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Norwalk St. Paul Flyers/Firelands Conference News

Rebounding a Big Key for St. Paul

          Thursday night will be the third time around for Norwalk St. Paul and Monroeville, this time in a division VII sectional final at Monroeville.

          Coach Steve Minior says this rivalry is really like no other in North Central Ohio.  “We hope it lives up to the hype.  I'm sure everybody thinks they see those two names.  There's only a couple other names that I relate it to Ohio State and the other team and maybe Duke-Carolina.  So, I'm sure other people will disagree, but in my universe those all go hand in hand, those rivalries right there,” he said.

          St. Paul (12-10) lost for the first time in six games when Crestview beat them (67-57) in a Firelands Conference game last Friday.  Monroeville won the conference title when they edged South Central (59-58) last week.

          Minor says the Eagles (17-5) have all the elements of a good team.  “They are big, they have good guard play, they have depth and they have great leadership.  They've got a senior laden team.  They check all the boxes, that's for sure.  It's also a group of kids that have carried success over from the football season as well.  So, they're used to success.  Just the same as they're used to having to play us a lot.  So, there's not a whole lot of build up for it, it is what it is.  Everybody knows what they hope it's going to be and then you never know which way it goes once the ball goes up in the air,” said Minor.

          Minor says the Monroeville kids are winners and that is important.  “Going back to some other things with them I wanted to mention this.  Good teams win when they don't need to.  I'm sure people were updating them on the Plymouth game and they could have very easily said oh well Plymouth out of that with a quarter to go we're just going to take it easy,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They didn't want any part of that.  They clawed and scraped and fought their way back for that hard fought win last Friday.  So, when they won when they didn't have to.  I liken that to what we did the last couple of years when we were up.  We went out and won when we didn't have to because the kids don't want to lose.  They're certainly not going to want to lose to us.  Hopefully, not as much as we don't want to lose to them.”

          The two schools spilt their regular season games, each winning at home.  The Eagles won (57-47) on December 12 and St. Paul came out on top (44-38) on January 17.

          Minor says they have to rebound and take smart shots.  “First and foremost, you've got to limit their shots.  We can't get beat in the rebounding, that was huge last time we played them.  With the size that they have, and the depth that they have, we have to keep them off the boards.  We have to play smart on both ends of the floor.  Take a good shot not a risky shot and don't waste fouls because we don't have a whole lot of giveaway,” he said.

Published 2/24/26

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St. Paul Closes Regular Season at Crestview

          Norwalk St. Paul, a winner of their last five games, plays down at Crestview in a Firelands Conference on Friday night.

          Last Friday, Nate Griffin two free throws with a second left lifted the Flyers to a (62-60) win over Plymouth, knocking the Big Red out of a share of first place.

          Coach Steve Minor says they made the plays at the end.  “I was really proud of the guys you know we were able to get a decent lead, but a championship caliber team like that they're going to fight their way back.  They're fighting for a championship.  They almost found a way to do it.  Luckily, we were able to make a just one more play than they did, so we're really happy with the outcome,” he said.

          St. Paul (12-9,7-6) is at Crestview (10-10,8-5) on Friday night.  Western Reserve knocked the Cougars out of the league race with a (64-56) win last Friday.

          Minor says they need to learn how to win on the road.  “It's hard to gauge the temperature of a game like that.  Of course, you want to win being a senior it’s your last game at home in the regular season.  The rest of the team finds themselves is where were last week.  Our guys wanted to win and send our seniors out with the win.  So, we know what it's like.  We're just going to be on the other side of that.  Really a lot of our success is coming at home this year, so we got to try to fix what happens on the road.  So, this would be a good time for us to work on that this week,” said Minor.

          In the tournament draw on Sunday, with other options, St. Paul decided to play at Monroeville, their archrival and the top seed.

          Minor says that was the best choice for his team.  “There was a little bit of back and forth between who was the one.  Was it Monroeville or was it St. Mary's and once they got that straightened out.  I know having played St. Mary's I just don't favor that match up if I have another match up, not that I look at Monroeville and say yeah that's definitely us,” he told Swakonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “It's close and we've split with them.  There's familiarity and it's a rivalry game where no matter even if they would have swept us this year you know you never know what happens between two arch rivals.  I just had no desire to travel to Old Fort or travel to Cardinal Stritch.  It's hard to get on the bus and going that far and getting off and getting kids ready for a first round like that.  So, that's the path we chose to take,”

Published 2/18/26

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St. Paul Ready for Battle With Plymouth

          Norwalk St. Paul hosts Plymouth in a big game in the Firelands Conference on Friday night.

          Right now, Plymouth shares first place in the league with Monroeville.  Crestview is a game back.  However, St. Paul has been playing as well as anybody over the past couple of weeks.

          The Flyers outlasted Western Reserve (50-45) in overtime last Saturday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says his kids just gave it all they had.  “I thought the kids played outstanding.  We were short handed.  We were down a starter that game too, so things potentially could have gone from bad to worse for us.  The kids just dug in and played their tails off,” he said.

          The teams seem to be going in opposite directions right now.  Plymouth has lost three of its last four league games after winning its first nine.  St. Paul started by losing five it’s first six league games, but has won five of its last six.

          Minor hopes they can keep this streak going, but he knows it won’t be easy.  “That's a credit that the hard work the kids are putting in.  We're just a couple of possessions away from adding two more games to that win streak.  So, fortunately we're headed in the right direction we're going to see if we can keep it going,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon. “I know the first time we played Plymouth, we did a nice job for half the game, but they did a better job in the second half.  No two games at the same.  Every time we played somebody the first time it's been a completely different game the second time.  I don't expect a carbon copy of the first match up with them.  It's just going to be an interesting watch that's all you can say.”

          Plymouth won the first game (62-53) on January 9.

          Minor says no matter what the score is, Plymouth is never out of the game.  “I'm surprised that they've lost the games that they've lost just because it seems like they're down in every game that I've watched them play this year and some games they were down a lot.  They just stuck with it and didn't make any drastic changes.  Slow and steady wins the race I guess most times for them.  I know they've been dealing with an injury and or two here and there, but I didn't expect their three-game lead to evaporate like it did.  So, now they're going to come out swinging,” said Minor.

Published 2/11/26

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St. Paul Downs Crestview

          Norwalk St. Paul has now won three of its last four Firelands Conference games after (53-44) win over Crestview on Tuesday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says they players, many of them first year varsity players, are playing with more confidence and understanding their roles.  “The guys are starting to get a little more consistent with piecing entire games together.  Guys are understanding and fulfilling their roles and doing their jobs.  Not everybody played how they wanted to (Tuesday) night, but that seldom happens and that's why you have teamwork and chemistry.  Somebody will pick up the slack for you in some categories when you can't do it all,” said Minor.

          Defense has been the key, according to Minor, and it began a couple of weeks ago against rival Monroeville.  “We’ve tried to be good defensively all year, but I thought it really came to a head against Monroeville.  That got us started on this nice defensive run holding them to 38 points went after losing the first time around.  They are averaging somewhere in the 60s.  I thought that kind of jump started us and laid out our blueprint of how we would like to play.  Now, whether we do it all the time is another thing, but at least we know what to aim for and what our guidelines should be,” he said.

          St. Paul (9-9,4-6) plays at Mapleton (2-13,0-9) on Thursday night.  The Mounties are coming off a (67-55) win over Northwestern on Saturday night.

          The Flyers won the first meeting (69-29) on December 27.

          Minor believes his players will take this game seriously.  “I think the guys going to be able to do that.  We didn't even mentioned our match up Saturday with the Rough Riders coming to town and they’re playing really good.  They just knocked off Plymouth (Monday) night.  They'll have a nice game Thursday too to get ready.  Teams don't get worse throughout the year, they're going to get better at things.  I expect a challenge from them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I likened it to when I played all those years ago.  We played Mapleton our first game of the year and we beat them by 30.  Fast forward to the end of the year, senior night at their place, they beat us by 34.  It wasn't because of injuries or anything, it's just you've got to respect your opponent and you've got to bring it every night.  So, we just have mentioned that and we will reiterate that and get back to work and try to get focused.”

Published 2/04/26

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St. Paul not Done

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at home against New London in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They were edged (70-67) by South Central in a conference game last Friday.

          The Flyers have been close in a lot of games they haven’t won.

          Coach Steve Minor says it’s a lot of little things.  “Stuck back in our rut you know not enough, almost again.  We're stuck there.  It's a lot of little things that add up to big problems that we can't have happen that we have to fix,” he said.

          St. Paul (7-9,2-6) entertains New London (9-5,4-4) on Friday.  The Wildcats beat Western Reserve (65-57) in a conference game last week for maybe their best win of the year.

          Minor says New London has some inexperience, but they have a lot of talent.  “It’s definitely an understatement to say that they're out of their rebuild schedule.  I mean Tom (Howell) has come in there and hit the hit the ground running and hasn't stopped and he's just been doing a great job.  Especially with Henry Thomas taking on the responsibility that he has as a freshman and coming off an injury that was pretty significant and basically shelved him all summer,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “You wouldn’t know that the way he's catapulted into the season that he missed any time over the summer.  So, they shoot well, they defend well, they get after you, they're non stop.  I don't see them making a lot of mistakes as of late.  They're doing a great job.”

          Minor believes his team has the talent to make a run here at the end of the season.  “I really believe so you know you look at the remaining games on our schedule and you don't see any Colonel Crawford's that are having outstanding years.  You don't see a Margaretta left.  We have games that we have good matchups that we feel good about.  I give us more than a fighting chance in every one of our games left.  We just have to go out and do it and try to build some momentum going in the post season,” said Minor.

Published 1/30/26

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St. Paul Must Stay on Formula

          Norwalk St. Paul hopes they can take their solid play from last weekend and continue to build towards the tournament.

          The Flyers are at home Wednesday against Tiffin Calvert (7-4) in non-conference and play at South Central in a Firelands Conference game on Friday.

          They beat archrival Monroeville (44-38) in a conference game on Saturday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says they were finally able to finish a game.  “The kids felt really good about it.  We talked about not being happy with almost good enough.  We played Plymouth almost good enough.  We know at the different times we've lost we almost did it.  We were able to finally complete the mission and then play a complete game.  Defensively, I thought our guys were great.  They're scoring a lot of points this year and the hold them down under 40 was phenomenal,” he said.

          Minor says the win improved their standing heading into the postseason too.  “We talked to the kids about this is our chance to improve our RPI.  I think we actually went up a spot and into the top four now, which is big for us, especially with the way the new format is and all of the uncertainties.  At least you want to be one of those first four teams to have that choice first to see where you're going to end up not have to just go where the cards lay.  You'd like to have a little say in where you go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We talked about that being important.  We were looking at our schedule.  We were, I think it was 6-1 at home and 1-6 on the road, so it was also good to get a game at home.  We've had success at home other than South Central, who we have this weekend.  We have been able to hold serve at home.  They came in and kind of smacked us around at home, so we're hoping we can be a little bit better prepared for them this weekend.  First things first, we have got to take care of a very good Tiffin Calvert.  They've played a tough schedule in their conference to finish up this last year for them in the “SBC” for them.  Every year, year in year out coach (Otterbacher) does a great job, so we have got to be ready for them with some shortened and weather hampered preparation days here.”

          St. Paul (7-7,2-5) plays at South Central (6-6,2-5) on Friday night.  The Trojans lost (53-48) to conference leader Plymouth on Saturday night.  The Trojans won the first matchup (70-54) on December 18.

          Minor says they have to be more physical this time.  “We have to stay with our formula.  When we have success, if you look it usually starts with our rebounding.  If we get out rebounded you can forget it, but also we have to match their physicality.  They were just out scrapping and out hustling and were just more physical than we were.  We have to dig our heels in and not give up so much ground against them.  We have to overall play better,” he said.

Published 1/20/26

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St. Paul With Huge Task

          Norwalk St. Paul will be on the road at Plymouth, the conference leader, in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They lost their last conference game to Western Reserve (66-54) on Saturday, but beat Crestline (50-43) in a non-conference game on Tuesday.

          Coach Steve Minor says it felt good to win and they did it in a different way too.  “It goes without saying it's always good to get back in the win column.  We needed it you know after you have such inconsistencies of practice times and holiday schedules and everybody's going to deal with this time of year.  It's good to have some normality and to win.  We did it a little bit differently.  I think it was the first game all year we didn't hit one three-point field goal.  Crestline really is doing a good job making you work for everything you get and that was a nice grind it out type of game that I thought that was good for us,” said Minor.

          Norwalk St. Paul (6-5,1-4) travels to Plymouth (7-2,5-0) on Friday night.  Plymouth maintained its “FC” lead with a (58-52) win over Crestview on Saturday.  They crushed Bucyrus (72-39) in a non-conference game on Wednesday night.

          Minor says they are explosive and balanced.  “Who do you stop?  You think you need to stop (Jarrett) Burrer and then you can't forget about Kilgore and then all of a sudden other guys just pop up all over.  So, everybody's going to have to lock in on their assignment.  It’s not just taking one guy away with that team.  They're just very athletic,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “You could see it coming last year.  They had us down 10 at their place late in the season.  They had really went on a nice run at the end of the year.  You can see them building momentum.  They've been able to not only carry it over to this season, but I thought they took it into the summer and probably built on that.  So, we have a tall task but we are going to learn a lot about ourselves this weekend slate, that’s for sure.”

          They play unbeaten Sandusky St. Mary’s on Saturday night.

          Minor says against Plymouth, the game is really never over.  “I've seen them come back from down in person down 18 this year and I watched on film them overcome down 12, both on the road.  They just have such athletic ability and such confidence.  They believe in their coach, believe in each other and they really just go all out,” he said.

Published 1/08/26

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St. Paul Must be Very Good

          Norwalk St. Paul will pay a visit to Western Reserve to take on the Riders in a Firelands Conference game on Saturday night.

          The Flyers (5-4,1-3) hammered Mapleton (69-29) on Saturday night to win their first conference game of the season.

          Coach Steve Minor says he finally followed the script.  “Well, it's just what we needed.  We needed to come out and get back to our formula and we followed it and we got good results.  We out rebounded them, I thought we defended well and we finally shot the ball pretty good, but we also got our transition going too.  Whether it was because of our defense or not they just struggled after the half shooting and I thought we took advantage of it,” said Minor.

          Western Reserve (5-3,3-1) lost their last league game (53-43) to Monroeville last week.  They beat Norwalk (46-29) in a non-conference game on Monday.

          Minor says you know what to expect from the Riders.  “It's the same team we've seen for the last few years, but they just keep getting better.  With the exception of a bump in the road at Monroeville, which we know is a tough place to play.  Monroeville’s certainly towards the top of the league as far as predicted to win it this year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They had a nice bounce back game against Norwalk the other night.  So, they're going to be tough. They're always tough at their place. They're a well coached team.  You have to guard everybody.  Everybody's got the green light.  Everybody's allowed to shoot because they can shoot it.  They're aggressive defensively.  That smaller gym we're going to have to play smart and play tough and limit mistakes.”

          Western Reserve is known to get up in you and play tough defense and Minor says they are going to have to be able to handle the ball very well.  “Everywhere, I mean not just bringing the ball up the floor, not just picking outlet passes.  They're going to dig down every time you rebound the ball.  They're going to go after it.  So, you've got to be strong with it all over the court,” he said.

Published 1/01/26

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St. Paul Must Defend, Rebound

          Norwalk St. Paul will be at home for Mapleton in play in the Firelands Conference on Saturday night.

          The Flyers have lost their last four games, but coach Steve Mnior says they saw some bright sports in a (58-53) loss to New London in a conference game last Saturday night.  “They were coming off a heck of a game with Western Reserve too, so we can use that as our measuring stick.  We don't feel great, but we feel a little bit better about it.  Just a few things that helped.  We had some more shots fall.  We'll take some more even, but it's better than before.  If we're going to go four up and four down all year, I'll take that pattern too as long as that puts us into going four straight in the postseason, so that'll work,” said Minor.

          Minor it’s really pretty simple, they have to defend and rebound better than they have lately.  “We got away from our formula that worked the first four games of the year.  Shooting is always an added bonus, but we talked about defending and rebounding.  We've been out rebounded in all these losses.  Defensively, we took a huge step back,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “It's too much help or it's not enough help.  Either way it's against whatever we prep for.  Certain matches we talked about let's not help off because they're looking for a kick for a three and we help way off.  We give away uncontested three point opportunities.  So, it's just a matter of paying attention to detail now and getting back to what we were doing at the beginning of the year.  Hopefully a little bit of time off over Christmas and then back at it Friday and then right into the frying pan with Mapleton.  Hopefully, we get good results there.  Then we can turn our sights towards our next opponent.”

          St. Paul (4-4,0-3) hosts Mapleton (0-5,0-3) on Saturday.  The Mounties have not been competitive.  They were whipped by Crestview (63-38) on Saturday.

          Minor says they have some height.  “They are young, but they are big.  We're not small, but we're not nearly as big as a lot of teams we play.  So, luckily it's not at Mapleton.  That's a hard place to play with one day after a long layoff.  So, hopefully being at our place will help out and our experience that we have now will help against them.  You look at the film on them and you don't recognize a lot of guys.  You just see size and youth.  Not a lot of familiarity there,” he said.

Published 12/24/25

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St. Paul Playing Improved Opponents

          Norwalk St. Paul faces two teams that looked improved this week as they host South Central on Thursday and travel to New London on Saturday in Firelands Conference action.

          They fell (57-47) to Monroeville in their first conference game last Friday.

          Coach Steve Minor says They just didn’t make enough shots.  “We played them pretty even first quarter.  They did a great job forcing us into tough shots and holding us to four points in the second quarter.  It's hard to dig yourself out of a hole like that.  Looking at the stats, we did what we set out to do as far as our execution went and how we wanted to guard people.  Perry goes off for 25 and their first game against Plymouth and we're able to hold him to 11.  Maverick Myers gets 15 on us, but eight of those are from the foul line because we had to foul towards the end.  We did what we needed to do defensively.  Offensively we we're the total opposite of what we had done a couple of weeks before against Open Door Christian when we hit 13 threes.  We hit two that night.  One of our better shooters starts tonight 0-9.  It was just a bad night shooting,” said Minor.

          St. Paul (4-2,0-1) hosts South Central (3-2,0-1) on Thursday.  The Trojans fell apart in the second half and got smoked (88-56) by Plymouth last week in conference play.

          Minor says they are really improved, but still searching a bit for consistency.  “Not to take anything away from Plymouth’s effort.  Plymouth was also down double digits to Monroeville in Monroeville’s opener and ended up winning.  South Central right now I think they're just having trouble putting together a full game towards the end there.  I don't know what's going on towards the end of games for them, but their opponents were able to take advantage of maybe some of their miscues and mistakes.  They're much improved the last couple of years.  I think them and New London were battling for the basement and I don't think that's the case this year.  They've got some wins under their belt already and they will be a tough task for us this week,” he said.

          New London (3-0,1-0) beat Crestview (63-53) in a conference game last week.

          Minor says the Wildcats are much better too.  He says they are led by a freshman.  “You saw the Henry Thomas coming up through the junior high ranks.  You always wondered when you see a younger kid how they're going to transition into high school and so far he's had a really nice transition.  I think he's went off for 30 against maybe Wellington and he's really doing a lot of good things for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “People are feeding off of that.  The (Jackson) Mitchell kid is playing more of a role this year.  The best thing for younger players is experience and they got plenty of it all through the summer and the last year.  Henry being down with an injury all of the summer.  He's trying to make up for lost time, he's hungry right now.”

Published 12/17/25

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Flyers Flushing it

          Norwalk St. Paul opens Firelands Conference play on Friday night down the road a little bit at archrival Monroeville.

          After winning their first four games, the Flyers (4-1) were overwhelmed (69-31) by a very good Margaretta team.

          Coach Steve Minor says there are some things they can learn from that performance, but really they want to forget.  “They are quite the powerhouse and have been for a few years now.  You can always get something positive out of playing a really good team like that.  We saw plenty of things we needed to work on.  For the most part though the overall result of that game we would have had to play a perfect game they would have had to play the worst game they played in four years probably.  I mean sometimes you just run into competition like that.  Really we just flushed that game out of our memory and worked on some points that we got off of it and get ready for our next opponent,” said Minor.

          Monroeville opened their season on Tuesday night against Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game.  The Big Red won it (75-72) in a competitive game.

          Minor says the third Friday is a long time to wait for your first conference game.  He says there are some unknowns about Monroeville.  “I think that has to do with years ago they kind of put those non conference games early on in the season because of repeated football success, so it's kind of like a built in cushion.  It happened to just work out this way this year and I think it's an advantage for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Monroeville plays their first game (Tuesday) night, so we're going to look at them because with a couple of their key players gone from last year unexpectedly due to some football unfortunate injuries everybody's interested to see what they're going to do.  So, it gives us a good look at them and then the chance to see how we're going to counter with some things in practice the next couple of days after that and then we'll see what happens Friday.”

          St. Paul-Monroeville is one of the biggest small school rivalries in this area and Minor says that no matter what they are playing.  “Absolutely, it could be a game of checkers and it's going to be something,” he said.

Published 12/10/25

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St. Paul Understands Roles

          Norwalk St. Paul will have two non-league games this weekend as they host Open Door Christian on Friday and head for Margaretta on Saturday.

          They put together their third straight win to begin the season on Tuesday night in downing Vermilion (63-52) in a non-league game.

          Coach Steve Minor says it was a good win.  “They're really good team and they're a really big team too.  They came out, they look really big on film, but they come out in person that's something else,” he said.

          Minor says everyone is buying into the collective good.  “Well, I think everybody's bought into what their role is on this team.  The last few years we've had just a lot of guys that could do anything you asked them.  It's more role specific with this team.  There's certain guys, your job is to rebound and defend.  You will get your points around the basket or you’ll get your points here and there and your job is to do this and your job is to do that.  Everybody's bought into it and they've been able to put that together for a winning formula,” said Minor.

          Minor says they need to continue that against Open Door.  “They are a little bit younger.  I think you have one senior.  He's a really good shooter.  They don't have the size that we've seen recently, but that doesn't mean anything because we were not the bigger team the last time.  We still have to stay with our formula.  We have got to have guys that just continue doing their jobs and not trying to do more than they're asked to do and we’ll see what happens,” he said.

          Margaretta again will be one of the better teams in the area and Minor knows Saturday will be a tremendous challenge for them.  “I think they literally have everyone back from last year with the exception of one of their starters maybe.  They were a guy short last year when they played us.  I think Juda (Keller) was out with an injury.  That kid is just a warrior, coach (Steve) Keller’s son,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I don't think that there isn't a bone he hasn't broken it sometime since he's been playing competitive sports and be able to play through it and heal up and come back even stronger.  For whatever reason we didn't see him last year, but he's on par to play us this year.  To says we're going to have our hands full with him and Julian (Washington) is an understatement.”

Published 12/05/25

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St. Paul Showing Good Things

          Norwalk St. Paul plays twice this first week of the boys’ basketball season.

          They play at Fremont St. Joe on Wednesday and at home with Edison on Friday.

          Coach Steve Minor is very happy with the guys that he has on his roster.  “We have got guys that are used to winning, so until they don’t, we'll see what happens.  Honestly, the guys we have back are really hard workers.  Two of our seniors have been with the varsity since they were freshmen in some way, shape or form anyways.  A lot of the other guys are going to lean on that for their experience and to lead them offensively and defensively.  So, we're pretty excited to see how our new pieces fit in with the rest of everybody,” said Minor.

          Grant Kuhnle, who would be the Flyers leading scorer among returnees, has transferred to Sandusky Perkins.

          Minor says his kids have really gotten a lot better during the preseason.  “From probably our first two scrimmages to our third scrimmage, which was the foundation game Saturday, the guys really we were doing a lot offensively, firing on all cylinders.  It was a really, really good atmosphere, game type situation for us.  Like I said, I can tell that this player or that player has got the football rust back off of him and they're coming along really well,” he said.

          The Flyers are the defending Firelands Conference champions.

          Minor is very honest.  He says he knows very little, if anything, about what they face with Fremont St. Joe on Wednesday.  “Not a thing honestly.  I haven't been able to get a hold of anybody that has scrimmaged them.  I know they're top scorer from last year, the guy that scored the most against us last year.  I think he had 21.  He transferred back to where he came from,” he told Swanknsports.com on Monday evening, “They are huge mystery.  I don't know anything about St. Joe.  I just know we have got to be ready to play in their gym no matter who takes the floor for them.”

Published 11/25/25

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Trenches Key for St. Paul

          Norwalk St. Paul is over at Warren JFK Friday night for an opening round football game in division VII.

          They lost in the last 20 seconds of the game last week when archrival Monroeville beat them (33-28) in a Firelands Conference game.

          Coach Chris Doughty was very happy with their performance.  “The only area that I was disappointed it was the final score.  Our kids gave phenomenal effort throughout the course of the game.  Most importantly we've taken some really good steps the last few weeks of the season here putting ourselves in position for one to be competing in a game against Monroeville, the Firelands Conference champions, and one of the top teams in region 25, but you know also putting ourselves in position to be playing our best football the year going into the playoffs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Overall really, really happy with a lot of the things that we saw throughout the course of the game.  I thought our offensive and defensive lines played very, very well, by far their best game of the season, which is again exactly what you want going into playoff time.”

          St. Paul (5-5) is at Warren JFK (5-5) on Friday night.  The Eagles have won their last five, including a (19-7) win over Lutheran East last week.

          Doughty says they have very good personnel and they want to run the ball.  “I think this is like our fifth match up all time against Warren JFK.  This is a team that is full of athletes.  First and foremost their quarterback Lamarcus Provitt.  He's done a really nice job the second half of the season when they moved him to quarterback for them.  He's just very athletic.  He can pass the ball, but they tend to run the ball quite a bit with him as well.  Then they've got a sprinkling of other athletes all over the place as well.  Their offensive line has got some good size.  Their right tackle #78 Carter Dejulia.  He's a handful at 6’4”, 270, but they've got a lot of guys across the board they can fire off and get some great movement for them.  So, that's going to be a good battle for us,” said Doughty.

          On defense, Doughty says JFK shows a lot of movement.  He says it will be important for them to win at the point of attack.  “Defensively, they typically run like a 4-2-5 defense, but they've shown some odd fronts as well.  What they like to do is they'll do some movement up front with slanting and things with their defensive lineman.  They'll also do some cross stunts with those guys as well.  Then they will blitz their backers some to get some pressure on the quarterback.  They're secondary again a lot of their skill guys on offense are playing in the secondary for them, so it's going to be important that again we're able to run the ball and pass the ball effectively.  The bottom line we're going to have to win the line of scrimmage,” he said.

Published 10/29/25

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St. Paul Playing With Confidence

          The annual grudge match between Norwalk St. Paul and Monroeville takes place on Friday night at St. Paul.

          There is a lot riding on the game as usual.  A Monroeville win gives them an outright Firelands Conference title.  St. Paul solidifies a division VII playoff berth with a win.

          St. Paul (5-4,4-2) blasted Mapleton (50-6) last week, scoring all 50 in the first half.

          Coach Chris Doughty says it was a solid effort in all aspects.  “Overall, it was nice to see the kids play a complete game.  Executed the game plan exactly how we wanted.  Had some explosive plays offensively.  Defensively, forced some turnovers.  We had four interceptions and two forced fumbles.  So, anytime your defense can force that many turnovers you're obviously going to set your offense up to be successful.  Overall, all the special teams play was pretty good as well,” he said.

          Monroeville (7-2,6-0) held off Crestview (28-26) last week to hold onto sole possession of first place.

          Doughty says they have playmakers, but it starts up front for the Eagles.  “They're offense kind of runs through Colt Clark.  He's their quarterback this year replacing Evan Benford, who was obviously a heck of an athlete for the last several years.  Colt Clark has stepped in really nicely, he's a dangerous runner, but can also throw the ball too.  Next to him they've got Conner Bores, who's one of our league leaders in both rushing yards and touchdowns.  So, that's a heck of a 1-2 punch out of the backfield,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “The thing that they do really well is they're offensive line play.  They have got the two Schafer boys at tackles and Brycen Dunlap is at right guard for them and he's an absolute monster both sides of the ball.  Hayden Ryan and Isaac Krueger filling out the rest of the line.  I think they do a great job firing off the ball with flat backs and they have consistently gotten really good movement all season for them. So, anytime you've got an offensive line getting movement you're running game is going to take off and it has for them this year.”

          Doughty says the Monroeville defense makes it hard to move the ball.  “Defensively, they've got a lot of the same guys on the mix up front.  Again, Bryson Dunlap kind of leading the charge on the defensive line.  He's a very difficult kid to block.  He fires off low and drives lineman several yards into the backfield.  So, that's a tough thing to account for.  Their linebackers do a great job of filling downhill with Cooper Cleary and Thomas Platte.  So, it's going to be important that we have a good mix of pass and run you know having some balance in the offense and trying to take advantage of the things that they do,” said Doughty.

          Last season, St. Paul won (29-28) with a score in the final seconds to get a share of the “FC” title.  Monroeville has not beaten St. Paul since 2019.

          Doughty says they are playing with confidence.  “Offensive line play has been something we've gotten a lot better at as the season is gone on.  We had some inexperience there early in the year, but I feel like we're really starting to hit our stride now.  The kids are playing with a lot more confidence.  Our running game and passing game I think we're just about 50/50 with our rushing and passing yards.  So, that's good to see.  The bottom line our kids are playing with a lot more confidence now at this part of the season, which is exactly what you want heading into end of the season of the regular season and then preparing for playoffs,” said Doughty.

Published 10/23/25

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St. Paul Looking for Advantages

          Norwalk St. Paul visits Mapleton for a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They punished South Central (39-0) last week in conference play.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they were right on point.  “Overall was really, really pleased with how the kids performed throughout the game.  Played with a lot of confidence and the bottom line they executed the game plan.  They did all the things we practiced throughout the week technique wise all those things showed up in the game.  Offensively, we did a good job of moving the ball down the field in and coming away with touchdowns.  Special teams, Nate Griffin did a great job with his kickoffs.  We actually had a couple kicks that we ended up recovering.  Not necessarily onside kicks, but he was able to put the ball in a place where we were able to recover it.  Then defensively we did a really good job up front of controlling the line of scrimmage and then also our coverage was really good all night long as well,” said Doughty.

          St. Paul (4-4,3-2) is at Mapleton (2-6,1-4) on Friday night.  The Mounties are coming off a (6-4) loss to New London in a conference game on Friday night.

          Doughty says the Mounties do some unconventional things on offense.  “They were in a little bit of a dogfight there with New London.  Mapleton, they do some things offensively.  They run a lot of unbalanced sets with their offensive line, which can make things a little bit tricky alignment wise.  What they're doing with trying to create some advantages running the football.  It's another week again it's going to be important that we control the line of scrimmage and identifying formations and understanding what their tendencies are out of different formations,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Anytime you can find advantages like that that's something to take advantage of in a game like this.  The quarterback Keith Downley, he's only a freshman this year, but he stepped up and done a nice job for them.  They will spread it out a little bit too and then throw the ball around some as well.  Again, use their run game to kind of set up some of their play action passes.”

Doughty says the Mapleton defense will make them execute.  “Defensively, they've been in a like a 4-3 look this season.  They're bakers do a nice job of flowing.  Their defensive line, they've got for sure one kid Lukas Jenkins, he's a big body as a sophomore.  He played quite a bit for them as a freshman last year.  I would say he's one of their better lineman.  Their secondary does a good job of breaking on the ball,” he said.

Published 10/17/25

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St. Paul Looking for More Consistency

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at home against South Central in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          The Flyers (3-4,2-2) fell two games behind the conference leaders when they lost (30-21) to Crestview last week.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they just could not make the big play at the key time.  “Overall, throughout the course of the game our kids did a great job on several occasions making some big plays.  We had them in third and long and even fourth and long a couple times defensively.  They just executed very well on those plays and ended up coming away with some scores in those situations.  Offensively, we we did a pretty efficient job of moving the ball up and down the field again.  Right before halftime ended up having an interception thrown in the end zone.  The ball was in our receivers hands, but their secondary player had a nice jump on the ball and then pulled it away.  So, that was a big swing for us.  They got a touchdown right before halftime, so that's a 14 point swing going into the half,” said Doughty.

          Doughty says they have worked hard this week to become a better football team.  “The reality is a game like that against a good opponent comes down to just a couple what team plays that just didn't go our way and they went Crestview's way.  So, that's something we got to keep working to overcome through practice,” he said.

          South Central (1-6,1-3) lost (39-0) to Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game last week.  They had won the week before in beating Mapleton (38-20).

          Doughty says the Trojans play hard and can be dangerous.  “I see a program that continues to improve.  Bottom line they play their butts off.  They really embrace what Derek Fisher's doing over there.  They play hard, they play consistently hard and they gave us a really tough game last year.  It's a similar type of situation they had one win going into the game.  Just last week against Western Reserve they were 0-0 with them with six minutes to go in the first half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They are capable of competing at a high level it's just a matter of finishing games for them.  It's something we're excited for an opportunity this week to go out and the big thing just perform for four quarters.  We've done a lot of the big things right throughout the season, so we've focused a lot on little technique things that have to show up on those two or three essential plays in a game.  That's been a big focus for us throughout the week.”

Published 10/10/25

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St. Paul has to be Patient

          Norwalk St. Paul travels to Crestview to take on the Cougars in a game with conference title implications on Friday night in the Firelands Conference.

          The Flyers (3-3,2-1) bounced back with a (47-6) win over New London in conference play last week.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they were able to get some momentum around halftime of the game.  “Last week against New London we started off a little bit slow again. A lot of penalties in the first half, which is obviously unacceptable, so that's something we're looking to shore up a little bit this week, but overall toward the end of the first half I felt like we did a good job of getting things rolling a little bit.  Then after halftime kids came out strong and defensively especially and we ended up with two interceptions returned for touchdowns, so that was a that was a big turning point for really take control of the game and put things away,” he said.

          Crestview (4-2,3-0) shares first place in the conference with Monroeville after a (42-0) win over Plymouth last week.

          Doughty says they are very aggressive on defense.  “Defensively Crestview is running their 3-3 defense that they ran a couple years ago.  Really aggressive, attacking style kind of defense.  They do a lot of moving with their defensive ends and then they blitz a lot with their linebackers.  They've got a lot of talent there, specifically Jack Stevens on the defensive line.  He does a phenomenal job for them and Carter Goon as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Their linebackers do a nice job when they when they do blitz.  They make some nice tackles for losses and things like.  They've got a nice secondary with some good height there between their linebackers and secondary players.  So, we're going to need to be able to attack that with both the run in the pass game.”

          Crestview has scored over 40 points in all of their conference games and Doughty says they definitely have some weapons.  “Offensively, they've got a lot of weapons.  Liam Kuhn is their quarterback 6’5”, 190, senior, he does a great job of spreading the ball around.  They have got Ayden Reymer in the backfield, he's done a great job of breaking tackles this season for them.  Their offensive line tends to stand out as well.  They do a good job of firing off with flat backs and getting some good movement.  Again they have got Jack Stevens over there on that side of the line.  Bronson Rose and Kaden Stutz at tackles for them and they do a really good job of both run blocking and pass blocking,” said Doughty.

          The promises to be a good match-up and Doughty says they have show patience.  “I think the big thing is going to be taking things one play at a time.  This is a conference championship kind of a game.  Our kids know that going in.  Not every play is going to go our way.  There's going to be some negative plays and some positive plays.  It's going to be important that we hit that reset button going back every single play throughout the entire game.  It's going to be a four quarter battle, so we've got to be ready for that,” he said.

Published 10/01/25

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St. Paul has to be Better

          Norwalk St. Paul will be on the road for the first time in Firelands Conference play on Friday night as they travel to New London to play the Wildcats.

          They were hammered last week by Western Reserve (46-14) on their home field.

          Coach Chris Doughty says Western was very good and they were not.  “We had a little bit of a rough start to start the game.  First of all, credit to coach (Ty) Stevenson and all the players at Western.  They were obviously ready to go for that game and they had a really good game plan for us and their kids did a great job of executing.  I felt like it was a little bit more of an even match up on the scoreboard indicated, but the reality is we didn't perform to our capabilities and Western did.  They had a great game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “A little bit of frustration on our end.  We weren’t able to move the ball as effectively as we wanted to and defensively we were not able to get stops.  So, those things typically end up in a loss in high school football.”

          The Flyers are only 155 total yards.

          Doughty says they have got to work on their fundamentals.  “This is another week where we're going to get back to our fundamentals on things.  Not that we don't work those on a weekly basis, but really hone in on some of our essential things that we've got to be able to do effectively.  Just continue to refine those things.  We're about halfway through the season now with week five being concluded.  So, I still feel like there's a lot of improvement and things we can do in the next five weeks.  I's going to be essential we take it one week at a time and have a great week of practice this week,” he said.

          St. Paul (2-3,1-1) is at New London (2-3,0-2) on Friday night.  Monroeville blasted the Wildcats (55-13) last week.

          Doughty says there is a lot of improvement in New London.  “Overall, in New London, I see a program that's continuing to show improvement from year to year here.  They've got a couple wins under their belt this year.  They put up 49 points against Vanlue.  They obviously struggled with their first two conference opponents, but we know that the start of their conference schedule is probably the toughest start of anybody in the conference.  So, they play some quality teams, which makes things tough.  Overall, they're doing some good things over there,” said Doughty.

          Doughty says New London has some kids that can make plays.  “They’re lines both sides of the ball are firing off the ball and moving well on stuff.  They've got one of the better receivers in the conference in (Jackson) Mitchell, he's had a really nice season so far.  Then they have got a sophomore Hunter Chandley at running back.  He's done a nice job of breaking some tackles and having some big games for them.  So, they do a nice job with their offense moving the ball.  Defensively, they run their 4-4 defense.  Their backers do a nice job of filling downhill.  Their defensive line they come off the ball hard and you can get pressure when they need to and also effective at stopping the run,” he said.

Published 9/23/25

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St. Paul Must Has Good Technique

          In battle between contenders, Norwalk St. Paul plays host to Western Reserve in a big Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, the Flyers walloped Plymouth (57-0) in a conference game. 

Coach Chris Doughty says they had a good approach.  “I was more than anything really pleased with how our kids attacked the week of practice leading into the game.  Sometimes when you know you outmatch your opponent it's easy to take it easy that week, but our kids did a great job of attacking things and focusing on themselves and getting better at all their techniques.  A lot of that showed up throughout the course of the game.  So, really pleased overall.  I thought our running backs blocked really well for each other and ran really hard.  Our receivers were breaking tackles as well.  So, overall, it was a good week of growth for us,” he said.

          Nick Pocos ran for three touchdowns against Plymouth.  Raphael Gross had 16 tackles in the game for the Flyers (2-2,1-0).

          The Roughriders handled St. Paul their only conference loss (28-7) last year.

          Western Reserve (3-1,1-0) blasted Mapleton (43-2) last week in their conference opener.

          Doughty says the Riders have a lot of offensive talent.  “Western has a very talented roster.  They won a lot of football games last year with Hayden Keith at quarterback.  He's a load to bring down.  I compare him a lot to Bryson Wittmer the running back from Edison, except he can throw the ball as well, which makes him a lot tougher to defend.  They spread the ball out well,” he told Swankopnsports.com on Monday evening, “They've got a really talented wide receiver corps with the (Hayden) Dobias and (Brexten) Fraelich and Dom Edwards.  Landyn Wiegel in the backfield at running back gave us some fits last year as well, he's a strong runner.  So, overall they're their offensive line is big and strong and aggressive.  They do a great job of coming off the ball and then getting movement on things.  So, defensively it's going to be really important that we use good technique and then win that battle up front.”

          On defense, Doughty says Western will again force them to have very good technique.  “Defensively, some of the same guys on the defensive line.  Then they have got Hayden Keith and Landyn Wiegel playing defense end for them as well.  So, they've got some athletic defensive ends.  Same thing as their offensive line.  They fire off the ball very aggressively, low, they'll do slanting and pinching of things, which can be difficult for offensive lineman.  They're linebackers do a great job of filling downhill with Will Taylor and Austin Kolb.  So, it's going to be important that we have correct steps against their defense as well.  Then their secondary, again it's a lot of their wide receivers back there, very athletic in the secondary as well.  So, it's definitely going to be a big challenge for us,” said Doughty.

Published 9/16/25

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St. Paul Gaining Confidence

          Norwalk St. Paul is at home Friday night for the Plymouth Big Red to open play in the Firelands Conference.

          The Flyers shared the title last year with Monroeville.

          Last week, they rallied from two scores down in the fourth quarter to beat Tiffin Calvert (22-20) on a field goal by Nate Griffin with eight seconds left.

          Coach Chris Doughty they knew what they had to do and they did it.  “It was really awesome to see the kids effort.  Going down 14 points in the fourth quarter is no easy task to get over that mental hump of taking it one play at a time and then making that comeback.  Our kids knew that and they embraced that.  Not every play went our way in the fourth quarter still.  We had an onside kick at the end with two minutes left that we didn't recover, but we were able to get that that three and out and get the ball back and kick that field goal as time expired.  So, really, really proud of the kids effort and the resilience they showed throughout that fourth quarter,” said Doughty.

          Doughty says a win like that builds confidence.  “We talked about that after the game.  There is going to come a point in time at some point this season where we're going to be losing a game in the fourth quarter.  There's no doubt about it, that's the game of football.  So, having the confidence to know that we've been there before and we’ve been in that situation and we’ve had the ball and we have scored touchdowns and had comebacks.  That gives them a real sense of comfort in those moments where a lot of teams may not be comfortable in that situation.  They are growing a little more comfortable with that comeback mentality,” he said.

          Norwalk St. Paul (1-2,0-0) hosts Plymouth (0-3,0-0) on Friday night.  The Big Red lost (22-6) to Wellington last week.

          Doughty you cannot allow Plymouth to possess the ball.  “Plymouth reminds me a lot of their team last year.  They've got some good size on their lines both sides of the ball.  They play ball control offense.  They want to get three, four yards a play and get a fourth and short and go for it and keep munching that clock away.  So, it's going to be really important that our defense is able to step up and force the three and outs and get quick turnovers to get the ball back in our offense's hands to score some points.  You don't want to get into a battle where the clocks are running out and it's a close game.  That's the big thing that the offense presents.  They do pass the ball a little bit more this year.  Lincoln Distl does a nice job back there for them directing traffic and stuff,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Defensively, they're kind of aggressive up front.  They move pretty well on the defensive line and at linebackers and they've got some athletes in the secondary.  So, once again it's going to be a matter of us being balanced on offense so they can't sell out on just stopping their run or just shelling the pass.  Our goal here is really to be as balanced as possible.”

Published 9/11/25

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St. Paul to Play Big, Physical Calvert

          Norwalk St. Paul continues its tough non-conference schedule as they play at Tiffin Calvert on Friday night.

          Last week, they fell (35-10) to powerhouse Edison.

          Coach Chris Doughty feels they did a lot of good things.  “Honestly, I was really pleased with our kids effort.  We kept things really tight in the first half.  Moved the ball effectively a few different times.  We had a close score at halftime there.  Coming out of the third quarter we ended up driving the ball well we just couldn't quite put it into the end zone, couldn't quite come away with points.  We had four different times we got stopped and Edison territory you know ended up going four and out just not quite close enough to kick a field goal.  So, overall going against the bigger school like Edison and a great football program like Edison I was really pleased with the progress we made from week one to week two.  Even though that final score didn't necessarily show that.  We made some really nice improvements across the board,” said Doughty.

          It has been the program philosophy at St. Paul to be tested early and Doughty says they talk to the kids about that.  “We've talked a lot to our kids about that.  I think more than ever they understand that because we're not just going out and getting our butts kicked in the first two games.  We've been competitive, we've made the improvements and they understand what that big picture looks like as far as you're going to have tough games at the beginning of the season and that's fine.  You learn a lot about yourself, you learn a lot about the things you're good at and a lot about the things that you've got to get a lot better at throughout the course of the season.  So, it's a good measuring stick to find out where you're at and where you want to get to by the end of the year,” he said.

          Calvert (1-1) handled Monroeville (35-21) on week two.

          Doughty says the Senecas are athletic and they have size too.  “In a lot of ways, I compare their first two weeks to our first two weeks.  Kind of a rough start to the season you know and that week one game and then much improved in the in the second game of the year for them going against Monroeville.  The big thing that stood out to me they had some really, really good special teams play against Monroeville, which is going to be very important for us to have great focus on our special teams this week,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They've got a new quarterback this year in Charlie Palm.  They moved their quarterback to a different position.  To one of their wide receiver positions this year.  So, they have got a new guy back there throwing the ball around.  It looks like he's starting to settle in and get a little bit more comfortable.  They have got some nice weapons that they throw the ball too in Tucker Coleman, A.J. Schumacher and Logan DeMoss.  It's going to be important that our secondary plays well and then also that our line plays well.  They've got some huge size up front both their offensive and defensive lines.  They average around 250 across the board.  So, it’s going to be very important that we use great technique up front.  It will be a little bit different.  We have gone against some smaller, quicker lines lately.  Now it’s going against much bigger guys.”

Published 9/03/25

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St. Paul Has to be Better for Edison

          Norwalk St. Paul makes the short trip to Edison to take on the talented Chargers on Friday night.

          The Flyers lost a wild one trailing by more than 20 points before falling to Port Clinton (37-30) last Saturday.

          Coach Chris Doughty was pleased with how his kids fought back.  “We started the game a little bit slow.  We had a lot of penalties throughout the night, really both teams did, I think there was like 34 flags thrown, so kind of a crazy night in that regard.  We didn't come out the strongest in that first half and gave up some points.  Just some mistakes with a mixture of young players and experienced players.  A lot of those game one jitters getting some of those out of the way.  By the time that fourth quarter rolled around our kids really started to settle into things.  I can't say enough about the resiliency they showed to continue to fight back.  It's just crazy to think we were even in a position to tie that game up at the end with a minute left.  So, can't say enough about the resiliency the kids showed and hopefully we can build on that going into this matchup with Edison,” said Doughty.

          Doughty says they must refine their technique, especially in the trenches.  “We've put a big focus on our techniques on things.  Looking at Edison and they're a very disciplined football team.  So, it's going to come down to our guys using the correct footwork, using the correct hand placement.  We've put a really, really big emphasis on that throughout our individual periods and then carrying that over into the team setting throughout practice.  It's going to be really important that those things show up in the game,” he said.

          Edison smoked Oberlin Firelands (42-6) last week.

          Doughty says again the Chargers are very good and that will force them to be at the top of their game.  “Edison reloads as well as anybody.  They graduated a really talented senior class, but looking at the guys they've got they replaced with some very capable players.  First and foremost Bryson Wittmer.  He's the stud both offensively and defensively on that team.  He's a big, strong, physical back, probably the one of the best backs we're going to see all season long, if not the best,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “It's going to be really important that our guys tackle low and again understanding the defensive game plan to make sure that they're put in a position to make those plays.  Edison runs a complicated offense with their option variations and things, so making sure that our guys are in positions to make the plays that they need to.  Offensively, their defense is aggressive.  They like to blitz some linebackers and do some slants and things up front.  So, it's again those techniques and things making sure that our footwork is correct is going to be huge making sure that we can get the blocks that we need to for our offense to be successful.”

Published 8/28/25

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St. Paul to Play Athletic Port Clinton

          Norwalk St. Paul will play host to Port Clinton on Saturday night in a non-conference game to kick off the season.

          Coach Chris Doughty likes the work his team has put in.  “Looking at our first two scrimmages of the year I was happy with the improvements that we saw there you know between scrimmage one and two.  Honestly this week I've been really, really pleased with the effort and focus the kids have brought to practice.  It's a very determined mindset that the kids have had.  They're attacking things the right way.  So, they've embraced the game plan both offensively and defensively.  So, I'm excited at this point now to put it all together and then play a four quarter football game,” he said.

          Doughty says when you get to the regular season the subject and the tempo of practice changes.  “Throughout the preseason it's more of a partial game plan that you do for the scrimmages, but once you get into the actual games themselves there's a lot of intricate things and things that we do you know based on tendencies and it's more of a focus going into week one.  You try and to find any advantage that you can either side of the ball or on special teams and try to expose those things where you feel like you have an advantage. A lot of it is the kids understanding what those little details are throughout the week and making sure they understand the importance this is something we think we have an advantage with and we need to we need to take advantage of it,” said Doughty.

          Doughty describes the Redskins as both athletic and big and strong up front.  “Port Clinton has a nice, talented roster this year starting with the running back Malackii Pinkelton.  He was a very talented back last year I know he's getting some Division I looks at that running back.  Then they have him playing a defensive end spot.  Both of their defensive ends are really good athletes.  They also have Wyatt Yarborough back at quarterback again this year.  He's a big, strong quarterback, throws a nice ball, threw a bunch of touchdowns last year.  They've got a bunch of skill guys they like to spread the ball out too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They're offensive line and defensive lines, they stand out on tape.  They do a really good job firing off the ball and running their feet hard.  So, it's something we're going to have to prepare just making sure we're handling things up front and using the proper technique even if we're undersized in some spots.  Making sure we're using the right techniques to get the blocks we need to get.”

Published 8/22/25

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St. Paul Looking Good

          Norwalk St. Paul continues to have one of the more consistent small school football programs in North Central Ohio and it looks like they have the building blocks again this year.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they have a lot of their skilled guys back on offense.  “We do have a lot of key pieces back.  We graduated seven seniors.  A lot of them were two way lineman that played a lot of that line play for us last year.  We do return a lot of our skill positions.  Our starting quarterback Grant Kuhnle is back this year.  He put in a lot of work in the off season.  Landon Fries, he was an All-Ohio wide receiver for us last year, we've got him back.  Connor Lindenberger another wide receiver for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Offensively, we've got some really nice skill positions back.  Nick Pocos is back in the backfield as well.  He converted from offensive line to running back for us with some injuries last season.  He’s had an entire off season putting time in and getting better at that.  So, skill position wise we've got a lot back returning.”

          Doughty says they will have some guys back in the trenches, but they will have holes to fill too.  “We also do have some nice pieces back in the offensive and defensive lines, including an Alex Baca, some pretty essential pieces of offensive tackle for us.  So, we do have some nice experience, but obviously with those seniors graduating there are some holes to fill as well specifically guard on offense.  We've been trying a few different guys out of those spots,” he said.

          The Flyers will scrimmage Keystone on Friday and Mohawk next week.  They first game of the season will be at home against Port Clinton on August 23.

          Doughty says this best thing he has seen so far is the leadership that this year’s seniors have shown.  “Overall, I'm really pleased with the senior leadership.  We had the seven seniors last year.  We've got another small senior group this year with five, but they have done a really good job of embracing their role as the leaders.  This is their team and it's been pretty evident, especially once we hit the summer months they've embraced their role of being the leaders of the team.  They know it's their team.  The rest of the team has responded to them and their high expectations that we've set forth.  So, really pleased with how we are growing our younger players and the expectations and our seniors have set for them,” said Doughty.

Published 8/06/25

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St. Paul Edges St. Mary’s

          Norwalk St. Paul downed Sandusky St. Mary’s (3-2) on Thursday evening in a division VII district semifinal played at Margaretta.

          The Flyers will play Tiffin Calvert, the “SBC” River champion, on Saturday in Castalia.

          Coach Aaron Fries says they did a good job of limiting the Panthers.  “We worked ourselves out of a jam in the first inning.  They had bases loaded and nobody out and we were able to escape with nobody scoring there.  Just some really solid plays.  Give them credit they came back in the second inning and jumped on us and got a couple runs, but they earned them.  We made the plays to limit the damage there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Then from there on out we just kept making plays. Alex (Marsh) was doing a great job of staying within himself and pitching the contact and defensively we were we were able to make the plays throughout the rest of the game.”

          St. Paul scored all of their runs in the fourth inning and Fries says they got some production from the bottom on their lineup.  “It was with two outs we were able to score three runs.  We got a big base hit from Adam Roth.  I thought coming into the game when I saw who they were throwing on the mound I thought it was it was a kid that I thought the bottom of our order saw pretty well that type of pitcher.  I thought they could have a good day and the bottom of the order really came through for us and delivered in big spots,” he said.

          St. Paul (13-10) plays Calvert Saturday.  The Senecas (24-3) smoked Old Fort (12-0) in the other semifinal.

          Fries says they know what they are up against, but they are excited about the opportunity.  “They’re an outstanding baseball team.  They do everything well.  I don't really think they have any weaknesses.  They have a strong lineup, they have got great pitching, they're going to play good defense.  So, it's a great challenge for us.  I think our kids are excited for the opportunity and we're looking forward to Saturday and really going out and putting our best foot forward.  We'll see where we stand at the end of the day,” said Fries.

Published 5/30/25

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St. Paul Blanks Monroeville

          Norwalk St. Paul shutout Monroeville (5-0) behind freshman Alex Marsh in Firelands Conference action on Monday evening.

          They continue to trail South Central by a game.  The Trojans are leading New London (3-0) in a game that was suspended in the second inning Monday due to lightning and storms.  The plan is to resume that game on Tuesday.

          Marsh went the distance and coach Aaron Fries says they played very good defense behind him.  “They are certainly much improved and continue to get better.  They have a nice, young group.  We did a nice job of playing really solid baseball.  I wouldn't say we hit it very well, but I thought we took advantage of some free passes offensively and I thought we ran the bases really well and to kind of get our runs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night after the win, “Defensively I thought we were really sharp.  We have got a young freshman Alex (Marsh), who continues to pitch well for us.  He is just doing a great job of executing the game plan, which is pitch to contact and let your defense work for you.  I thought defensively we did a really nice job of making routine plays, but we made special plays look routine as well.”

          When it comes to the philosophy of pitching to contact, Fries says it keeps the pitch count down and he wants his pitchers to attack the bottom part of an opponent’s line up.  “It’s making lineups hit one through nine.  I mean that's just a big strategy.  If they have got a good leadoff hitter or good three hitter and he gets a couple base hits.  Well, those don't mean as much if you're not letting seven, eight, nine on the bases.  Generally, those guys get on the basis via walks and those types of things.  So, we really stress pitching to contact, attacking hitters and trusting your defense.  When our pitchers do that we tend to have a lot of success,” said Fries.

          Fries says when you are throwing strikes, the defense is more ready to field its position too.  “The defense just kind of goes with that as far as they're ready to make plays.  They're on their toes and so those kinds of things.  So, it just all kind of flows together,” he said.

Published 5/06/25

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St. Paul Retakes the Lead

          Norwalk St. Paul moved back into sole possession of first place in the Firelands Conference with a walk off walk win (4-3) over South Central on Thursday evening in Nowalk.

          Coach Aaron Fries says they took advantage of some things in the bottom of the seventh.  “It was kind of interesting situation.  The first two guys got out, so we're sitting there with two outs and nobody on and end up getting a few walks, a base hit, and then we just took advantage of a walk off walk.  It’s whatever it takes.  I'm certainly not going to give it back,” said Fries.

          The second meeting between the Flyers (7-5,5-2) and the Trojans (6-7,4-3) was originally scheduled for Friday, but has been moved to Monday.

          Fries says there is a lot of baseball yet to play.  “Just (Thursday) was the halfway point.  I think for our baseball team, and I think for all the teams in the Firelands Conference, I think we're all just trying to find some consistency in play.  I think whoever does that the best or the second half is likely to be the conference champion,” he said.

          Consistency is the word you hear from coaches more than any other and Fries says it’s hard to achieve.  “It's very tough, especially for us.  We’ve got an inexperienced group this year.  Basically all new pitching.  Trying to find that combination of consistency on the mound and combination with the defense behind them can be tricky,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Certainly we have struggled at times finding those combinations, but I feel a lot better going into next week after a busy week this week and how we performed and then some of the things that I saw as far as combinations.  So, I think we're coming together.”

Published 4/25/25

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St. Paul Holds “FC” Lead

          Norwalk St. Paul rapped out eight hits and the Flyers beat Mapleton (9-2) on Monday evening in Firelands Conference action.

          They scored twice in the first inning and coach Aaron Fries feels that start was pretty important to them.  “I thought it was really important for us to get off to a good start.  We put a couple runs up on the board early and just kind of added on from there.  It’s just really important because I think we have got kind of a young inexperienced pitching staff and any time we can put runs up early, especially when you're facing on paper the best returning pitcher in the league this year coming back.  So, those are all good things,” said Fries.

          Tyson Welch took the loss for Mapleton.

          Alex Marsh went a strong five plus innings for the Flyers and permitted only two hits and fanned nine.  He allowed two unearned runs.

          Fries says he did what he was supposed to do.  “I mean Alex (Marsh), he's a young kid, but he's really doing a nice job of executing the game plan, which is you know pitch to contact.  We have a really solid defensive, a veteran defense, especially our infield.  Pitching to contact and letting your defense work for you.  He's doing a great job of that and kind of stumbling into strikeouts along the way.  So, he's been real consistent for us,” he said.

          St. Paul is in first place in the Firelands Conference and Fries says they did a very good job of responding to a (13-10) loss to Western Reserve last week.  “We just had a tough game at Western.  We got up big early and then a combination of walks and missed plays.  It was a really windy day so we had some balls that probably on a normal day get caught were blown kind of from the outfield to the infield.  Those kinds of things happen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They creep back on us and it you know it's just one of those deals.  So, it's nice to come out (Monday) and really play well, especially in the field defensively.  We've been hitting the ball pretty well consistently throughout the year.  When the weather's been good, we have been good defensively.  So, I was hoping that would come back again (Monday) with some decent weather.”

Published 4/22/25

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St. Paul Smokes Danbury

          Norwalk St. Paul crushed Danbury Lakeside (16-8) in a non-conference game on Thursday evening.

          Earlier in the week they had beaten New London (14-9) and (25-10) in Firelands Conference games.

          Coach Aaron Fries says they are seeing the ball pretty well right now.  “I think we're doing a pretty good job of being disciplined at the plate and putting the ball in play consistently and getting some key base hits here or there to take advantage of some opportunities that other teams are giving us through walks or hit batsmen and those types of things,” he said.

          Fries says you have to be able to take advantage when the pitcher puts the ball in your zone.  “You have got to take advantage of the opportunities that you're given.  So, if you get a couple walks or the pitchers is a little wild at some point you probably going to get some pitches across the plate.  They're probably going to be really good pitches to hit and you have to put those in play.  We're doing a pretty good job of that right now,” said Fries.

          St. Paul (4-2,2-0) plays Western Reserve in its “FC” series next week.

          Fries says overall they have to be more consistent when it comes to their pitching and defense.  “It's been a little hit or miss I'd say at this point.  We've gotten off to slow starts just having a hard time finding the strike zone or a combination of walks and maybe some plays in the field that we need to make.  So, we're getting off to slow starts defensively.  None of that has to do with the youth I think the cold weather is making it difficult a little bit on some of our pitchers as well, just like everybody else,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We're gaining some valuable experience.  I think it's just been a little inconsistent.  We've had everybody, I think that we've thrown out there throw well at times and then other times it's just not gone as well.  So, just inconsistent right now.  I'm hoping as the season goes on the weather warms up a little bit the kids can get a little bit better feel for their breaking pitches and we'll start to be a little bit more consistent there.”

Published 4/11/25

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Defense and Rebounding Again for St. Paul

          Norwalk St. Paul meets Warren JFK on Wednesday night in a division VII regional semifinal at Barberton High School.

          A win means a meeting with either Hillsdale, of the Wayne County Athletic League, or Cornerstone Christian in the regional final.

          St. Paul (20-5) has won it’s last 14 games and coach Steve Minor says they are really playing well.  “I'd like to think so.  It starts for us on the defensive end.  I know we've got out to the big leads in our last couple of tournament games, but that's not just all the offense.  I mean you've got to get stops at the other end.  You don't start off 17-2 and 19-2 just by having good offense.  So, I think once again it's going to start their defense,” he said.

          Warren JFK (16-9) blasted Bristolville Bristol (72-47) in their district final.

          Minor says they are athletic they remind him a lot of Crestview, the runnerup in the Firelands Conference.  “They're nice team, they're very athletic.  They play in the smaller conference, but it’s a tough conference.  You have your pick of quality opponents from around that area.  Just look at how big their district was with 25 teams seeded from 1 to 25, so there's quite a variety of teams.  They fared a little over .500 with their non conference opponents and that’s not to say they didn't have a hard schedule.  They kind of remind us, you always try to compare with something you've seen so people can relate,” he told Swnakonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They are like a Crestview with a little bit of a bulkier player taking Ringler’s role and maybe doesn’t shoot as much as Ringler did for Crestview.  A player that's just like Justice Thompson except he's a little bit more chiseled.  He's a soccer player, heck of an athlete, that's take anything away from Justice.  I've seen Justice post up and down on the block, this guy goes on the block.  If I had to compare him to anybody I definitely comparing to Justice.  He even shoots like him, shoots in the same range as him.”

          Minor believes again it’s going to come down to defense and rebounding for the Flyers.  “We're going to try to lock in on the same exact things that that have gotten us here.  Defending and rebounding and hopefully our offense gets back on track where it was.  It’s almost every other game, so we were really firing every single cylinder we could against Buckeye Central and once we got out to a lead we just played comfortably ahead and didn't put the gas down.  We just kept it on cruise control,” said Minor.

Published 3/04/25

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St. Paul Blitzes Buckeye

          Norwalk St. Paul overwhelmed Buckeye Central (68-35) on Thursday night in a division VII district semifinal at Shelby High School.

          The Flyers (19-5) will play Sandusky St. Mary’s (9-15) in the final on Saturday night in Shelby.  The Panthers smoked Plymouth (46-25) in the nightcap.

          Buckeye would score the first points of the game on a basket by Hunter Caudill with 6:44 left in the first quarter, but St. Paul would score the next 25 over the next 10 minutes of play and it was pretty much game, set, and match.

          St. Paul coach Steve Minor says they responded well to what Buckeye threw at them.  “It was a great tone I thought we set.  Really we took what they gave us.  They came out in triangle two and it's something we haven't seen.  Even if you try to mirror that in practice, you're not going to do it right if you don't usually do it,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It was nice that we saw it on the fly and we're able to adjust to it.  Now, we were going to see all kinds of different things from them and we just basically had to go down the checklist this week and go over every single possibility that we might see.  Unfortunately, the triangle and two wasn't one of them, but fortunately they had to come out of it.”

          Although everyone took part in the early explosion by the Flyers it was sophomore guard Grant Kuhnle that did the most damage, scoring 15 of the 25 points to start the game, including three threes.

          Minor says Kuhnle makes them a different team when he plays like he did Thursday.  “It makes it us a totally different dimension, not like two dimensional almost like three to four dimensional.  When he's feeling it too you just let him go with it.  Sometimes he takes some ill advised shots, but a lot of times full those ill advised go in, so I’m fine with it,” he said.

          The Flyers dominated the glass and 6’7” Nolan McCall block a number of shots.

          Buckeye coach Chris Moyer said going in that they were concerned about the Flyers height and that forced them to alter their usual game plan.  “We jumped it up with the triangle and two just trying to deal with it.  Our worry was rebounding and unfortunately it came to fruition.  We were getting stops early, but we were giving them second and third chances and it just got away from us pretty early,” said Moyer.

          Kuhnle finished with 18 points on the night to lead St. Paul.  Guards Korey Frazee and Lando Fries both had 10.  Hunter Caudill had 18 for Buckeye.

          St. Paul had a big height advantage in the and Minor says that has been the case on most nights.  “Fortunately for us that's something that that is something everybody's going to deal with this year and it doesn't happen all the time.  A matter of fact it doesn't have very often our way, so when we have it, we hope to make it a concern for people,” he said.

Published 2/28/25

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St. Paul Will be Challenged

          Norwalk St. Paul, the top seed in the district, plays Buckeye Central in a division VII district semifinal on Thursday night at Shelby High School.

          St. Paul beat back a challenge from Mansfield St. Peter’s (53-41) in a sectional final last Friday at St. Paul.

          Coach Steve Minor says St. Peter’s pushed them and they responded.  “Their athleticism really challenged us that's for certain across the board.  You'll get certain teams that have that have one or two kids that stand above, but they were all very lengthy quick, well coached team.  They were riding high they had a nice win streak growing into the postseason, which is ideally what you want.  They were feeling good about themselves and had every right to be.  They definitely brought a fight.  I think coach (Shoulders) might have said that, we're going to bring a fight and they did.  So, I was really pleased with the way we handled it and were able to come away with the win,” said Minor.

          St. Paul (18-5) meets Buckeye Central (8-15) on Wednesday.  Buckeye scored twice in the final 90 seconds to beat South Central (65-61) last week.

          Minor says they have great familiarity with Buckeye.   “We see them a lot during the summer because we'll do shootouts with them and there's a couple of kind of basketball retreat things we do.  So, we're pretty familiar with them.  Coach (Chris) Moyer and I go back aways.  We played against each other in high school.  I think he was a sophomore when I was a senior when he was at Plymouth.  A great guy and he does a great job at that Buckeye,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “It seems every year somebody ends up with an injury and he's down to a six man rotation or and he never complains about it he just reshuffles his deck and gets back to work.  He's done it again this year.  He doesn't have the numbers, but he's doing a great job.”

          Minor says Buckeye Central will come into this game battle tested.  “The “N10” is a tough conference.  You look at a lot of the teams in our district and you look at records, but all those people that are ranked in the top four in our district.  They might not have the best records, but they play a heck of a schedule and so they're going to be ready.  They play Colonel Crawford, they play Seneca East, they play Upper Sandusky, they play a heck of a schedule.  It's going to be a tough game and they're going to be physical and we have got to be ready,” he said.

Published 2/27/25

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Norwalk St. Paul Must Do What They Do

          Norwalk St. Paul, the winner of the Firelands Conference, will host Mansfield St. Peter’s in a division VII sectional final on Friday night.

          The Flyers (17-5) ended the regular season on an 11 game winning streak, which earned them the number one seed in the district.

          Coach Steve Minor says they are playing pretty well right now.  “I would like to think so.  The kids have really worked hard and things are just going a really while right now.  We've had a heck of a gauntlet there with these last two weeks of the season and come out of that unblemished, it's phenomenal,” he said.

          St. Peter’s (8-10) is playing well too.  The Spartans have won their last six games, including a (45-42) overtime win over Mid-Buckeye Conference rival Lucas on Tuesday night in the semifinal.

          Minor says they are an athletic team.  “They're rolling in with I think a six game winning streak now.  They avenged their two losses to Lucas, that's a heck of a rivalry there.  They’re athletic, they can get out and go.  So, we have to be ready defensively and just keep doing what we what got us to where we're at.  We have got to share the ball, defend, and hopefully come out on top,” sad Minor.

          St. Paul is the top seed, St. Peter’s is the ninth seed, Minor says they want to get out and take control early.  “You give somebody confidence in the postseason anything can happen, actually anytime.  You don't want to give them any daylight,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We have got to make sure we account for their guys at all times.  They're lengthy and they're quick and very athletic, so we have got to make sure we keep ourselves in check and just stick to the formula.”

Published 2/21/25

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St. Paul Expects Challenging Weekend

          Norwalk St. Paul, the Firelands Conference leader, finishes off the conference with games at Plymouth on Friday and at home with Crestview on Saturday.

          Right now, they lead Crestview by a game after Plymouth beat the Cougars (52-49) on Monday night.

          A win over the Big Red on Friday would give the Flyers no less than a share of the conference title.

          Coach Steve Minor says the Flyers, a winner of their last nine, are really playing well.  “The kids are really locked in and they're seeing their hard work pay off for them.  So, we're really happy with the results so far, but a lot of basketball to play yet,” he said.

          St. Paul is also the top seed in their division VII district.

          Norwalk St. Paul (15-5,11-1) travels to Plymouth (11-10,7-6) on Friday night.  St. Paul won the first meeting (47-46) on January 10.

          Minor is impressed with how hard the Big Red plays consistently.  “They're like everybody else having to make it through some bouts with sickness and illness and different guys being available different nights, but they teetered with that two seed in our district.  Sometimes they were the two and between the two and the three.  They've worked really hard to stay at the top and host a home game for the sectional, that being on the top four seeds,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They took us to the brink at our place.  We escaped with a one point victory against them.  They don't give up.  They execute and they grind it out and they're going to make you earn every basket.  They're going to make the defend everybody they put on the floor”

          St. Paul beat Crestview last week (57-54) at Crestview.  The Cougars have lost their last three after winning 14 of their first 16.  They had to cancel a game Tuesday night with Mansfield Madison due to sickness. 

          Minor says they will be ready Saturday.  “Hopefully, we can make it worthwhile when we get there.  They're not going to go away.  They've had a rough stretch here, but they're going to bounce back.  I don't expect any less from them.  Given what will be at stake and knowing that we tripped them up last year and were able to go in and steal one at their place this year they're going to be ready.  I totally expect two heavyweight bouts two nights in a row this week,” said Minor.

Published 2/12/25

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St. Paul Will Have to Handle a Lot

          In the first of two games over the next 10 days, Norwalk St. Paul is at Crestview in a huge game in the Firelands Conference on Wednesday night.

          The two also play at St. Paul on February 15.

          The Flyers also play Mapleton on Thursday and Western Reserve on Saturday in conference a games against teams playing well.

          St. Paul coach Steve Minor says its’s definitely a tough stretch for them.  “It certainly is.  You have got to play everybody twice eventually, so might as well get them all in a row,” he said.

          Right now, St. Paul (12-5,8-1) trails Crestview (14-2,9-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, by a game in the Firelands Conference standings.

          Minor says the Cougars force them to prepare for a lot.  “The easy answer is it all starts with Justice Thompson, but I mean they're so well coached.  They are a group that's used to winning and so they have tons of confidence going into this going for their third conference title in a row.  The way that they've been able to play this year.  I thought they have played really well this year having to replace some key members of their squad the last two runs.  So, we just have to be prepared for everything and anything they can throw at us because they can man you up, they can zone you, they can full court press you, they can trap your first pass, they can bull rush your point.  They just they throw the kitchen sink and they do it well,” said Minor.

          Minor says, of course, they wish they could blow Crestview out, but that’s likely won’t happen.  “In a fairy tale world you'd like it, but in reality.  As long as we stay at pace with them and keep ourselves in the game it’s crunch time that that last quarter, the last two minutes.  It might come down to the last who knows,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We have got to make plays.  Kids have got to make the plays.  We've had enough time to have everything we think we need to, but coach (John) Kurtz is a great coach.  I'm sure everything I'm prepared for he's got other stuff that that I wouldn't even have thought of that that's just because he's that good.”

Published 2/04/25

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St. Paul is Building

          Norwalk St. Paul, in second place in the Firelands Conference, at New London in an “FC” game on Friday night.

          They host Sandusky St. Mary’s in a non-league game on Saturday.

          The Flyers (10-5,7-1) trail Crestview by a game in the conference standings.  They play them twice in February.

          They are also first in their division VII RPI district.

          Coach Steve Minor says they have to keep working.  “We have put ourselves in a pretty good position.  We don't want to set ourselves up for a let down toward the end of the season here.  We want to keep going toward where our goal is.  So, far we're right where we wanted to be.  So, we're happy, but we're not satisfied,” he said.

          New London (2-13,1-7) lost (52-34) to Crestline in a non-conference game on Tuesday.  They lost (54-44) to Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game on Friday.

          Minor says the New London gym can be a tough place to play.  “Tom Howell’s teams don't get worse.  He's been in the game long enough.  He always gets the most out of his teams and they're playing better now, which you would hope for and he's right on with that.  They just had a really close game with a Western Reserve team that seems to have turned it around recently.  So, we're definitely going to have our hands full.  New London traditionally in the past has been a tough place to play and I think they're trying to get it back to being a tough place to play again.  So, we have got to really respect our opponent this week and be ready for anything they throw at us,” said Minor.

          St. Mary’s also won on Tuesday in whipping Fremont St. Joe (53-29) in an “SBC” River division game.

          Minor says traditionally the Panthers have given them problems.  “Their record can be deceiving with four, five wins, but they're still I believe third in the RPI in our district and that's due to the schedule they play there in that SBC mega conference.  With crossovers from the Bay and the Lake they get a look at a lot of different levels of teams and just every different kind of style of play you can imagine,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They're going to be battle tested.  They've had our number for the last couple of years.  So, we have got to turn right back around and luckily we're at home.  “The Den” is a rough place to play after you've been on the road, but hopefully we can keep things going and be ready for them Saturday as well.”

Published 1/29/25

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St. Paul Just Wants to Play

          Norwalk St. Paul just wants to play some basketball as they are scheduled to play at Edison in a non-conference game on Thursday and at home against South Central in Firelands Conference action on Friday.

          They have not played since January 11.

          Coach Steve Minor says isn’t sure how they will respond to the layoff.  “Well, it depends on how we come out of this next stretch.  I mean we haven't had a game in almost two weeks.  We've only had a few practices because of weather and the way it falls and school being cancelled and everything.  So, if we can come out of this stretch okay and we're rolling pretty well,” he told Swankonports.com on Wednesday evening, “It gives us a little bit to build on, but if you get tripped up and you go stumbling into a bunch of games at the end that that could be a problem.  So, we have got to be sharp these next couple games.  That's going to be hard to do with practicing twice since Friday.  So, we'll just have to wait and see.”

          St. Paul is at Edison (1-9) on Thursday.

          Minor calls the Chargers dangerous.  “I know their coach pretty well.  They probably are the most dangerous one win team that will play this year.  I mean play a meat grinder of a schedule in that “SBC”.  They've been really close in a lot of their games.  They did trip up Mapleton at Mapleton earlier in the year.  They just have not been able to get back in the win column.  I planned to go watch them two days ago when the weather got us, so that all I've seen is film of them, I haven't seen them in person.  They scrap, they're active, their hands are active, they just they have no quit in them and they're really dangerous,” he said.

          The Flyers (8-5,6-1), in second place in the Firelands Conference, a game behind Crestview, hosts South Central (2-10,0-9) on Friday.  They hammered the Trojans (72-43) December 19.

          Minor says they are hungry too.  “It will be at our place and it's a bigger floor.  I thought the smaller floor at their place helped us out.  They’re hungry to get back in win column too.  They're in the same boat as everybody else having big layoffs and waiting.  I think they snuck a game in last week.  I think half the league was off with weather last week and half of them rolled the dice and played.  So, they probably haven’t been on the floor and much longer than we have either.  They're going to be hungry to be after it going towards the end of the season trying to build some momentum going into the draw and to finish up their schedule strong,” said Minor.

Published 1/23/25

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St. Paul Can Move into First Place

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at Firelands Conference leader Crestview on Thursday and a would put them in share of first place with the Cougars.

          Last week, they won a pair of conference games in edging Plymouth (47-46) on Friday and downing rival Monroeville (51-38) on Saturday.

          Coach Steve Minor says those were good wins for the team.  “We knew we'd have our hands full with both games.  We talked about how well Plymouth is playing.  It's evident too how well Monroeville is playing coming off that big win over a really good Mapleton team.  So, those were big games for us to take care of last week,” he said.

          The Flyers (8-5,6-1) are at Crestview (10-1,6-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Thursday night.

          Minor says the Cougars revolve around the play of Justice Thompson, one of the area’s leading scorers (26.1 PPG) in the area.  “They're coaching is phenomenal.  Fortunately for them, it's hard for them to lose.  The easy way is to say it starts with Thompson.  He makes everybody around him better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We were talking about it (Tuesday) breaking down film if they're having trouble bringing the ball up, he'll bring the ball up.  If they're having trouble inside, he'll play inside.  I mean he just does everything for them.  But the guys around him are gaining confidence because I think he's showing confidence in them and they're just getting better every time out.”

          Last season, St. Paul beat Crestview by a point and ended up sharing the conference title with them.

          Minor says that gives them a little bit of confidence going into Thursday night.  “I think it helps us that that we have that in our memory banks all the guys on this roster.  It's a lot different than facing them after losing to them as bad as we did last year (in the first gme).  Now, we're coming in realizing, hey, we can compete here.  We're just as good as they are, we just have to stay focused,” he said.

Published 1/15/25

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St. Paul With a Couple Challenges

          Norwalk St. Paul has two in the Firelands Conference this weekend as they host Plymouth on Friday and travel to arch rival Monroeville on Saturday.

          The Friday night game will start a little earlier with the tip-off around 6.

          The Flyers have lost three of their last four and coach Steve Minor says they need to get back to what was making them good.  “I think we have got to get back to what we started off the season that’s sharing the basketball better and defending it heck of a lot better.  We looked really good right out of the shoot and all of a sudden that kind of tripped up some.  Credit to the teams we played.  We played some really good teams, but last I checked we're pretty good too.  Our record right now might leave that up for argument, but I think we've got things headed the right way and hopefully we're focused on our next opponent which is the Plymouth Big Red,” said Minor.

          St. Paul (6-5,4-1), in second in the conference standings, plays at home against Plymouth (5-5,2-3) on Friday.  The Big Red has won three of its last four, including a non-conference win (41-38) over Bucyrus on Wednesday.

          Minor says it will be test for them.  “Eric (Picklesimer) does a great job over there.  They've played Crestview and Mapleton really tough and they came up short handed against both of them, but they were in it both all the way.  They were able to get back in their winning ways (Wednesday) night with the Bucyrus game at home.  These oddball Wednesday night, Tuesday night, out of nowhere games after you are just coming back from being out of school for two weeks.  Then you're back and then there's snow days and it's hard to get these kids in some kind of rhythm.  I thought he did a good job getting them focused and ready to play basketball (Wednesday) night.  So, they present a lot of challenges for us and I hope we answer the bell,” he said.

          Monroeville (5-4,4-2) welcomes St. Paul Saturday.  The Flyers won the first meeting (48-33) December 13.  However, Monroeville has won its last three and four of its last five.

          Minor says this will be a different team they face this time.  “It's hall of fame night over there.  They already have a great crowd over there now you add something like that into it and it's going to be electric over there.  It’ll be like a playoff type of atmosphere I believe.  Aside from the fact that St. Paul-Monroeville always is,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Our first game was a really tight game and it just came down to some better decision making in the fourth quarter for us fortunately.  They're big, they are athletic and they pound the boards and they are getting out and their scoring.  They're scoring from all over the place.  We have got to take care of business (Friday) night and hopefully things go well or if not, we have got to regroup and get right back at it with them,” said Minor.

Published 1/10/25

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St. Paul Faces Defensive Challenge

          Norwalk St. Paul visits Mapleton for a key game in the Firelands Conference on Monday night.

          The Flyers (5-2,3-0) share first place in the conference with Crestview.  Mapleton (6-2,2-1) trails by a game.

          Coach Steve Minor says the Mounties are very aggressive on both ends of the floor.  “They have been in the upper part of the conference for the last few years.  It all starts with Scotty Hickey, but every year he seems to have a nice supporting cast.  They really get after it and they have no fear.  Any shot is a good shot and they're going to defend you and try to speed you up.  You have got to be ready to go,” said Minor.

          Minor says they have to take good shots, not rushed shots.  “That's the main objective of the way they play their defense.  They want to try to turn you over or convince you to take a quick shot.  I'm convinced we should get the shot we want, we just have to be mentally prepared ourselves,” he said.

          Hickey is likely one of the best small school guards in this area.  However, Minor says you have to be careful concentrating too much of your defense on him.  “They have two other really good perimeter shooters, they had another really good perimeter shooter last year that graduated.  They have Joe (Foster) and Reese (Sowl) this year.  If you ignore them for a second they'll light you up.  All three get their shots off so quick.  The only difference I think is (Hickey) is willing to do it from almost half court with pretty good success,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “They bring athleticism that the other two positions.  Guys that know their roles and it's working for them.  They're a really good team.  They've only lost two games this year and one was to a really good Crestview team and the other was when they were a little shorthanded against Edison and that was overtime.  So, they're off to a really good start this year.”

Published 12/30/24

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St. Paul to Play Improved South Central

          It’s a pair of Firelands Conference games for Norwalk St. Paul this week as play at South Central on Thursday night and at home against New London on Saturday night.

          They were dominated Saturday night by Perkins in a non-conference game to the tune of (79-43).

          Coach Steve Minor files that under learning experience.  “You better believe it we learned an awful lot from that last game.  I don't think your program is long enough for me to give you everything that we learned from that,” he said.

          St. Paul (3-2,1-0) is at South Central (2-2,0-1) on Thursday night.  The Trojans were handled (59-45) by Plymouth in a conference game on Friday night.

          Minor says South Central is noticeably better than they were last season.  “This is Dallas’ (Yost) second year and people are selling into his system and he does a good job and they're buying in they're finally used to what he wants to do.  He's getting results.  They’ve had some good wins that last year and the year before they've struggled against teams that they're starting to beat now.  So, I think things are really coming around for them.  I've seen them and they're very scrappy and very athletic.  They definitely get their shots up and you better be ready to come play, especially at that gym,” said Minor.

          Minor says no matter who they are playing they have to be at their best if they are going to win.  “It's kind of the thing we talked about last year you have to respect your opponent.  No matter what you think of where we stand against them.  If you know you're better, if you believe you're better, you still have to play up to your standards not anybody else's,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We need to take care of the things that we do and watch out for everybody.  Anything can happen on any night.  I think you've seen that in some different games already early this year.  You can look at four common opponents and you try to explain how a “A” beat “B” and “C” beat “D” and how did “D” beat “A”.  It's not a fun thing to try to figure out, so I think the best thing is to just try to take care of yourself and not take anybody lightly.”

Published 12/19/24

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St. Paul Versus Monroeville Means Something

          Norwalk St. Paul shared the Firelands Conference title last season and they begin their defense of that title on Friday night against arch rival Monroeville.

          In their last game last Saturday, they were handled (85-57) by Margaretta.

          Coach Steve Minor says they just couldn’t keep up with Margaretta’s relentless attack.  “I think it was a matter of not just a physical game, but a mental game.  They have such a mental toughness.  They've been playing, I think they're the core of their players, the standouts that they have, are juniors and they have the ability to go after it at such great lengths on offense and defense.  No matter the result of each possession they don't let it affect their effort the next possession.  I think they have that short term memory and they get right after you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “If they take a shot and it doesn't go in it doesn't matter they’ll get another one.  If they gamble on defense and they don't get a turnover or get a stop doesn't matter they'll stop it next time.  They are just so tough with that and they relentlessly come at you.  We were able to keep pace with them for a little over a quarter, but it just caught up with us.  If they turn us over like they did they probably scored on 80 percent of the turnovers they caused.  They just get out so quick and things can get away from you in a hurry and they sure did.”

          St. Paul (2-1,0-0) hosts Monroeville (1-1,1-0) on Friday.  The Eagles beat Plymouth (50-38) in a conference game last Friday.

          Minor says this has been a difficult team to get a gauge on. “The few games I have been to see them play, I've seen them live and film on them and I'm not sure which team we're going to get.  They win a game that you're like okay and then they lose a game and you're like I didn't see it coming, but okay.  So, if it wasn't for that I think I'd have a better feel for them,” he said.

          Minor says the Flyers and the Eagles means rivalry no matter what sport they play.  “St. Paul-Monroeville especially this close to the last week 10 football game is going it's going to be a great game.  I think the rivalry games have I've always been good with them no matter what the records are and it's really not much of a difference in records not this early in the season.  It doesn't matter if we're playing chess it's going to be a heck of a battle with Monroeville, so we're getting pretty excited for that,” said Minor.

Published 12/13/24

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St. Paul Ready for Some Pressure

          Norwalk St. Paul takes the bus to Vermilion to meet the Sailors in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          They buried Fremont St. Joe (62-21) in their first game last Wednesday.

          Coach Steve Minor says it was a good start.  “It's nice to get that first game under our belt.  There's always things we can work on, but for the most part I thought things went well, especially defensively.  That's what we need to get better at this year and we did a really good job on that end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Offensively, you always like more shots to fall, but nobody shoots 100 percent, so we're pretty happy with the first one.”

          The Flyers (1-0) are at Vermilion (1-0) on Tuesday.  The Sailors beat Western Reserve, of the Firelands, (62-57) last week.

          Minor says Vermilion will want to force the pace and be aggressive on defense.  He says they have to be better.  “We're going to get a chance to do that I believe (Tuesday) night.  It’s two totally different styles.  We saw a lot of zone last week with the Fremont St. Joe and (Tuesday) as far as I know Vermilion's going to get up on our business from the second the ball goes in the air until the final buzzer.  So, we better be ready to spend some energy on both ends of the floor and get organized and keep our heads,” said Minor.

          Minor says they need to have that next play mentality.  “I thought we have improved as a team through my run with the core of these guys here.  We all echo that sentiment.  Sometimes if I get stuck on it I know Corey or Noel will go coach you know it's just it's only a 60 second, 30 second timeout and they say next play and they're right.  It's the same thing and I appreciate them, so they have got to hold me accountable just as well, so we’re all the same page with that,” he said.

Published 12/03/24

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St. Paul Ready to Get Started

          Norwalk St. Paul plays host to Fremont St. Joe on Wednesday night in their opener to the 2024-25 season in non-conference play.

          Coach Steve Minor believes they are primed and ready to go.  “I really do think we’re ready.  We had a rare occasion where we didn't have to delay any games or move any schedules around.  You get that it seems almost once every 10 years over here at St. Paul.  So, we thought we took advantage of that this year.  We're right on pace and we're doing some good things,” said Minor.

          The Flyers shared the Firelands Conference title last season and Minor thinks this can be another good year for them.  “Our conference is still pretty competitive.  I don't think anybody runs away with it.  You have got to bring it every night no matter who you're playing.  We have got a nice, solid, tough non schedule.  We'll see what happens the end of the year and gets us ready for the postseason,” he said.

          Minor says Fremont St. Joe will have some players.  He says want to use their home court to their advantage.  “I have been all around trying to grab film on them.  We have what we had last year.  I believe their coach it’s his second year.  Going over there is always a little iffy because it's such a small court and they get a great homecourt advantage with the old setups and the old balcony gym and the one sided double deckers,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We're hoping we can spread them out a little bit better on our big floor.  They have a nice group of seniors.  They've come through and basically they battled the sophomores to juniors to seniors that I have now.  They've seen each other for three years.  It's a nice group that he's got over there.  I don't know how their numbers are I know what he's got is pretty good.”

Published 11/27/24

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Flyers Well Prepared

          Norwalk St. Paul, the defending co-champion of the Firelands Conference, will be a well seasoned basketball team this year.

          Coach Steve Minor says they have a lot of kids back they have played a lot of varsity basketball.  “It'll be the most experience that I've had since I've taken over the job here with all the senior leadership that we have.  We do have some underclassmen sprinkled in there that are meshing really well. These guys, some of them have played on the varsity level since they were sophomores, almost all of them have gotten in a little bit of sophomores or got a lot more playing time last year and now they're full throttle and they're ready to go,” said Minor.

          Minor says he thinks they have learned where they need to get better.  “We've really been back-to-back with scrimmages, so now we finally get some in between time before we have another scrimmage to work out some things, which is good. You don't know really what you definitely need to work on when you watch and evaluate practice,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “You think everything needs work.  You pinpoint things that you think are good at practice, but really, it's practice.  You don't do an honest look at that stuff to get an honest evaluation until the ball is thrown up against somebody else.  We've had quite a different array of opponents and we've been able to get really good looks at what we need to work on.”

          The Flyers open their season next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, against Fremont St. Joe.  Their first conference game is against Monroeville on December 13.

          Minor says they have seen a lot this preseason and he thinks they will be prepared for next week.  “We've been pretty fortunate.  We even saw some zone (Tuesday) night, which sometimes you'll see right off the bat and sometimes you won't see it until later.  So, we've gotten a look at just about everything that we would hope to so far.  So, so far, so good,” he said.

Published 11/20/24

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St. Paul to Meet Traditional Power Cuyahoga Heights

          Norwalk St. Paul, co-champion of the Firelands Conference, will put the welcome matt out for Cuyahoga Heights in a division VII first round playoff game on Friday night.

          The Flyers earned that co-title last week with a thrilling (29-28) win over arch rival Monroeville last Friday, executing a two point play with no time remaining.

          Coach Chris Doughty says his kids were resilient.  “It was a clash of two traditional powerhouses in the Firelands Conference.  It's always a slugfest and that game was no exception.  I was really, really proud of the resiliency our kids showed.  It was the third straight week now we've been down at halftime have come back and battled back in the second half.  So, it's a testament to their willingness and ability to be resilient.  So, really proud of the effort,” he said.

          St. Paul (6-4) hosts Cuyahoga Heights (5-4) on Friday night.  The Red Wolves have won three straight games, including (41-8) last week over Brooklyn.

          Doughty says this is a school a lot like St. Paul when it comes to tradition. “Cuyahoga Heights is another traditional playoff powerhouse.  This will be, I believe, the fourth matchup we've had with them in the last 35 years.  The last one coming back in 2004 though, so it's been a while.  Al Martin is the head coach there.  He's got like 260 something career wins.  He is well established there, much like coach (John) Livengood was here,” he said.

          Doughty says Cuyahoga Heights will show a lot of things on offense.  “Offensively, they've run kind of a mixture of two different offenses.  They'll run some of the option offense with some midline and veer and things like that, but then they'll also jump into some empty sets and four receivers sets where they will spread you out to throw the ball some too.  So, it’s really going to come down to being disciplined,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We have to be disciplined against their option again, but then we’ll have to be able to cover that pass when they spread you out.  They've got some really nice playmakers.  Their quarterback is only a sophomore, but he's a big kid at 6’2”, 210.  They got a real physical running back #4 and then some really good receivers number #8, #9 and #12, really impressive on film.  Their line is pretty good size up front.  They have got a couple of younger guys playing.  They do a nice job of firing off the ball though.”

          And same kind of thing on defense, Doughty says the Red Wolves will show a lot of looks.  “Defensively, they run a couple different defenses.  They run a 5-2 and a 4-4.  They're not as big on the defensive line, but what they lack in size they make up for in quickness.  They do a nice job of shooting gaps and then getting penetration and things and getting off of blocks.  So, it's going to be really important that we're maintaining that line of scrimmage and continuing to block throughout the entire play.  Kyle Porter plays linebacker for them and does a really nice job of filling on the run and also a good job of getting out in pass situations.  Their safety Devin Dzik again really aggressive run filler and again does a nice job of staying over top of the passes.  So, much like last week it's going to be important to put some drives together, sustain those drives, and most importantly finishing by putting that ball in the end zone,” said Doughty.

Published 10/31/24

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St. Paul Must Have Fast Start

          Norwalk St. Paul and Monroeville high school football are just two schools that sound right together like chocolate syrup and vanilla ice cream.  Two different flavors, but they are right together.

          Since 1985, Norwalk St. Paul has won 22 conference titles, Monroeville has nine and the rest of the six schools in the league have combined to win 15.  Three times during that era the two schools have shared the title.

          This year either Monroeville wins its first outright title since 2002 or the Eagles and Flyers share the trophy.

          St. Paul coach Chris Doughty knows the tradition.  “There's no bigger game than one a conference championship game, but two against Monroeville.  This has been a week 10 matchup since about 2007.  It's come down to the wire several different times with the conference championship riding on the game.  So, the kids are definitely looking forward to the opportunity,” he said.

          Monroeville has the two top rushers in the league in quarterback Evan Benfer and running back Landen Roeder.

          Doughty says the Monroeville offense is dangerous because of the number of weapons they have.  “First and foremost, Evan Benfer plays quarterback and safety for them.  He is one heck of a player.  Offensively, averages about 13 yards a carry.  So, anytime you have got a player that averages more than a first town every time they touch the ball that's a pretty special individual.  So, between him and Landin Hershiser is a receiving threat for them.  They have got Landen Roeder in the backfield as well and then honestly the sophomore Colton Clark, he's done a heck of a job for them for being only a sophomore,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “He's a nice weapon for them as well.  Really, they do a nice job of getting it done up front on their offensive line starting with Brycen Dunlap.  I think he's one of the better linemen in the area, not just in the conference, but honestly in the entire area.  He’s a heck of a two way player for them.”

          The Eagles (9-0,6-0) have not allowed a single point in their last five games, including a (59-0) whipping of Plymouth last week.

          Again, Doughty says they have players all over the field.  “Defensively, a lot of similar names really.  Again, Evan Benfer playing safety for them.  Up front their defensive line again starts with Dunlap.  They have the (Jaxson) Hedrick kid who plays offensive tackle for them as well.  Landen Roeder, Maverick Myers do a real nice job of setting the edge for them on defense from their defensive end spots.  Again, they've got Colton Clark playing the other safety spot.  Hershiser plays linebacker.  They just they got a lot of really nice players that have a lot of experience back from last year's team that just do a nice job attacking the ball and offense and defense,” said Doughty.

          In the last couple of weeks Monroeville has put the game away early, while St. Paul (5-4,5-1) has been forced to rally.  Doughty says that trend has to be reversed on Friday.  “Looking back the last few games for us the reality is we've started games slow, so that's going to have to be a big mindset shift for us.  We can't have those slow starts and claw our way back after halftime.  We've had two games in a row now where we've been down at halftime and done a nice job of you know just adjusting and coming out and playing much better in the second half.  We're going to need that kind of focus right from the opening kickoff for this game,” he said.

Published 10/23/24

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St. Paul Has to Contain Hauler

          Norwalk St. Paul, a game behind Monroeville in the Firelands Conference standings, will be at South Central in a conference game on Friday night.

          They rallied with less than 30 seconds to play when Grant Kuhnle found Landon Fries with a TD and the Flyers beat Crestview 16-15 in a conference game last Saturday.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they were poised on that final drive.  “Crestview started the game off strong getting a touchdown on a short field early in the game.  It was 7-0 at halftime.  We talked to the kids just coming out and being tougher. being more physical, being more aggressive in the second half and we did a nice job of doing that.  We had a couple nice long drives, I think one of the drives was about 18 plays ended up coming away with a field goal on that but it ended up putting us up.  Gave up a touchdown late and then scored in the two minute offense with about 26 seconds left.  So, I was really, really happy with the way the kids continued to battle the entire game.  When you get the ball back down a touchdown with 1:11 to go it's kind of a dire situation.  So, just to see the kids not hanging their heads and ready to attack the moment.  They had a lot of confidence going into it and drove down the field so I'm really proud of the effort,” said Doughty.

          Doughty adds that is a game these kids will never forget.  “That was our senior night.  That's our last guaranteed home game.  So, we talked a lot about making it a memorable night and one way or another.  I'd say that that game is about as memorable as it gets coming down to the wire like that,” he said.

          Norwalk St. Paul (4-4,4-1) will be at South Central (1-7,1-4) on Friday night.  The Trojans are coming off a (41-15) loss to Western Reserve last week.

          Doughty says the South Central quarterback is a tremendous player.  “South Central, their record hasn’t been really good this year, but they've got some kids that are working real hard.  Their team runs through Aaron Hauler and both sides of the ball.  He's a heck of a football player.  It doesn't matter what team South Central is playing Aaron Hauler is going to be one of the top players, top performers on the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “He plays quarterback for them.  They do a lot of running with him out of the backfield as well.  He’s a big, strong, physical back.  The reality is they were up 15-12 on Western Reserve last week in the third quarter, so they are capable of doing some damage.  It's going to be important that we come out and win the line of scrimmage again both sides of the ball.  It's really going to come down to stopping Aaron Hauler and making sure that we can be sound against the pass game and then still be stopping the run.”

Published 10/16/24

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St. Paul Needs a Win to Stay in

          Norwalk St. Paul plays host to Crestview in another one of those conference elimination games on Saturday night, this one in the Firelands Conference.

          Both schools are (3-4,3-1) on the season and trail Monroeville by a game.

          St. Paul coach Chris Doughty says they are in a very similar situation.  “Honestly, I talked to the kids a lot about that this week and we're in very similar situations.  A tough schedule to start the season and taking some losses.  We hoped we could compete a little bit better.  The reality is I think we're both better football teams than what our record is showing at this point.  They've had their own versions of adversity as well.  We're both in real similar situations this season,” he said.

          Crestview has eon three straight games and Doughty says they have kids that can make plays.  “They have some really nice athletes.  Liam Kuhn at quarterback.  He is a big kid. He is 6’4’, 175.  He does a nice job spreading the ball around out of the backfield they have the (Gavin) Barker kid and (Ayden) Reymer and they both have done a really nice job this season as well.  They're both explosive athletes for them.  Then Tyson Ringler at wingback, their wide receiver position.  He's a big target for them at 6’3” also.  They're a little bit younger on the offensive line then they've been in the past, but they do a nice job of coming off the ball and then get some movement.  They definitely present some challenges,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Defensively, their defensive line is similar to their offensive line some of the same guys out there.  Jack Stevens and Bronson Rose and they do a nice job turn out with flat backs and things to control the line of scrimmage.  So, it's going to be a battle up front like any other football game.  We both run similar types of offenses with the double tight sets and things and like to control the clock and get some first downs and put some drives together.  So, in that regard again similar situations.  They run their four front on defense real similar to how we run ours.  Their linebacker play has been real good as well.  You get Gavin Barker at middle linebacker for them does a real nice job filling in the middle.”

          In terms of the conference, Doughty says this game is really important.  “It comes down to that one week at a time mentality.  Before we're getting Crestview we had to get through New London.  It wasn't just a matter of beating New London it was a matter of taking that next step forward and improving across the board offense, defense, and special teams to get ready for this game.  I think this game again this is another situation where you want to keep working towards your goal of a Firelands Conference championship.  The reality is we control our own destiny, but in order to get there against Monroeville first we have to beat Crestview.  You get through Crestview and then you have got South Central.  So, we've still got a couple steps to go before we get to that point obviously.  There's no bigger step than this game right now.  We have to do a good job taking care of business and battling through any adversity this might show up throughout the game and just making sure we're attacking things the right way,” said Doughty.

Published 10/10/24

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St. Paul Getting Healthy

          Norwalk St. Paul will be hosting New London on Friday night in a game in the Firelands Conference.

          St. Paul now tails Western Reserve and Monroeville by a game in the conference standings.

          The lost (28-7) at Western on Friday night.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they just could not make the plays at key times.  “It was one of those nights where it was there was a lot of frustration, that's for sure.  There were several plays when we were one key block away.  A mistake here, just to miss a block there or a missed pursuit angle on defense.  You play against a good football team.  Western is a very good football team.  Anytime you play against a good football team those mistakes show up in a big way.  They get exposed,” he told Swankonspots.com on Monday night, “We definitely had some mistakes exposed against us.  There were some positives as well.  Jack Stieber returned and played both offense and defense for us.  It was real nice having him back on the field, he's a great leader for us, great player.  Brock Houck was actually able to make a return as well, played mostly defense for us last week against Western.  Having both of those seniors back out on the field will be real nice moving forward for the rest of the season.”

          St. Paul (2-4,2-1) hosts New London (2-4,0-3) on Friday night.  The Wildcats were scalped (71-0) by Monroeville in conference play last week.

          Doughty says they are making progress.  “Honestly, I think they're doing a nice job with the amount of youth that they have in their program right now.  They have got a couple of junior high classes that they're really excited to get up in the next couple years as well.  I think they're headed in the right direction.  I think their numbers are solid for coming back off of eight man football.  More than anything they're young.  They do have a couple wins this season over Millersport and Vanlue.  They they've got two nice wins this season,” said Doughty.

          Doughty adds that New London is showing some signs of improvement.  “I think they're getting a little bit better each week.  So, it's just a matter of they're getting into conference play now.  They've had a couple tough opponents in Crestview and Monroeville obviously.  Overall, they've had a competitive season for they're coming back from eight man football,” he said.

Published 10/01/24

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St. Paul Has to Win up Front

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at rival Western Reserve in a key Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          The two teams share the conference lead with Monroeville.

          Last week, the Flyers (2-3,2-0) posted a second straight shutout in blanking Plymouth (34-0) in conference play. 

          Coach Chris Doughty says that defense continues to do a lot of good things.  “Our defense has done a nice job of coming together and playing together the last couple weeks.  I'm really happy with the progress up front of the defensive line we continue to show improvement.  Tristan Nickoli looks good and Ben Blum continues to look good at tackle Adam Roth and Gunner Kluding as well.  They continue to set the tone at the line of scrimmage and it's just showed up in a big way for us. The linebacker play has also been really good with Rafael Gross stepping in there as a sophomore at the mic linebacker position.  He’s had 48 tackles so far in four games, so really pleased with his ability to get to the football,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Overall, just really pleased with Plymouth running that double tight, double wing offense just you know getting 11 guys to the ball consistently last week was a really good thing to see.  Then the way we were attacking the football and forced a couple turnovers as well.”

          Western Reserve (4-1,2-0) belted Mapleton (60-20) last week.

          Doughty says the Riders have great coaching and a good combination athleticism and physicalness.  “Credit to coach (Ty) Stevenson.  He's done a really good job of taking advantage of the weapons that he has on his team.  Hayden Keith at quarterback.  He's a 200 pound junior quarterback.  He was also state placer last year in the shot put, that's kind of a rare combination to see at the quarterback position.  That shows you he's a big strong, physical kid, but he also does a nice job throwing the ball.  Their receiving corps I'd say it's probably the best receiving corps in the Firelands Conference.  They've got several different targets that they like to get the ball to.  The (Brexton) Fraelich kid, Dobias, Hipp and Edwards.  They have got a lot of different guys to spread the ball around too and that they do nice job with that,” said Doughty.

          On defense, Doughty says Western plays very well too.  “It starts for them up front.  Travis French, #71, he's one of the top offensive and defensive lineman of the Firelands Conference.  He does a real nice job for them setting the tone.  They have got a couple other nice pieces up front as well.  They have got some good size to them averaging 200 to 220 across the board.  With their linebacker play they do a nice job of filling on the run.  Their secondary players, again it's a lot of the same guys they have at the receiver position.  They have got some nice athletes out there as well.  Like any other game it's going to come down to controlling the line of scrimmage and making sure we're aggressive up front and finishing blocks,” he said.

Published 9/26/24

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St. Paul Takes a Step

          Norwalk responded in a big way last week and now they travel to Plymouth to meet the Big Red in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last Saturday night, they picked up their first win of the season in blanking Mapleton (30-0) in a conference game.

          Coach Chris Doughty earned his first win as Flyers head coach and he says they played well across the board for the first time this year.  “It was a great team win.  I was really excited for the kids.  It's been a little bit of a rough start to the year and just being able to not only get a win, but get a complete win.  The defense played great again, special teams played really well again, and this time we got it going on offense.  So, just really pleased that in all facets of the game we showed up and we played well,” he said.

          Their offense had only scored eight points in their first three games and Doughty says they just had a lot of kids make plays.  “It's a combination of things, I think some of it is Nick Pocos is beginning to settle in at the running back spot.  Again, he moved there from center, so it's been a little bit of a shift for him just moving to an athletic position, but he's looking more and more comfortable there, so that was a big change as well.  We found some different ways to get Landon Fries the football, but at the end of the day Landon Fries is a heck of an athlete.  He did a nice job of making some plays happen.  Our blocking was a little bit better than it's been in previous weeks, but at the end of the day that the players who were supposed to make plays ended up making some plays for us.  Our young guys continue to show some growth, so that's going to be huge moving forward for the rest of the season,” said Doughty.

          St. Paul (1-3,1-0) visits Plymouth (1-3,0-1) on Friday night.  The Big Red were handled by Western Reserve (35-0) in their first conference game.

          Doughty says Plymouth has players that have their attention.  “Their record can be a little bit deceptive.  They've played competitively in games and honestly with Western they were only down 13-0 at halftime.  So, they were giving them a game.  They've got some nice pieces.  I think the big thing that hurts them a little bit is that they're low on numbers.  Everybody's low in numbers, but they're exceptionally low in numbers.  So, they’ve got a lot of two way players not a lot of depth.  That's the biggest thing they have got working against them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Overall, they've got some real nice football players.  Looking at their offensive and defensive lines, specifically Noah Robinson, he's probably one of the better offensive lineman, defensive lineman in the Firelands Conference.  He does a real nice job for them on both sides of the ball.  Hunter McClure also plays center and middle linebacker for them.  Both of those guys are really good players for them.  Looking in their backfield, they've got Ethan Keith and Eli Keith playing their wingbacks spots and then Isaiah Miller at fullback.  They've got some hard running players back there as well.”

Published 9/17/24

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Flyers Have to Find a Way on Offense

          Norwalk St. Paul, the defending Firelands Conference champion, begins defense of that title on Saturday night against the Mapleton Mounties.

          They have started the season the same way they did last year at (0-3) in non-conference play after a (10-6) loss to Tiffin Calvert last week.

          Coach Chris Doughty says two of their three units played very well.  “I can't say enough about our defense.  We played really, really well defensively.  A lot of lot of guys stepped up in a big way.  Tristan Nickoli played a really, really good game on defensive line, really our whole defensive line stepped up and did a nice job controlling the line of scrimmage.  Rafael Gross again played another really good game for a sophomore mic linebacker and he had about 12 tackles or so on defense.  Again, I can't say enough about how well our defense responded.  Our special teams played well as well.  We ended up having a kickoff return for a touchdown from Landon Fries.  So, really happy with the progress made there as well.  Offensively, we struggled a little bit to move the ball.  So, back to the drawing board a little bit and working on finding our identity this week,” said Doughty.

          Again, in a repeat for 2023, the Flyers have had a lot of early season injuries.  Doughty says they still have some guys that can’t play.  “We're getting closer.  Jack (Stieber) and Brock (Houck).  We lost both them in the first game against Huron.  They're not back quite yet, but we're on the road to recovery.  So, hoping that we get both of them back at some point this season.  We had lost our quarterback Grant Kuhnle had gone down in the second quarter against Edison.  He ended up returning and playing, but he definitely wasn't at full health yet.  So, it's continuing just on the mend with him and just keep moving forward,” he said.

          Mapleton (1-2) was smoked by Northmor (47-7) last week.

          Doughty says they will have to defend the tricky wing-T offense.  “They've been competitive in the first couple games.  They just played a really, really good Northmor team last week and ended up losing.  They beat Loudonville and had a really close loss against Wellington, who's played well this year as well.  Offensively, they run the old Black River/Mapleton wing-T offense.  Their coach is Mitch Young and Al Young's, his dad, was at Black River for a really long time.  So, they are a wing-T team and it's a very complicated offense to defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “It’s going to be really important we play assignment football this week.  So, I'm feeling positive with how our defense played last week, but obviously you have got to hit the reset button.  It's a totally different style of offense to what we went against last week, so hopefully our kids are responding the right way with that.”

          Doughty says when they have the ball they have to find some rhythm on offense.  “Defensively, they've got some big guys in the middle.  One of their tackles is about 6’5”, 315, but they've got some good size.  They come off aggressive flatback defensive lineman.  They're linebackers flow to the ball really well.  They've got some nice secondary players as well.  So, again just have got to figure out a way to attack them and what we want to do this week.  Figure out a way for our offense to be successful,” he said.

Published 9/11/24

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St. Paul Battling Adversity

          Norwalk St. Paul will be home Saturday night for the Tiffin Calvert Senecas in a non-conference game.

          They fell to (0-2) last week with a (41-2) loss to Edison.

          Still coach Chris Doughty saw some good things.  “The score being what it was wasn't exactly what you like to see on the scoreboard, but overall I was really pleased in a lot of different areas with some improvement from how we played against Huron the week before.  I had some young guys stepping in and some new spots,” he told Swanknsports.com on Thursday night, “Nick Pocos moved from starting center to our starting halfback position.  His brother Josh was a real nice running back for us the last couple years.  Nick moving to a skilled position for the first time was a little bit of a switch up and he started to settle in real nicely as the game went on, ended up with like 70 yards against a quality defense.  Then a couple of other sophomores stepped in.  Adam Dowdell started his first game center and did a nice job for us. Rafael Gross did a real nice job playing mic linebacker for us as well.  So, while the scoreboard didn't necessarily show it, there were some bright spots for us as well.”

          Last season, the Flyers lost their first three games and then went undefeated in the Firelands Conference.

          Doughty says they know there is a lot to accomplish.  “We talked a lot to the kids about that.  In some ways we were in a very similar position to where we were last year.  Actually, last year at this time we had more injuries going into the Calvert game than we currently have.  So, it's just a matter of continuing to battle through the adversity and keeping a positive mindset with the kids.  I've been really happy with how they've responded this week to that and again continue to see some growth in practice,” he said.

          Calvert (1-1) lost (26-9) to Monroeville last week.

          Doughty says they are big for a small school.  “It's a fairly standard Calvert team.  They've always got some big lineman over there and they do again this year on both sides of the ball.  They play physical and strong up front.  Their defensive tackles and their nose guard run 6’5”, 6’4” and 6’3” and are about 200, 280 and 250 pounds.  So, they've got a lot of size in the middle.  The Moyer twins do a really nice job for them.  The quarterback is a nice athlete, he throws a good ball.  The Cal Warnement at halfback for them gave us some trouble last year as well.  So, they've got some nice playmakers and it's going to come down to how well our kids respond to implementing the game plan and respond in situations in the game,” he said.

Published 9/06/24

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Improvement the Key for St. Paul

          Norwalk St. Paul will be at home Friday night to meet Edison in a non-conference game.

          They were hammered (38-0) by Huron last week.

          Coach Chris Doughty says they were hampered by some injuries and Huron was just better than them.  “We had a couple injuries early in the game with some of our seniors in Brock Houck and Jack Stieber and we just struggled to overcome that and it was kind of the perfect storm of things.  We had to throw a few younger guys in there that weren't necessarily ready to go.  Honestly though, all the credit goes to Huron.  They played their butts off.  They were very, very physical up front.  Their whole defense and their special teams as well played very physical and we just struggled to match up physically with that,” sad Doughty.

          Doughty says they know they have to get better and they are working on those things this week.  “It's been a little difficult with the with the temperatures and things, but everybody's dealing with that.  We've been focusing a lot on ourselves and our techniques and things and just trying to improve on a lot of little things.  It's a long football season so with some of our inexperience in different positions that kind of showed up.  I think it's just a continuation of getting better week to week so we picked out a few different things and really focused on those and hopefully some of those things show up for us Friday night,” he said.

          Edison belted Oberlin Firelands (47-16) in their opener last week.

          Doughty says this is another team that’s going to be difficult to stop.  “Edison, they've got a lot of guys back from last year really pretty much everybody except Marcus Medina and then they plugged Abe Hermes into to play quarterback for him and he's done a real nice job throwing the ball around for them.  A little bit of a different skill set than Medina, but overall a really solid player.  With Cin Finnen and Brycen Whitmer running out the backfield.  They're two big, strong, physical backs that are going to be tough to defend.  Their lines played pretty well as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Defensively, they're stout at their linebacker and then they're secondary as well.  We're going to have to play well both sides of the ball to be able to compete in this game.  If we can do the things that we've been working on in practice though I feel confident that if we just continue improving and getting better, I like our chances to compete.”

Published 8/29/24

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St. Paul Meets Talented Huron

          Norwalk St. Paul will be over at Huron for a non-conference game to start the season on Friday night.

          First year coach Chris Doughty says they are prepared and they can’t wait to get on the field.  “They've been putting a lot of work in throughout two a days, everybody has.  Starting things off with Keystone and then rolling into E.C.  E.C. was a nice, physical battle for us and a good test coming into this first game.  The kids they're hungry for some contact against the live opponent and not in just half of a game, but in the full game this time.  So, they're really looking forward to it.  The coaches are looking forward to it and it should be a good battle,” he said.

          A panel of media that cover high school athletics predicts St. Paul to repeat as Firelands Conference champs.

          Doughty says they don’t think too much about that.  “Honestly, it's cool and all, but at the end of the day it comes down a team taking it week by week.  Obviously, week one comes first.  You have your three non conference games.   As far as the conference goes, it's a week by week battle and sometimes it comes down to which teams can stay the healthiest and which seems are continuing to improve over time and which ones flatline throughout the season.  It is nice, it's a little bit humbling to be voted in a position like that, but we don't read too much into it at this point in the year,” said Doughty.

          However, they have been thinking a lot about Huron.

          Doughty says they have players all over the field.  “Offensively they got Landon Hohler playing quarterback for them and he does a nice job.  He's a nice athlete.  They have got the (Noah) Maloney kid playing running back for them this year.  He's a big, strong, physical back and he's got some nice athleticism as well.  They've got a few small receivers, but then they've got Jackson McNulty at 6’5” and 200 pounds.  He's a big receiver and anytime you have got a kid that’s that big, that's a huge target to hit.  So, he's going to present some challenges for us for sure.  Offensive line wise we actually match up pretty well with them size wise this year.  It looks like they average right around 220, 230 across the board.  They do a nice job of running their feet and things.  They do rotate some guys though, so that's where we maybe don't rotate quite as many guys.  So, they have that ability to stay a little more fresh,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Defensively, they do a nice job up front and stunt some of their linebackers and things.  Their three linebackers they've got that (Nic) Lewallen kid returning for them, he was all “SBC” last year for them.  The Maloney kid also he plays outside linebacker as well as the Jackson McNulty kid.  That's the other thing with McNulty, you get a receiver a lot of times they play a secondary position, this is a big, strong, physical kid that plays one of their outside linebacker spots.  So, defensively they definitely present some challenges as well.  So, hopefully if we can attack that with the run game and complement that with some passing as well.”

Published 8/22/24

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St. Paul Looking Good

          Norwalk St. Paul will have a new head football coach for the first time since “Seinfeld” was just beginning its run on TV.

          Chris Doughty takes over from the retired hall of famer John Livengood.

          Doughty has been with the program and he says that makes the transition easier.  “Yeah, definitely being a part of the program as a player for four years, graduating about 15 years ago, and I was a varsity assistant 10, 12 years.  It was a big help with the transition, that's for sure.  Being familiar with the kids, being familiar with the parents, familiar with all the assistant coaches, yeah it was definitely very helpful in the process,” said Doughty.

          Doughty says he has seen good growth in camp so far this summer.  “I've been really pleased with what we've been able to accomplish so far.  We return a lot on our offensive line, so that's going to be definitely a big strength for us.  Having seniors Brock Houck and Jack Stieber in the backfield.  I'm seeing some really good things out of them so far,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Defensively, Tristan Nickoli, he's an All-Ohio defensive lineman for us. I'm anxious to what he's able to accomplish this year as well.  Just overall I've seen some really nice growth from where we were at last year to where we're at this year.  Graduating 15 seniors was a big blow to us, but what I'm pleased with is just the amount of experience that we have back with the smaller numbers that we do have.”

          15 seniors is a lot to lose from a division VII school, but Doughty says they have guys that can fill those shoes.  “I mean we have guys that are really doing a nice job of filling in some roles so far as well,” he said.

Published 8/08/24

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Flyers Win in the Seventh

          Norwalk St. Paul scored twice in the bottom half of the seventh inning and they knocked off Old Fort (2-1) in a division IV sectional final played on Thursday evening.

          They will play top seeded Tiffin Calvert in the district semis next week.

          Coach Aaron Fries says he would rather it be an easier game, but he knew it wasn’t going to be.  “I mean from the grey hair perspective, I'd rather win 10-0, but it was a good ball game.  It's kind of what I expected.  Old Fort is a veteran baseball team with a lot of good quality baseball players so I expected it to be a close game.  It was exactly what I expected it to be,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I thought their pitcher did a really nice job of really keeping our hitters off balance, pounding the strike zone and keeping leadoff batters off the bases.  We really didn't even have a leadoff hitter on till about the sixth and then finally we had some opportunities there in the seventh that we took advantage of.”

          Trailing (1-0) going to their last at bat, Fries says they were able to make some things happen.  “We had a couple hits in there, we had a walk and at some point we had bases loaded there.  We had just gotten a run in and Kole Maxwell, our four hitter, hit a ball to the second baseman and he made a nice play and made a nice throw the plate, but our kid got a great jump.  He had a great lead and just beat the force play at the plate.  So, really exciting way to win.  Obviously, I felt for Old Fort as well.  I've been on the other side of those games and it’s tough to lose that way, but it's a great high school baseball game,” said Fries.

          Freis says it was the kind of high school baseball game that you expect in the tournament.  “I think two really quality programs.  I have a lot of respect for Old Fort.  We played them three years in a row now in the tournament.  So, I was very familiar with the kids that were in that other dugout as I've seen them for three years.  So, it was a great game and we're just really fortunate to come out on the winning side of it,” he said.

Published 5/17/24

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St. Paul Claims Share

          Norwalk St. Paul will be no less than a co-champion in the Firelands Conference this year after a (6-2) win over Crestview on Tuesday evening.

          They share first place with South Central (12-8,10-3) in the standings.  However, the Trojans, who beat Mapleton (10-5) on Tuesday, still have a makeup game with Monroeville.  The Flyers (13-6,11-3) have completed their conference schedule.

          If Crestview and Mapleton had won Tuesday, the conference would have likely ended in a rare four tie.

          Coach Aaron Fries says Tuesday might have been their best performance of the season against the defending “FC” champs.  “It's a great feeling.  The kids I thought (Tuesday) night put together their most complete game as far as from a pitching, defense and clutch hitting perspective.  So, it was a great way to finish off a really tough and challenging conference season,” said Fries.

          On Monday, Crestview (11-10,9-5) had blanked the Flyers (8-0) to get with a game of the lead.

          Fries says they were not ready to play at a high level.  He says he was proud of the comeback Tuesday.  “Especially coming off the game we had (Monday) where I don't think we did anything right.  So, to come back (Tuesday) and be as good as we were that's just makes it really that much sweeter,” he said.

          Fries says they talked about the mistakes they made on Monday and they went out and corrected them.  “I think the saying goes you're either winning or you're learning.  I think we learned a little bit (Monday) about ourselves as far as what we needed to do.  We knew was going to be a tough challenge going over there to Crestview and we were going to have to put together a great game to win over there,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win Tuesday, “When we didn't do that it was a little disappointing, but we talked about it.  We talked about what we learned from the experience and (Tuesday) we came back and really did a nice job of doing the things we didn't do on Monday.”

Published 5/08/24

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Maxwell Dominates Plymouth

          Kole Maxwell struck out 20 and Norwalk St. Paul blanked Plymouth (7-0) in a Firelands Conference game on Monday evening.

          Coach Aaron Fries says Maxwell was the difference.  “I'd say it was mostly the pitching.  Kole (Maxwell), our number one, he was really good (Monday) night.  He was in command from the start.  Had a little trouble maybe middle of the game there, but nothing really to write home about.  So, yeah it was mostly him,” said Fries.

          Jarrett Butler got both of the hits that Maxwell allowed.

          Fries says Maxwell has had a very consistent all season.  “You just kind of put him out there and let him do his thing.  He kind of did that (Monday) night.  Some nights maybe he needs a little bit more help than others. but he's been pretty reliable and pretty consistent this year,” he said.

          Maxwell is 4-1 with a 0.46 ERA this spring.  He has 72 strikeouts in 30 innings this season.

          Drew Kunkle has two hits and RBI for the Flyers.  Ashton Stang added a hit and two RBI.

          St. Paul (9-4,7-2) trails South Central by a game in the Firelands.  They play at Plymouth (5-6,3-3) on Wednesday afternoon.

          Fries says it’s simple, they have to keep winning.  “I think at this point we don't have much margin for error.  We have five conference games left, I think.  We stayed on schedule as far as that goes.  I think some other teams might have a few more games to play than we do,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “In my mind I think we just got to keep winning and doing what we need to do to kind of stay up.  If South Central slips up or something and hopefully we'll be right there then.  For us, I think you it's kind of a no margin for error, we just need to keep winning.”

Published 4/23/24

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Flyers Down Mapleton

          Norwalk St. Paul is in first place in the Firelands Conference after beating Mapleton at home (7-3) on Monday evening.

          Coach Aaron Fries says it was a big win for them.  “They were 3-1 in conference play.  They have a lot of good returning lettermen.  We were facing their best pitcher.  I knew (Monday) night was going to be important to get us off to a good start for a very important week in our conference.  We all have four games to play, so beating Mapleton was a great start to the week,” he said.

          Fries says they were able to get some momentum by taking advantage of some opportunities.  “Especially when the play has been sporadic.  I thought we took advantage.  I don't want to say that we killed the ball or anything, but we took advantage of the opportunities that were given to us.  I think they were struggling to find strike zone a little early in the game, their pitchers, and then we were able to take advantage of that and kind of just keep adding a run here there as the game went on,” said Fries.

          Norwalk St. Paul (6-2,5-0) plays Mapleton (4-2,3-1) again on Tuesday and they play South Central, who lost its first conference game on Monday, (7-3) to Western Reserve, on Thursday and Friday.

          Fries says this is a big week for everyone in the Firelands.  “I mean you really get a sense of where you're at after this week just because it's just a big part of your schedule.  It tests all parts of your pitching staff,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It tests your depth and you're going to have to use just about everybody this week at some point.  So, you really get a good idea where you're at as a team and kind of get ready for the stretch run in the conference.”

Published 4/16/24

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St. Paul Ready to be Good

          Norwalk St. Paul may have the talent to be a factor in the Firelands Conference baseball race this spring.

          Coach Aaron Fries says they have almost everyone back from last year.  “This is my most experienced group.  We have all but one starter back from last year, so it's a pretty veteran group,” he said.

          Fries says he has been pleased with what he has seen on the field and in the gym from the players.  “We've had quite a few kids who didn't do a winter sport this season, so we've had a lot of our kids in and they look pretty good from when we started back in November to getting to this point those guys have made a lot of strides and should be leaders for us as we get the season started and we kind of bring along some of the guys from the winter sports,” said Fries.

          St. Paul opens the season by hosting Port Clinton in a non-conference game on Saturday.  Their conference games are on April 1 and 2 against New London.

          Fries says this year is really no different than any other.  He expects his players to always be at their best.  “I always say we always have a high standard and we want the kids to try to meet that standard no matter whether we have got a veteran group coming back or whether we have got some young kids in the mix or whatever the case may be,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We want a high standard and we want the kids to work to meet that standard.  Live up to that standard and play to the best of our abilities and see where we're standing at the end of the year.”

Published 3/21/24

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St. Paul Must Be Ready to Adapt

          Norwalk St. Paul, the co-champion of the Firelands Conference, plays host to Mansfield Christian, the Mid-Buckeye Conference runner up, in a division IV sectional final on Friday night.

          The Flyers (17-6) smoked Danbury-Lakeside (80-46) in a sectional semifinal played on Wednesday night at St. Paul.

          Coach Steve Minor says it was a good start to the tournament.  “I thought we were able to adjust to the type of play that they bring to the game.  I mean the way coach (Keith) Deibler’s teams prepare and attack their opponent and you have to be ready for it.  I thought we did a really good job.  We had a nice start to that game we're able to keep momentum the whole time,” said Minor.

          Mansfield Christian (19-4) had an easy time too.  They destroyed New London (90-38) on Wednesday night.

          The Flames have won their last three games after a tough loss to Lucas (61-58) in what was their conference championship game.

          Minor says they have been playing really well.  “They've been burning the baubles out on the scoreboard lately.  I mean they've really had their way with their opponents ever since that tough game with Lucas.  They've bounced back really well and they started to focus on their postseason run.  So, I expect them to bring it just like they've been,” he said.

          Minor expects the Flames are going to try and push the pace of this game, but says they must be ready for anything.  “I know they're going to do their best to try, I would imagine, to speed us up.  Whether they do that or they try to grind us to a halt and slow us down and play slower.  Whatever they throw at us we have to be ready for it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I'm sure they want to cause chaos.  They're very athletic, they're very quick, they can run out and get scores up in no time.  So, we've really have got to be able to take care of the ball and pay attention to everything they're doing.”

Published 3/01/24

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A Lot on the Line for St. Paul

          Norwalk St. Paul hosts New London in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night and a win mean no less than a co-title for the Flyers.

          They share first with Crestview.  The Cougars play Western Reserve on Friday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says it’s all on their plate.  “It's almost, I mean set up, you couldn’t have scripted it any better.  I mean it's at home with a chance to make history in front of your home fans and for these kids I'm just really excited for them to have this opportunity,” he said.

          St. Paul (15-6,12-1) plays at home against New London (2-19,1-12) on Friday night.  The Flyers won the first game (47-29) on January 13.

          New London has been more competitive in the second half of the season.  Minor says they can’t take the night off.  “You wouldn't expect any less from coach (Tom) Howell.  I mean there's a reason he went back to New London.  He saw a good opportunity there.  He gets things done, look at his track record, I mean he gets results.  They are definitely going in the right direction, I just hope Friday they take a little detour,” said Minor.

          Yes, there is a conference title to be grabbed, but Minor says they have a little extra motivation too.  “I think the guys are a little extra motivated too because we lost our big guy Nolan McCall last week in a win over Monroeville.  He had surgery Sunday to get his wrist taken care of.  He had a couple of fractures there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “So, the guys had the wind out of their sails a little bit, they were down, which we had to turn around and host Perkins the next night.  Seeding was already done and it's not a conference game, so it really, not to make excuses for the guys, they were just still kind of shocked and I think it was hard for them to get up for that game.  So, there's a purpose for this game.  All the underclassmen want to win for the seniors and everybody wants to win for Nolan and for themselves so we're pretty excited.”

Published 2/22/24

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St. Paul Plays Dangerous Western Reserve

          Norwalk St. Paul, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference, plays at rival Western Reserve in a crucial conference game on Wednesday night.

          The Flyers (13-5,10-1) moved into a share of the conference lead with an upset of previously unbeaten Crestview (57-56) at St. Paul last Saturday.

          Coach Steve Minor says the kids were obviously excited to get the win, but they have maintained their focus.  “It's been really good.  The kids enjoyed their moment and they know it's a season long goal, so it's okay to be happy for a little while, but never be satisfied until the season's over.  They didn't really have much problem with focusing and locking in and getting ready to do we have to do this week,” he said.

          St. Paul is at Western Reserve (10-6,7-4) on Wednesday night.  The Riders lost (50-43) to Plymouth in a conference game on Saturday night.  They have won five of their last six.

          Minor says head coach Chris Sheldon will have the Riders prepared for what the Flyers bring to the table.  “Chris (Sheldon) has just been able to adapt to all kinds of situations.  He's had different lineups all year long between kids having to sit after the transfer rule, injuries, whether it be season ending injuries or the flu bug or just sprained ankle.  I mean he's just gone through it all,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “He's done what he always has been able to.  Got to look at a lot of different guys and had different combinations and plug this in there and see what works.  He's had a lot of success with what he's been able to do and he downplays it, but he does a phenomenal job.”

          St. Paul won the first matchup in the series (46-39) on December 20.

          Minor says Western is going to make them work hard to get good looks at the basket.  “They get up in you no matter if they have got bigs or they have got guards.  That's the one thing Chris always takes those cards you deal him and he plays each hand differently.  He plays each hand differently on offense.  Defensively, they are going to get up in you and they're going to challenge you and they're going to make you earn it.  They're going to be very physical with you, and not dirty physically.  They’re just going to play great, great defense on you,” said Minor.

Published 2/14/2024

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St. Paul Beats Crestview at the Horn

          Norwalk St. Paul moved into a share of first place in the Firelands Conference when Evan Wangler got an inbound pass and scored at the buzzer lifting the Flyers to a (57-56) win over previously unbeaten Crestview on Saturday night at the Harvey Keller Gym in Norwalk.

          It’s not to suggest that the Flyers were impersonating the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey team and Wangler was Mike Eruzione, but there probably weren’t that many people outside the St. Paul locker room that were giving the Flyers much of a chance, especially considering the Cougars thrashed them (70-33) on January 11.

          Tyson Ringer had put Crestview in position to keep their record clean when he made two free throws with 1:09 left to cut St. Paul’s lead to (55-54) with 1:09 to play and then he stole an inbounds pass and converted a layup with :49 on the clock to put the Cougars up one (56-55) leading to the final play.

          St. Paul dribbled out front and Crestview was content to let them take time off the clock, which they did, until taking timeout with :17 remaining.  The Flyers got the ball inbounds, but could not get a good shot and called another time out with 2.6 seconds left.

          St. Paul coach Steve Minor says Wangler, coming off a pick by Nolan McCall. was able to work himself free for the game winner.  “Well, it's always a crapshoot, is it going to be zone or is going to be man.  So, we had a play called for one or the other.  I said if they come out in this, we’ll switch to that and.  They knew better than I did because I thought it looked like a zone to me.  They were packing it in because they knew we don't need a three, but a lot of kids want to take those these days,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I called out for our zone set and Evan Wangler, our senior leader, he just smelled the ball and smelled the win because he made a move and got open.  They went with our guards, they went with our big guy, I’d guard the 6’6” guy that close to the basket too.  There was Evan for a big shot, which he passed up with about a minute to go that he could have taken an easy layup to give us a six point lead and you wonder if was going to come back and bite us.  He's the kind of guy that will do his best to atone for it and he did.”

          Crestview coach John Kurtz sats that was not the first time St. Paul has beaten them on just such a play on Saturday night.  “Well, we got beat by that play like two or three times in the game and we thought we had it all taken care of, but we did not.  So, congratulations to them, it is a nice set and they got they got a game-winning bucket out of it,” said Kurtz.

          The game had three lead changes and four ties in the opening two quarters and was tied (26-26) at the intermission.

          In the third quarter, St. Paul (13-5,10-1) took the lead (34-31) on Michael Kirk’s three with 4:13 left in the quarter.  He followed with another three on the next possession and Crestview’s Justice Thompson responded with a three, Kirk added another hoop to make it (39-35) Flyers with 2:26 in the quarter.

          Crestview would retake the lead (40-39) on another Thompson goal with 1:41 to play in the third.  The Cougars this season have been able to produce spurts to put games away and that looked like that was going to happen again Saturday night.

          They went on a (10-2) run, fueled by seven points from Thompson, to take a (50-41) lead with 7:12 to play in the contest, but St. Paul went on their own run (13-0) to take a (55-50) advantage with 3:00 on the clock.  McCall had eight points in that stretch for the Flyers.

          Minor says against Crestview you have to respond and they did that on Saturday night.  “They have a tendency to make those spurts into 17, 16 point spurts.  So, we knew they were going to have their runs and we just talked about countering them and if it got too big this chip away at it.  The biggest thing with them is we know they're going to score, but we have to counter, we have to answer, we have to score back.  The first time we played against them, we were just so overwhelmed that once we missed the rims tightened up and we got very timid.  They have come along way.  They didn't just want a moral victory not losing by 40 points.  They wanted it all (Saturday) night and my gosh they did a great job,” said Minor.

          Crestview (18-1,10-1) has not been slamming the door in recent games and Kurtz says Saturday night that cost them.  “We have been doing that a little bit lately.  Running the score out and then letting teams back into it.  So, you have got to give them credit they played well in that stage of the game and that hurt us,” he said.

          St. Paul made six threes and a number of other outside shots and Minor says they like those rims in the Keller gym.  “It's really nice to have some home cooking,” he said.

          McCall and Korey Frazee both had 11 and Kirk 10 for St. Paul.  Thompson had 22 for Crestview.

          Crestview has three conference games left with South Central (2-17,0-11) Tuesday, Plymouth (8-11,6-6) on Friday and Western Reserve (10-6,7-4) on February 23.

          Kurtz says they understand the assignment.  “All of them are important, that's right, the next two are important and the Western game is important, so we have got to make sure that we finish the deal here.” he said.

          The Flyers play at Western Reserve on Wednesday, at Monroeville (6-13,4-8) on Friday and finish at home with New London (1-17,1-11) the 23^rd.

          Minor knows it won’t be easy.  “It’s fun, but there's a lot of tough games left.  Chris Sheldon (Western Reserve) stands in the way next, just who you wouldn't want to stand in your way anytime.  He's going to give his all against us and he's going to dissect everything we do and it's going to be a battle in Wakeman,” said Minor.

Published 2/10/24

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St. Paul Must Beat Crestview

          Norwalk St. Paul has a chance to create a real race to finish in the Firelands Conference this week if they can beat Plymouth Thursday and conference leader Crestview on Saturday, both at home.

          Right now, they trail the Cougars by a game.

          Last week, they played three games in four days, beating Fremont St. Joe (65-49) and South Central, in an “FC” game (64-47), but losing to Sandusky St. Mary’s (65-58) in overtime.

          Coach Steve Minor says it did cost a little in the RPI rankings in their district.  “Yeah, we almost we almost got the hat trick.  No excuses, the gyms were pretty much all the same size and it wasn't like we traveled hours away, but it does wear on you a little bit.  Fortunately, we had enough to get into overtime, but just couldn't get over the hump.  We just have got to learn from it and move on.  Now, it did make a little bit of impact on our district rating.  It dropped us down to fifth, but the good news about that is we have Plymouth (Thursday) and then after that, that's it.  I mean the four teams ahead of us in the RPI all play each other Friday, so two of them are going to win and two of them are going to lose.  We'll see if we can win (Thursday) if that gets us bumped back into the top four or not,” said Minor.

          They play host to Plymouth (7-10,5-5) on Thursday.  They beat the Big Red (62-39) on December 29.

          Then it’s unbeaten Crestview (17-0,9-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, on Saturday.

          Minor says the Cougars started out great and are getting better.  “I think they just keep getting better.  It's evident from their record and the scores they've been putting out and they haven't had a close game in a while now.  Even the games that they have that are close if you watch them they don't look like they were close games.  They seem to be in total control of all those games.  So, they're a tall task, but one at a time,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We have got to take care of Plymouth and have our tournament information all in by Friday and then we can focus on Crestview Saturday and it won't affect our RPI at all.  There's no added pressure on what will happen if we lose as far as seating goes.  That's the way the cards are going to fall, so we can just focus on them and try to get a share of the conference lead with them.”

          Crestview hammered the Flyers (70-33) on January 11.

          Minor says you have to stop the Cougars runs, but that ain’t easy.  “It's funny, it's the same conversation I had with Chris Sheldon about a month and a half ago and it's easy to talk about it, it's just hard to actually do it.  So, of course we've been working on some things to try to counter that and to keep that in check and we'll see if they work out.  If they work out, if we get an advantage from them being able to workout this weekend,” he said.

Published 2/08/2024

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St. Paul With Three This Week

          Norwalk St. Paul, a game behind Crestview in the Firelands Conference, plays three games this week, two non-league and one conference game.

          They are at Fremont St. Joe on Wednesday and Sandusky St. Mary’s on Saturday in non-conference games.  They play at South Central in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They won a big game last Friday when they stuffed high scoring Mapleton (51-46) in conference game.

          Coach Steve Minor says they did an outstanding job on defense.  “I thought our defense was really good especially with how dangerous they are.  I mean, I've seen I've seen Scotty Hickey put up 40 on his own few times this year, so that was nice.  Had we not conceded and give him a crack at that three baked in at the buzzer we’d been a little bit lower.  When it comes to him you know he's going to get his points.  It's just trying to stop everybody else.  I think he was 5 or 10 from three, I mean 50%, at that rate we're lucky he didn't shoot 30 of them,” said Minor.

          Hickey finished with 26 of their 46.

           As far as three games in a week, Minor says the kids kind of like that in a way.  “Especially this time of year.  If you tell your kids, hey, we're going to have one game and five practices in the next six days or you tell them we're going to have three games and three practices they’re going to definitely go for the games.  Everybody knows that the kids love the games more than they do practice,” he said.

          St. Paul (9-4,7-1) plays at South Central (2-12,0-8) on Friday night.  The Flyers beat South Central (75-50) on December 22.

          Minor says the three venues where they will be playing are somewhat similar and that may help them.  “Well, fortunately for us with all these games being on the road they're all smaller gyms, so at least we hopefully will be accustomed to it.  Our floor is a little bit bigger and you go to St. Joe, that's a small floor, you go to South Central, that's a little bit of a smaller floor and you go to St. Mary's that's the smaller floor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Hopefully we'll be able to turn that into an advantage for us and be used to the spacing and what we can do and how we can create some problems for the opposition on all those floors.”

Published 1/30/2024

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St. Paul Must Work Hard to Stop Mapleton

          Norwalk St. Paul, in second place in the Firelands Conference, plays at home against third place Mapleton in a conference game on Friday night.

          The Flyers took Tiffin Calvert down to the end before losing (47-41) to the Senecas in a non-league game on Wednesday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says they just couldn’t make the plays late.  “Well, if you would have told me two of our district players from last year would be held to two points and it was tied with 47 seconds to go I'd make sure you had to check your stats.  We had other guys step up and we were in position.  We had a sophomore step up make a big shot and they countered right away hit a big shot right back at us.  We just didn't recover in the last 30 seconds,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They’re big team.  They are a really good team.  I mean they go 6’5”, 6’5”, 6’4”, 6’3” and 6’2” I think.  So, I mean they took up a lot of space and made us earn every point we could squeeze out of it. We just weren't able to get it done (Wednesday) night, so hopefully we can regroup and get ready for a potential track meet (Friday) night with Mapleton.”

          St. Paul (8-4,6-1) hosts Mapleton (10-3,6-2) on Friday night.  The Mounties whipped New London (66-27) in a conference game on Wednesday night.

          Minor says they have scorers at every position on the floor.  “They can score from all over the place.  They just shoot until the buzzer goes off.  There's nobody that doesn't pose a threat from them.  I mean everybody they bring on the floor you have got to guard everybody.  You can't just take one guy away.  You'd really like to try to limit Scotty (Hickey), but they're just dangerous all from top to bottom,” said Minor.

          When it comes to tempo, Minor says they have to be able to slow down the Mounties.  “I think so, I mean I know they had a tough game at Mansfield Christian that looks like it just kind of snowballed on them, which I'm sure surprised them as much as everybody else.  They don't have any bad losses this year.  The teams that they've lost to are really good, so I expect nothing but a hard fought battle from them,” he said.

Published 1/26/24

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St. Paul Expects Different Western

          Norwalk St. Paul makes the short bus ride to Western Reserve to challenge the Riders in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They are at Huron in non-conference play on Saturday.

          Last week, they played unbeaten Crestview in a conference game on Thursday night for the “FC” lead and the Cougars handed them a (70-33) whipping.  They did come back and beat New London (47-29) on Saturday afternoon.

          Coach Steve Minor says the Cougars had their way with them, but he was happy how they responded on Saturday.  “There were big expectations going into that game and I think we failed to live up to them.  Their pressure was a tough task.  It's a tough place to play, I mean the last few years especially.  We went in there and we just let the game get away from us in a hurry.  I mean it just snowballed but they did a great job and they came out hit shots and we didn't and it just snowballed from there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Now on the flip side, we were able to have a short memory and hit the reset button and start over on Saturday at New London.  Even though we had the perfect scenario too.  We could have made excuses, we're changing the time, we're not used to playing at this time, so we had premade excuses for not playing well, but I thought we did especially defensively.   I think we were able to hold them scoreless in the first quarter and held them in the single digits before half.  So, defensively we got off on the right foot and were able to be in control of that game for the most part.  They did make a nice run after halftime, which I would expect, any team coach (Tom) Howell coaches is going to respond.  We were able to once they made a run, I think they cut it to six, we were able to respond and open the lead back up.”

          Norwalk St. Paul (8-2,6-1), a game behind Crestview in the conference, plays at Western Reserve (5-5,4-3) on Friday.  The Riders also were bludgeoned by Crestview in their last game (78-45) on Saturday afternoon.

          The Flyers won the first game (56-53) on December 15.

          Minor says the Riders will be prepared to make them adjust.  “Well, I know coach (Chris) Sheldon is always making adjustments and never takes a day off during the basketball season.  So, I'm sure he's dug in and looked at everything that we've done since the last time he saw us.  He's going to have something special prepared for us.  We can expect to see different things, but it's hard telling how he's going to come out and what his game plan for us is going to be,” said Minor.

          Plus, he says playing at Western is never easy.  “It certainly won't be any easier either.  I mean the first game was at our place.  Anytime you play on the road, especially over there you better be ready,” he said.

Published 1/16/2024

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St. Paul has to Play Clean

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at Crestview on Thursday night in a game between the two co-leaders in the Firelands Conference.

          The Flyers (7-1,5-0) beat Vermilion (54-47) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says he was pleased with the way they held their composure in the second half, something they didn’t do last year against the Sailors.  “That was a that was a good win for us.  Last year, we played them pretty tough and we were able to get a lead and then lost it after halftime.  I think we were in the same boat this year and our guys are a year older and I think they handled it a lot better this time and were able to hold on to their lead and win by the same margin of victory we had at halftime,” said Minor.

          They have won their last seven games and currently lead the RPI standings in their division IV district.

          Crestview (10-0,5-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, beat Plymouth (59-39) in a conference game last Friday and added a (58-48) win over Highland in non-conference play on Saturday.

          Minor says in his option they don’t have any weaknesses.  “Until you can find a chink in the armor I think they just everything well.  They defend well, they shoot well, they pass all to one another well and they communicate well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I mean everything I’ve seen from them I can't see something they don't do well.  So, we're going to have to be on our toes that's for certain.”

          If they are going to beat Crestview, Minor says they have to limit their turnovers, get on the glass, and be able to score when they get the chance.  “We have to take care of the ball, we're going to have to rebound and try to keep up with their scoring because not only (Justice) Thompson, but I mean both the Ringlers and just everybody out there's got the green light and they're all fully capable of scoring from wherever.  So, hopefully it turns out to be a good ball game,” he said.

Published 1/11/2024

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St. Paul Ready for Monroeville

          Norwalk St. Paul, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference, plays at home against Monroeville in a conference game on Friday night.

          They share the lead with Crestview and play the Cougars next Thursday.

          On Tuesday night, they beat Edison (50-31) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Steve Minor is proud of the defense that they played on Tuesday.  “Once again, I thought we defended really well.  We did a nice job on their best player who's one of the top scorers in the SBC at this moment.   I thought we limited them to one shot and out a lot of times.  I think they ended up shooting, we just got the stats, I believe it was 10 of 42 from the field, so you have to like that holding somebody percentages like that,” said Minor.

          St. Paul (5-1,4-0) hosts Monroeville (2-5,2-3) on Friday night.  The Eagles beat South Central (60-48) in a conference game last Saturday.

          Minor says they have good size and they are developing skills too.  “They have great size and I think they have the skill, it's just young.  We're a quarter of the way through the season so those guys are all getting the experience that they needed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I've seen them several times and the besides their size, I mean even if they're not as skilled as they've been in the past few years, it’s still a pretty good rivalry.  So, you should throw all your side packs out the window when it's them and us I think.”

          Monroeville has had the upper hand in this rival the last couple of years and Minor says they remember that.  “They've taken it to us the last two years.  We've lost four straight to them and we're really focused on making sure it's not five,” he said.

Published 1/05/24

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St. Paul With Tough Game at Plymouth

          Norwalk St. Paul, co-leader in the Firelands Conference, makes the trip down to Plymouth to take on the Big Red in a conference game on Friday night.

          They kept their share with Crestview by hammering South Central (75-50) last Friday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says played petty well despite having too many turnovers again.  “Well, I think that our guys came out focused and really executed very well at the offensive end other than our big achilles heel of taking care of the basketball.  Luckily, we were able to overcome double digit turnovers and have a successful result.  It's kind of like we talked about at the end of the year last year we know we're going to turn the ball over, so we have to make up for that and try to make sure we score more than the other team.  We're still working on the taking care of the ball thing, but I think they rolled the dice and maybe tried to zone us and it didn't work out for them.  If we don't hit those shots it looks like a great move, so you have got to give Dallas (Yost) credit for trying to change it up,” said Minor.

          St. Paul (3-1,3-0) visits Plymouth (3-4,2-1) on Friday night.  The Big Red lost their last conference game (61-54) to Mapleton last Tuesday.

          Minor says the Big Red always gives them a tussle.  “I’ll tell you what they're much improved and coach (Eric) Picklesimer is always got them playing hard and that goes without saying, especially against us.  I mean you look at that Mapleton game it was a seven point game and they were in it the whole way,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon,” I think they just kind of got a gap at the end they couldn't overcome.  I think one of the Bishop boys went down to some kind of an injury at the end of that game that hurt them and then he didn't play against Black River, so they had a little bit of an adjustment period without him there.  I know they are a very dangerous team and that is a hard place play.”

          When it comes to tempo, Minor says they are going to want to play a little faster than Plymouth.  “From what we've seen so far I've had only a little bit of time to scout them with our later start, so I've seen them a few times and until they get used to it speeding them up would benefit us,” he said.

Published 12/29/23

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St. Paul Has Got to Handle the Ball

          Norwalk St. Paul will be at home for South Central in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Right now, they share the conference lead with Crestview, both are unbeaten in “FC” action.

          The Flyers beat rival Western Reserve (46-39) on Wednesday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says anytime you beat the Riders it’s a good win.  “When you talk to Chris (Sheldon) he, of course, tries to downplay that they are getting better or says they're not that good.  Any team he coaches is good.  They're going to do something really, really good and without a doubt he's got them playing really good defense.  They are very physical and they make you really grind out everything you get, so it was nice to be able to pull away at the end of that game,” said Minor.

          St. Paul (2-1,2-0) hosts South Central (1-4,0-2) on Friday night.  The Trojans lost their last conference game to Western (56-53) last Friday.

          Minor says new Trojans coach Dallas Yost wants to emphasize a fast paced game.  “They're trying to play a little different style of basketball, but I mean he knows his players.  I think he's had these kids, he's kind of followed him through the system. I coached when Dallas (Yost) was playing, so he's been around and he's trying to bring his own brand into there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I can tell you they certainly get a lot of shots off.  They get away between 70 and 100 shots off a game, so you better be ready to contest and match their scoring if they stick them any of the amount of those baskets in.”

          Minor says against the South Central pressure they are going to have to reduce the turnovers they have been having.  “We've not done a good job of that last three games.  Two out of the three we were fortunate to come out on top.  So, we have to really put a concentrated effort on valuing possessions and getting something out of that.  Not only not turning it over, but getting a score out of our possessions as much as possible because a team that shoots that much gets hot, I mean more shots you shoot the better chance you have of some of them going in,” said Minor.

Published 12/22/23

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St. Paul Ready to Play

          Norwalk St. Paul finally starts its season with two games this week as they at Margaretta in a non-league game on Thursday night and at Mapleton in a Firelands Conference contest on Friday night.

          Coach Steve Minor says there is no question they are ready to play.  “That's an understatement, we are ready to go.  We'll see how ready we are soon enough,” he said.

          Minor says he generally has liked the progression his team has made coming into this week.  “I really think we did until our last scrimmage this Saturday.  Our other scrimmages because of the schedule that they happened, partly my fault, fall together back-to-back to back, so you really didn't have a lot of time in between them to evaluate and you have a small window to try to jam scrimmages in before other schools that are going to start on time are available.  We tried Danville, we tried even Dalton who just got done you know in the state championship game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Just between injuries and resting people and time off and trying to crunch everything that's the way it had to go.  So, I was pretty happy with our last scrimmage.  We've had one of our returning starters out the whole preseason with a non contact injury, so we didn't get a look at him, but I think he's going to get the green light as of (Monday), so he's back and ready to go for the opener this week.”

          Margaretta (1-1) beat Tiffin Calvert (60-55) in a non-conference game last Saturday.

          Minor says the Polar Bears will be a great challenge.  “I know they've graduated the guys from last year, but they still have a really good team back.  Calvert's no slouch either, that was a great game the other night, great atmosphere.  Hopefully, we can be involved in the same type of game with a different outcome Thursday.  I mean you know what Margaretta does and they do it very well.  You have to be ready for it, but also I'm hoping they have to adjust to what we're able to do.  We'll find that out,” said Minor.

          Mapleton (2-0,1-0) walloped New London (63-17) in a conference game on Saturday.

          Minor says the Mounties have a lot of weapons.  “I’ll tell you Mapleton is, and I think they have been for at least since I've been the head coach here, they're dangerous.  Nick (Hickey) does a great job with them. Scotty's a phenomenal athlete, basketball player, scorer, I mean he his motor never stops and then of course the (Jordan) Davidson and (Kyle) Sloter kids, they all can score and going by the score of this weekend so you find out they can defend too.  So, it’s not going to be an easy start to the season by any means,” said Minor.

Published 12/12/23

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St. Paul to Play Fundamental, Explosive Dalton

          Norwalk St. Paul takes on Dalton on Friday night at Ashland High School’s Community Stadium in a regional semifinal in division VII.

          The Flyers (8-4) advanced with a (20-14) win at Malvern last week.

          Coach John Livengood says they were tremendous on defense and pretty efficient on offense.  “Malvern has a really explosive offense, wide open, a lot of four wide, five wide sets, they throw the ball 20, 30 times a game.  That was a big challenge for our defense.  I think our kids really came out and played great defensively.  We were able to get good pressure on the quarterback.  I think we had six sacks, an interception and held them under 50 percent pass completions.  So, I was really pleased with the way our secondary and overall defense played.  Offensively, we ran the ball decent.  We had a nice 18 play drive to open the game and were running the ball well in spurts, but where things opened up for us was with some passing game.  Drew Kuhnle did a nice job in hitting some key passes for us for touchdowns.  It was just a great overall performance.  Malvern is an outstanding football team and we're happy to walk out of there with the win,” said Livengood.

          Dalton (10-1), the outright champ of the Wayne County Athletic League, eliminated Lucas (35-10) last week. Greyson Siders had four TD runs.

          Livengood says they have an explosive running back and they are very good up front.  “The number one thing that stands out is Greyson Siders their tailback.  He's a big strong kid, he runs hard and he's an explosive athlete.  They're quarterback has got good speed and he throws the ball well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Up front they've got really good size.  Grayson Lehman is someone that really stands.  He's 6’3”, 290 and he's playing guard, he's got the quickness of a guard too and he's equally as dominating on the defensive side of the ball.  A big kid that moves well and he's got a high motor.  They are really well coached football team.  You can see their great fundamentals on both sides of the football, especially on the line of scrimmage.”

          Livengood says the Bulldogs are very fundamentally sound up front.  “Their kids up front, again they've got good size, but that doesn't always mean anything.  It's the fact they've got really good fundamentals, they finish blocks, they're very aggressive blocking and the same thing defensively.  They're got high motors, they get off the ball and they run to the ball.  So, very good football players on both sides of the line of scrimmage and great skill kids to match it,” he said.

          Livengood says to win Friday they have to find a way to win up front and just do a lot of things very well.  “We have got to control line of scrimmage, that's the thing.  It's a battle up front.  We're giving up a lot of size to some kids that that also have the same type of fundamentals that we really work hard on.  So, we're going to have to find a way.  I tell our kids hold your point and win this game inch by inch.  You take it one play at a time.  So, we've got to control that line of scrimmage, we've got to take care of the football, we've got to play great defense, we’ve got to swarm to the football because they've got some really explosive athletes and not let them get loose and we've got to play great special teams,” said Livengood.

Published 11/09/23

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St. Paul’s Defense Will be Stressed

          Norwalk St. Paul, coming off a tremendous performance last week, travels to Malvern of a division VII regional quarterfinal on Friday night.

          Last week, the Flyers (7-4) destroyed Toronto (56-20) in a first round game.  Josh Poccos ran 189 yards and four touchdowns.  St. Paul had 390 yards rushing as a team.

          Coach John Livengood says they got off to a good start and then road that momentum to a big win.  “The kids came out and played well.  Toronto's a very good football team, have got good size, good skilled athletes and they’ve got good coaches.  I mean they do they do a nice job down there.  I was a little worried about the length of the trip.  We didn't play very well at Fort Loramie when we had a trip like that earlier this year, but I think our kids really learned from that and had the right mindset.  We came out that opening drive and scored.  We got a three and out on defense and put together a nice scoring drive again.  It happened the third time around, they went for it around the midfield on fourth down and we were able to get a stop and got up 21-0 early in the first quarter.  So, things kind of rolled from there,” said Livengood.

          Poccos and Ben Berger both have over 1,000 yards rushing this year.  Berger has 1,092 and 17 touchdowns in limited action due to injury.

          Malvern (10-1) beat Southern (35-20) in their opening round game.

          Livengood says they are going to have the personnel to throw the ball all around the field.  “They're a really good throwing team.  They remind me a lot of Edon we've played the last three years both in the playoffs and the regular season.  They remind me a lot of that.  They have really good receivers, good, quick kids, a nice big quarterback that does a great job.  It's going to make it tough to defend the way they have got athletes all over the field,” he said.

          Livengood says they have shown a lot of improvement on defense.  He says they must be very fundamentally sound on that side of the ball or they are going to get burned.  “We've have got to do a lot better job than, I'm using Edon as an analogy.  When we played Edon last year, we had a lot of blown coverages and missed assignments.  I think as coaches, we need to simplify things and make sure that our kids are ready to go and know what's going on and where they're supposed to be.  That's the key for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Again, as I mentioned earlier several times this year the improvement we've made in our secondary and the improvement we made along the defensive line has really helped us out as a team. Defensively, it's been the biggest part of our improvement throughout the season.”

Published 10/31/23

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St. Paul to Meet Big, Athletic Toronto

          Norwalk St. Paul, the outright Firelands Conference champion, will be at Toronto in a division VII first round playoff game on Friday night.

          Last Friday, Ben Burger ran for 260 yards a four scores, and returned an inception for another score as the Flyers (5-5) demolished arch rival Monroeville (41-14) in the conference title game.

          Coach John Livengood is really proud of how the kids have come together after a rough start.  “Our kids have continued to improve throughout the season.  It was a tough start to the season, starting off 0-3 with some really tough competition, but probably a little bit more important than that was the fact that we got pretty banged up had a lot of injuries,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We're starting to finally get those guys back practicing and playing it and we were able to dress all 44 of our kids on Friday night this past Friday.  So, it was a good to get some kids back healthy and contribute.  I think our kids are just getting better and better at football we're playing our best football right now.”

          Toronto (9-1) has athletes and Livengood says they are huge in the trenches, much bigger than St. Paul.  “They have good skilled kids.  They run a wide open offense, spread offense.  Their skilled kids are fast and they're huge up front.  They're 6’7”, 250 at left tackle, 6’5”, 260 at right tackle, 225 at both guards and 245 at center.  So, they're big up front and some of those same guys playing on the defensive line.  They’ve got guys that can fly around, they're big and fast,” said Livengood.

          Livengood, a hall of fame coach, says they have played teams of this ilk before, such as Tiffin Calvert, the runner up in the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.  “They're similar to maybe Fort Loramie size wise, you know a lot of bigger skilled kids, that sort of thing.  Tiffin Calvert as well size wise. So, a lot of similarities there and the style of offense they play is kind of similar to Calvert, but it's not so much run oriented, but a lot of bubbles and screens and dumping the ball off out the flats quite a bit and then letting their athletes go out and play,” he said.

Published 10/25/23

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St. Paul Plays Monroeville for “FC” Title

          As tradition would have it, Norwalk St. Paul will host Monroeville for the Firelands Conference championship on Friday night in Norwalk.

          Monroeville (7-2,5-0) is a whisker away from being unbeaten with close non-conference losses to Tiffin Calvert (35-34) and Lucas (31-28) this year.

          St. Paul coach John Livengood says they have a couple of playmakers.  “The speed in their backfield.  Evan Benfer and Landen Roeder are two really quick kids.  They're not big kids, but they are fast and they run hard that really jumps off the film.  The same thing defensively, their standout players defensively.  They've got good size up front on both sides of the football but Benfer and Roeder really jump off the film when you watch them on offense,” said Livengood.

          With that kind of speed, Livengood says any play can be a big play.  “They've got the speed at to go the distance on any given play.  You give them a crease, even when you see a good defensive play against them, the defense playing sound, you still seeing them pick up three, four yards.  They run hard and you've got to really contain them and keep them from popping the big play on you,” he said.

          After losing their first three games to tough opponents, St. Paul (5-4,5-0) has won five of its last six and Livengood says they have gotten healthy and improving every week.  “I've been really pleased with our progress, especially defensively.  You know what I'll say too is we did a lot of good things early on as well, but our non conference schedule was pretty tough.  We were in a situation by week three and week four that we had five, six two way starters out and that was tough sledding at that point.  We've got a lot of those guys back in the lineup as we got into the conference schedule.  We've continued to make improvement, especially on the defensive side of the ball and really happy with the way we're playing right now,” said Livengood.

          This game is the essence of small school high school football in Ohio and Livengood says it is part of their culture.  “Number one, it's a rivalry game.  St. Paul-Monroeville is the small high school version of Ohio State-Michigan, it really is.  I think both communities embrace that and treat it that way and there's reasons for that.  Number one, the proximity.  Number two, a lot of these guys are cousins and neighbors because we were so close, but also you know the success of both programs.  I've been coaching for over 30 years and when I started coaching (Steve) Ringholtz was the coach of Monroeville and to be quite honest he was the bar, he was the bar that I tried to reach with our program,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We both have had successful programs over the years, which makes it competitive game.  It's that rivalry game that we always play week 10 and a lot of times the conference championship is decided in week 10 by that game.  So, it's what you signed up for.  You want to be playing for a championship in week 10 and both schools have put themselves in that position.”

Published 10/19/23

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St. Paul Putting Things Together

          Norwalk St. Paul, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference, plays host to South Central in a conference game on Saturday night.

          They share first with Monroeville and play them at home next Friday.

          They scored twice early and went on to hammer Crestview (33-7) in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach John Livengood says they played well.  “Well, I was really pleased with the way our kids came out and played.  Crestview is a good football team.  They dominated our conference in the regular season the last two years.  I know they're kind of in the same boat as we are this year.  They've had a really tough schedule with some younger kids and they've had some injuries and things like that.  They're a much better team than their record shows and to go down to Crestview and to come away with the win against a really well coached team, a talented team, I was really happy with our kids performance,” he said.

          Ben Burger scored twice for the Flyers in the win.  St. Paul averages 280 yards rushing per game.

          Livengood says they are putting things together.  “It's a combination of things.  We're starting to get some kids back from injuries, but those younger kids that were kind of thrown into roles that they weren't quite ready for have really grown and matured.  I mentioned someone like Landon Fries, he’s a sophomore, ended up being a starter for us and really thought he had his best game against Crestview, made some really nice football plays.  I thought our defensive line really improved from the Fort Loramie game.  They made a good jump, played well against Crestview.  I thought our secondary played the best game they have played all season long,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Again, that was a top passing team in the Firelands Conference.  So, we knew it was a big challenge going into the game.  Kuhn is a really good quarterback and they have got some really good receivers.  They're talented and just thought we played a great game.  Our kids had the right mindset going into the game and played hard throughout.”

          The Flyers (4-4,4-0) play host to South Central (1-7,0-4) on Saturday night.  The Trojans were beaten (44-22) by Western Reserve last week.

          Livengood says they have some good skilled players they will need to defend.  “I think looking at their athletes they've got some really talented skilled kids. Aaron Hauler that has been a three-year starter, started as a freshman as an outside backer, but then he's played some running back.  He's playing quarterback for them now.  He's a really talented kid.  I think Gunner Ray, Cole Frankurt, Eric Sanders are all talented skilled kids and can cause a lot of problems when they're on the field.  So, those guys are really good skilled kids, they have got good size up front, they're all over 200 on that offensive and defensive line.  So, good size and good skilled kids, so they're a very talented team,” said Livengood.

Published 10/11/23

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St. Paul Meets Improved Crestview

          Norwalk St. Paul, the co-leader in the Firelands Conference, plays at Crestview, the defending champion, in a conference game on Friday night.

          The Cougars trail St. Paul and Monroeville by a game.

          In a non-conference game last week, St. Paul lost (35-28) at Fort Loramie last Friday.

          Coach John Livengood says they just couldn’t get that big offensive play when they needed it.  “It’s a long trip and our kids came out ready to play.  It was a game that was back and forth throughout the game.  Our kids fought hard, unfortunately, we tied it up at 28 in the fourth quarter and we just couldn't get that stop when we needed to in the fourth quarter.  They went off to touchdown, we had a chance.  We get the ball back with a few minutes left in the game and unfortunately we weren't able to convert.  We had to punt the ball away.  We got the stop, we used our timeouts got the ball back for about a minute left and tried to put together a drive and we moved the ball pretty good got into their territory just ran out of time at that point,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I am really proud of our kids and how they played.  Again, they stood toe to toe with a really, really good football team that plays a really tough schedule as well and really proud of our efforts.”

          St. Paul (3-4,3-0) is at Crestview (3-4,2-1) on Friday night.  The Cougars walloped Plymouth (56-7) last Friday.

          Livengood says the Cougars are a solid team with a lot of really good players.  “Well, first of all they're better than their record.  We know that they are a good football team.  They've got a lot of kids that are really good, outstanding football players.  The (Ayden) Reymer kid at running back is just getting better every game.  He's only a sophomore, but is kind of following in his older brothers footsteps, has got a lot of speed and quickness, good balance, and he runs the ball well.  They've got an outstanding lineman Caleb Cunningham, he’s a great two way player for them, a returning starter off last year's team.  (Liam) Kuhn is doing a good job at quarterback and you could see he's got a really strong arm and he's got good feet.  The coaching staff does a great job and it's going to be a big challenge for us this week,” said Livengood.

          Kuhn leads the “FC” in passing and Livengood says they do an outstanding job in the pass game.  “He’s doing a nice job for them.  He's got a strong arm, live arm, he's got some nice receivers.  Tyson Ringler really stands out, he’s got good speed and runs good routes, but they're good receivers all the way across the board the (Gavin) Canes kid does a nice job from the split end and tight end position and Karter Goon does a good job at tight end.  So, they've got some nice receivers and he does a great job getting the ball to them,” he said.

Published 10/05/23

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St. Paul Headed in the Right Direction

          Norwalk St. Paul has passed the half point of the regular season and they are hitting their stride as they prepare for a non-conference game on Friday night at Fort Loramie.

          On Saturday night, they handed Western Reserve its first loss of the season.

          Coach John Livengood says they came in with the right attitude.  “Western Reserve has got an outstanding football team.  Our kids just continued to battle and play hard and very pleased with how they played this past Saturday night against Western,” he said.

          Livengood says they did a good job of executing their game plan, especially on defense.  “I think the biggest thing was our kids came out and executed well.  We had certain assignments.  We studied tendencies and the kids did a great job of executing that defensive game plan.  They came out and they played aggressive, they played hard.  The big thing is that you have got to give a lot of credit to Western Reserve.  They have a great football team.  Dawson is one of the best backs that we've seen in my time coaching here.  Our kids just played well and really pleased we were able to get off the field on defense.  Put together long, sustained drives offensively and keep their offense off the field.  It was key for us to be able to get off the field defensively and get stops,” said Livengood.

          Livengood says the kids feel more confident and he is very proud they have handled a difficult start to the season.  “The kids have done a great job you know continuing to get better.  We had a tough time our first three games against some really good competition, but our kids continue to get better through that.  Finding yourself 0-3 after three games can be one of those times where you really struggle with your confidence and struggle emotionally to handle things,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Our kids, I'm really proud of them and how they stayed positive and kept working hard to get better.  We dealt with a lot of adversity with injuries and illness and things like that early in the year.  How they just continue to be persistent and work hard and have a great attitude and put ourselves in position where we continue to improve and we establish some depth.  Now, we've got things going in the right direction and hopefully we're able to continue to build on that.”

          St. Paul (3-3) is at Fort Loramie (3-3), a (34-19) winner over Talawanda, last week.

          Livengood says this is a big, physical opponent.  “They're a very successful football program.  You look at them last year, I believe they were in the division VI state semifinals.  We did see them on film last year against Eden and saw what kind of skill and talent they have.  They're down there in “MAC” country with Coldwater and Marion Local and Delphos St. John's and Minster, and all those schools.  So, they've got the same type of kids that you see playing for those schools.  They're big, they're physical, they've got some good athletes that can run.  What we have got to do is continue to work to improve and keep getting better,” said Livengood.

Published 9/26/23

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St. Paul to Meet a Very Good Western Reserve

          It’s a key clash on Saturday night in the Firelands Conference as Norwalk St. Paul hosts rival Western Reserve.

          The two share first place in the conference with Monroeville, who plays Lucas in a non-conference game this week.

          St. Paul put Plymouth on ice last week with a (49-0) shutout of the Big Red.

          Coach John Livengood says they have shown a lot of improvement.  “If you're talking offensively, I felt other than the Edison game, I felt like we executed offensively pretty well so far this year.  We scored 28 on Huron, we scored 25 against Tiffin Calvert, but we were limited to six points against Edison.  We had some breakdowns, turnovers, and things like that in that game, but other than that offensively I felt like we moved the ball pretty well and executed pretty well.  Defensively, I think is where we've kind of made some improvements playing with a lot more aggression and playing downhill and doing things more fundamentally correct the last couple weeks.  Even though we gave up 30 points to Mapleton, I really felt like we made a lot of improvement defensively.  We made that same kind of jump against Plymouth where this past week we were able to get a shout out and created five turnovers and limited them to about 103 yards of offense.  So, really felt like we made a good jump here the last couple of weeks,” said Livengood.

          St. Paul (2-3,2-0) is home for Western Reserve (5-0,2-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on Saturday.  The Riders cleaned Mapleton’s clock (53-14) last week.

          Livengood says their running game is top notch.  “They have got a couple people that really stand out.  The first person that jumps off the film is Connor Dawson, their running back, he's an outstanding football player.   I think he's probably got about 1,200 yards already in five games.  Seems like every time he's touched the ball, he's busting one off for 50 yards, so he's a dynamic player.  He jumps off the film, and it's not just offensively, defensively it's the same thing when he's playing safety and he covers up a lot of mistakes up in the forcing unit and things get through he's able to clean things up and limit big plays for the opponents offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “The other person that really stands out to me is Braxton Baylog that plays guard and plays linebacker, a really good football player at those two positions on both sides of the ball.  Those two guys really stand out and jump off the film, but they get a lot of guys who are doing things well.  Coach (Ty) Stephenson is a great football coach, got a great program, and he's shown that he can consistently put together winner.  I think he plays to his team strengths and what the personality of his team is and utilizes those to find success.”

          Against a running team, first down is important, but Livengood says against Western you can never relax.  “Every down is important because they can be third and nine ns Conner Dawson can pop it for a big one.  You can't just put all your attention on him either.  Hayden Keith, their quarterback, does a nice job, especially running the ball, he's got a lot of design runs, he'll run his a scheme where he's obviously faking to Dawson and keeping it himself and when he does that he's got the ability to move, he's got good size, 195, he runs the ball really well.  So, they've got a lot of weapons and we've got to be ready to play every down for sure,” he said.

Published 9/21/23

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St. Paul Headed in the Right Direction

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at home against Plymouth in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          Last Friday, Brock Houck ran for three TD’s and the Flyers (1-3,1-0) outscored Mapleton (49-30) in “FC” play.

          Coach John Livengood says their play was better and they battled some adversity.  “Our execution is getting better.  I thought defensively even though we gave up 30 points, I thought we played a lot better.  One thing I realized is we've gone against some pretty good offenses here these first four weeks, but I think we did some things better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monay afternoon, “The thing I was most pleased about is we've had a lot of adversity with injuries in the past four weeks and new kids have had to step in and step up and those kids have done a great job with that.  We got hit with the flu bug pretty bad last week too and again that affected us with actually having a couple starters out with that too.  So, really pleased with the way our kids are playing, they're playing hard, they're playing with a lot of energy and excitement.  I'm very pleased with the progress we're making.”

          Livengood says the younger, inexperienced players were ready to go when called on and that is gratifying.  “A lot of those guys are normally scout team players and then they pay their dues against the varsity every day in practice and now it's their turn to step up and they did a nice job for us this past week,” he said.

          Plymouth (2-2,0-1) was blown out by Western Reserve (47-14) last week in their conference opener.

          Livengood says this is a typical Plymouth team.  “I know coach (John) Gillum is a new coach, but he's kind of keeping the same offensive system the double tight, double wing.  They've got those big bodies on the offensive line, they've got a lot of speed and it's a difficult offense to defend.  You've got to be ready for them to play smash mouth football and get off tackle on you.  You have got to get in there and stand toe to toe with them.  So, again they have got good athletes.  Defensively, they're more of a 4-4 team this year and they have got big guys up front, they have got linebackers that run to the ball well,” said Livengood.

          Like a lot of coaches, Livengood says some of the things that Plymouth does are unconventional.  “They're primarily a double tight, double wing offense, but when they get into their single wing stuff that's the stuff that's difficult because that's a little bit less conventional and you've got your spinner plays and snapping to the backs and quarterbacks and guys in motion at the same time.  That's one of those things that really takes some timing and the scout team has to work real hard to get that.  So, yeah it can be very difficult especially with the single wing stuff,” he said.

Published 9/12/2023

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St. Paul Needs Better Fundamentals

          Norwalk St. Paul plays its first Firelands Conference game on the road Friday night at Mapleton.

          The Flyers are (0-3) for the time since 1991, John Livengood’s first year as their head coach after a (35-25) loss to Tiffin Calvert last Friday.

          Livengood says they were often in the right position, but didn’t make the play.  “Calvert, they just won a lot of their one-on-one matchups.  Whether it's catching a pass and defending that pass or winning a block or defeating a block, that type of thing.  They were able to consistently win those one-on-one matchups where we didn't.  Fundamentally, we were in good position a lot of times, we just didn't make plays and they did.  We've got to continue to improve defensively.  We're not doing a great job defensively right now.  So, hopefully we'll continue to improve and take another step forward this week,” said Livengood.

          Livengood says it boils down to you need to whip the guy across from you and they haven’t been doing that.  “It’s our fundaments and winning your one on ones.  I mean you've got to be able to win the matchup that you have.  Whether it's a guy blocking you or breaking down and making a tackle when you have that opportunity or coverage.  We just didn't do that consistently.  We have got to continue to work in that area and get better with our fundamentals,” he said.

          Mapleton (2-1) outscored Northmor (40-33) last week.  Quarterback Kollin Cline ran 288 yards and two scores.

          Livengood says they are explosive with the ball.  “They look good, they have looked good the last few years.  Kollin Cline at quarterback is a threat both throwing the ball, but mainly with his legs.  When a play breaks down, he's able to make plays.  They do a lot of design runs for the quarterback.  Luke Pryor runs the ball hard at fullback and they've got a lot of speed on the perimeter and decent size up front,” he told Swankonsports.com on Labor Day afternoon, “Defensively, they've got kids that run the ball pretty well and again Calvin Klein stands out with his play.  We have got to play consistently and continue to work on improvement and be ready to go this week.”

Published 9/05/23

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St. Paul Has to Fix Things

          Norwalk St. Paul needs much better execution as they travel to Tiffin Calvert on Friday night for a non-conference game against the Senecas.

          Last week, the Flyers (0-2) were rocked (42-6) by Edison in a non-league game.

          Coach John Livengood says they did not have good focus.  “Number one, Edison's a very good football team with a lot of good athletes and a well coached team.  I have got to say that I think our kids played like they had a hangover from the Huron game.  I'm very proud of our kids even though we lost to Huron, I was very proud of the effort of our kids in trying to win that game and battle until the end and had a chance to win it at the end.  That was not the case against Edison.  We started off okay, but I think our focus throughout the week was still kind of looking backwards instead of forwards and that was disappointing,” said Livengood.

          The hall of fame coach says they need to correct the mistakes that led to a poor performance last week.  “It's important that we regroup.  We took a look at the mistakes we made and build on the positives.  As I pointed out to the kids, there has been a lot of games where we've won 42-0 and you look at the film and you say boy we made a lot of mistakes.  You think sometimes things aren't as good as they appear and sometimes they aren't as bad as they appear when you watch film.  So, we did some good things, but cumulatively over the course of the game, we did not play very well and we've got to improve on that,” said Livengood.

          So far this week in practice, Livengood says that focus has been there.  “It’s been good, I mean we're only two days in, we're getting ready for Wednesday practice.  The first two days have been good, kids have worked hard, they have got good focus and they're focusing on Calvert and preparing to get better and be ready to go Friday night,” he said.

          Tiffin Calvert (2-0) beat Monroeville (35-34) in overtime last week.  The Senecas wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat.  It appeared they might lose after the Eagles converted a two-point conversion with less than :10 seconds, but it was nullified by a penalty.

Livengood says Calvert has players at every level.  “They have a lot of talent, a lot of size, they have get a lot of kids that have been starting for two and three years, their quarterback, their running backs, a couple of receivers the big (Lucas) Recker kid on the offensive and defensive line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have good size at the skill positions with a lot of good speed.  I mean they probably average about 275 to 280 up front on both sides of the football, so much bigger than us and that's really good size for division VII school.”

Published 8/31/23

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St. Paul Has to Clean up Mistakes

          Nowalk St. Paul plays at Edison Friday night in a game between traditional football powers in non-conference action in Milan.

          They lost their opener (31-28) to Huron last Saturday.

          Coach John Livengood says they just got behind too much early by making too many mistakes.  “I was really proud of our kids the way we bounced back.  We didn't play real well in the first quarter and got down 17-0 and battled back had it to 17-7.  We turned the ball over twice in that first quarter and they turned those turnovers into points too.  They drove down the field and we had good pressure on the quarterback.  Had him wrapped up in the backfield and he escaped and scrambled for a touchdown with 17 seconds left to make it 24-7 at the half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Mondy afternoon, “I was proud of the way the kids came out the second half.  We played well and battled back, got it to 31-28 with about three minutes left, but unfortunately they were able to run out the clock.  I'm proud of our kids effort, they played hard, we have just got to clean up our mistakes.”

          Ben Burger ran for 200 yards and three TD’s in the loss.  The Flyers only attempted three passes, completing one for 11 yards and one interception.

          Livengood says they have to cut down on turnovers.  “Both of our turnovers that we had they turned into points and in a game like that against Huron.  Huron is such a good football program, great athletes, great coaches and you can't make mistakes against the team like that or it's going to cost you and that's what ended up costing us,” he said.

          Edison (1-0) thrashed Oberlin Firelands (35-6) last week.

          Livengood says Jim Hall’s team still runs their traditional triple option offense, but they have become much more diversified when they have the ball.  “They're mixing up their offense a little bit.  They're still running some triple option and doing things like that, some zone read, but they are getting more into some more conventional stretch stuff out of shotgun spread, some underneath center.  So, they give you a mix, they run some power football.  So, it's a mix offensively, but the one thing with Edison is they're well coached, their kids always play hard, play tough, and they're off to a good start so far. I know they have a lot of starters back this season and we went and scouted them last Friday night and they looked really good in their win against Firelands,” said Livengood.

Published 8/22/23

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St. Paul Getting Ready for Athletic Huron

          Norwalk St. Paul kicks off the football season at home Saturday night with the Huron Tigers in non-conference play.

          Hall of Fame coach John Livengood says they have been getting better in practice, but last we they didn’t get a chance to scrimmage.  “One of the things you want to do is see that improvement from that first scrimmage to the second scrimmage.  Unfortunately, because of the weather we were not able to scrimmage this past weekend, but Huron was kind of actually in the same boat, they had to cancel their scrimmage as well.  So, you're fine tuning things.  We video, obviously, our practices and we look at that and we've seen good improvement by our kids off the mistakes we made in our first scrimmage and we're going to continue to build on that and hopefully put ourselves in good position to play well on Saturday night,” said Livengood.

          Huron beat St. Paul (41-7) last fall on their way to a very good season.

          Livengood says again they will be big and athletic.  “Well, they have about five or six starters back on each side of the ball.  They have got some really big kids that can run.  It starts with Andrew Delaney at their running back position.  They like to run out the spread offense.  Cody Scroggins is now going to be their starting quarterback.  He was one of their starting receivers last year.  Quick kid, fast kid, haven't seen him throw him at all this year because we didn't exchange scrimmage tape, but we know he's a good athlete,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We know they have got a big running back and Delaney is also a middle linebacker for them.  Big kid, 6’2”, 225 and he can run.  So, we have got our hands full with that.  They're big up front.  They've got you know couple 280 pounders and 240 pounders.  So, they're big up front and we're going to have to play good, sound fundamental football and minimize our mistakes.”

          St. Paul always benefits from a tough schedule and Livengood says they face an especially tough one this time.  “This year by far is one of our toughest schedules that we've ever had.  We open this year with Huron and we've got Edison and we’ve got Tiffin Calvert, who's always a really good team, always good program and then replacing New London with Fort Loramie, who was in the state semifinals last year in either the division V or division VII.  So, yeah it's a very, very tough schedule.  We have got a tough preseason schedule with our scrimmages and so hopefully that's preparing us and week in and week out we have got to be ready to play,” he said.

Published 8/16/23

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At St. Paul They Love Football

          Norwalk St. Paul has a long standing tradition of success in high school football.

          Their coach John Livengood is a hall of famer.

          Livengood says he is impressed by this year’s team’s love of the game.  “They're a great group of kids.  The one thing I'll say about them is number one they care about each other, but they love football.  They love practicing, they love lifting, they love preparing for games and it's a great group that really enjoys themselves when they're on the field even when they're working hard and sweating they're having a good time, they love football,” he said.

          They open the season by hosting Huron in a non-conference game next Saturday night.

          Last season, the Flyers were (9-3) and runners-up in the Firelands Conference.

          Livengood says they are excited about what they can be like this year.  “We have a lot of lot of starters back and experience back, so we're excited about that, but also to have a group that's got high expectations that works hard to reach those expectations and they really care about each other, they have a good time in a locker room and the good time on the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's a real pleasure to coach, honestly.  Sometimes it's tough when you're out there in two days and stuff like and you question how much you love the sport when you're going through some tough times like that.  These guys don't show anything like that, they love the sport, they love practicing and they have a good time, they work hard at it and just a lot of fun for the coaches to work with.”

          The Flyers have won 21 Firelands Conference championships under Livengood and the 2009 state championship.

          He says they are used to expectations.  “That's something that's just been, we've had success you know over the course of the last 30 some years.  Those kids when they're younger kids and freshmen and sophomores they see those older guys and how they work and what it took to be successful and they kind of fall right back in line with that as they get older and become leaders.  So, those expectations become natural.  It's not something that the coaches necessarily have to talk about all the time, the kids generate that themselves,” said Livengood.

Published 8/11/23

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St. Paul Blanks Danbury

          Norwalk St. Paul will play for a division IV sectional title on Thursday as they blasted Danbury-Lakeside (10-0) in five innings a sectional semifinal on Tuesday evening at St. Paul.

          Coach Aaron Fries says they were patient at the plate and took advantage of some pitches.  “We played well.  I think we've really been playing well here for a good stretch, a good couple weeks here, consistently and that continued (Tuesday) night.  We got good pitching, challenged hitters, at the plate we continue to be patient making pitchers come into us and making them pay for it when they do, but also taking the free passes and letting the next guy do the damage.  So, I think we're playing good in all phases right now and that continued (Tuesday) night,” he said.

          Fries says in tournament baseball, patience is something that you need to have to be successful.  “I mean I think kids sometimes and even as a coach you try to press a little bit.  You want to make the big play, you want to make something happen and sometimes that can happen and you can do that when it's not there and you can get yourself into outs where if you were just patient and take what's given to you and if that's or something like that and let the next guy come up and see if he can't get a pitch that he can you know drive and take advantage of something.  So, I think we're doing a really good job of that right now.  Just playing good team baseball and not trying to do too much.  Just taking what's given to us and hopefully that can continue on Thursday,” said Fries.

          The Flyers (15-10) will play at Gibsonburg (17-5), out of the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, on Thursday in the division IV sectional final.

          Fries looks for a low scoring game.  “I mean I know that they're really strong pitching wise.  We expect to see their ace (Nolan Hoover).  He's got really good numbers and some high strike out numbers, but I'll be honest with you, our district is loaded with good pitching.  You have got to beat good pitching if you want to continue to advance,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night after the win, “Sometimes maybe you can get out of sectional without seeing good, quality pitching, but not in our district.  I think one through six, seven have top of the line starters.  So, I expect a low scoring game, I expect runs to really be at a premium and I think it's going to be a good, quality high school baseball game if we're both playing at our at our highest level.”

Published 5/17/23

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Maxwell Dominates Western

          Kole Maxwell struck out 20 batters Thursday night and Norwalk St. Paul downed Western Reserve (2-0) in a Firelands Conference game.

          Coach Aaron Fries says Maxwell showed a lot of leadership.  “It is really unbelievable.  I thought obviously Kole pitched really well.  I guess that's probably an understatement.  I think as a team we weren't really playing particularly well and I think sometimes you need to get a guy to just step up and grab the bull by the horns and he kind of did that for us,” he said.

          Fries says their approach Thursday night was to just attack the Western hitters.  “Well, I think that he was just attacking hitters.  He's a great pitcher.  He's got multiple pitches he could throw for strikes that have credibility.  I just felt like early on in the game we were able to recognize… he had pitched against Western Reserve about two weeks ago too, so we were just able to recognize they just didn't look very comfortable in the box versus him.  I think we were just in attack mode all night and challenged hitters.  I think that's really what was the difference (Thursday) maybe in the in the 20 strikeouts.  There really wasn't a lot of messing around.  There really wasn't a lot of get ahead in the count and try to get a ball guy swinging at a ball in the dirt, that kind of stuff.  We just really went right at them and challenged them and that's I think was the difference,” said Fries.

          Plus, Fries says Maxwell was a key part of their offense as well.  “We were struggling putting the ball in play.  We only had one hit on the night and he was able to draw walk, got to third base and end up scoring on a on a wild pitch that he really got a great jump off of the curveball that he saw going in the dirt and was able to get a great jump and then scored the winning run for us,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday night, “So, obviously on the mound 20 out of 21 batters you strike out that's impressive, but it goes that goes a little bit deeper than that as far as his performance.  To be honest we haven't been good in one run, two run games I think we were 0-5 to this point in the season in two runs or less and for him to step up and really lead us to victory hopefully it inspires the rest of the group.”

Published 5/05/23

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St. Paul Rallies Past South Central

          Norwalk St. Paul had a four game Firelands Conference winning streak snapped Monday night by Mapleton, but Tuesday night they smoked South Central (11-4) to get back on the winning track.

          South Central led (3-1) going to the bottom of the third, but the Flyers would score two to tie it and they add two in the fourth, two in the fifth and four more in the sixth.

          Coach Aaron Fries says he was really pleased with how they bounced back on Tuesday.  “Anytime you drop one there early in the week and the next day you get to come out and play certainly you want to put your best foot forward.  I thought we started a little sluggish (Tuesday) and fell behind early, but are really picked it up there, tied it at three and from there we were in good shape and played with a lot of energy.  So, it's definitely a good bounce back win for us,” said Fries.

          St. Paul (9-7,5-3), in a share of third place with Western Reserve, a (16-5) winner of Monroeville on Tuesday, in the conference standings got five hits from Thomas Zuccaro.  Ashton Stang had three RBI.

          Overall, the Flyers had 15 hits off the Trojans (3-8,2-4) on Tuesday.

          Fries says they did something they haven’t done much this season, come from behind.  “We started the game, we just didn't have a lot of energy I didn't feel like.  Maybe some sloppy plays in the field a little bit and pitching was a little sluggish and then you know in the box we just weren't putting together some good at bats that kind of first time around,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Tuesday night, “It was good to get going in the middle of the game and quite honestly it's something we just haven't been doing this season so far is coming from behind.  We just we just haven't done it that well this year yet, so (Tuesday) night there were a lot of good things going on.”

          Crestview, unbeaten in the conference, holds a three game lead, after a (16-0) shellacking of New London Tuesday.  Mapleton is two games back.  The Mounties hammered Plymouth (7-1) on Tuesday.

          Fries says a lot of what comebacks are all about is your mental approach.  “I think certainly our confidence has been a little up and down this year for some reason or another, but definitely it's all about confidence.  Like I said, it was good to have you know start off a little sluggish and to really pick it up and carry that momentum forward it's a good thing,” he said.

Published 4/26/23

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St. Paul Stays in Race

          Norwalk St. Paul was in danger of falling three games behind Crestview in the Firelands Conference standings, but they picked up their first conference win of the season (7-1) at New London on Monday evening.

          Crestview, unbeaten in the conference smoked Western Reserve (14-1), Plymouth hammered South Central (16-1) and Mapleton blanked Monroeville (10-0) in other leagues games on Monday.

          Coach Aaron Fries says it a win they kind of had to have.  “Definitely a big win for us.  Our first conference win and it's just nice.  We went through a little tough part of our schedule there with some pretty tough teams.  So, (Monday) night, we came out and played well and got on the board early.  Kole continues to pitch well, Kole Maxwell continues to pitch well for us.  So, we were able to extend the lead throughout the game, so it was a nice one for us for sure,” he said.

          St. Paul (3-6,1-2) play at home against New London on Tuesday.

          Fries says the top end of their pitching rotation has been able to keep them in games this spring.  “We've been very good with one and two and even three on the mound this year.  I think we've given up maybe two earned runs with those three on the mound,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday night, “So, for us we feel pretty good about where we're at even though we've kind of gone through a rough patch, but at the end of the day when you have good pitching you know you're always going to be in ball games.”

          The Flyers have had some issues scoring runs over the last week and Fries feels it was important for them to get a good start on Monday.  “I think it was big for us to get on the board early.  We had some production from the lower part of our lineup (Monday) night.  It has been a struggle so far this season.  We’ve had some guys that we thought would be a little bit more consistent for us that just haven't been there for us quite yet.  So, we had some younger guys step up for us at the bottom part of our order and that was really helpful,” said Fries.

Published 4/11/23

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Norwalk St. Paul Buries Hopewell-Loudon

          Norwalk got the bats going and got good pitching too in a (13-0), five inning, win over Hopewell-Loudon in non-conference action of Monday.

          Coach Aaron Fries says he was happy with the way they executed.  “I think we were pretty good in all phases there. We got great pitching from Kole Maxwell, he looked in mid season form.  We played pretty good defense, made plays when we had to and really those latter innings of the game the third, fourth, fifth inning, I thought we really hit the ball how we're capable,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night after the win, “The first couple innings we left quite a few runners on base and had some had some of our bigger hitters up and in key situations and they didn't deliver and then later in the game they came through a little bit there.  So, definitely a complete victory and a good momentum going into (Tuesday).”

          Maxwell threw four shutout innings and Landon Fries had three hits for the Flyers. 

          They play Sandusky St. Mary’s in another non-conference game on Tuesday.

          Fries says despite the cooler weather, they were able to square up some hits on Monday.  ‘We had a homer (Monday) night, we had a double I believe, at least one, maybe two, which is good.  It's something we're focusing on right now.  We want to maximize our base hits with extra base hits, so when it's colder like this obviously the ball doesn't travel as well.  So, to come out of the game with I think it was a three run homer and a double, and I think maybe even two doubles if I’m not mistaken, that's pretty good, so we'll take that,” he said.

          The Flyers play Tiffin Calvert on Thursday and Port Clinton on Friday and have a doubleheader at Mohawk on Saturday.

          Fries says they want to get as much baseball in this week as they can before they open league play against Crestview next Monday afternoon.  “The way we look at our schedule is we really front loaded this first week.  We know that obviously there's a possibility that we won't get some of the games in, but we figure if we schedule quite a bit early if we get a day or two that's good then we're going to be able to get out and play.  So, that's kind of the way we look at it.  Really this week is shaping up we're going to get quite a bit of baseball in and I feel like that gives us a good idea where we're at going into conference play next week,” said Fries.

Published 3/28/23

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Norwalk St. Paul Has Tools

          Norwalk St. Paul believes they have the kids to form a competitive baseball team again this spring.

          Coach Aaron Fries says they have kids that want to play hard and they have some talent too.  “As far as where we're at right now, I like where we're at.  I think we have talent, I think we have commitment and those are two things that we can really build on.  Obviously, we're not a finished product at this point or by any stretch of the imagination and we have things to look at here as we as we get into scrimmage season so to speak.  With the four scrimmages coming up in the next you know week.  We have a lot to look at, but I'm very encouraged because of that talent and the commitment.  Hopefully. if I do my job right and get kids in the right spots we can have another pretty successful year,” he said.

          They have scrimmages against Open Door Christian, Norwalk and Perkins out of the “SBC” Lake and Fries says they want to see what they have in especially their younger players.  “We're at a point right now this year where we're very deep in our infield as far as kids who can really field it, but we're going to be young too.  So, I really want to get a good look at how some of these young kids are going to perform in these spots in games situations,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “They've looked real good in practice.  We've been able to get outside I would say 60 to 65% of the time so far since we officially started practice on February 20^th.   So, we've gotten a good look from that perspective and now we want to see some of these kids in in game like situations, game pressure.  I put on our schedule some pretty tough scrimmages just for that reason to test us and hopefully get us prepared going into the season there you starting March 25^th.”

          Their first game in the 25^th is at Port Clinton in non-conference play.  They open Firelands conference play against Crestview April 3 and 4.

          Like with any baseball team pitching is the key and Fries says with some work they have the potential of having a pretty good staff.  “I like where we're at.  I think at the top of our rotation we're going to have a couple juniors, as sophomores last year pitched well for us and really did good work over the winter and are in those positions to go from kind of your 3-4 pictures to your 1-2 pictures.  So, we feel really good about them then.  After that, we feel good, but there's some just some inconsistencies in there that we hope to clean up a little bit.  Get kids to be more consistent with their fastball or their breaking ball, one of those two, but we're right there.  I think there's six or seven kids that can give us some good quality innings and then with the two at the top, I think we're pretty good shape from that perspective,” said Fries.

Published 3/14/22

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Colonel Crawford Takes out St. Paul

          Colonel Crawford outscored Norwalk St. Paul (11-2) over the final 2:25 and beat the Flyers (64-51) in a division IV district semifinal on Tuesday night at Willard High School.

          They will return Friday night to play Lucas (21-4) for a district championship.  The Cubs beat Monroeville (49-37) in the nightcap on Wednesday.

          Crawford (17-7) led (27-25) at the break, but coach David Sheldon felt they made some adjustments defensively and were more aggressive offensively in the second half.  “We are a lot better the second half.  Our help was better.  The first half they really hurt us in the paint and I thought the second half we talked about halftime some adjustments and did a good job,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “Offensively, we were very efficient the second half.  Jake Maddy really came to play.  That number 32 (Even Wangler) is a big, strong offensive lineman type.  I said you're 6’5” go finish the thing and he did a great job.  When they tried to double, he passed it off.  Braxton (Baker) was solid all game.  I'm happy that our guys get a chance to play in another district championship come Friday night.”

          St. Paul led for almost the entire first quarter and held an (11-10) advantage after the first stanza.  The Eagles took the lead (13-12) on an Ethan Holt goal with 7:09 left in the half.  Baker’s back to back threes gave Crawford a five point lead (23-18) with 3:00 left until half, but St. Paul would close it a two-point game (25-23) on a Nolan McCall three.

          St. Paul coach Steve Minor says a key for them was to match Crawford’s physicality and for most of the night they did.  “I think we tried to match their physical play and how aggressive they were and it almost worked out for us.  The last few minutes there things got away from us and well it didn't work out how we wanted,” said Minor.

          Colonel Crawford never trailed in the second half.  They led by seven (34-27) after a Trevor Vogt three with, but St. Paul would battle back to tie it (39-39) with 1:38 to play in the third quarter after a three by Korey Frazee.

          The Eagles big guns showed up for the district semi as Baker had 28 and Maddy 23, 16 the second half, for 51 of their team’s 64 points.

          Sheldon says they stayed patient and got the ball in the right spots.  “I thought we were patient until we got the right shot.  We talk about being efficient.  There's no shot clock out there and we did a good job of being effective and we played through physicalness and that's what you get when you get to a district tournament and I thought our guys did a great job of that,” he said.

          Sheldon says one of the adjustments they made on defense was to make a better effort of transition defense.  “The first half we gave them a couple leak outs, but the second half we did much better.  The second half we sent a couple guys back we made a little adjustment at halftime,” he told Swankonsports.com, “To be back in the district championship we only got one guy back from last year that started and these guys have grown up in a program and now they get the opportunity to do that Friday night.”

          St. Paul (11-14) would not go away.  After Colonel Crawford took a nine-point lead at (53-44) after two Baker free throws, the Flyers went on a (5-0) run to get back to a four point game (53-49) after Michael Kirk was fouled shooting a three and cashed in on three charity tosses.

          Minor says there was no give up in their kids.  “No, they didn’t, just towards the end when things start piling up, but its’ understandable but, still if you tell them that there were still 10 more minutes to play, they would say good, let's go.  I mean unfortunately there's not,” he said.

          Frazee, a sophomore, led all St. Paul scorers with 12.  Senior Ian Deeter had nine.

          For Crawford it’s another district final, their fourth in five years, and Sheldon feels that kind of consistent success helps them in games like Tuesday night.  “I think it's huge you know and I come back to our regular season.  We played a heck of a non league schedule, four league champions on the year, five division II’s.  We talk about that gets you ready to have an opportunity to play in a district tournament and what that was about (Tuesday) and every possession is important.  These guys have grown up as little kids coming up through Colonel Crawford and this is your dream every night when you're working on your game and whatever to get a chance to play in the district final Friday night,” said Sheldon.

Published 3/01/23

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St. Paul Has Hands Full

          Norwalk St. Paul meets Colonel Crawford at Willard High School on Tuesday night in a district semifinal in Division IV.

          Last Friday, they beat Danbury-Lakeside (45-44) in a sectional final at Shelby High School.  The Flyers tipped away a Laker inbounds pass in the final seconds to secure the victory.

          Coach Steve Minor says the kids just stepped up and made a big play.  “A lot of times people think that this kid has got to step up and hit a big shot at the buzzer or make shots at the free throw line with not much time left, but it's actually the five kids we had on the floor playing really good defense at the end and that that was a huge key for us,” he said.

          St. Paul (11-13) plays Colonel Crawford (16-7) in the districts on Tuesday night.

          Minor says the Eagles are as good a team as they have played all year long.  “Well, it goes without saying I mean this is what they're 13th or 14th straight appearance in the district round.  David Sheldon's class act, grade “A” coach, you can't say enough about David and his preparation and how his teams are ready to go year in year out, whether it's first game of the year or the first game of tournament or what have you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They run a lot of sets, they're very athletic, and they can get up in you defensively.  They’re as good at basketball team as we played all year, so we definitely, just to say we have our hands full is a bit of an understatement.”

          Minor says it is difficult to come up with a defensive game plan for Colonel Crawford.  “Probably our assignments, like who will guard who and who was able to guard who.  It's not always a matter of the same height the kid guarding the same height of athlete over there, it's is like can this guy keep up with the speed and how aggressive is this guy is on the boards compared to what you're used to.  So, we're going to have to get creative in that aspect for sure,” he said.

Published 2/28/23

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St. Paul Has to Play Four Quarters

          Norwalk of St. Paul, of Firelands Conference, tangles with Mansfield Christian, the Mid-Buckeye Conference runner-up, in a sectional semifinal in division IV at Shelby High School on Wednesday night.

          St. Paul (9-13) has lost its last three and four of its last five coming into the game.

          Coach Steve Minor says it’s a new season and they want to take advantage of that opportunity.  “We certainly do and we're hoping not to be excluded from that.  We want to really not just talk about doing something, but we'd like to do something about it,” said Minor.

          Mansfield Christian (15-7) completed its regular season last Friday with a (63-60) loss to Northmor in non-conference play.  They finished second behind Lucas in the “MBC”, in fact their only two conference losses were to the Cubs.

          They are led by All-District 6 coaches association first team selection Ammar Davis (21.4 ppg) at the guard position, but Minor says the Flames are more than just Davis.  “Well, they're a well-rounded team.  Of course, they have a standout guard, but that he's not everything.  A lot of people would like to sell it that way, but they have a great inside presence.  They surround him with all kinds of complementary players that can hit big shots when they need to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We've seen enough film on them to know when people don’t let Ammar do what he wants to do, they're really good All-Ohio football player and probably All-Ohio guard, that puts the pressure on the rest of their guys to help with that supporting cast, but they've been up to the task in several games.  It's not like he scores 30 and the rest of them scores four or five.  I mean they have a nice balance there and they do a lot of really good things.”

          Minor says the real key for them is to be able to play a complete game, something that have been unable to most of this season.  “We're going to have to play a full game. We can't take quarters off and we can't go on scoring draughts like we've done throughout the year.  Hopefully, we've got all that in our rearview mirror and we're ready to go for this,” said Minor.

Published 2/22/23

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St. Paul Plays at Plymouth

          Norwalk St. Paul has a road trip to Plymouth scheduled for Thursday night for a Firelands Conference game against the Big Red.

          They won their first conference game in three weeks when they got past South Central (52-51) in overtime last Friday night.

          From a confidence standpoint, coach Steve Minor says that was a game they had to have.  “We really, really needed it.  If we came that close and dropped another one who knows what the what the confidence level would have been in our locker room.  So, that was really good for our guys to grind that one out.  I think it took its toll next night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “You just learn from it move on.  They're young and that's a different experience for them to be in a big, close game where there's a lot on the line as far as tournament seating and Isaac (Blair) going for his 1,000^th point.  I mean there's a lot of stuff.  They really locked in though and grinded one out, so it was nice.”

          St. Paul (8-10,6-5) is at Plymouth (4-15,3-9) on Thursday night.  Plymouth feel (69-59) to Mapleton on Friday night. 

          The Flyers won the first matchup (54-44) on December 29.

          Minor believes Plymouth is a tough place to play.  “That place is unique to play at, I'll tell you that.  I think they have more light bulbs in that gym than the next three tanning salons that are closest to my house have bulbs in their beds because there's just tons of lights in there.  They knocked out a really good Mapleton team and they're in a lot of their games, they're right there.  These coaches have got them believing that they haven't cashed it in.  Other than a couple lopsided victories or being on the other side of lopsided victories this year they bring it every night.  So, it's going to be without saying it's going to be a challenge Thursday,” said Minor.

          Plymouth is big and physical and Minor says they are going to have to compete on the glass on Thursday night.  “When we don't win the rebounding war we are winless and usually that and physicality goes hand in hand.  I thought we were a little physical Friday, which we hadn't been for a few games and then second half of Saturday the physical aspect took over and we didn't keep up with it,” he said.

Published 2/08/23

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St. Paul Has to Contain Blair

          Norwalk St. Paul plays South Central in a Firelands Conference game for the second time in a couple of weeks this time at home on Friday night.

          They host Sandusky St. Mary’s in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          Back on Wednesday night, they lost (57-34) to Tiffin Calvert of the “SBC” River.

          Coach Steve Minor says they got off to a good start, but they couldn’t maintain it.  “We were able to build a pretty good lead to start the game and I don't know if it's us not being used to that right off the bat, but we didn't we didn't handle it very well and let him back into it by halftime.  Then just got out physicaled and got out rebounded in the second half and then didn't score as well as we were.  So, we put up 16 in the first five and half minutes and I think we ended up with a 34, so that that that's not real good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Again, we're still stuck in that rut of being able to do what we need to do for four quarters whether offensively or defensively.  They're young team, they have some guys back from a really good team last year, but they still have their coach and he does a fantastic job.”

          St. Paul (7-9,5-5) and South Central (8-9,5-6) played January 17 with the Trojans winning (49-45) in that one.

          South Central’s Isaac Blair leads the Firelands Conference in scoring (22.3 ppg) and Minor says they can’t let him have a big night against them. “I think Isaac is going for 1,000 points and he has it in his sights, so he's going to need 32 to get that and he's going to get it, but I hope it’s not (Friday) night if it is, next week I’ll probably won’t sound as chipper,” he said.

          Minor says they have to find someone who can guard Blair.  “It sounds plain and simple, but it's just a matter of finding somebody that's up to the task of shutting him down.  I mean once he gets going downhill, you're in trouble.  We have a pretty big court and that's a pretty big running start for him to get that and it was bad enough and they're smaller floor.  So, we've really, really have got to do a better job on him and do it for four quarters.  I mean you can't let him because he can go off in a matter of three minutes.  You just can't let up on him.  You have to be as relentless back at him as he's going to be towards you,” said Minor.

Published 2/03/23

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St. Paul Faces Mapleton in Important Game

          Norwalk St. Paul, having lost is last two Firelands Conference games, plays at Mapleton in the conference game on Friday night.

          They lost (70-63) to Western Reserve in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach Steve Minor says the first few minutes of the game put them in a place where they were always playing catchup.  “As always (Western Reserve coach) Chris (Sheldon) made great adjustments, did a great job and got his kids ready to play.  They came out and hit three threes on us right off the bat.  A couple of them were by people that you don't want to leave, but you weren't really expecting to hit those.  You get into 9-0 hole early and you end up losing by seven you tend to point the finger right at that first three, four minutes,” said Minor.

          Norwalk St. Paul (7-7,5-4) travels to Mapleton (8-7,6-4) on Friday night.  The Mounties beat New London (69-41) in a conference game last Friday.  They added a (81-51) win over Hillsdale in a non-league game on Tuesday.

          The Flyers won the first matchup (68-61) in overtime on December 16.

          Minor says they will have to be on their game.  “We're really going to have to dig down and earn it.  I mean that's a tough place to play.  We split with them last year.  Each one won on each other's court last year.  They're playing pretty good right now and they're getting ready for the tournament like everybody else is and fine tuning some things, so we have our work cut out for us,” he said.

          Minor says he likes the matchup better with Mapleton better than some other teams.  “Defensively we're able to almost switch every position.  All their guys for the most part are about the same size, or the same ballpark, they don't have you know a true post players, they might have one true post player, but he can also play outside as well.  So, at least it doesn't present as difficult a matchup for us as it does for others,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I think that's one of things Chris was talking to me about last week.  He said that Mapleton is just such a difficult matchup for him.  Chris has got some bigger guys that he likes to pound it into too, so I could see that, but he always figures it out, so I don't worry about him.”

Published 1/27/23

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St. Paul Expects Physical Game with Western

          Norwalk St. Paul plays host to rival Western Reserve in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They are at home for Huron in a non-conference game on Saturday.

          South Central beat St. Paul (49-46) on Tuesday night in a conference game.

          Coach Steve Minor says the Trojans played well and they are a lot better team than they were earlier in the season.  “It's definitely a tough one.  Unfortunately, it was a good learning experience for us fortunately, unfortunately.  You can tell just the attitude change over there.  Those kids love playing for Brett (Seidel),” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I don't really know the coach (Cory) Durbin that was there.  I just interacted with them briefly this summer you know long enough to exchange phone numbers basically, but it's a whole new attitude over there.  They really sold out for him and he's done a great job in just a small time that he's been there to get the kids back in sync and competing at a different level that's for sure.”

          St Paul (7-5,5-3) is at home for Western Reserve (6-7,4-5) on Friday night.  The Riders are coming off a (64-33) thrashing at the hands of unbeaten Crestview last Saturday. In a conference game.  The Flyers won the first game (45-41) on December 10.

          Minor says they have to at least match the intensity that Western plays with.  “We've been keeping our eye on them.  I've been fortunate to see them live a couple of times since then and as expected they are better than they were the first time.  I hope we are too.  I hope we can at least match their intensity as well.  One good thing I guess is we're not having to play over there again.  Either way it's a Chris Sheldon coached team and you've got to be ready for everything because whatever they do they're going to do well,” said Minor.

          Western is know for their physical, man to man defense and Minor says they have to be ready for that.  “They are physical team.  Actually our sophomore inside, out guy had to have nose surgery.  He broke his nose last time we played Western Reserve, so they know to expect the physical matchup.  They will get in your space and try to make things as difficult for you as they can,” he said.

Published 1/19/23

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St. Paul Faces Unbeaten Crestview

          Norwalk St. Paul, two games back in the Firelands Conference, play at conference leader and unbeaten Crestview on Thursday night.

          They host New London in an “FC” game on Saturday.

          After winning six of seven, they were drilled by Monroeville (76-46) in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach Steve Minor says they ran into a very confident Monroeville team.  “Well I'd rather not think about it, but thanks, no, it was away from conference some of our guys.  It's good for them to be confident and Monroeville is good team.  They still have two of their three best options from last year back, which that team won 18 games.  They play a tough schedule and they were battle tested and they were ready for us that's for sure,” he said.

          Crestview (11-0,6-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division, thumped St. Paul (69-39) on December 1.

          Minor says they have to shoot a higher percentage and they must get more rebounds than they did the first time.  “Well, we have to rebound better this time and we have to shoot the ball better if we have any hopes of staying in the game with them.  They just have so many scores and they're very efficient,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Talk about a tough schedule they've had a tough non conference schedule.  Even their win over Colonel Crawford I don't think the Barker kid was even playing.  I think he was down in Texas for some All Star game.  So, it just shows you how deep they are and how good they are.  We really, really have to be on top of it at both ends if we want to even compete in that game.”

          Yes, they want to get off to a good start in the game, but Minor says a real key on Thursday is consistency.  “Usually unfortunately for us we have pretty good luck getting a good start, but in a few of our losses we have a four or five minute scoring droughts and you can't do that against anybody.  So, we just not only have to hopefully have early success, but keep some kind of success going.  We can't go on droughts against them,” said Minor.

          The Flyers (6-4,4-2) play at home against New London (2-9,0-6) on Saturday night.  St. Paul won the first meeting (63-30) on December 9.

          Minor says with win in two of their last three, the Wildcats have improved since then.   “They have got to be getting confidence.  They're doing things right.  From when the first time we saw them when we played them I thought they improved, so I have no doubt that coach (Randy) Endsley has got them getting better each time out,” he said.

Published 1/11/23

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St. Paul Plays Improved Edison

          Norwalk St. Paul plays at Edison in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          The Flyers, a winner of five of their last six, play at Monroeville in a Firelands Conference game on Friday night.

          They beat Plymouth (54-44) in a conference game last Thursday.

          Coach Steve Minor says they did a very good job of making adjustments against the Big Red.  “We weren't sure, it's hard to tell, they put different lineups out and we weren't sure which team you're going to see because they have the ability to go very big and due to some circumstances over the holiday and injuries and what have you, we were kind of geared towards going small.  So, we thought off the bat it could be a mismatch and turns out that they didn't start their big guys, so I think that match up helped us out starting out.  Then we're able to get other guys in and then and get it back to normal.  Boy, they gave it all they had and they had us on the ropes a few times luckily we kept our composure and just were able to come out with the win in that game,” said Minor.

          Edison (2-5) won their last game in smoking Woodmore (70-47) on Thursday night.

          Minor says there is no question they are getting better.  “Well, I think that first of all what do they call it over there? “The Thunderdome.”  Even when I was in school that's a tough place to play.  They really use their homecourt advantage, so you've got to be ready for everything they throw at you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They're young, but they're getting better.  We've seen them a few times and we've had a three or four films on them.  Every time they're doing something a little bit better.  So, you definitely can't sleep on them.  I think they're record could be a little deceiving.  I know that they had a poor record last year, but they're still going to bring it and you have to be ready for them.”

          Norwalk St. Paul (5-3,4-1) plays at traditional rival Monroeville on Friday night in conference action.

          Minor says that’s a game between longtime rivals.  He says that an important game.  “We certainly hope so.  The biggest thing with our guys is let's focus on Edison today take care of business and then Wednesday we go at it.  I expected Monroeville to be right up there in the conference standings as they are.  It's been a long time since Monroeville has won two in a row against St. Paul, so we're going to try to break that streak come Friday, give it our all anyways.”

Published 1/03/23

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