Dalton
Meets Defending Champs
Dalton faces defending state champion Kirtland in a regional final in
division VI on Friday night at North Royalton High School.
The Bulldogs (9-3) blanked New Middletown Springfield (25-0) in a
semifinal last week.
Coach Ray Leek says they were dominate at the point of attack.
“Our defense swarmed to the ball all night.
Our defensive line up front led by Matt Heatwole they played in in
the backfield all night. So,
just a relentless effort, discipline, great all around win.
I'm so happy and proud of our kids with the way they practice all
week, prepared, they're mentally ready.
Just the physicality they brought Friday night,” said Leek.
Kirtland outscored Dalton (55-34) back on week one of the regular
season back in August. Kirtland
also beat Dalton (33-0) in the playoffs two years ago.
Leek says it probably helps them a little bit that they have played
them and know what to expect. “That
helps and the last two teams that we've played the physicality and the size,
it's a similar style in running the football.
That helps as well. We
saw them week one. We know
Kirtland’s a very, very good football team,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Tuesday night, “You know what they're going to do most of the time.
You have just got to stop them. They're
just very disciplined, they're big, they like to pound the ball at you.
So, we've got to be ready and we've got to have another great effort
like we had last Friday night.”
Leek says to have any chance of competing with Kirtland they have to
compete at the point of attack. “They're
very good at doing that, so our kids are going to have to stay disciplined,
be gap sound, make sure everybody does their job and trust the guy next to
him that he's going to make the play. We
have to have all 11 guys on the same page doing their job and their
responsibility. We have got to
attack at the line of scrimmage. We
have got to play in their backfield,” he said.
Published 11/20/24
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Dalton
Wants to be Physical
Dalton faces New Middletown Springfield in a division VI regional
semifinal on Friday night at Marlington High School.
The Bulldogs (9-3) edged Pymatuning Valley (27-25) in quarterfinal
last week.
Coach Ray Leek says they played hard and kind of outlasted them.
“Our kids battled. Pymatuning
Valley, they're a good team, they're physical, they're big, they're going to
run the ball at you. Our kids
really stepped up and played hard all night.
Give credit to Pymatuning Valley as well, they're kids played hard as
well. In the end, our kids made
enough plays and when it came down to it, we got the stop and we were able
to run the ball out and secure the win there,” said Leek.
New Middletown Springfield (10-2) also won a tight one last week in
getting past Toronto (29-28) in a quarterfinal.
Leek says they are quick and will try to do a lot of things.
“They are a good team as well, well coached.
They're a little bit quicker on film, little bit more 50/50 run/pass.
Pymatuning Valley was just line up and run the ball.
New Middletown Springfield they're a little bit quicker.
They're going to spread the ball out some and throw it.
We have to be able to stay disciplined.
Basically, stop the run first. That's
their go to. It's going to come
down to who wants it more, who's going to be more disciplined, who's going
to rally to the football and bring more effort,” he said.
Leek says they are a different challenge because of the things they
bring to the table. He says they
are going to have to play very well to win.
“It's a little bit of a different animal.
They've got guys who can fly outside.
They have a quick running back. They
fire off the ball hard on defense. Overall,
they're a very solid team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening,
“We just have got to bring our “A” game and make sure that we're more
physical than them and we get to the football.
Offensively, we have got to just get our playmakers out in space.
Make sure that we can control their blitz. They
like to blitz. Just play solid
all around all three phases of four quarters.”
Published 11/15/24
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Dalton
Has to Get Back on the Beam
Dalton is not going to defend its title in the Wayne County Athletic
League this year, but they still have a lot to play for this fall.
They are at Chippewa in a league game on Friday night.
The Bulldogs fell to league co-leader Norwayne (17-14) last Friday.
Coach Ray Leek says the Bobcats just made a few more plays than them.
“It was a close game. We
have to execute a little bit better and clean up penalties, things of that
nature and just get better each day. It's
a tough game here anytime Dalton and Norwayne play it’s a rivalry game.
There's a lot on the line, usually a “WCAL” title.
So, we have got to learn from it.
You can learn a lot from a loss, so that's what we're taking from it.
Just trying to push on to Chippewa.
It's another big week in the “WCAL”.
It's our biggest game of the year because it’s the next game for
us,” said Leek.
Leek says they cannot be looking in the rearview mirror because they
have a lot of goals they can still achieve.
“Obviously, it was one of our goals at the beginning of the season
was to win another league title. We
are not going to attain that this year unfortunately, but like I told our
kids you have still got two big weeks ahead of you.
We have got to finish the season strong and end on the right note,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Once you get to week 11
you are 0-0. So, that's what
we're going to look forward to. Hopefully,
once we get the week 11, we can keep playing.
Each week that you're out there it's another opportunity, so we just
want to keep playing each week and getting better and making sure that we
set ourselves up to hopefully make a nice playoff run.”
Dalton (5-3,3-2) plays at Chippewa (2-6,1-4) on Friday night.
The Chipps lost (20-0) to Waynedale in league play last week.
Leek says Chippewa is going to be aggressive defensively.
“They're pretty balanced offensively.
They've got a couple of playmakers there.
It's a league game so you know going to get their best shot.
Defensively, they like to blitz, they’re pretty aggressive as well.
They are going to run a four man front at you.
So, we've got to be ready. Anytime
we step on the field on Friday night we've got to be ready.
We're going to get everybody’s best shot.
It's our chance to rebound and clean up the mistakes and show that
we've gotten better from last week,” he said.
Published 10/17/24
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Dalton
Has to Win up Front
Dalton will be at home for archrival Norwayne in a game in the Wayne
County Athletic League on Friday night.
The Bulldogs trail Norwayne and Hillsdale by a game in the league
standings.
Dalton beat Rittman (54-14) last week.
Coach Ray Leek says they won the point of attack and they are going
to have to do that again this week. “It
starts up front first and foremost. Our
guys took care of business up front and controlled the line of scrimmage.
I think that's going to be another big key on Friday night whoever
can control the line of scrimmage and play on their side or our side and
that's who will win the game and probably have the upper hand there,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We're going to make sure we're
disciplined up front and make sure that we control the line of scrimmage and
pick up their blitzes. On the
defensive side of the ball, we've got to play in their backfield.”
Dalton (5-2,3-1) hosts Norwayne (6-1,4-0) on Friday night.
The Bobcats whipped Chippewa (49-7) last week.
This rivalry had produced a lot of very tight, competitive games and
Leek expects that to be the case on Friday night.
“I wouldn't expect anything less than that.
Again, it's going to come down to the guys up front.
How disciplined we can play all night.
Then you know fourth quarter comes it’s who is in better shape.
There's some key factors. Of
course, the turnover battle there. Make
sure that we control the ball and we execute on offense and when we're in
the red zone we have got to be able to punch it in,” said Leek.
Leek says these are the kinds of games you get excited to be part of.
“This is why you play the game right for Friday nights like this.
A lot on the line, a rivalry game.
This one gets you jacked up on Friday night,” he said.
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Dalton
Has to Have Focus
Dalton, the defending champion in the Wayne County Athletic League,
plays at Rittman in a game that could be a trap game for the Bulldogs.
They are one game behind Hillsdale and Norwayne and they play the
Bobcats next week.
Last week, they handled Northwestern (41-7) in a league game.
Coach Ray Leek says they were ready to play.
“I told our guys just stay focused, stay hungry, keep getting
better and focusing on us as we start the second half of the season.
Our guys came out Friday night and responded well.
We had a real nice night on the ground. Jaxson
Ryder averaged almost 10 yards a carry and scored three touchdowns on the
ground. Carter Hignight had a
great night. Sammy Tomlinson is
finally starting to get back. I
was pleased with Friday night, but we have got another big one this week
coming up,” he said.
Dalton (4-2,2-1) is at Rittman (4-2,1-2) on Friday night.
The Indians rallied to beat Chippewa (22-21) last week.
Leek says they want to ground and pound.
“They have got a really nice back up there.
We know we're going to have to be able to tackle him and slow him
down. They're definitely looking
to run the ball more and then pass it,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday night, “We have got to tackle well, contain him, and make sure that
we all we rally to the football. 11
hats to the ball all night.”
Now, Dalton versus Norwayne has been the rivalry that has defined the
“WCAL” in recent years.
Leek says they can’t be thinking about that this week.
“Obviously, Norwayne is a huge game for us, but we have to take it
one week at a time. I told the
guys we have got to handle this week first.
We can't overlook anybody. We've
got to respect them. They'll
come in and give us their best shot, we know that.
So, we have got to focus on Rittman. Once
that game is over then you can start turning to Norwayne.
You can't overlook anybody that's all how you lose a game there.
So, we're definitely going to stay focused and keep working hard
every day in practice,” said Leek.
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Dalton
Defense Will be Stressed
Dalton, the defending champion in the Wayne County Athletic League,
has a big test on Friday night as they play at Hillsdale against the
Falcons.
They got the defense of their title started on the right foot with a
(46-7) win over Smithville last week.
First year coach Ray Leek says it was a good win.
“I thought we played a good game last week.
Anytime you can pick up a league when it's good for your program,
especially the first one is always nice to get, but we have got a big one
(Friday) night,” he said.
Dalton (3-1,1-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the small school division, visits Hillsdale (4-0,1-0) on Friday night.
The Falcons rocked Chippewa (63-0) last week.
Leek says they show balance on offense.
“They're very talented. They
have got a lot of skill guys. They
have got a lot of a lot of guys coming back from last year.
They're very balanced offensively.
They put it in the air, keep it on the ground.
They're very good at both,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
afternoon, “We're going to make sure when we have the ball we take care of
the football first and foremost and defensively we've got to tackle.
Hillsdale quarterback Kael Lewis has thrown for 646 yards and 10
touchdowns this year. Owen Sloan
has 448 rush yards and eight scores.
Leek says that balance is tough to defend.
“When you can't key on one thing.
It's a little tougher kind of thing because you can't just stack the
box and expect run every play because they have the capacity to throw the
ball as well. That's a little
bit more challenging on the defensive line, those guys up front, and those
guys in the secondary are going to get some work,” said Leek.
Published 9/20/24
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Dalton
Plays for State Title
Dalton is in position to win its first ever state football
championship on Saturday morning when they meet longtime state powerhouse
Marion Local in the division VII state title game in Canton.
Marion Local has won 13 state titles since 2000, including the last
two years.
Dalton (13-1) last week smoked Caldwell (55-7) in a semifinal in
Zanesville.
Coach Broc Dial says again the got off to a good start.
“The kids came out ready and played really well.
We were able to get a fumble the first play and got it on offense and
scored two plays later. The kids
kept doing it the rest of the game. They
executed really well and played really hard, which was good to see,” he
said.
For the first time this season, tailback Greyson Siders did not score
a touchdown, but the Bulldogs found other ways to find paydirt.
Marion Local also was impressive last week in blanking previously
unbeaten Patrick Henry (42-0) in their semifinal.
The Flyers have only allowed one score in five playoff games.
Dial says this is a team that is good everywhere, including special
teams. “Coach (Tim) Goodwin
has done a fantastic job there building a tremendous program, really special
program. When you watch the want
film first thing jumps out to me is they're very good on special teams,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They are very well coached,
execute really well on the special teams.
They do a lot of different things you really don't see at this level
that really helps set up their offense and defense.
Then obviously they're very good offensively and defensively as
well.”
Dalton is physical, but Dial says so is Marion Local, plus they are
going to be aggressive in their play calls.
“They are a very physical football team at all levels, at all
spots, whether it's special teams, offensively, defensively.
The are very aggressive in their play calling and whether it's
supposed to the offense or defense. Just
a very aggressive football team from the coaches down to the players, just
very aggressive in how they go about their business,” said Dial.
Way back at the beginning of the season Dalton lost its only game to
Kirtland, who plays for a division VI title, (14-7) and Dial believes that
prepares them for Saturday. “We
talked to our kids a little bit early in the week and just said we already
played a state championship game week one.
A few different things go different way that outcome may change.
We wanted to play Kirtland and Mogadore, so we could prepare
ourselves for these playoff runs. Hopefully,
that prepared us heading into Saturday morning,” said Dial.
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Dalton
Takes on Caldwell
Dalton locks horns with Caldwell in a division VII state semifinal on
Friday night at Zanesville High School.
The Bulldogs are one of two teams covered by Swankonsports.com left
in the playoffs in any division. The
other is Canton South, winner of the Principal’s Athletic Conference, that
plays Cleveland Glenville in a division IV semifinal at Wadsworth.
Coach Broc Dial says it’s really awesome to be able to practice on
Thanksgiving Day. “We talked
(Wednesday) to our players about the great special opportunity (Thursday) to
practice on Thanksgiving and that should be our goal for all the players
every year,” he said.
Dalton (12-1) beat Danville, the winner of the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference (31-8) last week at Dover.
Dial says again they played well on both sides of the ball.
“I thought the kids did a really good job, hats off to Danville, a
very tough team. The game was
closer than probably what the score looked like.
We got a couple scores late. I
thought we played really good defense and I thought we really did a good job
of field position and our kids kind of kept plugging away,” said Dial.
They have a tremendous running game led by tailback Greyson Siders,
the “WCAL” player of the year, and Dial says up front they have been
able to give him some lanes. “Knock
on wood, we've been able to get a hat on a hat and spring a couple runs and
just be getting all those pieces and parts of the machine working
together,” he said.
Caldwell (11-3) beat Reedsville Eastern (20-19) in their regional
final. They have beat six
schools with winning records this year.
Dial says they have a lot of weapons.
“They’re a very good team and they just won the region.
They have some really, really good athletes on their team.
They're running back, wide receiver, quarterback is a good player,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Defensively, they give
you a lot of different fronts, a lot of different looks, pressures, and they
run to the ball really well.”
Dail says really they do not compare favorably to any school they
have played this year. “We
really think they're really good football.
No one really comparable around here I guess so to speak.
Like I said, #1 the running back and #7 their wide receiver both are
very good football players,” said Dail.
Published 11/23/23
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Dalton
Not in Awe
It’s Dalton against Danville in a division VII regional final
Friday night at Dover High School.
Dalton won the Wayne County Athletic League this year and Danville
captured the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
Last week the Bulldogs (11-1) beat Norwalk St. Paul (48-28) in a
semifinal game as tailback Greyson Siders scored four touchdowns and the
Dalton defense scored three times.
Coach Broc Dial says they made enough plays.
“St. Paul had a really great game plan and played really physical.
It was a physical game. Our
kids made a lot of plays and were able to touch it out there in the second
half,” said Dial.
On the other hand, Danville (13-0) outscored Lowellville (41-21) in
their semi last week.
Dail says they are very good and remind them somewhat of themselves.
“A very good football team, very well coached, physical, remind us
a lot of us on their offense. Defensively,
playing a 3-3 and see the ball really well, tackle well, just a really good
football team,” he said.
When it comes to defense, Dial says really it is the same keys as
always that will put them in position to contain the Blue Devils.
“I think it's the same thing as every week.
We need to get lined up, read our keys, and pursue to the football.
If we do those things they will help us play good defense,” he
said.
Dalton advanced to the division VI regional semifinals last season
before losing to Kirkland, they lost to Warren JFK in the regional semifinal
in division VII in 2021 and to JFK in their third round in 2020.
With their past success, Dial says they feel comfortable playing in
games of this magnitude. “I
think it's a testament to our kids and our community,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Football's been important at
Dalton and in the last few years we've had some successful teams and our
kids expect to be here and you could definitely tell that throughout the
week of practice.”
Published 11/16/23
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Dalton
Has to Fly
Dalton locks horns with Norwalk St. Paul in a division VII regional
semifinal on Friday night at Community Stadium in Ashland.
After spotting Lucas a two score lead, Dalton rallied to beat the
Cubs (35-10) in the quarterfinals last week.
Coach Broc Dial says they executed a lot of things well.
“Lucas came out with a good game plan.
They are a tough football team and our kids responded really well and
we were able to execute do some really nice things,” said Dial.
Tailback Greyson Siders ran for four scores last week.
St. Paul outlasted Malvern (20-14) in their game last week.
Dial says the Flyers are good all over.
“We really think they're good at all three levels.
They are very aggressive coming at you every snap, whether it's on
offense or defense, just a tough hard nosed football team,” he said.
St. Paul does not waste anytime when they get to the line of
scrimmage in snapping the ball. Dial
says they must be ready for that. “This
week we've talked a lot about we have got to get ready, we have got to play
and there's really not a lot of time to think and go play football,” he
said.
Dial says he wants his kids to react quickly and play aggressively.
“I think number one we got to do a really good job communicating
whether it's on offense or defense or special teams.
Number two, I think we have got to just make a decision go 100 miles
an hour,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Coaches talk
about hitting and those types of things, I think that's really what it comes
down to. They create effort just
making a decision a good 100 miles an hour.
The last thing is we have to show great discipline for four
quarters.”
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Dalton
Has to Win First Down
Dalton, the Wayne County Athletic League champ, plays Lucas in a
division VII regional quarterfinal at Orrville High School on Friday night.
The Bulldogs (9-1) opened the playoffs with a (54-12) destruction of
Conotton Valley last week.
Coach Broc Dial says they were able to get a lot of kids involved.
“The playoffs are special, especially football. Conotton Valley
came out and those kids played really hard, there's only 16 of them.
We were able to play a lot of kids, got a lot of playoff experience
and did a lot of good things,” he said.
Dalton beat Lucas (42-23) in a playoff game in 2021.
Dial says the Cubs are doing a lot of the same things.
“They are still running the double wing, a lot of unbalanced looks.
Similar offense to when we played them in 2021.
Defensively, they play several different fronts, they're playing even
from the last few weeks and played odd front early year.
Just an aggressive hardnosed, well coached football team,” said
Dial.
Lucas (8-3) beat Hillsdale, also the “WCAL”, (28-14) in their
playoff opener last week.
Dial says you can’t get nosey and get out of position against Lucas
or you will get burned. “We've
talked a lot this week that that's really a disciplined offense, so you have
to play discipline defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“You have got to be where you're supposed to be every snap.
That's what they're looking for, those little creases and seams.
You have got to play really disciplined defense and be we're supposed
to be every snap.”
On defense, Dial says they have to put Lucas in spots where they
can’t necessarily do the things they want to do.
“We talked about we have got to win first down and if we can put
them in second and third and long, it'll be good for our defense,” he
said.
Published 11/02/23
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Improvement
the Focus for Dalton
Dalton, the winner of the Wayne County Athletic League, and the top
seed in their division VII region will play at home on Friday night against
Conotton Valley in a first round game.
After winning the showdown with Norwayne (34-29) on week nine, Dalton
(8-1), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small
school division, put away the undisputed league title with a (47-0) smoking
last week of Chippewa.
Coach Broc Dial says they had a business like attitude.
“I thought our kids played really well, especially defensively and
special teams. We're able to
play a lot of players last week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “It’s one of our goals every year to win the league.
It's good to check mark that off and now head into the second season,
the postseason, just working on getting better this week.”
Conotton Valley (4-6) made the playoffs despite losses in four their
last five games.
Dial says they have to work hard to prepare for Friday.
“They're small in numbers on their roster.
They’re 4-6 on the season. The
kids play hard. They have got
some good athletes in the back end. We
just have to prepare this week and come out and ready to play and play 48
minutes to Pup football,” said Dial.
Dail says they must not be over confident.
“We talked to our players about our goal this week, every day to
get better and go play our best game on Friday and really just focus on
getting better and controlling things we control and just getting better,”
he said.
Dalton
Can Win the “WCAL” Outright
Dalton, after a huge win last week over Norwayne, can take the Wayne
County Athletic League outright with a win over Chippewa at home Friday
night.
They had a two score fourth quarter lead last week only to have
Norwayne score twice within a couple of minutes to take a one point lead,
but they responded with a score and beat the Bobcats (34-29) in a thriller
in Creston.
Coach Broc Dial says they made big plays.
“Our kids played hard. There
were a lot of highs and lows in that game.
Our kids just kept playing and made the plays in in the end to get
the win. Norwayne played a heck
of a football game as well. It's
kind of one of those games you hate to see anybody lose,’ said Dial.
They recovered a fumble on first set of downs after taking the lead
to put the game away.
Dalton (7-1,6-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the small school division, hosts Chippewa (1-8,0-6) on Friday night.
Dial says their focus has been on playing their best.
“We have really been focusing on senior night for us.
It’s our last home game for our seniors are concerned, last regular
season game for our players. Really
just honoring our seniors really been our focus this week,” he said.
Chippewa lost to Waynedale (16-14) last week.
Dial says they have some speed. “We
told the kids Monday it is going to be their Super Bowl.
They’re not playing beyond this week.
They are going to give us their best shot.
They have struggled with as far as the win/loss column, but their
kids are still playing hard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
evening, “#4 and #7 are good ballplayers for them they are very fast, two
of the faster kids in our league. So,
we make sure we prepare just like we do any other week to go play our best
on Friday night.”
Published 10/19/23
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Turnovers
are Big for Dalton
Dalton goes to Norwayne on Friday night to play the Bobcats in what
shapes up as the Wayne County League championship game.
Both are unbeaten in league play.
Last year, Dalton whipped Norwayne (41-16) and shared the league
title with Northwestern, while Norwayne and Hillsdale finished tied for
second. In 2021, Dalton edged
Norwayne (30-28) to win it outright and in 2020, Norwayne downed Dalton
(21-7) to win the title.
Dalton coach Broc Dial says his team this year has gotten great
leadership and they have shown solid improvement.
“I would say two things, our senior leadership has really kept us
focused. The second thing I
think collectively as a team, we have just gotten better each week and
worked to improve on those things we need to get better,” he said.
Dalton (6-1,5-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the small school division, smoked Rittman (47-6) last week.
Norwayne (8-0,5-0), #1 in that poll, blanked Chippewa (50-0) last
week. Dalton’s only loss comes
in the season opener (14-7) to Kirkland, the defending division VI state
champ.
Dial says Norwayne is big and they have big playmakers in the
backfield on both sides of the ball. “I
mean they're big, they're fast and strong across the board in all three
levels. I think one thing this
year, their good up front both sides in front seven type play, but what
really jumps out is their vertical passing game and they are very aggressive
in the secondary,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “I
think that's really taking them to another level when you watch that back
end on both sides.”
Dail says in games like this it often comes down to turnovers and
that is going to be the case on Friday night.
“We talked to our team all the time about the most important thing
in the game of football is the football itself.
On offense, we want to protect and on defense, we want to take it.
That's obviously something that we stress week in week out,” he
said.
Published 10/11/23
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Dalton
With Nothing to Lose
Dalton takes on defending state champion Richmond Heights in a
division IV regional final at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse on Friday
night.
The Bulldogs (18-8) got past Colonel Crawford (51-46) in a semifinal
on Tuesday night. Unbeaten
Richmond Heights buried Cornerstone Christian (93-52) in their semifinal.
The Fieldhouse is an old style gym.
It’s more of an arena than a gym.
Coach Justin Greenfelder believes his team is more used to it now
that they have played there once. “We
didn't shoot as well as we normally do from the perimeter and I think a lot
of that just has to do with the venue. The
background is a little different, but I'm expecting our guys to be a little
bit more used to it now that they've been there and seen it. The
Spartans have been there before, so they've got a little bit of that
experience on us. I expect this
to come out and shoot the ball a little bit better on Friday night,” he
said.
Richmond Heights is obviously a very athletic team.
They can get to the basket and Greenfelder says they make a lot of
perimeter shots too. “It's hard to pick a place to start.
They are extremely athletic. You
don't see these kinds of teams in division IV Ohio basketball very often.
They're long, they're quick, and it's not just the size inside, they
have some shooters. Winters #2,
Jones #11 you can't give either of them any space,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “I think they're used to seeing a lot of zone, they're
used to having some space to shoot. So,
you're plan of attack is a little different than you would normally do with
some athletic teams. It's going
to be a challenge for us, but I think our kids are up for it.
We watched some films. Our
kids are excited to have a chance to play to go down to the state
tournament.”
Greenfelder says no one is giving them a chance, but he says if they
are able to make this a game the pressure then is on Richmond Heights.
“We kind of talked about that.
If we can be within striking distance of them in the fourth quarter
the pressure all shifts to them. Nobody
expects us to be in that game, let alone have a chance to win it and if we
can keep it close. We played a
lot of close game. I think the
pressure on the Spartans to win a state title has got to be extremely high.
If they start looking up at that scoreboard and they see us creeping
in here, I think that the advantage turns to us at that point.
So, that's one of our goals is we're just going to fight as hard as
we can for 32 minutes and hopefully give ourselves a chance to win at the
end,” said Greenfelder.
Published 3/10/22
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Dalton
Makes Plays Late to Down Crawford
Dalton outscored Colonel Crawford (8-2) over the final four minutes
and beat the Eagles (51-46) in a division IV regional semifinal on Tuesday
night at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.
Dalton (18-8) will play unbeaten Richmond Heights in a regional final
on Friday night in Canton.
Derek Horsley’s three with 4:18 to play gave Crawford a (44-43)
lead, but the Bulldogs responded with three straight hoops by sophomore
Brady Hignight, Quentin Lehman and Jack Steiner and took a (49-44) lead with
2:42 remaining. Two charity
tosses by Trevor Vogt made it a one possession game with 1:56 left. The
Bulldogs missed the front ends of two one and one’s, but the Eagles could
not take advantage at their end and then Hignight, a sophomore, made two
free throws with :11 left to close it out.
Dalton coach Justin Greenfelder was very pleased with how his team
responded. “Our kids have been
in an awful lot of close games this year and played some really good teams.
They have had to continue to play and fight back.
So, just because we see a team comeback and take a lead we don’t
get phased by that. In an
environment like this, to see these kids immediately respond, it wasn’t
three or four possessions later, it was responding immediately, and them
turning around and getting a stop and that was great to see,” said
Greenfelder.
Colonel Crawford coach David Sheldon says they just couldn't get the
key stop and they had had a chance to make some shots that they normally
make. “We take the lead and
then we give up three buckets in row. We just couldn't get that stop with
the game on the line and then after that we got some good looks, had some
key turnovers in the fourth when it's a one, two possession game,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the game, “Braxton (Baker) gets a three look right
in front of our bench to tie it, Jake (Maddy) gets a two inside and we got
the shots we want. Those guys
have carried us all the way here and they just didn't go.
Every possession in a regional tournament is so important.
The amount of error magnifies in this setting because these teams are
so good at when they're 16 left.”
Braylon Wenger scored seven points in a two minute span late in the
first quarter and the Bulldogs led (15-4) after one and the game was
teetering on a blowout, but the Eagles battled back.
They scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second quarter, eight by
Maddy inside, and cut the Dalton lead to (17-15) 5:24 to play until the
half. The two teams traded
baskets the rest of the way with Dalton leading (23-21) at the break.
Sheldon feels that second quarter was key for them.
“We gut punched in the mouth in the first quarter.
We had to use two timeouts and we could have you know put ahead
between our tails and these guys came fighting back one possession at a time
and it’s a one possession game at halftime.
It's a credit to the character of this basketball team,” he said.
On Monday, Greenfelder told Swankonsports.com that they wanted to
push the pace, and they did that early, and then they kind of settled into
more of a half court tempo. “It
was kind of a trade off. If I
sped them up too much it was going to give them an opportunity to score more
easily. So, once we got the lead
and they had to chase us I felt more comfortable playing them in the half
court at that point making them spend 30 or 40 seconds on offense I thought
that played advantage at that time,” said Greenfelder.
Wenger and Steiner both had 12 points to lead Dalton on Tuesday
night. Baker and Maddy both had
16 for Crawford.
It was Baker that kept the Eagles in the game in the third quarter as
he scored 11 of his 16 and it was Dalton leading (37-36) after the third.
Greenfelder says they made a little defensive adjustment in the
fourth quarter. “We talked to
Braylon a little bit between quarters about staying connected to him a
little bit more. He got a couple
of mismatches in the third quarter and that allowed him to get downhill.
He's a good player and good players are going to get theirs, he's
going to find a way to get a few buckets and he did there in that third
quarter,” he said.
Crawford (18-8) has appeared in the regional tournament in third time
in the last four years. After
graduating two All-Ohio players last year, Sheldon says this year’s
seniors really developed into an excellent team.
“It's a special group. You look at Braxton and he's the next great
one to come through and he's the next gym rat.
He spends so much time in our gym. Jake
Maddy turned into one of the best back the basket players I have ever
coached. He averaged one point
of game last year,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Derek Horsley, he's a
quiet assassin. Derek doesn’t
say much, but he's a great point guard and facilitates. Ethan
Holt is the epitome of our program. He
waited until his senior year to play varsity basketball because of the guys
in front of him and then took advantage of it.
Then Gabe Thew he would do whatever is needed.
He took a couple years off and then tries to come out as a senior,
but he had a great attitude the whole time. The thing about these five
seniors is they're great kids. We
faced diversity and they could have said hey that's done and they kept
fighting and they got us back to a regional.
It'll be a group that'll go down in my 17 years as another special
group to come through Colonel Crawford.”
Published 3/08/23
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Dalton
Wants to Play Fast
Dalton, tri-champion of the Wayne County Athletic League, takes on
Colonel Crawford, of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, on Tuesday night
at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse in a regional semifinal in division IV.
The Bulldogs (17-8) have won 11 of their last 13 games and coach
Justin Greenfelder says they have developed an identity and are really
peaking at the right time of the season.
“We got a little slow start. Braylon
Wenger had a nasty injury during a preseason scrimmage, so he missed the
first six games of the year. We
also dealt with a suspension to one of our top returning players.
It took some time and our football team advanced deep into the into
the playoffs. So, it was really
a function of a lot of those things and guys starting to learn new roles.
We have a lot of new players this year, so it took a little bit of
time. That experience we got
during that first month of the year when we had to have some other guys step
up has really helped us as we've made our tournament run here.
We've really started to come together as a team.
We are sharing it, we're sitting down and we're defending at a high
level, so we feel like we're playing our best basketball of the year right
now,” he said.
Last Friday, they beat Warren JFK (71-58) in a district final played
at Struthers High School.
Greenfelder says they really wanted to finish that game that night
even after a power outage. “We
had started to get the momentum into our favor.
We had been trailing most of the second and third quarter and we had
just taken the lead at the beginning of the fourth.
Warren JFK called a timeout, we're up by two with about 4:30 to go
and we're talking through you know strategy and all of a sudden the lights
go out. That was about an hour
and 40 minute drive for us over to our districts.
So, we didn’t want to come back the next day,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “That was where my mind went initially
is man we have got to get this game started again.
We’ve got the momentum we have got to get this thing done.
So luckily, we waited about 10 minutes or so the power did come back
on. They told us yeah it may not
stay on, but we're going to try to play. I
asked our guys do you need to warm up at all?
The officials offered and our guys said no we're ready to go.
They just had that look in their eye and we finished the game on a
13-2 run. We got stops, Warren
JFK is a powerful offensive team, we did a really good job in that fourth
quarter.”
Colonel Crawford (18-7) beat Lucas (59-49) in their district final at
Willard High School on Friday night.
Greenfelder says they scrimmaged Crawford and they know they have a
couple of really talented players and the Eagles play really good defense.
“We actually scrimmaged the day after Thanksgiving so you know we
got to a chance to see each other up close, but that was a long time ago.
I think both teams have probably changed a lot since then.
Coach (David) Sheldon does an incredible job with that program. I've
seen some film on them recently, very well coached, very disciplined, they
sit down and they defend you and they keep the ball in front of you.
They like to get the ball inside.
(Jacob) Maddy is a load inside, Baker is a heck of a player inside
and outside. We've really got
our hands full (Tuesday),” said Greenfelder.
Greenfelder believes that tempo is going to be a factor in this game.
He says they want to force Crawford to play faster.
“We think we’re playing well right now.
We're going to try and get the tempo up a little bit quicker.
I think that they they'd like to play a little slower.
I look at their scores, I look at some of the things that they do on
film and I think they prefer to play the game in the half court.
We want to try to get out and go a little bit.
So, we're trying to pick up the tempo a little bit, try to make them
uncomfortable and play at our pace instead of theirs and get the game out of
the 30s and 40 and get it up in the 50s and 60s.” he said.
Published 3/07/23
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