bowling Green on Thursday. The Redmen (24-4) will face Defiance in the regional final on Friday back at Carter Park. Pressler (8-1) was solid again n Thursday as coach Andy Dennings says he was able to work is way out of some pressure situations with some big pitches. "He didn't have the cutter working (Thursday), but he really did a nice job battling up there. They hit the ball pretty darn well. They were putting it in play and Thomas had to make some pitches to get out of some innings and rely on our defense. I think Thomas actually ended four of the seven innings with a strikeout. The strikeouts were huge (Thursday) as they had a couple of runners on here and there throughout. He did a really nice job battling out there. He was moving his pitches to the umpire's zone and adjusting. Once he did that he did a really nice job," said Dennings. Dylan DeWitt gave Bellevue the lead with a one out RBI single in bottom of the first and Triston Snezek added a two-run double and Grant Vickery a two-run single for the Redmen. Dennings told Swankonsports.com that his kids had to battle on Thursday and they were up to the task. "There are only pressure situations. Kids are going to be on base. You have to make plays. You have to make catches. On the flip side somebody is going to have to move the runner over, somebody is going to have to get the big hit. You have to hang in there. You have to stay within yourself and be confident at all times. It is only going to take one time that could be the difference in the game. We had to battle at the plate when that kid's curveball started getting over and it starred giving us problems. It took us a little but to adjust. We battled at the plate, we battled in the field, we battled on the mound, I was pretty proud of our kids," said Dennings. Defiance (25-5) beat Lima Bath (3-1) in Thursday's first semi-final. They won the state division two baseball title just two years ago and many of these players were part of the basketball team that won the state two months ago. Dennings says they know what they are up against, but they won't back down. "We expect it to be a great game. There is no question that Defiance has a one of the best programs not just in Northwest Ohio, but at the state level. We greatly respect them, but we are going to come out and we are going to play hard. We have been doing things our way and we have been playing extremely well lately. We are going to do what we have to do. We are excited to have to the opportunity to go to the final four. We are going to go out there and go after it and hopefully be a run ahead at the end," he said. Published 5/29/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Confident heading into Regional The last time Bellevue was in the regional tournament Lebron James was still attending classes at Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary. They play their first regional baseball game since 2001 on Thursday when they face Parma Heights Holy Name Thursday at 5 PM at Carter Park in Bowling Green in the division two semi-finals. Coach Andy Dennings they look forward to the new challenge. "Getting out of the districts is a big deal for us. I felt like we have had some teams that were good enough to get out and for whatever reason we weren't able to do it. We got beat by some good teams. Obviously anytime you get to the regional it is a huge accomplishment. It's a new challenge and we are really excited about it. We will see what we can do. We are excited about (Thursday) and hopefully we get some good weather and we can get after it," he said. Dennings, a native of western Ohio, says they really don't know a whole lot about the personnel at Holy Name (18-9), from the Cleveland area. "In the sectional and district you are familiar with a lot of those teams, but once you get to the regional it is a whole new ball game. We are playing Holy Name and since I have been here we have never played them. We aren't really familiar with them. I am familiar with the other side with Lima Bath and Defiance because I grew up in the "WBL," so I am familiar with those guys and the programs that they run. I actually played against the head coach at Lima Bath and I fell pretty comfortable that way," he said. Bellevue (23-4) scored a total of 21 runs in district wins over Lexington (11-3) and Shelby (10-3) last week. Dennings really likes the way they are swinging the bat. "We have kids that have quality at bats throughout the order. They believe in what we are doing. In the bottom half we are able to drive runs in plus we are able to flip the order over to the top. We have some kids up top that are really getting hot right now and are swinging the bats extremely well. We have plugged kids in throughout the year," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "You know, Bryce Ray is hitting leadoff and he was hitting sixth for us most of the year. Kyle Geary is hitting two and he hit eight and nine most of the year. We have had a lot of kids move around. So, we have kids that we are really comfortable with one through nine. It is nice as a coach to have that comfort level. We can swing away and not feel like we have to bunt. We feel like we have the ability to put the ball in play and make things happen. Hopefully it is tough on the pitcher. We feel really good about where we are at and how we swung that bat last week. We hope (Thursday) we don't have any let downs." Thomas Pressler started the sectional final win over Sandusky Perkins (3-2) and the district semi-final against Lexington. However, Dennings says they have a lot of kids that can pitch. "Pitching wise we have thrown a lot of different kids out there this year and they just compete. Every time we put them out there they get after it and throw strikes. We got a little rattled here on Saturday, but we settled in and a double play got us out of there. We have been really pleased by what we have been able to do. Our kids believe in each other and they support each other. They compete and that is all we can ask from them," said Dennings. Published 5/27/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Pounds Shelby for District Title Bryce Ray, Dylan DeWitt, Shane Miller, and Thomas Pressler all had two RBI and Bellevue hammered Northern Ohio League foe Shelby (10-3) in the division two district final at Mansfield Madison High School on Saturday afternoon. For Bellevue is was their first district title since 2001 and coach Andy Dennings says it is something they have been working for. "You know this is something we have been waiting on for quite a while. We felt we were good enough to get there and just didn't play well enough in a couple of situations. Four or five years ago we really let one slip away. This is what we have been building for. It was time for us to take the next step. These kids have been working really hard. We have played well all year. We have been very consistent. I am very happy for them," said Dennings. Shelby's talented freshman Brennan Armstrong couldn't go to the mound due to a hip injury and coach Jon Amicone admits that set them back on Saturday. "It hurt, Brennan was going to start. He is one our top two pitchers. He was going to start the game (Thursday) and he couldn't go and you have to go down in your rotation deeper than what you want to in a championship game. All of the pitchers we put in there competed," he said. Every Bellevue starter reach base at least one and Dennings says they have a lot of depth in their lineup. "It is the same only story, but I am happy it is the same old story. We flipped it around to the top of the order numerous times. Bryce (Ray) came through and had some big hits and Dylan (DeWitt) had some big hits. I thought the big thing for us was to get going early and I think that kind of set the tone," he said. Bellevue took a (1-0) in the first on an RBI double by DeWitt and then put up a three spot in the second, highlighted by Ray's two-run double. Tristrn Snezek started for Bellevue and pitched well allowing only one hit over the first three innings, but then hit four batters in the fourth and was relieved by Colten Slaven to start the fifth. Dennings says they have a lot of arms they can turn to. "It has been there all year. We struggled a little bit. Colten (Slaven), when he came in he couldn't find the off speed , so we had to live and die and hope they couldn't hit the fastball and they did not. We got a couple ground balls and I guess we got a little lucky," he told Swankonsports.com, "Then he found the curve a little bit, I think we was just a little excited about the moment. Snezek was rolling along pretty good and then got himself in a little jam when he was plunking kids. He got a little rattled and we decided to make a change." Bellevue pitching induced Shelby into 13 ground ball outs and a lot of those were gobbled up by DeWitt at the shortstop position. "He's the best we have had there. He is playing extremely well. I think he is playing hest best baseball right now. We are pretty comfortable when it is going right there. We don't worry a whole lot," said Dennings. Shelby (16-10) ended the season playing pretty good baseball, beating Norwalk and Ontario is the tournament, both seeded higher than them, and Amicone was proud of his kid's effort. "We fought extremely hard and as a coach that is all you can ask for. We got down early and played catch up the whole game. Bellevue is a phenomenal team. When you make as many mistakes as we did (Saturday), you boot the ball around and you don't get that big hit with two out you are just not going to win," he said. Bellevue (23-4) will play Parma Heights Holy Name on Thursday at Carter Park in Bowling Green in the division two regional semis. Published 5/24/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Belts the Minutemen in Districts Bellevue erased a one run deficit by exploding for eight runs in the fifth inning and went on to blast Lexington (11-3) in the division two district semi-finals at Madison High School on Thursday evening. Leading (3-2) going the bottom of the fifth Lexington coach Kevin Morrow removed pitcher Hunter Biddle, who had re-injured his ankle in a slide into second base in the first inning of Thursday's game, and replaced him with Evan Lee. Lee only retired one batter. Grant Vickery, Bryce Ray and Kyle Geary all had two run hits as part of the eight run inning for the Northern Ohio League champion Redmen. Bellevue coach Andy Dennings thought they were getting good swings are were taking a good approach to the plate. "It was one of those things where we thought we had a pretty good beat on what their kids were trying to do. We sat on the fastball. I thought we were making good quality at bats most of the game and we made some loud outs here and there. In the fifth inning we were able to get some runners on, I think they walked a couple. Bryce (Ray) came through and put the double out there and then we just got some good quality at bats and we found some gaps," he told Swankonsports.com after the game. "Coach (Dan) Freitag and I were driving down and just talking about that we just haven't been able to get that big one. We have had the one, the two, but we haven't had that four, five, six, seven ,eight. That inning rolled around and we were able to stretch it out and take the wind out of their sails a little bit. It was a pretty competitive game and that one inning stretched it out and gave us a lot of confidence." Biddle gave up two runs and seven hits over the first four innings and Morrow says the plan before the game was to bring Lee, a senior headed to Kent State to play baseball, in the fifth. "(Biddle) said he felt fine, but the plan was to bring Evan in somewhere around the fifth inning and see if we could do what we have done here in the last couple of weeks," said Morrow. Lee had some control problems walking three batters and hitting two before being relieved by Brady Kunkle. "He has struggled a little bit from time to time, but lately he has been on a roll. It just wasn't there for him. The kid has just given us so much over the years that I can't complain one bit," added Morrow. Ray and Geary reached Kunkle for back to back RBI hits. Bellevue has been a pretty good hitting club this spring and Dennings thought they would be able to get to Lexington eventually. "I was pretty comfortable. I thought we were going to have our chances to score. Sure enough we hit a couple of gaps and we hit some balls hard. Thomas (Pressler) threw a great game and the defense played pretty well. We had a couple of lapses there where we kind of spotted them and they took advantage of it. We just can't do that. We have to tighten that up and we will be fine," he said. The bottom three hitters in the Bellevue order reached base five times in the game and Redmen are dangerous one through nine in the lineup. "We have been doing that a little bit lately, but it has been happening all year. Bryce used to hit sixth and Kyle used to hit eighth and they are hitting one and two for us. Vickery used to hit two and he is down. So, we have moved some kids around. Our kids battle and we are petty comfortable when we are running seven, eight, nine out there and not really feel like I have to bunt or move some guys over. We got to the point there were we are hitting the kid well, let's just swing. We have a good team and no matter who we plug in they seem to compete very well," said Dennings. Bellevue (22-4) will face Shelby (16-9) in the district final on Saturday afternoon. Lexington (15-12) finishes the year as co-champion of the Ohio Cardinal Conference. Morrow thinks they have been over achievers. "It was a fantastic year. Nobody said we would be a competitive team. Most people, including myself, through we would be around the .500 mark and possibly a third of forth place "OCC" team and we walk away sending out our seniors with a championship," he said Published 5/21/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Uses Big Inning to Beat Clear Fork Bellevue scored all eight of their runs in the second inning on their way to an (8-4) win over Clear Fork in the division two softball district semi final at Seneca East High School on Tuesday. The Lady Red had five hits in that pivotal inning, including three for extra bases hits. "We probably had the worst practice in my 26 years (Monday), so I surprised we came out and hit the ball like we did. This is best hitting team I have ever had," said Bellevue head coach Walt Snyder. Clear Fork (21-8) took a (3-0) in the top of the first on two Bellevue errors and some good small ball work by the Lady Colts. They shared the Ohio Cardinal Conference title with Orrville this year. Coach Jeff Gottfried thought they had a very good year, but on Tuesday Bellevue, the Northern Ohio League champ, was just better than them. "It is like any coach says at this point and time in the season. One game doesn't make a season. If people were going to predict what we did this year, it wasn't what we did. To get a share of the conference with our backs against the wall and winning three straight," he told Swankonsports.com after the game, "We had a big two weeks. We didn't have a let down (Tuesday) we just ran into a better team. Sometimes on a given day the other team was better than you were and they were. Hats off to Bellevue, they played very, very well." Snyder says he has a young team really hits the ball well. "It don't know what to say. We have bunch of freshmen and sophomores and a few senior leaders that pulled us through I guess," he said. Bellevue totaled eight hits off Clear Fork pitchers Darian Gottfried and Morgan Arnett. A based loaded triple in the that eight run second by lead off hitter Sophie Pressler, followed by another triple by Lindsey Seaman and a double by pitcher Morgan Andrews were daggers for the Lady Red. "The bases loaded triple to left, we missed our location there. We were trying to go in and get it on her hands and we got it out over the plate and she was able to drive it. The fly ball to centerfield that kind of went over our centerfielder's head we might have misplayed it a little bit. It was a tough catch. It was right at her, but it was hit very, very hard. If we make that play they only get four instead of eight. The dropped pop up killed us. That gave them the extra two runs. When you are down five runs that is a tough hill to climb against a very good pitcher," said Gottfried. This is a different kind of Bellevue team for Snyder, who has been the softball coach at the school since 1989, but he smiled and said he thinks he has handled it pretty well. "This is one of the loosest teams I have ever had. They goof around and I am pretty much a disciplinarian, but coaches have to adjust to their personnel. I think I have adjusted pretty well," he said. Bellevue will play either Edison or Shelby for the district title. Published 5/20/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Beats Perkins in Extra Innings Bellevue finally got to Braun Miller, although it took a while. Dylan DeWitt's RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning scored the winning run as the Redmen outlasted Sandusky Perkins (4-3) to claim the division two sectional title. Miller threw a perfect game at Sandusky in a semi-final match-up on Saturday. He struck out 12 Bellevue batters on Thursday. All of the runs scored off Miller, including the game winner in the ninth, were unearned. However, Bellevue hurlers Thomas Pressler and Tristan Snezek where able to keep their team in the game. Pressler went the first six, allowing three runs, two of them earned, and Snezek went the last three, permitting just one it. "We knew it was going to be a battle when we drew them. We watched them play Sandusky and they beat them 1-0. We talked to our kids about really battling and really making them work and putting pressure on the defense. I thought our kids battled extremely well throughout the game. Pitching wise for us I thought we matched a lot of it. Thomas and Tristan have been outstanding all year. We had some tough breaks (Thursday) and I was really pleased by how we battled. It was a fun game to be part of," said Bellevue coach Andy Dennings. Bellevue has been one of the more consistent baseball powers in North Central Ohio and they have played a lot of close games this year. Dennings says they have battled adversity before. "The more you are exposed to it you hope you learn your lesson. When they present themselves you can apply from stuff that has gone your way and gone against your way in the past and take it as a learning experience. We had some tough situations (Thursday) and we found ourselves in some holes," he told Swankonsports.com after the win, "We had some problems finding the zone at times. Perkins was able to put some pressure on, but we were able to make some pitches and got some big outs when we needed them. We were lucky enough to outlast them and finally got that big hit." Perkins led (2-0) early and (3-2) in the fifth before the Redmen tied the game when they scored on an error. Bellevue (20-4), #2 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, meets Lexington (14-10), #4 in our poll, a (5-0) winner over Clyde on Thursday, in the division two district semis next Thursday at Mansfield Madison High School. Lexington beat Bellevue (5-2) way back on April 3. Dennings says the Redmen are a better team now. "It is going to be a battle. They do a nice job down there. Kevin (Morrow) does some nice work with those kids. We got to see them early in the year when we played them down at Heidelberg. They got the best of us that day. I think it is going to be a competitive environment. We have made strides. I think we are a different team than we were. We are excited about the opportunity. We are going to give Lexington our best shot," he said. Published 5/15/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Earns a Share Thomas Pressler went the distance on the mound as the Bellevue Redmen earned no less than a share of the Northern Ohio League baseball title Tuesday with a (4-1) win over Tiffin Columbian. Both the Tornadoes and Ontario trail the Redmen by a game with Shelby on Thursday Bellevue's only remaining league game. Pressler is part of a pretty deep pitching staff and coach Andy Dennings says that has been a big part of their success. "If you look at our stats we kind of run out our four primary guys all year. They are a group that has really competed extremely well on the mound no matter who was throwing. No question they have given us a chance to win every single game when we throw those guys out there. Even some other kids that we have sprinkled in there have done extremely well. Our ERA is pretty darn amazing in my opinion. As long as I have been coaching it is pretty low. It is a testament to our kid's competitive fire when they get out there," said Dennings. The hitting has been pretty strong for the Redmen was well. A key, according to Dennis, has been its depth. He says they have gotten production throughout the lineup. "I thought we started out the season extremely well hitting one through nine. We kind of got into a little lull there, but we are starting to pick it back up. This is a crew no matter who we have plugged in they have been very productive and given us quality at bats. We move a lot of kids around. We seem to be hitting our grove. Anytime you can hit one through nine the pitcher can't take a break," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, "It is not one of those things where you kind of worry when you get to the bottom half. No matter who we have put down there they have been really competitive. Again (Tuesday) night we have had some kids come up with clutch hits. Our top hitter (Tuesday) was our seven hole. It makes for a nice offense when you can put a lot of pressure on the pitcher and the defense one through nine." The Northern Ohio League has been really good in baseball this year. Willard is the only team not having at least a decent season and Bellevue, Ontario, Tiffin Columbian, Shelby and Norwalk have been really good. Dennings says you have to take them one at a time. "We talk to our kids about that a lot. We just have to be better that day. We just have to focus on that day. We don't look ahead. We can't look behind. It's about what you do today. It has been an extremely competitive league. We have some good coaches here that can get their troops ready to play. We have some good pitching too all throughout the league. It's been a lot of fun this year and it has definitely been a challenge for us to navigate our way through this season to at least a share right now," he said. Bellevue (16-4,9-2), #3 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Shelby (12-8,5-5) on Thursday. Dennings says they want that title to themselves. "We told our guys that we want to stay hungry, we don't want to share with anybody. This is the time you want to be greedy. It is tough even though you have got a piece. We are going to try and come out and play extremely well (Wednesday) against Marion Harding. Then really try and cap off the Northern Ohio League season against Shelby going down there. We had a really nice game with them at the beginning of the year. I'm sure they are going to be geared up for us and try to get their stride going into the tournament as well. We are going to battle our butts off an hopefully get that whole "NOL" to ourselves," said Dennings. Published 5/06/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Girls' Basketball Players to Showcase Talents Wednesday night, girls' basketball players of all ages will get an opportunity to show what they can do to fans and college coaches with Shelby Rotary NCO Girls' All-Star Basketball Classic at Shelby High School. Kyle Fenner of Colonel Crawford and Eric Mitchell of New London are the coaches in the senior game, which includes two ten player teams. Fenner has done this before, so she knows what to expect. "This will be the second time coaching the all-star game. I believe in 2000 I coached the all-star game over in Ashland, so this will be my second time," she said. She will coach team black, which will include: Anna Hintz of South Central, Deijah Swihart of Clear Fork, Gabby Stephens of Shelby, Shelby Stamm of Bellevue, Ellie Richmond of Wynford, Hannah Adams of Willard, Sydnie Carpenter of Ashland, Mekaila Grose of Mansfield Madison, Ta-Sharra Jeffries of Sandusky and Emily Wagner of Sandusky Perkins. A real key to this format is to get everyone into the game with a chance to showcase there skills. "It's not really hard we will have ten kids and we will probably put them in groups of five and let them play for four or five minutes then we will substitute. We will approach it that way and let them get up and down the floor and show their skills. If it's a game at the end we will probably go with the five or six best kids that we feel can win the game for us," said Fenner. Some of the players might know where they are going to college, but some may not. Fenner says this is their chance to impress. "There are going to be a good portion of college coaches there that night. They have done a great job of getting college coaches there. It will a great chance for these kids to show their skills off to not only the area, but also some college coaches that will be there," she said. On team white will be Carly Santoro of Bellevue, Valesha Province of Tiffin Columbian, Shelby White of Ashland, Jeryn Reese of Mansfield Senior, Morgan Bailey of Clear Fork, Hunter Feltner of Willard, Alexis Smith of Mansfield Madison, Makayla Cook of Norwalk, Megan Flaherty of Bucyrus and Samantha Reer of Norwalk St. Paul. The coach of the team will be Eric Mitchell of New London. There is also an underclassmen game on Wednesday night, a first due to a change in OHSAA rules and Clear Fork coach Heidi Roush is one the coaches in that game. She was an MVP in an all-star game as a player, but this will be her first as a coach. "It is my first time coaching anything like this. There are some stipulations as to who can coach the younger kids. You couldn't have one of your own players on the team. I think that is how they kind of stumbled on me. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it will be a lot of fun," she told Swankonsports.com. Her team members are: Renee Stimpert of Crestview, Abigail Fogle of Upper Sandusky, Sarah Ogden of Wynford, Gabbi Baldridge of Willard, Ashley Painley of Norwalk St. Paul, Shelby Kin of Carey, Maggie King of Willard, Jisselle Thomas of Norwalk, Paige Leitz of Monroeville and Leah Bouillon of New Riegel. She says she will judge playing time by performance during the game. "With you know you have talented kids, they wouldn't be on the team other wise. I think for the most part you just go with who is playing well. Get everyone in there and let them show their skills," said Roush. There are only a couple of practices before them game and Roush says the players sort of have to get used to each other. "There are some larger schools and I know those players and what they are capable of and there are some players that I haven't seen before and I only know their stat lines checking on then throughout the season in the paper. I think it will be a little bit of a challenge for the kids knowing each other. Some of them will have played against each other in summer league, some during the season and then there are kids they really don't know each other," said Roush. Playing for team black in the underclassmen game are Seina Adachi of Seneca East, Sydney Wentling of Carey, Kamryn Troike of Fostoria St. Wendelin, Payton Shays of New London, Kelci Simms of Bucyrus, Jenna Strayer of Bellevue, Sydney Holderman of Riverdale, Emily Yeager of Mansfield St. Peter's, Jackie Garrett of Shelby and Alexus Burkhart of Colonel Crawford. They will be coached by Jon Dawson of Willard. Roush thinks it is pretty cool that underclassmen get to participate too. "In this sport most of the time you are going to end with a loss and it can be so disheartening. Now, these younger kids are going to get a chance to play again this season and pump them up and get them ready for next season," she said. There will be a halftime three point shooting contest among girls in district 6. Some boys will be there for dunk contest as well. The underclassmen game starts at 6 PM, with the senior game at about 7:45. Tickets for the game are $6 for adults, $3 for seniors, and free for 18 and under who donate a gently used or new children's book to the Shelby Rotary's "Big Red Book Shelf." Published 3/23/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Faces Ferocious Defense Bellevue meets Wauseon in the division four regional semifinals of the high school football playoffs on Friday night at Harmon Field at Fremont Ross High School. Last week, quarterback Alec Foos scored with a little over a minute to play to preserve a (40-32) victory over LaGrange Keystone in the first round. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says they knew it was going to be a battle and his kids were up to the occasion. "Coming into week one you are taking only the top eight teams in the region and everybody has a good ball club and everybody has good athletes. When we looked at Keystone through our scouting report we knew they had a nice group of athletes that could make plays at anytime and they were a good football team," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "We were tied at halftime, we blew a coverage right before halftime and gave up a big pass play and they were able to tie it up. It was 20 to 20. We told our kids this is playoff football man and we have to make plays. It was a good football game between two good teams and I thought our kids handled it well and put together a nice second half." Wauseon (11-0) has allowed the opponent more than 10 points only twice this year. The most being in a (37-27) win over Swanton. The have thrown three shutouts this year and beat Genoa (9-7) in a first round game last week. Nasonti says this is a very good defense they will be facing on Friday night. "They had a eight ball games where they gave up a touchdown or less, so you know they are good. They have guys that can run. They have some good size up front. They have a rich football tradition. That's next up fro us," he said. Bellevue (9-2), #2 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the league school division this year, scored more than 50 points in each of their last three regular season games. They have been very explosive this year totaling more than 400 total yards in a loss to unbeaten Norwalk. Nasonti says mistakes usually tell the story in game like this, but he wants his kids to play without fear. "You are down now to 16 teams left in the state and they are all good football teams and the margin of error gets smaller and smaller each week. That being said I don't like our kids worrying about making mistakes. We take the attitude over here at Bellevue that each Friday night we are going to fire all of our bullets and let the chips fall where they may. That is the mindset that I want my kids to play with on week two," said Nasonti. Published 11/11/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Knows What to Expect Friday night, Bellevue will be making the 15th playoff appearance in school history, the 12th under current head coach Ed Nasonti, as they play host to LaGrange Keystone in a regional quarterfinal in division four. The Redmen (8-2), #2 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, finished runner-up in the Northern Ohio League. Their only losses this year come to Clyde and Norwalk. Nasonti thinks they are ready for the playoffs to begin. "We have been focusing on every day in practice getting better, focusing on intensity level and being in the right frame of mind every day in practice. That is where it gets done. You can talk all you want about what happens on Friday night, but if you don't take of the business Monday through Thursday it is not going to take place on Friday. As a coaching staff we have been pushing the kids in the right direction. We have some good leaders on our team that understand that. When it comes to the end of the year you want to be where you need to be," said Nasonti. Bellevue was a state runner up in division three two years ago and there are kids on their roster that lived that experience. Nasonti says this is just another week at the office for the team. "I think the kids are going to hear what they hear with the social media and such that kind of stuff is kind of out of out control. As far as scouting reports and practice wise it is just another week because if their was a better way of doing it during the year we would already be doing it. We feel like our approach, our system, our practice planning, our scouting reports and stuff are where they need to be," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "Like I said if there was a better way of doing it we would have already been doing it that way. From our standpoint when the kids come in on (Monday) it is going to be like every other Monday, Tuesday is going to be like every other Tuesday, Wednesday is going to be like every other Wednesday. From that standpoint it is going to be like every other game. Obviously if you don't get the job done on Friday everybody knows you get the basketballs out on Monday." Keystone (8-2) has some experience too and Nasonti says they have some athletes. "There are eight teams in the region that made it. There are 32 teams in our region and they only take eight, so they are a pretty good football team. They have a real nice quarterback that has good quickness and he is really elusive. They have a nice receiver, a division one athlete, out there that they throw to. They have a nice running back. I think they are sound on both sides of the ball. It is going to be a good football team. It is going to be another test for us. It is one that we are looking forward to," he said. Published 11/04/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Working on Getting Better Bellevue is going to need a huge upset from winless Willard against Norwalk to share in the Northern Ohio League title this year, but they are already in the playoffs and preparing for such. Last week, Willard almost got them, well at least scared them a little bit. Bellevue won (60-22), but they game was tied at the half. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti says he had to focus his team. "Our kids needed a little bit of a wake up call. We came out and Willard runs that triple option, like we talked about last week, You have to be disciplined and be at the right place at the right time. Our kids got out of position a little bit there. We had a tiger by the tail there in the first half. It was 22 all at halftime," he said. Bellevue ended up with over 500 yards total offense last week, more than 400 on the ground, 157 by Alex Foos and 147 by Bryce Ray. Nasonti says they have some home run hitters. "You have Alex Foos, who has done a great job coming in as our wildcat quarterback, you have Triston Snezek, who has had really good year for us throwing the ball, you have Bryce Ray at halfback, Joey Martin in the backfield along with Maurice Barnhouse. We have some guys that can make some plays. Our offensive line has come along, we have three veterans up front. We have the ability, but we have to come ready to play every Friday night," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "I think we are playing good football this year. We have gotten better each week. Even when we played Norwalk, a team that is undefeated, we still had over 400 yards of offense. We figured we could put points on the board. Our defense has been pretty solid. We are trying to keep everybody healthy and have some momentum going into the playoffs." Bellevue (7-2,4-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Sandusky (3-6,2-3) in an "NOL" game on Friday night. Nasonti says they better be ready from the beginning this week because the Streaks have some speed and ability. "They have some kids with great speed. You have to have good pursuit angles. We can't be caught out of position. If we get caught out of position they could take it to the house in a hurry and make you look silly. We look at them as a formidable opponent. We tell our kids every Friday night to respect your opponent and expect the best out of them. I think if we learned anything from last week's game that is what we have to do," he said. Published 10/30/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Makes Playoffs Bellevue tops their division four playoff region and they have already secured a playoff berth this season. Quarterback Alec Foos scored seven times as the Redmen belted Ontario (64-23) in a Northern Ohio League game last week. Ontario led early (16-12) after two Bellevue turnovers. "The kids had Thursday and Friday off from school and at first I thought they were going to take the game off too," said coach Ed Nasonti. With the playoff berth already earned Bellevue (6-2,3-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays host to winless Willard (0-8,0-4) on Friday night. Nasonti says they have already addressed issues regarding focus. "Focus always concerns me any week and every week. Our focus with our kids has to be on getting better every day at practice. In our staff meeting on Sunday we addressed that and how we were going to handle the kids and we addressed it with our kids at their scouting meeting on Monday," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "It is one of those things were you have to put it out on the table and challenge the kids and push them to a point. We think we can get more out of our kids every day and we can get better in all aspects of our game. If you have any intention of being a great football team you have to stay focused every week and you have to expect the best out of your opponent every Friday night and have respect for your opponent." Willard played one of its better games of the season last week as they lost to Sandusky (14-6) and Nasonti says they will not take a win for granted against the Flashes. "It is no secret that they have been struggling this year. They are a team that hasn't won any games. You don't have to go too far back to see what they can do. I know the year before last they knocked off a pretty good Norwalk team, I think they ended up shutting them out (28-0). You know what can happen and when you are dealing with high school kids, 16, 17, 18 years old you never know what can happen on a Friday night. We are taking the view point that we have to be the best that we can be and don't under estimate anyone," said Nasonti. Willard runs the triple option offense and Nasonti says they have to make sure they carry out their assignments or Willard could make big plays. "There is no doubt about it you have to have a game plan and be disciplined with your game plan and that is exactly what we hope to do and that has been our focus this week in practice," he said. Published 10/22/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Respects an Improving Ontario Bellevue needs a lot of help to get a piece of the Northern Ohio League title, but they don't need any when it comes to the playoffs. They are in first place in their region in division four. Norwalk beat them (49-27) week in a league game last week and coach Ed Nasonti thought they played well in a game that was still in doubt with two minutes to play. "It was an eight point game with two minutes left in the game and they scored twice in the last two minutes of the game. I thought our kids played hard and gave great effort, they never quit. When you step back and look at the game we had 405 total yards of offense against a team that was undefeated and they ended up with like 470 yards," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "We felt we moved the ball well, but we didn't get enough stops to keep us in the game. When you are going up against a running back like him, he is probably one of the best I have seen in the last 34 years, you have to get a few stops to give yourself a chance." Norwalk's Breck Turner had 283 yards and three scores. The top four teams in each region earn a home playoff game in the first round and Nasonti says that is something they are in position to get. "We watched the film and we learned for our mistakes and we are moving on. We are in good position playoff wise coming into the last three weeks of the season with an opportunity to go 8-2. If we take care of business there is a good chance we could possibly host a playoff game. Those are the things that we are putting out there for our kids. We control our own destiny as far as hosting a playoff game. We feel we are in good shape at this point," he said. Bellevue (5-2,2-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is at home for Ontario (4-3,2-1) in a Northern Ohio League game on Friday night. Nasonti says the Warriors have some players that can do some things. "They have a nice athlete at quarterback. He does a lot for them and he is a running quarterback, but he can throw the ball too. They have some good size up front on both sides of the ball and a couple is skilled guys. We know that they have a couple of real nice athletes that they lost form last year, but they are filling in with some younger kids that have done a pretty good job for them. The way we look at is we respect our opponents every Friday night and we also expect the best out of them. So, coming into this week we look at Ontario as a formidable opponent for us and an opponent we have to deal with. If we take care of business they could bring us a lot of computer points," said Nasonti. Published 10/17/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue and Norwalk Play for "NOL" Lead Bellevue and Norwalk are both unbeaten in Northern Ohio League action and they play on Friday night at Whitney Field in Norwalk. The winner will have the upper hand when it comes to the 2014 league title. Last week, Bellevue racked up over 400 yards of total offense and they handled rival Tiffin Columbian (42-29) at home to keep themselves in position for that league title. Bellevue and Columbian have won more league titles over the last 25 years than anyone else, Columbian has won 16 and Bellevue has added 11. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says anytime you beat Columbian it's a big win. "Tiffin has a solid football program year in and year out it is a great win. On top of it it was homecoming. I thought our kids put their best foot forward and we were able to come away with a nice win," he said. Alec Foos ran for 158 yards and three scores against Tiffin. Nasonti says their two quarterback system is working out pretty well right now. "We go with two different quarterbacks. I've got one that is a tall, lanky kid that can throw it in Tristen Snezek and then we have Alec Foos, who is kind of quick and a wildcat guy. It is a lot to prepare for and we are kind of growing into it," he told Swankonsports.com, "I think each week we get a better feel about what each guy can do and I think that helps us out too in trying to put the kids in the best position to be successful." Bellevue (5-1,2-0) does not have the size in trenches that many of the teams they play do, but Nasonti says there are ways around that lack of big guys. "You don't want to just line up and let them tee off on you. You have to do some moving on defense. I think it is important for us to do some moving around, use our quickness, and give them some different looks. We want to slow them down and make them earn their yards," he said. Norwalk is #1 and Bellevue is #2 in this week's Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the league school division. The Truckers (6-0,3-0) smothered Sandusky (27-3) last week and they feature a possible Mr. football candidate in Breck Turner at running back. He has ran for almost 700 yards in just "NOL" games this year. Their defense has allowed only 10 points in the last 10 quarters of play. Nasonti says they know Norwalk is an outstanding team. "They are undefeated and it is going to be another quality opponent. My big thing over the years that I try to focus in on with our kids to just try to focus on the things that are right in front of you and not think too far ahead. We are not going to be thinking about playoffs and championships and things like that. The next thing we are going take care of is improving on the things we can improve on," said Nasonti. Published 10/07/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Plays Columbian in Big "NOL" Game Bellevue, unbeaten in Northern Ohio League play, hosts defending league champion Tiffin Columbian in a game critical to the league race on Friday night. Columbian lost two weeks ago to Norwalk (35-21) and they can ill afford to lose another if they expect to get a piece of that league title. The Truckers are 2-0 in league action heading into a game with Sandusky this week. The Redmen (4-1,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, belted Shelby (41-14) in their league opener. Coach Ed Nasonti says they did well and showed improvement in their play. "I think our kids are getting better every week and that is our goal at the end of the day. We tell our kids you either get better or you get worse, you never stay the same. We have been on them everyday trying to do a good job in the weight room and improve all of the fundamentals and techniques it takes to play football. At the end of the day the team that blocks and tackles the best is the one the is go to come out on top," said Nasonti. Tiffin (3-2,1-1), #4 in our poll, stayed in the league race when they downed Sandusky (27-7) last week in league play. Nasonti says they are huge in the trenches with solid skilled guys, in other words a typical Columbian team. "They have great size. They have four guys that are over 300 pounds. They have some great skilled guys. Their quarterback has been around for a few years. They have some good running backs. It is a typical Tiffin football team. They don't do a lot of things, but they do a good job with what they do," he said. Columbian is an outstanding team and Nasonti knows that, but he says really the keys to winning football games don't differ much from week to week. "It will be the way it is every Friday night. We pride ourselves of being able to hang onto the ball and not turning it over. Over the years when we have turned the ball over we have come up on the short end. We want to focus on our kids hanging onto the ball. We want to make the teams we play drive the football and quit giving up big plays. I think that will get you beat too," he said. Over the last 25 years Bellevue and Tiffin Columbian have been the most consistent winners in the "NOL." Nasonti expects that both teams will play well this week. "More times over the years it has come down between Bellevue and Tiffin. Over the last couple of years Norwalk has done a great job too. Of course, they came up with a nice win against Tiffin a couple of weeks ago. We feel we have to play well every Friday night. I don't think we are good enough to look by anybody I don't care who it is. We are going to have to respect our opponent and expect the best out of our opponent every Friday night," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "That is what is going to happen Friday. We are going to expect the best and hopefully we can play our best football also." Published 10/02/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Not taking Shelby Lightly Bellevue has won three of its four non-conference games heading into its first Northern Ohio League game at Shelby on Friday night. The Redmen (3-1,0-0) responded from their only loss of the season to Clyde (42-6) to outscore Toledo Waite (41-20) last week. Coach Ed Nasonti says that Waite was a team that could make big plays and they did a good job, especially on defense. "We played a quality opponent with skilled athletes. We thought it was a much improved team from the year before. It as a good test for us and I thought our kids persevered and came out on top with a 21-point win," he said. Shelby (1-3,0-1) suffered its second straight tough loss as they were beaten at their place by Sandusky (27-21) in their first league game. It might not show in their record, but Nasonti thinks the Whippets are whole lot better than they were a year ago. "Without a doubt they have some good skilled guys. They are a real strong team with the Armstrong kid at quarterback," he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, "The Bellevue-Shelby rivalry goes way back to 1944 when it all stated up. You can throw out the record books when Bellevue and Shelby meet." Brennan Armstrong is a freshman who starts at quarterback for Shelby and Nasonti says he does a good job of getting the Whippets into what they want to do and he is a playmaker. "When you are a good football team you have to have a good trigger man. We has done a nice job for them for a freshman. They have some good speed surrounding him and some good size. It is going to be a good "NOL" battle," he said. Shelby has given up some big plays on defense, but not as many as last year and Nasonti says they do a petty good job on defense and they are getting better on that side of the ball. "They have some good speed in the secondary. They have some big size up front. They run to the ball well. They are well coached and I think that goes a long way in saying that they have a great defense," he said. Published 9/23/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Travels to Toledo Bellevue plays another non-conference game before they start play in the Northern Ohio League next week and it is a game where they have to get back to a high level of performance. That was not the case last week when rival Clyde hammered then (42-6) and coach Ed Nasonti says all of the credit goes to the Fliers. "They are a good football team we knew that coming in and things kind of snowballed on us. We were down 21-0 in the first quarter. I thought our kids fought back hard in the second half but it was too much to overcome. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team. I thought they did a good job, they have a nice team, and they are going to be tough to beat," he said. Bellevue (2-1) travels to Toledo Waite (1-2) for a non-conference game on Friday night. Waite has lost to Genoa (41-14) and Sylvania Northview (43-19) and then beat Oregon Clay (28-26) last week. Nasonti says they have some kids that can make plays. "They have some good skilled guys. Their quarterback and their tailback are as good as I have seen around here. They have speed and good size. They have a new coaching staff on board there so they are doing things better on both sides of the ball. We are expecting the best out of them Friday," he said. When defending against speed Nasonti says they have to maintain good balance and prevent the big play, something they didn't do against Clyde. "You have to tell your kids they have to be under control. Their quarterback is very dangerous when he improvises. They do have some plays that they have set up for him, but he is most dangerous when he is scrambling around. We need to make them drive the field and not give them any big plays," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "I think that's what hurt us last week. We gave up two big trap plays on runs, we gave up two big flat plays and a punt return. Every Friday night we want our opponent to have to earn their yards, make them drive the field, we can't give up big plays and make it easy for them." Beating Waite is the main thing, but above that, Nasonti thinks the Redmen have to play up to their standards. "I think playing well is the most important thing. Sure you want to win every game, but we want to play up to our potential and I don't think we did that last Friday. I don't think our kids thought so. I think if would have lost the game and played to our potential I think everybody could have been able to deal with it. I have been coaching for 34 years, 24 as a head coach, and the only thing I want out of my guys is to play to the best of their ability, show great effort, toughness, and know their assignments. Those are three things we are focusing on with our kids and those three things they can control. It has been an intense week of practice and we hope we can get up there and get something going and play to our potential," said Nasonti. Published 9/18/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Ready to Come out with Guns Blazing Bellevue and Clyde are both outstanding football teams that will figure in their league races and likely make the playoffs. They square off on Friday night at the Bellevue Athletic Field. It's a meeting between the top two teams in the Swankonsports.com football coach's poll in the large school division. Clyde is #1 and Bellevue #2 in the first poll of the season released this week. Bellevue rallied last week to beat Huron (14-13) when they forced a fumble and recovered it in the end zone in the later stagers of the fourth quarter. Coach Ed Nasonti says they had good focus and were opportunistic in a game that was finished on Saturday. "It's not easy to do. You get going, you are into the game. You get a couple of lightning cracks and the game gets postponed and you have to come back the next day. We have done that several times over the years. It's important to keep your kids focused and get them ready to go,'" he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday. "Last week, it was a situation where we were down 6 points with 10 minutes left in the game, so we didn't have a lot of time to get it done. We put together a couple of drives which changed the field position of the game. We were able to make a break and recover a fumble in the end zone by Huron and kick the extra point and that turned out to be the game winner." Bellevue's defense has controlled to pretty good offenses in Sandusky Perkins and Huron. Nasonti says they players understand their roles and they don't try to do too much. "We have some experienced guys coming back on the defensive side of the ball. I think our schemes have been solid. Whenever we have played good defense over the years we have had kids that could tackle and I think we have done that. On top of that went bent a little bit, but we didn't break and we didn't panic. We have a nice group of kids and they are buying into the concepts and they are buying into team defense, so we are hoping we can keep that going," he said. Not only are both teams good they are longtime rivals that are about 10 mile apart and Nasonti says there are always a number of factors in the game. "The thing is with Clyde they just reload every year. They have some outstanding players and they have great size. They are the defending division three regional champs. It's a great opportunity for us. We have them coming into our place and its a playoff atmosphere. It's a rivalry game. It's like Ohio State-Michigan, Bowling Green-Toledo, Army-Navy. When you have cities that are butted up right next to each other, people that work with each other, it adds a whole other element to the game. It is going to be fun. We are going to let it all hang out and let the chips fall where they may," said Nasonti. Published 9/12/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue and Huron Lock Horns Two of the better teams, and traditions, meet on Friday night as the Bellevue Redmen head to Huron to take on the Tigers in non-conference play. Both schools won their opening game last week as Huron decked Sandusky (30-6) and Bellevue downed Sandusky Perkins (28-14) at their place. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti was pretty pleased with the performance he got from his players. "You always have a lot anxiety going into week one. I think everybody does. You want to see where you are at and how you kids respond. You have the hot weather and humidity. I think our kids answered the bell. We came out and were relentless for four quarters. Our kids played hard they played with enthusiasm. I was pleased with our conditioning. All of those things you like to check week one I thought our kids did well. It was nice to come away with a win," he said. Pleased with the opening night win Nasonti says they have to get better every week, in fact every day is the goal. "I think we can get better in all areas. It was the first game and although we were pleased as a coaching staff when you watch the game you see a couple of missed assignments here and there on both sides of the ball. Our special teams could improve, our open field tackling. There are quite a few things we can improve on," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "People talk about making their greatest improvement between week one and week two, you know, we think we can make improvement every day. We tell our kids every day you go out you either get better or you get worse you never stay the same. As a coaching staff we continue to push our kids in that direction. If we are going to be a great football team at the end of the year we need to make our strides every day." Nasonti has coached a lot of games against Huron and he knows what to expect from the Tigers on Friday. "We look at Huron as a program a lot like our own. They are going to be solid every year. They have a consistent coaching staff. They have a good tradition. So, you are going to have to play good football every year. They are going to be solid on both sides of the ball and special teams. We had a great rivalry with them since 1972, but the last time we played them was 2001 and then they got back on board with us last year. It is going to be fun for the community and fun for the kids. We play a tough schedule. We are not one of those teams that is going to schedule a winning season every year just by who they play. We are going to earn our wins," said Nasonti. Published 9/04/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Has Potential Bellevue only really has good years on the football field, it's just how good is the question. When people haven been talking about the Northern Ohio League contenders all of the talk has surrounded Norwalk and Tiffin Columbian, but you would be well advised to not forget about Bellevue. One of the few things that concerns coach Ed Nasonti is the team's possible lack of condition. "This has been 34 years for me as an assistant and a head coach. It was kind of a unique preseason because the weather was uncharacteristically cool through two a days and now on game week it heats up. It has been kind of unusual because we would like to get our kids acclimated a little more during the two a day sessions," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "We don't have that luxury, but it's been pretty good and the kids have been working hard. They have been fighting through it the last couple of days and we have had a couple of good practices." Bellevue has some good experience on it's roster this year. Nasonti thinks they can be pretty good, but they have to prove that out on the field. "We have some guys that went through the battle last year. We have six returning guys on defense and eight guys returning on offense. We think we have the makings of a good team, but we have to stay healthy. Our kids have to be on point and play to the best of our abilities. We play a very tough schedule. Our first three games are Perkins, Huron and Clyde, the top three teams in the "SBC," so there is not much room for error there," said Nasonti. Defending Sandusky Bay Conference champion Sandusky Perkins will come to the Bellevue Athletic Field on Friday night. Nasonti knows that Perkins will be a challenge for them. "They are a solid football team and they run the wing-T stuff and a lot of motion and misdirection. Our kids are going to have to be disciplined and do a good job of tackling when we get there," he said. it can be a long preseason and kids can get tired of the grind, but Nasonti thinks they have done a pretty good job this month and through the summer of keeping the kids fresh. "I think we have done a good job with our kids in the summer. We don't overdo it. We try to keep our kids hungry and for the most part I think our kids are," he said. Published 8/27/14 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to swankonsports@gmail.com
	Bellevue Ready For Tiffin For many years it has come down to the game between Tiffin Columbian and Bellevue to determine the Northern Ohio League football champion. They meet Friday night at National Field in Tiffin. Bellevue (3-2,1-0) put together one of its best overall games of the season last week in beating Shelby (35-0) in their first league game of the year. Coach Ed Nasonti likes what he is seeing. “Our defense has been getting better and better each week. We are doing a great job of tackling. I think coach Will does a great job at Shelby. They have some good kids, but we stepped up and we did a good job. We got out of there with a nice win and we stayed pretty healthy on top of it,” he said. Bellevue lost to Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary in last year’s division three state championship game, but they lost a lot to graduation. Nasonti says this year’s group is getting better because they are learning fast. “That is what happens when you have young guys. Out of 22 starting positions, we have 12 underclassmen and three sophomores. So, there is no where to go but up. We are getting better and better every week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Our kids have bought into the program. Our focus is on ourselves more than anybody. We have good opponents every week. They are well coached. We are in a tough conference. We play a great non-conference schedule, but we have to take care of ourselves and do the things that we are supposed to do.” Tiffin beat Bellevue last year (35-21) on the way to a “NOL” title. Nasonti says they are very good again this year. “They have some good athletes. They are solid every year. They are well coached. They have a division one offensive lineman in Isaiah Moore. They have the Lynch kid that has been starting for them in backfield for three years. They are very explosive. They are just getting their quarterback back. He has been suspended for five games. He will be back here for our game. They are a good football program. We are looking forward to it. It’s a great challenge, but also it’s a great opportunity for us too,” said Nasonti. Columbian (4-1,2-0) lost their first game of the season to Clyde (13-7), but they have won four start. Nasonti says Tiffin rarely has down years. “They are a power program. They have some great athletes over there. You are going to get a great game out of them every Friday night. I have been head coach for 23 years and you know when you play Tiffin you are going to get a good ballgame,” he said. Nasonti says both schools realize what is riding on this game. “It really has and I think both sides understand that. It is a red letter game on both team’s schedule. We are going to see who comes out on top. May the best man win,” he said. Published 10/3/13 © Swankonsports.com
	Bellevue ready For “NOL" The mark of a great football program is when they have great talent the win a lot, but so do average programs, but the great ones never drop off much. Enter the Bellevue Redmen. Last year, they finished as division three state runners-up and this year, even with losses to graduation and injuries, they are starting to hit their stride again after a big win (62-0) over Toledo Waite last week. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti, the head coach at Bellevue since 1990, likes what is developing. “I think we have some kids that are coming together a little bit. We are getting to the halfway point on the season. We have some young inexperienced guys in certain positions. I think we have stepped up our game. We have played some pretty good ball here so far this year,” he said. Nasonti says they started the year with a number of kids that had not played much at the varsity level. “We had a long season last year. We had a 15 week season. We thought a lot of those guys would hit the ground running, but there is nothing that can replace actual game experience we found out. We have a good group of kids. They have been working very hard. They have improved each week and we are going to find out this week when we step into the “NOL,” said Natonti. Shelby (0-4,0-1) is at Bellevue (2-2,0-0) on Friday coming off a loss to the Sandusky Blue Streaks (20-6) in their “NOL” opener last week. However, Nasonti has great respect for the Whippets tradition. “The Shelby Whippets are a proud football program and they great history and tradition in the Northern Ohio League and we give them a respect. Right now they are still trying to find their identity. We tell our kids that you have to expect the best out of each of your opponents. We are going to expect the Shelby Whippets best shot on Friday night,” said Nasonti. Both teams will play Friday night with a quarterback that they had projected this summer as their back up. Nasonti says that forces you to adapt. “You are into your second team quarterback. We have experienced that ourselves this year. We have been playing the first four games with our back up quarterback. We understand how important that is. We saw the Osuley kid in the scrimmage against Perkins and he is definitely an outstanding player,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “I’m sure when you lose a key player on your team, I have been a head coach for 23 years and 33 years in the business overall, when you lose a quarterback it does throw you for a loop. It takes time to make adjustments. Your quarterback is the focal point of your offense, so they have been struggling on the offense end.” Tristan Kehres is the Whippets leading tackler from his middle linebacker position. Nasonti knows they are going to have to account form him on every play. “We have been preparing for him for three years. He is an outstanding football player. He is all over the field. One game they even had him back returning punts. I know that they think a lot of him and we respect him also,” he said. Published 9/24/13 © Swankonsports.com
	Bellevue Younger, but Still Good Bellevue enjoyed a fabulous season last year in which they finished as division three state runners-up, losing to Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary in the state final last December. This year the Redmen are going to be a little younger, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have talent. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti has seen his squad come together well this month. “We have some good kids on our team. We have some good leaders. The kids are enthusiastic. The community is excited. It has been a good preseason. I don’t think we could ask any more out our kids,” he said. Yes, there are some inexperienced players manning stating positions, but Nasonti says they have a lot more practice time than you would think. “It is like any other opener there are some question marks. We have some kids that have been in the program. They are young. They are little bit unseasoned. We feel we had a great run last year. One of the best things about that was we had 15 weeks to work with our kids. Some of our young kids that maybe didn’t play that much last year got a lot of experience practicing for an extra five weeks. That is half of a season. We are hoping that some of the young guys that we have that are in the program and maybe didn’t start are going to step up to the plate this year,” said Nasonti. Bellevue has won more “NOL” football titles than any other school and Nasonti says they players, and the community, ranks the quality of the football team pretty high. “We do have a good tradition here. Our expectations are high from our coaches. The expectations are high from the community and alumni. Everybody has the bar high. I think that is important and I think that’s a good thing. We hold our kids to it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We have great expectations with the way we practice, the way we play, the way we lead, and the way you focus on the team. The team is the most important thing. We have had some players that have stood out over the years. I think it all comes back to the team concept.” Bellevue travels to Sandusky Perkins on Friday night. The Pirates are a team Bellevue beat last year in the regular season and the playoffs. Nasonti says the Pirates should be petty good. “Looking at them on paper they are an outstanding football team. They have all seniors starting on both sides of the ball. They are picked to be number one in the “SBC.” Fortunately for us the games aren’t played on paper. You are going to have to get it done in between the lines. I guess we will find out Friday at seven o’clock,” he said. Published 8/28/13 © Swankonsports.com
	Bellevue Finds the Magic Bellevue has been searching for something to make them more successful all season and they have finally found it, being patient. On offense, something that started in loss to Norwalk two weeks ago resulted in a pair of victories over Shelby (38-31) and non-conference rival Clyde (55-33) on Saturday. Coach Mike Raifsnider says it is really what their personnel has dictated they do in order to win games. “That is what we figured we needed to do with the personnel that we have. We have actually struggled shooting the ball the entire year and we have gone to a little bit more of a deliberate pace. Not really trying to stall the ball, but actually just trying to work it for the best shot. I think the only way that you could actually do that is kind of buy into what you are asking them to do. I think the last two, three weeks here the kids have done a nice job of realizing that was something we needed to do. Plus, we have the personnel to kind of do it also. It is just something that has kind of worked for us the last couple of weeks,” said Raifsnider. If you are going to make this offense work, like Upper Sandusky has, you have to play great defense. Raifsnider says they have done that. “We had a game Friday night over at Shelby and only gave up 31 points and turned around the next night against Clyde, who is a pretty nice team, and gave up 33 points. We had a really good defensive weekend. You have to try and get ahead of people or at least stay in the ball game so you can remain deliberate offensively and stay with your game plan,” he told Swankopnsports.com on Tuesday, “We have done a little bit of that and we have mixed in some of our regular stuff to keep things moving that way and kind of guessing and off balance with what they doing defensively too. It has worked the last couple of weeks and we just have to keep plugging away here.” There next test will be Friday night against Sandusky (3-18,1-8), a team that upset Bellevue (57-56) on January 12, in Northern Ohio League action. Raifsnider says like always the Streaks bring some athleticism to the table. “Sandusky doesn’t have a whole lot of size. I think maybe their biggest kid is like 6’1”, but they are very quick and athletic. They get up after you and they are going to press you full court and make your guards have to work to bring the ball up the floor. They are team that graduated nine seniors from last year’s team, so they were inexperienced at the beginning of the year. They are playing a couple of freshmen that are pretty nice players themselves right now. They have kind of changed their lineup from what they were doing at the beginning of the year, but it seems to be working for them. I think their kids are playing a lot better right now too,” said Raifsnider. Bellevue (11-10,3-6) plays Port Clinton (4-14) in a sectional tournament game next week at Oregon Clay High School. Raifsnider says with their new energy they could do some damage in the postseason. “It has taken us pretty much the whole season to actually get ourselves somewhat 100 percent. We just got Jarvis back. He didn’t even practice last week until Thursday. He got a lot of minutes for us against Shelby on Friday and got a lot of quality minutes for us Saturday night against Clyde. Just having him back on the floor and Stam had been out four or five games himself. Those two haven’t played together in about 12 or 13 games. Little by little we have gotten ourselves a little bit more healthy. Hopefully we can get another one here on Friday night and kind of ride some of this momentum into to the tournament and see where we can do in the tournament,” Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Still Trying to Get Healthy Bellevue is a basketball team hoping it can take off here at the end of the regular season and do some damage in the postseason, but first they have to get healthy. Last week, the played the area’s best team and lost to Northern Ohio League leading Norwalk (47-35) in a league contest on Friday night. Bellevue coach Mike Raifsnider says they did all they could do to put themselves in position for the upset. “I was really proud of the effort that the kids gave against a really quality team like Norwalk, especially over at their place. We tried to follow our game plan of trying to spread them out a little bit and try and be as patient as we can offensively. Try to take as much time off the clock each possession that we could, but at the same time try to take quality shots,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “I thought we did a really good job of executing our game plan and try and keep the score as low as we possibly could so we would have a chance to be in the ballgame with them. To their credit they had to come out and pressure us a little bit and they are so long and athletic that they are able to do that. They are 19-0 for a reason. They have a quality team.” First they got off to a late start due to a state runner-up finish in football and then they were hit with the injury bug. Raifsnider says they are still trying to recover. “We have had the Jarvis kid out for quite a few games here. When he was healthy we didn’t have the Stamm kid, a started for us also. We are getting Jarvis back and starting to practice with us (Tuesday), so he is possibly going to ready to go with us in some limited minutes here this weekend. If we get him back it’s going to be an added bonus for us here. Hopefully we will get him back at the right time to get a little bit healthier here going into tournament time,” he said. In Northern Ohio league play Bellevue (9-10,2-6) is at Shelby (12-6,6-2) on Friday night. Shelby won the first game (66-54) in early January and Raifsnider says they have a solid team. “The Fenner kid presents you with some problems because he is long. He is an inside-outside type of player. Rhode is really nice shooter for them. The Karis kid has been killing people with offensive rebounding and scoring himself. They have a nice little package with the five kids that start for them. I think Troy is one of the better coaches in the area that always gets the best out of his kids. It is going to be an up hill challenge for us playing then up at their place. Hopefully we show up ready to play and it will be a good ballgame,” he said. A win on Friday could help send the Redmen into the postseason feeling good about their chances of success. “We have two big games this weekend with Shelby and then have to turn around and play Saturday night against Clyde, who is having a really nice season. They have won nine of their last ten games. We have an up hill challenge here for the weekend, but if we could come away with a couple of wins against a couple of really nice teams like that and then finish the year with Sandusky going into the tournament then maybe that would propel us into doing some nice things in the tournament too,” said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Needs to be Good, Really Good So far the basketball season has been a series of challenges for the Bellevue Redmen due mostly to injuries that has kept the team from performing at its best. Without two starters out on Monday night the Redmen fell to the Huron Tigers (53-40) of the Sandusky Bay Conference. Coach Mike Raifsnider says they just didn’t have the depth that they needed. “Huron is a very talented team. They are very athletic and they have very good size and that caused us some problems in the game. We played them pretty tough I thought in the first half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “It was 22-22 at one time, I know it ended up being down nine points at halftime. We were a little shorthanded and we kind of ran out of gas and they kind of pulled away from us in the second half. There is no same in a loss to them they are a very good basketball team. They played better than what we did on Monday night.” Although they have had most of their kids for most of their game this season, Raifsnider admits that depth has been a concern since they stated the season a couple of weeks late. “We really haven’t been at full strength here for the last six, seven games. We still have a couple of guys nursing a couple of injuries yet from football season. A couple of them that tried to tough it out during the year and have lingering injuries and we played the other night without two of our starters, It has been off and on like that basically the whole year. We ended up having to start a freshman at the post Monday night, so we are playing some young kids and at the same time have some experienced kids playing too. We are just hoping to get healthy here eventually and just kind of keep plugging along here and give our best effort, that’s all we can do,” said Raifsnider. Friday night, the Redmen (9-8,2-5) head down Route 20 for Norwalk to battle the Truckers (17-0,7-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coach’s poll in the large school division. Norwalk can clinch no less than a share of the Northern Ohio League title with a win. Raifsnider says the Truckers are the whole package. “They have the inside and the outside game. They really get after you defensively. The thing that I am most impressed with them is as good as they are offensively they are as good defensively. They create a lot of their offense with what they do defensively. We are going to have to do a good offensively of taking care of the basketball number one and number two we are going to have to do a good job of defending in the half court. Obviously we are going to have our hands full with a team that is 17-0 and ranked in the state like they are, but we are going to go over there with the attitude that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” he said. Everyone probably expects the Truckers to win. Raifsnider says he likes the underdog’s role. “That is the way we have to pretty much approach it. We just need to approach it one possession, one quarter at a time and hope tat we can hang around with them. If we play at the top of their game and get them on a night when maybe they are not at the top of their game, maybe when the fourth quarter rolls around maybe we have got a chance and really that is all that you can hope for. We just want to go over there and compete the best we can and see where we stack up against one the best teams in the entire state of Ohio,” said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Coming Together Bellevue has the talent, no question, and now they are starting to come around as a team after a long football season. They have put together a three game winning streak to get over the .500 mark for the first time this season. They downed Upper Sandusky (55-43) on Tuesday night and coach Mike Raifsnider says they certainly have been doing things better. “Over the last two weeks we have turned things around a little bit and have been playing a little more consistent. We had a nice win over Tiffin Columbian here in overtime on Friday night and then went to Seneca East and beat a pretty good Seneca East team on Saturday at their place by 21 points and turned around Tuesday night and got Upper Sandusky, who has been having a nice year too. We have been playing a lot more consistent. We have been zeroing in on the kids that have been getting the most minutes. We have just started to do things better offensively and defensively,” said Raifsnider. In order for a basketball team to operate best all of the players have to know what their role is and Raifsnider says the chemistry has been getting better. “I think it is just a matter of the kids understanding what their roles are on the team. Making no excuses, but we were about a month behind everybody. We knew it was going to take about half the season to get caught up with everybody. I just think in the last couple of weeks here the kids have identified a little bit more with the roles on the team. We actually bought in more with what we are supposed to defensively a little bit more. I think because of that we have been able to scores a little bit more in our offensive sets and I think our defense has come around here finally too,” said Raifsnider. Arch rival Willard (10-5,4-2) comes to Bellevue (7-6,1-4) on Friday night. Willard won the first go around 57-52 at Willard. Raifsnider believes the Flashes have a nice mix of talented players. “I just think Willard is a solid team. They are 10-5 for a reason. They have five really good starters. They have three kids that really like to shoot the ball from the perimeter. I know they are leading our league in the three point field goals made with 80 of them. Davidson is a really nice shooter, so is Ebert and Cok. They have two really good post players in the Bohach kid and the Adams kid inside. They are really aggressive on the offensive glass,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I just think Willard has a nice mix of inside-outside players that can cause you lots of headaches with what you are trying to do defensively, but we are going to have to play one our better games in order to just be in the ballgame and compete with them. We actually started off our year at their place and lost by five points to them. We are looking for a little revenge and hopefully we can hang with them here Friday night and give them a ball game.” Against Willard Raifsnider says you have to be good individual defenders because anyone of the Flashes starters could have a good night. “We are going to have to do a good job on all three of those guys and stay up on them. The other part is it kind of causes you some problems defensively because you can’t help off on other people. You have to stay up on those guys because any one of those guys can shoot the ball at anytime. They don’t need a whole lot of space to get their shots off. That is going to have to be a major emphasis on our part defending the three point shot and keeping Willard off the offensive glass is going to a major factor in the outcome of the game too,” said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Still Trying to Shake Rust Off Bellevue certainly has the talent to be a winning basketball team, but they haven’t found their shooting eye yet, and they are having problems getting in the win column. The Redmen (4-6,0-4) lost to Sandusky (57-56) on Saturday night in a Northern Ohio League game. Coach Mike Raifsnider says they have played well in stretches, but so far those stretches haven’t been long enough. “This biggest thing for us is the consistency. We have had 10 games now that we have played. We have not played 32 minutes of a ball game yet. We play well for stretches at a time. Maybe for a quarter pr a quarter and a half at a time and then we go back to some of our old habits and don’t’ do things very well. That is one the reasons we are 4-6 right now because of that lack of consistency,” he said. With fewer practices in than other teams due to an appearance in the football finals, Raifsnider says it’s in those workouts where that little something extra will come. “We have to continue to work on to get better in our practices on a daily basis. It is not for lack of effort on anyone’s part. The kids are working hard. I think they are trying to do the right things. It’s that we are not quite there yet. In our practices we just have to keep hammering our point home of what we are asking them to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “Hopefully the light is going to come on a little bit more. Hopefully in the next few games here we will start playing a little bit more consistent for little longer period of time and we will be able to come out on top in a game. This biggest thing right now is we are lacking in some confidence. I think when you start winning a couple of ball games that changes pretty quickly.” Bellevue is home for Tiffin Columbian (5-7,1-3) in a league game on Friday night. Raifsnider says Columbian is playing more zone than they were earlier and they will have to execute against it. “They have two sophomore post players that are playing really well for them. That is obviously a big concern. I know they have changed what they are doing defensively from what they were doing at the beginning of the year. They are doing a little more zone stuff and slowed the pace down and made the scores lower so they have a chance to be in the ballgame. They are going to be a tough test for us. We are going to have to play well, especially a team like us that has been struggling ourselves. We are just looking to try and build on some positives, play four solid quarters, and find a way to win a ballgame here,” said Raifsnider. Bellevue has been playing games in the 40’s and 50’s and Raifsnider says they would like to kick the tempo up a notch with defense. “We need to get after it more defensively. We are going to have to press people and get them to turn the ball over a little bit more. We are definitely looking to do some of those things. Again it’s just a matter of consistency. We need to do things better at both ends of the floor in order to score more points. We really haven’t shot the ball well the entire year, but hopefully we can get our defense to lead to some easy baskets offensively and maybe that will change eventually for us,” said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Needs Win Bellevue is a talented boys’ basketball team and they are ready to start winning after two tough setbacks to begin the season. After tipping it off two weeks late the Redmen lost to Willard (57-52) in their first game on Friday night in Northern Ohio League play and lost to Sandusky Perkins, the Sandusky Bay Conference favorite, (58-51) on Monday. The Bellevue football team advanced all of the way to the state championship game, which was played December 1. Basketball coach Mike Raifsnider admits that has made things be a little difficult to begin this year. “I think it’s had a huge effect obviously. We are at least a month behind everybody else with the type of run we had in football. I mean I’m a football coach myself and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. If we had that so called problem every year that would be a great thing for our school and our community, but from a basketball coach’s perspective I had eight days to try and get our kids ready to play our first game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “I guess fortunately I have a veteran group and I was able to throw a lot at them in just eight days that we had and I felt like we did a lot of good things in our first game at Willard. It comes down to the last 20 second of a ballgame with the score tied. The made a couple more plays than we did.” Raifsnider says they really had about two hours to prepare for a very good team like Perkins. “Then we turn around and play two days later against Perkins, who is one of the better teams in Northwest Ohio themselves. It has not been an easy task for us by any means, but we aren’t going to make any excuses for where we are at. We are just going to try and get better as we go along here and hopefully we catch up with each other eventually,” he said. A plus for the Redmen is they do have some guys that have played a lot of basketball and Raifsnider says there hasn’t been as much teaching. “We have five or six guys that are returning lettermen. Jalen Santoro is a three year letterman. I have a couple of other guys that are two year veterans. We had a veteran group coming back, but you also have two, three, maybe four, kids that are new to the varsity level. You are trying to get those guys acclimated to what they need to learn at the beginning of the year. We didn’t have the luxury of having any scrimmages or anything. That is why you work as hard as you do in the off season and the summer and try to prepare for what you have coming up in the upcoming season. We have had really good practices and I think we just have to keep a positive attitude,” said Raifsnider. Bellevue visits Edison (1-4) for a non-conference game on Saturday night. Raifsnider says Edison is a young team that is improving. “I know Edison is a young team with a couple of young guards that start for them, a couple of freshmen. I have luxury of seeing them on tape. They play very, very hard. They are pretty athletic. They are a team that has been improving on a daily basis. When we go over to their place we are going to have to play well. We are looking to get into the win column for the first time ourselves,” he said. Yes there have been some hurdles to clear, but Raifsnider says the game against Edison is won they need to win. “I have kids that are competitors and they don’t look at as a moral victory that we were in both of the games that we played. I have kids that the only satisfaction that they are going to get is if they come out at least a point ahead when the game is over and that is what we are looking to here. Hopefully we can get into the win column and just go from there,” said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Plays For All of the Marbles The Bellevue Redmen play for a division three state football title on Saturday that their consistency over the years almost demands. The Redmen (13-1) play Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (12-2) in the division three title game and Canton Fawcett Stadium with kickoff at 11 AM. Coach Ed Nasonti, in his 22^nd year at the helm at Bellevue, has taken the Redmen to the playoffs 14 times. This is the first time he and the team have played for a state title. They made the semi-finals in 2001. Nasonti says it is something special. “It is the ultimate goal of any high school coach to get to the state championship game. Through all of the hard work of our kids, our coaches haven’t had a day off since July 31, to be in this game is something special. I know our community is enjoying it. They are excited. Our school the spirit is at an all time high, as it should be. We are looking forward to the challenge,” he said. It was another miraculous comeback that led the Redmen to the title game. They railed to beat Dayton Marshall (34-33) in the state semi-final last Saturday. Nasonti says they never quit playing hard. “We were down 13 points with 11 minutes to go and playing a team that can really grind it out on you. You look at what they were doing in the third quarter. They were looking at the 25 second clock, milking that. They did not want to put our offense back on the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Our kids kept hanging in their and we were able to get that turnover there at the end and get us into position to win it. We won it right there at the end. Our kids have been really resilient, they stood in there and fought. We have had our backs against the wall in three of our four playoff games. It’s doesn’t get any better than that.” Bellevue quarterback Jalen Santoro was named this week as the Associated Press division three offensive player of the year. Nasonti says Jalen has been a great leader. “He has earned it. When you look at the numbers he has put up. I am not a big numbers guy, but he has put up great numbers with his individual stats. The fact that we are playing for a state championship has to have something to do with it. He is very deserving of it,” he said. Santoro has thrown for 1,227 yards and 16 scores. He is a double threat, of course, and he has run for 1,397 yards and 23 touchdowns. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary is no stranger to football success. They have 17 playoff appearances and four titles, the last coming in 1988. They beat Dover (48-13) to earn a title shot. Nasonti says there in no question they have play makers. “You don’t get to this point in the season without having an outstanding team. They have great skilled people at all of their positions. They have some quick and talented wide receivers. They have a big offensive line. A lot of times they will just “I” it up and try and take it to you. Their defense is quick. They are not overly big on defense, but they are very athletic. It will definitely be a great challenge for us,” he said. With two more days to get ready the Redmen will continue to work hard. Nasonti says this game will be won or lost before this kickoff. “I told our kids the other day that the game last Saturday was won before it was played. Attention to detail by coaches and players. They do a great job in the weight room. If you keep your focus things will fall into place for you. That has been the formula throughout the year and it has worked pretty well. We are sticking to it,” he said. Most of the talk statewide has been about the Fighting Irish. It’s the alma matter of that guy that used to play for the Cavs. I can’t think of his name though. Nasonti says that is alright by him. “We have been underdogs throughout the whole playoffs. Our kids understand what it’s like to be an underdog. Winning is the medicine for all. I think I can speak for a lot of coaches out there when you are successful and you are getting the job done week in and week out everybody feels good about the program and you don’t have any finger pointing going on. You don’t have any back ups that think they should be playing. Our kids are playing with confidence because we have been successful. They have a little swagger and there is nothing wrong with that,” said Nasonti. Most everyone in the city located at the confluence of Huron, Sandusky and Erie Counties will be at the game on Saturday in Canton. If you’re not, coach Nasonti would like an explanation. “It is great for everybody involved. We are a small community of about 8,000 people. Everybody knows everybody. We have lost a lot of industry over the years. It gives everybody something to cheer about. If they aren’t supporting the Redmen this week I’d like to know why,” he said.
	Bellevue Plays Explosive Dayton Marshall Bellevue is just two wins away from winning it all. The Redmen (12-1) play Dayton Marshall (12-1) in the division three state semi-finals on Saturday night at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware. Last week, the Redmen handed Napoleon their first loss of the season (35-20) in the regional finals. Coach Ed Nasonti says his team was just ready to play. “I don’t know if we are ever going to play a game as exciting as the one against Perkins. This one didn’t live up to the standard that we set the week before, but it was an opportunity for us to go up against a solid football team, a team that was ranked number one in Ohio in the AP poll. They were unbeaten and we went in there and took it to them and come away with a regional championship, which was very gratifying for our coaches, our players and our community,” he said. Napoleon was a run based team and Nasonti says they did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage and forcing the Wildcats to do some things they didn’t want to do. “I thought our kids did an outstanding job. We knew coming in that we were going to have to do a good job loading up the box to stop some of their stuff. We knew were going to have to play some man coverage in the secondary so we could put some pressure on them up front. Our secondary did a good job getting a couple of pics. We hit them hard on the line. We won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. It was a nice win for us,” he said. On offense when you score five times you figure you have a chance to win the game. Nasonti says they got some things done in the passing game. “I was very pleased with how we executed our game plan. They came in thinking they had to stop the run and they put a lot of people in the box and we were able to hit some passes early on and loosen them up a little bit. Then we were able to get the run game going. Jalen did an outstanding job, Al Haynes, Dalton Jarvis, our receivers did a nice job, Nick Raifsnider had an outstanding game, Trent Stamm, Derek Smith caught some big passes for us. It was one of those games that everybody contributed. Napoleon couldn’t key in on any one guy and we got the job done,” said Nasonti. It sounds almost impossible but Dayton Marshall is averaging over 60 points a game in their three playoff wins. They have beaten Circleville Logan Elm (67-22), Gallipolis Gallia Academy (68-9) and in the regional final they downed (60-21) The Plains Athens. Nasonti says they have a very affective running game. “Anytime that you have three guys that rush for over 1,000 yards each you know you must be doing something right. They have put up a lot of points. They are very athletic. They are very explosive and we are going to have to bring our “A” game to get the job done,” he said. It’s kind of going to be like football in a telephone both against Marshall. Nasonti says they don’t run a lot of stuff, but what they do, they do well. “They run double tight, double wing, with one back. The fullback is a guy that can really fly. They motion to get the wings involved. Both guys get carries on tosses and counters. They run traps with the fullback and draws with him. They have three backs that they get involved. They don’t run a whole lot of formations. They don’t run a whole lot of plays, but they do a nice job running them. They have some outstanding athletes. They are the kind of team that anytime they get their hands on the ball. Any guy they have in the backfield is a threat to take it all of the way,” said Nasonti. Defense is about being aggressive, but Nasonti says against Dayton Marshall they have to be disciplined at the point of attack or they are going to get burned. “We are going to have to be strong up front. Not only are we going to have to be strong and win that line of scrimmage we are going to have to be disciplined. They run a lot of misdirection. They run a lot of counters. Our guys are going to have to do a good job of not getting up field. They can’t get trapped. That is something we have been focusing on all week. I think we have a good game plan,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We are going to try and put our best foot forward and let the chips fall where they may. There are 128 teams in division three and now you are down to four. There are 124 of them sitting at home whishing they were in our spot. We appreciate where we are at, but we aren’t satisfied. We are going to let it all hang out.” Nasonti feels his kids will play well under the pressure of a state final four game on Saturday. “There is an old saying that when there is a crisis time you default to your training. To me you do your job during the week and coach them up as hard as you can. If the kids have good practices every day and you give them good habits. When it hits the fan you are going to default to your level of training, so if you take care of business all week I think you are going to be good when you play the game. That’s my philosophy and it always has been,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Having Fun Playoff success is not new to the Bellevue Redmen this year’s team is now among the elite eight in the division three football playoffs. They meet the Napoleon Wildcats (11-0-1) in the regional final on Saturday night at Findlay High School. Bellevue won one of the more exciting playoff football games, at least in this area in recent memory, when they scored on the final play of the game to beat Sandusky Perkins (28-27) in the regional semi-final. “It was the greatest finish that I have ever been a part of. I can say that now that we came out on top. Our kids made the plays. They kept fighting in there. We had no time outs left. Nick Raifsnider came up with a big interception and returned it to the 42 yard-line. We hit a pass play to Derek Smith and got it down to the 24. Aided by an unsportsmanlike on Perkins we got it down to the 12. With four seconds left Jalen Santoro on a pass play scrambled around and threw it up and Trent Stamm came down with it. Of course, we had to kick the extra point with no time on the clock to get it done. It was a trilling win and I’m very, very proud of our kids. They stayed in there and fought for the whole entire game and we were fortunate come out there with a win in the end,” said Nasonti. Yes, the Redmen are talented, but Nasonti says a difference this year is they have found a way to win the close games. “I think you look at last year’s team. We finished up 7-3 on the year going into the playoffs. We looked back and there were a handful of plays that had we made them we could have been 9-1 last year, but this year we actually made those plays,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I think we have kids that have played for three years. We have a number of multi sport athletes on our team, guys that have been through the battles not only in football, but basketball, baseball, track, whatever. These guys have been through the battles. They don’t panic and they stay in there. They are competitors. They are winners and they find a way to get it done.” Nasonti has been the Bellevue head coach since 1991 and one the things that makes him most pleased about this year’s team is its character. “The things that I have seen this year is we have a group of kids that have good character. We haven’t had to deal with any off the field problems. They have been respectful. I don’t get any complaints from any of the teachers and that means a lot,” he said. Wins against good teams this year has added to the confidence of the Redmen and Nasonti says they don’t get nervous when they are behind. “You win some of those games where you come back from behind and the kids don’t panic when they get down or they don’t push the panic button when a couple of calls go against you in the game. They just stay in there and keep swinging. I think we are playing with confidence right now going into the regional final against an unbeaten team. We have a lot to gain here,” said Nasonti. Napoleon has been ranked as one of the best teams in the state all season in division three. Nasonti knows what they are up against. “They are a pretty solid football team. It’s not so much what they do, but how they do it. They are very simple on offense and defense. They have some good size and good speed. Anytime you can go into week 13 and haven’t been beaten yet you know you are doing things pretty well. We are excited, not only do we have a great challenge we look at as an opportunity for us to move a step closer to the ultimate goal,” said Nasonti. The Bellevue coach, kind of old school himself, says that is what Napoleon is all about. “In this area you see a lot of people that are spreading the ball out, running the spread formation and trying to thin the box out and then run the ball, but these guys pack it in there. They are a two back set. They will run a one tight end set with two wide outs. It’s an old school approach, but it has worked for them. They have been handling people up front. Like any football game if you can win the battle up front in the trenches you have a good chance of coming out the winner,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Looks For Sweep Bellevue opened the season with a win over Sandusky Perkins and they need another on Saturday night to advance in the division three playoffs when they meet at Clyde High School. The Redmen (10-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coach’s poll in the large school division, beat Elida (19-14) to win a first round game last Saturday. Coach Ed Nasonti says his kids responded when they got down in the game. “We dug ourselves a hole early on, we were down 14-0. I was proud our kids stayed in there and kept fighting and how we persevered over a lot of things that first half. It worked out for us in the end. We played physical. We were really proud of our kids. We think we beat a pretty good football team,” he said. Bellevue quarterback Jalen Santoro grabs a lot of the headlines, but Bellevue also has a fine offensive line that gives him protection and paves the way in the running game. “We have great offensive line coaches. They do a great job up front with our guys. They coach them up every day. Plus I think our offense is offensive line friendly. We are able to thin out the box with some of our formations for those guys,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “You add to the fact that we have an outstanding quarterback and some nice running backs that can make some plays. You have to talk about our receivers too because our guys get down field and make some blocks. It’s been a team effort, our offensive line has been a strength, but overall it’s been team effort to get the job done. We are in double digit wins for 2012 and we have an opportunity to get 11 wins this week and we are excited about our opportunities.” The defense the Redmen have been playing has been pretty good too. They have been able to hold down teams like Clyde (14-7) and Norwalk (48-21) that have some offensive firepower. Nasonti says they have had some kids fill roles. “Our defense has been outstanding this year and that was one our concerns coming in because we lost so many quality players off our defense last year. We lost Brett Atkinson, an all-conference linebacker. We lost Luke Lyton and Matt Sieger on the defensive line. Those guys were outstanding, so was Winston Hupp. We lost some quality players up front, but we have some kids that really worked hard in the off season and stepped up. I think that’s what makes us feel the best about this group is we’ve got some kids that maybe we really weren’t counting on that came in there and stepped up and did a great job,” said Nasonti. Perkins has won ten straight games since losing (27-16) to Bellevue in their first game. Nasonti knows they will be facing a confident team on Saturday night. “Their team has gotten better every week. Anytime you have a good program hopefully your kids get better every week. I think the big thing with Sandusky Perkins is they are playing with some swagger now. They have some confidence. They are coming off winning 10 straight games. They are “SBC” champs. We are familiar with what they do on both sides of the ball. I am sure they are going to tweak their game plan a little bit as we will also. You have two comminutes that are really close together here. It’s going to be a really exciting football game and one we are really looking forward to,” said Nasonti. With Gary Quisno added to the Perkins staff as offensive coordinator the Pirates are running the traditional wing-T, but Nasonti says they are threat to throw the ball too. “Add to the fact that they have a pretty big offensive line. They run a wing-T offense which you would say they like to run the ball. The Benkie kid that is having an outstanding year for them, but their quarterback the Smith kid is throwing a nice ball. They have some good skilled athletes on the perimeter, so they can burn you if you don’t play pass defense. You can give up some chunks to them. We are going to have to have a balanced game plan on defense. We are going to have to play solid defense. As in any game you want to win the battle in the trenches,” said Nasonti. Bellevue is making its 14^th appearance in the football playoffs and Nasonti and his staff have been through this many times before. “I have some coaches that have been on my staff for 22 years. I have some young coaches on my staff that played for me. Most of our guys our Bellevue guys. Bellevue football is more than just a passing fancy to them. It’s their passion and I think our kids understand that and they feed off of it. I know we are going to give them the best opportunity to be successful on Saturday night,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Wants Revenge Bellevue doesn’t lose many games by a big margin, but they did last year to the Elida Bulldogs in the postseason playoffs. They get a chance for revenge as the host Elida on Saturday night in the division three regional quarterfinals. It was another great regular season for the Redmen (9-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coach’s poll in the large school division, as they were runner-up in the Northern Ohio League. Coach Ed Nasonti is proud of what they have accomplished so far. “I talked to the kids the other day. I think we have had an outstanding season. I told our kids anytime you go 9-1 I don’t care of it’s little league football, junior high, high school, college or pros, I think it’s a nice season. Especially when you look back and the only team that beat us was Tiffin Columbian that is an outstanding football team that’s 10-0 and hopefully we can keep it going,” he said. Bellevue blasted Sandusky last week (52-6) in their final “NOL” game of the season. Outstanding quarterback Jalen Santoro left the game in the second quarter with an injury, but Nasonti says he will be ready for Elida this week. “He will be ready to go. He was ready to go last week, but we didn’t need him. He actually got hit on his funny bone and it kind of numbed up his hand a little bit. The feeling game back and we could have put him in there, but that that point the game was out of reach. We just to decided to give him some rest plus give our backup some reps that he needed. It was a good ballgame and Jalen is going to be back in the saddle this week and ready to go,” said Nasonti. Santoro is a threat to run or pass and Nasonti says he makes things happen for them. “He is an outstanding athlete. He is and outstanding leader. He understands the game. When you are running the spread offense his is what you want. He is our Braxton Miller. I think that is the best way to describe it. I mean his will to win is unmatched and he inspirers all of the players around him. He is just a special kid,” he said. Elida finished second in the tough Western Buckeye Conference behind only unbeaten Ottawa Glandorf. Nasonti says the Bulldogs are loaded again. “Anybody that understands football or follows football at all knows that the Western Buckeye Conference is an outstanding league year in and year out. They are up there with Kenton and Wapakoneta and Ottawa Glandorf and Van Wert and Defiance. These guys have been very competitive the last few years in the Western Buckeye. They are bringing an 8-2 record into the playoffs and they are coming off a state final four appearance last year. They have a lot kids back on both sides of the ball. They are going to be a very tough opponent. We are going to have to play some good football this week,” said Nasonti. Elisa handed it to Bellevue (54-20) last season in a first round game. Nasonti says they remember that and have reminded the players of that fact. “Yeah we bring it up. When you are dealing with high school kids or any kind of a competitor I think revenge is a great motivator. It is something we put out to our kids. We didn’t particularly play that well last year in that playoff game and Elida came in there with a good football team and they took it too us. We are about being real over here at Bellevue we point out things to our kids and we put it on the table for them. They know what to expect and I’m hoping our kids can come in Saturday with a little edge,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue and Norwalk Lock Horns It’s simple of the Northern Ohio League has three of the best teams in this region in Tiffin Columbian, Bellevue and Norwalk. Two of them play on Friday night when Norwalk comes to Bellevue to play the Redmen. Columbian and Norwalk share the “NOL” lead with Bellevue a game back after the Tornadoes beat them (35-21) two weeks ago. Bellevue bounced back to hammer Willard (42-6) last Friday in the rain. Veteran Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti was happy with the performance. “I’m happy with our kids considering the weather conditions and the field conditions. I thought our kids played pretty well. We went into that game with a couple of starters out and we were able to get a win and play solid football on top of it. We feel good about our season. The kids are playing good ball and we welcome the challenge this week,” he said. Bellevue and Norwalk are rivals just down the road form each other. Nasonti says the Truckers (7-0,2-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coach’s poll in the large school division, has talent all over the field. “They are very talented in a lot of different areas. They have kids that have been starting for three years for them. They have some outstanding athletes that they get the ball to. Their quarterback is having a great year. He is throwing the ball well. They are averaging 46 points a game and only giving up 13. We have seen them on tape and they have been flawless in their execution. They have been uncontested in a lot of different areas. They have moved the ball up and down the field. It’s almost like watching a practice, so they have a nice ball club and they are playing with confidence,” said Nasonti. Jake Fetheroff, the Norwalk quarterback, leads the “NOL” in passing yards this year. He threw for 265 last week against Sandusky. Nasonti says he would like to get some pressure on him, but containing him won’t be easy. “He gets rid of it fast. He is six-foot-six. He knows where he is going with the football. They do a good job protecting for him. They have some nice schemes with their pass plays and their protection schemes. They do a lot of different things. It is not as easy as one would think,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “He is the real deal and he is surrounded by a lot of nice athletes that have made some plays. He will either put it on the money or they will make a great catch and do great things after they catch the ball.” Nasonti says the Truckers are good on defense too because they have the same quality of athletes playing on that side of the ball. “They have some of the same good athletes that they have on offense, on defense and they make plays on both sides of the ball. They have the Finch kid. He has made a lot of catches on offense. He has played outside linebacker for the on defense. Peacock is a corner. They have solid players that are making plays for them. That is what you get when you go up against Norwalk,” said Nasonti. This is a huge game as far as the “NOL” race is concerned, especially for Bellevue, who has already lost once. Nasonti says, however, their season does not hinge on this one game. “We are not really looking at it in terms of the “NOL.” We are just looking at it in terms of it’s a big game for us. We can still be in the “NOL” hunt. When you look at it if we would win Norwalk has Tiffin on week 10. There could be a possibility for either us to still be “NOL” champion. We are hoping that Norwalk finishes the year out 9-1 and they get that done on week 10. On top of that you are playing a division two school that has seven wins. It is big for us in terms of computer points. That’s what we are looking at right now,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Has a Lot to Play For In a game between two of the best teams in this part of the state last week, Tiffin Columbian got past Bellevue in the Northern Ohio League opener for both schools. Columbian downed the Redmen (35-21) to take the upper hand in the “NOL” standings. Veteran Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says there is still a lot left in their season. “Well, I thought our kids played hard. I know going into the game we knew they were an outstanding football team. They have some real nice athletes and some good size up front. We knew we were going to have to play well. It was one of those games where it was a hard fought game on both sides. We have a lot of respect for their program,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Unfortunately we came up on the short end of the stick. It was one of those games when one play here or there makes a difference in the game. You have to learn from your mistakes and move on. We still have a lot to play for this season.” This week, Bellevue (5-1,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coach’s poll in the large school division, travels to Willard to play the Flashes (3-3,0-1) in an “NOL” game. Nasonti says they have to keep their focus. “When you play an option football team it’s about assignment football. It’s another “NOL” game for us. We tell our kids every week you have to respect your opponent and expect the best out of your opponent. So, we are looking forward to it and we know that we are going to get Willard’s best shot,” he said. Nasonti says you have to play assignment football when you have to defend the option. “Well you have three people involved. You better tackle the dive, you better be on the quarterback and have somebody assigned to the pitch. They will run it out of multiple formations to try to stretch you on the perimeter. They do some play action pass off of that. They have some gadgets. They have some decent athletes with some good speed that we are going to have to defend,” he said. There are still four league games to play and Nasonti says they are not out of the league race by any means, but really their focus right now is advancing to the post season. “You never know what can happen. I know last year we played Sandusky for the conference championship on week 10. The schedule didn’t change this year, so have that one on week 10. Our focus is take care of ourselves, take care of business one week at a time, Our goal right now is to finish 9-1, finish high in the region and get an opportunity to make the playoffs. So, that is what we are shooting for one week at a time,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Having Fun Bellevue has played some very good football this year. They have beaten Sandusky Perkins, Clear Fork and Clyde, all solid teams, in posting a 4-0 record. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti, the head man at Bellevue for more than 20 seasons, says the players have done all that he has asked so far. “Yeah, we are really happy here. We realize we have a long season in front of us and some quality opponents to play. When you get off to a 4-0 start considering the quality of the teams that we have played makes you feel good. The community is excited, the school is excited and the kids are excited. It’s been good so far, but we realize we have good things to do,” said Nasonti. Bellevue (4-0), #5 in our Swankonsports.com football coach’s poll in the large school division, is lead by outstanding quarterback Jalen Santoro. Nasonti says he is a coach’s dream. “He is an outstanding football player. He is a competitor. He does everything you ask him to do. He’s a team player. He is doing it all. He has been in our program for four years. He will earn four letters in the football program. He is an outstanding all around athlete. He is a leader. He is a three sport athlete. I can’t say enough about him. As he goes, we go,” he said. The Redmen have allowed only two scores over the last three games and Nasonti says the kids that play on that side of the ball have come a long way since summer workouts. “We are really happy with our defense. Coming into the season we took the biggest hit from graduation on our defensive side of the ball. We had to replace all four of our defensive lineman. We had some question marks coming into the season, but we have had some kids that have stepped up on both sides of the ball.” He told Swankonsports.com, “The kids have been running the ball. They are playing aggressively. We have done a great job tackling. I think over the years when we have struggled on defense we haven’t tackled well. We get people to the ball, but we just don’t make the tackle. This year our kids have made the tackles. Hopefully, we continue to do so.” With four wins in as many games the confidence of the Redmen is growing. Nasonti says you can see that in practice. “Winning is the medicine for all. We had a tough game with Clyde as we always do. We came out on the top end of it 14-7. Our kids played well and their kids played well. It was one of those games when one or two plays change the course of the game. We get the win and we come out on Monday and we have the best practice of the year. We have played games when we thought we had played well and we didn’t make those one or two plays and you come out on Monday and it’s a whole different mentality. When you play with confidence somebody is going to have a tiger by the tail,” said Nasonti. Bellevue plays at Toledo Waite in their final non-conference game of the season on Friday night. Nasonti says Waite has athletes. “They have a lot of good athletes. They have good speed. Their offense I would say is probably farther ahead than their defense. They put some points on the board on the tapes that we have seen. Coming into week five our biggest concern is taking care of ourselves. We tell our kids everyday that you either get better or you get worse you never stay the same. That has been our attitude and our philosophy all year,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Trying to Find Others Bellevue is a young team searching for more players that can score as they enter the final month of the regular season. It’s been Jalen Santoro and not a lot else, at least consistently and that has led to a record that is three games below .500. They lost a Northern Ohio League game last Friday to Tiffin Columbian (58-52) to fall into last place in the league. Coach Mike Raifsnider says they have not been able to put a consistent four quarters together for most of the season and that is what is holding them back. “It’s been one of those types of years for us. It’s been up and down type of year it’s been part of our youth. We are a pretty young team. We are actually starting five underclassmen. We play really, really well for a half and usually don’t play very well for another half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We have shot the ball really well for part of a game and not so well in another part of a game. When you are playing in a lot of close ball games like we have here all year. It’s going to come down to you have to play 32 complete minutes in order to win some games. I think it’s part of the reason why we are 6-9 right now. I think we have given a lot of people a good game. We just haven’t had enough to get over the hump.” Santoro, a junior point guard, is one of the best players in the area this season and the Redmen have really counted on him to do a lot of things. Raifsnider says they have seen just about every combination defense you could think of this season. “We have seen just about everything you could see. We have seen box and one, we have seen people just double team him bringing the ball up the floor to make sure to get it out of his hands and try to make other people beat them. I have had teams that don’t even guard a couple of our other players just daring them to shoot the ball because their main focus is to take Jalen out of the ball game. He is averaging 16 to 20 points a game for us. We have done a better job. We have had some other kids step up and proven that they can shoot the ball. It’s one of those deals where some of the other guys have to do it for a sustained amount of time for us and take advantage of some of things that teams are trying to do to Jalen,” said Raifsnider. One of Santoro’s better games this season was when he scored 26 points in a win over Willard (56-49) in the first round of league play. Raifsnider says these are two pretty evenly matched teams. “It should be a really good ball game. I know the first time we played them it was one of those nights that we shot the ball really, really well. I think we were ahead 32-17 at halftime. Typical Willard they came out in the second half, they just aren’t going to roll over, and had a nice third quarter against us. We ended up only leading by three going into the fourth quarter. It came to us making some foul shots down the stretch to pull out a close seven point win against them. It’s going to be a good ball game. I think it’s two evenly matched teams. It’s going to come down to which team can execute the most,” said Raifsnider. Bellevue (6-9,1-5) and Willard (7-8,2-4) used to form maybe the biggest basketball rivalry in this part of the state. Raifsnider recognizes the intensity isn’t really the same, but it is still a fun match up with the Flashes. “It has probably lessened some over the years. You talk to the kids around here about it now and they don’t understand the way that it was back in the 80’s when I was growing up around here. It’s lessened, but it’s two communities that are close enough together that it is a rivalry somewhat. The kids do know what it used to be like and I’m sure the Willard kids get ready to play the Bellevue kids just like the Bellevue kids get ready to play the Willard kids. It’s still there somewhat, but not anywhere close to the way it used to be,” Raifsnider said.
	Bellevue Needs to Find Fine Line Bellevue has evened its record for the season and they hope to go over .500 with a win at home over Sandusky in Northern Ohio League action on Friday night. Last week, the Redmen (6-6,1-3) beat Galion (50-46) and Margaretta (52-43) in non-conference games. Head coach Mike Raifsnider says they are starting to believe in themselves more. “I thought that the kids played with a lot more confidence than maybe they did in the past. We have played well at home here all year. We have six wins on the year and all six of them are on our home floor. We have done a good job of playing on our home floor. When you get a couple of wins in a row like that, it’s only going to help the kid’s confidence. Hopefully we can continue to move in a positive direction,” said Raifsnider. Usually a team will play better at home due the crowd and the familiarity with the court, but Bellevue is an extreme case. All six of their wins have come at Bellevue this season. “I wish I could put my finger on it. We have played really well on the road at times too, we just haven’t played well enough to finish a game off and actually get a win,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We have lost a couple of close ones on the road, so it’s hard to pin point. You practice on that floor everyday and it’s familiar surroundings. We have played much, much better at home than we have on the road. We play a good Sandusky team here on Friday and hopefully we can continue that trend.” On Friday night, the Redmen host the Sandusky Blue Streaks (4-6,1-3) in league action. Sandusky outscored Toledo Bowsher (96-87) in regulation last week. Raifsnider says they can not participate in a track meet with the Streaks because they would lose that game. “We have scored 70 points only once this year and I think our next highest has been like 60. Against a very quick and athletic Sandusky we have to make sure we play the game at our pace. Hopefully, we can control the tempo with what we are going to do defensively. We just have to be patient in the things that we do offensively. A major factor for us is to not get into an up and down game with a Sandusky team that we are obviously not capable of doing that with,” he said. To be successful against improving Sandusky, Raifsnider says they need to get back on defense and resist the temptation of trying to run with the Blue Streaks. “Probably your transition defense is going to be one of your most important things against Sandusky. You have to get people back on defense. Don’t give them an easy basket. You get a couple of baskets yourself and then all of the sudden you start feeling good and before you know it it’s an up and down game. That’s really not what we want to do. We have to make sure we push the ball, but at the same time be patient. There is a fine line between being patient and aggressive. We want them to have to work for some of their shots too,’ said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Getting Healthy Bellevue seems headed in the right direction after they beat rival Willard in a Northern Ohio League game last Friday night. Plus the Redmen are finally getting healthy. Point guard Jalen Santoro had 26 points as the Redmen downed Willard 56-49 last Friday. Coach Mike Raifsnider says they got a strong game from Santoro, but they also got some other kids to step up and create more balance. “Jalen shot the ball extremely well, especially in the first half where he hit four threes for us. He has been the catalysis for us all year and everybody is well aware of that. We are really only going to be as good as the people that surround him,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We have gotten ourselves a little more healthy. We have gotten a couple of kids back in our lineup that contribute a lot of minutes to us that helped us to that victory. We have been a little banged up here early in the year. There is a little light here at the end of the tunnel and they kids have been working hard. They have kept positive attitudes even though it’s been an up and down season. We have to take it one game at a time.” Raifsnider hopes they can put a streak of good play together as they must face “NOL” leader Norwalk in their next league game on December 30. “We are going to Eastwood on Friday and will play against a very good Eastwood team. We are going to have out hands full, especially at their place. It’s a team that we think we can at least compete with if we show up ready to play ball. We have an opportunity to get another one. Then we have to turn around next Tuesday and play Edison at home. Then we have Norwalk next Friday,” he said. A key is going to be if they can continue to get some scoring help for Santoro, who is one of the best point guards in the North Central Ohio area. Eastwood is a new non-conference opponent for the Redmen. They picked them up when the “NOL shrank to six members and they needed to find four more non-conference games. Raifsnider knows Eastwood will put some athletes on the floor. “Eastwood has very good athletic programs at their school. They play in the Suburban Lakes League with schools like Genoa, and Fostoria just joined that league. I know that Milbury Lake has a very good boys’ basketball team this year. Traditionally Eastwood has a lot of very good athletes at their school. They have some big physical kids again this year. They have a 6-5, 6-4 post player. They have been like that the last five, six years,” said Raifsnider.
	Bellevue Still Struggling to Make Shots Bellevue has been playing solid defense this year, but the Redmen are struggling to find their shooting touch as we head into the second week of the high school basketball season. They opened the season last week against two teams from the Sandusky Bay Conference. They beat Port Clinton 55-45 in overtime in their first game last Friday. “It was a typical first week. I thought Friday night we played really well defensively. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well until the fourth quarter. Fortunately, we kept ourselves in the game defensively. We were able to overcome an 11 point deficit with seven minutes to go. We hit some big shots down the stretch and were able to pull out the win,” said Bellevue coach Mike Raifsnider. Sandusky Perkins, one of the “SBC” favorites beat the Redmen 58-47 in on Saturday night in a game played at Perkins. “Saturday night, we ran into a really good Perkins team that was coming off a tough loss Friday night to Norwalk. Again we struggled to shoot the ball against them and got down 23 going into the fourth quarter. The kids never quit playing and got it down to seven points. I am really happy with the effort we are giving, but we have a lot of little things we have to work out,” Raifsnider added. It is the shooting woes that are holding Bellevue back at the moment. Raifsnider thinks sometimes they are getting good looks at the basket and aren’t making shots and other times they are not taking good attempts. “”Well, I think it’s a combination of both to be honest with you. At times I think we execute very, very well and we are getting really nice looks at the basket. We have struggled to shoot the ball in the preseason and our first two games. There are other times when I think we have not executed things and have kind of forced it at times,” he said. Bellevue opens Northern Ohio League play at Tiffin Columbian on Friday night. “Tiffin is a very interesting team. First of all, they haven’t played a game yet, this will be their season opener,” Raifsnider told Swankonsports.com, “We are sort of going into it blind, but I know they have a veteran team. They have a lot of guys back that played on the varsity team last year. It’s a team that we are really going to have to play well against to compete with them.”
	Bellevue Looking to Be More Consistent Bellevue appears to be in a mix of teams just below Norwalk in the Northern Ohio League this year and if they develop some more scorers they might be able to challenge the Truckers. So far, coach Mike Raifsnider says they have not shown the consistency needed to be a factor this year. “We have had an up and down preseason. We played a benefit game (against Fremont St. Joe) that I think is a great experience for the kids in front of a crowd in a game like situation. We played pretty well in that game at times and at other times maybe not so well. Some of our scrimmages have been the same way. We are just trying to get a little more consistent in what we are doing offensively and defensively. Hopefully, we can sort of take one game at time and get better as we go,” he said. One thing that Bellevue has is one of the better point guards in the area in Jalen Santoro, who was also their quarterback during what was a strong football season for the Redmen. “It think everybody would agree that when you have a good point guard it makes a difference with your team. Obviously with Jalen Santoro coming back this year as junior was our MVP last year as a sophomore. Jalen has even stepped up his game even a little bit more from last year from what we have seen in the preseason. Hopefully, we can get other guys around him that can get scoring too,” said Raifsnider. In order to start having a better chance to win games the Redmen are going to have start shooting the ball better and making some of the open shots they have been getting. “Our effort has been great in the preseason. I’ve got eight guys on the varsity, we actually have nine, but one guy is out right now with an injury from football. We need to shoot the ball more consistently. We have to get some other guys contributing at the offensive end. I guess on the positive side we have executed well enough to get good looks at the basket. We just haven’t knocked down some open shots like I would like us too,” Raifsnider. It’s a double weekend for the Redmen on this opening week of the season. They host Port Clinton on Friday night and travel to meet Sandusky Perkins on Saturday. Raifsnider knows they will have play better than they have been to win those games. “Port Clinton is a preseason pick maybe in the middle of the pack in the “SBC.” They have a couple of real nice players back from last year’s team. I think it will be a nice opener for both of us and a game that you have to play well to win,” he said. Some are picking the Perkins Pirates to win the “SBC” this season and the Raifsnider knows they have the talent. “Perkins has a big post player in the Ebert boy. The Smith kid I know still has an injury from football season, but they still have a really nice mix of kids. It’s a very talented group of kids. We played them twice last season, they got us pretty good in the tournament. We will have our hands full,” he added.
	Bellevue Not Changing Bellevue finished the season at 8-2 and runners up in what was a pretty tough Northern Ohio League this year and that lifted them into the division three playoffs. They host the Elida Bulldogs (7-3) in a division three regional quarterfinal match-up on Friday night at the Bellevue Athletic Field. Bellevue is no stranger to playoffs, but it has been three years since the Redmen have made the postseason. “It is important to make the playoffs, but we told our kids that we can’t be satisfied. We don’t want to be one and done. We want to extend the season a long as we can. We are fortunate to have a home game, which is good for the community. We are excited about having a week eleven and we want to be the best we can,” said Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti. Elida is a team that has relied on its passing game to get this far. Nasonti says they have faced good competition. “They are a good football team. They play is a good league in the Western Buckeye League,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have some good teams in Ottawa Glandorf and Kenton. They are a good team. They have an outstanding quarterback that has passed for over 2,000 yards. They have some good wide outs that have caught a ton of balls. They have a young defense, but they are aggressive and get to the ball. I think when you get to week eleven, you have to come ready to play,” he said. Nasonti admits that Elida is likely going to throw the ball a lot more than anyone they have played this year. “They have a little bit of a different scheme on defense. They have a real tall quarterback. He’s 6’6” and 195 pounds. They put the ball up a lot, probably a lot more than we have seen this year. We are trying to work with our kids this week to get them familiar with their schemes on both sides of the ball. We are trying to get a beat on them. I think that’s the exciting part of a playoff game,” he said. When facing teams that throw a lot Nasonti says you have to balance when you bring a lot of pressure and when you set back and play coverage. He says you can’t keep doing the same thing. “Especially when they have receivers that can make big plays. You want to bring pressure and more times than not you are going to be in man to man coverage. If you are in man coverage and don’t get to him before he throws it you are asking for trouble. You have to pick your spots. We have to contain that guy,” said Nasonti. Bellevue has played some outstanding football this season. Nasonti says they are going to dance with who brought them. “You have to do what you do and let the chips fall where they may. We got to the point we are by playing solid defense and throwing the ball and running the ball. That’s what we intend to do. We are not going to lose our identity. It is what it is,” he said.
	Bellevue and Sandusky Play For “NOL” Title It has come down to the final week of the regular season in the Northern Ohio League as both Bellevue and Sandusky have 4-0 league records heading into a game between the two at the Bellevue Athletic Field on Friday night. Bellevue coach Ed Nastoni knew he had a pretty good team at the beginning of the season, but he didn’t know how good. “You have to show up every week. You have Sandusky coming in. They are riding an eight game winning streak. We are looking forward to it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We are happy to be in a good situation here with playoff hopes and “NOL” championship hopes. If somebody would have told me in August that you are going to go into week ten with all of you goals still lined up for you I would have been pretty happy.” Bellevue (7-2), number #2 in the large school division of the Swankonsports.com football power poll, maintained a perfect league record by scoring six straight touchdowns and beating the Shelby Whippets 42-6 on week nine. “It’s like when I talked to you last week the Bellevue-Shelby game goes way back and there is a lot of history there. I was preaching to our guys all week that you have to be ready. We spotted them six points right off the bat and then we muffed a kick. We had our backs against the wall. I give our kids a lot of credit. We have a lot of character on this team. We stayed out there and battled,” Nasonti said. Sandusky (8-1), number #3 in the Swankonsports.com football power poll among the big schools, won a thriller last week in beating Tiffin Columbian 35-34. Nasonti, like every other coach that has faced the Streaks, knows they have great talent in the skilled positions. “They are very explosive. They have an outstanding quarterback that can make big plays with his feet and in the air. They have an outstanding wide receiver in this Jeffries kid. They have good size and good skilled guys and are playing pretty well right now,” he said. Nasonti has been the Bellevue head coach since 1991 and he has coached a lot of games in that time. He knows in the high school football it’s all about the big play. “Certainly with Sandusky that applies. I think when you are talking high school football you want to make people drive the field and not give them the big plays. More times than not if you make them take those extra snaps you are going to get a pick, you are going to get the ball on the ground. That’s something that cost Tiffin last week. They had a 14-0 lead with five minutes left in the first half and they had two pick sixes. The Streaks ended up putting 21 on them in five minutes,” he said.
	Bellevue Always Ready For Shelby On paper Friday night’s Bellevue at Shelby Northern Ohio League game looks like a mismatch with Bellevue at 6-2 and Shelby at 0-8 on the season and there might be a chance that Bellevue might look past the game if it were not for the rivalry. Bellevue and Shelby have combined to win or share in 43 of the 66 “NOL” football titles over the years and both schools have proud football traditions. The Redmen, ranked #2 in the large school division of the Swankonsports.com football power poll, maintained their share of the “NOL” lead with a 28-14 win over Norwalk last week. “I thought our kids stayed the course. We got off to a rough start. In the first four minutes we were down 14-0, but we didn’t panic,” Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti told Swankonsports.com, “I thought from that point on we dominated the game on both sides of the ball. They never scored again and we rattled off 28 unanswered points. I was impressed with how are kids stayed the course, kept our focus and were able to get out of there with a win.” Shelby played one of its better games of the season last week in losing 26-6 to Sandusky (7-1), ranked #3 in the power poll, in an “NOL” game. Nasonti feels the young Whippets are still trying to get better. “It’s been a rough year for them when you look at the loss column, but when the Bellevue-Shelby game comes around you can throw out the record books. On top of that I thought they played a pretty good Sandusky team very tough last week. I know they are struggling to get the results that they want, but their kids are still playing hard. If we have any ideas of being a conference champion you have to come ready to play every Friday night and expect the best from our opponent,” said Nasonti. Nasonti played at Bellevue and has been their head coach since 1991. He says, at least in Bellevue, the Shelby game is always one of their biggest of the season, no matter what the records are. “I probably have ten coaches on my staff that have been through the Bellevue-Shelby rivalry. It dates back to 1944 and when you look at the conference championships over the years you are looking at Bellevue with 23 “NOL” championships and Shelby with 20. That’s the balk of them right there. There is a lot of history. I know the old time Bellevue players look at the Bellevue-Shelby game as the number one rivalry in the conference,” he said.
	Bellevue Likes Position There are just three weeks left in the high school football regular season and the Bellevue Redmen are in a share of first place in the newly configured Northern Ohio League with the Sandusky Blue Streaks. Bellevue (5-2), ranked #2 in the large school division of the Swankonsports.com football power poll, overwhelmed the Willard Crimson Flashes 61-6 last week. Veteran coach Ed Nasonti liked the way his kids played early in the game and the fact they got everybody in the lineup too. “That’s what we talked about with our kids. You don’t pay any attention to the records. You have to get after it right at the beginning of the game and play our kind of football. That’s what our kids did. It was one of those games where we could put everyone in the game early,” he said. The Redmen travel down U.S. Route 20 to face the Norwalk Truckers on Friday night in a league game. Norwalk (6-1) lost for the first time this year when Sandusky thumped them 56-6 last week. Nastoni knows that the Truckers are a veteran group that knows what it takes to play high school football. “Our focus all year long has been to take care of ourselves. We are focusing on improving what we do. You look at Norwalk on paper and they are senior laden. Probably in 14 out of the 22 positions seniors occupy those positions. They have guys that have experience and have been playing for three years. It’s no surprise to me that they are competitive this year,” he said. With a chance to pick up their first “NOL” title since 2004 and make the playoffs too, Nasonti says they know what a win over Norwalk would mean to them. “You take a look at where we’re at in the season and it’s down to a three week season. We told our kids to take it one game at time. If somebody would have told me in August that it would be down to three weeks to be a conference champion and have an opportunity to make the playoffs we would have been really excited about it,” said Nasonti.
	Bellevue Playing With Confidence Bellevue took a big step toward a Northern Ohio League football title with a win last week over rival Tiffin Columbian, but the Redmen still have four league games to play including Friday night at home against the Willard Flashes. Tiffin Columbian came in unbeaten on the season and a winner of their last 14 regular season games in a row. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti says they clearly played their best game of the season. “We are really proud and happy with the way our kids played on Friday night. We had Tiffin coming in on a 14 game winning streak in the regular season. There were poor weather conditions. There was a lot on the line. There was trying to get a leg up in the “NOL” and gain some big computer points. I thought our kids played as well they possibly could,” he said. The Bellevue offense is lead by quarterback Jalen Santoro, who is their leading passer and rusher on the season. “Not only is he an outstanding athlete, but he’s smart and he’s a competitor. When you put all of those things together you have got a pretty good quarterback. We couldn’t ask him to do any more than he is doing,” Nasonti told Swankonsports.com. The backbone of the Bellevue Redmen this season and been it’s a defense. “We knew coming into the season we had some guys off last year’s team. Our defensive line is all veterans. We expect them to play well. Our secondary has done a great job tackling on the perimeter. I think everybody has rose to the occasion. When you have success you have guys running to the ball. The last couple of years when we have struggled we missed tackles and I think we have done a better job with that this year,” said Nasonti. Willard comes in with just a 1-5 record and a loser of their first “NOL” game last week when Sandusky beat them 49-21. However, Nasonti has played and coached against the Flashes and he knows what that experience is like. “When you go up against Willard, that’s a big rivalry to us. It’s a big game for them too. We expect our competition to be at their best. We tell our kids that all of the time. They have some good speed and a real solid quarterback,” he said. Bellevue plays at unbeaten Norwalk next week, but Nasonti says there is no way they are looking past the Flashes. “We have been preaching to our kids that we don’t want to get too down after a loss or too up after a big win. I think we have done a good job of staying on course,” Nasonti added.
	Bellevue Needs to be at Their Best Bellevue entertains Tiffin Columbian in a battle of traditional powerhouses in the Northern Ohio League opener for both schools on Friday night at the Bellevue Athletic Field. The Redmen drilled Toledo Waite 55-6 last week to bring their record to 3-2 on the season. After a tough loss the week before when Vandalia Butler scored in the final couple of minutes, Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti feels they did what they needed to do to prepare for Tiffin. “We put it together. We have been playing pretty good ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “The week before we played a good game against Vandalia Butler, we just didn’t get the result we wanted to have at the end. We did a lot of good things and I felt like we built on that. We are doing the things we need to do to become a good football team and it’s nice to get the result you wanted.” Both schools have won or shared in 11 “NOL” football titles since 1990. Tiffin has been involved in five of the last six. This season, the Tornados, ranked number #1 in the large school division of the Swankonsports.com football power poll, are unbeaten on the season. Nasonti says Columbian is the real deal. “They are 5-0. They are a good football team. They have won 14 straight regular season games since last year. I mean they are on a roll. They have some nice players,” he said. The veteran coach isn’t surprised that Tiffin and Bellevue are playing in an important game. “This is my 21^st year at Bellevue and in most of those years when we have gone up against Tiffin it’s been a solid game. A lot of times over the years, it’s determined who is going to be the champion,” said Nasomti. Tiffin has been strong on both sides of the ball and Nasonti says that’s because they have speed all over the place. “They have the Moyer kid. They do a lot with him at receiver. They have the Jacoby kid, he’s a junior. Sometimes they play him at quarterback or running back. They do have some kids that can run the ball. Their defense is solid and their special teams are good. They do all the things that all good teams do,” said Nasonti. To pick up the win on Friday night Nasonti knows they can’t give up the big play. “We have to make them execute down the field. I look at them on tape and they have a lot of big plays. We have to be solid holding onto the ball. In my opinion we have to win the battle of the trenches on both sides of the ball,” he said.
	Bellevue Trying to Battle Back Bellevue lost a tough one last week to a good team and now the Redmen need to get back on the winning track with Northern Ohio league play kicking off next week. After trailing for most of the game Vandalia Butler rallied to beat the Redmen last week 32-28, scoring in the final moments of the game. Bellevue coach Ed Nasonti was still very impressed with the effort that his players put on the field last week. “It’s kind of painful when you look back,” he told Swankonwports.com on Tuesday, “Our kids played so well. We were leading in the game for 45 minutes of the 48. I thought our kids played excellent. It was a great way to bounce back from the Clyde loss the week before. They scored with 1:10 left to beat us. We had opportunities to put the game away and just couldn’t put the nail in the coffin. They were one of the best teams I’ve coached against in 21 years.” Toledo Waite comes to Bellevue Athletic Field on Friday night for a non-conference game. Waite is 1-3 for the season. Their only win came on week three when they downed Oregon Clay 15-7. They lost last week 14-11 to Cleveland John Hay. “They have some great skilled athletes,” said Nasonti, “They have a nice running back. He’s quick and their quarterback is quick. They have a good receiver too. They run the spread offense. We are going to see a lot of speed on the field. We are excited to have another quality opponent come in and hopefully we can get back on the winning track.” Nasonti believes they need to force Waite to drive the ball if they are going to the score against them. He says they can’t give up the long gainer. “We have to eliminate big plays,” he said, “We have to make them execute down the field. We need to win the line of scrimmage. Most importantly for us we need to come out with some passion. We need to play like our hair is on fire from here on out.”
	Bellevue Needs to Get Back on Track After opening the season strong the Bellevue Redmen lost last week to non-conference rival Clyde and they need to get things back together with tough Vandalia Butler coming to town on Friday night. “We got a nice win versus Perkins on week one,” coach Ed Nasonti told Swankonsports.com, “I thought our kids played pretty well. We went to Clear Fork, a team we had struggled with the last two years and put together a nice game. We had the big rivalry game last week with Clyde and we took some steps backward. I didn’t think our kids played real well. We could have played with a lot more fire.” Vandalia Butler, from the Dayton area, makes the long trip to Bellevue for a non-conference match-up with the Redmen and Nasonti knows they come loaded for bear. “Vandalia Butler is a division two school that plays in a tough conference with Troy and Piqua. It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but one we look forward to,” said Nasonti. He says Butler has an outstanding running game that is really hard to stop. “They are very big up front and they have two offensive lineman that are going to division one colleges. One is going to Notre Dame and the other is going to Ball State. They have an outstanding running back that was rushed for 826 yards in three games,” said the Bellevue coach. Bellevue has the firepower to score some points in the game, but Nasonti believes his defense has to play an excellent game to give them a chance to win. “We are going to have to stop the run. I mean they are big up front and have a great tailback. They are going to pound it at you. We are going to have to man up up front and stop the run,” he said. With only six teams in the Northern Ohio League now there are two additional non-conference games on the Bellevue schedule in Butler and Toledo Waite next week. Nasonti says he is very concerned about the future of the league. “I’m not happy at all. I graduated in 1977 from Bellevue High School. I have been a Northern Ohio League guy my whole life. I have played in the Northern Ohio League. I have coached in it for 31 years and I’m really disappointed. I’m disappointed to lose those schools. I’m disappointed we haven’t been able to get a couple of people in it. I’m hoping that some things turn around for the good here. I’m not happy with the schedule that is taking place right now,” said Nasonti.
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