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Monroeville Eagles Sports News
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Trenches
Again Big for Monroeville
Monroeville makes the long trip to Trumbull County to lock horns with
McDonald in a division VII regional quarterfinal on Friday night.
They played very well in the second half and downed Malvern (34-14)
in a quarterfinal last week.
Coach Tylor Nester says their execution was a lot crisper in the
second half. “Kind of some
self-inflicted wounds here in the first half that we were able to kind of
fix and correct and some discipline things and some penalties that we were
able to fix they're going into halftime coming out.
Credit to our seniors, and our captains, for staying focused and
sticking with the game plan,” he said.
Monroeville (10-2) is at McDonald (11-0) on Friday night.
The Blue Devils beat Warren JFK (28-13) last week.
Nester says they have some weapons on offense.
“There's a reason they're undefeated.
They have got a really nice quarterback in (Kyle) Puckett.
They're run to pass ratio is similar to ours, but he does have a nice
deep ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Behind him
running back wise they have (Drew) Zajack. He’s
a big downhill runner and then they got another one can kill you on the
edges there if you're not careful named (Casey) Miller.
Their line on both sides and is really big, real stout.”
Now, McDonald says runs a wing-T based offense and they run a 4-4 on
defense. Nester says they have
seen those kinds of things. “Scheme
wise offensively they're really similar to Mapleton.
They do a couple different things with their wing-T under center.
Then defensively they're really similar to other 4-4’s, so some
things that we've seen throughout the area.
Every time you get in the playoffs it's hard to kind of gauge just
because you don't have that familiar opponent, so you're really have got to
hone in on watching film,” said Nester.
Nester says again this week they have to win at the point of attack.
“Really it's just control our scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
We've got to fly to the ball defensively and we've got to maintain
blocks offensively, so it's going to come down to the trenches,” he said. Published 11/13/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
Has to Win up Front
Monroeville, the Firelands Conference champion, plays its first
playoff game Friday night at home against Malvern in a division VII regional
quarterfinal.
Coach Tylor Nester says they put the bye they earned last week to
good use in a number of ways. “It
went really well. We had three
goals kind of going into it. One
of the biggest things was conditioning, staying in physical shape. The other
one is get healthy and then the last one is to continue to work on
technique. Our kids brought into
that. Our captains leadership
did a really good job of coming each day and being excited about
practice,” said Nester.
Monroeville (8-2) hosts Malvern (7-4) on Friday night.
The Hornets drilled Ashtabula St. John (34-0) last week in an opening
round game.
Nester they are balanced on offense and on defense they will show a
variety of looks. “They've got
some experience coming back. They
were regional finalist last year, so they have got some experience coming
back in the front line. Then
they have got a back that was all state in (Aaron) Gore.
He’s a big kid, tough runner,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “The quarterback kind of slings it all over the place
there. Defensively, they're
really similar to us, a 3-4. They
will run some two high and then they'll come down to kind of a cover three
or man technique. So, seems to
be similar stuff to that we do. We
definitely have to be on top of our game.”
When it comes to playoff wins, Nester believes it boils down to a
couple of things. “Anytime in
the playoffs it’s the battle of the trenches and win the turnover
margin,” he said. Published 11/07/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports |
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Monroeville
Plays St. Paul for Outright Title
Monroeville has the chance again to win the Firelands Conference
championship outright with a win over archrival Norwalk St. Paul on Friday
night.
Last year, they had the same chance and St. Paul beat them by a
point.
The Eagles (7-2,6-0) held off Crestview (28-26) to maintain a one
game lead on Western Reserve.
Coach Tylor Nester says they came together as a team.
“A great team victory for our kids.
We go down two scores in the first quarter pretty quick, but our
captains and our upperclassmen and the team in general kind of rallied
around and stayed focus and stayed patient.
We were able to pull one off right there at the end,” said Nester.
St. Paul (5-4,4-2) beat up Mapleton (50-6) last week.
Nester says they do a lot of things St. Paul teams have always done,
but they do pass more. “It's a
typical St. Paul team that we've seen year in year out.
They're physical on the line scrimmage.
They're linebackers get the ball.
They have got Kunlee this year that quarterback, well the last two
years, but they can also spread it out.
So, typical St. Paul team, but they can also spread out,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Defensively, Gross, their middle
linebacker, does a really nice job getting to the ball, but in general
defensively they get all 11 and offensively they're technically sound.”
Yes, it’s St. Paul, and yes, it’s always the biggest game, but
Nester says the keys to win aren’t any different.
“It’s the same thing week to week.
Win the battle in the trenches, take care of the ball, stay patient
and persistent and focus on your technique.
Win those small battles and then everything else will take care of
itself,” he said.
Nester says they do have to control their emotions.
“You have got ride that rollercoaster.
You don't want to get too high, too emotional and you don’t want to
get too low on yourself. We've
been hounding on our kids all season and they showed it last week being
patient, being persistent, even when things weren't going our way and
sticking with the game plan,” he said. Published 10/24/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports |
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Monroeville
Faces Aggressive Crestview in Big One
Firelands Conference leader Monroeville pays a visit to Crestview to
take on the Cougars in a game with a lot riding on it Friday night.
A win for the Eagles gives them no less than a share of the
conference title. Crestview, a
game back, needs a win to move into a share of first place.
Western Reserve, also a game back, would benefit from a Cougar win.
Monroeville also must play arch rival Norwalk St. Paul next week.
The Flyers are two games back in the conference standings.
Monroeville whipped Plymouth (55-0) in a conference game last week to
maintain their lead.
Coach Tyler Nester says at this time of year you want to be playing
meaningful games. “On week
nine and 10 you want to be playing your best and you want to be competing
with the best and that's what we're doing this week,” he said.
Monroeville (6-2,5-0) plays at Crestview (5-3,4-1) on Friday night.
The Cougars were tared and feathered by Western (34-0) last week.
Nester says they still are a really good football team.
“Across the board, defensively they really stand out they fly to
the ball, they've got a lot of experience, but they're aggressiveness and
their ability to play as a team definitely stands out for us,” he said.
Nester says Crestview quarterback Lium Kuhn is multi dimensional and
he stretches a defense. “He's
got a nice arm on him and they're running him a little bit more this year
than they have in the past. It
seems like he's been at the helm for quite some time, but he's got a ton of
experience,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “He can sling
it, but he can run. He’s
probably one of the fastest kids in the conference.
I know he was one of the top 100 meter sprinters in track last
year.”
Nester says Crestview is going to be aggressive on defense.
“They are big up front, physical and athletic.
They want to get after it out of their 3-3 stack and move and
disguise some things. They want
to confuse your offensive line and they definitely want to get after it,”
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
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Monroeville
Must be Physical
Monroeville, the Firelands Conference co-leader, will be at home
Friday night for the Plymouth Big Red in conference action.
They put 37 points on the scoreboard in the first quarter last week
and went on to destroy Mapleton (56-8) in an “FC” game.
Coach Tylor Nester says it was a good over performance.
“It was a really nice team victory.
All three phases of the game special teams and offense and defense.
We have got to shore of some things that limited us a little bit on
special teams, but overall pretty satisfied with our result on Friday,” he
said.
Nester says their goal is to get better every week and he thinks they
have sone that this season. “That's
kind of been one of our mottos to continuously get better.
Continue to self evaluate whether that's a practice rep or game rep
or even a weight room rep that we have in the morning,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We want to continue to push our
numbers and continue to hold our craft and our kids are buying into that and
we definitely are continuously getting better.”
Monroeville (5-2,4-0) is at home for Plymouth (1-6,1-3) on Friday
night in the “FC.”
The Big Red got their first win of the season last week in beating
New London (20-12) in league play.
Nester says they have to ready for a team that’s going to be
physical and run it at them out of their tight formations.
“Plymouth is always physical and especially with their type of
offense. They're going to
control the clock and try to ram it right down your throat.
We have got to be disciplined and be physical on the defensive side.
We have just got to continue to hold our responsibilities are do our
jobs on the offensive side,” said Nester, 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 |
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Monroeville
Has to Take Them One Game at a Time
Monroeville will be at home at Marsh Field for the Mapleton Mounties
in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
They share the conference lead with Crestview.
It was a hug win last week, as they edged Western Reserve (27-20) in
a conference game.
Coach Tylor Nester says it was a win that showed their comradery as a
program. “It was a really nice
program win. We talked about
last week about our leadership and it definitely showed last Friday night
for them to respond and stay calm and under pressure and persevere through
that and obviously come out with the victory.
So, a really good job by our captains and our upper classmen, our
leadership in general,” said Nester.
Coming off a big win like last week Nester says they have to have
focus and he believes they do. “Every
week our captains have kind of brought that model.
Once we started conference play like every week is a Firelands
Conference championship game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
night, “To get to that you've got to you got to stay focused on the task
at hand and the task at hand right now is Mapleton.”
Monroeville (4-2,3-0) hosts Mapleton (2-4,1-2) on Friday night.
The Mounties lost (38-20) to South Central in a conference game last
week.
Nester says they have some players.
“I mean really solid team overall. I
mean their backs run hard, especially on #9 the Foster kid, he's kind of
their wing back. He's athletic
and he can move, so we've got to bottle him up along with their they're
running back he's like a little bit of bowling ball running down low for
them,” 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 |
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Trenches
Key for Monroeville
The game of the week this week in the Firelands Conference features
Monroeville at Western Reserve on Friday night.
They are two of the contenders for the conference title.
The Eagles won a share of that title last season.
For the second straight week, Monroeville scored early and often last
week as the pound New London (55-13) in a conference game.
Coach Tylor Nester liked their focus.
“Definitely real proud of our kids to stay focused at the task at
hand and to execute the plays in the scouting report that we created for
them,” he said.
Monroeville quarterback Colt Clark was 15-16 for 225 yards and four
TD’s.
Western Reserve belted Norwalk St. Paul (46-14) last week in a very
impressive performance.
Nester says they are really good up front on both sides of the ball.
“Almost too much to say in this short amount of time, but obviously
they're returning a lot of starters from last year.
Across the front every single one of those guys got experience and
come off the ball offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “Defensively, the same. This
is going to sound bad, but no one stands out, but that's because they all do
a really good job at doing their job. Whether
that's offense or defense. The
(Colton) Meagrow kid has stepped in for (Hayden) Keith and he can definitely
sling it and he's got some big play ability with his feet too along with his
arm.”
Meagrow also efficient last week as he as 12-12 passing.
Running back Landyn Wiegel ran for 169 yards and five touchdowns.
Nester says the winner of this game will control the point of attack.
“It's going to come down to who can control that line of scrimmage.
Who can win in the trenches both offensively and defensively,” he
said.
Monroeville whipped Western (48-0) last year, but Nester says this is
a different year. “Our focus
this week is this is a completely different team with their skill set.
They've got a year under their belt with all that experience.
Up front they’re returning a lot of guys that are real
physical. There's a lot of games
where they've dominated up front,” said Nester. Published 9/23/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
About Improvement
Monroeville is at home this week for the New London Wildcats in
Firelands Conference play.
Last week, they drilled South Central (67-0), scoring 53 points in
the first half of the game.
Coach Tylor Nester says that success began in practice.
“Put all three phases together for a game finally.
I’m more proud of our captains, our leadership, coming off those
two losses going into the league. They
rallied together and really looked inside and the things that we needed to
fix and took the coaching. So, I
was really excited for them and our captains and our upperclassmen,” said
Nester.
Nester says you have to approach every week the same way.
“Every week is a championship game.
We're in the conference play and every week is a championship game
and that's way you have got to take it,” he said.
Monroeville (2-2,1-0) is at home for New London (2-2,0-1) on Friday.
The Wildcats were dispatched by Crestview (42-0) last week.
The Eagles beat New London (71-0) last year, but Nester says they are
a lot better. “They are much
improved. They got a really nice
player back there at quarterback. He
can sling it to the Mitchell kid in a couple other receivers go up for the
ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They're coming
along and real physical. Defensively
they do a ton of movement. Their
linebackers come downhill. So,
I'll be excited for (Friday).”
Nester says this week, and every week, they want to focus on their
performance. “This has kind of
been our mantra since taking over. We
want to focus on ourselves no matter who our opponent is.
Whether it's week 10, week 11, week 12.
We want to focus on ourselves and then improve.
We film practice and that's what we study all week.
Our technique, our movement, and things that we can fix.
That started with the captains and the seniors and they took that to
heart this week and in the previous weeks of evaluating themselves in areas
that they need to improve on,” said Nester. Published 9/19/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports |
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Monroeville
to Play Improving South Central
Monroeville, defending co-champion of the Firelands Conference, will
start their league schedule on Friday night at South Central against the
Trojans.
They were handled last week (14-2) by Seneca East in a non-conference
game.
Coach Tylor Nester says last week they just couldn’t get over that
last hurdle. “I know we were
in the red zone four times and couldn't put it home and that's something
that we kind of prided ourselves on the last couple of years, so we've added
some additional things in this week to make sure make sure we can do that
for sure. Hats off to coach (Ed)
Phillips and his crew. A really
nice squad over there and they came ready and got the win,” said Nester.
Nester says when you get in that red zone your execution has to be
that much sharper. “One step
here, one missed block, a block destruction there and it could cost you a
touchdown or you score a touchdown right away.
When that field shrinks down it’s tough,” he said.
Monroeville (1-2,0-0) is at South Central (0-3,0-0) on Friday night.
The Trojans produced their best effort of the season last week in
losing (14-12) to Rittman in a non-league game.
Nester says the Trojans are a team that can make big plays.
“They played really, really well.
I think as a whole team they're pretty darn good.
They've got the most explosive plays of any of the teams that we've
faced… like 16, 17 out of a couple weeks,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday evening, “The (Brayden) Viock kid there at quarterback, he
transferred in. He's a really
nice player for them. They've
got (Alex) Hamonds. He's one of
those kids that I feel like he's been there forever, but he's very
disruptive along with their wide receiving corps.” Published 9/10/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
Faces Physical Seneca East
Monroeville is at Seneca East on Friday night in a football game
between two traditional powers in non-league play.
The Eagles (1-1) lost (35-21) to Tiffin Calvert last week.
Coach Tylor Nester says the Senecas forced them into some mistakes.
“Hats off to coach (Mike) Lento and his crew.
They got the job done that forced us into some mental mistakes and
mental errors that we really focused on fixing this week,” he said.
Nester says their execution was off by just a little bit.
“Those tough opponents and Calvert was like that and Seneca East is
going be the same. Sometimes
it’s one step or a half second here on a block or a half second on attack
where you hesitate,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “It
kind of really boils down to those little things that you have got to be all
100% all in on. That was kind of
the difference that we identified. Just
those little things that that boiled down to being the big difference in the
game.”
Seneca East (1-1) lost in overtime (27-21) to Northmor last week.
Nester says they are physical and can make some plays too.
“Really similar to last week. They're
big up front. They’re
physical. A typical Seneca East
team. They're going to spread
you out and (Nick) Parks does a heck of a job of maintaining the play and
getting big plays out of his guys. Then
you've got (Jackson Gayheart) there in the backfield.
It seems like he's been around forever.
On defense, so they're physical on both sides of the ball and their
offensive and defensive lines are going to be a tough task for us,” said
Nester. Published 9/04/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
Expects Physical Calvert
Monroeville entertains Tiffin Calvert on Friday night in a
non-conference football game.
The Eagles beat McComb (46-20) in last week’s opener.
Coach Tylor Nester says it was a solid win.
“No matter who the opponent is it's always nice to get the week one
victory, but then against coach (Kris) Alge and his crew they always do a
nice job historically. To get
that win at home in a new facility for us is definitely an exciting
moment,” said Nester.
Nester says they were able to make some key adjustments last week.
“We started off a little slow at some and had some discipline
issues and gave up that first kickoff return for a touchdown, but kind of
settled in there and was able to make some adjustments after halftime and
kind of wear them down obviously took control of the game there,” he said.
Now, Calvert got smoked (39-6) by defending “N10” champ Mohawk in
week one.
However, Nester feels this will be a good test.
“It’s still Calvert,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “They are physical, their big upfront.
They definitely have some big play opportunities.
They had a couple missed opportunities that would have probably
changed the game a little bit for them.
They are definitely going to be a formidable opponent for us.” Published 8/26/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
Faces Traditional Power McComb
Monroeville, coming off a share of the Firelands Conference title,
and another player appearance, will entertain the McComb Panthers in a
non-conference game on Friday night at Marsh Field.
Coach Tylor Nester likes what he has seen from his kids so far in the
preseason. “We all talk about
progress and we've seen it here. There's
some things obviously that we continue to tweak here and there as we
continue to move forward. Definitely
nice progress and we've had some kids that we didn't expect step up, so
that's always exciting to see,” said Nester.
The opener can have a different kind of emotion as you haven’t
played another team in real game in nine months and there are going to be
some butterflies.
Nester says add to that a team you don’t know that well.
“It's definitely different. We
talked about that in our scouting meeting (Monday).
I mean McComb is somebody that we don't see regularly.
I haven't looked back in the history books, but since I've been here
we haven't played them. It's
kind of that unknown and week one that excitement and everything else and
definitely a unique situation,” he says.
The Panthers are known as a physical, power running football team and
Nester says this year will be no different.
“You have to start off with their coach.
Coach (Kris) Alge there. He’s a heck of a coach.
He's been there for a while. He
has 200 plus wins, so he knows how to win and you can see that in their
kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Defensively, they
get to the ball really well. Their
athletic, fast and physical and that kind of thing and their MO and all the
way back when I played them at Seneca East in 2005, 2004 there. They're
a physical team up front, especially on the offensive line.
They are led by their quarterback, dual threat kid, (Tanner)
Schroeder along with a running back that does really nice job and a nice
fast receiver at the edge.” 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
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Monroeville
Working Hard
Monroeville shared the Firelands Conference title last year and
continues to be one of the better small school football teams in this area.
The Eagles shared that title last year with archrival Norwalk St.
Paul.
Coach Tylor Nester says they have some experience back, but they also
have to find some new players to fill positions.
“Actually, our senior class is one of the bigger classes that we've
had in a while. We’ve got
10,12 kids there and a lot of them had experience rotating in or starting
for us last year. So, we do have
some experience back, but obviously we've got some holes to kind of fill up
and shore up and that's what we're in the process of doing right now,”
said Nester.
Monroeville plays at Margaretta in its final scrimmage on Thursday.
The host McComb in their first game August 22.
Their other two non-league games are against Tiffin Calvert and
Seneca East. A visit to South
Central will mark their conference opener on September 12.
Nester says he has been pretty pleased with what he has seen out of
the players so far. “We had a
great offseason. The kids worked
really hard in the weight room. They
broke some kind of personal records and some school records.
We're excited that work ethic and to see how it translates over into
Friday night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We had our
first scrimmage last week and we're excited about that stepping stone.
It's a work in progress, but stepping stone in the right
direction.”
Nester says they want to get better every day they hit the field.
“That's kind of our theme for everyday practice.
You get a little bit better. Like
Monday we start off and the kids all kind of reviewed film on their own and
then we reviewed film. They had
two things that they needed to work on, two things that they did well as a
team well and they all shared about that.
So, that's kind of our motto going into it continuously improving
each and every week,” he said. Published 8/13/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
Downs Mohawk
Madi Reiber slammed a two run home run and Monroeville hung on to
beat Mohawk in a division VII state semifinal on Wednesday afternoon at
Firestone Park in Akron.
The Lady Eagles (27-3) will play in their second consecutive state
championship game when they meet Portsmouth Notre Dame (27-3) on Thursday
afternoon. They lost to
Strausburg-Frankin in a championship game last spring.
Monroeville would score first in the bottom of the second inning when
Reiber walked, stole second, was advanced to third, and then after Taylor
Scheid fouled off a pitch, she scored on a wild pitch.
They got three more in the third on an RBI double by Taryn Tyler and
a two run bomb by Reiber to lead (4-0) after three.
Coach Abe Helmstetter says they got some key hits.
“We tried to put a squeeze bunt on.
We had a play after that where it was a passed ball, so we're able to
score on that and go up 1-0,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
night, “Then after that we were able to you know get a couple on and then
and our number four hitter put one over the fence, so that was tremendous by
her.”
Mohawk got on the board in the top of the sixth a RBI double by
Mallory Brickner. She later
scored on a ground out to make it (4-2).
The Lady Warriors (25-6) brought the tying run to plate in the
seventh. With two out and a
runner on Helmstetter removed stating pitcher Veanna Helmstetter.
Payton Weilnau was summoned to get the final out, which she did, and
earned the all important save.
Monroeville centerfielder Haylee Morman made two outstanding plays on
hard hit balls and Helmstetter thought those were key.
“Our centerfielder had two diving catches that were tremendous.
We were able to make some plays there on the infield and catch them
off guard on some of the base running. I
was very pleased with our performance,” said Helmstetter.
Portsmouth Notre Dame beat Covington (9-2) in the second semifinal.
Helmstetter knows they are in for a challenge on Thursday.
“We just got done watching the game and they look to hit for power.
Their pitcher seems to be pretty strong in the circle.
She throws a good change up, tries to spin a curveball.
They look like they play pretty sound defense.
We hope to make it a battle,” he said. Published 6/05/25 © 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
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The
Trenches Key for Monroeville
Monroeville entertains Warren JFK in a regional quarterfinal in
division VII on Friday night at Marsh Field.
After losing their only game of the season on the final week of the
regular season, Monroeville routed Independence (47-7) in their first
playoff game last week.
Coach Tylor Nester says it was a good rebound win for the Eagles.
“Yeah definitely, it's always nice rebounding and our kids, our
captains, and our leadership group they recognized some of the deficiencies
that we had week 10 and really focused in on getting better at that and the
results showed for themselves against
Independence,” said Nester.
Warren JFK smoked East Palestine (40-13) in their first playoff game.
Nester says JFK is physical and they have guys that can make plays
too. “They are really similar
to us. They are big and
physical. Defensively, they get
to the ball really well. The
front three do a really nice job of making plays all over the place.
Their secondary is extremely fast,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “Then offensively they have a couple of key guys that they
want to get the ball to. Their
quarterback last week was hurt, but it seems like he should be back ready to
go. They have a couple of guys
that standout. (Lamarcus) Proitt,
who is kind of their wildcat quarterback.
He’s very dynamic. Skilled
guys (Noah) Esler and Camora that can stretch that field vertically.”
To win on Friday, Nester says they have to be able to control the
point of attack. “We have to
control the line of scrimmage. I
say that every week, but that's definitely a key this week and protect the
ball and be disciplined. If we
get those three taken care of we will be in good shape,” he said. Published 11/05/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Faces Athletic Independence
Monroeville, the co-champion of the Firelands Conference, plays at
home against Independence in a first round playoff game in division VII on
Friday night.
They had a chance last week to claim the conference title outright,
but Norwalk St. Paul executed a two point conversion with no time left to
win (29-28) on Friday night.
Coach Tylor Nester says they have worked this week to get better.
“I mean hats off to them. They
came prepared and ready to play. It
was a battle to the end and they came out on top.
We talked to our kids about evaluating and reflecting and seeing what
we can do better and there were some things that we saw and we worked on
this week,” said Nester.
Monroeville (9-1) hosts Independence (4-6) on Friday night.
Nester says they are athletic on offense.
“Their record is a little deceiving.
They faced seven playoff teams, including kind of perennial Cuyahoga
Heights so their record is a little deceiving,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday evening, “They are a really good, athletic team, kind of led
by their quarterback (Dominic) Narduzzi, who's got 1200 to 1500 yards
passing along with the receiver that's over 1000 yards, but all around their
front to back they're fast, they're physical.”
Independence beat Cuyahoga Heights (22-18) this season.
Nester says this is one of the more athletic teams they have played
this year. “That's something
we talked about as a staff. It's
always difficult to kind of evaluate teams, especially if you don't have
common opponents. Each area is a
little bit different, but they do a really good job of getting off blocks
and getting to the ball defensively. You
can definitely tell their athleticism on the field versus some other
teams,” he said. Published 11/01/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick |
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Run
Game Key for Monroeville
Monroeville wins its first outright Firelands Conference title since
2002 if they beat archrival Norwalk St. Paul at home on Friday night.
This is a classic high school rivalry between schools literally five
miles from each other.
Monroeville coach Tylor Nester says this game goes across family
trees with friends and neighbors playing for more than just bragging rights.
“You know the history and like coach (Chris) Doughty alluded to you
have got families that have friends or relatives that played on both sides,
played each other on Friday night under the lights at Marsh Field or over
there at Contractor’s Stadium. So,
there's a lot of relationships on and off the field and grudge match in the
end,” said Nester.
Monroeville (9-0,6-0) has been the mean mistreater in the Firelands
Conference this year. They have
pitched five straight shutouts and allowed only 16 points all year.
St. Paul (5-4,4-1) has rebounded from injuries to win all but one
conference game. They beat South
Central (34-20) last week.
Nester says St. Paul kids always come to play.
“They have persevered kind of doing the same thing that they did
last year. Battled through some
injuries and kind of put themselves in a position to fight for the
conference championship or at least a share of it,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Definitely they're gritty and
coach Doughty’s done a good job of keeping them focused and allowing them
to progress week by week.”
Nester believes the game will be won and lost up front in the
trenches. “We have to control
the line of scrimmage, stop the run and get some movement on the offensive
side of the ball,” he said. Published 10/24/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Can Take Next Step
Monroeville will earn no less than a share of the Firelands
Conference title this week with a win at Plymouth.
They lead Norwalk St. Paul and Western Reserve by a game in the
conference standings. Of course,
they have their normal week 10 clash with St. Paul next week.
They smoked Mapleton (49-0) last week as quarterback Even Benfer ran
for three scores.
Coach Tylor Nester says again they got off to a good start.
“It was a really good start offensively and defensively. I
think we scored a couple touchdowns real quick right there in the first
quarter. Our defensive did its
job getting off the field and forcing Mapleton out of their system,” said
Nester.
Monroeville (8-0,5-0) has not allowed a single point in the last
month.
Nester says their defense has been fundamental and they have been
getting great pursuit. “That's
a testament to the kids and our defensive coordinator coach (Don) Clark gets
them fired up and he's got them believing in all 11 to the ball every single
play. Then most important
importantly is doing your job and knowing your role in any given situation.
So, we're doing a really good job,” he said.
Plymouth (2-6,1-4) broke a six game losing streak with a (40-12) win
over New London in conference play last week.
Nester says Plymouth will try and play physical football.
“They run that different double tight, double wing kind of
formation similar to Lucas and some teams down that way.
They're big upfront and physical.
They get another one of their running backs this week,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They are dynamic in the backfield.
We talked about a little bit ago, if you're not disciplined and
you're trying to fly here or there without reading your keys and knowing
what your role they can do some damage.”
When it comes to getting a piece of the title.
Nester says they want to be process driven.
“Like we talked last week one rung at a time and this week it’s
Plymouth. If we take care of
that business and then we can look forward.
Plymouth presents some problems with us that we have to take care of
this week,” he said. Published 10/15/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
to Meet Mapleton
Firelands Conference leader Monroeville will be at Mapleton for a
conference game on Friday night.
The Eagles (7-0,4-0) grabbed first place to themselves with a (48-0)
destruction of Western Reserve last week.
Coach Tylor Nester says they played well against a very good team.
“It was a nice team effort for us and all the three phases of the
game. It was nice to be able to
put that together, especially after the previous weeks where we were kind of
turning the ball over and making some mental errors.
To come out that way against a well coached coach (Ty) Stevenson team
was really nice,” said Nester.
Nester adds that they were able to control the point of attack.
“We kind of talked to our team about the keys to the game were and
we controlled that line of scrimmage offensively and defensively.
They kind of set the tone for our skill guys and our secondary and
backers,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They just
continue to feed off each other and kept that momentum throughout the
game.”
Mapleton (3-4,2-2) edged South Central (29-27) in a league game last
week.
Nester says they must be ready to defend that wing-T.
“They run kind of the old school Black River wing-T offense that
coach (Al) Young over there, him and his dad, kind of hailed from Black
River. They've got that tough,
we're going to punch you in the mouth kind of mindset in there and their
players play with that edge,” he said. Published 10/11/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick |
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Monroeville
Has to Win up Front
It’s a battle between co-leaders in the Firelands Conference as
Monroeville hosts Western Reserve at Marsh Field on Friday night.
Monroeville coach Tylor Nester says these are the kinds of games that
you really want to be part of. “It's
always good to have these kinds of matchups going into the playoffs, get
yourself ready. Western's been
at the top of the Firelands Conference pretty much the entire time that
Stevenson been over there, he's done a heck of a job.
To face him and his crew were excited,” said Nester.
The Eagles (6-0,3-0) broke a school record for points in a game with
a (71-0) win over New London last week.
Meanwhile, Wester Reserve (5-1,3-0) handed Norwalk St. Paul their
first conference loss (28-7) last Friday.
Nester says Western has really thrown the ball well.
“They kind of flipped the script with what coach (Ty) Stevenson
usually does and their passing a little bit more, so that's testament to him
and his kids. Offensively,
they're going to throw it all over the place and kind of spread you out and
throw deep to keep you honest. Keith
can not only throw, but he can run along with their running backs,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They're going to put the
ball all over the place and put it in their athletes hands and make you
cover the whole field.”
On defense, Nester says the Roughriders are very good on all three
levels. “They're physical and
they get off the ball and they get after it starting with their front line,
those three down lineman in their 3-4 with French and a couple other kids
there. They're physical up
front, they're linebackers fly to the ball and their DB's keep everything in
front of them. So, all around
really good squad that we're up against this week,” said Nester.
To win on Friday night, Nester says they have to be the ones that win
at the point of attack. “We
have to win the turnover battle and then win the battle of the trenches.
I think that whoever controls that line of scrimmage is going to come
out on top for sure,” he said. Published 10/03/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Focused
Firelands Conference co-leader Monroeville will be down at New London
for a game with the Wildcats on Friday night.
The Eagles (5-0,2-0) share first place with Norwalk St. Paul and
Western Reserve, who play each other.
Last week, they hammered South Central (41-0) in a conference game.
Coach Tylor Nester says overall they played pretty well.
“We were really excited about our performance overall.
Offensively still need to work on a couple things here and there,
ball security and kind of our passing game and continue to build on our run
game. We were really excited how
our defense performed, really in both halves, limited South Central,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We talked last week about the
amount of skill that they have and threats and we were able to keep that in
front of us. We limited them to
50 or so yards, or even less than that, and we got a pick there at the end.
So, excited with last week's progression.”
New London (2-3,0-2) is returning the 11 man football this year.
They were torched (67-0) by Crestview last week in Firelands
Conference action.
Nester says they have some kids that can play.
“They're doing a really good job.
I know it didn't go well last week.
Just looking at the kind of the stats. They've
got guys in the top of the offensive stats and some of the defensive stats.
So, they've got some really nice skill on the offensive side of the
ball. They throw it around and
defensively they're big and physical up front,” said Nester.
The Eagles play Western Reserve next week, but they can’t be
thinking about that game. Nester
says they have been focused. “Our
kids kind of adopted this and we are running with it.
One rung of the ladder at a time and New London is our next rung.
If you skip a rung on the ladder trying to climb to the top of your
roof to clean those gutters you might be falling right back down to the
bottom. So, we have got to stay
focused on that task and that task this week is playing New London,” said
Nester. Published 9/27/24 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning with the kick |
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Monroeville
Not Taking South Central Lightly
Monroeville puts out the welcome mat for the South Central Trojans in
a game in the Firelands Conference on Friday night.
They earned a big win, (30-16), over Crestview last week.
Coach Tylor Nester called it a quality win.
“A really nice win. It's
always nice to start it off. Crestview
is a really, really good team and they've been in the top of the conference
for quite a few years and historically.
So, to get them off the gate really kicks off our season for us,”
he said.
Nestor says they have some things to clean up, especially turnovers.
“We persevered really well. Unfortunately,
it's something we have got to fix. We
turned the ball over four times and not too often can you overcome that,
especially against a good team. So,
kind of persevering and keep our heads up and kind of that we'll get this
done team attitude that we've been talking about.
So, it's cool to see that aspect, but not cool to see the turnovers,
but we overcame and won,” said Nestor.
Monroeville (4-0,1-0) hosts South Central (1-3,1-0) on Friday night.
The Trojans beat New London (33-12) in a Firelands Conference game
last week.
Nestor says they have a lot to defend because they have some
gamebreakers. “They're pretty
deadly. It's one of those things
again that you look as an outsider looking at their schedule, you're like
who knows what's going to happen here. They're
skilled kids are good. Coach
(Derek) Fisher over there, he's in his second year and they're starting to
gain a little bit of steam and have some success,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Quarterback wise, Hauler, he's
deadly in the pass deadly in the run, he’ll scramble, he'll run through
some kids and then they got some returning receivers, skill guys, that are
pretty darn good too along with their offensive line.
Some of their offensive lineman, Hammonds and Gamble, they've been
starting for two, three years, so they got some experience up front on both
sides of the ball. Defensively,
they're kind of all over the place there and it makes our offense think, so
we've have got to be sound in our assignments and alignments.” Published 9/19/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Knows Crestview is Good
Monroeville will be at home for Crestview in a Firelands Conference
game between teams picked to be contenders for the conference title on
Friday night.
The Eagles (3-0) have been off to a great start.
They hammered Seneca East (36-13) in non-league play last Friday.
Coach Tylor Nester says they played well, but there were still too
many mistakes. “We battled the
elements along with kind of everybody in the area.
We came out on top, so that's nice.
We always got some things to work on.
That first half was a little bit slow for us with adjustments.
We're just going to need to make some adjustments quicker as a staff
and as a team. Overall, a really
quality win against a really nice Seneca East team,” he said.
Crestview, on other hand, is (0-3) after being blanked (34-0) by
Keystone last week.
Nester says they are not fooled by the record.
“That 0-3 start is extremely deceiving.
You look at it as an outsider you'd have no idea, but they have faced
a really tough schedule. They
faced Kirtland, returning state champs, Keystone last week, who has
constantly been in the playoffs. The
same Seneca East team that we faced,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “Overall, a really good team.
A lot returning, a lot of size. (Liam)
Kuhn does a good job kind of managing the offense along with some of their
skilled receivers like (Tyson) Ringler, who does a good job of extending
that field and making plays after the catch.
You can't forget (Ayden) Reymer and their offensive line is really
big up front, really physical.”
Nester says this is a typical Crestview team that likes to establish
the run. “They would they want
to establish that run and then kind of use that play action to keep you off
balance. Then every once in a
while throw it deep to just spread you vertically and along with spreading
east and west,” he said.
Defense has been the Crestview calling card and Nester says they are
going to be tough there are Friday. “Their
linebackers come downhill. Their
ends really do a really nice job. They've
got a returner there the (Gavin) Barker kid, real big kid about 215, but he
does a really good job setting that edge.
Like I said, they are physical on offense just like there if not more
physical on defense coming downhill,” said Nester. Published 9/11/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Expects Physical Game
Monroeville is at home Friday night for the Seneca East Tigers in
non-conference play.
It’s the Eagles home opener.
They went to Calvert last week and beat the Senecas (26-9) to improve
to (2-0) on the season.
Coach Tylor Nester says they did what they had to do.
“It was really nice victory for us there at Calvert.
The kids were excited. They
came together. That third
quarter wasn't so positive for us. A
couple penalties that allowed them to get back in the game,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “It was cool to see our kids
responding, kind of playing in the heat, which I know people across the
state did that, but it's cool to see the progress and how they prepare for
the week.”
Seneca East (1-1) lost (56-34) to Gibsonburg last week.
Nester predicts this will be a physical game.
“Seneca East is a really solid team.
Gibsonburg is tough and physical up front and that's kind of what we
expect our game to be real physical across the board.
Whoever wins those trenches going to come out top.
They did a really nice job against Crestview and just the chips
didn't fall their way against Gibsonburg,” said Nester.
Nick Parks threw for 227 yards and three TD’s, but was picked three
times last week against Gibsonburg.
Nester says they are
going to have to do a solid job defending the pass and eliminating that big
play. “Seneca East passes a
little bit more. So, the name
the game with them is to give Parks, the quarterback, some time to throw it
downfield, that's kind of their M.O. He
does a real nice job slinging all over the place.
I think that's a really nice skill guys back.
(Taylor) Young, their All-State guy, #1, they like to spread a
vertical and get them the ball,” he said. Published 9/04/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Faces Balanced Calvert
Monroeville plays at Tiffin
Calvert against the Senecas in non-conference football on Friday night.
They kicked off the season last week by beating Kansas Lakota (45-13)
in non-league play.
Coach Tylor Nester says they were good, but they could be better.
“We were happy with the kind of the result.
Still felt we left some things out there and as all coaches do you
nitpick and pick on things to improve, but we definitely have some things we
can improve on going into week two,” he said.
Calvert played last Thursday and beat Mohawk (28-27) to win their
first game.
Nester says they are a very good team.
“They beat a really solid Mohawk team.
We scrimmaged Mohawk a couple weeks prior, so that was really nice
win for coach (Mike) Lento over there for his first win at Calvert.
He did a nice job previously there at Lakota.
Calvert, they have got nice team,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday evening, “They are really big up front with the Moyer twins and
a couple other guys there. I
know the quarterback is new, but he can sling that ball all over the place.
They've got skill guys to kind of match that and obviously they got
their running back (Cal) Warnement coming back as a senior that is pretty
physical.”
Nester says they need to be prepared to contain a balanced Calvert
attack. “It's really kind of
pick your poison because like I said with their skill they can spread that
field and go down field and they had quite a few big plays in their
scrimmages and against Mohawk, which kind of put them over the top.
They also have that ability to run the ball.
So, we have got to be prepared to slow their run game down and keep
those big plays in front of us,” said Nester. Published 8/29/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Not Looking Ahead
Monroeville will take to the road to face Lakota in a non-conference
game on Friday night on the opening weekend of the season.
When asked if they were ready to go, coach Tylor Nester says not yet.
“I just had somebody in the hallway that was asking the same thing
and I told him no and they looked at me a little bit weird.
We have two more days of practice.
So, obviously practice (Wednesday) and then a tune up on (Thursday),
but we want to continue to get better each and every practice,” said
Nester.
Nester says the Raiders will pose some challenges because they are an
athletic team. “They are very
athletic and they have a lot of good size. I
know Ryan (Lozier) over there. He's
a first year coach, but he's been on staff there a couple of years, so
they've got a lot of continuity with their coaches and running a similar
system,”: he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They've got
some size and some athletes that are returning. The
(Grant) Bomer kid is a little bit of running back, kind of slot receiver for
them and he's really good and then their wide receiver number #4 there he
can get open and he can be deadly if we don't keep them in front of us.”
Monroeville, a runner-up in the Firelands Conference last fall, and
chosen by a media panel to finish third this year, can certainly have an
excellent season.
Nester says it all starts Friday night.
“Kicking off that season with a good start will kind of propel us
into there, but we just we've got to take care of business and not look too
far ahead there. Definitely
would like to perform to the best of our ability and take every play one rep
at a time,” he said. Published 8/21/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Has Experience
Monroeville was the runner up in the Firelands Conference last
season, losing to arch rival Norwalk St. Paul on the final week of the
regular season in the unofficial conference title game.
This year the Eagles return a lot of that talent.
Coach Tylor Nestor says that has made the preseason go pretty
smoothly. “Yeah, I mean it's
always nice to have an experience back.
It made this offseason install stuff go heck of a lot quicker and
we’ll add some stuff to that. The
group we’ve got back a lot of those kids have been playing some of them
since their freshman year and some of them their sophomore year, so that
experience is always nice to have,” said Nestor.
Almost two weeks into camp, Nestor likes what he sees from this
year’s team. “Definitely
like the progress through the seven on sevens obviously the competition
aspect and then turn it over into our two a days and our scrimmage last
week. Really excited about our
progress and excited with what we can do against Margaretta this week,” he
said.
Their first game will be August 23 at Kansas Lakota in non-conference
play.
There is some talk about how good Monroeville can be, but Nestor says
they aren’t listening to the noise. “I
mean our expectations have been the same since we started.
We wanted to compete and win a Firelands Conference championship and
continue to fight forward and get better every single day,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Those expectations haven't changed.
Kind of our focus within practice wise is just competing and fighting
for a spot and getting in there on Friday nights.” Published 8/14/24 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Must be Disciplined
More times than not the matchup between Monroeville and Norwalk St.
Paul has had a great bearing on who wins the Firelands Conference and this
season is no different.
They play Friday night at St. Paul and to the winner goes the
outright title.
Monroeville coach Tylor Nester says they are excited for the
opportunity. “I mean it's
exciting week for our players. We're
just talking (Tuesday) the things they did in the offseason and leading up
to this it's all about them and the opportunity that they created for
themselves for Friday night,” said Nestor.
Monroeville (7-2,5-0) is at Nowalk St. Paul (5-4,5-0) on Friday
night.
Nester says the Flyers are more a treat to throw the ball this year.
“It's a typical coach (John) Livengood St. Paul team. I
mean they're physical up front on offense and defense.
Then they have a stable of running backs,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “A little bit different this year is
they’ve got the passing game going. So,
they're more balanced than they have been in the past couple of years.”
St. Paul has run for almost 2,800 yards this year, lead by Josh Pocos
with 1,132 yards and 15 TDs. Drew
Kuhnle has completed 64% of his passes and has thrown seven scoring passes.
Nester says they have to be on their keys and have great eye
discipline. “That's a real key
focus for us is being disciplined, getting all 11 to the ball and then do
our job defensively. I mean same
thing offensively being disciplined and limiting the penalties and continue
to chug away,” he said.
The St. Paul defense has gotten much better as the season has played
out. They have allowed only four
scores in their last four conference games.
Nester says they have solid personnel.
“(Tristan) Nikoli does a really good job up front and their
linebackers (Ben) Burger and (Jack) Stieber come down really, really good
and they have they have got (Casper) Caizzo. I think this is the first year
he's played in a while, but he's pretty quick there on that defensive line
for him also,” said Nestor. Published 10/18/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
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Monroeville
Faces Physical Plymouth
Monroeville, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference, is at home
for the Plymouth Big Red in a conference game on Friday night.
They share first place in conference with rival Norwalk St. Paul.
They play at St. Paul next week.
The Eagles (6-2,4-0) beat Mapleton (35-26) last week.
Coach Tylor Nester says they played well early in the game.
“We were pleased with the first half.
A little bit disappointed in a couple of things in that second half,
but I mean credit goes to Mapleton, they've got some good athletes and the
coach does a nice job down there,” he said.
Monroeville hosts Plymouth (2-6,0-4) on Friday night.
Plymouth lost a non-conference game (49-14) to Lucas last week.
Nester says Plymouth has some physicality.
“They are big and physical up front, kind of anchored there by Noah
Robinson. They have got some
skill in the backside,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening
“They can be deadly if they put a couple things together.
The offensive line gets off the ball well.
Defensively, they are really physical, so they have got some things
going for them.”
With St. Paul looming next week, this could be a trap game.
Nester says it won’t be. “We
talk every week and all the off season is we have got to take advantage of
the opportunity, the moments that are right in front of us.
Right now, we've got another day of practice (Thursday) and then take
care of business on Plymouth. We
won't start talking St. Paul wise until Saturday after our film
breakdown,” said Nester. Published 10/12/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Monroeville
Must Contain Mapleton
Monroeville, the co-leader of the Firelands Conference, will be at
home for the Mapleton Mounties in a conference game on Friday night.
The Eagles share the lead with Norwalk St. Paul and play them on week
10 of the season.
Down by six with just over 7:00 to play last week, Monroeville would
score twice to beat Western Reserve (44-36) in a conference game.
Coach Tylor Nester says it was a white knuckler.
“Just a deep breath and heart attack in the in the fourth quarter
and we're able to revive ourselves and come out on top,” he said.
Nester says they were able to get big plays in crunch time.
“We had a lot of kids step up obviously.
The numbers and the stats don't do justice, but Evan (Benfer) had a
heck of a game. He was able to
put a shoulder down at times and get yards after contact, but our offensive
line and defensive line they played their heart out,” said Nester.
Benfer scored twice in the final six minutes of the game.
Monroeville (5-2,3-0) plays host to Mapleton (4-3,2-2) on Friday
night. The Mounties beat South
Central (37-6) last week in game that last just two quarters due the tragic
death of a Mapleton student during homecoming activities.
Nester says this is team better than its record.
“Their record isn't indicative of what they have accomplished and
how good a team they are. We
were just talking about that at our staff meeting, the players that they
have got, their quarterback coming back (Kollin) Cline and (Luke) Pryor at
that running back. They're tough
runners, downhill runners, and they've improved.
I mean 4-3 doesn't do them justice facing tough competition along the
road.”
Nestor says on defense they are going to have to have a lot of eye
discipline on Friday night. “There
is a lot of motion. Actually,
their head coach there Matt (Stafford), he taught here a couple of years and
came from Black River so those things that he had over there he took down to
Mapleton with him, a really good guy,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday evening, “Words can’t describe what they’re going through down
there. We just want to say we're
praying for them and we're with them in that aspect.” Published 10/04/23 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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First Source for Everything Sports |
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Monroeville
to Play Western
Monroeville, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference make a visit
to Western Reserve on Friday night for a conference game with the
Roughriders.
In a non-conference game last week, the Eagles lost (31-28) to Lucas
last Friday.
Coach Tylor Nestor says have some good takeaways from that game.
“It was a playoff type atmosphere and that's what we wanted.
Hats off to those guys for pulling through.
Coach (Scott) Spitler does a tremendous job there obviously for the
last couple of years, for quite a few years but actually, and we learned a
lot coming out of that,” said Nestor.
Monroeville (4-2,2-0) is at Western Reserve (5-1,2-1) on Friday.
The Riders fell out of share of the conference lead when they lost
Saturday night (28-14) at Norwalk St. Paul in conference play.
Nestor says they have a very good running attack.
“Obviously, Conner Dawson does a heck of a job for them.
It not limited to him, obviously the quarterback is involved in
there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Their offensive
line is big and physical. Baylog
kind of anchors that line, one of their pulling guards.
Coach (Ty) Stevenson once again does a nice job preparing his team
week to week.”
When it comes to Dawson, the “FC” leader in rushing yards, Nestor
says pursuit is he key. “Get
as many hats to him as possible,” 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
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Monroeville
Faces Run Heavy Lucas
Monroeville, one of the Firelands Conference leaders, entertains
Lucas in a non-conference football game on Friday night.
The Eagles have won four of their first five, including a (41-6)
beating of South Central in a conference game last week.
They have piled up the rushing yards and coach Tylor Nester says they
have had strong play in the trenches and their backs run hard.
“It's a combination of our front five, sometimes six, and sometimes
seven, they're creating some of those holes and the combination of having
Evan Benfer and Landon Roeder putting that nose down and putting their
shoulder there and getting those extra yards and continuing in, it’s that
combination. You can't leave out
the wide receivers on the edge because a lot of that big play potential is
that wide receivers blocking downfield, so really it's a whole team effort
there,” he said.
Benfer and Roeder are both in the top five in the Firelands
Conference in rushing yards.
This may be the first meeting between the Eagles and Cubs.
What Nestor knows for sure is Lucas is a very good power run team.
“The kids were asking me actually if this is the first time we ever
played them. As far as I know
and our AD knows this is the first kind of ever meeting unless were wrong.
We've seen Lucas over the last couple of years.
Just kind of on film here and there and watching the playoffs.
They're Lucas and they're going to come at you, they're going to
attack you and they're going to test you three yards at a time and can you
handle that that aggressive downhill running attack,” said Nestor.
Nestor says they have spent a lot of time this week making sure their
defense understands its assignment. “Yeah,
it's a challenge for the scout team because it's something a little bit
foreign to these to these kids, especially with what they watch football on
TV,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “So, to get them
into the mindset has been a key for us.
I mean facing Plymouth and obviously facing Lucas, with that
type of offense, getting them to understand kind of what their role is even
more than we already talked about, but getting them to figure that out and
getting the realistic look throughout the week has been key.” Published 9/22/23 © Swankonsports.com Our scoreboard updated every five minutes On
Friday night at www.swankonsportshosting247.com |
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Margaretta
Explodes in Second Half; Downs Monroeville
Jake Leibacher scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half and
Margaretta rallied from a one point halftime deficit to down Monroeville
(57-43) in a division IV district semifinal at Willard High School on
Tuesday night.
The Polar Bears (21-3) face South Central (18-7) for the district
title Friday night back at Willard. The
Trojans beat Lucas (44-41) on Tuesday.
Monroeville led (22-21) at halftime, but Leibacher would tally four
field goals in the first 2:37 of the third quarter leading a (10-0) run buy
the Bears.
Margaretta coach Steve Keller says he was a little pumped up at
halftime and he let the players know it.
“There was a little bit of passion and intensity.
These guys have been with us for a long time and they went out and
they really played with that intensity and fire in the second half.
I am very appreciative and blessed.
They changed their mindset and got it done in the second half.
Kudos to Monroeville. They
did a great job in the first half. They
came out to beat us, but in the second half we were able to finish it,”
said Keller.
Monroeville (18-6) started like a house on fire.
Isaac Roeder had 17 points in the first half, 13 in the second
quarter, and the Eagles led by as many as seven (22-15) after a Roeder three
with 1:46 to play in the half.
He finished the night with a team high 24.
“We came out well. Isaac
carried us on offense, but at the end of the day we had five guys playing
defense. We were in their face
and contested every shot and made every shot difficult for them,” said
Monroeville coach Paul Roeder.
Leibacher is the district 6 division IV player of the year and last
week became Margaretta’s all-time leading scorer.
Keller says he and the rest of the team had better focus and
intensity in the second half of the game.
“I have seen him do a lot, but his mindset in was right in the
second. I am not going to lie, I
got after him. He is a four-year
guy for me and it has to start with him and every time I have gotten on that
kid, he has responded and he responded in a big way.
I just told him that big time players make big time plays,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the game, “(Isaac) Roeder did it in the first
half. He had 17 I think at half
and he finished I think with 22, so we did a much better job in the second
half. We are thankful we just
had a lot of guys do a lot of good things.
Defensively, we switched things up late in the first half, early
second half, and it really, really helped us to be able to make plays and
get stops.”
Coach Roeder says they kind of ran out of gas a little bit in the
second half and when Margaretta started to get in high gear, they found it
difficult to keep up. “Leibacher
came out strong. I think what
happened we kind of wore out. Early
in the third quarter they hit a couple of shots.
Leibacher got going and we didn’t have help side defense to help
contest his shots. Once they got
going, they got confidence and put us on our heels and we just could not
keep up with them. I am proud of
my team, they didn’t quit. This
is our first time here. Margaretta
has been here before. It’s an
experience for us. We learned a
lot. I am proud of my seniors,
proud of my team, they accomplished a lot this year, a lot to be proud of.
I want to give coach Keller credit.
They have five nice players on the floor.
They put a lot of pressure on all five of our spots.
They took a advantage of some of our weak areas,” said Roeder.
Margaretta beat South Central (69-51) on January 22, but Keller says
they have to sort of forget about that now.
“Listen, they are a good basketball team.
They are well coached. It
is kind of the same scenario that we had (Tuesday) night, regular season is
regular season, it means nothing. We
have to be ready to go Friday night and get after it,” he said. Published 3/02/22 © 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 |
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Monroeville
Hosts Independence in Playoff Opener
Monroeville, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference, kickoffs the
non-postseason playoffs with a home game Friday night against Independence
in the second round of the division VII playoffs.
Last week, neither team played, as they both had byes.
Eagles coach Scott Stacher says he has never had to deal with such a
thing before and they did some different things to keep the kids loose, but
still focused on the task at hand. “It
was very weird. Never had a bye
week in all of my coaching days, playing days as well, a weird gig.
We focused a lot on getting back to fundamentals.
Did a lot of fundamental drills like we did in camp and two a days.
Focused on Independence and some of the things that they did.
We mixed in some fun things, we played a little trash football,
played a little kickball, so we got through the week pretty well I think and
the kids stayed focused and brought us into this week and focused on
Independence,” said Stacher.
Independence, like Monroeville, is (5-1) on the season.
Their only loss coming to unbeaten Wickliffe.
Stacher says they have experience on their roster and they are also
an athletic team. “They are a
very good football team, they are very solid.
They have a lot of athletes on their team, a lot of them are in that
5’10” to 6’1” range and are 175 to 200 and can move around.
A couple of defensive linemen that are pretty good, a couple of
linebackers, the quarterback is decent.
All around a solid team. They
were a playoff team last year, a very senior heavy team, so we have our work
cut out for us, but we do have some experience as well with our seniors and
look forward to the challenge,” he said.
Independence likes to run the spread and their approach to the game
might be a little like South Central of the Firelands Conference.
However, Stacher says they are certainly a different kind of team
than the Eagles are in their makeup. “I
would put them in the same category maybe of a South Central, but no
disrespect to South Central, but across the board their players are, maybe
not as big on the front line, but skill wise a little bit bigger and a
little more athletic, even though South Central is athletic.
It’s the same type of offense there, a spread offense,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They play a lot on turf.
They are an odd front defense that blitzes a lot, kind of an opposite
of what we are. They don’t see
any team that line up against them like we do and run the ball downhill and
playing on grass. Just some
different things, so kind of a contrast of two different worlds meeting on
Friday night.” Published 10/15/20 © 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
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Monroeville
Wants it All
Monroeville has a chance to win an outright Firelands Conference on
Friday night if they can beat arch rival Norwalk St. Paul in the renewal of
the best small school football rivalry in Northern Ohio.
Right now, Monroeville (5-0,5-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the small school division, leads St. Paul and
Crestview by a game. Crestview
plays Plymouth on Friday.
Last week, Monroeville beat Mapleton (35-16) in a conference game.
Coach Scott Stacher believes they were kind of looking ahead to this
week. “We played sloppy at
times, but I think they had a little bit of St. Paul on their minds, but
Mapleton is much improved. It
was good to get a win. It was
good to get a piece of the Firelands Conference and now it’s the whole
piece of the pie with St. Paul,” he said.
That isn’t necessarily written in stone.
There is a seventh conference game hanging out there to be played
after the playoffs are over. Sources
inside the Firelands Conference tell Swankonsports.com that if all four of
those week seven matchups are played then that game would count in the
conference standings. In
Monroeville’s case that game is against Crestview.
The others would be St Paul versus Mapleton, South Central and New
London and Plymouth taking on Western Reserve.
In all cases the logistics would have to be worked out to set a date
for the game.
Norwalk St. Paul (4-1,4-1) lost by one point to Western Reserve
(20-19) two weeks ago, but rallied last week to beat a good Plymouth team
(35-6) on Saturday night.
Stacher says St. Paul kids always believe in themselves.
“They are just darn good. They
are very good. They are
disciplined. They have been the
system. John and the coaching
staff do an excellent job. They
have tradition. They don’t
want to be the team that loses. They
want to be winners,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They do
all of the right things. They
keep plugging in kids at positions and play well and very disciplined.
They are good offensively and defensively, no doubt about it.”
St. Paul quarterback Myron Stoll has been hurt and did not play at
all last week against Plymouth and the Flyers went with a wildcat look.
Stacher says they will be ready for whatever St. Paul throws at them.
“Our defensive coordinator Tyler Nester and Brad Dunlap and Chris
McDonald, our defensive guys have seen it before.
They ran wildcat against us in the playoff game for years ago.
Unless John goes to five wide spread, I’m sure there are things we
haven’t seen. They are going
to do what they do best. They
are going to run the ball and throw a little bit just like we do.
So, I think that is going to be the matchup,” said Stacher. Published 10/01/20 © 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 |
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“FC”
Leading Monroeville at Mapleton
Monroeville stands alone atop the Firelands Conference standings
entering week five as they travel to Mapleton to face the improving Mounties
on Friday night.
A win would give at least a part of the conference title to the
Eagles, or it might not. They
play arch rival Norwalk St. Paul next week, but also hanging in the balance
is a possible meeting with Crestview, who like the Flyers and the Plymouth
Big Red, stand a game behind Monroeville in the conference standings.
This has been a football season filled with more question marks than
a final exam in philosophy written by Descartes.
Monroeville (4-0,4-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, put itself in this position by beating
Plymouth (20-12) last week at Marsh Field.
Coach Scott Stacher describes it as war.
“It is always what coach Genders referred to it as trench warfare.
Yeah, it was a battle in the trenches.
It was just one of those old school type football games that you love
to go see,” he said.
A fourth quarter touchdown run by Eli Ott was the difference.
Ott leads the Eagles in rushing with 440 yards and five scores.
Monroeville has not won a conference title since 2006 under legendary
coach Steve Ringholtz and Stacher says they have to take it one game at a
time. “It is kind of weird to
hear that actually. This
week’s opponent Mapleton is one of those slug it out, trench warfare kind
of teams,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They have done a
great job with their wing-T offense. I
have been around wing-T for a longtime, so it is kind of old school as well.
We have got just one game at a time and grind it out and give it our
best effort.”
Mapleton (1-3,1-3) beat South Central (50-32) as Bryer Ramey piled up
166 yards and three TD’s for the Mounties, who have been improving with
their wing-T offense.
Stacher says they want to play keep away from Mapleton.
“My philosophy is if we can run the ball and keep it away from them
and do our thing on offense our defense with coach Nestor, coach Dunlap and
coach McDonald has our defense
playing really well right now. Offensively
if we can keep the ball and stay free from mistakes, I think we should be in
pretty good shape,” he said. Published 9/24/20 © 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 |
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Monroeville
Wants to Keep the Ball Away Form Plymouth
The winner of the Monroeville versus Plymouth game could find itself
alone in first place in the Firelands Conference at the end of the weekend
and at worst will be in a share of the top stop.
The two teams meet Friday night at Marsh Field in Monroeville.
They share first place right now with Norwalk St. Paul, who hosts
Western Reserve on Saturday night.
Monroeville (3-0,3-0) outscored South Central four scores to one in
the second half last week and buried the Trojans (41-19) on the road.
Coach Scott Stacher says they put things together after some halftime
adjustments. “We made some
adjustments at halftime and played a little bit better.
We started off good and then things got a little bit ugly and we just
didn’t do what we need to do to get the job done.
We had a blocked punt to help turn things around and then we also got
a pick six that helped us and then got our offense rolling.
So, the second half was much, much better for us,” said Stacher.
The Monroeville coach says those scores by the special teams and
defense kind of got the offense energized.
“We needed a jump start somewhere.
We started off an got two touchdowns and just kind of sputtered and
those definitely helped us get going again,” he said.
Plymouth (3-0,3-0) got busy at halftime too and beat Mapleton last
week (36-22) in a conference game. Shae
Sparks ran for a school record 390 yards on the night.
The Big Red has thrown four TD passes this year too out of the double
tight, double wing and Stacher says they execute well.
“They are still a really good football team bringing back quite a
few guys. They do run that Lucas
Cub offense they brought in and they run it very well and they have the guys
to do it. They have passed some
this year though,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They have had
some big play opportunities and they have capitalized on it.
That jump starts their offense too and once they get ahead, they get
in that rugby scrum and they can grind out a whole quarter if they have
to.”
When you play Plymouth, you have work very hard to contain that
running game and lots of times they still score.
Stacher says they want to keep it out of their hands.
“That is how they get quite a few of their yards.
They get in that middle and that back is so good and gets lost in
that scrum and then bounces out and he is super fast and away he goes. You
have to pay attention to that. As
far as we are concerned, we have to possess the ball on offense and
capitalize when we have the ball. It’s
almost a matter of who has the ball last wins the game.
It is going to be a really exciting game at Marsh Field,” said
Stacher. Published 9/16/20 © 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 |
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Monroeville Plays at South Central Monroeville, one of the leaders in the Firelands Conference, plays down at South Central on Friday night on week three. Monroeville (2-0,2-0) drilled New London (42-12) last week. Coach Scott Stacher thinks his Eagles got better in all areas on week two. “We were pretty pleased with last week. We came out and didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot so much and played well. Kind of combined things, ran the ball pretty well, passed the ball well, we played really good defense and special teams. We still have a lot of room to get better, a lot of things to clean up, back to work against South Central,” said Stacher. South Central (0-2,0-2) has lost a couple of close ones to the two other conference leaders in Norwalk St. Paul (14-6) and Plymouth (42-28) last week. Stacher believes the Trojans do a lot of things well, especially on offense. “The Trojans are good. Every team does something well and they do the RPO in their passing game really well. Legg was a super quarterback last year, but this sophomore kid looks pretty good. He is getting better and better and they have a lot of weapons,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Also, they have pretty good offensive and defensive lines. They easily could have won both of those games. So, they are a pretty good team no doubt.” South Central has lost likely their best player in David Lamoreaux for the season with a broken collar bone. He has suffered the same injury four times in his life, three times in the last six years. Stacher says they have some guys that fill that role, so he doesn’t believe they will stray too much from their game plan. “Lamoreaux is such a great player and I feel so sorry for him being his senior year. I hope he gets healthy quickly for the basketball season. It’s a rallying point for them. They are going to find guys and rally up. #25 that came in for him ran a punt back and he is very athletic and fast. They have a lot of skilled guys. They are going to be ready at home for the challenge,” said Stacher. Published 9/10/20 © 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 |
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Monroeville Must Get Better at Little Things Monroeville plays its home opener at Marsh Field on Friday night as they host the New London Wildcats in a Firelands Conference game. The Eagles appear to be contenders for the conference title this year. They railed from two scores down to beat defending champion Western Reserve (28-21) last week. Coach Scott Stacher says he wishes they would have been more consistent. “I don’t want to do that again with anybody, but especially Western. I think they are going to get better and better each week. We just dodged a bullet there. We didn’t play our best game. We had to turn it around and get moving and we did in the second half,” he said. When it comes to improvement, Stacher has a lot of things in mind. “It’s the little things for sure, better tackling, we need to get off the ball better, pad level needs to get lower, sustain blocks,” he told Swankonsports.com Thursday afternoon, “They have a really good quarterback at New London, #2, he does a really good job of throwing the ball, also he has really good feet and can run the ball. We have to do a better job at containing running backs and receivers. So, we have worked on a lot fundamentals this week again.” New London lost their opener (26-6) to Plymouth last week. Stacher says they have more than just quarterback Jamil Arnold. “They have some athleticism, they sure do, and they also have a good line, offensively and defensively. I think they have a 6’5” kid, a 6’7” kid on their line. They are fueled by that “O” line and “D” line plus their skilled players. We got beat by them last year, so hopefully we will play a better game this year and the tide will turn,” said Stacher. Published 9/04/20 © Swankonsports.com Keep up to the minute on Friday night scores On our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.com |
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Monroeville Visits Defending Champ Western Reserve In on of the more interesting matchups on week one of this shortened football season has Monroeville at Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game. Monroeville coach Scott Stacher says with all of the white noise around a key will be mental focus. “Right now, with kids going back to school in some schools and going back blended every other day, online, it is just going to throw a wrench into the kids as far as their structure. The mental part of it come Friday is going to be the big factor,” he said. In one of the biggest upsets of 2019, Monroeville shocked arch rival Norwalk St. Paul (13-0) in the last game of the regular season. Stacher hopes they can take some momentum from that, but he says they have to continue to work hard. “Actually, we have got a two game winning streak when you consider Mapleton and St. Paul, but the big one was St. Paul. To beat them on their home field that we haven’t beat them on forever is fueling us into this year. We are remembering that game, but yet we are not sitting back and counting on that game for all of our confidence. We know we have to go out and play hard because, hey, we only won three games last year and you are facing the champs right off the get go. So, we have been working hard and we have to work harder. Western is a good team and we just have to come out and play our brand of football, eliminate mistakes and see what happens,” said Stacher. Monroeville will have some experience back this year and Stacher says that is a big plus for them. “The kids have worked hard in camp. We are bringing back quite a few kids. Keeping healthy for the most part. It’s good to have kids back that have been around for four years, some of them two, three year starters. So, that helps is this situation when the only thing that is the same is chaos and you don’t know from day to day. So, those seniors are helping out a lot to keep our younger kids calmed down,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday morning, “I have told the kids this, the past is in the past, you never get to see sometimes what the future brings, but today is the present. What is a present? It’s a gift. So, each day we are out there playing, practicing, scrimmaging, playing a game on Friday night is a gift. So, we have been approaching each day that we have a gift given to us, we try and enjoy it and work hard at what we are doing.” Western is coming off an outright conference title last season. Stacher believes they are ready to reload. “They are a very well coached team. Ty and their assistant coaches do a very good job. They do have skilled players back. Their quarterback and receiver are very good. They do have big guys back. It’s like they reload all of these big guys from Western every year. They are very disciplined and do a really good job with what they do. It’s going to be a good game. I hope we can come out and play the best we can and give them a run for their money. It is interesting that the first game is a Firelands Conference game. Again, we play the champs. Like they say, if you are going to be a champ, you have to beat the champs, so let’s go at it Friday night and see where we are at,” said Stacher. Published 8/27/20 © 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 |
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Monroeville Taking Momentum into Week 3 Monroeville, with a win under its belt, heads for Margaretta and a non-conference game with the Polar Bears on Friday night. After Sandusky St. Mary’s canceled its season and moved to 8-man football, it looked like the Eagles were going to be idle last week, until something was put together at the last minute with Portsmouth Notre Dame. Monroeville drilled the Titans (41-0) last Saturday and coach Scott Stacher says it felt pretty good. “It was great to have a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “I apricate them for coming up. Both were kind of, I don’t want to say, victims of eight man football and some of that stuff. It was great to get a win. The kids responded well from a week one loss and we got our ground game going and played excellent defense. All in all, it was a great win for us and great for the community to have a home game,” The defense was outstanding for the Eagles and Stacher says it was led by the play of the defensive line. “We are sparse in numbers this year and we are young, but our D-line is coming up big right now and playing really well. We will learn as we go. We told the kids, just get better each quarter. I know Margaretta presents some problems for us. We are going to dig and get down and see what happens,” he said. Monroeville (1-1) plays at Maragretta (0-2) and coming off a (29-12) loss to Western Reserve, also of the Firelands Conference. Stacher says the Bears are a good team and he expects to get Margaretta’s best effort of the season on Friday. “I think we will see everything they have got. I think they are a good team. Number 11, their receiver, is excellent, the quarterback is shifty, they have a big offensive and defensive line. Yeah, 0-2 is not fooling us, they are a good football team, they have just had some slow starts, but I think we are going to get the best out of them for 48 minuets,” said Stacher. Published 9/13/19 © 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 |
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Monroeville Having Fun; Ready to go Monroeville, a younger football team this year, opens the season on Friday night by hosting the Tiffin Calvert Senecas of the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference in a non-conference game. After a long preseason consisting of almost a month, coach Scott Stacher says they are ready to go and see what happens on Friday night. “They are ready to strap it on and play under the lights. It has been grind for the extra days of two a days. Last week’s scrimmage (versus Seneca East) I don’t want to say lackluster, but they were flat. They are ready for the game man, let’s bring it on,” he said. Monroeville has traditionally been a solid small school football program and this year Stacher says it has been a fun group to work with. “We are small in numbers this year, but was have a lot of character and a lot of characters. There is never day that goes by in practice where we are not laughing at something and having fun with it. They are inexperienced, but if they get a couple of games under their belt. They are working super hard, their work ethic is good. I think we are going to compete in every game and even give some teams some problems and I hope that starts with week one,” said Stacher. Calvert won the River Division a year ago and Stacher says they are going to be a big challenge again this season. “Calvert is really sound. We have scouted them and watched them on film. They are defending “SBC” River Division champions and are predicted to win it this year. They are strong and athletic,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We matched up with them well last year until about midway through the third quarter and we allowed them to house a kickoff return and then we fumbled a kickoff and there was a 14-point swing there in about a minute. We hope to keep up with them this year. We’ll keep pounding away and get a couple of breaks and hopefully come up with a victory.” Published 8/29/19 © Swankonsports.com You can click on our listen line anytime for the latest in local sports http://station.voscast.com/4d7034c15733f/ |
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Monroeville With No Week Two Monroeville will begin the season next week against always good Tiffin Calvert in a non-conference game, but as it stands now they do not have a week two opponent. That was created when Sandusky St. Mary’s announced last month they did not have enough players to field an 11-man team, which put everyone on their schedule into pearl with little time to find an opponent. As far as their preparation, Eagles coach Scott Stacher says he would rather start the season this week, rather than next, a quirk in the calendar gave schools an extra week of preseason. “I would love to get going this week. It has just thrown a little bit of a wrench into it. Some teams started like the 4 th or 5 th of August, kind of regular. We went on the first. We got an extra scrimmage day in, so I think it will help us. We have a lot of young kids we are playing. The experience does help, but I sure would have liked to have this week as week one, that’s for sure,” said Stacher. In terms of their progression this preseason, Stacher says they are trying to fine tune the younger kids they have on their roster in 2019. “We are seeing some improvement. We are going to be starting a lot of younger kids. This year we are down in numbers, we have got 27, which is kind of a trend all over the place, lack of participation in football and teams even going to eight-man, but I like what I see. One of our players said you can only play 11 at a time. As long as our best 11 are on the field and we are healthy, we will be okay,” he said. When it comes to week two, Stacher says as of right they will be idle unless something comes up rather quickly for the Eagles. “We are still looking right now, so we are scratching and clawing and chasing rumors and this and that trying to get a week two. I think it is going to be a trend. The state has got to get a handle on this, they are way behind the eight ball and the curve,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Teams each week could play and eight-man game, an 11-man game. It is really going to screw up the points. It is going to be crazy this year. We are still looking and hopefully in the next week or so we can find one.” Published 8/22/19 © 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 |
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Monroeville Must Beat St. Paul When Monroeville and Norwalk St. Paul play each one wants to win really bad and that is what makes a rivalry, but this season the Eagles must win Friday night at home to have any chance to make the division seven playoffs. They stand tenth in their region and they have to land in the top eight to make the postseason. They beat Plymouth (14-11) last week in what was sort of a war of attrition, according to Monroeville coach Scott Stacher. “We are very excited to come out on top in that one. We made some mistakes, had a touchdown called back. Plymouth is a tough opponent and our defense played lights out. Hats off to coach Nester, coach Dunlap, and coach McDonald for coming up with a game plan for our defense. We had three stops inside the five, one on the one. Then Dominic Ruffing broke a 99-yard touchdown run, which is a school record now. That energized us for a 7-0 lead. The night was brutal with rain. Plymouth only attempted three passes and we only attempted five or six. It was a knock out drag out win the game in the trenches for sure,” said Stacher. Ruffing finished last week with 148 yards and a score. Monroeville (6-3,4-2) hosts Norwalk St. Paul (8-1,6-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division. The Flyers are coming off a (49-0) belting of Western Reserve last week. Stacher says this is just another very good St. Paul team. “St. Paul their consistency year after year. Seeing some stuff early on them and they have improved and they are usually very good to begin with. Not that they don’t improve every year, but I have seen marked improvement from them this year. They have a lot young players that are good and really improved. That impresses me most. The quarterback throws the ball really well. He is tall and he sees the field really well. Caizzo runs really hard and their line blocks really well. What impresses is all of the usual things,” he said. Cam Caizzo has 1,164 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. Noah Good adds 854 rushing yards and 13 scores. St. Paul quarterback Jake Griffin has thrown for 1,090 yards and 11 TD’s. Stacher says if you are going to beat St. Paul you have to be mistake free and that is their goal Friday night. “You have to make them do a lot of things they don’t want to do and hopefully our kids are up to the challenge this week. Again, we have to have some ball control element in there to limit their possessions. We just can’t make any mistakes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They usually don’t make mistakes and if they make one, we better capitalize on it and we better not make any mistakes ourselves. We are looking forward to a very good game. We are looking forward to protecting “The Marsh.” We have had our backs against the wall the last four weeks and have come out on top and we will see what happens this week. This is a playoff game for us and we want to give ourselves every chance we can to get in the playoffs.” Published 10/25/18 © 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 |
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It’s Ground and Pound for Monroeville and Plymouth Both Monroeville and Plymouth are old school football teams that want to be physical and run the football. They meet in Firelands Conference play at Alumni Field in Plymouth on Friday night. The Eagles are on a three game winning streak after outscoring Western Reserve (46-33) in a conference game last week. Coach Scott Stacher says they were consistent with the game plan and didn’t make a lot of mistakes. “We eliminated some mistakes and cleaned some things up and played really well against an improving Western Reserve team. I was really happy with the second half that we did play,” said Stacher. Monroeville accounted for over 400 rushing yards in the win over Western Reserve and Stacher says that is what they want to do. “That is every year. I am kind of an old school guy. I just want to control the line of scrimmage, run the ball really well and be efficient in the passing game,” he said. Running back Domoic Ruffing had 23 carries for 209 yards and four scores last week. Monroeville (5-3,3-2) is at Plymouth (4-4,2-3) in the Firelands Conference on Friday night. The Big Red scored every time they had it last week in a (63-33) belting of Mapleton. The Big Red had 482 yards rushing in the win. Stacher says both teams want to be physical and run the ball and it is going to be the team that does it the best that wins. “I’ll tell you what, coach Genders has them doing really well right now. They are a 4-4 ballclub. They have that offense, the old “Lucas Cub” or whatever you want to call it, the double tight, double wing. Their identity is still running the ball and they do a very good job of doing that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They pound it and it is going to be an exciting game Friday night. It is a war that is going to won in the trenches and may the best running team win and the one that makes the fewest mistakes,” Published 10/19/18 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Check out our scoreboard at www.swankonsportshosting247.comUpdated every five minutes on Friday nights |
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Monroeville Hurting itself Monroeville has the ability to make plays, but right now they are making too many negative plays to win games. They play at winless New London in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. Last week, they held a (20-19) lead in the second half, but ended up losing (33-20) to South Central in a conference game. Coach Scott Stacher says there were just too many turnovers and mistakes to have a chance to win in the end. “Another week of too many mistakes, self inflicted wounds. You just can’t win many ballgames when you are turning over the ball. We had four turnovers on Friday night. In a close game like that you just can’t do it, you just can’t do it,” he said. It is something they work on in practice all of the time, but Stacher says these turnovers and blown assignments are killing them. “It drives you nuts as a coach. One or two fumbles we lost on the center-quarterback exchange, an interception. Just turnovers all together. When you are trying to get better and you make mistakes whatever way, shape or form really doesn’t help the outcome of a game. We have just been our own worst enemy the last couple of weeks” said Stacher. Monroeville (2-3,0-2) plays at New London (0-5,0-2) on Friday night. The Wildcats have lost 12 in row and have not won a conference game since the eighth week of the 2016 season against Plymouth. Stacher stresses that the Wildcats are not void of talent. “They are getting better. They have some athletes on that team that make plays. They run a lot of defensive fronts that sometimes gives you fits because you don’t know exactly what they are going to be in. They have a couple of quarterbacks with a multiple system. They do a wildcat system,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We are preparing for them, but it is difficult when they are running so much stuff. We will get there. We are looking forward to minimizing and eliminating mistakes and coming out on top.” Published 9/26/18 © 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 |
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Better Execution for Monroeville Monroeville has to keep from hurting itself, if they can they can be a pretty good football team. They host the South Central Trojans in a Firelands Conference game at Marsh Field on Friday night. Last week, they gave up four scores in the first quarter and lost to Mapleton (44-22) in a conference game. Coach Scott Stacher says they just made too many mistakes. “They scored first, but we answered right back on a kickoff return. We made some mistakes, we had three fumbles and a pick and got two touchdowns called back, so you make that many mistakes and open that door that wide it is just tough to win football games,” said Stacher. He added they just have work in practice to clean things up. He says they have to be sharper. “It is an execution thing. In a lot of cases hats off to Mapleton. I mean they executed better than we did,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “Pharmer is one of the best, if not the best, we have seen in the five years I have been here. We have a big game coming up with South Central on Friday night.” Monroeville (2-2,0-1) hosts South Central (4-0,1-0) on Friday night. The Trojans stuffed Plymouth (22-7) in their conference opener and are off to their best start since 1982. Stacher says the Trojans are going to come into Marsh Field pumped up. “Again, we are going to have to take care of business. We are going to have to execute better than they are. They have learned how to win, they are 4-0. They are coming in riding pretty high and ranked pretty high in the regional and I think 12 th in the state,” said Stacher. The Eagles have been inconsistent this year. Stacher believes if they play the way they can they have a good chance to win. “It depends on what Monroeville team shows up. If we show up like we did against Margaretta and Calvert we will be okay. If we let things get to us and we don’t execute well we will find ourselves again on the losing end. We will have to bring it Friday night in order to come up with a conference win,” he said. Published 9/20/19 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday from 10 PM to midnight Click on the listen line at the top of the home page for audio |
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Monroeville Wants to Play Keep Away Monroeville and Mapleton are two teams that are hoping to compete with Norwalk St. Paul for the Firelands Conference title and they meet Friday night at Mapleton in the conference opener for both squads. It was a tremendous performance on both sides of the football for the Eagles last week in (46-16) win over Margaretta. Coach Scott Stacher says everything went pretty well against the Polar Bears. “It was a great win and it was a quality win as well. They are a good football team. They made some mistakes an we capitalized on them. We played probably the most complete game we have played in a long, long time. We played really good defensively and ran the ball well against them. They are going to win a lot of games this year,” he said. Monroeville (2-1) has gotten progressively better on offense. Stacher says they want to run the football. “We have done some good things we just have to minimize some mistakes. We have passed the ball a little bit and we have also ran the ball very well and played better defense this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “It is going to a clash between different entities when we play Mapleton because they have got the (Logan) Pharmer kid, who is an excellent quarterback. Probably the best quarterback we have seen for the last four years. It seems like he has been there for the last eight or 10. The kid is really good an they have some good receivers. We are probably going to see a classic run versus pass type game. It should be exciting for the fans.” Mapleton (2-1) is coming off a (21-11) win over Rittman in non-conference play last week. Pharmer is an All-Ohio quarterback and Stacher says they want to keep the ball away from him. “He gets the ball out quick. In two, two and half seconds the ball is out of his hands. Like an old coach once told me sometimes the best defense is two first downs. So, we want to keep the ball and keep it away from him,” he said. Published 9/12/18 © 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 page for audio |
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It needs to be the Good Monroeville Monroeville has had some ups and downs during this month and they need to be up when they play at Tiffin Calvert in a non-conference football game on Saturday night in Tiffin. Coach Scott Stacher says he has seen some good things during preseason camp, but he has seen some bad things too. “I would say our preseason was a rollercoaster. Some practices were good, some not so good. We had a scrimmage that was good, we had one that wasn’t so good. It is going to be dependent on what team shows up on Saturday night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “All in all, I guess we were pretty pleased with the progress that we made during preseason. Now it is time where the rubber meets the road and we will see what happens Saturday night.” Stacher says they need to be good play after play and that is something that isn’t easy to do, no matter what you are doing. “I think consistency is a part of life. I make fishing lures for a business. I have some people painting for me. That’s a big thing you have to paint the same lure consistently over and over and over again, just like football. You have to be able to run the same play over, over, and over very well and be consistent to win,” he said. Tiffin Calvert has a new guy calling the shots in Steve Reser, but Stacher says they are really doing a lot of the things they have been doing. “I expect the same commitment to excellence from them. A new coach in coach (Steve) Reser is coming in there running a spread system like Calvert has done in the past. They have some very good skilled players. They have a great running back, probably one of the best ones in Northwest Ohio. They quarterback is very shifty, a good receiver, and some big guys. They are tough, I mean, they are going to be a tough opponent,” said Stacher. Published 8/24/18 © 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 |
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Monroeville Must Have Win over Arch Rivals When Monroeville and Norwalk St. Paul play there is always something on the line and this year it is no different. For the Eagles, they must beat St. Paul on Saturday night at Whitney Field to make playoffs. If St. Paul wins, they win the Firelands Conference outright, if not, they might have to share it with Crestview. The Eagles (6-3,4-2) broke a two-game losing streak with a (40-36) win over Plymouth last Friday night. Coach Scott Stacher says he thought their passing game was a big factor in the win. “We broke a couple of long runs. We got some stops defensively. They run that double wing stuff very well. We both rush the ball very well. I think our passing, 7 for 10, made the difference. It was a great high school game Friday night,” he said. Norwalk St. Paul (9-0,6-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, and number one in the statewide media poll in division seven, is coming off a (44-12) win over Western Reserve. Stacher says they are very balanced and very solid on offense. “They are very efficient and very consistent. In order to beat them you have to be at your best and play the best game you possibly can defensively and offensively. They have gotten better at the passing game. I know that and they still run the ball very well. We have to be sound in all phases, particularly tackling for one. We just need to sustain our blocks and go back to basics. Hopefully, jump out and put some pressure on them,” said Stacher. St. Paul quarterback Nick Lukasko has become a very affective passer and Stacher says that makes the Flyers tough to defend. “They have a three year starter at quarterback and receivers on the edge. Their backs run hard. They are very well coached and very disciplined. They have been in the same system for 25 years and they are good at it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “They know what is expected of them. It is going to be a challenge for us. We have been in the system now for four years and the kids know. It is a rivalry game and it is going to be cold and anything can happen. We are just excited about playing on Saturday night. They are number one ranked in the state. We have a challenge, but we are up to it, we are excited about it.” It is one the best small school rivalries in the state and Stacher says they are looking toward Saturday night with great anticipation. “I don’t think in all of my years of coaching in regular season play I don’t think I have ever had the opportunity to play number one in the state. It is the only gig in town. It’s Saturday night and there are going to be a lot of extra people there. Even though it is not for all of the marbles as far as the league is concerned. I am a little disappointed there, but other than that for us to get into the playoffs means a lot. One of the coaches said something (Tuesday.) We have lost three games, but they will easily be forgotten if we beat St. Paul on Saturday night,” said Stacher. Published 10/25/17 © 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
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Monroeville Looking Forward Monroeville needs to stop the slide. They have lost two a row and they need to find the right gear again when they host Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. They lost to Western Reserve (44-21) last week and coach Scott Stacher isn’t going to sugar coat it. He says they did play well in any phase of the game. “That is a tough one to shake off. We didn’t play a really good game. We came out really well. You know Western came back on us and we didn’t have another answer to it. We tried, but it just wasn’t our night. We didn’t play good, sound, fundamental football in anything we did. You can’t look in the rearview mirror and focus is on the next game which is Plymouth,” said Stacher. Plymouth (4-4,3-2) won its last two, including a (35-28) win over Mapleton last week. They are now running the double tight, double wing offense made famous in North Central Ohio by Lucas. Stacher says he has some familiarity with what the Big Red is doing. “It is unique. I have seen it. I coached at Plymouth maybe 10 years ago and they were in the old single wing. It is little like the single wing, but it is more the double wing flexbone look that, well exactly, what Lucas is running,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They played Lucas and said I guess if we can’t beat them we will join them. They are running the offense very well. It is very different, it is a challenge for sure. Coach Genders has the right thing going there that’s for sure offensively.” One thing about the double wing is it can be difficult to find the ball carrier until it is too late. Stacher says they would like to keep the ball out that offense’s hands as much as they can. “That line of scrimmage is all important both offensively and defensively. They get that bulldozer effect or the train going forward it is tough to get to the back because they have him surrounded like a scrum and they are pushing from the back. It reeks havoc. An old coach told me once that the best defense is two first downs. We are going to have to keep it for more than two first downs. We have to keep the ball away from them and score on every possession we get,” said Genders. Published 10/20/17 © Swankonsports.com Like on Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1 PM
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Monroeville With a lot to Play For With three weeks left in the regular season everything is still on the table for the Monroeville Eagles. They play Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. The Eagles (5-2,3-1) fell out of a share of the conference lead with a (26-6) loss to the Crestview Cougars last week. Both of those schools now trail Norwalk St. Paul by a game. Coach Scott Stacher says against a very good Crestview defense they couldn’t get anything established. “We just couldn’t get anything going. We dropped a long pass there that would have been a touchdown early in the game, but it didn’t materialize. We shot ourselves a couple of times on some penalties. Credit them, they played good defense. That is their bread and butter this year. All of their returning lettermen were on defense and we knew that going in. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” said Stacher. Monroeville is currently tenth in its division seven computer region. The top eight qualify for the postseason. Stacher says everything is still in front of them. “That is what we told the kids. The season is broken up to like three parts. The first part everybody is excited, nobody has played a game, there is no record, and you are excited about playing. The middle of the season you are in a grind and trying to get somewhere. Now, you are either playing for pride or you have some stuff on the plate,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We could still achieve a playoff spot, which we all want, and a crack week 10 at the conference championship. Everything is right there we just need to play much better, take care of the fundamentals and the little things, and see what happens Friday against Western.” Western Reserve (3-4,2-2) lost a tough one to South Central last week. Their final drive stalled at the one-yard line as time expired. Stacher knows what to except from the Roughriders. “He has them play Stoll ball. They are running the football hard. 44 (Gavin Braden) runs very hard, he is a very good running back and they do some other things well too. It is a typical Firelands game with three yards and a cloud of dust, it might be mud this week. I think the key to victory is who makes fewest mistakes and jumps out on top and continues to play hard will win the game,” he said. Published 10/12/17 © 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
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Big One for Monroeville and Crestview Monroeville visits Crestview for a very important game in the Firelands Conference on Friday night. The Eagles are tied with Norwalk St. Paul for first place in the conference with Crestview a game back after a (38-7) loss to St. Paul last Friday. Monroeville, on the other hand, drilled New London (55-13) in a conference game at their place. Coach Scott Stacher says they are playing well, but they aren’t satisfied. “We are playing some pretty good football, but we have a lot of work to do yet. Some mistakes, some little things we need to clean up. I think that will be the tale of this game Friday night who plays the most fundamentally sound football, makes the fewest mistakes. Whoever plays that kind of game will win,” he said. After the loss to St. Paul, Stacher believes Crestview is going to be inspired to play Friday night. “I think they are going to be ready to roll, ready to play. Coach Mager has done a great job and their coaching staff. When you get 88 kids out to play football that is a big deal. We are playing them on the road and they play good football. They play very sound and do things very well. So, we are going to have to play a much better game to go in there and beat them on their home field,” said Stacher. With the Crestview option offense, Stacher says you have to be disciplined on defense, plus they want to use that running game to play a little keep away with the Cougars. “Discipline in the name of the game. You have to be gap sound. They do a lot of shifting, a lot of motion. We have to disciplined on offense to and try and keep the ball away from them. It has always been a close game the last few years. I don’t see any difference this Friday. It is always a great game and it should be a good Friday night football game,” he said. This is an elimination game in the Firelands Conference. If Crestview loses their title hopes are over. Stacher says these are the kinds of games you want to be part of. “What both teams have worked for all year is to get into games like this. We told our kids this week that it is a big game and this is what you have worked for since January 1, the lifting, the camps, the summer, two a days, and all of that, is to put yourself in this position,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Both teams still have a chance to win the league. It is what you live for, it is what you coach for, and as athlete it is what you play for. So, bring it on.” Published 10/06/17 © 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
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Monroeville Can Pass Too Monroeville has developed a reputation as a powerhouse running team, and that is well deserved, but they know they have to be able to throw the ball too in order to be consistently successful. They host New London in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night. Last week, the Eagles (4-1,2-0) demolished South Central (45-7) in a conference game amassing more than 500 yards on the ground for the second straight week. Coach Scott Stacher says they were able to throw it some too. “We couldn’t have come out any better in scoring in our first two or three possessions. We did run the football affectively and we also passed the football. I think we were 10 or 11 of 14, so for us that is pretty darn good and we will take that every night passing with that efficiency and 170 yards passing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We did what we needed to do. We played really well defensively and limited them to minimal yards. I think it was another learning experience for us. Each week we are going to have to get better playing in the Firelands.” Although the Eagles want to count on their run game, Stacher says they have to be able to pass too or the opponent is going to make it more difficult for them to run the ball. “We need to be more efficient in the passing game to keep our running game opened up. If we can’t we are going to get 11 guys packed in the box and it is going to be hard to run. We do have to have some sort of balance that’s for sure,” he said. It has been a week of turmoil at New London (1-5,0-2) resulting in the mid-season resignation of head coach Brad Pickens. The Wildcats have lost back to back games in the conference in which they have not scored. Norwalk St. Paul beat them (63-0) in their first conference game and Western Reserve hammered them (49-0) last week. The New London administration has had no comment about the situation other than to say Pickens remains as a member of the teaching staff. Girls’ basketball coach Eric Mitchell is the interim coach. Stacher says it will be important for them to maintain their focus in the game with New London. “They have not played well. I think they are a young team. They have some new kids that are playing football and some kids that didn’t go out. In high school football every year that dynamic changes and you never know what’s going to happen at the beginning of the year let alone mid season. They are trying to find their identity. We just have to maintain what we are doing because after this week we have four really tough games going down the stretch,” said Stacher. Published 9/28/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1PM
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Monroeville Wants to Quick Start Monroeville looks like a football team that is going to be really competitive again this season. Last week, they established a school record for points in beating Mapleton (66-41) in a Firelands Conference game, running for nearly 600 yards in the process. Coach Scott Stacher says they really turned it on in the second half. “We played a whale of a second half. It was a contrast of a passing game versus a ground game. We broke out a couple of long runs. I think we had eight or nine plays over 20 yards, we had a couple over 70 yards. We had a kid rush for 397 yards. I think as a team we rushed for 594 or something like that. The kids did a great job the second half running the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Credit to Mapleton, the Pharmer kid is a really good quarterback. We just got a couple more possessions. We got a pick six which helped. I think we intercepted him three times. All in all, we started slow, but ended really good in the second half.” The Monroeville (3-1,1-0) is at South Central (2-2,0-1) in a conference game on Friday night. The Trojans lost to Plymouth (56-29) last week, when they allowed more than 500 yards on the ground to the Big Red. Stacher says the Trojans have some athletes and they are playing with a lot of spirit. “They have some weapons. They have a lot more kids out this year with a new, young coach. Enthusiasm is running high. We are on their turf and that will be a challenge is itself. It is going to be a tough Firelands Conference game and we just need to come out and not start slow and play our brand of football,” he said. For them Stacher says they need to get off to a better start than they have been this year. He says it might be very important. “That could be key. If we could jump out 7-0 and maybe get a turnover here and there and jump out maybe a couple of scores and just keep that going. Last year, I think we scored in eight of our first 10 games, first possession. We just need to go out and do the same thing on Friday night,” said Stacher. Published 9/22/17 © 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
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Monroeville Has to Clean Things up Outside of Norwalk St. Paul, Monroeville has been the best team in the Firelands Conference over the last two seasons. More than half of their losses over the last two years are to the Flyers. The good news is they do not play them this week, but they do host a pretty good Mapleton football team. Last week, the Eagles (2-1) did not play well in the second half and lost to Maragretta (35-12) in non-conference play. Coach Scott Stacher says they just made too many mistakes to have a chance to win. “Yeah it got away from us. There were too many turnovers. We just didn’t play very well as a team, but credit Maragretta they played a very good game. They had a kid come back from suspension that was a pretty good athlete and we just didn’t contain him very well. They played a very good game. They could easily be 3-0 right now and they are a very good team. We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times to beat a very good team,” said Stacher. The Eagles have some talent, but they have not been consistent in their execution and Stacher says that has to change this week. “We have a couple of injuries not making any excuses. It is execution. It is getting back to what we do. It is the little things like sustaining blocks is a big one for us and tackling, we did a poor job tackling. Those are fixable and we have to do a better job this week against Mapleton,” he said. Mapleton (2-1) won their second straight game last week (47-21) over Rittman in non-conference action. Stacher says they have a lot of kids they have to contain, especially quarterback Logan Pharmer. “The Mounties are a very good football team. They have a quarterback that has been back for them for three years now. Phramer is very good. He can throw the ball around as good as any quarterback we will see in the area and he has some good skill and players around him,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “They have a good running back and some linemen that are back. So, Mapleton is a really good team. We have to improve on our execution and sustaining blocks. We have to tackle very well and we have to limit their big plays, that’s for darn sure.” Published 9/15/17 © Swankonsports.com Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports “Sports Saturday” airs live every week from 10 AM to 1PM
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Monroeville Must Control Bears Run Game Monroeville hits the road for the first time this season as they travel to Margaretta for a non-conference game on Friday. The Eagles (2-0) rallied in the second half to beat Sandusky St. Mary’s (26-19) last week. Coach Scott Stacher says they made a lot of mistakes that put them down in the game, but they played a better second half. “It was pretty tough in the first half and we made some mistakes, but St. Mary’s is a very well coached team and a decent team and in the second half luckily we put some things together and protected the ball a little bit better and got our ground game going. All in all it was a great game for the fans, but still we need to do a lot of things better in order to beat Margaretta this week,” he said. Defensively, Stacher says they have done some good things, but they have become better tacklers if they are going to be competitive with some of the good teams they play. “I think our defense is doing a really good job. Our front four is doing an excellent job. Our linebacking corps is really good I think. We have Ryan Watt, who has been a four year starter at middle backer, so he is our captain on the field when it comes to the defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “He is making all of the calls. He is doing a really good job of putting us in the positions we need to be in. Our db’s are coming along very well. Defensively, I like the progress we are making we just need to tackle a little bit better. It’s back to basics again.” Margaretta (0-2) lost a tough one last week when Western Reserve edged them (29-28) on week two. They missed a two point conversion that would have given them the lead. Stacher says they are going to have to plug the holes and not allow the Polar Bears the control the game with their running game. “If we can hold onto the ball this week, get some good blocks on the line and control that line of scrimmage and cut down the running lanes. Hilton is a really good running back, a 2,000 yard rusher. If we can stop those rushing lanes for him and put some pressure on the quarterback and make him throw it in a hurry we could be in pretty good shape defensively,” said Stacher. And that goes for when they have the ball too. He says they have to take charge of that point of attack. “I think offensively and defensively whoever controls those lines of scrimmage is definitely going to win the game that is for sure,” he said. Published 9/07/17 © 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
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Monroeville Working on Getting Better Monroeville is on its way to becoming one of the more solid small school football programs in North Central Ohio again. They walloped Crestline (47-18) last week, calling off the dogs in the second half. They host Sandusky St. Mary’s in another non-conference game on Friday night at Marsh Field. The Eagles led (40-0) in the second quarter last week and coach Scott Stacker says they were able to play a lot of kids. “We started off fast and did what needed to do in the first half. We rushed the ball very well and played tremendous defense. We kind of put it in the bank and put our freshmen in the whole second half and let them roll with it. It was good for them to see action as well,” said Stacker. When it comes to execution, Stacker says their defense was top notch last week, but they still have to work a little on that offense, especially the pass game. “Our offensive line is doing very well along with our D-line and backers. I thought defensively we played an outstanding game. Offensively we have some things to work on. We worked a little bit on our passing game. We still need to get better at that. It was running back by committee and hopefully we will stay healthy and add a couple more to the stable,” he said. Monroeville had two backs go over 100 yards each last week against Crestline. Norwalk St. Paul handled Sandusky St. Mary’s (44-0) last Saturday night, holding the Panthers to just 22 total yards. However, Stacker says he believes the Panthers have the personnel to give them a very good game. “I think we are going to see a very spirited game. I respect the heck out of St. Mary’s. The coaching staff is very good. The kids are very well coached. They some big kids. They have some athletic kids too. I think they are going to give us a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “It is one of those teams that is good enough and you can’t leave in the game. They do a lot of things very well, so I expect a very good game from St. Mary’s. I know St. Paul ran the ball on them pretty good. The entire game they didn’t take their defense out against them. I think St. Mary’s is a good week two opponent.” Published 9/01/17 © 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
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Monroeville Working on Fundamentals Monroeville is coming off two very good seasons, but this season the Eagles are a lot younger than they have been the last couple years, so there is going to be a little bit of a maturing process. They host Crestline in their first regular season game on Friday night at Marsh Field. Coach Scott Stacher says football is a special time of the year and he says he can’t wait to get started. “It feels really good it was like I was singing Christmas tunes this week. It is like it is Christmas time again when it comes time for football. There are two seasons football season and waiting for football season, so it is finally here,” he said. Stacher says this month has been a process of getting some younger players used to the speed and complexity of high school varsity football. “We have gotten better, but we still have a ways to go. We traded out basically 15 seniors from last year’s team for 15 freshmen this year. So, we have a bigger group of younger kids. We have spent a lot more time teaching these kids, which we always do away. The dynamics are just different. There is always a different family dynamic. Everybody is coming along nicely,” said Stacher. The exciting things about football are the long runs and the great catches or the big hits, but it is the fundamental elements that win games at every level. Stacher says they have to be better at those elements of the game. “We have to be better at sustaining blocks and we have to be better at wrapping up and tackling. Be more fundamental. Those are things we need desperately to be better at,” he said. Monroeville made the playoffs in 2016 and they hammered Crestline (47-13) along the way. The Bulldogs ended up (4-6) on the season last year. This year Stacher says the Bulldogs are going to play hard and be pretty good on defense. “They are lower in numbers than us, but they do play hard. They have switched defenses to a “50.” They play a little more sound defensively than they do offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “I think they miss their quarterback from last year. They are going to put out all they have got. It should be a decent game for game one. Hopefully both of us can get out injury free and move to week two with ways to improve.” Published 8/22/17 © 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 |
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Rivals Clash for Second Time This Season
Monroeville plays arch rival Norwalk St. Paul for the second time this year on Saturday night at Perkins Firelands Regional Medical Center Stadium in the division seven regional semi finals of the high school football playoffs. In their first meeting on October 29 at Monroeville the Flyers won (14-8) to claim the outright Firelands Conference title. Last week,
Monroeville drilled Windman (55-6) in a first round game at home. Coach
Scott Stacher says they were able to get off to a quick start and never look
back. “We came out and caused a fumble on the second play of the game and
the next play we put it in. I think we scored on our first five
possessions, something like that. We played a really good game,” he said. The biggest two plays of the conference title game two weeks ago came when St. Paul caused a fumble on a kick return. Then quarterback Nick Lukasko found Paul Pearce for a leaping grab in the end zone with 25 seconds left in the half. There was no scoring in the second half of the game. Stacher says the kicking game is going to be pretty big in the rematch too. “They returned a couple on us and got decent field position. We had a little mistake their on a punt. It wasn’t downed on the three and they picked it up, a smart play on their part and ran it out to the 25, so that is a little better field position. The kicking game is a big deal and it will probably make a difference in a Saturday night’s game for sure,” said Stacher. Monroeville might get a boost in the return of running back Blake Anderson, who broke his leg seven weeks ago, but scored a TD last week against Widham. Stacher says his presence can be a huge boost for them. “We hope it is going to be a big factor. He gets better every day. He has been working hard for the last few weeks trying to get back into a game. I am so happy for Blake just to make it back after a broken leg in week five to be able to at least run the ball and score. So, I’m super happy for the kid. I have never seen our kids celebrate any more in the end zone, and be happier for him, than when he scored that touchdown,” said Stacher. St. Paul beat Monroeville (28-6) in the first round of the playoffs last year. They also won the previous three meetings in the playoffs between the two rivals (49-21) in a regional semi final game in 2007, (30-15) in regional final in 2004 and (17-14) in another regional final back in 1999.
Stacher likes playing at Perkins and believes
it will be a great atmosphere come Saturday night. “It is a great site.
Perkins’ stadium is just a beautiful place to play. We will have our fans
on our sidelines as well as they will. I think we will have a big crowd
with where it is played and the significance of the game. I think it is
going to be an electric atmosphere. It is high school kids, so we will see
what happens. Hopefully nerves don’t get to us. We have been in some
playoff games now. We are a little bit seasoned, not as much as they are.
It is going to be a great game, great atmosphere. Hopefully we can minimize
mistakes, clean up some things, and go after them,” said Stacher. Published 11/09/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
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Ground Game Key in Monroeville Playoff Game
Monroeville, the Firelands Conference runner-up, entertains Windham in a first round playoff game in division seven on Saturday night at Marsh Field. It is the second year in a row for the Eagles in the playoffs. They lost last year on the road in week one to arch rival Norwalk St. Paul. Coach Scott Stacher says it is nice to be home. “I think it is going to be a huge factor for us. Playing at home is a great thing. Anybody that was at the game last Friday it was just electric. We had like 2,500 fans there. I keep telling people it is just great being in Monroeville. Football is the only gig in town on Friday although it happens to be Saturday this week. I don’t know how well Windham travels, but I know we will travel well at home. Our fans will be ready to rock the house on Saturday night,” he said. Windham (7-3) is a team that likes to run the ball and is very good it. The Bombers have averaged more than 250 yards per game on the ground this year. Stacher says they have some quick and athletic backs. “They are kind of like what we were a couple of years ago. They have a lot of young players, very good players. They run a wing-T style offense. They run a 4-4 style defense. They are big up front with their offensive and defensive lines. They have a couple of quick kids, number 1, one of their backs, is the coach’s son, he is super quick in space especially. Number four is very fast. So, they have a couple of really good, fast athletes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “Their quarterback as a decent arm. They run the ball very well. Yardage wise I think they have something like 2.500 yards rushing, similar to what we have. It is going to be a really good game, an exciting game, a tough four-five match up. We are looking forward to the challenge, especially at home.” A team with wing-T action is going to feature a lot of fakes in the backfield and Stacher says they are going to have to be very focused on their keys and not peaking in the backfield. “That is what we have noticed on film they are a big play team. You get a stop, you get a stop and somebody gets out of line. Big plays are what they are about. Just like us. We run some things that are wing-T stylish. I take a lot of my football roots from the running game, the wing-T, the T, and mixing in a little bit with what we do out of the “I.” We do have some wings in some situations also. Those types of blocking techniques and schemes if you get out of alignment it could be a long night,” he said.
Published 11/04/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
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Monroeville Clashes With St. Paul
You almost never get a match-up like this one a battle of undefeated teams for a conference championship on the final week of the season. It reminds me of my youth and the great wars between Ohio State and Michigan or Oklahoma and Nebraska in college football. This time it is Monroeville hosting Norwalk St. Paul for the Firelands Conference title at Marsh Field in Monroeville on Friday night. “As far as I know there has never been a 9-0 versus 9-0 in this area. That’s impressive, so yes it is great to be involved in it,” said Monroeville coach Scott Stacher. St. Paul, (9-0,6-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, beat South Central (35-0) last week to keep their record unblemished. They have scored at least 35 points in five of their six leagues so far. The exception being a (14-13) win over Crestview three weeks ago. They average six TD’s a game in league play. Stacher says the Flyers are going to force you to stop them from running the football. “Offensively I expect them to run, and run, and run. They will pass a little bit. They are good at what they do. They have been very good in the past at what they do. There is no sense in changing the formula. It is like the outboard motor theory if you own a boat if it runs don’t fix it, don’t touch it, don’t even look at it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “They are really good at what they do. They have a program there and coach Livengood and his staff has done a great job over the years of keeping that together. So, I expect them to much of the same.” Stacher adds that one good defensive play against St. Paul, even one that results in a loss of yardage, isn’t going to be enough. “Our defense has been playing very good lately. It is a challenge to our defense to be able to do that. It is like derailing a train. If you get one car off the track the train can still pull it, so you better get two or three of them off. St. Paul is real good at keep coming at you, keep coming at you. You have to string several good defensive plays together to get them off the field and get into your own offense,” says Stacher. Monroeville (9-0,6-0), #5 in our poll, has scored a lot of points too. They average five touchdowns a game in Firelands Conference play. Stacher says they will be facing a very good defense that has three shutouts to its credit. St. Paul has only allowed three scores in two games this season and in one those the scores came in the fourth quarter of a blow out. Stacher says their execution when they have the ball is going to have to be very, very good. “I think they fly around to the ball very well. Again they are very well coached, they are disciplined and ready their keys well. Our offense this year has been doing a good job moving the ball, better than last year, even without Blake (Anderson) and some of our starters in. We have managed to have that next man up mentality so we have been able to maintain some drives and put some points up. Our offense is going to have to be flawless as well as our defense in order to come out with a victory on Friday night,” said Stacher. There will be a lot of emotion in this game and Stacher says they can not allow that to overrun them. “It is always a factor on both sides of the ball. I mean we are all going to be fired up. We will see how fast we can get that knocked out of us if it is the first play or the second play or whatever it is. We need to get going and get into a groove as quickly as we can,” he said.
Published 10/27/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
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Monroeville Remains Unbeaten
Monroeville is one of only five schools among the 73 football teams we cover on Swankonsports.com that remain unbeaten after eight weeks of the season. One of the others is Norwalk St. Paul and the Eagles share the lead in the Firelands Conference with the Flyers and play them next week in their traditional regular season finale. First they play at home against Western Reserve (2-6,2-3) on Friday night. Last Friday, the Eagles scored with less than two minutes to play on a 10-yard run by sophomore quarterback Adam Rogers to beat Crestview (18-14) in a conference game. Coach Scott Stacher says one of things he is the most proud of his team is it perseverance. “We are getting much better at not quitting. Perseverance was the word I used (Friday) night that these kids have. We have overcome a lot of things this year with injuries and so forth. We were down by two scores and we needed a big play. We work on tailback pass, we have run that play since I have been here for three years and have never used it, and we pulled it out. We run it in practice every week for a fun thing, pulled it out and it goes like 77 yards. That was a momentum changer,” he told Swankonsports.com on Saturday, “We got the ball back late in the game with four minutes left and put a drive together. Adam Rogers, he is a sophomore kid, did a great job moving the ball down the field, made the right decisions, then ran an option play, and he went in untouched from the 10.” Every team faces some adversity during a season and the Eagles have had to battle through some injuries. Stacher says his kids have adapted to some new positions in some cases and have done the job. “In the Plymouth game we lost our starting fullback and then Blake (Anderson) goes down, so there goes are whole “I” backfield. We have had a tight end go down and some other things, but these kids have stepped up. We have had to switch a couple positions, or move a guy here in there. When you are playing D-7 football you don’t have the whole plethora of multiple players to choose from and pick from, but these kids have answered the bell for sure,” said Stacher. Monroeville (8-0,5-0) plays at home against Western Reserve. The Rough Riders have won their last two games, including beating South Central (35-28) last week. Monroeville lost their last three regular season games last year, including (14-7) to Western Reserve. Stacher says they have the have better focus. “We told the kids from day one this year that every game matters. Last year, we were at a point when we were 6-1 and we didn’t do as well as we would have liked to down the stretch. Yeah, we made it to the playoffs and that was a goal of the kids, but we didn’t finish the season like we wanted to and this year I think they are more focused than ever. Western is a good team. They have a good running game. They have won a few games here back to back. Coach Stall has them going in the right direction again. It is a trap game and it is something we are going to watch and work hard this week. Luckily it is at home. We haven’t beaten Western in a couple of years. I think the kids have enough to grasp and be focused on,” said Stacher.
Published 10/17/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
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Monroeville and Crestview Play Key Game in Firelands
Monroeville shares the Firelands Conference lead with Norwalk St. Paul with Crestview only a game back after St. Paul beat the Cougars by a point last Saturday. The Eagles (7-0,4-0) on the other hand drilled New London (46-13) in Conference play last week. Coach Scott Stacher says they caught a break last week. “Our defense came to play against New London. We set the tone early and had some tackles. They were without Molnar, who gave me nightmares. He is a super player on both offense and defense to take nothing away from our defense, which played well, but Molnar is a special player,” he said. Monroeville is ranked number four in the state in division seven in the statewide media poll, but Stacher says they are not concerned by that. “We tell the kids those are just predictions that are done by the media. It is just nice to be considered in the mix right now, but we have got a lot more work ahead of us. Every week in the Firelands is tough, especially this week with Crestview. We have our work cut out for us. Like I said it is nice to recognized, but that is on paper and we have to go out and prove ourselves,” he said. Stacher says Crestview can do a lot of things when they have the ball in their hands. “Offensively they have some weapons. They do a lot of motion and shifting and all of that stuff. It is just a different team,” he said. Crestview (5-2,3-1) lost a tough one at Whitney Field last week when St. Paul beat them (14-13,) but Stacher knows the Cougars are very good on defense. He says they have been very tough to score on. “People forget, but they are really good on defense. You allow a Mapleton team to only score twice, you have had shutouts during the year, you allow St. Paul to score only two touchdowns, their defense is very good. They have some really good players going both ways even though they have 73 kids they have their 11 best on the field at once,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “The defensive line is good, the linebackers are good. Every week is different and this is a big challenge for us. It is going to fun to see where we are at at this stage in the game. It’s anybody’s ball game they are a very, very good team and so are we.” Stacher calls the Cougars versatile on defense and he says they have matured well as a team this fall. “They do a lot of things on defense well. Their front four plays well. Their linebackers read their keys well and their corners and defensive backs play very well in coverage. They are experienced all of those sophomores and juniors last year had to play a lot and now I would consider them mostly seniors at this late stage in the game. Experience does count a lot and they have been in a system that they understand for a couple of years now both offensively and defensively. Coach Mager and his staff have done a very, very nice job of getting the kids to play their style of football and play fundamentally sound and I think that is a key for them they are good fundamentally. They tackle well, they block well, and they do the little things well too,” said Stacher.
Published 10/12/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio
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Monroeville Respects New London
Right now, Monroeville shares the Firelands Conference lead with Norwalk St. Paul and Crestview, the other two play each other Saturday, while the Eagles play at New London on Friday. Monroeville kept their share with a (35-0) shutout of South Central last week. Coach Scott Stacher says the defense did a tremendous job. “I think we played really good football, especially defensively. Coach Ness, our defensive coordinator, Brad Dunlap and Chris McDonald, who handle a lot of the defense, did an excellent job of putting together our defensive game plan. Offensively we just made some tweaks to some things, did some things we have always been doing in practice, and implemented them, and executed very well,” said Stacher. Leading rusher Blake Anderson injured his leg in a (33-28) win over Mapleton two weeks ago. Colton Millis replaced him and scored three touchdowns against South Central. It seems the Monroeville (6-0,3-0) defense has been getting better this year. Stacher says they will be challenged this week when they play New London. “Defensively we have been getting better each and every year. I think we held South Central to something like 113 yards total offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We have to have that same defensive mentality this week because they have an excellent, excellent player in number two, the Molnar kid. He is really good on offense and on defense. He has kind of been a nightmare to us. There are a number of good kids on New London’s team. They are a good football club.” New London (2-4,1-2) is coming off a (48-28) win over Western Reserve in conference play last week. The Wildcats have shown the ability to score points pretty consistently this year. Stacher this week is as important as any other. “You know how the saying is respect everyone, fear no one. You tell the kids that every game matters, especially in the Firelands Conference. I believe you are going to have to run the table this year and not have an “L” at the end of your record. So, we are focused on New London this week,” he said. This is Stacher’s third season at Monroeville after a stint as an assistant at Genoa. He believes the Firelands Conference is an outstanding football league. “You look at St. Paul, always in the state playoffs, doing well there, Crestview, who I believe is an up and coming team, when you have 73 kids on your roster. Every team New London, South Central, Plymouth, Western, and Mapleton even surprised Crestview last week. We have managed to rebuild some things and do some things right. There are a lot of teams in the mix. You have to bring it every week.”
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
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Monroeville Tries to Stay Unbeaten
Monroeville, along with Norwalk St. Paul and Crestview, share first place in the Firelands Conference after two weeks of conference play. The Eagles (5-0,2-0) host South Central (2-3,1-1) in a conference game on Friday night. Last week, the Eagles hung on to beat Mapleton (33-28) in a Firelands Conference game. Coach Scott Stacher says they showed some guts in getting the win. “Our kids have not had to do that this year. It was a great high school football game. Going down two scores we didn’t even touch the ball for the first seven, eight minutes of the first quarter. We took the ball and drove down on our first drive and scored. After that getting the score right at the end of the half and then getting the score at the start of the third to tie things up. The kids came through really well,” he said. After gaining well over 200 yards in the game, Monroeville running back Blake Anderson went down with a leg injury in the Mapleton game. However, Stacher is confident they have some backs that can do the job in his absence. “He is a great back. I think he had somewhere between 800 and 900 yards and probably 13 scores. It is a big loss for us, but we have some other backs in Colton Millis, Logan Benfer, and Dominic Ruffing to handle that job really well. They are a little bit of different kind of back. We go from more thunder to a little more lightning because they are pretty darn fast. We will see how it works out. We need to tweak some things and hopefully everybody can keep their act together until he gets back,” he said. South Central beat Plymouth in overtime (33-27) for the second straight year last week when quarterback Aaron Lamoreaex scored in the extra period. Stacher says the Trojans have some athletes and some speed and they are going to have be solid in order to win. “South Central is a good ball club. All of these ball clubs in the Firelands have been good this year. South Central is no easy team by any means. Lamoreaex comes back at quarterback, his brother at receiver, #5 (Cristiano Murphy) is pretty fast. They have a lot of team speed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We don’t want to get into an overtime game with them. They have played well. They have some big guys on the line that are 210, 220, 230, so. It is going to be a really good game, so hopefully we can minimize any mistakes. They have some speed and have run some kicks and punts back. They make the most of their opportunities that’s for sure.”
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
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Monroeville Must Contain Mapleton Pass Game
Monroeville bested Plymouth last week, but they face a different kind of challenge this Friday night at Mapleton against the Mounties. Plymouth wants to run the ball, but last week the Eagles were able to slow them down in a (35-21) win on the opening night of Firelands Conference play. Coach Scott Stacher says they were able to keep that Big Red running attack in check just enough. “It was a big win. My hat is off to Plymouth they played a very physical game. It was a ball game and coach Genders has them playing well. They are just tough and rugged. Both sides got dinged up. We are ready to go with Mapleton this week,” he said. Every team has a least a few injuries every fall and Stacher feels they have pretty good depth for a small school. “Next man up is our motto and everybody’s motto. You get guys injured and you have to be ready to play.” He told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “This week will be tough in particular because Mapleton is a very good team. It is a very good young quarterback. They throw the ball well. They do some things really good. In the Firelands every week you have to come out and play your best game.” Mapleton outscored New London (56-30) last week in Firelands Conference action in a game that really wasn’t that close. Stacher says the Mounties have a dangerous quarterback in Jake Farmer. “They have a very good passing game. The quarterback we faced last year as a freshman and now he is a sophomore. He is a little bit bigger and a lot more experienced and equally as dangerous if not more than last year. We have our job cut out for us to slow that offense down that is for sure,” he said. Stacher says they must keep Farmer contained in the pocket or he is going to have another big game at their expense. Plus, he says they want to play a little keep away. “He is fast. I think he is a hurdles guy and he is just fast. We definitely have to contain him. We definitely have to play tough, hard nosed football on the perimeter with the receivers. Sometimes the best defense is two first downs. Offensively we have to play our game and grind the ball out and just play physical,” he said.
Published 9/23/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook Click on our listen line for 24/7 audio |
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Monroeville Takes Act to Plymouth
Monroeville has been one the best small school football teams in North Central Ohio over the first three weeks and they understand they can’t stand still. The Eagles (3-0) play at Plymouth (2-1) in the Firelands Conference opener for both schools on Friday night. After a (28-16) win over Margaretta last week, coach Scott Stacher says they are pleased. “We are happy with the start of the season, but still striving to do better. We still have some improvement to make, a lot of improvement to make. We are just learning from our mistakes, but happy to be 3-0 and where we are at heading into conference play right now,” said Stacher. Trey also beat Crestline (47-13) to start the season and Sandusky St. Mary’s (41-7) on week two, but Stacher says they are not satisfied with their level of play. “We are not complacent by any means. These kids have goals this year. They want to be better than they were last year. With the Firelands you can’t be complacent because any week you could lose. Despite what people might think the Firelands Conference is a tough conference, especially for D-7 and D-6 schools,” he told Swankonsports.com, “It’s like being thrown into a meat grinder and if you aren’t ready to play they are going to knock you off and this week is no exception because Plymouth is very good team. They have started out 2-1 and played some good teams. They play a tough brand of physical football. We are going to their place and it should be an exciting game.” Plymouth coming off a (37-20) win at Willard and they looked good to. Their only setback coming week two to Riverdale (28-14,) but they were able to battle back. Stacher says this is going to be a game between two teams that count on running the football. “We are both run first football teams. Basically that is what the Firelands is. It is changing more and more. This is my third year as coach at Monroeville. When I started seven out of 10 teams were under center teams and were running the ball and now this year seven of 10 teams we face are in the shotgun and spread formations, so we are one of the minorities. Form what we have seen on film Plymouth is one of those shotgun teams, but they still favor the run and try and pound it at you,” he said.
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
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Monroeville Doing it up Front
Monroeville has won both of its games so far this season and they have scored over 40 points in both. That’s a good start. They beat Sandusky St. Mary’s (41-7) last Saturday night at Strobel Field in Sandusky. Coach Scott Stacher says the coaching staff did a good job putting the game plan together and kids executed it. “Saturday night went according to plan. We played super defense, so hats off to all of our coaches. In particular to Tyler Metzger, who is our defensive coordinator, and Brad Dunlap, Chris McDonald, Curt Weber, my son, and myself. The defense was outstanding. I think we limited them to 50 some yards rushing and less than 200 yards total offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “We got together and scored on our first four possessions in the first half. Blake Anderson had over 200 yards. He has 360, 370 for the season in two games, so he is back on track. St. Mary’s never quit. They played a good game and are a good team and they are going to win some ballgames this year. It was a great night to play at Strobel Field.” When you are running the ball like that there are some good things happening in the trenches. Stacher is really proud of the big guys. “The guys up front are doing the job. Brad Dunlap and myself, Brad has the defensive line and I have the offensive line. The offensive line has kind of been my baby since I started coaching being one before. I just take it personal. We try to do the best we can. When you are a run oriented team and you are still under center. Three yards and a cloud of dust, Woody Hayes style football. It’s kind of rare to see anymore. It’s a physical game, so we try and play a physical brand of football,” said Stacher. Margaretta (1-1) plays at Monroeville on Friday night in a non-conference game. The Polar Bears beat Western Reserve (44-33) in their second week game. Stacher says it will be a tough game for them. “They will be a challenge, they are an “SBC” team. Not much to say about Margaretta except we are looking forward to playing them,” he said.
Published 9/07/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
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Monroeville Expects a Better St. Mary’s
Monroeville plays at Sandusky St. Mary’s on Saturday night in a battle between two football teams that made the small school playoffs a year ago. On the opening Friday, Monroeville belted Crestline (47-13) in their first game. Coach Scott Stacher says they did some good things against the Bulldogs, but they can clearly still get better. “It was a good effort for us. Crestline didn’t have the numbers, but they played hard and they never quit. It was a good test for us, especially the first half and then I think we just wore them down a little bit. We made some mistakes and we have some room for improvement. It was a good week one for us. It is always good to come out with a win to start the season,” he said. Good teams are ones that consistently improve and Stacher says they have been working hard. He says they must be better tacklers. “Practice has gone petty well this week. We have been grinding away on fundamentals and trying to get better on what we do, some blocking schemes. We have had more emphasis on tackling. We have to do a better job on tackling. So, we have done all of that this week. It just threw us out of sink a little bit with it being an extra day this week playing on Saturday night. Strobel Field on Saturday night, it doesn’t get much better than that for high school football,” said Stacher. Sandusky St. Mary’s started their season last Saturday with a (34-0) loss to Norwalk St. Paul. However, Stacher says he believes the Panthers are a lot better team than that score would show. “I think St. Mary’s is a good team. They are very well coached. I think the score is not indicative of the game. It got away from them a little bit early,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “St. Paul scored quick and then and I think wore on them mentally a little bit. They did drive the ball against St. Paul and do some very good things against them. St. Mary’s is a good team. They were a playoff team last year and possibly a playoff team this year. I know they will regroup this week. It will be a very good high school football game come Saturday night between two playoff teams from last year.”
Published 9/02/16 © Swankonsports.com Follow us on Twitter at @swankonsports Like Swankonsports.com on Facebook
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Monroeville, St. Paul, Stage Two
Monroeville found out last week that little mistakes against Norwalk St. Paul turn into big errors in a hurry. They may not have to play a perfect game this Friday, but pretty close. The Eagles (6-4) were thumped by their arch rivals (42-0) in their final regular season game last Saturday now they must make the short trip down route 20 to Whitney Field to face the Flyers again on Friday night, this time in the division seven regional quarterfinals. Monroeville is making its 14th playoff appearance, but their first since 2010, and their first under any coach other than Steve Ringholtz. Current head coach Scott Stacher says this has already been a season of accomplishment for the Eagles. "I am very pleased and very blessed to be in Monroeville with these kids. Last year and the year before they were 1-9 and these kids have come a long way to make the playoffs. A lot of people didn't think it would happen, but these kids just kept working hard and believing. It so cool, especially on a beautiful day like today, to be out at football practice," he said. Against St. Paul Stacher says you just can't afford to make any mistakes, no matter how small they may seem. "St. Paul and coach Livengood and those kids have a program. They are doing to same thing year and after year. We just have to do a better job of matching their intensity and clean up some little mistakes that we made throughout the game like sustaining our blocks or catching the ball. Just the simple things of blocking and tackling," he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, "With St. Paul you just have to weather the storm. They get on you quick, just like they did at the end of the half. We went three and out and got a punt blocked and in 30 some seconds we are down another 14. We could have gone in at halftime 14-0 or we dropped a ball at the goal line, 14-7. If we can do a better job hanging with them and weathering their storm it might be a different outcome." St. Paul (9-1), #2 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, is making its 17th playoff appearance and their fourth in a row. They were state runners-up last year. Stacher says it they can avoid getting blown out early and make this a game in the fourth quarter they have a chance. "We did a very good job defensively holding their rushing attack to 100 some yards, which I don't think anyone has done this year. On offense we had two 15 play drives against them and shot ourselves in the foot in the red zone a couple of times and didn't score. It could be a different game and we are using those as positives and try and clean up our mistakes and build on it. Get us into that fourth quarter and we will see what happens," he said.
Published 11/04/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to
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Improved Monroeville Plays Biggest Rival
Monroeville and Norwalk St. Paul is like Ohio State and Michigan and like the team who shares a similar helmet design, Monroeville is much improved and better equipped to offer more of a challenge. Two weeks ago the schools where in a share of first place in the Firelands Conference and it looked like Saturday night's match up might rekindle the old days. However, Monroeville has lost to the last two weeks to Crestview (21-12) and last week to Western Reserve (14-7) to give St. Paul the outright title. "It was just a tough loss. We are still trying to get over it a little bit. Like I told our kids, you know, the sun comes up in the morning and we are ready to go again. We are back to work and we have had a decent week of practice so far. We are a good team, we are just not good enough to make mistakes and overcome them, so we are better. These kids are learning as we go because they have not been there before. The record, a chance to get in the playoffs, the hype and everything, we are learning, it's a good thing," said Monroeville coach Scott Stacher. There is no question this is the biggest game on the Monroeville schedule and Stacher says they will be ready to play their best. "These kids are amped up. It is just a great rivalry. We hope to make it better as we go here. We are looking forward to this year and having a little better record. We could have some more things to look forward to as far as league standing and so forth. It still improves each one of our playoff possibilities, so there is still a lot on the line. Being a rivalry game anything can happen. We are looking forward to it," he said. As it stands now both teams would make the playoffs, but a Monroeville (6-3,4-2) loss and they are on shaky ground. The thing about St. Paul, according to Stacher, is they play hard and they don't make mistakes. "The best thing about St. Paul is they get after it and they get off the ball quickly. Their linebackers and their defense comes downhill at you. Being a coach at Genoa for a few years they get after it, they play angry. They are fundamentally sound. They just don't make mistakes. It is going to take a Herculean effort to beat them this week for sure," he said. This season, St. Paul (8-1,6-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, has relied a lot on the run. Stacher says they have to make them drive the ball against them and not give up big plays. "If we can get a couple of three and outs and make them punt a little bit. Maybe we can bend a little bit, but there are not many teams over the last several years that have broken them. Maybe if we keep bending, bending, bending, something might happen and you never know. They are that good and I respect coach Livengood and their program a lot. That's what makes a fun rivalry when you play quality football like that," said Stacher.
Published 10/28/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to
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Monroeville has to Refocus
To have any chance to share the Firelands Conference football title this year Monroeville is probably going to have to win this week and they know that. The Eagles (6-2,4-1) lost for the first time in conference play last week when Crestview beat them down in Richland County (21-12) in a conference game. Coach Scott Stacher says there were just too many self inflicted wounds for the Eagles. "We are disappointed, but we have to move on to Western. It is hard to win a game when you have four fumbles and some uncharacteristic mistakes, we had a touchdown called back. Those things hurt when you only lose by a score. Credit to Crestview and coach Majer they are getting better every week," he said. Monroeville plays arch rival and conference leader Norwalk St. Paul next week and for that to mean anything in terms of the conference they must win this week at Western Reserve (3-5,3-3), who is coming off a (34-21) win over South Central. Stacher says its a brand new world for many of his players and they have had a good approach this week in practice. "We have had a really good week of practice this week. It is time to refocus on Western. These kids have never been in this position before. They have a winning record and in the prior years I think they won six games combined in all of their other years of their high school career," he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, "It is another step for them in the evolution of getting mentally tough and maintaining what you have and not listening to the outside distractions. It has been a better week of practice." Western has started to play better and have been featuring a lot of the wildcat offense with a huge offensive line. Stacher knows they are going to have to defend the run. "I'll tell you what coach Stull hasn't won 100 games for nothing. They are a ground and pound team and they are a physical team that runs the ball a lot. I think we are going to see a lot of that. It should be a very interesting game," he said.
Published 10/23/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to
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Monroeville Wary of Crestview
Monroeville shares first place with Norwalk St. Paul in the Firelands Conference and they play the Flyers in two weeks in a possible showdown, however, they are not about to get ahead of themselves. With some strong defense they beat New London (21-12) last week in a conference game and second year coach Scott Stacher says they are going to need the same kind of effort this week. "Our defense did a good job containing them. It is much the same this week because Crestview has an explosive offense. They have a great quarterback in number 15, a super good option quarterback and they do a lot of things well. They are definitely not a 1-6 team," he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, "They are really good and I know they have lost a couple in overtime and lost a couple of close games. I am telling you they are they are a team getting better. Complements to them because they are doing well." Crestview (1-6,0-4) lost to Norwalk St. Paul (48-7) last week, but on most occasions have been able to score the ball, including overtime losses to South Central (31-30) and Mapleton (34-27) in conference play. Running the triple option offense Stacher calls the Cougars dangerous. "It is a super big play offense. They have a lot players, I think they have 60 some kids. They are a little bigger school, so they have a lot to draw from and they have been good in the past. The players and the talent they have they have just had some tough breaks. It's a good offense and fits them and they are getting better at it," he said. Not only are the Eagles (6-1,4-0) tied for the conference lead they also set third in their computer region and have a lot to play for on Friday night. However, Stachter does not believe Crestview will show up with an empty tank. "I think it is meaningful for both teams. I don't think they are going to take this one lightly what so ever and we aren't either. It is going to be a tough game. It is always tough to play Crestview. We are looking forward to it and hopefully the kids are up to the challenge, " he said.
Published 10/15/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to
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Monroeville is Back
Monroeville was once one the most consistent small school powers in football and after some lean years they are back in the thick of the Firelands Conference race. Right now, they share first place in the conference with defending champion Norwalk St. Paul, their traditional rival, and South Central, who they play this week in Greenwich. The Eagles (4-1,2-0) have conference wins over Plymouth (28-20) and last week they beat (40-14) the Mapleton Mounties. Coach Scott Stacher, in his second season as Monroeville's head coach, says his players believe in the system they have set up and have been good at executing it. "I believe that this year the kids have bought into the program. The is the second year that we have been together. They lifting each other up and playing as a team. We work really hard, so I believe the hard work is paying off," he said. Stacher told Swankonsports.com on Thursday that they are a team that doesn't believe in fancy stuff. He says they are going to come right at you and run the football. "That is my M.O. previously coaching at Genoa and some other places. I am a believer that he have got to run the ball and I am not a spread guy, a five wide guy, throw the ball all over video game type guy. I would rather just pound it and we definitely like to do that," he said. South Central (2-3,2-0) has produced two dramatic league wins over the last two weeks, beating Crestview (31-30) in double overtime and coming from 11 points down with three minutes to play to down Plymouth (27-23) last week. Stacher says the Trojans play very hard and are gaining confidence. "I'll tell you what I think coach Hinkle has them playing very well. Sometimes when you don't have many numbers you bond stronger together and even play harder for each other. They don't quit. The keep coming at you. They are very physical and they are a very sound football team and a very tough opponent. I have all of the respect for South Central. They are going a great job over there," said Stacher.
Published 10/02/15 (C) Swankonsports.com Comments can be e-mailed to
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Monroeville Goes Week by Week
Monroeville is normally one of the very best small school football teams in North Central Ohio and the Eagles have already shown they have that potential this year as well. The hammered LaGrange Keystone (35-8) in their first game and a late comeback fell just short against the Edison Chargers (34-28) last week. Coach Dan Periot feels they have done some good things so far, but they have a lot more to do if they are going to be a good football team. “In week one, we had good run defense and good run offense and an effective passing game,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Last week, from the middle of third quarter on we played quick and we played physical, we just didn’t do that from the start of the game.” Periot thinks this a Monroeville team that is best at running the football right now, but they want to be more balanced when they have the ball. “I think part of coaching is finding your team’s identity. I think right now we are running the football on offense pretty good, but there is still room for improvement. With a lot of new faces I think we are still looking for that identity. We are not giving up on our passing game. We think we have some good receivers. On defense we are still finding some answers on personnel,” he said. Monroeville plays at Seneca East on Friday night. The Tigers have already beaten two Firelands Conference teams rather handily in South Central (45-13) and Plymouth (34-7) over the first two weeks. Seneca East runs out of the spread formation and Periot says they do a lot of different things. “They do go under center a little bit, but they are balanced on their run and pass tendencies. Their quarterback is probably their number one threat running the ball. They have one of the best receivers in the whole area in the Schaffer kid. He’s a real fast kid and a real tall kid. We have to know where he is,” said Periot. The winner of the Monroeville-Seneca East game puts itself in position for the playoffs, but Periot doesn’t even want to think about that at this point. “The postseason, wow, that’s so far away right now. We are focusing on today and practice and getting ready for Seneca East,” he said.
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